Traders (TV Series) - Themes

Themes

Several themes are repeated during the course of the series.

David v. Goliath: Throughout the series, Gardner Ross is constantly comparing themselves to their larger competition. The investment bankers often trade blows with the much larger (if fictional) Canadian Corporate Bank (most likely based on one of Canada's Big Five). The trading floor's key competition is Federated Dundas, a brokerage firm with ten times the staff and capital, and the home of Marty's arch-nemesis "McGrath" (played in a memorable cameo by Joe Flaherty, although otherwise unseen during the series). Even Canada's status with respect to the much larger economy of the United States is examined, with Sally eventually partnering with both a U.S. venture capital fund with twice her working capital and the entrepreneurial Texan who runs it.

Family: All of the characters have varying family troubles. Ironically, Marty has the most stable "nuclear" family with a wife and children, but even his relationship is rocky. On the other extreme, Ann is so disconnected from a family life that she listed Gardner Ross as her person to contact in case of an emergency. A few characters suffer the loss of a close family member during the series. Chris is alienated from his family, and despite the efforts of a family friend to mend the relationship with his father, he never manages to do it. Donald, similarly disowned, does manage to build bridges with his parents. Niko perhaps has the worst relationship history, cutting herself off from her own son in order to further her career, only to find herself caring for the child when her ex-husband is arrested.

However, obligations to family often prove problematic. Feeling guilty about abandoning his sister to their abusive father, Jack found his sister Cathy a job at the firm, and on her first day of work she engaged in an incident of insider trading. Similarly, fearing that his talented son would drop out of high school, Marty called in all his favours in order to prevent his son from having a job on a trading floor.

Business Ethics: The characters often grapple with ethical issues, and even Adam raises these issues on occasion. For example, to increase its cash flow, Gardner Ross attempts a takeover of a cigarette company that is actually trying to get out of the tobacco business. Marty is constantly "walking the line" on ethical issues, taking advantage of information that doesn't quite meet the criteria for insider trading on a near daily basis. Although he knows the rules, he consistently breaks the spirit of the law, and occasionally steps over the line. For example, when he took a short position on a stock that was put on the restricted list when Gardner Ross announced a takeover attempt, he covered the short in order to save the firm millions at the expense of its client.

Reputation: Gardner Ross is constantly trying to balance appearances with reality. For example, Adam is known as "The Most Trusted Man on Bay Street", although he consistently tries to take advantage of Sally. Despite this, rumours swirl around him, one about his wife's death (an assisted suicide) just out of the range of hearing. Conversely, Jack does not mind putting the firm in a position where the rest of Bay Street is "out to get him" - Jack openly steps on the toes of larger rivals in order to get deals. Marty too understands the importance of reputation - on one occasion after being suspended, he comes back to find that no-one will execute a trade with him, leaving him at the end of the day begging an old friend to execute any trade with him whatsoever.