He didn’t tell his wife he’d bought it. In the BBC’s revealing documentary, “Traders: Millions by the Minute,” Charlie Burton explains why.

Click here to watch the full BBC documentary

A six-figure Porsche 911, sitting on the driveway and Charlie Burton thought it was “better to ask for forgiveness than permission.” 

That’s a funny line but it also shows the kind of confidence that comes from 17 years of profitable trading. I’d call it ‘earned conviction’, much like you see in experienced investors featured in BBC Traders, millions by the minute.

But here’s what’s interesting about Burton. He’s not flashy about the markets. If anything, the Porsche is the exception. Because everything else about how he operates is ruthlessly disciplined and almost boring by design—just the sort of methodical approach highlighted in the BBC’s “Traders: millions by the minute.”

So what can we as traders actually take from his comments in the BBC documentary ‘Traders, millions by the minute’?

Process beats prediction. Burton analyses the night before, sets his orders, and steps away. By the time the cameras caught him at a gym photoshoot, his trades were already running on autopilot. No screen-watching. No emotional tinkering. The work happens before the market opens — not during. This process-driven style is a hallmark for those profiled in BBC’s “Traders millions by the minute.”

Flip your focus. “Most novice traders think about how much money they can make, whereas most professional traders focus on how much money they can lose.” That’s the whole game, right there. Risk-first thinking is what separates the 10% who make consistent money from the 90% who don’t. In fact, such risk awareness is emphasized repeatedly throughout BBC Traders millions by the minute.

Fade the herd. When retail traders pile in one direction, Burton wants the other side of the trade. “In the main, the herd are wrong.” It’s a contrarian mindset that requires both conviction and data — but it’s a consistent edge for those who can execute it. This contrarian edge is a recurring theme in the documentary Traders: millions by the minute from the BBC.

Your environment is underrated. Clean desk, dedicated trading room, premium charts. He pays £200 a month for charting software most traders wouldn’t bother with. “It keeps my brain clear for when I’m trading.” Small detail — but professionals treat the setup seriously, a point featured for several guests on BBC’s “Traders: millions by the minute.”

He lost his entire first account. Turned £40,000 into £250,000, then gave it all back. He came back anyway. Then a hedge fund allocated him £50 million. Such dramatic swings are what make BBC Traders, millions by the minute a compelling watch.

The Porsche came later. It’s just one of the outcomes some participants describe in BBC’s Traders “Millions by the Minute.”