News
News
Collaboration between APTA and the global MTA
On August 17, following APTA’s 5th annual luncheon, a collaborative agreement was signed by APTA and the MTA, which is based in New York City, USA. The agreement takes affect from September 1, 2011.
The Market Technicians Association (MTA) is a not-for-profit professional regulatory organisation servicing over 3,900 market analysis professionals in over 75 countries around the world. The MTA’s mission is to promote the education of the public, the investment community and its membership in the theory, practice and application of technical analysis.
The Australian Professional Technical Analysts (APTA) Inc, founded in 2004, is a not-for-profit organisation of Technical Analysts participating in the financial services industry.
APTA facilitates the exchange of ideas in Technical Analysis and Financial Markets and encourages members to aspire to the highest level of professionalism in our discipline. We bring together accomplished professional and non-professional financial markets Technical Analysts to engage in networking and thought-provoking meetings.
APTA also strongly encourages the education of participants in the financial services industry and the application of technical research in the formulation of investment and trading decisions.The collaboration has benefits for both the MTA and APTA. Amongst the benefits are:
• APTA member access to
• the MTA’s extensive knowledge base,
• the weekly MTA educational webcasts,
• the MTA’s podcasts and
• the MTA archives of these events.
In return the MTA’s Australian members will enjoy APTA member benefits, which include bi-monthly meetings and other networking events.
The directors and members of APTA view the collaboration with the MTA as a significant step forward in their desire to expand and grow their network within the global financial arena. For some time now the members of APTA have seen the need for an international affiliation of a professional standard and view the collaboration with the MTA as substantially mutually beneficial.
MTA Continuing Education (CE) Program Credits for Attending the APTA Meeting on Wednesday June 22nd, 2011
The Board of Management of the Australian Professional Technical Analysts (APTA) Inc have extended an invitation to members of the Market Technicians Association (MTA), who are resident in or visiting Australia, to our next meeting in Sydney on Wednesday June 22nd, 2011.
The meeting will be held at 6.00pm in the Cafe 2 Function Room, City Tattersalls Club, 194 - 204 Pitt Street, Sydney on Wednesday 22nd June, 2011.
We are also pleased to announce that the Market Technicians Association (MTA) have decided to award 3 Continuing Education (CE) credits to their members who attend the APTA meeting.
The MTA instigated the Continuing Education (CE) program to encourage professionals to expand their knowledge base and stay up-to-date on new developments in the field of Technical Analysis. On the MTA website a calendar of recognised credits are listed, including the next APTA meeting. In order to meet the CE Program requirements, an MTA member must complete 15 CE Credits by the end of the calendar year. 1 CE Credit is defined as 1 hour.
The MTA believes that the continuing education program will strengthen the Chartered Market Technician (CMT) designation in the eyes of their membership and, most importantly, within the financial community. After discussion with several companies and regulatory organisations the general feeling of the MTA Board of Directors was that all designations of worth need to have an ongoing education component least the designation holder become unfamiliar with new trends, utility in today's fast paced, changing market. The MTA Board agreed with this interpretation and was keen to continue the overall visibility of the CMT as the "gold standard" in TA designations.
From the MTA website:
Participation in a voluntary continuing education program will show your employer that you are committed to staying "ahead of the curve" when it pertains to your job. Think of it as graduating with a college degree and then continuing your studies on the side to learn new skills – it isn't necessary for you to do so but it certainly makes you look good when it comes time to discuss a promotion or a raise. Tying in with the above, it's a perfect resume builder. The MTA will issue certificates at the close of each calendar year to those who complete the CE 15 Credit Level. You can easily add on your resume, "Satisfied the MTA Continuing Education Level for 2011, 2012, etc."
Voluntary participation in the CE Program will help not only build the credibility of the CMT designation but of technical analysis as a whole. If the purpose of your membership in the MTA is to get technical analysis widely accepted in the investment world, then what better way to do so than by expanding your studies and showing your commitment to the higher learning program. If the MTA can say XX% of our membership participates in a voluntary program to expand their TA knowledge, that tells the rest of the financial industry that the people who are already involved in this truly believe it works – otherwise they wouldn't be wasting their time.
Finally, you can completely dictate how much or how little you make with what you know. By broadening your TA repertoire, you're giving yourself an edge in reading the markets and can, in turn, increase the likelihood of successful trades.
To learn more about the MTA's decision to implement a Continuing Education program, view a short video message from David Keller, CMT, President of the MTA.
The APTA Board of Management look forward to greeting MTA and APTA members at the next meeting on Wednesday June 22nd, 2011 and are excited that the world's largest and strongest Technical Analysis Association, the MTA, and Australia's professional and innovative Technical Analysis Association, APTA, are collaborating to further contribute to the development of the highest standards of professional competence amongst Technical Analysts.
Co-Authors Julie Dahlquist and Richard Bauer Awarded the Market Technicians Association's 2011 Charles H. Dow Award
Co-authors Julie R. Dahlquist, Ph.D., CMT, senior lecturer, Department of Finance, at the University of Texas at San Antonio College of Business, and Richard J. Bauer, Jr., Ph.D., CFA, CMT, Professor of Finance at the Bill Greehey School of Business at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas, have been selected by the Market Technicians Association (MTA) to receive the 2011 Charles H. Dow Award. Their paper titled Analyzing Gaps for Profitable Trading Strategies presents a detailed template for analyzing gaps filtered for various market conditions to identify actionable trading opportunities while focusing on relative market performance.
The MTA has since 1994 presented the Charles H. Dow Award for excellence and creativity in technical analysis. The papers honored with the Award have represented therichness and depth of technical analysis. The Charles H. Dow Award, currently carries a prize of $5,000.00, and is the most significant competition for recognition in the field of technical analysis.
“Congratulations to Dr. Dahlquist and Dr. Bauer for bringing new thought and rigorous analysis to the existing body of knowledge regarding gap theory,” said Martin J. Meaney, CMT, and the MTA’s Dow Award Committee Chair. “Their stature in the academic community broadens the scope of technical analysis as a valuable tool in seeking alpha in the marketplace.”
“We are truly honored to be chosen as the 2011 recipients of the Charles H. Dow Award. What a privilege it is to follow such a list of distinguished and well-respected award winners,” said Dr. Dahlquist and Dr. Bauer. “We have greatly benefitted from the work of those who have gone before us and from our association with the MTA. It is our wish to give back to this community that has meant so much to us. We hope that our research expands the body of knowledge of technical analysis and is of use to others in the field. We look forward to connecting with long-time friends and meeting more MTA members at this year’s MTA Annual Symposium.”
The Market Technicians Association’s objective is to educate the investment community and MTA members in technical analysis. More than 4,000 analysts and related market professionals in over 75 countries are members of the MTA. The MTA is responsible for the creation, oversight, administration and regulation of the CMT designation. The CMT is the only technical analysis designation recognized by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). It is also the only designation for technical analysts that qualifies as a “Series 86” exemption upon passing levels 1 and 2 of the CMT exam.
For more information, please visit www.mta.org .
APTA President Regina Meani Attends 23rd Annual IFTA Conference in Berlin
Early in October I had the opportunity of attending the 23rd annual IFTA conference held in Berlin, Germany and hosted by the Vereinigung Technischer Analysten Deutschlands e. V (VTAD).
The conference was held over three days with each day allocated a different theme. On Thursday October 7, the day was largely dedicated to Behavioural Finance. The morning session was devoted to the Technical Talkabout, an annual event initiated by the late Ian Notley. The event serves a number of purposes but most importantly it serves as an introductory session for many of the colleagues. The room is divided in half and during the session one must keep to one half of the room but move between the tables and hence meet around half of the colleagues. The discussion groups also allow an insight into the spectrum of those attending.
The afternoon sessions saw Hersh Shefrin explain the twin message from behavioural finance which can be applied to all investors. He explained that markets are not efficient and while exploiting the inefficiencies is not impossible it is certainly not simple. Then Jeremy Armitage highlighted his Cross-Border Equity Flow Indicator (X-EFI) and his work in measuring investor behaviour.
Thursday continued with Professor Julie Agnew’s talk on Behavioural Finance and Individual investors and Masayuki Ito’s Application of Behavioural Economics to Technical Analysis with a final session on Global Sector Rotation with Relative Strength from Tom Dorsey.
Friday October 8, was dedicated to the Energy Markets with a Point & Figure theme. Beginning with Holger Galuschke with new insights for using the double top and bottom patterns in point & figure analysis of the oil market. He was followed by Philipp Eggert who applied White’s Reality Check to equity, foreign exchange and the power markets and proposed the application of simple trading methods and the tradability of electricity.
Blazei Radomski alerted us to the opportunities in trading coal and the developing CO² market and Philipp Kahler gave us a session on automated trading strategies. Murray Radestock then took up the energy theme with a look at the UK Gas market and took us through the “Optimisation of Energy Complex”.
David Linton took us up into the clouds and introduced us to his multiple time frame analysis on Ichimoko charts and Yukitoshi Higashino followed on with pattern analysis and positioning using the Ichimoko methods. Finally for the day, Akira Homma presented a new east-west hybrid concept for technical analysis.
Saturday October 9, took on a more statistical slant. Risk Appetite, liquidity and funding were tackled by David Sneddon and Shawn Downey produced some micro analysis presenting the TFlow and DomTracker Indicators, redefining data and using a mixture of divergence patterns and indicators to create some in depth analysis.
Trevor Neil called on his years of experience using the DeMark Techniques to offer his own perspective for a profitable and disciplined trading style. Seasonality is a major factor in many tradable markets and Dimitri Speck brought some questions to the table regarding the usefulness of seasonal charts. The visualization of data ended the sessions with Eugene Sorenson looking at the methods to extract information and Matthias Shapiro tested the waters on the art of visualization.
Finally in the tradition of all IFTA conferences and I am proud to say that I have attended thirteen over the years, we were treated to a gala evening at the Meistersaal. As part of the proceedings the Talking Stick was handed from Berlin to Sarajevo and Hisham Abdullah A. AlQuohi received the Bronwen Wood Memorial Award and Pavlos Th. Iaonnou was presented with the John Brooks Memorial Award for his excellence in research for the Master of Financial Technician. This was a proud moment for those us at APTA as Pavlos studied through Australia and his achievement is testament to the professionalism and high standards to which we aspire.
As the night progressed we experienced a musical delight as we journeyed from Baroque to Modern German music, accompanied by fine food and wine and a special moment at the end when we all released our own red balloon over Berlin. What a great city!!
Thanks to VTAD and the IFTA conference committee for a fine conference which provided a forum for global networking and the interchange of old and new ideas, putting IFTA at the forefront of Technical Analysis advancement throughout the world.
APTA Member and Former President Alex Douglas Appointed General Manager of IBFX Australia
SALT LAKE CITY, UT, USA— On the heels of the IBFX Holdings new office opening, IBFX Australia Pty. Ltd. has recently announced the appointment of Alex Douglas to the company’s growing management team.
Douglas will spearhead the launch of our Australian office in the role of General Manager, bringing with him a wealth of market knowledge, marketing and business development skills which have been acquired during more than twenty years working in the financial markets in Australia and South East Asia.
“I am very pleased to welcome Alex to the IBFX family,” said Todd Crosland, chairman and president of Interbank FX. “With more than two decades of industry experience in the global financial sector, he will fill a vital role here as we continue to grow our business throughout the world.”
Douglas first plotted currency movements on hand-drawn charts in 1983. This opened the door to a career in the financial markets that has included being a foreign exchange voice broker with M.W. Marshall & Co and a trader in the pits of the Sydney Futures Exchange with BZW Futures. A role with MMS, the financial market research and analysis arm of Standard & Poor’s, saw him transferred to Singapore in 1999. Here he took on the position of Global Head of FX Technical Analysis and co-founded the Technical Analysts Society of Singapore. This was later followed by roles as President of the Australian Professional Technical Analysts and board member of the global umbrella organization, the International Federation of Technical Analysts.
Since returning to Sydney, Douglas has acted as Company Director and Asia-Pacific Chief Analyst for G7 Forex Company Ltd, and was most recently an Associate Director with FX and CFD provider, City Index.
“In addition to Alex’s vast market experience, he has also established a solid reputation as a lucid market commentator across a range of print, electronic and broadcast media, including CNBC and Bloomberg television,” said Crosland. “We’re anxious and excited to have Alex head up our subsidiary office.”
As the popularity of forex trading rapidly grows around the world, IBFX Holdings LLC recognizes the need for increasing levels of access and technology. For more information about IBFX Australia Pty. Ltd please visit www.ibfx.com.
About IBFX Holdings LLC
Headquartered in Salt Lake City, UT, USA, IBFX Holdings LLC is the parent of the Interbank FX group of companies; including Interbank FX LLC, Interbank FX UK Ltd. and IBFX Australia Pty. Ltd. Interbank FX LLC is a provider of online forex trading services, offering individual traders, money managers and institutional customers proprietary technology, tools and education to trade spot foreign currency online. Interbank FX LLC has distinguished itself among industry leaders with its unique multi bank liquidity feed, proprietary tools and services, and remarkable focus on customer care. Serving more than 35,000 clients from more than 140 countries around the world, Interbank FX LLC is regulated as a member of the National Futures Association and the Commodity Futures.
MTA Launches New Channel on Reuters Insider
The MTA recently partnered with Thomson Reuters in a collaborative effort to produce fresh, educational technical analysis content for their new Reuters Insider platform. Reuters Insider carries exclusive multimedia programming from Reuters and network partners including live, uninterrupted coverage of breaking news, interviews with key newsmakers, in-depth analysis and insightful commentary on important market issues.
The MTA's dedicated channel can be found by searching "Market Technicians Association" in the Reuters Insider module or by browsing through their channel guide. Our recently added shows include:
* "The History of the Market Technicians Association"
* "Technical Tools: Stochastics" with Fred Meissner, CMT
* "Technical Tools: Indexed Relative Strength" with Scott Richter, CFA, CMT
To access Reuters Insider, visit http://insider.reuters.com. Please note that you may have to create a free account with Thomson Reuters to access the Reuters Insider.
Australian Wins IFTA's John Brooks Memorial Prize
Australian Technical Analyst Mr. Pavlos Th. Ioannou has been announced as the winner of the John Brooks Memorial Prize awarded by the International Federation of Technical Analysts (IFTA).
The award is for outstanding achievement in the IFTA Master of Financial Technical Analysis (MFTA) qualification and for significant contribution to the Technical Analysis body of knowledge.
In a statement, Mr. Ioannou acknowledged his professional and academic indebtedness to three APTA members, Regina Meani, Larry Lovrencic and Peter Pontikis. All three lectured Mr. Ioannou as a student in the Kaplan Professional Fin231 Technical Analysis and E171 (now 9063) Specialised Techniques in Technical Analysis courses. He also described the audio lectures and set of lecture notes as being of outstanding academic and professional quality.
APTA members Mark Brownlow, John Gajewski, Larry Lovrencic and Peter Pontikis are members of Kaplan Professional's Advisory Committees which administer the Fin231 and 9063 courses, with Larry Lovrencic being Chair of both.
The Australian Professional Technical Analysts (APTA) wishes to congratulate Mr. Ioannou on his outstanding achievement.
APTA President, Regina Meani attends preview with legend James Dines
Over 25 years ago I invested in the book: How the Average Investor can use Technical Analysis for Stock Profits: by James Dines. The inspiring tome still rests close to my desk, referring to it often over the years, and I continue to chuckle at the escapades of his cartoon character ‘Pidgeon”.
At the Gold Symposium introductory day held on Monday November 8, I attended a brief preview with the legend. Scheduled to give a full two-hour presentation on Wednesday November 10, James Dines gave us a taste of his upcoming talk:
*The impact of China on Australia with the bubble ending in a boom?
*China’s plans to build two nuclear power plants a week at the end of the decade.
*The Uranium shortage.
* One year ago in his newsletter dated May 22, 2009 Dines predicted a rare earth buyin panic.
He plans to highlight charts from his personal chart library which reveal underlying trends and the upside breakout on one particular chart to a 30 year new high. He left us with his philosophy that it is the secret desire of all gamblers to loose and asked us two questions which I believe he plans to answer on Wednesday:
1. What next? Is it a bubble?
2. Don’t you want to make money?
For those of you unfamiliar with James Dines I have copied a few excerpts from the Symposium website, www.symposium.net.au :
James Dines has become legendary for having made correct forecasts that were in complete contradiction to the rest of the financial community.
In an industry where it takes courage and conviction to go against the crowd, Mr Dines defiantly warned investors of the “invisible crash” that would bring down stocks in 1966, the unexpected gold boom of 1974, the Internet revolution of 1996, and the market top in 2000. And now, he warns of “The Coming Uranium Boom” that is steadily approaching…
By establishing his own philosophy, going his own way and repeatedly having been proved right, Mr Dines was creating a whole new way to approach the markets. He began putting his unique investment analysis and strategies on paper, and spent a total of 14 years writing what was to become a groundbreaking treatise on Technical Analysis—one of the very earliest books on the field—that would help investors for many years to come.
Called Technical Analysis, the book was immediately hailed as a “classic” when Barron’s Magazine’s reviewer wrote, “It is the most comprehensive text ever written on the entire arcane field of investment analysis. This book was deliberately designed to attract the novice and then turn him into a pro. The established pro could learn much from it. We wholeheartedly recommend that you read the book.” What’s more, Lex Column of the London Financial Times commented that “Mr Dines has done for Technical Analysis what Graham & Dodd has done for Fundamental Analysis.” Unfortunately, this out-of-print “classic” is sold out and The Dines Letter has none for sale, but it is available in the rare-books markets for around $1,000 a copy!
So my friends it really was an investment all those years ago.
Regina Meani
APTA president
Former FINSIA Fin231 and E171 TA Student Alex Spiroglou Elected Chair of the London MTA Chapter
The Market Technicians Association (MTA) has members in 74 different countries and administers the famous CMT professional designation exam (the CMT is the equivalent designation to the CFA for technical analysis).
In the past few years an increasing number of technicians based in Britain, have joined the Market Technicians Association (www.MTA.org). The numbers eventually grew to such a large size, that the demand for a local presence emerged. The formation of the London Chapter of the MTA was announced last month and Alex Spriglou was appointed Chair of the London Chapter.
Technical Analysis in a Merging World - by Peter Pontikis
The rise of global financial markets
The rise of linked markets and the speed of communication and exchange, the complexity and size of the networks involved, and the sheer volume of trade, interaction and risk give rise to what we now label as 'globalisation'. It challenges and finds a mirror in Technical Analysis that carries with it a peculiar force.
With increased economic interconnection, has come deep-seated institutional changes in the way Technical Analysis and its proponents are perceived. Even in the post global financial crisis world, more secular challenges remain for our craft to deal with.
Need for Global credentials
Back-dropped against the above secular trends of globalisation and interconnection, there is then no argument that there is a need for a globally recognised ‘connecting’ credential in Technical Analysis. A credential that is driven by several stakeholder requirements that include the financial services industry's need to attract quality professionals. This requirement is facilitated by a credential that offers itself as a structured, industry-recognised marker of career progression.
It sets a standard of professional skill and conduct by offering an industry-based framework for recognising and adding value to an employer's existing Technical Analysis learning and development programs.
A credential such as the International Federation of Technical Analysts' (IFTA) Certified Financial Technician, CFTe, seeks to raise standards of Technical Analysis professionalism, to improve business integrity and provide higher standards of conduct throughout our industry and is recognised as such by consumers of the CFTe’s service proposition.
All of this drives the growth in our specialisation and its standing in the financial services community amongst our clients and indeed with respect to prudential and corporate regulators in each of our respective national and regional jurisdictions by providing a platform to publicly and visibly signal the commitment of the employing organisation, businesses and our member societies to maintaining and raising standards of professionalism within the Technical Analysis space.
Of course it is one thing to have a credential, it is another thing to validate and evidence its quality. To these ends, the CFTe qualification, indeed any qualification, will need to be
relevant and be designed BY Technical Analysis professionals, FOR Technical Analysis professionals.
It will need to be comprehensive and cover the spectrum of on-the-job requirements including technical knowledge, professional skills as well as the implied commitment to ethical standards and conduct.
It should be flexible and sufficiently diverse as to meet the needs of professionals across the spectrum of the Technical Analysis services industry, including trading, advising, money management, commodity and financial markets, tailored from the retail, corporate, institution and all client segments of the commodity and capital markets sectors.
There is also a need for a process that facilitates the intergenerational transfer of knowledge and experience from those at the top of their Technical Analysis profession to those at earlier career stages, to, as it were, build up on the investment and successes of the past and to further raise, and keep raising, the professional bar.
It should necessarily be valued as a benchmark for other professionals, employers and clients who will rely on the designation as a sign of minimum and independently validated trusted standards.
Need for cooperation(s)
Now, for various historical reasons, and driven by a home grown (we can call it bottom up or grass roots) need for better Technical Analysis (and its analysts), the main global financial market centres have each created their own localised Technical Analysis credential, that is, after achieving a critical scale in which it was commercially justified to have one. For simplicity's sake, at the dawn of this century, there were approximately four regional Technical Analysis qualifications that had come to prominence and they include:
• The Market Technicians Association's (MTA) CMT
• The International Federation of Technical Anaysts' (IFTA) DITA, now CFTe
• The Nippon Technical Analysts Association's (NTAA) (Japan) designation, co-allied with IFTA’s CFTe designation
• The Australian Technical Analysts Association's (ATAA) Dip TA
Each qualification grew from a parochial market need which, none the less for relative ease of application, lent each of them to use and promote in other regions and countries. Competition followed for what was perceived by many on both sides as a finite market. (Something I would disagree with in a world of mass empowerment of investors).
As with competition – differentiation and undercutting followed that lead most famously to the MTA-IFTA split of 3-4 years ago.
It is ironic, when asked about the so called lack of collaboration, the response I would give (recognising the skill and standing of people of both sides of the IFTA and MTA divide) is 'what takes humans to undo, can be made good again by humans'. (Pardon the tortured non sexist term). So there is hope that the trend towards a global accreditation of Technical Analysis will continue – even with a few hiccoughs.
However, moving beyond academic-based accreditation, we should have a more apsirational credential besides just an examination milestone. Ideally credentials recognise Technical Analysis service professionals based on their capability, knowledge, expertise and commitment to ethical standards and conduct.
Designed BY Technical Analyst professionals, FOR technical analyst professionals, a global credential should aspire to raise the standard of technical analysis in not just Australasia but globally. It will provide financial services professionals with an industry-recognised career pathway marker, and employers and clients with a valuable benchmark to attract, develop and retain talented (TA) advisers.
Indeed the need for higher standards demands focus, agreement and cooperation. It is not owned by any geography or organisation. Any attempt at thought leadership, as required here, demands discipline both in mind and of purpose. I would argue the long game in Technical Analysis is the creation of an agreed body of knowledge with a prescribed minimum set of required and displayed capabilities, beyond just text examination, including ethics and also an evidence of communicative skill and more, to name a few commercial imperatives.
If we don’t, our skill and calling shall be cul-de-sac’ed into irrelevance of main market trends and ultimately our distinct trade will disappear.
We cannot afford to squabble or stand still: Look what the CFA is doing!
Through the momentum of the 1982-2000 bull market, this erstwhile US security analysts qualification gained an international prominence and brand acceptance in financial markets across the globe that needs little elaboration here.
Indeed they have (mirroring the heady pre-2008 global financial crisis days) built a brand in Fundamental Analysis that now casually includes a low standard of Technical Analysis in its curriculum. See the consequences of squabbling and a lack of focus on quality control and standardisation – other disciplines are happily sequestering our mandates.
Let it be a warning, from my previous days as a president of the ATAA and a director of IFTA, Technical Analysis is a broad church and should not be one where we fight in the pews(!).
Peter Pontikis
IFTA director, member of APTA (Australia) and STANZ (New Zealand)
Peter Pontikisis an alternative investment management specialist and has authored texts on Foreign exchange and trading financial market, including an upcoming contribution to a John Wiley trading guide. He is a director of the international federation of technical analysts (www.IFTA.org). The above opinions are strictly his own.
Wall Street: The Speed Traders – 60 Minutes – CBS News
60 Minutes on CBS News: Wall Street: The Speed Traders – Steve Kroft gets a rare look inside the secretive world of “high-frequency trading,” a controversial technique the SEC is scrutinizing in which computers can make thousands of stock trades in less than a second.
http://www.cbs.com/primetime/60_minutes/video/?pid=H2v3z7UL4OGn3b3o94HvThDzd5w1o89y&vs=homepage&play=true
FX Trader Kathy Lien MTA Interview
Kathy Lien did a Podcast with the Market Technician’s Association talking about her career, trading, and tips
It was a good interview - Download the file if you want to listen to it!
