– Bob Farrell (CMT Association Founding President)
CMT Association’s Investment Challenge provides CMT Program candidates and students from our students of our Academic Partner Program institutes a platform to learn and apply Technical Analysis the way top investment management professionals do. You can conduct research, plan investments, and build a successful portfolio over an 8-week period.
If you are new to the world of Technical Analysis, this competition will allow you to get a brief understanding of a few concepts on back of which you can compete and dive deeper into the domain. If you are already pursuing the CMT, this competition allows you to test your knowledge in real world investment scenarios to apply your learned concepts.
The challenge is exclusively for:
CMT Candidates
App Students
SMIFC School Students
Why is this different from all the other “stock market games”?
We are the world’s foremost credentialing and advocacy body for technical analysis. we engage with regulators, employers, academic institutions, and media houses worldwide to advance the discipline and the understanding of its value to the financial services industry. Results of this challenge will also be made visible to recruiters, who could consider top performers for appropriate job opportunities.
Optuma is different. Better Charts, better tools, better dashboard, better tracking/reporting leader boards – and the parameters make it uniquely focused on appropriate use of technical analysis. Its founder, Mathew Verdouw, CMT, is, well, a CMT.
Competition Structure & Timelines
In this challenge you will be able to:
Learn
Review videos on Discord to learn basic concepts of Technical Analysis. This is especially useful for participants who are new to Technical Analysis to get up to speed for the competition.
Manage
Submit your investment ideas with thoughtful investment rationale and risk management. This will be an ongoing activity throughout the period of the competition.
Communicate
Interactions across social media related to the challenge which include posts related to your investment ideas as well as learnings/implementation of Technical Analysis studies during the competition.
All communication and networking will happen only in the dedicated Investment Challenge section on Discord.
Timeline
1
August 1 To August 31
Invitation of Application and Review Videos
- Submit Applications for the challenges and registration on the portal
- Review Videos to get an understanding on technical analysis strategies
2
August 25 To August 31
Trial Week
- Explore the platform, enter test trades, make changes and share feedback and questions if any.
- Trades entered during trial week are not logged to the competition.
3
September 1 to October 28
Invitation of Application and Review Videos
- During the live competition, you will submit trades and explain your investment ideas directly in the platform
- This will be an ongoing process as you will continue to submit new ideas and close old ones
- Continuously monitor your portfolio to make revision where necessary
- Posting and engagements on social media based on the guidelines provided
4
November 5
Declaration of Winners
- Winners will be declared, and certificates of achievements will be distributed
Prize Categories
Official Communication platform for CMT Investment Challenge - Discord
Discord is a popular group-chatting app, available for Mac, PC, iPhone, and Android devices. All announcement, discussions, FAQs will happen here. You can download the Desktop and Mobile versions of Discord and Install them. Desktop/laptop apps work the best. If you do not have one already, you will need to create a login on Discord.
Steps
- Click on the Invite Link: https://cmta.fyi/discord
- Open Discord and Click Register
- Enter your Date of Birth and click Create Account
- Once you have registered you will be added to the CMT Server. If you haven’t been added, click on the link: https://cmta.fyi/discord
- This will add you to the CMT Association Server.
- You will then need to click on the Investment Challenge section
- Familiarize yourself with the platform and explore the various sections. Feel free to introduce yourself on the chat.
Notes
- All communication for the Investment Challenge will take place via Discord under the CMT Investment Challenge category
- FAQs / Use the event-detail-faqs section to read any details of the competition
- All event updates will be posted on the event-update section
- You can use the ask-queries section to ask any questions you may have. Please note that this is a public chat so all other members and participants will be able to see your questions / posts
- Should you wish to write / ask a question privately, you can click on Home from the top left corner and Start a private direct conversation with either Joel Pannikot or Kaizad Marolia. Private messages will be addressed within two days..
Contact Us
For all questions you have with regards to the Investment Challenge, you can:
- Post your questions on Discord under the CMT Investment Challange category
- Send a Direct Message to Joel Pannikot or Kaizad Marolia on Discord
- Reach out to any of the below mentioned contacts for any escalations
Tyler Wood
Managing Director: Global Business Development, CMT Association
Joel Pannikot
Head: Asia Pacific, CMT Association
Kaizad Marolia
Head: Partnerships, CMT Association
Matthew Humphries
Head: Product Manager
Overview
CMT Association’s Investment Challenge is open exclusively to CMT Program candidates and students of our Academic Partner Program institutes. It gives you a platform to learn and apply Technical Analysis like top investment management professionals. You can conduct research, plan investments, and build a successful portfolio over an 8-week period.
The CMT Investment Challenge is held twice a year. Each edition starts about 6 weeks after the CMT Exams, on the first Monday of January and August respectively.
If you are already pursuing the CMT qualification, this competition allows you to apply your knowledge in real markets. If you are new to the world of Technical Analysis, this competition will introduce key concepts to help you compete.
Participants’ performance will be made visible to recruiters from the financial services industry, for alpha capture roles. Participating in consecutive editions of the Investment Challenge will help then to showcase a trajectory of learning and growth to prospective employers.
Why is this different from all the other “stock market games”?
CMT Association is different. We are the world’s foremost credentialing and advocacy body for technical analysis . We engage with regulators, employers, academic institutions, and media houses worldwide to advance the discipline and its value to the financial services industry . The results of this challenge will also be made visible to recruiters, who could consider top performers for appropriate job opportunities .
Optuma is different. Powerful Charts, robust tools, better dashboard, detailed tracking & reporting leader boards, custom-built for this challenge – make it uniquely focused on the appropriate use of technical analysis. Its founder, Mathew Verdouw, CMT, is, well, a CMT.
Note: As the Investment Challenge is exclusive to CMT Program Candidates and Academic Partner Program institute students, if you are eligible to participate, you will have received an email with the token number of the latest competition via email either directly from CMT Association (if you are a CMT candidate), or from your institute/university (if you are an eligible student)
ACCESS THE COMPETITION PLATFORMInvestment Challenge Structure & Timelines
In this challenge you will be able to:
Learn
Review videos on CMT Discord Server's Investment Challenge >> #knowledge-center channel to learn basic concepts of Technical Analysis. (especially for those who are new to Technical Analysis)
Manage
Submit your investment ideas with thoughtful investment and risk management rationale throughout the period of the competition.
Engage
Interact with fellow "Investment Challengers" and CMT Mentors on Discord to refine your investment management process as well as your Technical Analysis journey during the competition.
All communication and networking will happen only in the dedicated Investment Challenge section on Discord.
Timeline
January and July
Log in to Discord, Enable Access and Review Learning Videos
- Registration Step 1: Log in to Discord and click on the Enable Access button (Investment Challenge >> #enable-access channel)
- Registration Step 2: Visit the Optuma Challenge Platform and sign up (with the token provided to you via email)
- Review Videos on Discord to get an understanding of technical analysis strategies and connect with fellow Investment Challengers
- Trial Period
- Explore the platform, enter test trades, make changes and share feedback and questions if any.
- Trades entered during the trial week are not logged to the competition.
First Mondays of February and August
The challenge will formally commence on the first Mondays of February and August respectively.
All the trades entered in the trial period before that will be erased and all competitors’ trade balances will be reset to $100,000 marking the start of the challenge.
Only participants who have registered before this date will be featured on the leaderboards.
8 Weeks (Feb + March and August + September)
Submission and tracking of Investment Ideas
- During the live competition, you will submit trades and explain your investment ideas directly in the platform
- This will be an ongoing process as you will continue to submit new ideas and close old ones
- Continuously monitor your portfolio to make revision where necessary
- Posting and engagements on social media based on the guidelines provided
Third Monday of April and October
Declaration of Winners
- Winners will be declared globally and e-certificates of achievement will be mailed to qualified participants. Top 3 winners will also be felicitated in-person at CMT Association’s next large-format event.
Prize Categories: Individual and Institute level
Best overall Portfolio
This is the top prize for the competition. Maximum risk-adjusted return during the period across all the closed investment ideas submitted.
Highest Absolute Return:
Highest absolute return over the competition period.
Lowest Max Drawdown:
Lowest Max DrawDown over the entire competition period.
Highest Number of Valid Trades:
Maximum number of valid and qualified closed trades.
Single Most Profitable Trade:
Highest return in any one closed trade.
Official Communication platform for the Challenge - CMT Association's Discord Server
Discord is a popular group-chatting app, available for Mac, PC, iPhone, and Android devices. All announcement, discussions, FAQs will happen here. If you are not already on Discord You can download the Desktop and Mobile versions of Discord and Install them. Desktop/laptop apps work the best. It is advisable to create a Discord login before you register for the Investment Challenge on cmtic.optuma.com
Steps
- Create a login on Discord
- Join the server: https://cmta.fyi/discord
- Fill in the registration form (so we know you’re human)
- Click on the Investment Challenge section
- Familiarize yourself with the platform and explore the various sections. Feel free to introduce yourself on the chat.
Notes
- The Investment Challenge category of channels on our Discord server is where you will get all the latest updates about the challenge over duration of the competition.
- Use this space to engage with fellow “Investment Challengers” and your CMT mentors.
- Evan if you are not a participant in the challenge but you want to follow the challenge as it unfolds, you can go to the #enable-access channel and click the “Enable Access” button.
- When you do that you will see 4 new channels. Some are READ-ONLY and others you can participate in.
- #event-details-faqs (READ-ONLY) is where all information and announcements will be posted
- #knowledge-center (READ-ONLY) is where you can access various pre-recorded training videos as well as livestream videos of weekly mentoring sessions.
- #talking-markets (OPEN) is where you can engage with fellow participants and others to talk about the markets you are tracking
- #ask-queries (OPEN) is where you can reach out to CMT Association or Optuma Staff for any specific challenge-related, non-market queries
- We may add new channels as the Challenge progresses
- Remember that to participate in the challenge you HAVE TO register on cmtic.optuma.com
- Participation is exclusive to
- Active CMT Candidates
- Students of CMT’s Academic Partner Program institutions
- Participation is exclusive to
- Remember that this is a public space and everyone will be able to see your posts, so be nice.
Happy Investing!
Contact Us
For all questions you have with regards to the Investment Challenge, you can:
- Post your questions on Discord under the CMT Investment Challenge
- Tag any of the contacts listed below
JOEL PANNIKOT
Head: Asia Pacific, CMT Association
Managing Director: Chartered Market Technician Pvt. Ltd.
Competition User Guide