MTA becomes CMT ASSOCIATION

Beginning July 15th, after nearly 50 years of service to the financial industry, the Market Technicians Association is becoming the CMT Association and updating the organization’s brand. As members of the organization, we cannot thank you for creating this remarkable home for the advancement of technical analysis. Committed volunteers and engaged participants are the reason our discipline has the professional respect we enjoy today. As we strive to uphold the vision of our founders while adapting to the rapidly changing industry, we hope that you will help us extend the reach of the organization by sharing this news with your colleagues, clients, and professional contacts.

The Association’s leadership including Board Members, founding members, and senior staff, recommended that members approve changing our organization’s name. Having carefully considered all implications of the legal name change, the leadership felt that it is imperative to rationalize the number of acronyms out in the industry. Pending approval by a vote of the Membership, you’ll see the new look and name anywhere we’re out in public, like our website, publications, digital webcasts, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Very soon you’ll see new signage and materials at your local chapters, as well. The new brand name better matches what we’ve become since the early 1970s: the preeminent global designation for financial professionals committed to advancing the discipline of technical analysis.

When our association began, we operated for years without a credentialing body, exam process, or charter. Since our legal incorporation in 1973, we’ve stuck with the Market Technicians Association. Although we slightly altered our colors in late 2015 as we built out the new website, we did not consolidate our two acronyms – MTA and CMT. Today, the CMT Program is central to the value of the Association as well as the professional identity of nearly all Members. The new name reflects our continued commitment to our global members and unique capacity to advance the discipline of technical analysis among industry professionals. Aligning with best practice allows us to consolidate the MTA and CMT acronyms for renewed clarity and notoriety of our CMT charterholders worldwide. Other than these visible changes, the association will continue to operate in its current structure with no change in staff or volunteer leadership. Your contacts for all ongoing projects and initiatives will remain unchanged. Furthermore, the mission and goals of the association remain unchanged. The CMT Association will continue to be a place for collegial discourse and exchange of ideas amongst like-minded professionals. Whether you are a charterholder or not, your Membership status will not change.

Our brand goal was to align with industry best practice. In our field, the notable organizations are all designation-centric (CFA Institute, CFP Board, CAIA Association, etc..) We also aimed to reduce confusion in the marketplace around our multiple acronyms; better matching our name to our core value proposition and the users we serve. A small team of staff and volunteers worked with professional designers to find something that appeared crisp, approachable, professional, modern, and connected.

The “M” of the logo creatively represents a barchart, but it’s stylized and emphasized through color to connote the importance of Markets within our name. The study of price  behavior is about markets in comparison to the study of fundamentals and the assessment of companies. Our decision to use the acronym in the logo was inspired by the diversity of our members. A “CMT” is a portfolio manager, a research analyst, a financial advisor, an asset allocator, a quantitative trading system developer, and many more things – but always a professional committed to advancing the discipline of technical analysis and upholding the highest ethical standards in the industry.

We hope you like this new look for the CMT Association! Look out for more updates and a broader industry presence as we continually try to better serve our members with the preeminent global designation and highest member value in all our programming and initiatives.