2020 Volume 27 Issue 2

a newsletter for the colleagues of the International Federation of Technical Analysts

IN THIS ISSUE

President’s Report to Colleagues

1

President’s Report to Colleagues

2

Member News

Education Lounge
3

Heikin-Ashi Insights

7

Evidence of Long-Term Structure in
Financial Market Prices

10 Flexibility of Elliott Wave
15 Register Now for the 33rd Annual IFTA
Conference!
15 MFTA and CFTe Exam Dates
15 Congratulations New CFTes
16 Congratulations New MFTAs
17 2020 IFTA Board of Directors Nominations
18 Calendar-at-a-Glance
21 Member Societies
21 Board of Directors

Next Issue: December 2020
Submission Deadline: November 15
Education Lounge articles: Send
submissions to newsletter@ifta.org.
All other content: Send submissions toadmin@ifta.org.
Advertise in the UPDATE and reach morethan 7,000+ IFTA colleagues worldwide.
For more information, go to www.ifta.org.

The IFTA UPDATE is a publication of the International
Federation of Technical Analysts, Inc. www.ifta.org, a notfor-profit professional organization incorporated in 1986.
International Federation of Technical Analysts
1300 Piccard Drive, Suite LL 14
Rockville, MD 20850 USA
Email: admin@ifta.org • Phone: +1 240-404-6508

Dear IFTA Colleagues,
I hope that my letter
this month continues tofind you, your families,
friends, loved ones andthe entire IFTA community both safe and wellduring these exceptionally difficult times.
September marks the eighth month since
the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite global pessimism, the U.S. equities
soared to new highs while the rest of the
global market, otherwise seeing their fairshare of recovery, lagged behind. Further
measures and attempts are seen by governments to push back and just start theirotherwise fragile economies; the full extent
of the pandemic’s economic repercussions
have not yet been revealed. Technical analysis asset allocation and money management continue to prove ever more vital toasset managers, traders, and private investors alike.

33 rd Annual IFTA Conference (2020)
UpdateAs most of you all know by now, the countdown for our next IFTA (online) conference
has begun. We are just a few weeks awayfrom the conference commencement on
the 24th of October, 2020. The IFTA AGM
will take place on Saturday, October 17th.
We are also happy to announce that almost
all of our keynote speakers have now been
confirmed including John A. Bollinger, Larry
Williams, and Dr. Van Tharp, to name a few.
On behalf of IFTA, I hope that you will enjoy
the conference sessions at the 33rd Annual(online) IFTA Conference. For informationon the conference, please visit https://iftaconference2020.vtad.de/

A Message to All IFTA Member Societies

One of our key objectives (if not the mostimportant one) of this year’s conference isto promote society membership growth, but
we can’t do this without your support. This
is why we ask you to announce, advertise,

IFTA 2020 Annual General Meeting
Saturday, 17 October (time TBA)
Virtual (Online)
All IFTA colleagues are encouraged
and invited to attend. For further
information, contact IFTA Staff.
and promote this conference in your local
area as well as raise awareness of its importance, even in your respective regions.
Last, but not least, I would like to thankall member societies who have shared
updates and news from their local societies. Sharing information, knowledge, andexperience is and will always be, in spirit,
the reason why IFTA continues to exist.

Best regards,

Mohamed El Saiid, CFTe MFTA
IFTA President

IFTAUPDATE 2020 Volume 27 Issue 2

page 2

Member NewsThe Society of Technical Analysts (STA) (United Kingdom)
The STA continues to adapt to the “new normal,” with ourmonthly meetings being held as online webinars until
January 2021. Members can watch live or at a later time.
Taking advantage of the virtual aspect of the meetings,
we have invited a range of international speakers, including David Keller, chief market strategist, Stockcharts.
com, and Dr. Ernest Chan, managing member, QTS
Capital Management. Upcoming speakers include
Charlie Morris, chief investment officer, ByteTree AssetManagement, and renowned author Jack D. Schwager,
who will be interviewed by Steven Goldstein, co-founderof the AlphaMind podcasts.
The education team did not let lockdown prevent students from becoming qualified and, following the leadof many in the educational world, adapted the exams toenable students to sit for the exam in their own homes
under Zoom invigilation for 2020. The processes adopted
were so successful for the latest cohort of Part 1 and 2
candidates that the education team is considering moving all exams online permanently.
The STA Diploma Part 1 Course that starts on 14 Octoberwill be held online for the first time in its history in
response to continuing advice to limit public transport
where possible. The lectures will be delivered live via
Zoom webinar and will be fully interactive, with students
being able to ask questions as they would in a classroom.
Any students unable to watch live will be able to catch
up with a recording post-event and email the STA officewith any questions. They may also post questions on the
STA Student Forum, which will be answered by course
lecturers. Provision has been made for candidates to sit

for the exam(s) in their own personal space, using Zoom
invigilation.
The dates remain the same for six evening lectures andan exam preparation session, commencing Wednesday
14 October 2020, finishing Wednesday 25 November
2020. The sessions will be held from 6.30 pm–8.00 pm.
Near the time students will be sent login details for thewebinar. The Diploma Part 1 examination will take place
during the daytime on Monday 7 December 2020.
The advantage to moving the course online is that students who live too far from London to attend the classes
will be able to benefit from live lectures (or access thempost-event). Visit https://www.sta-uk.org/education/ formore details.
We wish all our IFTA colleagues well during this challenging time. Keep in touch with us via our online blog andfollow us on Twitter @STA_ORG, connect on LinkedIn,or like our Facebook page.

IFTAUPDATE 2020 Volume 27 Issue 2

page 3

Education Lounge

Heikin-Ashi Insights
By Stefano Gianti
Many technical analysts know about HeikinAshi candles. Over time, I have found them
to be among the best tools available to try
to understand when a trend reversal is taking place and to highlight significant levels of
support and resistance.
They provide a sense of smoothness, as they
do not show the OHLC but the “typical price”.
We calculate them as follows:
HA_Close = (Opening + High + Low + Close) / 4
HA_Open = (previous HA_Open + previous
HA_Close) / 2
HA_High = Max(High, HA_Open, HA_Close)
HA_Low = Min(Low, HA_Open, HA_Close)
The Heikin-Ashi (which means “average
candle”) do not represent real prices, likethe bars, or the more classic Japanese candlesticks. It is a tool that helps us to understand when something is changing in thetrend. They regularly measure the distance
between the prices of the last two candlesticks. To make a comparison with anotherleading technical analysis indicator, it is as if
we have levels of pivot points that are continually updating, candle after candle, in a
dynamic way.
Chart 1IFTAUPDATE 2020 Volume 27 Issue 2

page 4

Education Lounge

Heikin-Ashi Insights continued

In Chart 1, a daily chart of the S&P 500, forexample, there are 10 trend reversals with
the Heikin-Ashi (I am referring to the visualcolour changes of the candles), compared tomore than 60 colour changes from one of theconventional candlesticks. This is to reiteratethat the Heikin-Ashi does not reflect the actual
OHLC prices, and therefore, they can be taken
as a valid indication to catch the reversals of atrend, even if with an inevitable delay.
Incidentally, the examples shown in this chart
are a slowed-down version of the Heikin-Ashi.
For this reason, trends stand out even better.
To better digest this graphic representation,
I propose the same chart with the classic
Japanese candlestick display and an indicator that shows the same price reversals of the
Heikin-Ashi (see Chart 2).

Chart 2The levels highlighted by the x-shaped indicator, in addition to underscoring price reversals, will also be used as future support
or resistance levels.

IFTAUPDATE 2020 Volume 27 Issue 2

page 5

Education Lounge
To definitively simplify the graphical representation, we have therefore created a moving average that reverses its trend just when the
Heikin-Ashi does (see Chart 3).

This Heikin-Ashi moving average changes trend (and therefore
colour) just on the reversals of the
Heikin-Ashi, as it happened in
Chart 1.
When the trend is bullish, the moving average is blue. If it is bearish,
it is red.
The linear chart of the S&P 500(above) offers a straightforward
graphic representation.
The reader will have learned theconcepts so far:
 The Heikin-Ashi show pricerever sals, albeit with aninevitable delay.
 The reversal levels will be future
support/resistance levels.
Add it now:

Chart 3

 Hekin-Ashi candles provide
essential information about
volatilit y. A s long as the
maximum-minimum distanceof candles is considerable, thetrend is still strong. When candles
are extremely short, a reversal islikely to be forthcoming.

IFTAUPDATE 2020 Volume 27 Issue 2

page 6

Education Lounge
Working for financial intermediaries for 10 years, I can say with confidence that oneof the most frequent mistakes made by traders is to try to detect price reversals tooquickly (for example, opening a short position only because the price has over-run).
Heikin-Ashi candles are a valuable tool to reduce this error as much as possible.
If interpreted correctly, they can also provide a comprehensive way to ride a pricetrend from its beginning and exit the position when the trend is losing strength.
We will go into more detail in a follow-up article about how to use this type of study
with a multi-timeframe approach.
Stefano Gianti is the education manager for Swissquote Bank, a world leader
in online trading. His training sessions focus on the correct management of
portfolio risks and maximizing profits through the use of CFDs on equity indices,
commoditie,s and currencies. His analysis also focuses on the macroeconomic
situation of the markets and related events that could influence them. He is amember of SIAT (Italian Society of Technical Analysis). He is hosted on a weekly
basis by CNBC, RAI television, and other networks on the expectations andtrends of the financial markets.

IFTAUPDATE 2020 Volume 27 Issue 2

page 7

Education Lounge

Evidence of Long-Term Structure in Financial Market Prices
By Daan Joubert

It is a widely accepted belief in financial markets that, because prices change randomly,
it is not possible to use the history of a price for predictions about its future behaviour.
This is one of the conclusions of the Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH), for close to
50 years the premier description of financial markets, and it is backed by extensive
research. This belief is also the reason why the practice of technical or chart analysis
is at best only tolerated in academic circles as a not fully trusted means to assist in
the timing of market-related decisions. The difficulty of predicting market prices is thetheme of the 2013 Prize in Economics.
New light is cast on this problem in a paper recently published in a South African
peer-reviewed academic journal. It provides conclusive evidence of an accurate andconsistent structure in the prices of five financial markets that span many decades.
Where accurate structure can be identified, there is predictability. The paper presents
examples that were generated by a near automatic procedure, which implies a minimumof intervention by the analyst so that the analysis can be performed by someone withminimal training.
The identifying feature of this phenomenon is that market prices tend to change direction
along straight lines, known as “preferred gradients.” Many such preferred gradients canbe identified in a financial time series. They share a relationship through the Fibonacci
ratio. When a known preferred gradient is either increased or decreased by this ratio,
the result is again a preferred gradient. The algorithm used to generate the examples
uses these two features in a simple two-step procedure to generate examples that
display an accuracy of better than 1% over many decades.

The essential element of the examples is known as “channel pairs.” These consist of
a set of three parallel trend lines that represent a known preferred gradient. The threetrend lines must be located in significant points on the chart, such as prominent trend
reversals, When these two conditions are met, the ratio of the two bands of the channel pair is likely to correspond to one of about a dozen well-known ratios that are seenin all financial time series. In the paper, the ratios of the channel pairs are accepted as
evidence of structure only when they correspond to the three most often seen known
ratios: the 500:500 of an evenly divided channel, the 382:618 of the Fibonacci ratio,
and the 400:600 ratio that is also often seen. 46 (85%) of the 54 channel pairs in theexamples match the three validation ratios within ±1%, a result hardly due to chance.
The remaining eight channel ratios also match known ratios, with one being a marginalcase at exactly 1% accuracy..
The paper is the result of decades of work on chart patterns, using custom software.
The main challenge was to develop a rigorous method of analysis to exclude any
suspicion of analyst bias in the examples. This objective was achieved by using thesimple algorithm mentioned earlier and properly locating trend lines only in prominent
points on the chart. All examples use the full history of the time series so that there isno selection bias.
The five time series are the monthly averages of the S&P 500 index, the dollar-rand
exchange rate, the Swiss franc-U.S. dollar exchange rate, the price of gold in D-markand Euro since 1971, and the daily chart of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. All fivetime series consist of many decades of price history, including the almost 150 years of
the S&P 500 series.

IFTAUPDATE 2020 Volume 27 Issue 2
Evidence of Long-Term Structure in Financial Market Prices continued

page 8

Education Lounge
0.5%. Provided that the three anchor points of a channel pair do not lie on a straight
line, its ratio changes as the gradient of the trend lines change. The ratio of the channel
pair is then determined by its gradient and the relationship of the coordinates in timeand price of its anchor points.
The construction of an example begins with the selection of the master gradient. Once
that is done, all the acceptable channel pairs that can be identified on the chart are fully
predetermined, provided only prominent points on the chart are used for the trend lines.
Here, the anchor points are marked with the letter “o.” Note that with lines P and S in
the high and low points of the chart, each of the locations of lines Q and R determines
two channel ratios. This is the first and less complex of the examples used in the paper.
The nature of the mechanism responsible for this phenomenon is not known. A possible explanation is that the observed structure is the phenomenon of emergence thatis found in many complex self-adaptive systems. An intensive search for evidence of
emergence in financial market prices at the Institute for Complexity in Santa Fé resulted
in no readily accessible reports of success.

Chart 1. Monthly average Swiss franc–U.S. dollar exchange rate. January 1971–November 2019

To ensure that the channel pairs have a preferred gradient, their gradients are derived
using the Fibonacci ratio from a master gradient—a trend line generated between two
prominent points that are quite far apart. In Chart 1 above, this gradient is generated as
the red trend line between the first and last prominent lows, indicated by an x.
The gradient of the blue channel set, which consists of two overlapping channel pairs,is the direct inverse of the master gradient. The green channel pair is steeper thanthe master gradient by three Fibonacci transformations, or 4.2 times. Lines A and P ofchannel pairs ABC and PQR are located in the first data point of the time series andare not visible. Six prominent anchor points were used for the eight trend lines, withthe high and low of the chart used for four trend lines as well as for one anchor pointof the master gradient.
The three channel pairs on the chart have channel ratios ABC 382:618, PQR 504:496
and QRS 602:398, which correspond to the three most often seen channel ratios. The
ratio of the pair PQR is exactly the Fibonacci ratio, and the other two are accurate within

The results presented in the paper validate the long held hope of technical analysts thatthe history of a price can be used to anticipate its future behaviour. The phenomenon is
also seen in charts of much shorter time scales, down to only a few minutes. However,existence of structure in market prices also has a direct impact on other fields of study,
such as the philosophical debate on whether we humans have free will, research inbrain physiology, and the psychology of large groups and more.
Accurate, consistent structure implies predictability over all timeframes. The presence ofstructure in market prices means that when a price gets to a known preferred gradient,
the probability of the next price change is no longer random, or 50-50, but could be
60-40 or 70-30. Some knowledge in advance what might happen can be very profitable.
Big Banks that dabble in the global market for financial derivatives, estimated by someto be in excess of $1000 trillion, do so confident that their counter parties are as uncertain about the future as they themselves. How would they react on knowledge that acounter-party in a transaction is using knowledge of where the market might reverse
its trend to set up the transaction to its own advantage?

IFTAUPDATE 2020 Volume 27 Issue 2
Evidence of Long-Term Structure in Financial Market Prices continued

The paper was evaluated and published by LitNet Akademies an online peer reviewed
academic journal. The abstract in English includes all the charts and tables as well asa hyperlink to a BASIC program with which the reader can replicate the examples anddo additional analysis of other time series. It is complete with a user guide and tutorials
to master the use of the program. Data input is in Excel .CSV format.
A second paper is in preparation. The time series used for the examples will comeas a much greater surprise for the field of economics in particular than those used in
the first paper. Here are links to the original paper and to the English abstract, both ofwhich contain the link to the internet where there is a complete version of the paper at‘LitNet Akademies’ in English.
© daan joubert August 2020
Daan Joubert studied physics at Potchefstroom University (now NorthWest U). He
was then lured away to computing and worked as software engineer for Control
Data. After subsequent stints in computer education and management information
systems, he developed his own version of software for technical analysis, whichsparked a new career—initially as entrepreneur and later as independent technicalanalyst. He was a founding member the Technical Analyst Society of Southern Africa(TASSA).

page 9

Education Lounge

IFTAUPDATE 2020 Volume 27 Issue 2

page 10

Education Lounge

Flexibility of Elliott Wave
By El-Sayed Owaidy, CETA, CFTeIn the spring issue of the IFTA Update (May 2020), we published an article titled “Elliott Wave Workshop—Counting and Forecasting for Gold Since 1920.”
In that article, we built our forecasting on gold based on the decline from $1,922.80 (the highest level of 2011) to $1,046 (the lowest price of 2015) unfolding as a motive wave, so it
is the first wave of a zigzag wave, which means that the rising wave [B] shouldn’t record a new high upper at the beginning of wave [A] at a level of $1,922.80. But it is known thatgold had recorded a new high upper of $2,074. So, the current corrective wave is not a zigzag wave but rather a kind of flat wave (expanded or running), and we should recountthe first [A] wave as a corrective wave not a motive wave. Please see how we made this using the flexibility of Elliott Wave without violation of any rule, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Count of wave [A] as a corrective wave

IFTAUPDATE 2020 Volume 27 Issue 2

page 11

Education Lounge

Flexibility of Elliott Wave continued

Forecasting Targets for the Current Rising Wave [B]Forecasting the nearest target
There is a strong guideline says that “in commodities, the longest wave between 1, 3 and 5 waves is wave number 5.” And according to Elliott Wave Principle, the developmentof wave 5’s length is sometimes related by the Fibonacci ratio to the length of wave 1 through wave 3, as illustrated with an extended fifth wave, as in Figure 2.
Let us apply this guideline to the price movement of gold. See Figure 3.

Figure 2: Length of 5th extension
wave relative to 1st and 3rd waves
lengthFigure 3: The nearest target of wave [B]IFTAUPDATE 2020 Volume 27 Issue 2

page 12

Education Lounge
Forecasting the farther targets
It is known that the target of the [B] wave of an expanding or running flat wave may reach 123.6% to 138.2% of the length of the [A] wave. If we apply this guideline to gold to get
the farther targets of the current rising wave [B], we will get targets at $2,125 as 123.6% to $2,250 as 138.2% of the length of the [A] wave, as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4: Targets of wave [B] of an expanding flat or running flat

IFTAUPDATE 2020 Volume 27 Issue 2

page 13

Education Lounge
Someone may ask why we didn’t not consider the decline that began in 2011 from the level of $1,922 and ended in 2015 at the level of $1,045, as having ended the fourth corrective wave, especially since it was revealed as a combination correction (W) (X) (Y). The answer to this question is very simple.
If the fourth corrective wave had ended in 2015 at the level of $1,046, then the rally that started from then and reached the level of $2,074 would have been revealed in the formof a motive wave, whether it was in the form of an Ending Diagonal or Impulse, but the reality appeared otherwise, as the rise that occurred appeared in the form of a three-wave
structure, (A) (B) (C), as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5: Structure of the current rising wave

IFTAUPDATE 2020 Volume 27 Issue 2

page 14

Education LoungeThis three-wave structure tells us that the current upward wave is the [B] wave, andthere is still another large downward wave as the [C] wave, which may return to thestarting point at $1,046 to complete the mother wave as a regular flat wave, or justreach a level higher than $1,046 to complete the mother wave as a running flat wave,
or extend below $1,046 to complete the mother wave as an irregular flat wave. (Pleasesee our previous article in the May 2020 issue.
Others might say that this three-wave structure so far can be completed as a five-wave
structure to make the wave become a motive wave!! And we say, this assumption is notcorrect, as the first bullish wave in this ascent that started in November 2015 from thelevel of $1,046 to July 2016 at the level of $1,375 appeared as a three-wave structure(see the yellow box in Figure 5). Such appearance of the first wave means that thelarger wave is a corrective wave rather than a motive one, as it is impossible for the
first wave of a motive wave to appear with a three-wave structure; it must be five-wave
structure. So, we believe that the current rising wave is the [B] wave of the fourth wave,
not the fifth wave.
El-Sayed Owaidy, CETA, CFTe, is a member of IFTA’s Education Committee, an Elliott
Wave lecturer at the Egyptian Society of Technical Analysts, and founder of theEgyptian Academy for Elliott Wave.

IFTAUPDATE 2020 Volume 27 Issue 2

page 15

Register Now for the
33rd Annual IFTA Conference!

MFTA and CFTe Exam Dates

Dear IFTA Members,

See our website for further instructions www.ifta.org/certifications/registration/

This year´s conference is a very special
one. The world is changing dramaticallyand rapidly in this new pandemic normalization. How we learn, share ideas andengage in business is now accelerating
into the next stage of digital evolution,from offline to online!
So, instead of opening the doors for somedelegates in an offline conference, IFTA’s
board of directors was strategic this year
by transitioning our conference to an
online format. By doing so, we are opening the doors for all traders and investors
worldwide—completely free of charge!
Under the motto 24 th . 24 exp . 24 hrs,
we will conduct a web-conference withwell-known and respected experts fromall over the world. Starting on October
24 at 9:00 am in Sydney, we will pass
the baton around the globe until theend of the conference at 7:00 pm in San
Francisco.
Meet keynote speakers Larry Williams,
John Bollinger, Linda Raschke and Van
K. Tharp as well as the experts from ourmember societies. Get all the knowledge
you need for your financial success, suchas technical analysis and trading andinvesting, as well as artificial intelligence,
cryptocurrencies, and trading psychology.

Certified Financial Technician (CFTe)—Level I
Date

Offered Year-round

Syllabus and Study Guide www.ifta.org/public/files/publication-downloads/IFTA_CFTe_Syllabus.pdf

Certified Financial Technician (CFTe)—Level II
Exam dates

Exam 2

Exam 1

22 Oct 2020

22 Apr 2021

Closed5 Mar 2021

Registration deadline

Compared to our recent conferences, thiswill be a rare opportunity to be part of thisyear’s main event for free and without any
travelling. So, register now for the conference: ifta-conference2020.vtad.de

Register at www.ifta.org/register/cfte2.php

I look forward to welcoming you on
October 24—wherever you are.

Application/Outline Deadline

2 Oct 2020

2 May 2021

Paper Deadline

15 Mar 2021

15 Oct 2021

Sincerely(Session 2) Register at www.ifta.org/register/mfta_alt_session2.php

Syllabus and Study Guide www.ifta.org/public/files/publication-downloads/IFTA_CFTe_Syllabus.pdf
For more information on the CFTe program, visit www.ifta.org/certifications.

Master of Financial Technical Analysis (MFTA)
Alternative Path Pre-Application Deadline

Session 2

Session 1

Closed28 Feb 2021

(Session 1) Register at www.ifta.org/register/mfta_alt_session1.php

Wieland Arlt, CFTe
Conference Director

Congratulations New CFTes!
Abdullah Wahid Abbasi, STA
Khaled Khalil Assy, ESTA
Lakshay Bhalla
Ila Nabila Binti Ali Badaruddin, STA
Sam Bloxham
Pui Lai Chan
Chan Lung Kwai Charles, STA
Alastair Jamie Craig, STA
Mayen Egbe, STA
Mohamed Fawzy ElSayed Ali AbdAlla, ESTA
Shawn R. Keel

Teng Liu
Angelo Loizzo, STA
Sven Erik Paloheimo
Jignesh Indulal Pandya
Saurabh Bharat Parikh
Marcel Antonius Adrianus Schouten, STA
Remus Sotelo
Vladimiros Spanos, STA
Henry Y Wong
Sean Roger Zwerger

IFTAUPDATE 2020 Volume 27 Issue 2

page 16

Congratulations New MFTAs
Mohamed Fawzy ElSayed, CETA, CFTe, MFTA
MFTA Research Paper Title: The Coefficient Moving
AverageMohamed Fawzy ElSayed, CETA, CFTe,
is a urology consultant in the National
Institute of Urology and Nephrology in
Egypt. He is also deeply interested andinvolved in the analysis of financial markets. He has five years of experience as
an independent investment strategist
handling his family portfolio.
As a private investor, Mohamed grew to believe that
achieving continuous portfolio growth is obtained by creating and improving a reliable money management trading
system, which can only be reached through integrationof two main success tools: technical analysis as the only
signal provider and, more importantly, statistics and programming languages for better diversification, allocation,risk management, and performance analysis.
In addition to holding CETA and CFTe designations, he
has acquired a professional diplomas in EconometricAnalysis of Time Series, Certified Machine Learning, andCertified Portfolio Manager as well as a master’s degreein Islamic finance.

Mohamed Mahmoud Khedr, CFTe, MFTA

Przemysław Smoliński, MFTA

Mohamed Khedr, CFTe, MFTA, has
worked as a senior technical analyst at
Prime Securities since 2014. He has over
12 years of experience in the Egyptian
capital market. Before joining prime
securities, he was a senior account manager at NAEEM Holding Co. Prior to that,
he worked as a senior technical analyst
at TYCOON securities. Mohamed started his career at
Mirage Brokerage Co. in the customer service department
and then became a broker, a research technical analyst,
and finally the head of the technical analysis department.
He also created a new department (call center) to answer
clients’ technical questions. Mohamed has a bachelor’s
degree from the Accounting Department of Faculty ofCommerce Cairo University. He has a brokerage licensefrom ECMA (Egyptian Capital Market Association) and a
CPM from EIMA (Egyptian Investment Management
Association).

A 20-year enthusiast of technical analysis
and trading, both professionally and asa hobby, Przemysław Smolinski got interested in the stock market in the last yearof primary school and still has been fascinated by drawing lines, designing, andcoding trading strategies. From 2000–
2006, he worked at mBank Securities,
and since 2006, he has been working as an analyst in
the brokerage house of the largest bank in Poland, PKO
BP—first in the Research Department and currently at theTechnical Analysis and Investment Advisory Department.
Invariably, since 2012, he has been considered one of
the best technical analysts in the newspaper’s “Parkiet”
ranking, and his analytical products three times got tothe short list of finalists in the competition organized by
the British magazine The Technical Analyst. Nowadays,
Przemysław is mainly focused on combining classicaltechnical analysis and statistical tools with the possibilities offered by automated trading.

MFTA Research Paper Title: Chart Patterns and Control
Your Risks Using Fibonacci Retracements

MFTA Research Paper Title: Number-Based Sentiment
Indicators

IFTAUPDATE 2020 Volume 27 Issue 2

page 172020 IFTA Board of Directors Nominees (Term October 2020–October 2023)
Wieland Arlt, CFTe

Nominated by: VTAD (Germany)
Current Board Member: Yes—IFTA
Conference Director
Wieland Arlt is a trader, trading coach, and trainer who
conveys trading approaches
that are easy to understandand implement. He is theauthor of the bestsellingbooks Risk and Money
Management – Simplified(German), Risk and Money Management for
Day and Swing Trading (English), and 55
Reasons to Become a Trader (German), as wellas numerous articles in leading financial magazines. He is a sought-after speaker and expert
at trader fairs.
Wieland is a board member of the Vereinigung
Technischer Analysten Deutschlands e.V. and isin charge of the chapter in Hamburg. He holds
a degree in economics.

Dr. Gregor Bauer, VTAD

Nominated by: VTAD (Germany)
Current Board Member: No
Dr. Gregor Bauer works as
an independent asset manager for private clients andcompanies in Germany. He
is also the president of theGerman A ssociation ofTechnical Analysts (www.
VTAD.de). Gregor authored
two books on technical analysis and covers aregular technical outlook on German TV. He
also writes articles on a regular basis for leading financial newspapers. He is specialized inapplying advanced candlestick techniques incombinat ion w i t h t radi t ional wes tern
techniques.
Gregor holds lectures on portfolio management and technical analysis at various elite
universities in Germany and Liechtenstein andruns seminars and workshops on technicalanalysis for institutional investors.
Together with a partner, he runs a successful,computer-based, medium-term ETF trading
system, which is now also open for institutional
investors.

Yukitoshi Higashino, MFTA
Nominated by: NTAA (Japan)
Current Board Member: No

Yukitoshi Higashino is chief
strategist of the Equit y
Research Team at DZHFinancial Research, aninvestment information service arm located in Tokyo of
Shanghai DZH Limited
Group. He leads development of technical strategies for client securities firms dealing in futures, ETFs, and CFDs.
His main responsibilities range from analysis
of major indices of the Asian and world markets and can extend to individual stocks. Prior
to this, he was a stock lending trader for foreign securities houses and a treasury stock
trader for Mizuho Trust Bank. He was also an
equity trader and a market analyst at a securities firm.
For many years, he has served as one of
NTAA’s board members and acted as an IFTA
liaison, and he has attended several past IFTA
conferences. Currently, he serves as NTAA’svice chair and as general manager of the CFTe
Education Department. He has served as one
of IFTA’s Education Committee members in thepast and made presentations at IFTA conferences in Vancouver, Lugano, Berlin, and Cairo.

Jeanette Young, CFP®, CMT, MS,
CFTe
Nominated by: AAPTA (USA)Current Board Member: No

Jeanette Young has been aWall Street professional
since 1981, when she began
her professional career with
Thomson McKinnon
S e curi t ies . H er c are er
includes portfolio management, syndication, option
strategist, hedger, operations principle, bondprincipal, pit trader, and general market trader.
Jeanette worked for the New York Board ofTrade and later ICE, where she wrote, produced, and aired two daily market reports
covering the financials, currencies, and softs.
She has been a frequent guest on FOX, CNBC,
Bloomberg, Yorba TV, CNN, and others. She
was a market maker in the FINEX ring (Russell
2000 ring) and became an expert hedger.
Jeanette was the first director of the CMT program for the Market Technicians Associationand is the past president of the American
Association of Professional Technical Analysts,
where she continues to serve on the boardof directors. She is the author of the Option
Queen Letter, a weekly newsletter, and is amember of ICE, COMEX, and CHX holdings.
She is also a member of the Adelphi University
Presidents Counsel.

IFTAUPDATE 2020 Volume 27 Issue 2

page 18

Calendar-at-a-Glance
Date

Host

Speaker

Location

Time

ContactMonthly Presentations from local and international speakers on a comprehensive range of topics (e.g.,

Topic

STANZ
(New
Zealand)

VariesVaries, or online

Varieswww.stanz.co.nz

Monthly Monthly Meetings are held monthly in nine cities across Australia. All monthly meetings are

ATAA(Australia)

VariesVaries, or online

Varieswww.ataa.asn.au

Monthly Monthly Chapter leaders and their volunteer members serve as ambassadors for the CSTA

CSTA
Chapters(Canada)VariesVaries, or online

Varieswww.csta.org

Monthly Monthly Meetings & Events: The STA holds monthly meetings in London, usually on the

STA

VariesOnline or One Moorgate Place,
Chartered Accountants Hall,
1 Moorgate Place, London

Varieshttps://www.sta-uk.org/resources/
meetings-events/

NANA

admin@ifta.org; https://ifta.org/

sharemarket, CFDs, options, futures, FOREX trading, methodologies, money management,
psychology).

free to members. Visitors are welcome to attend. Bookings are not required. Visitors arewelcome, first visit free.

and plan social and educational events for the area. Events include presentations by industry
professionals and technical analysis experts and peer learning gatherings. Chapters also playa vital role in their communities by connecting individuals and promoting technical analysis.
second Tuesday of every month, except for a summer break in August.

2020
Oct

Nov

2

Master of Financial Technical Analysis (MFTA), Alternative Path, Session IFTA
2 application deadline

NA

13Monthly Meeting

STA

Charles Morris, ByteTree Asset Webinar
Management

6.30pmhttps://www.sta-uk.org/resources/
meetings-events/

14

STA Diploma, Part 1 Course

STA

Multiple

Online6.30pmhttps://www.sta-uk.org/education/
sta-courses/

15

Master of Financial Technical Analysis (MFTA), Session 1 paper deadline IFTA

NA

NA

NA

admin@ifta.org; https://ifta.org/

172020 CSTA Annual Conference

CSTA

VariesAloft Calgary University, 2359 Banff Trail
NW, Calgary, Alberta

7:00am–
4:30pmhttps://csta.org/event-3893631

17

IFTA Virtual Annual General Meeting (AGM)

IFTA

NA

NA

NA

admin@ifta.org; https://ifta.org/

22

IFTA Certified Financial Technician (CFTe) Level II examination

IFTA

NA

OnlineNAadmin@ifta.org; https://ifta.org/
certifications

22

STA Diploma, Part 2

STA

NA

Online1.00pmhttps://www.sta-uk.org/education/
examinations/

24

IFTA 2020 Virtual Annual Conference–Powered by VTAD

IFTA/VTAD Varies

OnlineTBA

https://ifta.org/

1

IFTA Journal Web publication

IFTA

NA

NA

NA

admin@ifta.org; https://ifta.org/
publicatons/journal/

10Monthly Meeting

STA

Jack D Schwager

Webinar6.30pmhttps://www.sta-uk.org/resources/
meetings-events/

15

IFTA Update submission deadline for all news content (mid-December
release)

IFTA

NA

NA

NA

admin@ifta.org; https://ifta.org/

Continued on page 16

IFTAUPDATE 2020 Volume 27 Issue 2

page 19

Calendar continued
Dec

7

STA Diploma, Part 1

STA

NA

Online10.00amhttps://www.sta-uk.org/education/
examinations/

8Monthly Meeting

STA

To be confirmed

Webinar6.30pmhttps://www.sta-uk.org/resources/
meetings-events/

15

IFTA Update submission deadline for all news content (mid-March
release)

IFTA

NA

NA

NA

admin@ifta.org; https://ifta.org/

28

Master of Financial Technical Analysis (MFTA), Alternative Path, Session IFTA
1 application deadline

NA

NA

NA

admin@ifta.org; https://ifta.org/

5

Deadline to register for Certified Financial Technician (CFTe) II held on
22 April 2021

IFTA

NA

NA

NA

admin@ifta.org; https://ifta.org/

15

Master of Financial Technical Analysis (MFTA), Session 2 paper deadline IFTA

NA

NA

NA

admin@ifta.org; https://ifta.org/

Apr

22

Certified Financial Technician (CFTe) Leve II Examination

IFTA

NA

NA

NA

admin@ifta.org; https://ifta.org/

May

1

Certified Financial Technician (CFTe) Level II - registration opens for
October examination through IFTA website.

IFTA

NA

NA

NA

admin@ifta.org; https://ifta.org/

2

Master of Financial Technical Analysis (MFTA) Session 1 application,
outline and fees deadline

IFTA

NA

NA

NA

admin@ifta.org; https://ifta.org/

15

IFTA Update submission deadline for all news content (mid-June
release)

IFTA

NA

NA

NA

admin@ifta.org; https://ifta.org/

31

IFTA Journal Call for Paper submission deadline

IFTA

NA

NA

NA

admin@ifta.org; https://ifta.org/

July

31

Master of Financial Technical Analysis (MFTA) Alternative Path,
Session 2 application deadline

IFTA

NA

NA

NA

admin@ifta.org; https://ifta.org/

August15

IFTA Update submission deadline for all news content (mid-September
release)

IFTA

NA

NA

NA

admin@ifta.org; https://ifta.org/

2021
Feb

Mar

IFTAUPDATE 2019 Volume 26 Issue 4

page 5

Balance professional
development andyour personal life with
the STA Home Study
Course©
WHY PURCHASE THE HOME STUDY COURSE?
The world-class e-learning Home Study Course(HSC)© is written by leading industry practitioners,
making it one of the best online products available
on the technical analysis market. Whether this is
your first introduction to technical analysis, you want
to refresh your existing knowledge, or you wish to
become a qualified technical analyst, the STA offersa tailored Home Study Course as part of our portfolioof world respected courses preparing students
for our internationally accredited STA Diploma
qualification.
You can learn from the comfort of your home at times
that best suit you. Although website based, it is fully
downloadable and may be used online or offline via PC,
Mac, iPad or Android machines.

Since the HSC is International Federation of TechnicalAnalysts (IFTA) syllabus compliant it can also be used
to prepare candidates for both the IFTA CFTe I and II
examinations.

WHAT WILL IT COVER?

WHO IS THE COURSE FOR?

• The syllabi for both STA Diploma Part 1 & Part 2
examinations• 15 in-depth subject teaching units• Exercises to self-test progress• Exam preparation module & video• Advice on report writing.
...find out more here

The course is intended for individuals who want to use
technical analysis in a professional manner or who want
to become a qualified technical analyst and advancetheir career. Enrolll and start studying now!
For more details click here or contact the STA office on+44 (0) 207 125 0038 or info@sta-uk.org

WHEN WOULD YOU LIKE TO START?
Learn at your own pace rather than in a classroom - theHSC course is designed for those who need a truly parttime study option with maximum flexibility!
Buy now: £1,195.00

IFTAUPDATE 2020 Volume 27 Issue 2

IFTA Member Societies

AUSTRALIA—ATAA Australian Technical Analysts Association www.ataa.asn.au
CANADA—CSTA Canadian Society of Technical Analysts www.csta.org
EGYPT—ESTA Egyptian Society of Technical Analysts www.estaegypt.org
FRANCE—AFATE Association Française des Analystes Techniques www.afate.com
GERMANY—VTAD Vereinigung der Technischer Analysten Deutschlands e.V. www.vtad.de
GHANA—BSG Bastiat Society Ghana https://fbiresearchedu.org
HONG KONG—FTAA Financial Technical Analysts Association www.ftaa.org.hk
INDIA—ATA Association of Technical Analysts www.ataindia.in
INDIA—ATMA* Association of Technical Market Analysts www.atma.ac
INDONESIA—AATI Asosiasi Analis Teknikal Indonesia
ITALY—SIAT Società Italiana di Analisi Tecnica www.siat.org
JAPAN—NTAA Nippon Technical Analysts Association www.ntaa.org.jp
LEBANON—LSTA Lebanese Society of Technical Analysts www.lstalebanon.com
MALAYSIA—MATA Malaysia Malaysian Association of Technical Analysts www.malaysianchartist.com
NEW ZEALAND—STANZ Society of Technical Analysts of New Zealand www.stanz.co.nz
NIGERIA—TASN Technical Analysts Society, Nigeria www.tasnigeria.org
SCANDINAVIA—STAF Skandinaviens Tekniska Analytikers Förening www.staf.nu
SINGAPORE—TASS Technical Analysts Society (Singapore) www.tass.org.sg
SOUTH AFRICA—TASSA Technical Analysts Society of Southern Africa www.tassa.org.za
SPAIN—IEATEC Instituto Español de Analistsas Técnicos y Cuantitativos www.ieatec.es
SWITZERLAND—SAMT Swiss Association of Market Technicians www.samt-org.ch
UNITED KINGDOM—STA Society of Technical Analysts Ltd. www.sta-uk.org
USA—TSAASF Technical Securities Analysts Association www.tsaasf.org
USA—AAPTA American Association of Professional Technical Analysts www.aapta.com* Developing

IFTA Update Schedule

The IFTA Update is the quarterly electronic newsletter of the International Federation of TechnicalAnalysts, reaching more than 7,000+ IFTA colleagues worldwide. The Update is an efficient and costeffective way to communicate with IFTA’s member societies and colleagues.

PUBLICATION SCHEDULE
December Issue

All content due November 15

March Issue

All content due February 15

June Issue

All content due May 15

September Issue

All content due August 15

Send Education Lounge article submissions to newsletter@ifta.org. Send all other content to admin@ifta.org.
For more information and to advertise, visit our website: www.ifta.org/publications/newsletter/.

page 21

Board of Directors
President Mohamed El Saiid, MFTA, CFTe (ESTA)
mohamed.elsaiid@ifta.org
Vice President Middle East and Africa Tamer Gamel Edin Hassan, CFTe (ESTA)
tgamal@gmail.com
Vice President Europe Clive Lambert, MSTA, CFTe (STA)
clive@futurestechs.co.uk
Vice President Asia-Pacific Hiwon Yoon, Ph.D., CMTA (NTAA)
yoon@cmdlab.co.jp
Treasurer and Website Director Karin Roller, CFTe (VTAD)
karin.roller@vtad.de
Conference Director Wieland Arlt, CFTe (VTAD)
wieland.arlt@ifta.org
Director Francesco Caruso, MFTA (SIAT)
info@cicliemercati.it
Development Director Ron William, MSTA, CFTe, CMT (SAMT)
ron.william@ifta.org
Examination Director Saleh Nasser, CFTe, CMT (ESTA)
saleh.nasser@ifta.org
Membership Director Alek Jankowski, BE, M.Eng.Sc., Grad.Dip.Mgt. (ATAA)
Alek.Jankowski@ATAA.asn.au
Marketing and Webinar Director Tom Hicks, MSTA (STA)
tom.hicks@live.co.uk
Director Nik Ihsan Raja Abdullah, MSTA, CFTe (MATA)
nmihsan@gmail.com
Director Giovanni Trombetta, CFTA, Electronic Engineer (SIAT)
giovanni.trombetta@gandalfproject.com
Director Tomoya Suzuki, Ph.D., CMTA, CFTe, MFTA (NTAA)
tomoya.suzuki.lab@vc.ibaraki.ac.jp

Staff

Executive Director Charles W.L. Deale, FASAE, CAE
Senior Vice President, Meetings Grace L. Jan, CAE, CMP
Senior Member Services Manager Linda Bernetich, CAE
Senior Marketing Director Julie Hill
Production Manager Maryia Alenchyk
Managing Editor Lynne Agoston
Director of Accounting Services Dawn Rosenfeld

IFTA HEADQUARTERS
International Federation of Technical Analysts
1300 Piccard Drive, Suite LL 14
Rockville, MD 20850 USA

Phone: +1 240-404-6508
Fax: +1 301-990-9771
Email: admin@ifta.org