Chartered Market Technician (CMT) Program Level III

The CMT Level III exam will test the candidates ability to integrate their understanding of concepts
identified in Level I studies with the practical application learned in Level II studies. The Level III exam
requires candidates to implement critical analysis to arrive at well-supported recommendations in an
investing/trading context. A successful Level III candidate demonstrates they are ready to apply technical
analysis in an institutional setting.
The CMT Level III exam is in short answer format and is computerized. Price information, data, and
charts will be on screen and printed copies will also be provided. All candidates must be pass the Ethics
portion of the exam to be successful.
Exam time length: 4 hours, 15 minutes
Exam format: Short Answer
The curriculum is organized into exam specific knowledge domains that provide a framework for
recognizing and implementing investment/trading decisions. CMT Level III exam tests the candidates
knowledge in seven domains:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Risk Management
Asset Relationships
Portfolio Management
Classical Methods
Behavioral Finance
Volatility Analysis
Ethics

CMT Chartered Market Technician | Level III

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CMT Level III Exam Topics & Question Weightings

1. Risk Management

a. risk management (e.g., basics of probability and

statistics, basics of modeling risk factors, number of
assets and impact on portfolio, managing risk through
correlation, value-at-risk, performance and risk
metrics, market volatility and fat-tailed distributions,
correlation and diversification, managing individual
trade risk, managing risk for an entire portfolio)
b. position sizing
c.

21%

quantitative and statistical analysis

d. system development and testing

2. Asset Relationships

a. intermarket analysis

18%

b. relative strength
c.
3. Portfolio Management

4. Classical Methods

sector rotation

a. portfolio management (performance measurement,

portfolio allocation, asset correlation, asset allocation,
alternative investments, risk management with
alternatives)
a. sentiment

18%

21%

b. market breadth
c.

market forecasting

d. price patterns
e. volume study and analysis
f.

candlestick analysis

g. oscillators or various technical studies

5. Behavioral Finance

a. behavioral finance

10%

6. Volatility Analysis

a. volatility analysis

7%

7. Ethics

a. ethics

5%

CMT Chartered Market Technician | Level III

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CMT Level III Exam - Learning Objectives

1. Risk Management
Chapter References For This Domain:
1 (Evaluation of) Triple Screen Trading System
2 Spreads and Arbitrage (Risk Reduction in Spreads)
3 Behavioral Techniques (Measuring the News, Event Trading)
5 Day Trading (Intraday Breakouts, Price Shocks)
7 Price Distribution Systems
9 Advanced Techniques (Volatility, Liquidity, Trends and Price Noise, Trends and Interest Rate Carry)
10 System Testing
11 Practical Considerations (Use and Abuse of the Computer, Extreme Events, The Theory of Runs)
12 Risk Control
22 Portfolio Risk and Performance Attribution
23 Hypothesis tests and confidence intervals
24 Data Mining Bias: the fools gold of objective TA
58 Statistics Summary for Chart Patterns
59 Fact, Fiction, and Momentum investing

basics of probability and statistics

basics of measuring risk factors
number of assets and impact on portfolio

correlation and diversification

value-at-risk
performance and risk metrics
market volatility and fat-tailed distributions
managing individual trade risk
managing risk for an entire portfolio
position sizing
quantitative and statistical analysis
system development and testing

CMT Chartered Market Technician | Level III

Explain how to measure probability of price change and

returns over a given time frame.
Explain how to measure risk factors such as news, volatility,
etc.
Explain the impact of varying the number of assets and
positions in a portfolio.
Analyze and explain the difference of risk between two
different asset classes
Critique diversification approaches based on correlations
Interpret calculations of VaR
Compare VaR calculation to confirm selection of stop
placement
Critique the use of performance and risk metrics based on a
given objective

Analyze fat-tailed distributions among returns data

Calculate the amount of money at risk of being lost in a
specified scenario.
Calculate the amount of money at risk in a portfolio based
on a specified scenario
Explain how to change the risk in a scenario by adjusting
the size of an investment position
Differentiate between random and nonrandom trends in
data from system performance.
Interpret data from a system test to determine lack of
randomness in the results

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2. Asset Relationships
Chapter References For This Domain:
3 Behavioral Techniques (Commitment of Traders Report)
13 Regression
14 International Indices and Commodities
15 The S&P 500
16 European Indices
17 Gold
18 Intraday Correlations
19 Intermarket Indicators
20 Relative Strength (Relative Rotational Graphs)

intermarket analysis

sector rotation

relative strength

Analyze correlations between two or more asset classes

Analyze and explain the difference of risk between two
different asset classes.
Forecast possible progression of a business cycle model
Explain the relationship between the business and financial
cycles
Identify leading, coincident and lagging indicators of
economic activity
Analyze and interpret relative strength of asset classes
Analyze and interpret relative strength of Stock sectors
Analyze and interpret relative strength of individual
securities

3. Portfolio Management
Chapter References For This Domain:
21 Analyzing the Macro-Finance Environment (Leading, Coincident and Lagging Indicators)
22 Portfolio Risk and Performance Attribution
32 Hedging with VIX Derivatives
59 Fact, Fiction, and Momentum investing

performance measurement
tactical asset allocation
asset correlation

alternative investments

CMT Chartered Market Technician | Level III

Explain the differences of various performance metrics and

why one is more suitable than another for a given
objective.
Interpret the Sharpe and Treynor ratios for individual
stocks and portfolios.
Evaluate performance data from returns generated by
investment or trading.
Prepare a recommendation or other response based on
asset correlation data
Explain the characteristics of different alternative
investment types and why a portfolio manager might
consider using them

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4. Classical Methods
Chapter References For This Domain:
3 Behavioral Techniques (Commitment of Traders Report , Opinion and Contrary Opinion, Fibonacci and
Human Behavior, Price Target Constructions Using the Fibonacci Ratio)
4 Pattern Recognition
5 Day Trading (Trading Using Price Patterns, Intraday Breakouts, Volume, Price Shocks)
6 Adaptive Techniques
7 Price Distribution Systems (Using Daily Distributions to Identify Support and Resistance)
8 Multiple Time Frames
33-47 Candlestick Patterns
48-58 Price Patterns
sentiment

Interpret investor sentiment from a COT data

market breadth

volume study and analysis

Identify and Interpret measures of market breadth

Forecast market trends and trend changes based on given
charts displaying any combination of classical methods
Forecast trends and potential trend changes in individual
assets (stock prices, bond prices, commodity prices etc.)
Evaluate and interpret price patterns
Calculate potential price targets
Evaluate price levels for potential support or resistance
Interpret volume signals
Identify early warning signals from intraday volume

candlestick analysis

Identify and interpret candlestick patterns

Validate a forecast with candlestick patterns

oscillators or various technical studies

Identify and Interpret signals from various oscillators and

technical studies
Identify and interpret divergence signals between two
price series
Identify and interpret divergence signals between a price
series and an oscillator.

market forecasting

price patterns

5. Behavioral Finance
Chapter References For This Domain:
25 Causality and Statistics
26 Illusion
27 The Story Is the Thing (The Allure of Growth)
28 Are Two Heads Better than One? (Beating the Biases)
29 The Anatomy of a Bubble
30 De-bubbling: Alpha Generation

Discuss cognitive limitations investors often face

Critique a given investment selection process for influence
of behavioral biases
Distinguish between cognitive errors and emotional biases
Identify key points for exploiting a debubbling process

CMT Chartered Market Technician | Level III

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6. Volatility Analysis
Chapter References For This Domain:
9 Advanced Techniques (Volatility sections)
22 Portfolio Risk and Performance Attribution
31 The VIX as a Stock Market Indicator
32 Hedging with VIX Derivatives

Contrast different measures of volatility Interpret changes

in volatility as a signal useful for forecasting
Explain how volatility can be an integral part of a market
forecast
Identify the subcomponents of portfolio volatility
Explain how portfolio volatility may be affected by
diversification
7. Ethics

CMT Chartered Market Technician | Level III

Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct

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**************************************************************************************
Listed below is an alternative reading list for the CMT Level III exam. The official readings are
contained in the forthcoming custom text published by Wiley due out in July. The CMT candidate is
responsible for knowing and understanding the entire list of reading assignments.
As part of our ongoing re-investment in the CMT Program, we have entered into a publishing agreement with
John Wiley & Sons to publish a custom text for each level of the CMT exams. Each level-specific text will be
available through Wiley in eBook format in July 2015. As our publisher, Wiley is working diligently to produce a
top quality offering as quickly as possible. We will continue to update you as we receive more detailed
information.
With any change to established practices, there are some challenges. Making the transition simple and easy
for candidates currently enrolled is one of our highest priorities. For candidates who have already purchased
some of the books from the required reading lists or for those interested in starting their preparation for the
October administration immediately, we have detailed a modified reading list below.
Please note, the content and curriculum topics covered in the books listed for each level will correspond to the
same learning objectives and topics as seen in the custom text that will be published by Wiley. The specific
readings and authors may vary from the reading list below. Both methods of study are equivalent and will
cover the same topics and prepare you for the exams.

**************************************************************************************

CMT LEVEL III Alternative Reading List

CMT Chartered Market Technician | Level III

OR

Wiley Custom Curriculum

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CMT Level III Exam Alternative Reading List

1. Elder, Alexander: The New Trading for a Living, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., c. 2014, ISBN: 978-1-118-44392-7
Chapter:
39
2.

Kaufman, Perry J: Trading Systems and Methods, 5th Edition, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., c. 2005, 2013, ISBN:
978-1-118-04356-1
Chapters:
13-23

3. Katsanos, Markos: Intermarket Trading Strategies, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., c. 2008, ISBN: 978-0-47075810-6
Chapters:
1-9
4. Ciana, Paul: New Frontiers in Technical Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., c. 2011, ISBN: 978-1-57660-376-5
Chapter:
2
5. Weigand, Robert A.: Applied Equity Analysis and Portfolio Management, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., c. 2014,
ISBN: 9781118630914
Chapter:
2 and 7
6.

Aronson, David R.: Evidence-Based Technical Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., c. 2006, 2007, ISBN-13:
978-0-470-00874-4, ISBN-10:0-470-00874-1
Chapter:
5 and 6

7. Burton, Edwin T and Shah, Sunit N.: Behavioral Finance, Understanding the Social, Cognitive, and
Economic Debates, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., c. 2013, ISBN: 978-1-118-30019-0
Chapters:
12-13
8.

Montier, James: Behavioral Investing: A Practitioners Guide to Applying Behavioral Finance, John Wiley &
Sons, Inc., ISBN-10: 0470516704, ISBN-13: 978-0470516706
Chapters:
15 and 17, 38 and 39

CMT Chartered Market Technician | Level III

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9.

Brown, Constance M.: Technical Analysis for the Trading Professional 2nd Edition, McGraw-Hill, c. 2012,
ISBN-10: 007175914X; ISBN-13: 978-0071759144
Chapters:
1-2

10. Nison, Steve: Japanese Candlestick Charting Techniques, 2nd Edition, New York Institute of Finance, c.
2001, ISBN: 0-7352-0181-1
Chapters:
10-17
11. Asness, Clifford S. and Frazzini, Andrea and Israel, Ronen and Moskowitz, Tobias J., Fact, Fiction and
Momentum Investing (May 9, 2014). Journal of Portfolio Management, Fall 2014 (40th Anniversary Issue).
12. Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct

CMT Chartered Market Technician | Level III

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