Dear ~~first_name~~

Welcome to the third edition of the ATAA Blast! Newsletter in 2024. I normally aim to publish the Blast! News in the first week of the month and contributions are very welcome from any ATAA member - especially from the Chapters, or the SIGs, or the network groups. In this edition of the ATAA Blast! newsletter you will see (with links for an easy and speedy goto to the relevant section below):

• ATAA National President's Update for May.
• ATAA website detailed update - With lots of information about the immensely useful and growing Resource Library, including the now hundreds of video session recordings from the SIGs and network groups.
• The hundreds of "old" technical ATAA Journals that some longer-term members might remember, are now available in the website Resource Library.
• Online Discussion Forums - This resource is now growing in popularity in the ATAA website (for ATAA members only - login is required).
  
• New Online Store - A place on the website to purchase invaluable recordings and study courses.
• ATAA National Board Update - The latest news from the national board of directors.
  
• List of ATAA Chapters, SIGs and Network Groups - more opportunities for the ATAA members.
  
• The ATAA Conference Working Group - update and results from the recent survey.
  
• Updates from the ATAA Chapters and SIGs: Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney, and SIGs (or at least from those that have submitted content).
  
• IFTA Update: Latest information from IFTA.
  
• TECHNICAL ANALYSIS article - An article on the usefulness of the 50 day MA.
  
• Detailed benefits for ATAA members.
  

Included toward the bottom of this month's Blast! News is a technical article discussin the usefulness, or otherwise, or the 50 day Moving Average. And the ATAA Member Benefits section at the very bottom.

As the national Marketing Director, I am including key marketing phrases in this Blast!, including the ATAA Tag line in blue below, and the ATAA Elevator Pitch also in blue at the bottom of this email.

We do hope you find this Blast! newsletter useful and interesting reading; but do feel free to tell us what you really think, and how we can improve it.

Robert B Brain

Blast! Newsletter Editor
ATAA Marketing Director
(and ATAA Life Member)

• Every video presentation and slide document back to 2015.
• Annual conference presentations, workshops, seminars and articles back to 2008.
• Selected higher quality chapter presentations and slides from 2008 to 2014.
• Older ATAA Journals and IFTA newsletters - Our longer term ATAA members will probably remember the huge colleciton of invaluable ATAA Journals that were published from 1990 to 2007 - a total of 100 professional documents. The edition of June 1990 talks about "The coming of age of technical analysis in Australia", as well as the birth of the "Australian Technical Analysts Association - A View to the Future", and the inaugural ATAA meeting event on Thursday April 26th 1990. This old Journal is well worth reading.
  

• What do we need to do to retain and members, and encourage them to renew their membership when it falls due?
• What do we need to do to attract new members into the ATAA?

• Majority of respondents favour both national conferences (60%) and online webinars (61%).
• Annual events are preferred (36%) over less frequent options.

• Spring is the most popular season, but flexibility exists.
• 2-day events are favoured over 3-day formats.
• Melbourne is the most popular location, followed by Sydney.

• Speaker expertise and relevant topics are the top priorities.
• Balance between venue quality and cost is important.
• Travel costs matter, but less than conference fees.
  

• Most respondents would prefer a Conference fee of up to $1000.
• Attendees are open to cost-effective venue and accommodation options.

• Single-day webinars are preferred.
• Attending from home or office is the most popular option.
• Topics like strategy development, charting tools, and risk management generate high interest.

• Attendees value practical and educational content with high-quality speakers.
• Cost is a consideration, but valuable content justifies investment.
• Flexibility in location and duration is desired, prioritizing compelling speakers and topics.

Chris Meakin and Robert Grigg
SIG Coordinators

• improve our understanding of the Forex environment with other traders;
• share our experiences;
• share information;
• review charts;
• talk about our trade setups and results; and
• informally network to support each other.

1. Chris Meakin presenting on System Development to Chart to Trading.
2. Adrian Schoo presenting on his system of finding trades to Chart to trade.
3. Frances presenting a Put Option she placed on CBA.
4. Gabriel Spacca presenting a Forex trade.

Robert Brain
ATAA Melb Chapter President and interim Secretary
(for the Council team: Paul Ash, Jim Haralambidis, Keith Mundy, Tony Hambling, Tony Leonard, Robert Grigg).

April Chapter meeting report - The Sydney Chapter meeting held on 15 April was a great success with Mary McNamara presenting her regular analysis of the domestic and overseas markets which was followed by Angela Osmond presenting “Is trading gambling”.  In her presentation Angela shared her trading journey including  the challenges that she has experienced and showed many charts that demonstrated that trading for her is no longer gambling and demonstrated that her trading plan has given her the knowledge and confidence to trade profitably. The in-depth presentation was greatly appreciated by all of us.

The Chapter bi-monthly dinner was held on 22 April which was great networking and discussion in an informal F2F restaurant environment which was a lovely change from viewing everyone via technology.

The Bigalow network enjoyed its monthly meeting focusing on applying Steve Bigalow's methodology to a range of charts. Members of the group shared their results for the rest of us to critique and learn from. See the ATAA Online Forum for relevant discussions.

The Forex network was having its inaugural meeting on 8 May.

Sydney Chapter Council

• Education articles: 15 May Send submissions to newsletter@ifta.org
• Society News: 15 May Send submissions to admin@ifta.org

• A Moving Average turns up (or it turns down).
• The price crosses (and closes) above (or below) an MA.
• Two specific MAs cross each other (Moving Average Cross-over).

• Which type of MA to use – Simple, Exponential, Weighted, etc.?
• What time period should be used for the Moving Average? Note that many charting software tools use 14 bars as the standard, or default, value.
• Should we be looking at daily price charts, or weekly? (Assuming that we are not doing intraday trading where we might use hourly charts or even shorter time frames).

The infamous 50-day (and also 200 day) Moving Average – Over the years I have often read about, and heard about, traders using the 50 day MA (and the 200 day MA) on a daily chart to assist with trading decisions.

I watch the CNBC business channel on Foxtel (ch 620), and especially the last half hour of the NYSE market trading before the market close, and the following half hour. During our winter hours in Australia, this is around 6am Melb/Sydney time. The commentators there often talk about the 50 day, and the 200 day, Moving Average. And they talk about these two MAs as offering a support level or a resistance level, to the market. And they suggest that if a security hits the MA, and crosses it, then many algorithmic systems will be triggered to participate in the market.

I have studied many charts of securities and the indexes on the ASX, and I have struggled to find any confirmation of such activity. So I wonder if this really does exist on the Australian market.

In the sample daily chart below of CBA bank, the green line is the 50 day EMA, and the red line is the 200 day EMA. Of course, this is just a portion of the total price data available, but when I have looked along the time frame for this stock and others, I have observed that when the share price crosses the 50day EMA, there is often a taller candle body and there is often higher volume – but not always. I have struggled to find anything convincing.

50-day MA Strategies – In my research on this topic I came across several relevant websites, one of which is this one which includes some strategy discussion and ideas: https://www.nirmalbang.com/knowledge-center/50-day-moving-average.html

QUESTION: Do you have any observations or experience with the 50-day MA, or any other MA, that can show it is as useful as it seems to be in the US? I have started a conversation on the ATAA website Online Discussion Forum – under the heading “Trading Strategies and Systems" (see it here). Feel free to post comments there in the forum. [ATAA members need to login to the website in order to see the Forum menu item].

• Invaluable education opportunities (with discounts for members);
• Huge and extensive Resource Library (access for members);
• Networking opportunities - meet with like-minded peers for trading and investing discussions;
  
• Special Interest Groups (SIGs) (only for members) - there are several;
  
• News and information;
• Online Forums;
  
• Annual ATAA Conference (discounted for members).