Originally published June 2000

Alaska is the “flyingest” state in America, having more pilots and airplanes per capita than any other state.  Alaska pilots fly through some of the most remote and demanding terrain anywhere in the world.  Imagine flying from Boston to Washington, D.C. in a small single engine airplane and crossing a mountain range larger than the Rockies through a remote mountain pass.  In addition, the weather can change suddenly and is only reported at Boston, New York and Washington, D.C.  Further, there are no roads to follow and the largest population center a pilot flies near is less than 1,000 people. That is a typical day in the life of an Alaska bush pilot.

Flying (like trading) is not in and of itself dangerous.  However, flying (like trading) is terribly unforgiving of ineptitude, carelessness or neglect.  National Transportation Safety Board accident statistics consistently rank “pilot error” as the

As we have learned over the course of many bull and bear markets, prices alone can sometimes be misleading, especially those of large-capitalization-weighted indexes. When the vast majority of publicly traded companies are not mega- or even large-cap companies, it’s important to remember that the stock market is actually a market of stocks. This is why measuring stock market breadth is so valuable.

Breadth in these terms is a gauge of “market internals” (i.e., how many stocks are actively participating in an uptrend). In the same way that a doctor with the right tools and experience is able to diagnose an ailment in an otherwise healthy-looking patient, we strive to do the same as it relates to the health of market trends.

There are many ways to examine stock market breadth, but one of the oldest and most incorruptible measures is the Advance-Decline (A/D) Line, which measures net advances defined as the

Exemption for CFA Charter Holder

At the February 13, 2018 board meeting, the TAN Association Board of Directors approved an exemption to CFA charter holders enrolling in the TAN Program for the TAN Level I exam, beginning in the fall of 2018.  Please note that the TAN Level I & II exams provide an exemption to FINRA’S Series 86.

CMT November- December 2018 Testing

Curently, we have over 860 members from 57 countries signed up for the next test administration period.  We encourage all who are thinking of taking the exam in late November and December 2018 to take advantage of the standard registration price and register by October 1^st.  Late registration is from October 2^nd to November 9^th.

The level I & II exams will take place November 27-December 5, 2018. The level III exam will take place on November 29^th.

For those who have already registered, please be sure to go to

On July 12, 2018, at Morton’s The Steakhouse in downtown Houston, the TAN Association partnered with GARP (Global Association of Risk Professionals) to host a presentation on machine learning and blockchain. Tucker Balch, professor at Georgia Tech and co-founder of Lucena Research, lead the talk on machine learning. Partha Chatterjee, Program Director at Shell, lead the talk on blockchain.

Members of the CMT and GARP learned how innovative technologies affect the financial and commodity markets. While some of these technologies were already in use in the financial markets, they are now permeating the commodity markets. Many global commodity trading firms are now adopting both blockchain and machine learning.

Attendees loved the interactive format. They were able to ask questions pertaining to how these technologies affect their work, and how they may benefit from them. Overall, this event brought members of different organizations together for a fun and educational experience.

Adin Gosine
Co-Chair, Houston