The Nippon Technical Analysts Association (NTAA) is delighted to be hosting the 2015 International Federation of Technical Analysts’ conference in Tokyo.

The theme of the Conference, “Continuous Progression in Investment Management”, will serve as the framework for the program. The creation of the world’s first futures market in Japan, the Osaka Dojima Rice Futures Exchange, gave birth to the concept of technical analysis in the 18th century. Since those pioneering days, analytical methods have never remained static. Technical analysis has markedly progressed from its humble origins -- and will continue to do so -- being infused with new ideas and techniques being developed continuously. These new ideas, combined with continual improvements to existing techniques, are what make technical analysis such a fascinating topic. Recently, modern technical analysis has been rapidly gaining ground and is significantly reshaping the landscape of the technical analysis community in Japan.

While Japan was the birthplace of a number of traditional technical analysis techniques (such as Candlestick charting, Ichimoku Cloud charting, Kagi-ashi, Renko-ashi, etc.), it has now one of the world’s highest concentrations of modern technical analysis practitioners and researchers. These new breed of technical analysis practitioners include traders deploying ultra-modern algorithmic trading platforms, and researchers developing world-leading sophisticated quantitative trading systems and investment models.

That stated, some of the most intrinsic elements of market rules have not changed, nor will likely change. The Conference will be programmed in such a way to give the delegates a clear perspective of how technical analysis has progressed and where it is heading in the next decade and the next century.

‘Omotenashi’ Conference for All Investment Professionals and Academics

The sub-theme “ ‘Omotenashi’ in Technical Analysis” will bestow the conference with a local flavor. ‘Omotenashi’ is a Japanese word which means “Selfless, harmonious hospitality”. We have decided on this sub-theme for the following reasons:

· NTAA is determined to make the utmost effort to ensure that the attending delegates will be thoroughly satisfied, fully benefiting from the intensely condensed conference program in a highly cordial environment.

· The ‘Omotenashi’ spirit has a lot to do with ‘simplicity’, the core of the Japanese culture and spirit, which forms the base for, just to name a few, Sado (tea ceremony), Zen, Bushido (Samurai spirit), Bonsai (miniaturized trees grown in containers), Ikebana (Japanese flower arrangement), and many other unique Japanese cultural arts and customs, and we would like the delegates to enjoy the unique local cultural flavor.

· ‘Omotenashi’ masters are skilled in foresight with the ability to “anticipate” the feelings of their guests and take action to ensure harmony (well before ordinary people notice), operating in the same way as market masters who know how to correctly “anticipate” future market developments and take action accordingly (well before ordinary market players start reacting to widely known facts).

· Mastery of the ‘Omotenashi’ spirit helps improves one’s trading skills by allowing one to focus on the “essential” rather than minor peripheral detail.

We have deliberately widened the scope of this conference to appeal to the broad financial community as well as the academic community, and not just technical analysts. We will be using our extensive relationships with other financial and educational organizations here and abroad to market the conference globally and are looking to attract delegates from all over the world.

The level of Conference presentations will be geared to professionally employed Fund Managers, Traders, Analysts, Asset Allocators, Private Bankers, Financial Planners, and also highly experienced private financial market traders/investors, as well as researchers and educators at leading academic institutions.

The Conference will be held at the Keio Plaza Hotel, a luxurious hotel located in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo, the business / commercial district which has the highest concentration of skyscrapers in the city.

We look forward to seeing you in Tokyo in October!