2025 Charles H. Dow Award

Eligibility
The competition is open to anyone with an interest in technical analysis. By submitting a paper the author consents to the following terms of the competition.  

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Standards of Judgment
A.) A paper will be judged according to the following standards:

1. The paper is based upon the concepts of technical analysis and provides a complete and practical application of the topic being presented
2. The subject of the paper should be directly related to a topic included in the Body of Knowledge of the Chartered Market Technician program.
3. If feasible, testing should be done to demonstrate the value of the idea. The test period should include data from at least one complete market cycle to allow for the evaluation of the idea in bull and bear markets. The amount of data needed will vary with the timeframe being tested. Tests of monthly data will usually require a longer test period than tests of intraday data to include a complete market cycle. All tests should include a sufficient number of signals to demonstrate the concept is statistically significant, generally at least 30 signals.
4. All tests should include recent data with the end of the data being no later than one year before the paper submission deadline.
5. The writing meets generally accepted standards of style for professional publications and academic level writing. The judges will use the submission requirements of the Journal of Technical Analysis to determine if a paper meets this standard.
6. The analysis and conclusions are useful and enhance the understanding of market action.
7. A paper should be written so that an audience of knowledgeable technical analysts can apply the principle defined in the paper based solely on the content of the paper.

 
B.) Materials that have been prepared for specific research purposes, in addition to longer form research previously included in the CMT Association’s Journal of Technical Analysis, monthly newsletter Technically Speaking, and/or the Educational Web Series are ineligible for submission.
Examples of materials prepared for research purposes include: materials prepared for academic websites, materials published on non-commercial sites, and papers prepared as research for clients (i.e. whitepapers).

Work that has been published for commercial exposure (i.e. work that has been published in magazines, newspapers, or commercial websites) is not eligible and as such, will not be considered.

Style & Format
The text must be a persuasive and conclusive presentation of the subject. Charts, tables, and figures should be used to exemplify or supplement the text and should not be the primary means of conveying the author’s points.

Charts, tables, and figures should be placed in appropriate sections of the text and shall be individually labeled in numerical sequence. When it is not possible to do so, they shall be presented in appendices.

Statistical supplements are encouraged. Papers should generally be between 5 and 20 pages in length with additional supporting material placed in statistical supplements as needed.

All references to the author’s name shall be removed from the text, footnotes and all supplementary material. All references to other materials and indicators created by the author shall be removed or disguised in such a manner that the judging panel cannot identify the author.

The judging panel will not consider any paper that does not comply with these guidelines.

Judging Panel
The judging panel will be selected from prior winners of the Charles H. Dow Award, full Members of the CMT Association, and representatives of sponsoring organizations. Members of the Board of Directors of the CMT Association, with the exception of the editorial board of the Journal of Technical Analysis, shall not be eligible to serve on the judging panel. The chair of the Award Committee will be a non-voting member of the judging panel. No author shall ask for or receive assistance of any kind from a member of the judging panel.


Decisions of the Judging Panel
The decisions of the judging panel will be final and without recourse for reconsideration by the judging panel, the CMT Association, or sponsoring organizations. Prior to announcing a decision, the judging panel may in its discretion ask an author to revise a submission. The judging panel also reserves the right not to select a winner, for the given year, if it deems that there are no submissions that are worthy of being given the award.

Cash Prize
The recipient will receive a cash prize of USD $5,000 and will be invited to present the winning paper at the CMT Association’s Annual Symposium in New York City. If applicable, all federal, state, and local taxes shall be the sole responsibility of the recipient. The paper or a summary may be published in the Journal of Technical Analysis, our Technically Speaking e-newsletter, the CMT Association’s website, and the CMT Association’s Knowledge Base. At the discretion of the judges, the authors of runner-up papers will receive certificates.


Decisions of the Judging Panel
The CMT Association may publicize the award, its recipients’ names (but not necessarily their places of employment) and all or part of the winning paper or runner-up papers. Award recipients and runners-up may publicize their awards in an appropriate manner without undue enhancement.