How to Become a Chartered Market Technician (CMT)

Find out if becoming a CMT is right for you and your career goals by reviewing the below information. You’ll find details on the steps to earn the charter, the benefits of becoming a CMT charterholder, and everything to expect during the exam process.

A Chartered Market Technician (CMT) is a financial analyst who has passed the CMT exam and earned their CMT charter. They have specialized knowledge in technical analysis and use fundamental and technical methods to forecast and evaluate financial market trends. They typically use their analysis to make buy and sell recommendations for their company and/or clients of the company.

CMTs often find professions in risk management and investment management, employed as portfolio managers, hedge funds managers, or financial analysts.

• The CMT exam is made up of three levels: Level I, Level II, and Level III.
• The exams must be taken in order.
• To become a CMT charterholder, you must also become a CMT Association member.
• Three years of relevant work experience is required to receive the CMT designation after passing all three exam levels.
• CEUs are not required to maintain CMT certification.

Earn a Bachelor’s Degree

Nearly any profession in the finance industry requires a bachelor’s degree, and the CMT designation is no exception. If you are interested in pursuing CMT certification, you must have a four-year degree. However, your degree does not have to be in finance or a related field. With that said, you will still need a strong understanding of financial concepts, reading comprehension skills, and analytical and math skills.

Gain Relevant Experience

You cannot earn a Chartered Market Technician designation until you have three years of experience in the financial sector. This experience should be targeted within the technical analysis side of the finance industry and must be full-time paid employment.

Register for Your Exams

When you are ready to register for your exams, you will need to also enroll in the CMT Program. The CMT Program requires a one-time $250 enrollment fee. Enrolling in the CMT Program is not registering to become a CMT Association member. Once you are enrolled in the CMT Program, you will be prompted to register for your first exam.

Registration fees are contingent upon when you register for the exams and CMT Association membership status. Non-members receive higher exam pricing.

Get specific pricing based on registration timelines and membership status on our helpful CMT Exam Fees resource page. Be sure to also check exam deadlines while considering when to register!

Note: You are not required to be a CMT Association member to register or sit for the exams, though you will need to become a member after passing all three levels.

Study for Your CMT Exams

The study materials you use to prepare for the CMT exam will play a key role in your success. And whether you prefer to study with digital or print text—or really start to grasp information with practice questions—UWorld CMT has study resources that will meet your needs.

When you study with UWorld CMT, you get access to prep materials that support multiple learning styles.

1. Get the Official CMT^® Curriculum in several format options including print, eBook, and Efficient Learning study text.
2. Practice answering questions with our test bank and mock exams. Use study mode to display answer explanations as you go or exam mode to hide answers and mimic the real exam experience.
3. Study on the go via our mobile app with online and offline access.
4. Learn essential concepts in just 30-45 minutes with bite-sized lessons that fit learning into your busy schedule.
5. Watch video lectures with supportive instructors.

Pass All Three Levels of Your CMT Exam

There are three levels of the CMT exam: Levels I, II, and III. Each level must be taken in order and is only offered in June and December of each year. Therefore, the fastest you would be able to pass all of the exams would be approximately one year or 12 months. (Level I exam in June, Level II exam in December, and Level III exam the following June.)

Please note that the 12-month period does not include your prep time for the Level I exam! Most candidates take approximately three years to sufficiently prepare for and pass all three levels.

Join the CMT Association

Although joining the CMT Association is not required to sit for the exam, you will have to apply for their Professional Membership status if you want to become a CMT charterholder. After enrolling, you must pay annual membership dues of $325.

Get References

To apply for Professional Membership status through the CMT Association, you must provide three sponsors. These individuals must hold membership status, and only one of your references can be affiliated with your current employment position.

Continue to Learn

Continuing education credits are not required to maintain CMT charterholder status; however, most successful CMTs are lifelong learners, enabling them to continue to excel within their respective positions.

A CMT designation informs the investment community, exchanges, and the public that you have mastered the technical analyst skillset. A CMT designation not only enhances your credibility and international appeal, but also allows you to become a top performer in your current or desired role. This often leads to higher salary potential, improved networking opportunities, and increased job opportunities.

Becoming a CMT charterholder offers many benefits, including the highly sought-after chartered market technician salary. Learn more about why become a CMT.

CMT Level I Exam

The CMT Level I exam is 132 multiple-choice questions, and two hours is the allotted time for completion. The CMT Level I exam will test your technical analysis knowledge by focusing on introductory concepts and industry terminology.

CMT Level II Exam

The CMT Level II exam is 170 multiple-choice questions, and four hours is the permitted time for test completion. During this exam, you will be expected to have a deep understanding of theory and analysis within technical analysis. The Level II exam builds upon the introductory understanding that will be tested in Level I.

CMT Level III Exam

Level III is also four hours of test time and is a mix of multiple-choice and short answer questions. To successfully pass the CMT Level III exam, you must be able to integrate the concepts and tools with the application of technical analysis. In other words, you will be evaluated on how effectively you can apply the concepts from Levels I and II in real-world scenarios.

Series 86 Exemption

The Series 86 exemption allows you to bypass the Series 86 exam if you have already passed Levels I and II of the CMT exams. To qualify, you must have been employed full-time as a technical research analyst since passing Level II, or you passed Level II within two years of applying for registration as a research analyst.