The Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment has struck up a partnership deal with the Society of Technical Analysts.

The move comes hot on the heels of the merger agreement with the IFP. Professionals who hold the STA Diploma will get exemptions from specific CISI units and will be recognised as eligible for the CISI’s higher level qualifications. The STA has over 1,200 members.

The deal will also further the STA’s contribution to the CISI’ s qualification and professional development activities.

The bodies said the agreement would be “to work together on areas of mutual interest for their respective membership” and they “will promote common interests in advancing education and professional standards” in the sector.

They said it was “an important move which recognises synergies between the two bodies”.

A CISI statement read: “Technical analysis is the study of prices in the market place in terms of the balance of supply and demand for equities, bonds, currencies or commodities and their corresponding futures markets.

“Technical analysis is used by wealth managers and traders to improve the timing of their investment and trading decisions in the financial and commodity markets.

“The tools of technical analysis act as a radar screen picking up the forces of supply and demand in the market and, as such, can provide an extremely useful input into money management. Looking at technical indicators helps value investors, for example, to determine the size of their positions and when to start taking profits."

Lydia Romero, CISI global director of learning, said: “We are extremely pleased to be working with the STA to increase opportunities for both our memberships to widen access to our respective qualifications and professional development activities.

“Technical analysis is integral to market movement in helping investors to identify investment opportunities and to assess risk.

“It is exciting that our membership will now have the opportunity to improve their learning and undertake qualifications to enhance their expertise within the market.”

Deborah Owen, STA Head of Education, said: “We are delighted to have signed this agreement with the CISI. The financial community is increasingly using technical analysis as part of its investment process. We look forward to working with the CISI to promote a greater understanding of how technical analysis can be profitably incorporated into investment strategies."

The STA was founded in the 1960s and is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the promotion and understanding of technical analysis as a vital investment tool. The CISI was formed in 1992 by the London Stock Exchange practitioners. It has 40,000 members in 121 countries working mainly in the areas of wealth management and the capital markets industry.