About
Mathew Verdouw, CMT, CFTe
CEO and Founder of Optuma. Building technical-analysis software since 1996. Teaching all three CMT levels since 2016.
Within a year of graduating from University, I started Optuma (back then it was ‘Market Analyst’) — a financial analysis software tool for analysts and traders of financial markets. Over the years with the skilled team at Optuma, we’ve created value for our clients, and continue to do so as we seek to push the boundaries of what our software can achieve.
Optuma started in June 1996. Thirty years on, the business has grown entirely on its own cashflow — no debt, no outside equity — into a premium platform for professional analysts and fund managers worldwide. The team works across Brisbane, the US, and London.
My primary focus is building tools and services that enable our Optuma clients to quickly and easily find investment opportunities using technical analysis, with the ability to measure the merit of those opportunities using quantitative analysis.
I’m privileged to both learn from and share my knowledge and skills with private traders, RIAs, Wall Street departments, and some of the largest hedge funds in the world.
Building powerful technical analysis tools since 1996 has led me to become an expert on the subject matter. I’ve enjoyed speaking at Technical Analysis / Trading events over the years. In 2016 I started teaching the Technical Analysis curriculum to professionals preparing to sit the CMT exams.
In more recent years, my focus has been on the quantification of Technical Analysis and building tools that allow any technical analyst to use quantitative models in their workflow. More recently, I've been applying that same thinking to professional funds management — bringing quantitative process to portfolio managers and advisors who already have a real investment process, while leaving the manager firmly in charge of the decision. The quant ranks and reasons. The manager decides.
My greatest skill has always been seeing solutions others cannot see. I’m always questioning why things are the way they are. If there is a better way, I will find it.
Credentials
Education and certifications.
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B.Eng (Hons)
Computer Systems Engineering — RMIT, 1991–1994
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CMT
Chartered Market Technician — Dec 2013, MTA NY
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CFTe
Certified Financial Technician — Mar 2015, IFTA
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CAIA candidate
In progress
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CMT curriculum author
RRG chapters + 4 quant/risk units (2024)
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Teaches all three CMT levels
The only person in the world currently doing so
Testimonials
What people say.
“I've had the privilege of knowing Mathew for 10 years now, and not just as the CEO of my favorite technical analysis software, but as a visionary, a teacher, and one of the most dynamic speakers I've ever seen take the stage. He's one of those rare minds who doesn't just understand technical analysis... he sees the architecture behind it.”
“I've known Mathew through my work with the Market Technician Association and by recently inviting him to speak at the Orlando MTA Regional Chapter Speaker series on the topic of Relative Rotation Graphs (RRG). His presentation skill reflects this character trait with an engaging yet humble delivery approach that steers clear from any marketing tendency.”
“Bennett and I have known Mathew for many years, since 2006. We can sincerely say that he is a technological genius as well as being a pleasure to partner with.”
“Mathew is a true pioneer in the industry, dedicated to creating the best trading tools and applications for the most demanding multi-level user.”
“On a professional level it is rare in business to find someone with high values and integrity and Mathew is certainly one of those people. I've been dealing with Mathew now for more than a decade and always found him genuinely open, honest and interested in my business and its success.”