 Under its original name of Market Technicians Association, the organization was incorporated as a not-for-profit association in 1973, but began holding meetings since 1971.There were 18 charter members in 1973, but the three founders are considered to be Ralph Acampora, John Brooks and John Greeley.These charter members found that they were doing the same thing for a living (practicing technical analysis), and believed there should be an organization similar to the one that already existed for fundamental analysts.