What does DMA stand for?
| Full form | Displaced Moving Average |
|---|---|
| Category | Finance & economics |
| Type | Initialism |
The initialism DMA stands for Displaced Moving Average in chart-study terminology. It is a moving average displayed at shifted chart positions.
The thinkorswim DMA study describes a simple moving average shifted forward or backward. The averaging window and the displacement are separate parameters. Moving an average’s display position does not change its already calculated value or turn it into a future observation. Our fictional exercise declares its own position convention: positive shifts move to later numbered positions, and negative shifts move to earlier ones.
Meaning in context
- Displaced
- The display position is shifted. This does not by itself create new data.
- Moving Average
- The calculated series being repositioned. The example here uses a stated simple-average method.
Practical examples
Separate window and shift
- Before
A three-position displacement means the average necessarily uses three observations.
- After
The window controls which observations are averaged; displacement controls where those values are shown.
Two independent settings can happen to use the same number without meaning the same thing.
Read a shifted value
- Before
An average displayed beyond the last observed day is the future closing price.
- After
It is an existing average drawn at a shifted position; no future closing observation has been supplied.
Positioning a calculation is not a forecast or a newly observed result.
Original illustrative examples, not quotations or reports of actual events.
Use DMA with clarity
If a moving average is shifted to a later chart position, has a future price been calculated?
See all guidance
Read the period
Identify the averaging window.
The invented average uses the latest three available values.
Read the displacement
State the direction convention explicitly.
Here, a positive shift moves the label to a later numbered position.
Describe the result
Preserve the value while describing its new position.
The same average value is shown at a different position.
Compare the average values before and after changing only their display positions.
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By AcronymIndex Editorial Team · Editorial policy