Pair Trading Lab shut down on 1 October 2026. Its website, pair database, backtester and analyzer are now offline. If you used PTL to find and test pairs, your research tools have gone, but your options haven’t.
We have built pairs trading software since 2008, so here is a plain guide for PTL users: what still works, what doesn’t, and the routes open to you now, including ours.
What still works, and what’s gone
According to Pair Trading Lab’s closure notice, PTL Trader keeps running. Everything that fed it new research has gone.
- Still works: PTL Trader. It is open source (GPLv3), runs on its own without the PTL website, and still trades pair portfolios through Interactive Brokers. It is free.
- Gone: the website, the pair database, the backtester, the analyzer, the portfolio tools and the API.
In practice, PTL Trader can keep running the portfolios you already have. What you can no longer do with PTL’s tools is find new pairs, or re-test the ones you trade as markets change.
Your options now
There are four realistic routes. Which one fits depends on whether you still need to research new pairs, and how much you want to build yourself.
| Route | What you get | Cost | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keep PTL Trader as it is | Your existing portfolios keep trading through Interactive Brokers | Free | No new pairs and no re-testing |
| Wait for Quantverse | The PTL team’s successor, now in a small beta for funds and independent researchers | Not announced | No public date for wider access |
| Build your own research tools | Full control, using Python and open-source statistics libraries | Your time and your data | You write, test and maintain the code yourself |
| Switch to a commercial platform | Screening, backtesting and Interactive Brokers execution in one application | A subscription | A new tool to learn |
If your PTL portfolios still behave as expected, there is no rush. Leave PTL Trader running while you decide.
Ultimate Alpha 3 as a Pair Trading Lab alternative
Ultimate Alpha 3 (UA3) is PairTrade Finder®’s desktop software. It covers the research PTL users have lost, and trades through Interactive Brokers as PTL Trader does.
| What you used in PTL | The equivalent in Ultimate Alpha 3 |
|---|---|
| Pair database | A cointegration screener, plus our Top 50 list of US stock pairs, refreshed each quarter and loaded straight into the software |
| Backtester | A built-in backtester for any pair you add |
| Analyzer | Ratio charts for each pair, with standard-deviation entry and exit levels |
| Portfolio tools | A watchlist that monitors every pair and flags entry and exit signals |
| PTL Trader | Semi-automated or fully automated orders into Interactive Brokers’ Trader Workstation, including one-click two-legged pair orders |
UA3 works with any instrument you can get price data for, not only US stocks. Through Interactive Brokers that means 175 markets in 40 countries and territories, by IBKR’s own count, subject to your market data subscriptions. Data can also come from IQFeed, and our Top 50 list covers US stocks. A subscription also includes a 4.5-hour, 14-lesson video course.
Start a 15-day free trial of Ultimate Alpha 3 →
Moving your pairs across
Most PTL users can be researching and paper trading in UA3 within an afternoon.
- Record your live PTL portfolios first. Note each pair, its entry and exit rules and its position size from PTL Trader, before you change anything.
- Start the 15-day free trial and connect UA3 to Interactive Brokers’ Trader Workstation.
- Add your pairs and re-test each one. UA3 builds its signals on the price ratio between the two stocks, so re-test rather than copying PTL settings across.
- Look for new candidates with the screener, or start from the current Top 50 list, which is included in the trial.
- Paper trade first. Run UA3 on an Interactive Brokers paper account until you are comfortable with its signals and orders.
- Never trade the same pair from both applications. PTL Trader and UA3 can run side by side, but on different pairs, or you risk duplicate orders.
Questions PTL users ask us
Is PairTrade Finder® connected to Pair Trading Lab?
No. We are an independent company and have published pairs trading software since 2008.
Can I keep PTL Trader and use UA3 as well?
Yes. They are separate applications and can both connect to Interactive Brokers. Just keep them on different pairs.
Which markets does UA3 cover?
Any instrument you can get price data for. Through Interactive Brokers that means 175 markets in 40 countries and territories, subject to your market data subscriptions. Our Top 50 list covers US stocks.
Do I need an Interactive Brokers’ Account?
No. UA3 can be used to generate signals on screen and by email (or CSV export), and these trading signals can be traded through any broker. Datafeed options include free delayed data from Yahoo! Finance or a third-party paid subscription to IQFeed (broker independent).
Do I need to write code?
No. UA3 is a Windows desktop application. You add pairs, test them and trade them from its screens.
What does the trial cost?
Nothing for 15 days. You add a card to set up the subscription, and nothing is charged if you cancel before day 16. The trial includes the current Top 50 pairs list.
Try Ultimate Alpha 3 free for 15 days
Start your trial from the sign-up box on our home page. It also gives you our free Pair Trading 101 webinar, which walks through how pairs are found, tested and traded.
Start your 15-day free trial →
Pair Trading Lab and PTL Trader are names of their respective owners. PairTrade Finder® is not affiliated with Pair Trading Lab or Quantverse. Details of Pair Trading Lab’s closure are taken from its own notice, as of 21 October 2026.
