The product
What PTQ is, who it is for, and what the one subscription holds.
What is PTQ?
A hosted workbench for testing your trading ideas, in your browser or through Claude. Build strategies, backtest them on available market history, validate them and place simulated practice orders. There is no downloadable full engine. Live trades go from the PTQ app on your computer to your own broker or exchange.
Who is PTQ for?
People with a day job who trade their own account. You want your ideas tested hard before you risk money on them. PTQ is software, not advice. We are not a broker, and we never manage your money.
Is this a signals service?
No. PTQ never tells you what to trade. You write your own strategy. PTQ backtests it, checks it, and supports simulated practice orders. If you trade it live, the orders go from the PTQ app on your computer to your own broker, when you choose.
Do I need to be a programmer?
No. You build a strategy from plain rules, not code: when to buy, when to sell, how big the position is, how much you risk. Built-in templates show you the shape of a complete strategy. The one you run is still the one you wrote.
What does the subscription include?
The hosted strategy builder, editing, backtests, validation, simulated practice orders and research loop, in your browser or through the licensed Claude connection. Pine study export is also included. Compute and support chat use the plan's credit allowance. The proprietary engine stays hosted. The subscription does not include a downloadable full engine or live execution.
Can I download the full PTQ engine?
No. PTQ is proprietary hosted software. Use the browser workspace or connect Claude to your licensed hosted account. The connector sends requests to PTQ's servers. It does not install the full engine or enable live execution on your computer.
Why are there no testimonials on the site?
Because we do not have real ones yet. When members say things worth quoting, with permission, they will appear. Nothing on this site is invented. That includes the praise.
Where do I start once I have paid?
Sign in to your PTQ account in the browser. Build a strategy from a template or your own rules, check the available market history, and run a backtest. You can also connect Claude from your account page. Research and simulated practice do not need a broker account or an engine download.
Quant mechanics
The maths inside: the validation gate, the optional module library, simulation mode and the review loop.
Will PTQ make me money?
We make no promises about performance, and you should distrust anyone who does. PTQ's job is the opposite. It uses the statistics professional investors use to show when a backtest is likely overfit: fitted to the past too closely to trust. Most strategies fail that test.
What is the probability of backtest overfitting?
A published statistic (Bailey, Borwein, López de Prado & Zhu, 2017). Try enough versions of a rule and one will look brilliant by chance. PBO estimates the chance that your backtest looked good by luck rather than by finding something real.
What is the deflated Sharpe ratio?
The Sharpe ratio scores a return against how bumpy the ride was. The deflated version (Bailey & López de Prado, 2014) corrects it for how many ideas you tried and for picking the best one. It also allows for returns that are not evenly spread. It asks whether the score still stands.
What is the out-of-sample holdout?
PTQ hides part of the price history while you design your rules. Your strategy is then scored on that hidden data. Doing well on the part you tuned against counts for nothing here. Every run shows you where the split was.
Why do most strategies fail the gate?
Most backtests are tuned to the past by accident. Common causes: data the strategy could not have seen at the time, testing only on companies that lasted, and settings fitted to noise. The gate catches these before money is involved, and tells you why a strategy failed.
Can I trade a strategy that failed the gate?
Review the validation verdict and its reasons before placing a practice order. A failed check tells you what needs attention in your strategy or test. Practice orders are simulated and remain subject to the account's checks. Hosted PTQ does not offer live execution.
What is the quant mechanics library?
Optional modules built on published quant research, each acting on your own strategy. The first batch includes purged cross-validation, a walk-forward degradation gate, a cost budget in Sharpe units and error bars on your Sharpe ratio. It also has mean-reversion half-life, a stationarity check and a Monte Carlo drawdown distribution with a ruin bound. Each names its research and its cost as well as its gain. None is a strategy or a promise about returns.
How does a module get into the product?
Through one registry. Each mechanic is a single entry naming its settings, their floors and caps, its research, and its upside and downside in plain English. The settings screen and the learn panel are both built from that entry, so a panel cannot describe something the code does not do. Every new mechanic ships switched off.
What is Simulation Mode?
You run your same strategy under two or more rule settings, such as with and without volatility-targeted sizing, on the same past data. You see equity curves overlaid, metrics and gates side by side, and a "what changed" list traced to recorded events. Nothing is sorted by return. Every page is badged as a historical simulation: it shows what a setting did to the past, not what it will do next.
What is the review loop?
A review of your recorded results that helps you decide what to test next. Generating a review does not change your strategy. You make the edits, in the browser or by asking Claude through your licensed connection.
What happens to the review if the engine is offline?
PTQ reports the unavailable calculation. Previously recorded results may still be available in your hosted account, but a new analysis needs the engine. It does not invent statistics or market history to fill the gap.
Do the modules ever change my strategy on their own?
The drift monitor flags a problem. The Kelly module suggests a position size only when your data supports it. These checks do not edit your saved strategy. You decide which changes to make, in the browser or through Claude. Research experiments and their results are recorded separately; review them before applying a change.
Execution and brokers
Paper versus live, the honest status of the live path, and which venues exist today.
How does paper trading work?
In your browser, PTQ simulates practice orders using available market quotes. You can also submit supported practice orders through your licensed hosted Claude connection. No broker receives those orders and no money moves. Every fill is labelled simulated. Available markets depend on configured providers and quote coverage.
How does live trading work?
Live execution is not available in hosted PTQ, including through Claude. Installing the connector does not enable it. Be clear on what exists today: the live path is an experimental single-shot Alpaca order path, never tested against the live venue. Automated execution, support for more than one broker, and production execution safety do not exist today.
Has a real live order ever been placed through PTQ?
Not yet. The Alpaca adapter is written and its refusal paths are tested, but no order has been sent to the venue in live mode. When one is, this answer will say so.
Does installing the connector enable live trading?
No. The connector gives Claude licensed access to your hosted PTQ account. It supports research and simulated practice orders. It does not distribute the proprietary engine or provide a path to live execution.
What checks does an order pass before it reaches a broker?
Hosted PTQ does not send orders to a broker. Browser and Claude practice orders go through the same server checks: licence, validation, risk limits, account limits and current price. Sending one needs explicit confirmation, and a missing or unsupported price blocks it. The fill is simulated and recorded in your journal.
Which brokers and markets?
Hosted practice simulates fills inside PTQ. No practice order is sent to Alpaca or another broker. Research history is fetched and cached from configured providers. Coverage varies by market, interval and date, and practice needs available quotes. Check the markets shown in your account for the task you want to run.
Does PTQ trade unattended while I sleep?
Only if you arm a strategy. The PTQ app on your computer can then trade it through your own broker, within your risk limits, until the arm expires. The research loop never places orders. Live execution is experimental and has never been tested against a live venue.
What is the autopilot control panel?
In hosted PTQ, the research loop is where you run strategy experiments and review their backtest and validation results. It does not arm a broker connection or place live orders. Practice fills remain simulated. Use the controls shown in your hosted account to run and review supported research tasks.
How do I arm a strategy for the loop?
Hosted research does not require a local engine or a live arm step. Choose a strategy and run the supported research task in the browser or through your licensed Claude connection. Review its results before deciding what to test next. Hosted PTQ does not offer live arming or execution.
What does the kill switch actually do?
The current hosted account has no live broker connection or global kill switch. Practice orders need explicit submission and use simulated money. Revoking a Claude connection blocks future requests from that connection; it does not undo completed actions or close positions. Live trading is unavailable.
Connector and routines
The Claude MCP connector, scheduled routines, charts and the TradingView export.
What is the Claude MCP connector?
It connects Claude to your licensed hosted PTQ account through the Model Context Protocol. Claude can build and edit strategies, run backtests and validation, place simulated practice orders and use the research loop. Requests and results pass through PTQ's servers. The connector does not enable live execution.
Can a message trick the connector into unlocking the product?
No. The server checks the credential and licence on each hosted request. It reads the account and credits from its own records, not from a prompt. Installing the connector does not issue a licence. Live-order requests are refused.
Can PTQ send me scheduled updates?
The hosted workflow lets you review your strategies, runs and practice results in the browser or ask Claude about them. It does not install a scheduler or a local engine on your computer. Desktop routines are not part of the current hosted offering.
What happens to a routine when I switch it off?
Desktop routines are not part of the current hosted offering. Browser access and the hosted Claude connector do not create operating-system jobs on your computer. Review supported research tasks and their results in your PTQ account.
Does PTQ have its own charts?
Yes. Candlestick charts of real market bars, with your strategy's entries, exits, stops, targets and in-position periods drawn on top. The same engine that runs your backtests computes them, so the chart and the backtest can never disagree. If the engine is offline the chart says so. Nothing is ever simulated to fill the gap.
Can I see my strategy on TradingView?
Yes, one way. Export a Pine v6 study to see your signals on a TradingView chart. Pine runs only there, and execution and risk stay in PTQ. The export is a study, not a strategy script: it plots signals and never places an order. A strategy the engine would refuse is refused at export too.
Billing
Price, what is issued when, and availability.
What does it cost?
$997 a year, one plan, everything in it. Nothing is issued before payment: no licence key, no credits, no access.
Is there a cheaper tier or a trial?
No. There is one plan and no tier beneath it. Nothing is issued before payment: no licence key, no credits, no product access. What we do instead is spell out on this site exactly what the software does and does not do, before you spend anything.
Why annual only?
Building, testing and reviewing a strategy takes time. The annual plan gives you a year of hosted research and simulated practice. It does not include live execution.
Is PTQ available where I live?
Checkout confirms that from your jurisdiction, meaning the country whose rules apply to you. If we cannot serve your region, checkout says so before any money moves.
How does payment actually work?
One payment of $997, in US dollars, through Stripe, covering a year. Card details go to Stripe and never touch our servers. Your licence key is issued when Stripe reports the payment, not when you sign up. That is why creating an account gives you nothing until the payment clears.
Security and data
Hosted access, private connection setup, licence checks and data limits.
Do you hold my broker keys or my money?
Hosted PTQ does not collect broker keys or hold trading funds. Practice orders use simulated money and are not sent to a broker. Do not put broker credentials in prompts, strategy notes or support messages.
Where do I put my Claude connection credential?
Follow the setup in Connect Claude for your client. Enter the private link only in connector settings or the hidden terminal prompt, never in chat, screenshots or shared documents. Claude Code keeps it in a private file on your computer, sends it over HTTPS and redacts it from returned messages.
What does Claude send to hosted PTQ?
Tool requests go to hosted PTQ and results return to Claude over HTTPS. Claude uses the same account as the browser and can do what it does, within your licence, credits and PTQ checks. This is not local-only processing or read-only access, so approve costs and changes before Claude makes them.
What do you actually hold about me?
Account details, through our sign-in provider. Your strategies and their settings. Risk profiles. Paper trades (simulated fills), backtests and validation results. A usage log of features used and credits spent. Your declared jurisdiction and the acknowledgements you ticked. Support tickets and chats. From Stripe: name, email, amount and their identifiers. The privacy policy carries the same list.
How does the licence check work?
Each hosted request is authenticated with a fresh licence check. A revoked connection, an inactive licence or a check that cannot run stops the request. Revoking a connection in Connect Claude stops its link but does not undo completed work. PTQ stores a hash of the connection token and never shows the link again.
Can the connection place live trades?
No. Browser and Claude orders use practice money. Live trading is not available here. Installing a connector does not connect a broker or enable live execution. Practice submissions need confirmation and validation evidence, then pass hosted risk, quote and portfolio checks.
Can I export or delete my data?
Yes, and neither is behind the paywall. Export hands you your account, strategies, profiles, routines and arm records. Deletion removes them, and it cascades through everything attached, so nothing is left orphaned to be quietly switched back on later.
Do I download the PTQ engine?
No. PTQ is proprietary and the full engine is not available as a downloadable archive. Use the browser or a licensed hosted Claude connection. Claude Code uses a small connector with a published checksum, not a signed desktop engine installer. The connector does not provide offline trading tools or live execution.
Jurisdiction and regulation
What PTQ is in regulatory terms, where it can be sold, and what protections do not apply.
Is PTQ investment advice?
No. PTQ is education and software tooling. It holds no opinion on markets and never recommends a trade. The strategies it tests are yours. Advice tailored to your circumstances is a regulated service, and we do not provide it.
Are you regulated by the FCA?
No. PTQ is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and does not carry on regulated activities. So the protections for customers of authorised firms, the Financial Ombudsman Service and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, do not apply here. If you want a regulated adviser, check them on the FCA register first.
What is the consent gate at signup?
Before you use the trading features, you confirm your jurisdiction and tick four acknowledgements. PTQ is education and tooling, not investment advice. Simulated results do not reflect real execution. Most strategies fail the validation gate by design. Live trading runs on your own machine at your own responsibility. We record what you ticked and when.
Why does availability depend on where I live?
The rules for selling this kind of software differ by country. We would rather block a sale than make one we cannot stand behind. Checkout confirms your jurisdiction and stops before taking money if we cannot serve your region. Giving false information to get around that block breaches the terms.
Why does this site make no performance claims?
Two reasons. We sell to UK retail traders, so the rules are strict. And the claims would be dishonest anyway. No screenshot on this site is a mock-up. No number is invented. Nothing here promises what a strategy might make.
Are the legal documents final?
The terms, privacy policy and cookie policy are published in full. Each one states its own status and effective date at the top, so read that there. We wrote them in-house, and they are with a UK solicitor for review.
What happens to my data?
Your strategies and runs are yours. Export and deletion are built in, and neither is behind the paywall. The privacy policy has the detail, and the security page has the plain-English version.
Not answered here?
Send it. A person answers, and if others will ask it too, it goes on this page.
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