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Adding Contacts in the Advisor Portal

Lesson 4 of 18
Duration 5:15
Level Beginner
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The Contact page in Interactive Brokers’ Advisor Portal allows the financial advisor to sort, add, and export contacts. The Contacts page displays all client accounts, including opened and pending accounts, and any prospective clients the advisor may have uploaded to the system.

How to access the Contacts page in IBKR Advisor Portal?

The advisor can access the Contact page by opening the navigation menu on the left side of the screen, and select Contacts

The Contacts tab will show all opened accounts, applications in progress, and prospective clients that have not yet started an application. Whereas the Accounts tab will only show contacts that have an account associated with them including pending and cancelled applications.

The advisor can use the oval icons at the top of the page to filter by contact type or use the Filter icon to the right to further filter by Contact Type, Account Type, or Account Status.

If the client has multiple accounts, the advisor can click the blue number in the Account column to view a summary of the accounts. To view more specific details on a particular contact, click their name in the Contact column to the left.

When a contact has been selected, the advisor can open the left side menu to access specific tools for that contact or account, such as PortfolioAnalyst, Reports, Transfer & Pay, and other CRM tools. 

What methods are available to add a contact?

Adding a contact is simple and straightforward. By selecting Add Contact, IBKR Advisor Portal allows an advisor to add contacts to the Portal in one of three ways: 

  • Manual Entry,
  • Excel File, and
  • VCard

How to enter a contact manually in Advisor Portal?

To enter a contact manually, select Contact by Manual Input and the Configure Contact Profile for Primary Account Holder screen will appear. First and last name and a phone number are required fields, while the others like address and date of birth are optional. Creating a contact allows the advisor to store information on the client or prospective client such as:

  • Residential address,
  • Tax Information,
  • Expected retirement, and
  • Sources of wealth

Once the advisor has entered the information, they click continue and are able to review the information prior to clicking “ok” to save the contact.

How to upload a contact by Excel in Advisor Portal?

To add a contact using an Excel file, click Contact by Excel File and the advisor can download a template available on the following screen by clicking on Download our Excel Template.

The advisor can add up to 100 contacts per template, but the file must not exceed 5MB in size and the template includes instructions on acceptable field values. Any column with an asterisk next to it is a required field. Once the contact or contacts have been added, the advisor can save the file and when ready click on the Choose a File button in the Add Contacts with Excel pop-up box, add the file, and click Submit

If the file is missing required information or data was entered in an incorrect format, a message will populate the box with the necessary corrections. Once corrected, repeat the steps above and the contacts will be added and a confirmation message will appear. When ready, click OK.

How to upload a contact by vCard in Advisor Portal?

The final method of adding a contact is through a vCard, also known as a VCF or Virtual Contact File. The advisor can upload a vCard by clicking on Add Contact and selecting Contact by vCard File. When the pop-up box appears, the advisor clicks Choose a File, selects the vCard, and clicks Submit.

A confirmation message will appear that the new Contact has been created successfully, and when ready click OK.

How to edit and export Contacts?

Once the contact is added, the Profile Information for a prospective client can be edited or added to as the relationship develops by selecting the blue Information icon to the left of the contact and click the Configure gear icon in the upper right corner. Make the appropriate changes and when ready click Continue to review the updated Contact. Click OK once more to save the changes.

Back on the main Contacts page, the advisor can also export the contact list to a CSV file by clicking on the blue Download button at the right-hand side of the screen and click on “Contact Summary to CSV.” Once exported, the advisor can sort the data columns as needed.

The Contact feature of the IBKR Advisor Portal allows advisors to easily keep track of important information on existing clients and prospects.

Resources

Contacts User Guide

Join The Conversation

If you have a general question, it may already be covered in our FAQs. If you have an account-specific question or concern, please reach out to Client Services.

2 thoughts on “Adding Contacts in the Advisor Portal”

  • Mark

    how do you delete contacts? doesn’t seem to be an option?

    • Interactive Brokers

      Hello Mark, thank you for asking. There is no option to delete contacts in Advisor Portal currently. However, once the contact is added, the Profile Information for a prospective client can be edited or added to as the relationship develops by selecting the blue Information icon to the left of the contact and click the Configure gear icon in the upper right corner. Make the appropriate changes and when ready click Continue to review the updated Contact. Click OK once more to save the changes.

      If you’d like, you can post this in our New Feature Poll in Client Portal where IBKR users can vote and comment on each other’s suggestions.
      https://portal.interactivebrokers.com/portal/#/suggestions

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Disclosure: Interactive Brokers

The analysis in this material is provided for information only and is not and should not be construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any security. To the extent that this material discusses general market activity, industry or sector trends or other broad-based economic or political conditions, it should not be construed as research or investment advice. To the extent that it includes references to specific securities, commodities, currencies, or other instruments, those references do not constitute a recommendation by IBKR to buy, sell or hold such investments. This material does not and is not intended to take into account the particular financial conditions, investment objectives or requirements of individual customers. Before acting on this material, you should consider whether it is suitable for your particular circumstances and, as necessary, seek professional advice.

The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Interactive Brokers, its affiliates, or its employees.

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