Due to the generally unsecure nature of commercial email and the volume of SPAM it generates, IB's Customer Service does not support inquiries delivered via email.  Clients who wish to communicate in a formal manner may do so through the secure webticket application available within your Account Management Message Center or through the Inquiry Form located on our website. 

Please note that responses to formal inquiries, regardless of how delivered, will be made available via the secure webticket application. Clients who wish to also receive an email, SMS text message and/or TWS bulletin when a webticket response is generated may do so by setting their message preferences within the Message Center.  Two message settings are made available:

1. Secure - under the secure setting you will receive a notification via email, SMS text message and/or TWS bulletin advising you when a ticket response has been provided.  As this notification will not contain the  contents of the response, you will need to log into your Account Management Message Center to read the message and/or post a follow-up response.

2. Non-Secure - under the non-secure setting you will receive a notification containing the full text of the ticket response within the body of the delivery option you've selected (i.e., email, SMS text message and/or TWS bulletin).  While this doesn't require that you log into your Account Management Message Center to read the message, you will need to do so should you wish to post a follow-up response.

As no preferences are established by default within the Message Center, clients who wish to elect either the secure or non-secure option may do so by logging into Account Management, clicking on the Message Center icon and then the Preferences menu option at the top of the page.  From there you may select any combination of delivery options and, for each delivery option selected, your secure or non-secure setting preference.

Accessing Account Management

Traders can login to Account Management in one of two ways.

1.   From the main TWS screen by clicking the Account menu at the top of the screen and then selecting Account Management Home (this will open the Account Management page without requiring that the account username / password be re-entered).

2.  From the IB web site at www.interactivebrokers.com by choosing Login and then selecting Account Management.

Requesting Trading Permissions

Once logged into Account Management, select the Manage Account menu option, then click on Trade Configuration followed by Permissions.  From here the account holder can select the permissions they wish to obtain.  Once they have selected all pertinent permissions the account holder can submit the request at the bottom of the page. 

Depending on the access being requested, subsequent pages may require the traders electronic signature.  The process is complete when the page displays a message indicating that the request has been submitted.

Subscribing to market data

If the account holder also wants to subscribe for Market Data which applies to those new permissions, they can also do this from within Account Management by again selecting Manage Account from the menu, then clicking on Trade Configuration and then Market Data.

A page will be displayed that lists all available market data subscriptions.  Traders may click the information icon next to each subscription to view a detailed description of what the specific subscription provides or may click the Market Data Assistant link that appears in the top right corner of this page for assistance with selecting the desired subscription.

Manual Screenshot

For traders not using the TWS, the following describes the process of creating a screenshot and attaching it to a web ticket to submit to Client Service.

To provide an image of your full computer screen  select and hold down the ‘Ctrl’ key and then the ’Print Screen‘ key (located in the upper right corner of the keyboard).

For an image of a single window within your screen select and hold down the ‘Alt’ key and then the ‘Print Screen’ key   

Next, open a text or image editing program such as Microsoft Word to ‘paste’ and save the shot you’ve just created.  Once the program has opened select and hold down the 'Ctrl' key and then hit the “V” key. Verify that this is the image you wish to send and then save the document to your computer.  Log in to Advisor Portal and select the Message Center from where you can create a new web ticket and attach your document.

TWS Screenshot / Log File

Traders using the TWS software can use keyboard combinations to capture snapshots of their screen and upload them to assist with support issues.

To create a snapshot of the TWS screen and upload the log file please use the keyboard combination associated with the type of machine being used;

• All PC's except HP's: Ctrl+Alt+H
• Hewlet Packards (HP): Ctrl+Alt+Q
• Mac: Ctrl+Option+H

A window will appear allowing the trader to enter text and check the screenshot box to include an image of the computer screen.

After pressing submit, the following window will appear to acknowledge that the files have been uploaded.

Notes:

• Client Service does not monitor these uploads during the day so be sure to communicate with the Client Service desk prior to uploading files relating to a current issue.
• Traders behind a firewall or proxy may be unable to upload log files and screenshots using the TWS method.

Information:

The procedure for changing fees for a client account is as follows. You must log in to Advisor Portal and select Manage Clients -> Fees -> Configure. You will need to change the fees in this section online, but you still must have the client sign the fee change form and submit to us for processing.

Please see the Advisor Client Fees page for additional information, such as the available billing methods and the fee caps currently in place.