xPortfolios

IBKR Rebalance file guide

Status: TWS Rebalance Portfolio verified in an IBKR paper account on 22 September 2026. We imported a portfolio’s file for the 21 September decision into an individual paper account (TWS 10.51.1a) and had TWS create the orders. We did not send them. Advisor Portal, account groups and the Rebalance Model window are not verified. See the verification record and the file review guide.

What the paper test showed

  • All 24 rows loaded: 20 stocks at 5% and the week's 4 exits at 0%. Every US stock is labelled SMART/AMEX, which is how TWS itself labels US stocks. TWS refuses a bare SMART, SMART/NASDAQ and SMART/NYSE. If some Target % cells stay blank, import the same file again.
  • TWS sizes each target on the account's net liquidation value. In an account worth about $1,000,000, each 5% target became a buy of about $50,000.
  • A stock at 0% that the account holds is sold in full. The account held 10 ACN, and TWS proposed selling all 10.
  • A holding that is not in the file is left alone. The account held 1 SPY; TWS kept it at its current weight and proposed no order.
  • The file lists only the stocks the model holds now, plus at 0% the ones it dropped since its previous decision. A stock dropped in an earlier week is not in the file, so TWS does not sell it. If you skip a week, set such holdings to 0% by hand in Rebalance Portfolio before creating orders.

Whole account or part of it

By default the file rebalances the whole account: its targets add up to 100% of the account's net liquidation value. A 5% target in a $100,000 account means $5,000. Holdings that are not in the file are not sold, but the model still invests the full account, so the buys exceed the free cash by the value of those holdings.

If the client keeps other investments in the same account, set the share of the account for the strategy when you download the file: the box next to the Rebalance download in the partner portal, or ?share=30 on the API. With 30, every target is scaled to 30% of the account: 5% becomes 1.5%, and the model's exits stay at 0%. TWS then invests only that part and, as the paper test showed, leaves holdings that are not in the file alone. In the paper test a 30% file became 20 buys of about $15,000 each on a $1,000,000 account, TWS set the cash target to about 70%, and the SPY and ACN positions were untouched. Only the model's own stocks are in the file, so a stock the client also holds outside the strategy is moved to the scaled target.

Alternatives: a separate linked IBKR account for the strategy, or, for advisors, IBKR's model portfolios, which allocate part of each client account to a model. Neither has been tested with our files.

Obtain and check the files

Download ibkr-rebalance (with the account share, if any) and the matching generic CSV or XLSX from the partner portal or with your partner key. Keep the response decision identifier and filename together. Generic weights are fractions (0.05 = 5%); the Rebalance file uses percentages (5 = 5%). It has no header and ten columns. This illustrative row is not a portfolio recommendation:

DES,AAPL,STK,SMART/AMEX,,,,,,5

The final column contains the target; column I stays blank (its use is not verified). Removed holdings are included at 0. Match each imported stock to the generic file's ISIN, exact listing, share class and quote currency. Keep leading zeros and class-share distinctions. Review US class shares separately.

TWS workflow

  1. In TWS Mosaic, open New Window > More Advanced Tools > Rebalance Portfolio; Classic TWS lists it under the Account menu.
  2. Select the account and click Clear Targets, so no earlier targets remain.
  3. Import the Rebalance CSV. Compare every stock and target percentage with the generic file, including the 0% exits.
  4. Leave Rebalance To on Target % and click Create Rebalance Orders. Check the proposed orders against the account's positions, cash and open orders before anything is sent.
  5. Sending the orders is the account operator's decision and execution process.

IBKR documents the Rebalance window and order controls and CSV import/export.

Not verified yet

Sent orders and fills, advisor accounts, account groups and the Model window, class shares such as BRK B, and browser-portal import. Saudi Alpha's file lists its stocks on TADAWUL under their four-digit Saudi Exchange codes (1120.SR becomes 1120); it needs an account with IBKR's Saudi Exchange trading permission and has not yet been imported in a paper account.

Use the file review guide for stable decision identifiers and recovery. All platform files and guides.