When reviewing your referral statistics in the Partner Portal, you may notice a significant difference between the total number of referrals you've acquired and the number of active referrals shown in your qualification criteria. This article explains why these numbers differ and what they represent.
What You're Seeing:
The button names quoted below refer to the English interface. Use the corresponding controls displayed in your selected interface language.
IB Report → Client List: Shows referred accounts matching the selected report level and filters. Before comparing counts with the Dashboard qualification criteria, check 1st level or 2nd level, Account registration period and the other filters. Do not assume the current list includes all lifetime referrals.
In the Dashboard's Qualification Criteria: This displays only your active referrals according to specific qualification standards.
Why the Difference?
The key distinction is that "active referrals" in the Qualification Criteria refers only to referred account holders who have:
Traded within the past 90 calendar days (not trading days)
Executed trades with a volume of at least 0.01 lots during this period
This means that while you may have acquired many referrals over time, only those who have recently engaged in meaningful trading activity count toward your active-referral qualification metrics.
What This Means for You
This distinction is important for understanding your Partner progression. To improve your active-referral count:
Encourage existing referred account holders to maintain regular trading activity
Focus on referral engagement and retention
Provide value-added services to help referred account holders stay active
Remember that the Partner Portal offers powerful tools to help you monitor referral activity and identify opportunities to activate inactive referred account holders.