Finding a client's Risk Number is a great way to analyze how much risk they want, but what about how much risk they have in their current portfolio? Advisors need a way to compare the client Risk Number to the portfolio Risk Number, which means importing current holdings data into Nitrogen. Nitrogen has direct integrations with many data sources, listed on our Integrations page. If your data source isn't listed, the following guide explains how to import client holdings from an excel file instead.
Export Holdings from the Custodian
First, export the client's holdings from the custodian. From the custodian's dashboard:
- Find the client (or household) assets page.
- Export the holdings to excel (XLS, XLSX, or CSV) and save to your desktop. Don't change anything in the spreadsheet.
Note: The export file should include ticker symbols and market value for each holding.
Import into Nitrogen
Now it's time to import the portfolio into Nitrogen!
- Start on the Advisor Dashboard
- Locate and open the desired Client profile
- Click + Create Portfolio
- Set account type to Funds, Stocks, and Other
- Click Import File
- Select the appropriate custodian from the list
Note: Nitrogen will remember the selected custodian and set it as the default for future imports. - Drag-and-drop the custodian file into the import window, or use Choose File to find and select it in a file menu instead.
That's it! The client's portfolio has been imported into Nitrogen. Repeat the export and import steps as needed to update accounts in the future (for example, before each client meeting).
Why does the template I upload create a separate account within Nitrogen for every holding?
We specifically built our import tool in a way that allows advisors to upload holdings into multiple accounts within the same file. To accomplish this, we have to specify which account each holding needs to be assigned to within the spreadsheet you upload. (e.g. Account 1, Account 2, etc) This also means, that you don’t necessarily have to input the holdings into the spreadsheet in order, as long as you identify which account they should be in. E.g. Account 1, Account 2. You can also custom label the accounts in the initial import, just be sure to use the same label for the same account. E.g. “Account 1” is different than “acct 1".
I’m having difficulty uploading a model when using percentages. Any tips?
When using percentages, you’ll need to ensure that the holdings within a particular account add up to 100%. You can also try using an approximate dollar value to represent the percentage amount instead. E.g. $10,000 is 10% of $100,000.
I’m receiving a notification that says I’m not able to complete the upload even after I chose the correct vendor from the file format drop-down. How can I work around that?
One of the beautiful things about our drag and drop integration is that it’s extremely flexible to handle different variations from different vendors. As you can imagine, it’s a challenge to maintain an up-to-date index of the export file formats across the myriad of vendors we work with. If you’re having difficulty with a specific format, please contact our Customer Care team at care@nitrogenwealth.com, providing the vendor’s name, the edition of the platform you are using (e.g. version 2.10), and an updated example of the export file for our team to have as a reference, and we’ll add that to our list to update.
In the meantime, you can utilize an alternative workflow to get the job done now:
Rename the following four columns in the sheet you’re trying to export to reflect the following titles:
- Account: this is the title of the account. E.g. Account 1, Account 2, Chris’ IRA. Each holding needs to be connected to an account. We recommend copy/pasting the account name across all of the applicable holdings.
Symbol: this is for the ticker symbol. If your holding doesn’t have a ticker, you can use the description field. - Allocation ($/%): The system will read EITHER dollar amounts or percentage amounts, but you can’t mix and match. We recommend using dollar amounts for the best experience. (see the “I’m having difficulty uploading a model when using percentages” above for an example).
- Description: if you don’t have a ticker, this is a great place for the name of the holding.
Remove any additional information like subtotals and unnecessary columns and rows that don’t fall into the four mentioned above.
Use the “Nitrogen Template” option from the file format drop-down. Voila! You should be able to upload those holdings and have a fantastic client meeting.
Pro Tip: Want to learn about how to make importing portfolios even easier? Check out our Nitrogen Academy Lesson on our integration options.