Wealth Management + AI: How Flanker is Revolutionizing the Investment Process for Retail Advisors

Why did we build Flanker?

March 13, 2025

Time is the scarcest resource for any financial advisor. Researching investments, monitoring them, and conducting due diligence are vital components of the investment process, yet they are highly repetitive, time-intensive, and resource-draining. For retail advisors, this creates inefficiencies that divert attention away from what really matters—making smart investment decisions that best serve their clients.

That is why we built Flanker, a technology platform designed to transform how advisors approach the investment process. Combining the power of AI and big data, Flanker addresses the inefficiencies inherent in traditional investment workflows, offering advisors a lean, scalable solution that aligns with rising regulatory expectations and the demands of a modern investment environment.

What is Flanker?

At its core, Flanker uses advanced AI and data analytics to shoulder the burden of investment research, monitoring, and due diligence. It automates much of the repetitive groundwork so advisors can focus on the heart of their role—choosing investments that are best suited for their clients' objectives.

A Simpler, Smarter Investment Process

Flanker redefines the traditional investment process, which can be broken down into the following key phases:

  1. Researching Potential Investments  
  2. Selecting the Best Investment for Client Objectives  
  3. Monitoring Investments Over Time for Fundamental Changes  
  4. Performing Ongoing Due Diligence  
  5. Exploring Alternative Investments When Necessary  

Each phase requires advisors to sift through massive amounts of data, conduct in-depth research, and document their work meticulously. For advisors responsible for monitoring hundreds of securities, this process can consume up to 20% of their available capacity—an unsustainable burden.

Flanker solves this challenge by automating these time-consuming tasks. The platform gathers, processes, and analyzes data, delivering actionable insights directly to the advisor. Rather than spending hours compiling reports or researching alternatives, advisors can focus on the central decision point:

Is this security still the best option for my client?

  • Yes—Continue monitoring.  
  • No—Identify better alternatives.  

Thanks to Flanker, advisors can allocate less time to administrative tasks and more time to impactful decision-making, improving both their productivity and their clients' outcomes.

Why Flanker Matters Now

Regulatory bodies in North America have tightened their expectations for advisors and firms alike, mandating a higher level of active oversight and due diligence on investment portfolios. For example:

  1. Advisors are required to monitor all securities in their portfolios actively for changes in investment profiles, risks, costs, and performance.  
  2. They must conduct comprehensive due diligence on every security to ensure it continues to be the best option for their client.  
  3. Detailed documentation of all investment decisions, relative to available alternatives, is essential.  
  4. Firms are legally responsible for supervising the due diligence practices of all their advisors.

Key Regulations

  • Canada - These requirements are outlined in CIRO’s Rules 3300 and 3400, which demand rigorous due diligence and monitoring.  
  • United States - Similar expectations are detailed under Regulatory Best Interest (RegBI) statutes, which stress advisors' fiduciary responsibilities.  

The Challenge

For individual advisors and firms, traditional investment workflows are no longer sustainable. Manual processes are labor-intensive, inconsistent, and unscalable—making compliance an overwhelming challenge. Delegation to head offices or associates isn't an option under these regulations, as the responsibility to monitor and document investments is assigned to each individual advisor.

The Solution

Flanker delivers a revolutionary solution tailored for the needs of both advisors and firms. By automating 90% of the investment monitoring and due diligence process, Flanker:

  • Efficiently handles data-heavy tasks, cutting the time investment by a massive margin.  
  • Provides full, detailed documentation to satisfy regulatory demands.  
  • Facilitates firm-wide oversight, allowing enterprise-level management of the due diligence process.  

Flanker’s scalable technology finally equips advisors and firms with the tools to meet these heightened regulatory requirements while maintaining efficiency and consistency.

Why Flanker Redefines the Investment Process

Traditional methods simply can’t keep up with the scale or complexity of modern portfolio management. Tasks that once took up to 20% of an advisor’s capacity can now be automated with Flanker, freeing up time to focus on delivering exceptional client outcomes. Firms, on the other hand, gain an enterprise-level view of their teams’ due diligence processes, ensuring compliance with even the strictest regulations.

This is about more than saving time—it’s about reshaping the investment landscape. Flanker empowers retail advisors with the tools they need to confidently deliver on their fiduciary duties, even as the demands of the financial sector increase.

Building trust with clients and staying ahead of regulatory changes requires more than business as usual. Flanker gives retail advisors the technological edge they need to deliver superior client outcomes, ensure compliance, and lead in a competitive landscape.

Less time on repetitive tasks. More time making meaningful decisions. Better outcomes for everyone.

March 13, 2025