The AmeriFlex Group has launched an AI-enabled program called Scout that can analyze hundreds of advisory firms and create comprehensive profiles of practices that may be approaching succession, significantly accelerating a process that previously required substantially more manual review.
The advisor-owned hybrid RIA is currently testing Scout in five key markets and plans to roll out the program nationally in 2027.
Scout is designed to identify financial advisors who may be nearing succession and help The AmeriFlex Group connect those advisors with potential successors or growth-oriented advisors within its broader network.
The firm said the technology can develop profiles for hundreds of advisory practices in the time it previously took to review a single firm.
The program was built in part using Anthropic’s Claude AI technology.
Scout analyzes a combination of public and proprietary data sources to develop profiles of advisory firms that may need long-term succession planning support.
Those profiles are then used by The AmeriFlex Group’s succession specialists to prioritize outreach and initiate conversations with advisors who may be approaching a transition.
The firm said automating more of the initial research process allows its team to spend additional time on the personalized aspects of succession planning, including cultural fit, transition structure and relationships between outgoing and incoming advisors.
Succession has become an increasingly important challenge across the wealth management industry as large numbers of established financial advisors approach retirement without formal transition plans.
The AmeriFlex Group is positioning Scout as a way to increase the number of practices its team can evaluate while maintaining a more hands-on approach once a potential succession opportunity has been identified.
The technology is also expected to support the firm’s broader recruiting and growth strategy.
The AmeriFlex Group expects to expand its advisor ranks by approximately 100 advisors over the next 24 months through Scout and other growth initiatives.
That target follows significant recruiting activity during the first half of 2026.
The firm added 18 advisors representing more than $1.7 billion in total client assets during the first six months of the year.
Earlier in 2026, The AmeriFlex Group also secured a strategic minority investment from broker-dealer partner Cambridge Investment Research.
The investment and the Scout rollout provide additional infrastructure for a growth strategy centered on hybrid advisors, succession planning and practice transitions.
The AmeriFlex Group operates as an advisor-owned hybrid RIA and focuses on helping financial professionals combine brokerage and registered investment advisory capabilities.
By using AI to narrow a large pool of advisory practices into higher-priority succession opportunities, the firm expects its specialists to engage more practices without proportionally increasing the amount of time spent on initial research.
The approach could also help match retiring advisors with growth-focused advisors seeking additional client relationships and assets.
For The AmeriFlex Group, Scout therefore serves both as a succession-planning tool and as a potential recruiting and inorganic growth engine as the firm works toward its 100-advisor expansion target.
KEY QUOTES:
“Scout is a gold miner that quickly and efficiently identifies financial advisors who are at or near succession in their practices, allowing our team to focus more on helping them maximize the value of their own life’s work.”
“By developing this program, we can move more quickly to bring together advisors entering the final stage of their careers with advisors hungry for additional growth, while focusing on the critical cultural aspects of these connections. This program frees us up to build our firm sustainably.”
Thomas Goodson, Founder And CEO Of The AmeriFlex Group
“The scale of the succession crisis required a different approach and a new set of solutions. This tool enables our team to help more advisors, scale our business and ensure we have the time and resources to give these advisors the support they rightfully expect as they consider the final chapter in their working lives.”
Jesse Kurrasch, Chief Operating Officer Of The AmeriFlex Group
