Flexible Plan Investments isn’t just a technology-enabled investment platform—it’s a full-service partner for financial advisors who value active management, innovation, and personalized support. From its origins in 1981 to its current capabilities spanning adaptive strategies, client service, and compliance tech, the firm remains grounded in one core principle: make life easier and more effective for the advisor.
In an interview with The Wealth Advisor’s Scott Martin, Jerry Wagner, President, Founder, and Chief Investment Officer at Flexible Plan, discussed how decades of in-house development, strategy evolution, and a human-centered service model give Flexible Plan a lasting advantage in a TAMP marketplace that often prioritizes scale over substance.
Built From the Ground Up to Serve Advisors
When Flexible Plan launched, turnkey asset management programs weren’t readily available. Wagner drew on his background in computing and finance to build the firm’s infrastructure from scratch—a choice that continues to shape its nimble, advisor-driven approach today.
“We were one of the first TAMPs—we go all the way back to 1981,” Wagner says. “From the beginning, there was nothing in the box that we could deliver a TAMP from, so we have been running the firm with sophisticated programming from the very beginning.”
That early decision to code every system in-house now allows Flexible Plan to customize offerings for advisors in ways larger, off-the-shelf platforms can’t replicate. “We had to build everything ourselves, which gives us a tremendous advantage over most of what’s out there today, because we can turn around, deliver something to an advisor very quickly,” Wagner explains. “If he wants a change, he wants something different, he wants to deliver a unique differentiated product, we can do that.”
The technical agility allows the firm to keep evolving. “I think we’re on our fifth iteration of the programming, the whole operation,” Wagner adds. “We finish one build, and we start the next one.”
Adaptive Management at the Core
While many asset managers are just beginning to explore artificial intelligence and machine learning, Flexible Plan has spent decades developing strategies that adapt to changing markets. The firm’s belief in flexibility, not just at the platform level but at the portfolio level, stands in contrast to rigid, one-size-fits-all approaches.
“My theory has always been that there are no silver bullets, some single strategy that works for everybody all the time,” Wagner says. “Instead, you have to have multiple strategies in a portfolio. You have to have adaptive strategies.”
That adaptability is hard-coded into how the firm builds its models. “We created all of our strategies so that they can evolve over time and take in new information, readjust themselves and go forward again,” Wagner notes.
The continuous evolution is designed to help manage market risk and seeks to prepare portfolios to grow stronger from stress. Wagner has taken inspiration from Nassim Taleb’s concept of antifragility—the idea that systems can learn and improve from shocks rather than just withstand them.
“We’ve put a lot of time into supporting antifragility and the ability to monitor a client’s portfolio for how antifragile it is,” he explains. “You want to build into your strategies the ability to evolve with the market on their own.”
Personalized Support in a Digital Age
Although Flexible Plan embraces automation and advanced computing, the firm prioritizes human service where it matters most—during onboarding, daily operations, and client interactions. Advisors aren’t left to navigate forms or custodial hurdles alone.
“The humans can shepherd the business through at the beginning,” Wagner says. “We want to make sure we can help them shepherd the money over to us and try to make the road a little smoother for them.”
Flexible Plan’s customer service and brokerage support teams work directly with advisors, often completing paperwork or walking through steps that would otherwise derail a client experience.
“One of the things we’ve had since the very beginning is a customer service team,” Wagner says. “So, when the rep is away from the office and can’t handle that emergency call from the client, we’ve got a person there at the end of the phone that can help them out.”
The firm sees that hands-on support as central to its TAMP identity. “The original concept of a TAMP was that it was a service addition to the rep’s business,” Wagner explains. “It wasn’t just a platform for strategies.”
Trade Execution Backed by Human Oversight
While many TAMPs have pushed toward full automation in portfolio execution, Flexible Plan still insists on human review. Every trade goes through a dual-verification process before leaving the firm—an extra layer of precision that underscores Wagner’s emphasis on accountability.
“We run over 100 different strategies,” he says. “So, you’ve got to use the computer to be able to do that, but you also have to be able to have eyes on every trade, real eyes, not machine eyes. Every trade before it went out had to be reviewed by a human being.”
That approach extends to failed trades as well—an area where automation can sometimes fall short. “A few of the platforms out there call themselves TAMPs. Basically, you put the trade in, but you have no idea when the trade is going to go through,” Wagner notes. “They bounce, and then when do you hear about it?”
Instead of leaving advisors guessing, Flexible Plan provides clear communication, timely interventions, and visibility into execution.
Access to a Broad and Specialized Strategy Suite
Flexible Plan offers its deep bench of strategies across multiple platforms, including Axos, Nationwide Monument, Envestnet, Fidelity, Schwab, and TIAA. Whether managing a variable annuity (VA), an ETF portfolio, or a direct indexing solution, the firm meets advisors where they are—and tailors offerings to the needs of each client base.
“We make them available on the Axos platform for those people who are working within our TAMP structure and also on Nationwide Monument for doing it within a VA,” Wagner says. “But over the years, we’ve added our strategies to most of the other platforms that are out there.”
Wagner emphasizes the importance of optionality across investment structures—from faith-based portfolios to donor-advised funds to direct indexing tools such as Common Ground that handles principled investing. “We have our own donor-advised fund structure for people who want to do advanced planning, and then we sub-advise 14 different mutual funds,” he notes.
Advanced Tech Tools for Compliance and Business Management
Flexible Plan also equips advisors with proprietary tools that are designed to enhance transparency and oversight. Its “crash test analysis” relies on historical market data—rather than simplified models—to help assess portfolio risk. Its OnTarget monitor has provided clients with personal benchmarks for more than a decade.
Another standout innovation is the My Business Analyzer, a tool that gives advisors and their firms a real-time snapshot of their Flexible Plan book of business.
“We deliver a book of the rep’s business to his office every day that’s updated minute by minute,” Wagner explains. “And it’s available to give the firm that they work for the ability to monitor all the people that work with us on the same basis.”
The tool helps firms meet compliance demands without additional lift, while allowing advisors to demonstrate thoughtful, defensible strategies to regulators and clients alike.
A Managed Futures Fund Rooted in Hedge Fund Experience
Most recently, Flexible Plan launched a managed futures mutual fund that brings institutional-level sophistication to a more accessible format. Wagner ties its DNA to his early career in hedge funds and the iconic “turtle” trading experiments.
“Our latest sub-advised fund is a managed futures fund. It uses one of the firms that goes all the way back to the founding of managed futures, back to the turtle experiments of yore,” Wagner says.
Now packaged as a mutual fund with simplified tax treatment and no K-1s, the strategy can be deployed in more accounts and offers liquid access to more than 90 global markets.
“By putting it into a mutual fund, we eliminate a lot of that [hedge fund] complexity,” Wagner notes. “Better tax treatment, no K1’s, managed futures in more than 90 markets, 24/7 management.”
Built to Adapt, Designed to Endure
In a market where volatility, valuation concerns, and AI disruptions dominate the conversation, Flexible Plan remains focused on delivering lasting value through innovation, discipline, and service. Wagner’s team believes adaptability isn’t just a feature—it’s a mandate.
“Every employee that is with the firm believes firmly that if they’re going to be at Flexible Plan, they have to be willing to change,” Wagner says, “because everything’s changing all the time.”
That mindset, honed over four decades, positions Flexible Plan not just as a TAMP provider, but as a strategic partner—one that evolves with the advisor, supports their business, and helps their clients thrive no matter what the market throws their way.
_____________________
Additional Resources
- Contact Flexible Plan Investments
- Flexible Plan Investments Solutions
- Investment Portfolios Designed for the Unexpected
- Meet the Team
______________________
Disclosures
Flexible Plan Investments, Ltd. is registered with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as an Investment Advisor and has filed notice as prescribed under the National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996 as a Federal Covered Advisor in the States and/or Territories of: AK, AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, PR, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY.
This article is provided for information purposes only and should not be used or construed as an indicator of future performance, an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any security. Flexible Plan Investments, Ltd. cannot guarantee the suitability or potential value of any particular investment.
PAST PERFORMANCE DOES NOT GUARANTEE FUTURE RESULTS.
Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss as well as the potential for gain. A list of all recommendations made within the immediately preceding year is available upon written request. Please read Flexible Plan Investments’ Brochure Form ADV Part 2A and Form CRS carefully before investing. As supplemental information, a listing of all recommendations made within the immediately preceding twelve months, all assumed trades and other data used to generate the referenced results is available upon request.
This article is written by a person other than a current client, investor, or employee. The presenter is paid direct cash compensation under a written sponsorship agreement with Flexible Plan. Flexible Plan does not believe there are any material conflicts of interest with the issuer of such material.
