Flanks joins Perplexity AI network for wealth data

Flanks has joined Perplexity's AI connector ecosystem, becoming one of the first regulated European firms in the network.

The partnership gives wealth managers and financial advisers access to Flanks' aggregated portfolio data through Perplexity's AI tools. Users can query holdings, investment positions and transaction history across linked banks without leaving the platform.

The aim is to support routine advisory work that has been difficult to automate because client data is often spread across custodians, bank systems and spreadsheets. In Europe, fragmented portfolio records and differing data standards have made it harder for firms to use AI systems compliantly.

Flanks' connector is live in Perplexity's answer engine and in Computer, its agent platform. Users can apply the data to client reporting, portfolio monitoring, meeting preparation and checks such as ETF overlap through natural-language prompts.

Flanks aggregates data from more than 700 institutions. It focuses on multi-bank wealth data, unlike connectors in the Perplexity ecosystem that centre on retail brokerage accounts.

Data bottleneck

For wealth managers, access to complete and current portfolio information has long been an operational problem. Advisers often have to compile records manually from several providers before they can prepare reports or review a client's exposure.

The companies are framing the deal around that data bottleneck rather than the AI models themselves. Their argument is that automation in regulated financial advice depends first on reliable underlying data across institutions and asset classes.

"Financial advisors are drowning in fragmented data - stitched together across custodians, spreadsheets and legacy providers, with no single source of truth. That's the barrier stopping most institutions from actually harnessing AI, no matter how good the model is. The real opportunity isn't another standalone tool solving one task in isolation, but connecting AI into a system that works across the full advisory process. Perplexity's ecosystem is selective, and being included early reflects how well our data fits its enterprise banking workflows - reporting, meeting preparation, portfolio monitoring. Wealth professionals are going to work through AI agents, and we're making sure the data underneath is reliable and AI-ready," said Joaquim de la Cruz, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Flanks.

Regulated market

The development comes as financial institutions test AI in customer-facing and internal processes while regulators and compliance teams scrutinise the handling of client data. Wealth management has moved more slowly than some other areas of finance because portfolio information is highly sensitive and often held across multiple institutions.

Flanks is regulated by the Bank of Spain under the supervision of the European Central Bank as an Account Information Service Provider. It is also SOC 2 Type II and SOC 3 certified and aligned with UK Consumer Duty requirements.

The business processes more than 8.2 million portfolios each month across 33 countries and handles more than €43 billion in assets. Its clients include banks, family offices, asset managers and pension plan providers.

Perplexity has been expanding a connector ecosystem around its AI products. Its finance tools are used by millions of people through licensed financial data subscriptions, and the addition of Flanks extends that reach into European private banking and institutional wealth data.

Jeff Grimes, Head of Live Event Products at Perplexity, described the rationale for the tie-up in terms of data trust and coverage. "Millions of users rely on Perplexity Finance to find and take action upon their own licensed financial data subscriptions. Flanks brings something different with regulated, institution-grade coverage across European banks and wealth institutions, which is the level of data quality our users need to trust AI with real portfolio decisions. It's exactly the kind of data infrastructure partner we want powering the next generation of financial workflows on Perplexity, worldwide," said Grimes.

Founded in Barcelona in 2019, Flanks was set up by Joaquim de la Cruz, Sergi Lao and Álvaro Morales. Perplexity answers more than 1.5 billion questions globally each month.