You run a registered investment advisory firm in Maryland or the DC-Baltimore corridor, your team has started using AI, and you've realized two things at once: it's genuinely useful, and nobody has decided how it's allowed to touch client data. Meanwhile examiners and your cyber-insurance carrier have begun asking how your firm governs AI.
WHAT WE DO FOR ADVISORY FIRMS HERE
AI Governance and Advisory for RIAs
Royer Networks is a Frederick, Maryland firm that helps RIAs and other regulated businesses adopt AI without getting ahead of their compliance obligations. We're not an AI vendor and not a generic IT shop — we're a local risk-and-compliance advisor that uses AI as the tool, with one goal: that what your firm says it does, it can actually show it does.
AI Governance Assessment
We inventory the AI actually in use across your firm (including the tools nobody mentioned), map where client data is going, and produce the documents you need: an AI use policy, a data-handling statement, and a human-review standard, plus a 30-60-90 day plan to close the gaps.
AI Tools Assessment
We find where AI can take repetitive work off your team's plate, recommend specific tools screened for how they handle client data, and give you an ROI estimate with quick wins and a 60/90/120-day roadmap.
Ongoing AI Advisory
Monthly strategy, vendor vetting (is it secure, where does the data live, what changed in their terms), and policy upkeep, so your program stays current as the tools and guidance keep moving.
WHY A LOCAL ADVISOR MATTERS
AI governance isn't only a document — it's a relationship that has to stay current. Being based in Frederick means we can sit down with your team in person when it helps, not just over a screen. Frederick sits roughly equidistant from Washington, DC and Baltimore, so we work with firms across the I-270 corridor, Montgomery County, the District, and the greater Baltimore-DC metro.
For RIAs specifically, we work in the frameworks you already live in — SEC, FINRA, GLBA, and the FTC Safeguards Rule — and we frame everything around current public guidance, flagging anything that needs your compliance officer's sign-off. We don't hand you conclusions about your exam; we give you the documented controls and the evidence, and you draw the conclusions with your team.
SERVICE AREA
Where We Work
Frederick, Maryland and the surrounding region — including the DC-Baltimore metro, Montgomery County, and the I-270 technology corridor. Remote engagements anywhere in Maryland and the DC metro; in-person available across the immediate region.
HOW IT WORKS
Getting Started
- Step 1
Discovery Conversation
A short conversation about where your firm is and what's worrying you. - Step 2
Structured Assessment
A recorded assessment, then turned into a clear report with quick wins and a phased roadmap. - Step 3
Documented Controls
The documents and controls you need to answer the four governance questions: what AI is used, what data is exposed, what controls exist, and what risk remains. - Step 4
Ongoing Oversight
Ongoing oversight if you want it, so the program doesn't drift out of date.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Do you work with firms in DC and Baltimore, or only Frederick?
Both. We're based in Frederick and serve RIA and wealth-management firms across the DC-Baltimore metro and the I-270 corridor, remotely and — where it's useful — in person.
Do you meet in person?
Yes, in-region. Much of the work can be done remotely, but for the parts that benefit from sitting down with your team, we can.
We're a small firm — is this only for large RIAs?
No. The assessment and the engagement options are built for small and mid-sized firms; the program scales to where your firm actually is.
Do you only handle AI governance, or the tools too?
Both. Some firms start with governance because of examiner or insurance pressure; others start with a tools assessment to get hours back. Many do both over time.
Where should we start if we're unsure about AI?
Start with a short conversation. If your firm can't yet answer how it governs AI — and an examiner or carrier will ask — that's the place to start. We'll walk through the four governance questions together and show you what a complete program looks like for a firm your size, here in Maryland and the DC metro.
Talk to a Local AI Advisor
If your firm can't yet answer how it governs AI — and an examiner or carrier will ask — that's the place to start.
We'll walk through the four governance questions together and show you what a complete program looks like for a firm your size, here in Maryland and the DC metro.
