Goldman Sachs leads M&A advisers with $687.6bn in Q1–Q3

Goldman Sachs advised on $687.6 billion of transactions in the first nine months of 2026, more than any other adviser, while Houlihan Lokey worked on 250 deals, the highest count in GlobalData's league table. Private Banker International reported the rankings on Oct. 23, citing GlobalData's Financial Advisers League Table for Q1–Q3.

Morgan Stanley ranked second on both measures: 212 deals worth $659.9 billion. JPMorgan was third with 165 deals valued at $492.5 billion. By value, Bank of America came fourth at $315.1 billion and Evercore fifth at $278.7 billion; by count, Goldman Sachs placed fourth with 154 deals and Evercore fifth with 133.

For allocators weighing evergreen and interval funds, the table is a demand gauge rather than a valuation check. It ranks advisers by the value and count of mandates they worked on, not by the vehicles that held the assets or the fees collected. A heavier advisory calendar is a precondition for exits from private holdings, but it says nothing about which mandates were sponsor sales.

Aurojyoti Bose, GlobalData's lead analyst, said Goldman's total advised value rose 52.3% year on year, moving it from second to first by value. He said the bank worked on 81 deals worth $1 billion or more, including 22 valued above $10 billion.

Bose said Houlihan Lokey held the volume lead it took in Q1–Q3 2025 and was one of only two advisers to work on more than 200 deals in the first nine months of 2026. Goldman's $687.6 billion across 154 deals averages about $4.5 billion per mandate.