Morgan Stanley and Clairfield International were the top mergers and acquisitions (M&A) financial advisers in the South & Central American region during the first three quarters (Q1-Q3) of 2025 by value and volume, respectively, according to the latest financial advisers league table by GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

An analysis of GlobalData’s Financial Deals Database reveals that Morgan Stanley achieved the leading position in terms of value by advising on $12.5 billion worth of deals. Meanwhile, Clairfield International led in terms of volume by advising on a total of six deals.

Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “There was an year-on-year (YoY) increase in the total number of deals advised by Clairfield International during Q1-Q3 2025 and subsequently its ranking by volume improved from 15th to the top position.

“Morgan Stanley registered a massive YoY jump in the total value of deals advised by it during Q1-Q3 2025 due to the involvement in big-ticket deals. In fact, it was the only financial adviser to surpass $10 billion total deal value mark during Q1-Q3 2025. It is noteworthy that the two deals advised by the firm during Q1-Q3 2025 were billion-dollar deals*.”

Jefferies occupied the second position in terms of value, by advising on $9.3 billion worth of deals, followed by Mizuho Financial Group with $9 billion, RBC Capital Markets with $4.9 billion and Bank of America with $4.4 billion.

Meanwhile, UBS occupied the second position in terms of volume with five deals, followed by Lazard with four deals, Rothschild & Co with four deals and Citi with three deals.

*Valued ≥ $1 billion