Morgan Stanley and Diligent Capital were the top mergers and acquisitions (M&A) financial advisers in the retail sector during the first half (H1) of 2026 by value and volume, respectively, according to the latest financial advisers league table by GlobalData, which ranks financial advisers by the value and volume of M&A deals on which they advised.

Based on its Financial Deals Database, the leading intelligence and productivity platform has revealed that Morgan Stanley achieved the top position in terms of value by advising on $2.2 billion worth of deals. Meanwhile, Diligent Capital led in terms of volume by advising on a total of nine deals. 

Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Diligent Capital did not feature among the top 10 by volume in H1 2025 but led by this metric in H1 2026.  Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley’s ranking by value improved from second position in H1 2025 to the top position in H1 2026. Two of the three deals advised by Morgan Stanley in H1 2026 were billion-dollar deals* and involvement in these deals helped it secure the top spot by value. It also held the seventh position by volume during H1 2026.”

An analysis of GlobalData’s Deals Database reveals that Goldman Sachs occupied the second position in terms of value, by advising on $1.5 billion worth of deals, followed by Rothschild & Co with $1.4 billion, Daiwa Securities Group with $1.4 billion, and Nomura with $1.2 billion.

Meanwhile, Performance Brokerage Services occupied the second position in terms of volume with seven deals, followed by Houlihan Lokey with four deals, and Haig Partners with four deals.

*Deals valued more than or equal to $1 billion