Deals by practice · November 2026

Funds & Investment Management: deal monitor

Dated deals that Funds & Investment Management lawyers worked on over the last 12 months: volume, type, client industry and the advising firms.

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01 The numbers

The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026

1,221
Dated deals, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
+2.8%
Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
$1,100m
Median disclosed value
772
Distinct clients
02 Reading the data

What the data show

Sartori & Partners data count 1,221 dated deals worked by Funds & Investment Management lawyers from November 2025 to October 2026. On settled windows the deal count went from 1,191 to 1,224 (+2.8%), which we read as flat. The deal market as a whole moved +10.6% over the same windows.

Funds & Investment Management deals by year

2026 runs to October.

By deal type, Fund formation is involved in 39.1% of these deals and M&A in 9.8%. By client industry, Asset Management & Funds is involved in 64.3% of these deals and Financial Sponsors in 29.3%.

Share of deals involving each client industry

Deal value was disclosed on 25.1% of them; where disclosed, the median was $1,100 million. 772 distinct clients appear across the window.

Deal types, share

Kirkland & Ellis ranks first among advising firms, in the 101-150 band; the full top 10 follows as ranks and bands.

A firm hiring for Funds & Investment Management work should read the adviser table as the map of where experienced lawyers sit today.

03 Firms

Firms by rank and band

Each firm appears as a rank and a band, never an exact count, and only with at least 10 moves in the window.

Advising firms ranked by deals, 12 months
RankFirmDeals (band)
1Kirkland & Ellis101-150
2Dechert101-150
3Simpson Thacher & Bartlett61-100
4Ropes & Gray61-100
5Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath41-60
6Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young21-40
7Sidley Austin21-40
8Loyens & Loeff21-40
9K & L Gates21-40
10Latham & Watkins21-40

Edition November 2026. Window: November 2025 to October 2026. Source: Sartori & Partners, from public law-firm announcements, firm websites and professional profiles, checked monthly. Methodology. Spot an error? [email protected].

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