J.P. Morgan Securities LLC dominated the top spot among financial advisers for real estate investment trust M&A in 2021, with eight deals totaling approximately $65.58 billion in transaction value.

Morgan Stanley took second place with seven deals totaling $53.28 billion, while Citigroup Global Markets Inc. occupied the third spot with nearly $49.37 billion across five deals.

A few of J.P. Morgan's notable deals included its advisement to KKR & Co. Inc. and Global Infrastructure Partners in their $15 billion announced acquisition of data center operator CyrusOne Inc.; American Tower Corp. in its approximately $10 billion acquisition of CoreSite Realty Corp.; as well as advising VEREIT Inc. on its merger with Realty Income Corp.

In the legal adviser rankings, Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz took first place after advising on seven deals totaling $45.92 billion, including Bluerock Residential Growth REIT Inc. on its acquisition by Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust Inc.

Hogan Lovells US LLP took second place for its role in VICI Properties Inc.'s acquisition of MGM Growth Properties LLC.