The pace of the global M&A roundabout is one worth tracking for the wealth management sector given that significant liquidity events can make individuals very rich very quickly. The year saw several high-value transactions – the heftiest deal was the $160 billion acquisition of Dublin-headquartered pharmaceuticals maker Allergan by Pfizer.

The number of global deals fell marginally from 89,773 in 2014 to 89,440 in 2015 but value was up 28 per cent year-on-year, with most regions logging rises in value, according to the report. Leading the way was the US where despite a 7 per cent dip in volume to 14,357 deals, value jumped 15 per cent to $1.94 trillion. This came as no surprise considering 11 of the year's top 20 transactions by value targeted US-based companies.

In Europe, the UK came out on top, with 7,260 deals worth a combined $548.7 billion. This represented an 11 per cent increase in volume while value more than doubled.

Regionally, it was Western Europe where value rose the most, climbing 50 per cent year-on-year to $1.73 trillion. In fact, the only regions that did not see greater value in 2015 were the Middle East and North Africa, and Central and Eastern Europe.

“2015 provided definitive proof that global M&A deal activity was truly back on track, with record levels of announced deal values recorded, despite a relatively small decline in the absolute volume of deals announced. Six of 2015's 'mega' deals rank in the top 25 deals announced globally since 1 January 2000,” said Zephyr's director, Lisa Wright.

“High-value deals have been responsible for driving the improvements seen in Western Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific dealmaking activity in 2015 when compared to 2014 and have gone some way to compensating for slowdowns in MENA and CEE.”