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claims.md
---
bcp_version: "0.8"
file_type: claims
parent: https://registry.brandcontextprotocol.dev/houlihan-lokey-f12a9db6/.well-known/brand.md
last_updated: 2026-09-08
---
# Claims
These claims were assembled from public sources for review. They are not legal advice and have not been approved by Houlihan Lokey. Review with the accountable brand owner and legal or compliance team before use in advertising, sales, regulated, comparative, or client-specific communications. Proof status records source and qualification state; it is not legal approval.
## Approved at launch
```yaml
approved_at_launch: []
```
No claim is marked approved because this is a public-source demonstration without Houlihan Lokey review.
## Requires caveat or owner approval
```yaml
requires_caveat:
- id: "hl-global-investment-bank"
claim: "Houlihan Lokey is a leading global investment bank."
tier: core
proof_status: requires_caveat
evidence: "https://hl.com/services/"
owner: null
validity_window:
valid_from: 2026-09-08
valid_until: null
source_hash: null
exact_text: false
approved_language: null
caveat: "Closely track the firm's current corporate description. Do not expand 'leading' into an unsupported claim about overall quality, market share, revenue, or transaction value."
- id: "hl-three-business-lines"
claim: "Houlihan Lokey's principal businesses are Corporate Finance, Financial Restructuring, and Financial and Valuation Advisory."
tier: core
proof_status: requires_caveat
evidence: "https://hl.com/services/"
owner: null
validity_window:
valid_from: 2026-09-08
valid_until: null
source_hash: null
exact_text: false
approved_language: null
caveat: "Recheck the firm's current reporting segments and service structure before consequential use."
- id: "hl-founded-history"
claim: "Houlihan Lokey was established in Los Angeles in 1972, and its investment banking business began in 1986."
tier: default
proof_status: requires_caveat
evidence: "https://hl.com/careers/early-careers/"
owner: null
validity_window:
valid_from: 2026-09-08
valid_until: null
source_hash: null
exact_text: false
approved_language: null
caveat: "Use as corporate history, not as proof of uninterrupted leadership in every service line."
- id: "hl-fy2026-revenue"
claim: "Houlihan Lokey reported $2.62 billion of revenue for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026."
tier: core
proof_status: requires_caveat
evidence: "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1302215/000130221526000053/hli-20260331.htm"
owner: null
validity_window:
valid_from: 2026-09-08
valid_until: null
source_hash: null
exact_text: false
approved_language: null
caveat: "Always state the fiscal period. Do not describe revenue as transaction value, assets under management, or client proceeds."
- id: "hl-fy2026-scale"
claim: "As of March 31, 2026, Houlihan Lokey reported more than 1,900 financial professionals across more than 30 offices and said it served more than 2,000 clients annually."
tier: default
proof_status: requires_caveat
evidence: "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1302215/000130221526000059/hli-20260724.htm"
owner: null
validity_window:
valid_from: 2026-09-08
valid_until: null
source_hash: null
exact_text: false
approved_language: null
caveat: "Keep the 'more than' qualifiers and the as-of date. Recheck current scale before reuse."
- id: "hl-2025-global-ma-ranking"
claim: "LSEG ranked Houlihan Lokey No. 1 by number of announced or completed global M&A transactions in 2025, with 458 transactions, excluding accounting firms and brokers."
tier: core
proof_status: requires_caveat
evidence: "https://hl.com/about-us/"
owner: null
validity_window:
valid_from: 2026-09-08
valid_until: null
source_hash: null
exact_text: false
approved_language: null
caveat: "Retain year, announced-or-completed basis, transaction-count basis, 458-transaction figure, LSEG source, and exclusions. Do not convert the ranking into a claim about completed deals, transaction value, or advisory quality."
- id: "hl-2025-restructuring-ranking"
claim: "LSEG ranked Houlihan Lokey No. 1 for 2025 global distressed debt and bankruptcy restructuring transactions, with 83 deals."
tier: core
proof_status: requires_caveat
evidence: "https://hl.com/about-us/"
owner: null
validity_window:
valid_from: 2026-09-08
valid_until: null
source_hash: null
exact_text: false
approved_language: null
caveat: "Retain year, exact category, transaction-count basis, 83-deal figure, and LSEG attribution."
- id: "hl-2001-2025-fairness-ranking"
claim: "LSEG ranked Houlihan Lokey No. 1 by number of global M&A fairness advisory transactions announced or completed from 2001 through 2025, with 1,170 deals."
tier: core
proof_status: requires_caveat
evidence: "https://hl.com/about-us/"
owner: null
validity_window:
valid_from: 2026-09-08
valid_until: null
source_hash: null
exact_text: false
approved_language: null
caveat: "Retain the 2001-2025 window, announced-or-completed basis, exact fairness-advisory category, 1,170 figure, and LSEG attribution."
- id: "hl-restructuring-team-scale"
claim: "Houlihan Lokey says its Financial Restructuring group has nearly 300 professionals worldwide and is the largest dedicated financial restructuring group of any investment banking firm."
tier: contextual
proof_status: requires_caveat
evidence: "https://hl.com/services/"
owner: null
validity_window:
valid_from: 2026-09-08
valid_until: null
source_hash: null
exact_text: false
approved_language: null
caveat: "Attribute the comparative claim to Houlihan Lokey, retain 'nearly,' and revalidate the comparison before use."
- id: "hl-capital-solutions-scale"
claim: "Houlihan Lokey says its Capital Solutions Group comprises more than 170 professionals worldwide."
tier: contextual
proof_status: requires_caveat
evidence: "https://hl.com/services/"
owner: null
validity_window:
valid_from: 2026-09-08
valid_until: null
source_hash: null
exact_text: false
approved_language: null
caveat: "Attribute to the firm, retain 'more than,' and recheck current team size."
- id: "hl-client-expectations"
claim: "Dedicated to exceeding our clients' expectations"
tier: core
proof_status: requires_caveat
evidence: "https://hl.com/about-us/"
owner: null
validity_window:
valid_from: 2026-09-08
valid_until: null
source_hash: null
exact_text: true
approved_language: "Dedicated to exceeding our clients' expectations"
caveat: "Observed as a current corporate headline. Confirm exact punctuation, capitalization, market, and placement with Houlihan Lokey before campaign use."
- id: "hl-social-commitment"
claim: "Houlihan Lokey describes its social commitment as supporting opportunity and inclusion, charitable giving, volunteering, community well-being, and environmental responsibility."
tier: contextual
proof_status: requires_caveat
evidence: "https://hl.com/about-us/social-commitment/"
owner: null
validity_window:
valid_from: 2026-09-08
valid_until: null
source_hash: null
exact_text: false
approved_language: null
caveat: "Frame as the firm's stated commitments and reported programs, not proof of universal outcomes or external assurance."
```
## Forbidden
```yaml
forbidden:
- id: "hl-official-bcp"
claim: "This is Houlihan Lokey's official or approved BCP."
tier: core
proof_status: forbidden
evidence: "Encoded Brands publication provenance"
owner: null
validity_window:
valid_from: 2026-09-08
valid_until: null
source_hash: null
exact_text: false
approved_language: null
caveat: "This is a public-source demonstration, claimed by the publishing account but not domain-verified or approved by Houlihan Lokey."
- id: "hl-retail-bank"
claim: "Houlihan Lokey is a retail or commercial bank that takes deposits or provides ordinary consumer banking."
tier: core
proof_status: forbidden
evidence: "https://hl.com/services/"
owner: null
validity_window:
valid_from: 2026-09-08
valid_until: null
source_hash: null
exact_text: false
approved_language: null
caveat: "The firm describes itself as a global investment bank and financial advisor."
- id: "hl-guaranteed-outcomes"
claim: "Houlihan Lokey guarantees a transaction, financing, valuation, restructuring, recovery, price, timing, or regulatory outcome."
tier: core
proof_status: forbidden
evidence: "Professional-services risk boundary"
owner: null
validity_window:
valid_from: 2026-09-08
valid_until: null
source_hash: null
exact_text: false
approved_language: null
caveat: "Advisory experience and process do not eliminate market, execution, legal, valuation, or counterparty risk."
- id: "hl-unqualified-number-one"
claim: "Houlihan Lokey is the No. 1 investment bank in the world."
tier: core
proof_status: forbidden
evidence: "https://hl.com/about-us/"
owner: null
validity_window:
valid_from: 2026-09-08
valid_until: null
source_hash: null
exact_text: false
approved_language: null
caveat: "Published rankings are category-, period-, source-, and methodology-specific."
- id: "hl-revenue-as-deal-value"
claim: "Houlihan Lokey completed $2.62 billion of deals in fiscal 2026."
tier: core
proof_status: forbidden
evidence: "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1302215/000130221526000053/hli-20260331.htm"
owner: null
validity_window:
valid_from: 2026-09-08
valid_until: null
source_hash: null
exact_text: false
approved_language: null
caveat: "$2.62 billion was reported company revenue, not transaction value."
- id: "hl-zero-conflicts"
claim: "Houlihan Lokey has no conflicts of interest."
tier: core
proof_status: forbidden
evidence: "Professional-services conflict boundary"
owner: null
validity_window:
valid_from: 2026-09-08
valid_until: null
source_hash: null
exact_text: false
approved_language: null
caveat: "Independence and objectivity must be described in the applicable service and engagement context, with conflict procedures and disclosures where required."
- id: "hl-transaction-causation"
claim: "Houlihan Lokey alone caused a client's transaction outcome."
tier: core
proof_status: forbidden
evidence: "Transaction-role accuracy boundary"
owner: null
validity_window:
valid_from: 2026-09-08
valid_until: null
source_hash: null
exact_text: false
approved_language: null
caveat: "Use the exact disclosed advisory role and avoid assigning sole causation or client decisions to the advisor."
- id: "hl-advice-from-agent"
claim: "AI-generated content constitutes Houlihan Lokey investment, legal, tax, accounting, valuation, fairness, solvency, restructuring, or securities advice."
tier: core
proof_status: forbidden
evidence: "Regulated-advice boundary"
owner: null
validity_window:
valid_from: 2026-09-08
valid_until: null
source_hash: null
exact_text: false
approved_language: null
caveat: "Only authorized professionals acting within an actual engagement may provide firm advice."
```