William De Vijlder
CIO of Strategy & Partners, member of management committee
With Fortis Investments / BNP Paribas Investment Partners since 1999
Brussels, Belgium
Career
William De Vijlder began his career in the Economic Research Department at Belgium’s Generale Bank in 1987 and became Chief Investment Strategist in the asset management division in 1989. He was previously Managing Director and Global Chief Investment Officer at Fortis Investments. When Fortis Investments merged with BNP Paribas Investment Partners in 2010, he became CIO Partners and Alternative Investments, and subsequently CIO Strategy and Partners, the position he currently holds. He is a member of the Management Committee of BNP Paribas Investment Partners.
Education
William has a Ph.D. in economics and has been senior lecturer in finance and economics at the University of Ghent in Belgium since 1991.
Major conferences and media relations
William maintains a blog, “William’s World” on which he regularly comments on the investment environment. Recent titles include: “R-words”; “A tipping point? ”; “2012: clouds, clouds and more clouds…with brief sunny spells”.
Since ten years he has hosted the biannual Market Outlook press conference held in various European cities. He also launched the quarterly "Frequently Asked Questions" press conferences.
William is invited to speak at numerous conferences, summits, and roundtables. He has been a guest speaker slot/panelist for CFA Institute European Investment Conference (FR); Reuters Investment Summit (UK); in Belgium for the MoneyTalk Finance Day, Morningstar Fund Summit, VFB Happening, PIPS Seminar Mercer, Finance Avenue; Fondsevent (NL); Morning Institutional Conference (AU). He has given major interviews with international publications & newswires such as The Financial Times, FT MandateWire, Reuters, Bloomberg, IPE, and Asian Investor. He also served as a panelist for the Market Outlook Roundtable of Beleggers Belangen (Netherlands), IEXProfs Magazine (Netherlands), Moneytalk (Belgium), ACPM and IMN (Canada and US).
In addition, William is a regular columnist for Les Echos (FR), Moneytalk (BE), De Tijd/L'Echo WebTV - i/v Chief Economist (BE), De Tijd-L'Echo Grote Beursbarometer (BE), Le Jeudi (Lux) and has had live appearances on CNBC Asia Squawk Box, CNBC Europe Squawk Box, Thomson Reuters TV (UK), Bloomberg (UK), Kanaal Z-Expert (BE), RTBF La Une Radio (BE), Le Revenu TV (FR), La Vie et la Bourse (FR), Rzeczpospolita "Ask your manager" webchat (PL); BNR Nieuwsradio (NL), Fondsnieuws Webcast (NL), the Canadian Broadcasting Corp - The Lang & O'Leary Exchange, and Times Group India.
