Bill Fung, PhD

When Bill Fung passed away in July 2026, CFA Institute Research Foundation lost a trusted colleague, and the investment community lost an inquisitive and innovative voice. For two decades, Bill donated his time and energy to help shape the Research Foundation’s agenda. He was a dear and trusted friend, mentor, and inspiration to his colleagues. His influence can be seen across the organization’s broad library of practitioner-focused publications. 
 

Bill joined the Research Foundation board of trustees in 2007, serving until his retirement from the investment industry in 2015. During that time, Bill was also a member of the Financial Analysts Journal editorial board. Bill returned to the Research Foundation board in 2017 and chaired its research and finance committees for several years. He remained active as an emeritus trustee until his passing. He was pivotal in advising the Research Foundation’s leadership, organizing its financial operations, helping to define and focus the organization’s mission, and inspiring new research topics.
 

Bill entered the financial services world during the early 1980s, working for Lehman Brothers and Bankers Trust and applying his considerable math and finance skills. In 1990, he co-founded a hedge fund and subsequently a fund of hedge funds that was acquired in 2005. Bill remained active in alternative investments, serving on investment committees and boards of private investor vehicles. He was one of the founders of an alternative investment due diligence specialist firm, Albourne Partners.
 

Bill earned a BSc and a PhD in mathematics from the University of London and a PhD in finance from the University of Manchester. He held visiting faculty positions at London Business School, Manchester Business School, the London School of Economics, New York University, and Rutgers University. 
 

Bill maintained an interest in academic and practitioner-oriented investment topics throughout his career. In particular, he contributed a great deal to the academic study of hedge funds. His long-time collaboration with David Hsieh on that topic produced a highly influential body of literature. Bill published his work in distinguished journals such as The Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, The Review of Financial Studies, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Financial Analysts Journal, and Management Science.
 

Bill received the CAIA 2015 Award for Excellence in Alternative Investment Research, a Graham and Dodd Scroll Award in 2004, and the 1999 Fischer Black Memorial Foundation’s Robert J. Schwartz Memorial Prize.
 

Bill was a devoted parent and grandparent. The Research Foundation’s condolences go out to his wife, two sons, and four grandchildren.