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Asia-Pacific's super-rich moving towards impact investing

Thursday, 19 November 2015 09:19 GMT

* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Ultra-high net worth individuals keen to put money in enterprises that generate a positive social or environmental impact

The ultra-rich and family businesses in Asia-Pacific are becoming more engaged in philanthropy and more funds across the region are expected to be channeled into impact investing.

Impact investing puts money into enterprises that generate beneficial social or environmental impact alongside financial return. It is different to conventional philanthropy, which donates funds without expectation of any financial return.

Impact investment is set rise to 44 percent of Asia-Pacific ultra high net worth (UHNW) individuals' capital allocation in 2018, up from 33 per cent now, according to a report by Credit Suisse and Campden Wealth Research  released this week.

The majority of UHNW people in the survey had wealth of more than US$50 million (S$71 million).

Credit Suisse said many foundations in Asia are keen to embrace "high-engagement and high-impact giving" and many UHNW individuals are also moving away from direct donations and invest in social entreprises and venture philanthropy.

The survey polled 30 family businesses, with half of them in the financial services and real estate industry.

Over one-third of those polled were from Hong Kong, with family businesses from India accounting for about 14 per cent of respondents. The rest came from Singapore (10.7 percent), Australia, Thailand, the Philippines and Nepal. Some Asia-Pacific businesses were based in Britain and the US.

Credit Suisse said the findings showed that 68 per cent of the family businesses consider impact investing to be a separate asset class.

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