Giving Compass' Take:

• The Straight Times in Singapore reports on how the region's network of young entrepreneurs are pursuing investments that align with their values, despite a financial culture that tends to silo such a strategy.

• What does this mean for the global shift of impact investing in general? And how does it relate to the millennial entrepreneurs in the US, who are also looking to align corporate spending with social missions?

• Here's a general overview of philanthropy in Asia and its vast potential.

Asian private investors, particularly family offices, typically view investment and philanthropy as separate. But millennials are actively making social change through business. With 35 per cent of Asia's wealth expected to be in the hands of millennials in the next five to seven years, it is expected that ESG, or environmental, social and governance issues will factor more into investing decisions.

With Asia's share of the world's ultra-wealthy population growing nearly 10 per cent in 10 years, there are now more billionaires on this continent than in the United States and it is set to have the world's largest concentration of wealth in four years. But critical issues relating to climate action, education and wealth disparity need to be addressed, with Asia having one of the largest wage gaps globally.

"We need to mobilize a tremendous amount of capital for some of the most pressing environmental and social issues today. As family offices are open to philanthropy and values-based investing, that seemed like a good place to start," said Mr Durrie Hassan, executive director of Visible Mission Ventures. "My family had the choice to start a foundation and be purely philanthropic, or explore impact investing and generate financial returns as well. This is the pilot to see if we will go fully in that direction."

Read the full article about Asia's millennials and social impact investing by Grace Leong at The Straits Times.