SMU established the Business Families Institute (BFI@SMU) in August 2012 in response to the growing needs of business families in Asia. Since 2010, SMU had recognised the emergence of Asian business families and discerned that they require specifically contextualised thought leadership and applied knowledge. With this in mind, BFI@SMU collaborates with various partners, academic or otherwise, to be a knowledge leader in Asian business family-related education, engagement and research. BFI@SMU encourages business families to Think Generations, Think Growth, Think Giving and Think Global, and in doing so, the Institute addresses business family-specific issues such as family, ownership, business succession and governance. The vision of BFI@SMU is to facilitate business families in Asia to develop, harness and leverage their family and financial capital across generations