Aiming to forge their own paths, children from affluent Asian families are foregoing their traditional family businesses and aiming to start their own ventures.

"The older generation now is more respectful of the choice of the son and daughter whether they want to go into the family business," observes Alison Chan, managing director, ultra-high net worth solutions, Greater China at Standard Chartered. "The second generation want to be entrepreneurs themselves."

While it is definitely a challenging task for any family business to consistently maintain the governance past the founding generation, it reveals that the children of ultra-high net worth (UHNW) individuals now have a choice. By not joining the original family business, the new generation of entrepreneurs could potentially start new ventures that are built for sustainability. "We want to start the succession conversation by asking clients; where will your business be in 20 years?" explains Chan.

Take for example Anthony Tan, CEO of GrabTaxi, who decided to start his own ride-hailing app company instead of joining car distributor Tan Chong Motors, a listed Malaysian company founded by his grandfather. As a result, Tan was able to discover an underserved segment within Southeast Asia. GrabTaxi just recently received US$350 million from its latest fund raising exercise.

The shift in the younger entrepreneurs' thinking has not come unnoticed. Various private banks have set up educational programs catered to this second generation of ultra-high net worth (UHNW) individuals.

Standard Chartered private bank, for instance, partnered with the University of Cambridge for its "Future Global Leaders' Programme." Within the programme participants learned about several topics including handling geopolitical risk and media relations. "Everything about this program is designed so that the next generation can navigate this complex and fast-changing world," says Chan.

Citi's private bank has the NextGen programme, which is a 5-day experience planned around giving second generation to third generation clients a chance to learn and network with peers around the world. HSBC has their own next generation forum as well, looking to also focus on how their second generation clients can protect and preserve the family's wealth.

Though the majority of private banking clients (around 91% according to a J.P. Morgan survey) plan to keep ownership of their businesses for the long-haul, they soon might seek professional management assistance if their children decide to pursue their own private ventures in the future.