248 Investors pursue Vestar

The number of disaffected investors to register their interest with the Exposing Unacceptable Financial Activities group in pursuing action against Vestar has grown to 248.

At a July meeting of EUFA, 45 investors gave the go-ahead to prepare a case against the now defunct Vestar financial planning group.

EUFA coordinator Suzanne Edmonds announced today that the number of investors who have registered their interest has grown to 248.

"Sadly a significant number are retired folk with retirement savings invested through Vestar," said Edmonds.

"They were invariably low-risk investors but many investments sold to them appear to be inappropriately high risk, and they have suffered losses as a result."

Vestar directors, the members of Vestar’s investment committee including high profile chairman Donal Curtin, and individual advisors will be named as respondents in the case.

But unless investors file notification of a claim by 31 October, the amount of compensation available to them will be cut and they will lose out a second time, according to Edmonds.

EUFA has learned from discussions with former Vestar advisers that their insurance policies lapse at the end of October.

Unless investors file a notification of claim within the next three days they will lose any right to make a claim against insurance policies with coverage that could run into the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Edmonds is urging clients of Vestar, Northplan, Jones Financial Services, Westplan, Colin Strang Financial Services and Swains who have money tied up in finance companies in receivership or moratorium to register their interest immediately through www.eufa.co.nz.

"We are offering to file a notification of claim on each investor's behalf at no charge, but they must go to www.eufa.co.nz now or they will lose out again," says Edmonds.