Their website says that “We are a British Owned, Hong Kong registered group, with the bulk of the operations in Mainland China and with satellite offices across Asia.”
So, although the company is registered in Hong Kong they do not seem to operate there – perhaps because Hong Kong is a regulated jurisdiction. In order to give financial advice in Hong Kong you must be approved by one of the Hong Kong regulators. I can find no evidence that Bluestar AG is regulated in Hong Kong – or anywhere else for that matter.
The registered address of the firm is Room 813 Holywood Plaza, 610 Nathan Road, Kowloon. A Google search indicates that there are a lot of companies operating out of that address – my guess is that it is a company formation/management office and the Bluestar has no physical presence at that address.
Bluestar AMG Holdings Limited is registered in Hong Kong, but I cannot see who the directors are without paying a fee. The website
www.bluestar-amg.com was registered by a domain registry service provider and so we have no information about the owners.
One extraordinary feature (to me at least) of the website is that there is no mention of any individuals. No statement from the Board or the Management. I find that really odd – as if nobody wants their fingerprints on it. As for the services provided – its clear from their own brochure that it is the usual unit-linked insurance policies from Skandia, Zurich, RL360, Generali, Axa and Aviva:
https://bluestar-amg.com/wp-content/...HUREscreen.pdf
So, to summarise, Bluestar AMG is an unregulated seller of high commission toxic unit-linked savings plans, pretending to be a financial advisory firm.If you deal with them you will have no recourse to an ombudsman, they will have no professional indemnity insurance, no requirement to have a complaints procedure, there will be no regulatory controls on their sales practices, and their “advisers” will probably not have any relevant qualifications.
When it comes to retail investments I have an aversion to complexity – complexity makes it very difficult to understand what is going on, who is charging what, and how to unwind things. For arguments sake let’s assume you are Australian. If you deal with Bluestar advisor in China then you will have:
- A British national;
- Working for a Hong Kong company;
- Operating in China;
- Dealing with an Australian citizen;
- Selling an insurance policy issued in the Isle of Man which is;
- Invested in underlying funds in London, Luxembourg; Caymans etc.
That is six jurisdictions, six separate legal frameworks, between you and your money. That is way too complicated for me – I would run a mile from these guys. If your “financial adviser” wants to come on here and discuss any of this I will be happy to oblige!
(PS Sorry for the varying typeface)