Fishers money manager target of state probe

The Indiana Secretary of State’s Office is investigating prominent Fishers money manager Keenan Hauke after one of his advisers accused Hauke of financial irregularities involving a hedge fund he operates.

A.J. Feeney-Ruiz, a spokesman for the state office, confirmed the probe but said he could not comment further because it is ongoing.

Hauke is CEO of Samex Capital Advisors LLC and has written a regular investing column for IBJ for nine years. The column has been “suspended indefinitely,” Editor Tom Harton said.

Hauke declined to comment when reached Thursday afternoon.

The investigation, launched earlier this week, stems from former Samex adviser Scott Noble’s decision to notify the state about irregularities he said he discovered at the firm.

In an interview with IBJ, Noble declined to divulge what the irregularities might include, but said he believed them to be so serious that he resigned from Samex.

“The nature of the financial irregularities I discovered required me to immediately inform the authorities,” he said via e-mail. “As to the full extent of the problem, the authorities will have to examine records and make a determination.”

Hauke’s lawyer, Larry Mackey of Barnes & Thornburg, said in an e-mail that the complaint was filed by a “former and disgruntled” employee who had previously never raised any concerns with Hauke.

Mackey said Noble subsequently sent an e-mail to all of Hauke’s clients soliciting their business for his new financial advising firm.

Noble denied he is trying to drum up business for his new firm, Ternion.

"I did not do this to pilfer clients," he said. "I did this because there were documents that showed really bad things."