In Memoriam – Norman H. Lehrer

Norman H. Lehrer

December 4, 1928 – October 27, 2023

A personal note from Todd R. Walsh, CEO Alpha Cubed Investments:

I first met Norman Lehrer in 2012. His firm had been looking for a succession solution for years, but he could never make a final decision on a team to carry on his work. No one loved the process of investing or the joy of working with clients more than Norman Lehrer, and he demanded that anyone who was buying his firm have the same level of concern for these important factors as he did. By the third quarter of 2012, Norman was still undecided about which direction to go, but I had an epiphany one night and realized he had been looking at the succession process all wrong. His approach would have had him retiring soon after the purchase. My epiphany was that investing was his lifelong passion and he should never leave. I told him my thoughts, and we closed the deal that day and named him the Executive Chairman of the Investment Committee at Alpha Cubed Investments. Norman’s role at the firm scaled back over time, but we always benefited from his long-term views on valuation, dividends, the history of the markets, and many other insights. He left an indelible impact on all of us at the firm and on the many clients he worked with over the years. He will be missed.

Please take a minute to read through his bio below. His love of investing and taking care of clients is at the heart of everything we do at Alpha Cubed Investments.

Norman H. Lehrer served as Chairman Emeritus of the Investment Committee. His honorary title recognizes that, while he had retired, he continued to hold an advisory position, which permitted Alpha Cubed Investments to take advantage of his extensive knowledge and 70+ years of experience in the investment world. He had two careers: the first in electronics from 1951 to 1980 and the second in investments after that.

Norman’s first encounter with investments was as a runner one summer in the 1940s for Harris Upham and Co., a broker-dealer located at 14 Wall Street in New York. Upon his marriage to Lenore, the couple started investing in 1949, which turned out to be quite successful. While working in the electronics industry, Norman occasionally made speeches concerning investments. As a result of these speeches, starting in 1965, various people requested that he manage their money, and by the end of 1979, he was managing almost one million dollars. At that point, the decision was made to transition from the electronics business into the investment management business.

In 1979, Norman passed the N.A.S.D. Series 1 General Securities Examination and became a Registered Investment Adviser, founding Lehrer Management Company. In 1996, he passed the N.A.S.D. Series 65 Investment Adviser General Law Examination, which was required for some states outside of California. By 2011, the funds under management had grown to over $300 million, and Lehrer Management Company was then sold to Alpha Cubed Investments in 2012.

Norman received a B.S. in physics from the College of the City of New York in 1951 and an M.S. in physics from New York University in 1954. After graduation, he worked in the electronics industry until about 1980. From 1956 to 1968, he was employed at the Hughes Research Laboratory in Malibu, California, one of the world’s leading research laboratories, rising from a member of the technical staff, to section head, and finally department manager. In 1968, he was selected as one of the initial twelve outstanding inventors of the Hughes Aircraft Co. for his invention of the Multimode Tonotron Storage Tube. This was the first device that could produce a bright, non-fading radar display, resulting in a substantial increase in the detection range. It was employed in several fighter aircraft of the world, including the F106, the F14, the Mirage III, and the Swedish Viggend.