A Note from Hope Katz Gibbs, publisher, Inkandescent Kids magazine — LouAnn Lofton, the author of Warren Buffett Invests Like a Girl, knows the value of investing wisely.

Her portfolio started to grow at age 15, shortly after the death of her father, a pharmacist, who set aside funds for LouAnn and her two siblings.

“Because my father died, it meant that I would inherit some money upon my 21st birthday,” the Mississippi native told Be Inkandescent magazine from her home in New Orleans. “And because of that, I decided, about a year out of high school, to learn about investing, so I didn’t squander the opportunity presented to me by that money.

“It wasn’t an overwhelming amount of money — nothing that was going to set me up for the high life anytime soon — but it was enough that I knew I didn’t want to blow it. I also knew no one would do it for me, and had I not armed myself with knowledge, I was liable to spend it instead of saving it and investing it. That would have been a disappointing outcome. And I hated the thought of disappointing my father even after his death.”

Her quest led her to study the investment strategy of Warren Buffett. Read more