Contra Fund, indeed

At the tender age of 23, the big moment has finally arrived. If paying my own rent, settling up college debt and and working a 9-5 (or six...or six thirty) hasn't turned me into an adult, this development will surely scare away the last shards of financial virginity: It's time to plan for retirement.

The fact that I had to look up the definition of a 401(k) should indicate my level of experience in this matter (the name comes from a section of the 1978 Internal Revenue Code, in case you were curious), but I've been doing my homework. My choices are: big oil money, child labor or other popular, anonymous crimes. One of the choices I like, the "contra fund", seeks to invest in undervalued stocks which are anticipated to perform beyond their current expectations. I think all of us can relate to that feeling. I also have a thing for the contra fund because the name itself reflects how I feel about investing.

I went to one of the most liberal-of-the-liberal arts schools you can find in order to get a better eduction than my parents and their parents before them. Part of this 'advancement of the generations', in fact a lot of it, is for monetary gain and security. So, what this cruel and confusing world wants me to do is study worldwide social injustice for five years and then walk away with a piece of paper that will earn me a job offering the "benefit" of investing in those injustices.

Awesome.


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