It took us a while, but both Roth IRA’s are fully funded for 2006.  Unfortunately, we had to pull cash from our car savings fund, which hurts, but it had to be done.

We can make the old Honda run a few thousand more miles and get an extra couple months out of the old girl, but we must get the retirement account funded to the maximum allowable value.

Once the cash is in the accounts, I’ll have to figure out what to do with it.  Gold is attractive right now, and having some cash in reserve to buy some more Ford …

Today I bought more shares of Provident Energy Trust (PVX: chart) in my Roth IRA. Some gurus that I’ve talked to suggest that oil is going to $45 per barrel, and natural gas is going to $2 per MCF.

Others still think crude oil ($wtic: chart) could go to $100 by the end of the year, and natty gas ($natgas: chart) could rise to $15.

I think they’re both wrong.

I think natural gas will be more volatile than oil, as it’s all home grown and consumed. Oil, on the other hand, has so many outside influences driving the price, that the likelihood of stability far outweighs sporadic …

After I finally got my American Funds retirement rolled over to my T. Rowe Price 401(k), there have been a few more decisions to make. For starters, how do I distribute the money between assets? After I pick how many ways I want to split my retirement, then I have to pick what assets to acquire with the funds.

I’ve always been told that having four, solid holdings is a good way to go, at least initially. Any more and you’re spreading your money too thin, any less and you’re putting too much in one basket. Once you’ve got more money to play with, it may …

A little over 3 weeks since T. Rowe Price “misplaced” over $9,000 worth of my retirement roll over, I’ve finally received word that they’ve deposited the balance into my account and backdated all purchases to the original roll over date.

So we’re square. Irritated, but square.

This is my first experience with target-date retirement funds, but I like the concept. You pick a fund with a target date close to that which you expect to retire. Over time, the funds allocation between stocks and bonds shift to a less aggressive portfolio and lower risk structure.

Since I’ve got a few …

In an effort to roll over my former employers IRA into my new employers 401(k), T. Rowe Price seems to have misplaced my roll over checks.

After waiting a few days after the paperwork had cleared, I noticed that only $300 of my $9,000+ roll over was deposited into my account.

After a quick inquiry to T. Rowe Price, they looked through their records and realized they’ve “misplaced” several checks totaling over $9,000! MISPLACED $9,000!

Fortunately, they have resolved the issue and will credit my account, including the prorated interest, effective on the date the first check was deposited into the account.

I’m not …

A few months ago I got back into aviation and engineering with a local company. They offer excellent benefits and provide an attractive match to a 401(k) held by T. Rowe Price.

So a few days ago I started the paperwork to roll over my existing American Funds retirement account to the new T. Rowe Price plan from my employer.

What a headache…

Forms to fill out from both T. Rowe Price and American Funds which seems simple enough, but then I found out that American Funds wants an official letter of acceptance on official letterhead from T. Rowe Price stating the type of retirement account they’re sending capital to. On …

I’m getting closer to narrowing down a placement for my Roth IRA contribution, and am strongly considering Frontline Ltd (FRO: chart, web). 

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Frontline pays a 14% dividend, with a payout ratio of 109%.  In a round about way, they’re tied to the oil and gas industry, which I’ve tried to shy away from since I’m overweight in oil and gas in the first place.

However, Frontline gives me worldwide exposure to the shipping and freight industry, and even if oil prices go down, demand for …

In my quest to diversify my Roth IRA, I ran across a few contenders.  Not one of them fits all my requirements for my search, but sometimes you’ve got to give a little in order to take a little.

Here is a quick synopsis of what I’ve found so far, and I’ll follow up with a more detailed analysis at a later date.

NovaStar Financial (NFI)
NovaStar Financial, Inc (NFI: chart, web) is a specialty finance company. The company originates, purchases, invests in, and services residential nonconforming loans in the United States.

NovaStar stock offers a 16.5% yield, paid out quarterly and has paid out fairly consistently back to 2002 when they started paying out each quarter.

They have a 38% profit margin and maintain a slightly lower operating margin.  They hold a balance sheet with $154 million in cash, and $3.61 billion in debt, which is to be expected with a financial lender.

A sizable drawback to this stock is that their payout is upwards of 193%, which means they are paying out more than they are bringing in. I can’t predict how much longer this strategy can last, but to be sure, it won’t last forever.

In addition, this is a company who is in a sector that is about to take a beating if it hasn’t already.  The housing market is slowing, and it is anticipated that the number of new loans will drop significantly.  In addition, the Fed just stopped raising rates (as evidence from the stock chart clearly shows), which is detrimental to financial and lending institutions.  These points alone make the risk levels in NFI somewhat unattractive.

New Century Financial Corp. (NEW)
New Century Financial Corp (NEW: chart, web) is in much the same position as NovaStar.  The company operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT) in the United States. It originates and purchases mortgage loans through both retail, and wholesale channels.

I’ve come up against quite a dilemma.  I’ve got more money to contribute to my Roth IRA retirement account, but have no idea which securities to buy with the money.

The problem is that I’m overloaded in the oil and gas sector, but right now, that’s really the only attractive sector out there until the rest of the market (driven by the direction of the economy) decides which way to turn.

My requirements for securities in my Roth are:

A yield substantially higher than current bank rates
Stable securities with a consistent dividend payout
Securities must not be tied with the oil and gas sector

Some qualities I’d like to see …

You can’t beat a good dividend, especially in a retirement account. Tack on a consistent dividend that pays out monthly, and you’ve got a solid foundation for a happy retirement.

I’ve been watching Pengrowth Energy Trust (PGH: chart) for quite a while, and have held trust units in various retirement accounts up until recently, when the company announced that they would merge the two share classes together.  Class A shares would be merged into Class B shares and the whole pot would be renamed “Trust Units” on July 27th.

This was all fine, except for the fact that the two classes of shares didn’t trade at an equivalent share price, therefore something’s gotta give, and I didn’t want to stick around and see who’s portfolio was going to pay for the wash.  I took my gains and went to cash.

Well, my timing was impeccable, as the price per share has dropped to just over $22, down from nearly $25 per share. Obviously a result of the consolidation of two share structures that don’t trade at the same value.