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.

I’ve always been a big fan of high yield stocks.  In particular stocks that are solid enough to throw into a retirement portfolio and forget about for a few weeks.  Afterall, as long as the yield stays the same, you’re not worried about the day to day fluctuations of the price.

In looking through a list of high yield stocks, an old addage comes to mind: “If it’s too good to be true…”  well, you know the rest.

When looking for a high yield stock, you’re looking for good fundamentals in the company iteself, but also a stable dividend history.  When looking at many Canadian …

In my search to diversify my retirement portfolio, Zach at the Upside Surprise blog turned me on to Advantage Energy Income Fund (AAV: chart).

Advantage Energy is a Canadian oil and gas fund that pays a ~15% dividend through monthly distributions, making it a candidate for my Roth IRA.

After digging through the SEC filings, and listening to the latest conference call (accompanying presentation), I have only a few reservations about AAV, although those reservations may be short lived.

Advantage is undergoing a merger (recently approved by shareholders of both companies) with a company called Ketch.  The merger will provide year-round drilling opportunities that will take advantage of Ketch’s large undeveloped land base giving opportunity to low risk infill and step out drilling.