Several years ago, I set up a "fully loaded" Roth IRA with Putnam not fully aware of the no load options available. It hasn't done very well in the recent market then to tack on all the fees. As long as your contributions are less than the limit of $3,000 per year, can I set up another "Roth" account with another custodian or do I have to "roll' the one I have now with Putnam and consider penalties and/or devaluation?

There are no regulatory limits on the number of IRAs , it is really a simple question of practicality. Yes, new contributions can be made to a new account. You can later decide if you want to roll over other IRA funds into the new location or keep both.

Practical questions include what investment options are available, annual fees, and minimum opening balance. The more accounts you have, the greater the administrative burden to track your investments.

Performance for most stock funds was negative for about 2.5 years, so you have a lot of company being disappointed about results. However in the past 10 months or so stocks have been up sharply, especially technology companies. Time is an investors friend - and Roth IRAs are long term investment vehicles that should be evaluated from a long term perspective.