The star ratings of niche funds are likely to be more volatile. On occasion, they may look exaggerated compared to the category, and you'll have to take them with a grain of salt.

We're not recommending it because we expect volatility based on the price risks it takes, and we'd only recommend a fund with such a high expense ratio if it had a very long track record of success. The fund is not a 'sell,' however, since Franklin has a large staff of analysts and the manager does know the approach that Franklin uses.

Just because a fund has 'dividend growth' or 'rising dividends' in the name doesn't mean it's strictly following a strategy of buying stocks that have increased their dividend. Study the strategy of each fund and understand the portfolio.

It's the first primarily broker-sold fund family acquiring an ETF family.

It's absolutely impossible to quantify the impact of Sept. 11.

There's a history of investors jumping into asset classes at their peak, so it's better to temper expectations and not to expect recent returns will continue forever. Will investors be as excited about the diversification benefits when oil is falling, and stick with it?