Fund Evaluator:

Franklin Gold and Precious Metals A Overview

Franklin Gold and Precious Metals A (FKRCX) is an actively managed Sector Equity Equity Precious Metals fund. Franklin Templeton Investments launched the fund in 1969.

The investment seeks capital appreciation; secondary goal is to provide shareholders with current income through dividends or interest received from its investments. The fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets in securities of gold and precious metals operation companies. It may buy securities of gold and precious metals operation companies located anywhere in the world and in general invests predominantly in non-U.S. companies. The fund may invest in companies without regard to market capitalization, and may heavily invest in small- and mid-capitalization companies. The fund is non-diversified.

About Franklin Gold and Precious Metals A (FKRCX)

There are 3 members of the management team with an average tenure of 16.06 years: Matthew Adams (2026), Frederick Fromm (2005), Steve Land (1999). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.

The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: S&P 500 (TR) (1970) index with a weighting of 100% and FTSE Gold Mines TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Franklin Gold and Precious Metals A has 217 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 36.2% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a nondiversified fund. The fund is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.

Franklin Gold and Precious Metals A is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the Sector Equity fund group. Franklin Gold and Precious Metals A has 88.4% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 10.7%. There is 88.4% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 0.2% (0.2% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Franklin Gold and Precious Metals A has 0.7% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $1 billion in total assets, which is above the $423 million average for the Equity Precious Metals category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.

FKRCX Performance and Fees

The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The Franklin Gold and Precious Metals A expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Equity Precious Metals category. Franklin Gold and Precious Metals A has an expense ratio of 0.87%, which is 32% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a B. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.

High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. Franklin Gold and Precious Metals A has a portfolio turnover rate of 22%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 58% for the Equity Precious Metals category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, Franklin Gold and Precious Metals A returned -2.6%, which earned it a grade of F, as the Equity Precious Metals category had an average return of -1.8%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all funds in that category.

Franklin Gold and Precious Metals A has a trailing yield of 12.26%, which is above the 5.68% category average. The fund normally distributes its income annually and its capital gains annually.

It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.

Franklin Gold and Precious Metals A Grades

Year to date, the fund has returned -12.4%, 1.2 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of D. The fund has returned 63.3% over the past year (grade of A), 44.2% over the past three years (grade of A) and 18.8% per year over the past five years (grade of B) and 11.2% per year over the past 10 years (grade of A).

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