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SUMMARY PROSPECTUS

   
    
  

FRANKLIN NATURAL RESOURCES FUND

 
    
    
  

September 1, 2024

 
    
  

 
    
     
      
    

Class A

Class C

Class R6

Advisor Class

FRNRX

FNCRX

FNCSX

FNRAX

Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund’s prospectus, which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Fund’s prospectus, statement of additional information, reports to shareholders and other information about the Fund online at www.franklintempleton.com/prospectus. You can also get this information at no cost by calling (800) DIAL BEN/342-5236 or by sending an e-mail request to prospectus@franklintempleton.com. The Fund’s prospectus and statement of additional information, both dated September 1, 2024, as may be supplemented, are all incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus.


FRANKLIN NATURAL RESOURCES FUND
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS

Franklin Natural Resources Fund

Investment Goal

High total return. Total return consists of both capital appreciation and current dividend and interest income.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

These tables describe the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees (including on Class R6 and Advisor Class shares), such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below. You may qualify for sales charge discounts in Class A if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $25,000 in Franklin Templeton funds and certain other funds distributed through Franklin Distributors, LLC, the Fund’s distributor. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and under “Your Account” on page 58 in the Fund’s Prospectus and under “Buying and Selling Shares” on page 59 of the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information. In addition, more information about sales charge discounts and waivers for purchases of shares through specific financial intermediaries is set forth in Appendix A – “Intermediary Sales Charge Discounts and Waivers” to the Fund’s prospectus.

Shareholder Fees

(fees paid directly from your investment)

         

 

Class A

 

Class C

 

Class R6

 

Advisor
Class

Maximum Sales Charge (Load)
Imposed on Purchases (as percentage of offering price)

5.50%

 

None

 

None

 

None

Maximum Deferred Sales Charge
(Load) (as percentage of the lower of original purchase price or sale proceeds)

None

1 

1.00%

 

None

 

None

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

1.

There is a 1% contingent deferred sales charge that applies to investments of $1 Million or more (see "Investments of $1 Million or More" under "Choosing a Share Class") and purchases by certain retirement plans without an initial sales charge on shares sold within 18 months of purchase.

   
 

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FRANKLIN NATURAL RESOURCES FUND
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS

Annual Fund Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

        

 

Class A

 

Class C

 

Class R6

 

Advisor
Class

Management fees

0.52%

 

0.52%

 

0.52%

 

0.52%

Distribution and service (12b-1) fees

0.25%

 

1.00%

 

None

 

None

Other expenses

0.25%

 

0.25%

 

0.15%

 

0.25%

Total annual Fund operating expenses

1.02%

 

1.77%

 

0.67%

 

0.77%

Fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement1

-0.01%

 

-0.01%

 

-0.06%

 

-0.01%

Total annual Fund operating expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement

1.01%

 

1.76%

 

0.61%

 

0.76%

1. The investment manager has agreed to reduce its fees to reflect reduced services resulting from the Fund’s investments in Franklin Templeton affiliated funds. In addition, the transfer agency fees on Class R6 shares of the Fund have been capped so that transfer agency fees for that class do not exceed 0.03%. These arrangements are expected to continue until August 31, 2025. During the terms, the fee waiver and expense reimbursement agreements may not be terminated or amended without approval of the board of trustees except to add series or classes, to reflect the extension of termination dates or to lower the waiver and expense limitation (which would result in lower fees for shareholders).

Example

This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of the period. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same. The Example reflects adjustments made to the Fund's operating expenses due to the fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements by management for the 1 Year numbers only. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

          

 

 

 

1 Year

 

3 Years

 

5 Years

 

10 Years

Class A

 

$647

 

$855

 

$1,081

 

$1,728

Class C

 

$279

 

$557

 

$959

 

$1,887

Class R6

 

$62

 

$208

 

$367

 

$828

Advisor Class

 

$78

 

$245

 

$427

 

$954

If you do not sell your shares:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Class C

 

$179

 

$557

 

$959

 

$1,887

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual Fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the most recent

   
 

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FRANKLIN NATURAL RESOURCES FUND
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS

fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 11.86% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in the equity and debt securities of companies in the natural resources sector. The Fund predominantly invests in equity securities. For the Fund’s investment purposes, the natural resources sector includes companies that own, produce, refine, process, transport and market natural resources and companies that provide related services. The sector includes, for example, the following industries: integrated oil, oil and gas exploration and production, gold and other precious metals, steel and iron ore production, energy services and technology, energy transition, base metal production, forest products, farming products, paper products, chemicals, building materials, coal, alternative energy and environmental services. In addition to its investments in companies in the natural resources sector, the Fund may also invest up to 20% of its net assets in equity or debt securities of any type of issuer.

The Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in smaller capitalization companies, which are generally companies with market capitalizations of less than $2 billion at the time of the Fund’s investment. The Fund anticipates that, under normal conditions, it will invest more of its assets in U.S. securities than in securities of any other single country. The Fund may also buy American Depositary Receipts.

The Fund also may attempt, from time to time, to hedge (protect) against market risk or to generate income for the Fund by buying and selling put and call options on equity securities and equity security indices.

The investment manager is a research driven, fundamental investor, pursuing a growth strategy. As a "bottom-up" investor focusing primarily on individual securities, the investment manager seeks companies that have identifiable drivers of future earnings growth and that present, in the investment manager's opinion, the best trade-off between that potential earnings growth, business and financial risk, and valuation. Also, in seeking sustainable growth characteristics, the investment manager looks for companies that it believes can produce sustainable earnings growth and cash flow growth or the potential to generate income.

Principal Risks

You could lose money by investing in the Fund. Mutual fund shares are not deposits or obligations of, or guaranteed or endorsed by, any bank, and are not

   
 

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FRANKLIN NATURAL RESOURCES FUND
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS

insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board, or any other agency of the U.S. government.

Natural Resources Focus: The securities of companies in the natural resources sector may experience more price volatility than securities of companies in other industries. Some of the commodities used as raw materials or produced by these companies are subject to broad price fluctuations as a result of industry wide supply and demand factors. In addition, companies in the natural resources sector may be subject to special risks associated with natural or man-made disasters.

Concentration: To the extent the Fund concentrates in a specific industry, a group of industries, sector or type of investment, the Fund will carry much greater risks of adverse developments and price movements in such industries, sectors or investments than a fund that invests in a wider variety of industries, sectors or investments. There is also the risk that the Fund will perform poorly during a slump in demand for securities of companies in such industries or sectors.

Small Capitalization Companies: Securities issued by small capitalization companies may be more volatile in price than those of larger companies and may involve substantial risks. Such risks may include greater sensitivity to economic conditions, less certain growth prospects, lack of depth of management and funds for growth and development, and limited or less developed product lines and markets. In addition, small capitalization companies may be particularly affected by interest rate increases, as they may find it more difficult to borrow money to continue or expand operations, or may have difficulty in repaying any loans. The markets for securities issued by small capitalization companies also tend to be less liquid than the markets for securities issued by larger companies.

Market: The market values of securities or other investments owned by the Fund will go up or down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. The market value of a security or other investment may be reduced by market activity or other results of supply and demand unrelated to the issuer. This is a basic risk associated with all investments. When there are more sellers than buyers, prices tend to fall. Likewise, when there are more buyers than sellers, prices tend to rise.

Stock prices tend to go up and down more dramatically than those of debt securities. A slower-growth or recessionary economic environment could have an adverse effect on the prices of the various stocks held by the Fund.

Growth Style Investing: Growth stock prices reflect projections of future earnings or revenues, and can, therefore, fall dramatically if the company fails to meet those projections. Growth stocks may be more expensive relative to their current earnings or assets compared to value or other stocks, and if earnings growth expectations moderate, their valuations may return to more typical norms, causing their stock prices to fall. Prices of these companies’ securities may be more volatile

   
 

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FRANKLIN NATURAL RESOURCES FUND
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS

than other securities, particularly over the short term. In addition, investment styles can go in and out of favor, which could cause additional volatility in the prices of the Fund’s portfolio holdings.

Foreign Securities (non-U.S.): Investing in foreign securities typically involves more risks than investing in U.S. securities, including risks related to currency exchange rates and policies, country or government specific issues, less favorable trading practices or regulation and greater price volatility. Certain of these risks also may apply to securities of U.S. companies with significant foreign operations. The risks of investing in foreign securities are typically greater in less developed or emerging market countries.

Derivative Instruments: The performance of derivative instruments depends largely on the performance of an underlying instrument, such as a currency, security, interest rate or index, and such instruments often have risks similar to their underlying instrument, in addition to other risks. Derivative instruments involve costs and can create economic leverage in the Fund's portfolio which may result in significant volatility and cause the Fund to participate in losses (as well as gains) in an amount that exceeds the Fund's initial investment. Other risks include illiquidity, mispricing or improper valuation of the derivative instrument, and imperfect correlation between the value of the derivative and the underlying instrument so that the Fund may not realize the intended benefits. When a derivative is used for hedging, the change in value of the derivative may also not correlate specifically with the currency, security, interest rate or other risk being hedged. With over-the-counter derivatives, there is the risk that the other party to the transaction will fail to perform.

Management: The Fund is subject to management risk because it is an actively managed investment portfolio. The Fund's investment manager applies investment techniques and risk analyses in making investment decisions for the Fund, but there can be no guarantee that these decisions will produce the desired results.

As an actively managed investment portfolio, the Fund’s investments do not track its benchmark. Overweighting investments in an industry or group of industries relative to the Fund’s benchmark increases the risk that the Fund will underperform its benchmark because a general decline in the prices of stocks in that industry or group of industries will affect the Fund to a greater extent than its benchmark. Price declines may result from factors that adversely affect a particular industry or group of industries, such as labor shortages or increased production costs, competitive conditions, or negative investor perceptions. Conversely, if the Fund underweights its investment in an industry or group of industries relative to the Fund’s benchmark, the Fund will participate in any general increase in the prices of stocks in that industry or group of industries to a lesser extent than the Fund’s benchmark.

   
 

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FRANKLIN NATURAL RESOURCES FUND
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS

Cybersecurity: Cybersecurity incidents, both intentional and unintentional, may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to Fund assets, Fund or customer data (including private shareholder information), or proprietary information, cause the Fund, the investment manager, and/or their service providers (including, but not limited to, Fund accountants, custodians, sub-custodians, transfer agents and financial intermediaries) to suffer data breaches, data corruption or loss of operational functionality or prevent Fund investors from purchasing, redeeming or exchanging shares or receiving distributions. The investment manager has limited ability to prevent or mitigate cybersecurity incidents affecting third party service providers, and such third party service providers may have limited indemnification obligations to the Fund or the investment manager. Cybersecurity incidents may result in financial losses to the Fund and its shareholders, and substantial costs may be incurred in an effort to prevent or mitigate future cybersecurity incidents. Issuers of securities in which the Fund invests are also subject to cybersecurity risks, and the value of these securities could decline if the issuers experience cybersecurity incidents.

Because technology is frequently changing, new ways to carry out cyber attacks are always developing. Therefore, there is a chance that some risks have not been identified or prepared for, or that an attack may not be detected, which puts limitations on the Fund's ability to plan for or respond to a cyber attack. Like other funds and business enterprises, the Fund, the investment manager, and their service providers are subject to the risk of cyber incidents occurring from time to time.

Performance

The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows changes in the Fund's performance from year to year for Class A shares. The table shows how the Fund's average annual returns for 1 year, 5 years, 10 years or since inception, as applicable, compared with those of a broad measure of market performance and additional indexes with characteristics relevant to the Fund. The Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. You can obtain updated performance information at www.franklintempleton.com or by calling (800) DIAL BEN/342-5236.

Sales charges are not reflected in the bar chart, and if those charges were included, returns would be less than those shown.

   
 

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FRANKLIN NATURAL RESOURCES FUND
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS

Class A Annual Total Returns

PerformanceBarChartData(2014:-20.17,2015:-27.85,2016:34.56,2017:0.32,2018:-23.75,2019:10,2020:-21.62,2021:35.94,2022:30.47,2023:3.28)

   

Best Quarter:

2020, Q2

35.83%

Worst Quarter:

2020, Q1

-51.47%

 

As of June 30, 2024, the Fund’s year-to-date return was 6.21%.

Average Annual Total Returns

(figures reflect sales charges)

For periods ended December 31, 2023

         

 

 

1 Year

 

5 Years

 

10 Years

 

Franklin Natural Resources Fund - Class A

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return before taxes

 

-2.41%

 

8.34%

 

-1.22%

 

 

Return after taxes on distributions

 

-2.86%

 

7.85%

 

-1.59%

 

 

Return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund shares

 

-1.10%

 

6.50%

 

-0.98%

 

Franklin Natural Resources Fund - Class C

 

1.51%

 

8.76%

 

-1.39%

 

Franklin Natural Resources Fund - Class R6

 

3.73%

 

10.10%

 

-0.15%

 

Franklin Natural Resources Fund - Advisor Class 

 

3.57%

 

9.85%

 

-0.39%

 

Russell 3000® Index (index reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

 

25.96%

 

15.16%

 

11.48%

 

S&P North American Natural Resources Sector Index (index reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

 

3.66%

 

13.13%

 

2.85%

 

S&P Global Natural Resources Index (index reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

 

4.08%

 

11.15%

 

5.15%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No one index is representative of the Fund's portfolio.

   
 

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FRANKLIN NATURAL RESOURCES FUND
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS

The figures in the average annual total returns table above reflect the Class A shares maximum front-end sales charge of 5.50%. Prior to September 10, 2018, Class A shares were subject to a maximum front-end sales charge of 5.75%. If the prior maximum front-end sales charge of 5.75% was reflected, performance for Class A shares in the average annual total returns table would be lower.

The after-tax returns presented in the table are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-advantaged arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. After-tax returns are shown only for Class A and after-tax returns for other classes will vary.

Investment Manager

Franklin Advisers, Inc. (Advisers or investment manager)

Portfolio Managers

Frederick G. Fromm, CFA
Vice President of Advisers and portfolio manager of the Fund since 2003.

Matthew Adams, CFA
Portfolio Manager of Advisers and portfolio manager of the Fund since 2008.

Stephen M. Land, CFA
Portfolio Manager of Advisers and portfolio manager of the Fund since 1999.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

You may purchase or redeem shares of the Fund on any business day online through our website at www.franklintempleton.com, by mail (Franklin Templeton Investor Services, P.O. Box 997152, Sacramento, CA 95899-7152), or by telephone at (800) 632-2301. For Class A and C, the minimum initial purchase for most accounts is $1,000 (or $25 under an automatic investment plan). Class R6 and Advisor Class are only available to certain qualified investors and the minimum initial investment will vary depending on the type of qualified investor, as described under "Your Account — Choosing a Share Class — Qualified Investors — Class R6" and "— Advisor Class" in the Fund's prospectus. There is no minimum investment for subsequent purchases.

Taxes

The Fund’s distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both, unless you are investing through a

   
 

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FRANKLIN NATURAL RESOURCES FUND
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS

tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account, in which case your distributions would generally be taxed when withdrawn from the tax-advantaged account.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your financial advisor or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.

   
 

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Franklin Distributors, LLC

One Franklin Parkway

San Mateo, CA 94403-1906

franklintempleton.com

Franklin Natural Resources Fund

  
  

Investment Company Act file #811-06243

© 2024 Franklin Templeton. All rights reserved.

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