A few tips :
Acquaint yourself with the fund manager’s investment philosophy. Compare the returns he or she has generated on funds previously managed against funds with similar objectives. Both the experience of the fund manager and his past performance are important.
Recognise the risk that emanates from an investment style. An investment philosophy and an investment style are distinct from one another. A philosophy has got to do the overall logic of picking stocks. That may not differ substantially, but an investment style can. For instance, within a given philosophy, one fund manager may believe in taking large concentrated bets on stocks, while another may prefer to diversify. The former is certainly a riskier style.
Lastly, figure out whether the fund’s investment objective and style suit your risk profile. The latter is a function of your investment time horizon, knowledge of capital markets, current net worth and future income, emotional makeup to accept losses and so on.