Instead of returning a raw pointer, one better returns for instance a unique_ptr. In that case the ownership is better defined.

Wrong example:

// create a Thing and return a pointer to it:
Thing* create_Thing()
{
  Thing* local_ptr(new Thing);
  return local_ptr;
}

void foo()
{
  Thing* p1(create_Thing()); // it is unclear who owns the Thing
  ...
}

Right example:

// create a Thing and return a unique_ptr to it:
unique_ptr<Thing> create_Thing()
{
  unique_ptr<Thing> local_ptr(new Thing);
  return local_ptr; // local_ptr will surrender ownership
}
void foo()
{
  unique_ptr<Thing> p1(create_Thing()); // p1 owns the Thing now
  ...
}