What is Total return?
Total return is everything an investment earned over a period: the change in its price plus any dividends or interest it paid, shown as a percentage of what you started with. A share that rose 4% and paid a 4% dividend had a total return of about 8%. It is the fairest way to compare investments that pay income with ones that do not.
Why Total return matters
Looking only at price or only at yield gives half the picture; total return gives all of it.