Total Return measures the complete financial performance of an investment over a specific time period. It includes both the change in the asset's price (capital gains or losses) and any income generated by the asset (such as dividends or interest payments).
Unlike simple price return—which only tracks whether the stock price went up or down—Total Return reflects the true wealth accumulated by an investor, specifically assuming that all dividends and distributions were reinvested back into the asset.
Over long periods, dividend reinvestment constitutes a massive portion of wealth creation. Ignoring dividend yield and only looking at price charts can lead to severely underestimating the historical performance of income-producing assets.