Total return and absolute return are two frequently used terms in the investment world. But what is the difference between the underlying investment strategies? Total Return investing is an investment strategy which is mainly used for bond investments. This strategy got famous when Bill Gross started to implement total return strategies in his portfolios in the 1980s. As opposed to a traditional bond investment where the investors clip steady interest payments and hold their bonds until they mature, a total return strategy is more active as the manager tries to optimize the portfolio structure to gather returns from all sources,