Total Return Index

Stocks give you, the investor, two ways to make money. You can make money by buying low and selling high, profiting from capital gains. Or you can receive a dividend (a cash payment to a holder of a firm's stock) from the company. A total return index looks to take advantage of both methods. Any dividends issued by shares in the fund get reinvested, and are used by the fund manager to buy more stock.

This setup stands in opposition to other types of funds that explicitly generate income for investors. The dividends in these other funds don't get poured back into new share purchases. They get mailed out as checks.