Flaherty & Crumrine Total Return Fund Inc. is a U.S.-domiciled, closed-end balanced mutual fund overseen by Flaherty & Crumrine Incorporated. Formed on August 26, 2003, and previously operating under the name Flaherty & Crumrine/Claymore Total Return Fund, Inc., its investment strategy encompasses both public equity and fixed-income markets within the United States. The fund specifically seeks out common stocks of companies active in the utility and banking industries. A substantial portion of its holdings consists of investment-grade preferred securities, alongside a variety of other income-generating debt instruments. To evaluate its performance, the fund benchmarks against both the Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Index and the S&P 500 Index.