INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT

AGREEMENT made as of this 20th day of January, 2011, by and between Nuveen Energy MLP Total Return Fund, a Massachusetts business trust (the “Fund”), and Nuveen Fund Advisors, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Adviser”).

W I T N E S S E T H

In consideration of the mutual covenants hereinafter contained, it is hereby agreed by and between the parties hereto as follows:

1. The Fund hereby employs the Adviser to act as the investment adviser for, and to manage the investment and reinvestment of the assets of the Fund in accordance with the Fund’s investment objective and policies and limitations, and to administer the Fund’s affairs to the extent requested by and subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees of the Fund for the period and upon the terms herein set forth. The investment of the Fund’s assets shall be subject to the Fund’s policies, restrictions and limitations with respect to securities investments as set forth in the Fund’s then current registration statement under the Investment Company Act of l940, and all applicable laws and the regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to the management of registered closed-end, non-diversified management investment companies.

The Adviser accepts such employment and agrees during such period to render such services, to furnish office facilities and equipment and clerical, bookkeeping and administrative services (other than such services, if any, provided by the Fund’s transfer agent) for the Fund, to permit any of its officers or employees to serve without compensation as trustees or officers of the Fund if elected to such positions, and to assume the obligations herein set forth for the compensation herein provided. The Adviser shall, for all purposes herein provided, be deemed to be an independent contractor and, unless otherwise expressly provided or authorized, shall have no authority to act for or represent the Fund in any way, nor otherwise be deemed an agent of the Fund.

2. For the services and facilities described in Section l, the Fund will pay to the Adviser, at the end of each calendar month, an investment management fee equal to the sum of a Fund-Level Fee and a Complex-Level Fee.

A. The Fund-Level Fee shall be computed by applying the following annual rate to the average total daily managed assets of the Fund:


Average Total Daily Managed Assets*	Rate
Up to $500 million		0.9000	%
$500 million to $1 billion		0.8750	%
$1 billion to $1.5 billion		0.8500	%
$1 billion to $2 billion		0.8250	%
$2 billion and over		0.8000	%

^* “Managed assets” for this purpose means the total assets of the Fund, minus the sum of its accrued liabilities (other than Fund liabilities incurred for the express purpose of creating effective leverage). Total assets for this purpose shall include assets attributable to the Fund’s use of effective leverage (whether or not those assets are reflected in the Fund’s financial statements for purposes of generally accepted accounting principles).

B. The Complex-Level Fee for the Fund shall be computed by applying the Complex-Level Fee Rate (as applied to a specific Fund, the “Fund-Specific Complex-Level Fee Rate”), expressed as a daily equivalent, to the daily net assets of the Fund. The Complex-Level Fee Rate shall be determined based upon the total daily net assets of all Eligible Funds, as defined below (with such daily net assets to include — in the case of Eligible Funds whose advisory fees are calculated by reference to net assets that include net assets attributable to preferred stock issued by or borrowings by the Eligible Fund — such leveraging net assets), pursuant to the annual fee schedule shown below in this section, with the following exclusions (as adjusted, “Complex-Level Assets”):

(i) in the case of Eligible Funds that invest in other Eligible Funds (“Funds of Funds”), that portion of the net assets of such Funds of Funds attributable to investments in such other Eligible Funds;

(ii) that portion of the net assets of each Eligible Fund comprising the daily “Fund Asset Limit Amount” (as defined below).

The Complex-Level Fee Rate shall be calculated in such a manner that it results in the effective rate at the specified Complex-Level Asset amounts shown in the following annual fee schedule:


Complex-Level Asset Breakpoint Level ($ million)	Effective Rate at Breakpoint Level (%)
55,000		0.2000
56,000		0.1996
57,000		0.1989
60,000		0.1961
63,000		0.1931
66,000		0.1900
71,000		0.1851
76,000		0.1806
80,000		0.1773
91,000		0.1691
125,000		0.1599
200,000		0.1505
250,000		0.1469
300,000		0.1445

“Eligible Funds,” for purposes of the Agreement, shall mean all Nuveen-branded closed-end and open-end registered investment companies organized in the United States. Any open-end or closed-end funds that subsequently become a Nuveen-branded fund because either (a) Nuveen Investments, Inc. or its affiliates acquire the investment adviser to such funds (or the adviser’s parent), or (b) Nuveen Investments, Inc. or its affiliates acquire the fund’s adviser’s rights under the management agreement for such fund (in either case, such acquisition an “Acquisition” and such fund an “Acquired Fund”), will be evaluated by both Nuveen management and the Nuveen Funds’ Board, on a case-by-case basis, as to whether or not the assets of such Acquired Funds would be included in Complex-Level Assets and, if so, whether there would be a basis for any adjustments to the complex-level breakpoint schedule and/or its application.

D.	The “Fund Asset Limit Amount” as of any calculation date shall for each Fund be equal to the lesser of (i) the Initial Fund Asset Limit Amount (defined below), and (ii) the Eligible Fund’s current net assets. The “Initial Fund Asset Limit Amount” for an Eligible Fund shall be determined as follows:

i. In the case of Nuveen-branded Funds that qualified as Eligible Funds on or prior to June 30, 2010, as well as Eligible Funds launched thereafter that are not Acquired Funds, the Initial Fund Asset Limit Amount shall be equal to zero, except to extent that such Fund may later participate in a subsequent Fund consolidation as described in (iii) below;

ii. In the case of Acquired Funds, the Initial Fund Asset Limit Amount is equal to the product of (i) 1 minus the Aggregate Eligible Asset Percentage (defined below), and (ii) an Acquired Fund’s net assets as of the effective date of such Fund’s Acquisition;

iii. In the event of a consolidation or merger of one or more Eligible Funds, the Initial Fund Asset Limit Amount of the combined fund will be equal to the sum of the Initial Fund Asset Limit Amounts of each individual Eligible Fund.

E.	Following are additional definitions of terms used above:

i. “Acquisition Assets”: With respect to an Acquisition, the aggregate net assets as of the effective date of such Acquisition of all Acquired Funds.

ii. “Aggregate Eligible Asset Amount”: With respect to an Acquisition, that portion of the aggregate net assets of Acquired Funds as of the effective date of such Acquisition that is included in Complex-Level Assets. With respect to the series of First American Investment Funds, Inc. that became Acquired Funds as of December 31, 2010, the Aggregate Eligible Asset Amount is $2 billion.

iii. “Aggregate Eligible Asset Percentage”: The ratio of the Aggregate Eligible Asset Amount to Acquisition Assets.

iv. “Fund-Specific Complex-Level Fee Rate”: The Complex-Level Fee Rate applicable to a specific Eligible Fund. In the case of Eligible Funds that are Funds of Funds, the Fund-Specific Complex-Level Fee Rate is zero percent (0%). For all other Eligible Funds, the Fund-Specific Complex-Level Fee Rate is the annual fee rate calculated as the sum of (i) the Complex-Level Fee Rate plus (ii) the product of (a) the difference between 0.20% and the Complex-Level Fee Rate; and (b) the ratio of the Fund’s Fund Asset Limit Amount to such Fund’s net assets.

For the month and year in which this Agreement becomes effective, or terminates, there shall be an appropriate proration on the basis of the number of days that the Agreement shall have been in effect during the month and year, respectively. The services of the Adviser to the Fund under this Agreement are not to be deemed exclusive, and the Adviser shall be free to render similar services or other services to others so long as its services hereunder are not impaired thereby.

3. The Adviser shall arrange for officers or employees of the Adviser to serve, without compensation from the Fund, as trustees, officers or agents of the Fund, if duly elected or appointed to such positions, and subject to their individual consent and to any limitations imposed by law.

4. Subject to applicable statutes and regulations, it is understood that officers, trustees, or agents of the Fund are, or may be, interested in the Adviser as officers, directors, agents, shareholders or otherwise, and that the officers, directors, shareholders and agents of the Adviser may be interested in the Fund otherwise than as trustees, officers or agents.

5. The Adviser shall not be liable for any loss sustained by reason of the purchase, sale or retention of any security, whether or not such purchase, sale or retention shall have been based upon the investigation and research made by any other individual, firm or corporation, if such recommendation shall have been selected with due care and in good faith, except loss resulting from willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence on the part of the Adviser in the performance of its obligations and duties, or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties under this Agreement.

6. The Adviser currently manages other investment accounts and funds, including those with investment objectives similar to the Fund, and reserves the right to manage other such accounts and funds in the future. Securities considered as investments for the Fund may also be appropriate for other investment accounts and funds that may be managed by the Adviser. Subject to applicable laws and regulations, the Adviser will attempt to allocate equitably portfolio transactions among the portfolios of its other investment accounts and funds purchasing securities whenever decisions are made to purchase or sell securities by the Fund and one or more of such other accounts or funds simultaneously. In making such allocations, the main factors to be considered by the Adviser will be the respective investment objectives of the Fund and such other accounts and funds, the relative

size of portfolio holdings of the same or comparable securities, the availability of cash for investment by the Fund and such other accounts and funds, the size of investment commitments generally held by the Fund and such accounts and funds, and the opinions of the persons responsible for recommending investments to the Fund and such other accounts and funds.

7. This Agreement shall continue in effect until August 1, 2012, unless and until terminated by either party as hereinafter provided, and shall continue in force from year to year thereafter, but only as long as such continuance is specifically approved, at least annually, in the manner required by the Investment Company Act of 1940.

This Agreement shall automatically terminate in the event of its assignment, and may be terminated at any time without the payment of any penalty by the Fund or by the Adviser upon no less than sixty (60) days’ written notice to the other party. The Fund may effect termination by action of the Board of Trustees or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, accompanied by appropriate notice.

This Agreement may be terminated, at any time, without the payment of any penalty, by the Board of Trustees of the Fund, or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, in the event that it shall have been established by a court of competent jurisdiction that the Adviser, or any officer or director of the Adviser, has taken any action which results in a breach of the covenants of the Adviser set forth herein.

Termination of this Agreement shall not affect the right of the Adviser to receive payments on any unpaid balance of the compensation, described in Section 2, earned prior to such termination.

8. If any provision of this Agreement shall be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule, or otherwise, the remainder shall not be thereby affected.

9. Any notice under this Agreement shall be in writing, addressed and delivered or mailed, postage prepaid, to the other party at such address as such other party may designate for receipt of such notice.

10. The Fund’s Declaration of Trust is on file with the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. This Agreement is executed on behalf of the Fund by the Fund’s officers as officers and not individually and the obligations imposed upon the Fund by this Agreement are not binding upon any of the Fund’s Trustees, officers or shareholders individually but are binding only upon the assets and property of the Fund.

11. This Agreement shall be construed in accordance with applicable federal law and (except as to Section 10 hereof which shall be construed in accordance with the laws of Massachusetts) the laws of the State of Illinois.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Fund and the Adviser have caused this Agreement to be executed on the day and year above written.


NUVEEN ENERGY MLP TOTAL RETURN FUND

	by:	/s/ Xxxxx X. XxXxxxxx
		Vice President


Attest:		/s/ Xxxxxxxx X’Xxxx
		Assistant Secretary


NUVEEN FUND ADVISORS, INC.

	by:	/s/ Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxxx
		Managing Director


Attest:		/s/ Xxxxx Xxxxxx
		Assistant Secretary

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INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT

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