Edgar Filing: Nuveen Energy MLP Total Return Fund

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20549

FORM N-Q

QUARTERLY SCHEDULE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS OF REGISTERED MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANY

Investment Company Act file number 811-22482

	Nuveen Energy MLP Total Return Fund
(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)
				333 West Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60606
				(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)
				Kevin J. McCarthy—Vice President and Secretary 333 West Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60606
				(Name and address of agent for service)
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:					312-917-7700
Date of fiscal year end:		November 30
Date of reporting period:			August 31, 2013

Form N-Q is to be used by management investment companies, other than small business investment companies registered on Form N-5 (§§ 239.24 and 274.5 of this chapter), to file reports with the Commission, not later than 60 days after the close of the first and third fiscal quarters, pursuant to rule 30b1-5 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (17 CFR 270.30b1-5). The Commission may use the information provided on Form N-Q in its regulatory, disclosure review, inspection, and policymaking roles.

A registrant is required to disclose the information specified by Form N-Q, and the Commission will make this information public. A registrant is not required to respond to the collection of information contained in Form N-Q unless the Form displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) control number. Please direct comments concerning the accuracy of the information collection burden estimate and any suggestions for reducing the burden to the Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 450 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20549-0609. The OMB has reviewed this collection of information under the clearance requirements of 44 U.S.C. § 3507.

Item 1. Schedule of Investments

		Portfolio of Investments (Unaudited)
		Nuveen Energy MLP Total Return Fund (JMF)
		August 31, 2013

Shares/
Units		Description (1)																Value
		Master Limited Partnerships & MLP Affiliates - 151.3% (99.9% of Total Investments)
		Energy Equipment & Services - 1.2% (0.8% of Total Investments)
320,336		Exterran Partners LP																$ 8,946,984
		Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels - 150.1% (99.1% of Total Investments)
647,590		Access Midstream Partners LP																29,536,580
181,545		Alliance Holdings GP LP																11,154,125
125,925		Alliance Resource Partners LP																9,479,634
625,438		Atlas Pipeline Partners LP																24,266,994
764,010		Boardwalk Pipeline Partners LP																22,966,141
510,900		Buckeye Partners LP																35,763,000
434,123		Buckeye Partners LP, Class B Shares, (2), (3), (4)																29,910,808
122,671		Crestwood Midstream Partners LP																3,182,086
601,005		Crosstex Energy LP																11,250,814
1,267,469		DCP Midstream Partners LP																60,749,789
491,590		Delek Logistics Partners LP																14,551,064
1,557,602		Energy Transfer Equity LP																100,200,535
1,485,804		Enterprise Products Partners LP																88,286,474
475,760		EQT Midstream Partners LP																22,784,146
1,012,525		EV Energy Partners LP																36,947,037
741,252		Genesis Energy LP																36,076,735
341,180		Golar LNG Partners LP																11,088,350
2,352,805		Inergy LP																32,327,541
1,665,885		Inergy Midstream LP																38,715,167
62,889		Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP																5,129,227
663,137		Kinder Morgan Management LLC, (2)																52,944,858
1,449,355		Kinder Morgan Inc																54,974,035
34,810		Knot Offshore Partners LP																837,181
1,069,451		Magellan Midstream Partners LP																58,028,411
801,895		MarkWest Energy Partners LP																53,558,567
135,410		Oiltanking Partners LP																6,567,385
709,615		Oxford Resource Partners LP																1,639,211
1,638,298		Plains All American Pipeline LP																82,832,347
152,745		QEP Midstream Partners LP, (5)																3,459,674
141,850		Rose Rock Midstream LP																4,634,240
754,910		Southcross Energy Partners LP																14,199,857
188,550		Tallgrass Energy Partners LP																4,276,314
511,955		TC PipeLines LP																24,737,666
692,635		Teekay Offshore Partners LP																22,005,014
341,910		Tesoro Logistics LP																18,326,376
372,575		Western Gas Partners LP																22,034,086
448,690		Western Gas Equity Partners LP																17,669,412
1,809,422		Williams Partners LP																89,258,787
169,715		World Point Terminals LP, (5)																3,411,272
		Total Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels																1,159,760,940
		Total Master Limited Partnerships & MLP Affiliates (cost $949,554,864)																1,168,707,924

Principal
Amount (000)		Description (1)									Coupon				Maturity			Value
		Short-Term Investments - 0.1% (0.1% of Total Investments)
$ 1,024		Repurchase Agreement with State Street Bank, dated 8/30/13, repurchase price $1,023,744, collateralized by $1,045,000 U.S. Treasury Notes, 0.250%, due 2/15/15, value $1,044,820									0.000%				9/03/13			$ 1,023,744
		Total Short-Term Investments (cost $1,023,744)																1,023,744
		Total Investments (cost $950,578,608) - 151.4%																1,169,731,668
		Borrowings - (36.6)% (6), (7)																(283,000,000)
		Other Assets Less Liabilities - (14.8)% (8)																(114,181,147)
		Net Assets - 100%																$ 772,550,521

Investments in Derivatives as of August 31, 2013

Swaps outstanding:

				Fund					Fixed Rate							Unrealized
	Notional			Pay/Receive			Fixed Rate		Payment			Effective	Termination			Appreciation
Counterparty	Amount			Floating Rate		Floating Rate Index	(Annualized)		Frequency			Date (9)	Date			(Depreciation) (8)
JPMorgan	$ 96,375,000			Receive		1-Month USD-LIBOR	1.498%		Monthly			12/01/14	12/01/18			$ 2,732,157
JPMorgan	96,375,000			Receive		1-Month USD-LIBOR	1.995		Monthly			12/01/14	12/01/20			4,353,465
	$ 192,750,000															$ 7,085,622

		Fair Value Measurements

		Fair value is defined as the price that the Fund would receive upon selling an investment or transferring a liability in an orderly transaction to an independent buyer in the principal or most advantageous market for the investment. A three-tier hierarchy is used to maximize the use of observable market data and minimize the use of unobservable inputs and to establish classification of fair value measurements for disclosure purposes. Observable inputs reflect the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. Observable inputs are based on market data obtained from sources independent of the reporting entity. Unobservable inputs reflect the reporting entity’s own assumptions about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. Unobservable inputs are based on the best information available in the circumstances. The following is a summary of the three-tiered hierarchy of valuation input levels.
		Level 1 - Inputs are unadjusted and prices are determined using quoted prices in active markets for identical securities.
		Level 2 - Prices are determined using other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar securities, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, etc.).
		Level 3 - Prices are determined using significant unobservable inputs (including management’s assumptions in determining the fair value of investments).

		The inputs or methodologies used for valuing securities are not an indication of the risks associated with investing in those securities. The following is a summary of the Fund’s fair value measurements as of the end of the reporting period:

								Level 1		Level 2				Level 3			Total
			Long-Term Investments:
			Master Limited Partnerships & MLP Affiliates					$ 1,138,797,116		$ 29,910,808				$ –			$ 1,168,707,924
			Short-Term Investments:
			Repurchase Agreements					–		1,023,744				–			1,023,744
			Derivatives:
			Swaps*					–		7,085,622				–			7,085,622
			Total					$ 1,138,797,116		$ 38,020,174				$ –			$ 1,176,817,290

		* Represents net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) as reported in the Fund’s Portfolio of Investments.

		Income Tax Information

		As of August 31, 2013, the cost of investments (excluding investments in derivatives) was $952,021,842.

		Gross unrealized appreciation and gross unrealized depreciation of investments (excluding investments in derivatives) as of August 31, 2013, were as follows:

		Gross unrealized:
		Appreciation																$ 247,713,557
		Depreciation																(30,003,731	)

		Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of investments																$ 217,709,826


					For Fund portfolio compliance purposes, the Fund’s industry classifications refer to any one or more of the industry sub-classifications used by one or more widely recognized market indexes or ratings group indexes, and/or as defined by Fund management. This definition may not apply for purposes of this report, which may combine industry sub-classifications into sectors for reporting ease.

		(1)			All percentages shown in the Portfolio of Investments are based on net assets unless otherwise noted.

		(2)			Distributions are paid in-kind.

		(3)			For fair value measurement disclosure purposes, Master Limited Partnership & MLP Affiliates classified as Level 2.

		(4)			Security is restricted and may be resold only in transactions exempt from registration, normally to qualified institutional buyers.

		(5)			Represents a new issue security. Security has not made an initial distribution to shareholders.

		(6)			Borrowings as a percentage of Total Investments is 24.2%.

		(7)			The Fund may pledge up to 100% of its eligible investments in the Portfolio of Investments as collateral for Borrowings. As of the end of the reporting period, investments with a value of $662,898,243 have been pledged as collateral for Borrowings.

		(8)			Other Assets Less Liabilities includes the Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation) of derivative instruments as listed within Investments in Derivatives as of the end of the reporting period.

		(9)			Effective date represents the date on which both the Fund and Counterparty commence interest payment accruals on each swap contract.

		USD-LIBOR			United States Dollar-London Inter-Bank Offered Rate.

Item 2. Controls and Procedures.

a. The registrant’s principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, have concluded that the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”) (17 CFR 270.30a-3(c))) are effective, as of a date within 90 days of the filing date of this report that includes the disclosure required by this paragraph, based on their evaluation of the controls and procedures required by Rule 30a-3(b) under the 1940 Act (17 CFR 270.30a-3(b)) and Rule 13a-15(b) or 15d-15(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (17 CFR 240.13a-15(b) or 240.15d-15(b)).

b. There were no changes in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the 1940 Act (17 CFR 270.30a-3(d)) that occurred during the registrant’s last fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

Item 3. Exhibits.

File as exhibits as part of this Form a separate certification for each principal executive officer and principal financial officer of the registrant as required by Rule 30a-2(a) under the 1940 Act (17 CFR 270.30a-2(a)), exactly as set forth below: EX-99 CERT Attached hereto.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

(Registrant)	Nuveen Energy MLP Total Return Fund


By (Signature and Title)	/s/ Kevin J. McCarthy
	Kevin J. McCarthy
	Vice President and Secretary

Date: October 30, 2013

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

By (Signature and Title)	/s/ Gifford R. Zimmerman
	Gifford R. Zimmerman
	Chief Administrative Officer (principal executive officer)

Date: October 30, 2013

By (Signature and Title)	/s/ Stephen D. Foy
	Stephen D. Foy
	Vice President and Controller (principal financial officer)

Date: October 30, 2013