DWS CROCI® International VIP

Summary Prospectus | May 1, 2023

 

Class B

Before you invest, you may want to review the fund’s prospectus, which contains more information about the fund and its risks. You can find the fund’s prospectus, reports to shareholders, Statement of Additional Information and other information about the fund online at dws.com/vipros. You can also get this information at no cost by e-mailing a request to service@dws.com, calling (800) 728-3337 or by contacting your insurance company. The Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, both dated May 1, 2023, as may be revised or supplemented from time to time, are incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus.

Investment Objective

The fund seeks long-term growth of capital.

Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund. This information does not reflect fees associated with the separate account that invests in the fund or any variable life insurance policy or variable annuity contract for which the fund is an investment option. These fees will increase expenses.

SHAREHOLDER FEES 

(paid directly from your investment) None

ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES
(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment) 

Management fee	0.65
Distribution/service (12b-1) fees	0.25
Other expenses	0.34
Total annual fund operating expenses	1.24
Fee waiver/expense reimbursement	0.13
Total annual fund operating expenses after fee waiver/ expense reimbursement	1.11

The Advisor has contractually agreed through April 30, 2024 to waive its fees and/or reimburse fund expenses to the extent necessary to maintain the fund’s total annual operating expenses at a ratio no higher than 1.11% (excluding certain expenses such as extraordinary expenses, taxes, brokerage and interest expenses, and acquired funds fees and expenses) for Class B shares. The agreement may only be terminated with the consent of the fund’s Board.

EXAMPLE

This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The

Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the fund's operating expenses (including one year of capped expenses in each period) remain the same. This example does not reflect any fees or sales charges imposed by a variable contract for which the fund is an investment option. If they were included, your costs would be higher.

Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be: 

1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
$113	$381	$669	$1,489

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER 

The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the expense example, and can affect the fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 62% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Main investments. Although the fund can invest in companies of any size and from any country, it invests mainly in common stocks of established companies in countries with developed economies (other than the United States).

Management process. Portfolio management will select stocks of companies that it believes offer economic value utilizing the Cash Return on Capital Invested (CROCI®) strategy as the primary factor, in addition to other factors. Under the CROCI® strategy, economic value is measured using various metrics such as the CROCI® Economic Price Earnings Ratio (CROCI® Economic P/E Ratio). The CROCI®Economic P/E Ratio is a proprietary measure of company valuation using the same relationship between valuation and return as an accounting P/E ratio (i.e., price/book value

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divided by return on equity). The CROCI® Economic P/E Ratio and other CROCI® metrics may be adjusted from time to time. The CROCI® strategy may apply other measures of company valuation, as determined by the CROCI® Investment Strategy and Valuation Group. Portfolio management may use criteria other than the CROCI®strategy in selecting investments. Portfolio management will select stocks primarily from a universe consisting of the largest companies in developed markets outside North America represented in the CROCI® Investment Strategy and Valuation Group’s database of companies evaluated using the CROCI® strategy. Generally, this database has included approximately 400 stocks from developed markets outside of North America. The CROCI® strategy is supplied by the CROCI® Investment Strategy and Valuation Group, a unit within the DWS Group, through a licensing arrangement with the fund’s Advisor.

Portfolio management will periodically review and adjust the fund’s portfolio in order to maintain the desired balance between return potential and various risk factors, such as, without limitation: style, size, country and idiosyncratic risks. Portfolio management may refer to the output of various optimization tools and other portfolio construction techniques in order to help control for tax efficiency, unwanted portfolio exposure to the risk factors specified above versus the benchmark, as well as undesired levels of portfolio turnover, and other factors.

CROCI® Investment Process. The CROCI® Investment Process is based on the belief that the data used in traditional valuations (i.e., accounting data) does not accurately appraise assets, reflect all liabilities or represent the real value of a company. This is because the accounting rules are not always designed specifically for investors and often utilize widely differing standards which can make measuring the real asset value of companies difficult. The CROCI® Investment Process seeks to generate data that will enable valuation comparisons on a consistent basis, resulting in what portfolio management believes is an effective and efficient sector and stock selection process targeting investment in real value.

Securities lending. The fund may lend securities (up to one-third of total assets) to approved institutions, such as registered broker-dealers, banks and pooled investment vehicles.

Main Risks

There are several risk factors that could hurt the fund’s performance, cause you to lose money or cause the fund’s performance to trail that of other investments. The fund may not achieve its investment objective, and is not intended to be a complete investment program. An investment in the fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency.

Foreign investment risk. The fund faces the risks inherent in foreign investing. Adverse political, economic or social developments, as well as US and foreign government actions such as the imposition of tariffs, economic and trade sanctions or embargoes, could undermine the value of the fund’s foreign investments, prevent the fund from realizing the full value of its foreign investments or prevent the fund from selling foreign securities it holds. As of January 1, 2021 the United Kingdom is no longer part of the European Union (EU) customs union and single market, nor is it subject to EU policies and international agreements. The long-term impact of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU is still unknown and could have adverse economic and political effects on the United Kingdom, the EU and its member countries, and the global economy, including financial markets and asset valuations.

Financial reporting standards for companies based in foreign markets differ from those in the US. Additionally, foreign securities markets generally are smaller and less liquid than US markets. To the extent that the fund invests in non-US dollar denominated foreign securities, changes in currency exchange rates may affect the US dollar value of foreign securities or the income or gain received on these securities. In addition, because non-US markets may be open on days when the fund does not price its shares, the value of the foreign securities in the fund’s portfolio may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the fund’s shares.

Stock market risk. When stock prices fall, you should expect the value of your investment to fall as well. Stock prices can be hurt by poor management on the part of the stock’s issuer, shrinking product demand and other business risks. These may affect single companies as well as groups of companies. The market as a whole may not favor the types of investments the fund makes, which could adversely affect a stock’s price, regardless of how well the company performs, or the fund’s ability to sell a stock at an attractive price. There is a chance that stock prices overall will decline because stock markets tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising and falling prices. Events in the US and global financial markets, including actions taken by the US Federal Reserve or foreign central banks to stimulate or stabilize economic growth, may at times result in unusually high market volatility which could negatively affect performance. High market volatility may also result from significant shifts in momentum of one or more specific stocks due to unusual increases or decreases in trading activity. Momentum can change quickly, and securities subject to shifts in momentum may be more volatile than the market as a whole and returns on such securities may drop precipitously. To the extent that the fund invests in a particular geographic region, capitalization or sector, the fund’s performance may be affected by the general performance of that region, capitalization or sector.

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DWS CROCI® International VIP

Summary Prospectus May 1, 2023

Market disruption risk. Economies and financial markets throughout the world are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other countries or regions. The value of the fund’s investments may be negatively affected by adverse changes in overall economic or market conditions, such as the level of economic activity and productivity, unemployment and labor force participation rates, inflation or deflation (and expectations for inflation or deflation), interest rates, demand and supply for particular products or resources including labor, and debt levels and credit ratings, among other factors. Such adverse conditions may contribute to an overall economic contraction across entire economies or markets, which may negatively impact the profitability of issuers operating in those economies or markets. In addition, geopolitical and other globally interconnected occurrences, including war, terrorism, economic or financial crises, uncertainty or contagion, trade disputes, government debt crises (including defaults or downgrades) or uncertainty about government debt payments, public health crises, natural disasters, climate change and related events or conditions have led, and in the future may lead, to disruptions in the US and world economies and markets, which may increase financial market volatility and have significant adverse direct or indirect effects on the fund and its investments. Adverse market conditions or disruptions could cause the fund to lose money, experience significant redemptions, and encounter operational difficulties. Although multiple asset classes may be affected by adverse market conditions or a particular market disruption, the duration and effects may not be the same for all types of assets.

Russia's recent military incursions in Ukraine have led to, and may lead to, additional sanctions being levied by the United States, European Union and other countries against Russia. Russia's military incursions and the resulting sanctions could adversely affect global energy, commodities and financial markets and thus could affect the value of the fund's investments. The extent and duration of the military action, sanctions and resulting market disruptions are impossible to predict, but could be substantial.

Other market disruption events include the pandemic spread of the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19, which at times has caused significant uncertainty, market volatility, decreased economic and other activity, increased government activity, including economic stimulus measures, and supply chain disruptions. The full effects, duration and costs of the COVID-19 pandemic are impossible to predict, and the circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to evolve including the risk of future increased rates of infection due to significant portions of the population remaining unvaccinated and/or the lack of effectiveness of current vaccines against new variants. The pandemic has affected and may continue to affect certain countries, industries, economic sectors, companies and investment products more than others,

may exacerbate existing economic, political, or social tensions and may increase the probability of an economic recession or depression. The fund and its investments may be adversely affected by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Adverse market conditions or particular market disruptions, such as those caused by Russian military action and the COVID-19 pandemic, may magnify the impact of each of the other risks described in this “MAIN RISKS” section and may increase volatility in one or more markets in which the fund invests leading to the potential for greater losses for the fund.

CROCI® risk. The fund is managed using the CROCI®Investment Process which is based on portfolio management’s belief that, over time, stocks which display more favorable financial metrics (for example, the CROCI®Economic P/E Ratio) as generated by this process may outperform stocks which display less favorable metrics. This premise may not prove to be correct and prospective investors should evaluate this assumption prior to investing in the fund.

The calculation of financial metrics used by the fund (such as, among others, the CROCI® Economic P/E Ratio) are determined by the CROCI® Investment Strategy and Valuation Group using publicly available information. This publicly available information is adjusted based on assumptions made by the CROCI® Investment Strategy and Valuation Group that, subsequently, may not prove to have been correct. As financial metrics are calculated using historical information, there can be no guarantee of the future performance of the CROCI® strategy. The measures utilized by portfolio management to attempt to reduce portfolio turnover, market impact and transaction costs could affect performance. In addition, certain regulatory restrictions (e.g., limits on percentage of assets invested in a single industry) could constrain the fund’s ability to invest in some stocks that may have the most attractive financial metrics as determined by the CROCI® Investment Process.

Currency risk. Changes in currency exchange rates may affect the value of the fund’s investment and the fund’s share price. The fund’s US dollar share price may go down if the value of the local currency of the non−US markets in which the fund invests depreciates against the US dollar. This is true even if the local currency value of securities in the fund’s holdings goes up. Furthermore, the fund’s use of forward currency contracts may eliminate some or all of the benefit of an increase in the value of a foreign currency versus the US dollar. The value of the US dollar measured against other currencies is influenced by a variety of factors. These factors include: interest rates, national debt levels and trade deficits, changes in balances of payments and trade, domestic and foreign interest and inflation rates, global or regional political, economic or financial events, monetary policies of governments, actual or potential government intervention, global energy prices,

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DWS CROCI® International VIP

Summary Prospectus May 1, 2023

political instability and government monetary policies and the buying or selling of currency by a country’s government.

In order to minimize transaction costs or for other reasons, the fund’s exposure to non−US currencies of the fund’s investments may not be hedged at all times. Currency exchange rates can be very volatile and can change quickly and unpredictably. Therefore, the value of an investment in the fund may also go up or down quickly and unpredictably.

Security selection risk. The securities in the fund’s portfolio may decline in value. Portfolio management could be wrong in its analysis of industries, companies, economic trends, the relative attractiveness of different securities or other matters.

Focus risk. To the extent that the fund focuses its investments in particular industries, asset classes or sectors of the economy, any market price movements, regulatory or technological changes, or economic conditions affecting companies in those industries, asset classes or sectors may have a significant impact on the fund’s performance. The fund may become more focused in particular industries, asset classes or sectors of the economy as a result of changes in the valuation of the fund’s investments or fluctuations in the fund’s assets, and the fund is not required to reduce such exposures under these circumstances.

Securities lending risk. Securities lending involves the risk that the fund may lose money because the borrower of the loaned securities fails to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. A delay in the recovery of loaned securities could interfere with the fund’s ability to vote proxies or settle transactions. Delayed settlement may limit the ability of the fund to reinvest the proceeds of a sale of securities or prevent the fund from selling securities at times and prices it considers desirable. The fund could also lose money in the event of a decline in the value of the collateral provided for the loaned securities, or a decline in the value of any investments made with cash collateral or even a loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially while holding the securities.

Counterparty risk. A financial institution or other counterparty with whom the fund does business, or that underwrites, distributes or guarantees any investments or contracts that the fund owns or is otherwise exposed to, may decline in financial health and become unable to honor its commitments. This could cause losses for the fund or could delay the return or delivery of collateral or other assets to the fund.

Liquidity risk. In certain situations, it may be difficult or impossible to sell an investment and/or the fund may sell certain investments at a price or time that is not advantageous in order to meet redemption requests or other

cash needs. Unusual market conditions, such as an unusually high volume of redemptions or other similar conditions could increase liquidity risk for the fund.

Pricing risk. If market conditions make it difficult to value some investments, the fund may value these investments using more subjective methods, such as fair value pricing. In such cases, the value determined for an investment could be different from the value realized upon such investment’s sale. As a result, you could pay more than the market value when buying fund shares or receive less than the market value when selling fund shares.

Operational and technology risk. Cyber-attacks, disruptions or failures that affect the fund’s service providers or counterparties, issuers of securities held by the fund, or other market participants may adversely affect the fund and its shareholders, including by causing losses for the fund or impairing fund operations. For example, the fund’s or its service providers’ assets or sensitive or confidential information may be misappropriated, data may be corrupted and operations may be disrupted (e.g., cyber-attacks, operational failures or broader disruptions may cause the release of private shareholder information or confidential fund information, interfere with the processing of shareholder transactions, impact the ability to calculate the fund’s net asset value and impede trading). Market events and disruptions also may trigger a volume of transactions that overloads current information technology and communication systems and processes, impacting the ability to conduct the fund’s operations.

While the fund and its service providers may establish business continuity and other plans and processes that seek to address the possibility of and fallout from cyber-attacks, disruptions or failures, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems, including that they do not apply to third parties, such as fund counterparties, issuers of securities held by the fund or other market participants, as well as the possibility that certain risks have not been identified or that unknown threats may emerge in the future and there is no assurance that such plans and processes will be effective. Among other situations, disruptions (for example, pandemics or health crises) that cause prolonged periods of remote work or significant employee absences at the fund’s service providers could impact the ability to conduct the fund’s operations. In addition, the fund cannot directly control any cybersecurity plans and systems put in place by its service providers, fund counterparties, issuers of securities held by the fund or other market participants.

Past Performance

How a fund's returns vary from year to year can give an idea of its risk; so can comparing fund performance to overall market performance (as measured by an appropriate market index). Past performance may not indicate future results. All performance figures below assume that dividends and distributions were reinvested. For more

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DWS CROCI® International VIP

Summary Prospectus May 1, 2023

recent performance figures, go to dws.com (the Web site does not form a part of this prospectus) or call the telephone number included in this prospectus. This information does not reflect fees associated with the separate account that invests in the fund or any variable life insurance policy or variable annuity contract for which the fund is an investment option. These fees will reduce returns.

Prior to May 1, 2014, the fund had a different investment management team that operated with a different investment strategy. Performance would have been different if the fund's current strategy described above had been in effect.

CALENDAR YEAR TOTAL RETURNS (%) (CLASS B)

  

	Returns	Period ending
Best Quarter	19.49%	December 31, 2022
Worst Quarter	-25.82%	March 31, 2020
Year-to-Date	9.54%	March 31, 2023

Average Annual Total Returns
(For periods ended 12/31/2022 expressed as a %) 

	Class Inception	1 Year	5 Years	10 Years
Class B before tax	5/8/1997	-13.51	0.00	2.00
MSCI EAFE® Value Index (reflects no deduc- tion for fees, expenses or taxes)		-5.58	0.17	3.51

Management

Investment Advisor

DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc.

Portfolio Manager(s)

Di Kumble, CFA, Senior Portfolio Manager Equity. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2014.

John Moody, Portfolio Manager Equity. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2016.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

The fund is intended for use in a variable insurance product. You should contact the sponsoring insurance company for information on how to purchase and sell shares of the fund.

Tax Information

The fund normally distributes its net investment income and realized capital gains, if any, to its shareholders, the separate accounts of participating insurance companies. These distributions may not be taxable to the holders of variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies. For information concerning the federal income tax consequences for the holders of such contracts or policies, holders should consult the prospectus used in connection with the issuance of their particular contracts or policies.

Payments to Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the fund through selected affiliated and unaffiliated brokers, dealers, participating insurance companies or other financial intermediaries, the fund, the Advisor, and/or the Advisor’s affiliates, may pay the financial intermediary for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the financial intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your insurance company's Web site for more information.

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DWS CROCI® International VIP

Summary Prospectus May 1, 2023 1B-CINT-SUM