-----BEGIN PRIVACY-ENHANCED MESSAGE----- Proc-Type: 2001,MIC-CLEAR Originator-Name: webmaster@www.sec.gov Originator-Key-Asymmetric: MFgwCgYEVQgBAQICAf8DSgAwRwJAW2sNKK9AVtBzYZmr6aGjlWyK3XmZv3dTINen TWSM7vrzLADbmYQaionwg5sDW3P6oaM5D3tdezXMm7z1T+B+twIDAQAB MIC-Info: RSA-MD5,RSA, DtoQXBT6RqBuyLfYrliRRdipXHo3Fjw0DxWeisUD6GTEf/E84VszAmTdbpRht1Cm Jf+zBd/3ydmUsAs04sv4eA== 0000088053-09-000368.txt : 20090401 0000088053-09-000368.hdr.sgml : 20090401 20090401171618 ACCESSION NUMBER: 0000088053-09-000368 CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE: 497 PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT: 1 FILED AS OF DATE: 20090401 DATE AS OF CHANGE: 20090401 EFFECTIVENESS DATE: 20090401 FILER: COMPANY DATA: COMPANY CONFORMED NAME: DWS BLUE CHIP FUND CENTRAL INDEX KEY: 0000823342 IRS NUMBER: 363542349 STATE OF INCORPORATION: MA FISCAL YEAR END: 1031 FILING VALUES: FORM TYPE: 497 SEC ACT: 1933 Act SEC FILE NUMBER: 033-17777 FILM NUMBER: 09724415 BUSINESS ADDRESS: STREET 1: 345 PARK AVENUE CITY: NEW YORK STATE: NY ZIP: 10154-0004 BUSINESS PHONE: 212-454-6778 MAIL ADDRESS: STREET 1: 345 PARK AVENUE CITY: NEW YORK STATE: NY ZIP: 10154-0004 FORMER COMPANY: FORMER CONFORMED NAME: SCUDDER BLUE CHIP FUND DATE OF NAME CHANGE: 20010614 FORMER COMPANY: FORMER CONFORMED NAME: KEMPER BLUE CHIP FUND DATE OF NAME CHANGE: 19920703 FILER: COMPANY DATA: COMPANY CONFORMED NAME: DWS INVESTMENT TRUST CENTRAL INDEX KEY: 0000088064 IRS NUMBER: 042212654 STATE OF INCORPORATION: MA FISCAL YEAR END: 1231 FILING VALUES: FORM TYPE: 497 SEC ACT: 1933 Act SEC FILE NUMBER: 002-13628 FILM NUMBER: 09724416 BUSINESS ADDRESS: STREET 1: 345 PARK AVENUE CITY: NEW YORK STATE: NY ZIP: 10154-0004 BUSINESS PHONE: 212-454-6778 MAIL ADDRESS: STREET 1: 345 PARK AVENUE CITY: NEW YORK STATE: NY ZIP: 10154-0004 FORMER COMPANY: FORMER CONFORMED NAME: INVESTMENT TRUST DATE OF NAME CHANGE: 19980529 FORMER COMPANY: FORMER CONFORMED NAME: SCUDDER INVESTMENT TRUST DATE OF NAME CHANGE: 19920703 FORMER COMPANY: FORMER CONFORMED NAME: SCUDDER GROWTH & INCOME FUND DATE OF NAME CHANGE: 19910402 0000088064 S000005705 DWS Capital Growth Fund C000015670 Class A SDGAX C000015672 Class B SDGBX C000015673 Class C SDGCX C000015674 Class R SDGRX C000015675 Class S SCGSX C000015676 Institutional Class SDGTX 0000088064 S000005706 DWS Growth & Income Fund C000015677 Class A SUWAX C000015679 Class B SUWBX C000015680 Class C SUWCX C000015682 Class S SCDGX C000015683 Institutional Class SUWIX 0000088064 S000005707 DWS Large Company Growth Fund C000015684 Class A SGGAX C000015686 Class B SGGBX C000015687 Class C SGGCX C000015689 Class S SCQGX C000015690 Institutional Class SGGIX 0000088064 S000005709 DWS Small Cap Core Fund C000015696 Class A SZCAX C000015698 Class B SZCBX C000015699 Class C SZCCX C000015700 Class S SSLCX 0000823342 S000005741 DWS Blue Chip Fund C000015761 Class A KBCAX C000015762 Class B KBCBX C000015763 Class C KBCCX C000015764 Class S KBCSX C000015765 Institutional Class KBCIX 497 1 prs-inv.txt 497 - AS REVISED PROSPECTUSES DECEMBER 1, 2008, AS REVISED APRIL 1, 2009 PROSPECTUS ------------------ CLASSES A, B AND C DWS LARGE COMPANY GROWTH FUND As with all mutual funds, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) does not approve or disapprove these shares or determine whether the information in this prospectus is truthful or complete. It is a criminal offense for anyone to inform you otherwise. RESHAPING INVESTING. [DWS INVESTMENTS LOGO] Deutsche Bank Group CONTENTS HOW THE FUND WORKS 4 The Fund's Main Investment Strategy 5 The Main Risks of Investing in the Fund 8 The Fund's Performance History 10 How Much Investors Pay 12 Other Policies and Secondary Risks 14 Who Manages and Oversees the Fund 17 Additional Performance Information 19 Financial Highlights
HOW TO INVEST IN THE FUND 24 Choosing a Share Class 30 How to Buy Class A, B and C Shares 31 How to Exchange or Sell Class A, B and C Shares 34 Policies You Should Know About 46 Understanding Distributions and Taxes 50 Appendix
HOW THE FUND WORKS On the next few pages, you'll find information about the fund's investment objective, the main strategies it uses to pursue that objective and the main risks that could affect performance. Whether you are considering investing in the fund or are already a shareholder, you'll want to LOOK THIS INFORMATION OVER CAREFULLY. You may want to keep it on hand for reference as well. CLASSES A, B AND C shares are generally intended for investors seeking the advice and assistance of a financial advisor. Remember that mutual funds are investments, not bank deposits. They're not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC or any other government agency. Their share prices will go up and down, and you could lose money by investing in them. You can find DWS prospectuses on the Internet at WWW.DWS-INVESTMENTS.COM (the Web site does not form a part of this prospectus). Class A Class B Class C ticker symbol SGGAX SGGBX SGGCX fund number 469 669 769 DWS LARGE COMPANY GROWTH FUND
THE FUND'S MAIN INVESTMENT STRATEGY The fund seeks long-term growth of capital. The fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in large US companies that are similar in size to the companies in the Russell 1000 Growth Index (as of December 31, 2008, the Russell 1000 Growth Index had a median market capitalization of $3.3 billion). The fund intends to invest primarily in companies whose market capitalizations fall within the normal range of the Index. The fund's equity investments are mainly common stocks, but may also include other types of equities such as preferred stocks or convertible securities. The fund may also invest up to 20% of its assets in stocks and other securities of companies not publicly traded in the United States. In choosing stocks, the portfolio managers begin by utilizing a proprietary quantitative model to rank stocks based on a number of factors including valuation and profitability. The portfolio managers also apply fundamental techniques to identify companies that display above-average earnings growth compared to other companies and that have strong product lines, effective management and leadership positions within core markets. The factors considered and models used by the portfolio managers may change over time. The portfolio managers may favor different types of securities from different industries and companies at different times. The portfolio managers will normally sell a stock when they believe its price is unlikely to go higher, the company's fundamentals have changed, other investments offer better opportunities or in the course of adjusting the fund's emphasis on a given industry. 4 | DWS Large Company Growth Fund DERIVATIVES AND OTHER INVESTMENTS. The fund is permitted, but not required, to use various types of derivatives (contracts whose value is based on, for example, indices, currencies or securities). Derivatives may be used for hedging and for risk management or for non-hedging purposes to seek to enhance potential gains. The fund may use derivatives in circumstances where portfolio management believes they offer an economical means of gaining exposure to a particular asset class or to keep cash on hand to meet shareholder redemptions or other needs while maintaining exposure to the market. In particular, the fund may use futures and options and write covered call options. SECURITIES LENDING. The fund may lend its investment securities in an amount up to 33 1/3% of its total assets to approved institutional borrowers who need to borrow securities in order to complete certain transactions. THE MAIN RISKS OF INVESTING IN THE FUND 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. STOCK MARKET RISK. The fund is affected by how the stock market performs. To the extent the fund invests in a particular market sector, the fund's performance may be proportionately affected by that segment's general performance. When stock prices fall, you should expect the value of your investment to fall as well. Because a stock represents ownership in its issuer, stock prices can be hurt by poor management, shrinking product demand and other business risks. These may affect single companies as well as groups of companies. In addition, movements in financialmarkets may adversely affect a stock's price, regardless of how well the company performs. The market as a whole may not favor the types of investments the fund makes and the fund may not be able to get an attractive price for them. GROWTH INVESTING RISK. Since growth stocks usually reinvest a large portion of earnings in their own businesses, they may lack the dividends associated with value stocks that might otherwise cushion their decline in a falling market. Earnings THE FOLLOWING SIDEBAR TEXT APPEARS NEXT TO THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPHS This fund is designed for investors with long-term goals who are interested in a growth-style approach to large-cap investing. DWS Large Company Growth Fund | 5 disappointments in growth stocks often result in sharp price declines because investors buy these stocks for their potential superior earnings growth. Growth stocks may also be out of favor for certain periods in relation to value stocks. SECURITY SELECTION RISK. A risk that pervades all investing is the risk that the securities in the fund's portfolio may decline in value. FOREIGN INVESTMENT RISK. To the extent the fund invests in companies based outside the US, it faces the risks inherent in foreign investing. Adverse political, economic or social developments could undermine the value of the fund's investments or prevent the fund from realizing their full value. 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 the US markets. These risks tend to be greater in emerging markets so, to the extent the fund invests in emerging markets, it takes on greater risks. The currency of a country in which the fund has invested could decline relative to the value of the US dollar, which decreases the value of the investment to US investors. The investments of the fund may be subject to foreign withholding taxes. INDUSTRY RISK. While the fund does not concentrate in any industry, to the extent that the fund has exposure to a given industry or sector, any factors affecting that industry or sector could affect the value of portfolio securities. For example, manufacturers of consumer goods could be hurt by a rise in unemployment or technology companies could be hurt by such factors as market saturation, price competition and rapid obsolescence. DERIVATIVES RISK. Risks associated with derivatives include the risk that the derivative is not well correlated with the security, index or currency to which it relates; the risk that derivatives may result in losses or missed opportunities; the risk that the fund will be unable to sell the derivative because of an illiquid secondary market; the risk that a counterparty is unwilling or unable to meet its obligation; and the risk that the derivative transaction could expose the fund to the effects of leverage, which could increase the fund's exposure to the market and magnify potential losses. There is no guarantee that derivatives, to the extent employed, will have the intended 6 | DWS Large Company Growth Fund effect, and their use could cause lower returns or even losses to the fund. The use of derivatives by the fund to hedge risk may reduce the opportunity for gain by offsetting the positive effect of favorable price movements. SECURITIES LENDING RISK. Any loss in the market price of securities loaned by the fund that occurs during the term of the loan would be borne by the fund and would adversely affect the fund's performance. Also, there may be delays in recovery of securities loaned or even a loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially while the loan is outstanding. However, loans will be made only to borrowers selected by the fund's delegate after a review of relevant facts and circumstances, including the creditworthiness of the borrower. Another factor that could affect performance is: - portfolio management could be wrong in the analysis of industries, companies, economic trends, the relative attractiveness of different securities or other matters. DWS Large Company Growth Fund | 7 THE FUND'S PERFORMANCE HISTORY While a fund's past performance (before and after taxes) isn't necessarily a sign of how it will do in the future, it can be valuable for an investor to know. The bar chart shows how the performance of the fund's Class A shares has varied from year to year, which may give some idea of risk. The bar chart does not reflect sales loads; if it did, total returns would be lower than those shown. The table on the following page shows how fund performance compares to relevant index performance (which, unlike fund performance, does not reflect fees or expenses). The table includes the effects of maximum sales loads on fund performance. The performance of the fund and the index information varies over time. All figures assume reinvestment of dividends and distributions (in the case of after-tax returns, reinvested net of assumed tax rates). The table shows returns for Class A shares on a before-tax and after-tax basis. After-tax returns are shown for Class A only and will vary for Classes B and C. After-tax returns are estimates calculated using the historical highest marginal individual federal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown in the table. After-tax returns shown are not relevant for investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. The inception date for Class A is August 2, 1999. The inception date for Class B and Class C is December 29, 2000. In the bar chart, the performance figures for Class A before its inception date are based on the historical performance of the fund's original share class (Class S), adjusted to reflect the higher gross total annual operating expenses of Class A. In the table, the performance figures for each share class for the periods prior to its inception date are based on the historical performance of Class S, adjusted to reflect both the higher gross total annual operating expenses of Classes A, B or C and the current applicable sales charge of Classes A, B and C. Class S shares are offered in a separate prospectus. DWS Large Company Growth Fund ANNUAL TOTAL RETURN (%) AS OF 12/31 EACH YEAR - CLASS A (Results do not reflect sales loads; if they did, total returns would be lower than those shown.) [BAR GRAPHIC OMITTED HERE] [BAR GRAPHIC DATA] 34.69 -19.43 -22.85 -29.89 24.71 4.22 7.93 6.93 12.43 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
2008 TOTAL RETURN AS OF SEPTEMBER 30: -14.68% FOR THE PERIODS INCLUDED IN THE BAR CHART: BEST QUARTER: 28.00%, Q4 1999 WORST QUARTER: -21.27%, Q1 2001
8 | DWS Large Company Growth Fund AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS (%) as of 12/31/2007
1 YEAR 5 YEARS 10 YEARS CLASS A Return before Taxes 5.97 9.71 2.17 Return after Taxes on Distributions 5.94 9.21 1.73 Return after Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares 1.90 7.76 1.50 CLASS B (Return before Taxes) 8.62 10.03 1.97 CLASS C (Return before Taxes) 11.61 10.17 1.99 RUSSELL 1000 (Reg. TM) GROWTH INDEX (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) 11.81 12.11 3.83
Total returns would have been lower if operating expenses hadn't been reduced. RUSSELL 1000 (Reg. TM) GROWTH INDEX is an unmanaged index that consists of those stocks in the Russell 1000 (Reg. TM) Index that have higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values. Russell 1000 (Reg. TM) Index is an unmanaged price-only index of the 1,000 largest capitalized companies that are domiciled in the US and whose common stocks are traded. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current performance may be higher or lower than the performance data quoted above. For more recent performance information, call your financial advisor or (800) 621-1048 or visit our Web site at www.dws-investments.com. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return information assumes that fund shares were sold at the end of the period. RETURN AFTER TAXES ON DISTRIBUTIONS reflects taxes only on the fund's distributions and not on a shareholder's gain or loss from selling fund shares. RETURN AFTER TAXES ON DISTRIBUTIONS AND SALE OF FUND SHARES reflects taxes on both the fund's distributions and a shareholder's gain or loss from selling fund shares. ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCE INFORMATION. Owen Fitzpatrick, Lead Manager to the fund, previously managed private accounts with substantially similar investment objectives, policies and strategies as the fund when he was employed by Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management. See the section entitled "Additional Performance Information" for more information. This performance does not represent the performance of the fund and should not be considered an indication of future performance of the fund. DWS Large Company Growth Fund | 9 HOW MUCH INVESTORS PAY This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold fund shares. This information doesn't include any fees that may be charged by your financial advisor.
FEE TABLE CLASS A CLASS B CLASS C SHAREHOLDER FEES, paid directly from your investment _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as % of offering price) 5.75% 1 None None Maximum Contingent Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as % of redemption proceeds) None 2 4.00% 1.00% Redemption/Exchange Fee on shares owned less than 15 days (as % of redemption proceeds) 3 2.00 2.00 2.00 ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSES, deducted from fund assets _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Management Fee 0.62 % 0.62% 0.62% Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fee 0.23 0.99 0.99 Other Expenses 4 0.53 0.59 0.48 TOTAL ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSES 5,6 1.38 2.20 2.09
1 Because of rounding in the calculation of the offering price, the actual maximum front-end sales charge paid by an investor may be higher than the percentage noted (see "Choosing a Share Class - Class A shares"). 2 The redemption of shares purchased at net asset value under the Large Order NAV Purchase Privilege (see "Choosing a Share Class - Class A shares") may be subject to a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00% if redeemed within 12 months of purchase and 0.50% if redeemed within the following six months. 3 This fee is charged on applicable redemptions or exchanges. Please see "Policies You Should Know About - Policies about transactions" for further information. 4 "Other Expenses" include an administrative services fee paid to the Advisor in the amount of 0.10% of average daily net assets. 5 Through September 30, 2009, the Advisor has contractually agreed to waive all or a portion of its management fee and reimburse or pay certain operating expenses of the fund to the extent necessary to maintain the fund's total annual operating expenses at 1.34% for Class A shares, and 2.09% for Class B and Class C shares, respectively, excluding certain expenses such as extraordinary expenses, taxes, brokerage and interest. Although there can be no assurances that the current waiver/expense reimbursement arrangement will be maintained beyond September 30, 2009, the Advisor has committed to review the continuance of waiver/expense reimbursement arrangements by September 30, 2009. 6 Except as otherwise noted, the information in the table is based on amounts incurred during the fund's most recent fiscal year. It is important for you to understand that a decline in the fund's average net assets during the current fiscal year due to recent unprecedented market volatility or other factors could cause the fund's expense ratios for the fund's current fiscal year to be higher than the expense information presented. 10 | DWS Large Company Growth Fund Based on the costs above, this example helps you compare the expenses of each share class to those of other mutual funds. This example assumes the expenses above remain the same. It also assumes that you invested $10,000, earned 5% annual returns and reinvested all dividends and distributions. This is only an example; actual expenses will be different.
EXAMPLE 1 YEAR 3 YEARS 5 YEARS 10 YEARS EXPENSES, assuming you sold your shares at the end of each period _________________________________________________________________________ Class A shares $707 $987 $1,287 $2,137 Class B shares* 623 988 1,380 2,136 Class C shares 312 655 1,124 2,421 EXPENSES, assuming you kept your shares _________________________________________________________________________ Class A shares $707 $987 $1,287 $2,137 Class B shares* 223 688 1,180 2,136 Class C shares 212 655 1,124 2,421
* Reflects conversion of Class B to Class A shares, which pay lower fees. Conversion occurs six years after purchase. DWS Large Company Growth Fund | 11 OTHER POLICIES AND SECONDARY RISKS While the previous pages describe the main points of the fund's strategy and risks, there are a few other issues to know about: - Although major changes tend to be infrequent, the fund's Board could change the fund's investment objective without seeking shareholder approval. In addition, the Board will provide shareholders with at least 60 days' notice prior to making any changes to the fund's 80% investment policy, as described herein. - As a temporary defensive measure, the fund could shift up to 100% of assets into investments such as money market securities. This could prevent losses, but, while engaged in a temporary defensive position, the fund will not be pursuing its investment objective. However, portfolio management may choose not to use these strategies for various reasons, even in volatile market conditions. - The fund may trade actively. This could raise transaction costs (thus lowering return) and could mean increased taxable distributions to shareholders and distributions that will be taxable to shareholders at higher federal income tax rates. - Certain DWS fund-of-funds are permitted to invest in the fund. As a result, the fund may have large inflows or outflows of cash from time to time. This could have adverse effects on the fund's performance if the fund were required to sell securities or invest cash at times when it otherwise would not do so. This activity could also accelerate the realization of capital gains and increase the fund's transaction costs. The Advisor will monitor the impact of these transactions and the fund may discontinue such arrangements if they are not deemed to be in the best interests of the fund. Secondary risks PRICING RISK. At times, market conditions may make it difficult to value some investments, and the fund may use certain valuation methodologies for some of its investments, such as fair value pricing. Given the subjective nature of such valuation methodologies, it is possible that the value determined for an investment may be different than the value realized upon such investment's sale. If the fund has valued its securities too 12 | Other Policies and Secondary Risks highly, you may pay too much for fund shares when you buy into the fund. If the fund has underestimated the price of its securities, you may not receive the full market value when you sell your fund shares. IPO RISK. Securities purchased in initial public offerings (IPOs) may be very volatile. The price of such securities may rise and fall rapidly, often based, among other reasons, on investor perceptions rather than economic reasons. Additionally, investments in IPOs may magnify the fund's performance if it has a small asset base. The fund is less likely to experience a similar impact on its performance as its assets grow because it is unlikely that the fund will obtain proportionately larger IPO allocations. For more information This prospectus doesn't tell you about every policy or risk of investing in the fund. If you want more information on the fund's allowable securities and investment practices and the characteristics and risks of each one, you may want to request a copy of the Statement of Additional Information (the back cover tells you how to do this). Keep in mind that there is no assurance that the fund will achieve its investment objective. A complete list of the fund's portfolio holdings as of the month-end is posted on www.dws-investments.com on or about the 15th day of the following month. More frequent posting of portfolio holdings information may be made from time to time on www.dws-investments.com. The posted portfolio holdings information is available by fund and generally remains accessible at least until the date on which the fund files its Form N-CSR or N-Q with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the period that includes the date as of which the posted information is current. The fund's Statement of Additional Information includes a description of the fund's policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the fund's portfolio holdings. Other Policies and Secondary Risks | 13 WHO MANAGES AND OVERSEES THE FUND The investment advisor Deutsche Investment Management Americas Inc. ("DIMA" or the "Advisor"), with headquarters at 345 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10154, is the investment advisor for the fund. Under the oversight of the Board, the Advisor makes investment decisions, buys and sells securities for the fund and conducts research that leads to these purchase and sale decisions. The Advisor provides a full range of global investment advisory services to institutional and retail clients. DWS Investments is part of Deutsche Bank's Asset Management division and, within the US, represents the retail asset management activities of Deutsche Bank AG, Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, DIMA and DWS Trust Company. Deutsche Asset Management is a global asset management organization that offers a wide range of investing expertise and resources, including hundreds of portfolio managers and analysts and an office network that reaches the world's major investment centers. This well-resourced global investment platform brings together a wide variety of experience and investment insight across industries, regions, asset classes and investing styles. The Advisor is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Bank AG. Deutsche Bank AG is a major global banking institution that is engaged in a wide range of financial services, including investment management, mutual funds, retail, private and commercial banking, investment banking and insurance. 14 | Who Manages and Oversees the Fund MANAGEMENT FEE. The Advisor receives a management fee from the fund. Below is the actual rate paid by the fund for the most recent fiscal year, as a percentage of the fund's average daily net assets.
FUND NAME FEE PAID DWS Large Company Growth Fund 0.62%
A discussion regarding the basis for the Board's approval of the fund's investment management agreement is contained in the most recent shareholder report for the semi-annual period ended January 31 (see "Shareholder reports" on the back cover). Under a separate administrative services agreement between the fund and the Advisor, the fund pays the Advisor a fee for providing most of the fund's administrative services. Who Manages and Oversees the Fund | 15 Portfolio management DWS Large Company Growth Fund is managed by a team of investment professionals who collaborate to implement the fund's investment strategy. The team is led by a lead manager who is responsible for developing the fund's investment strategy. Each portfolio manager on the team has authority over all aspects of the fund's investment portfolio, including but not limited to, purchases and sales of individual securities, portfolio construction techniques, portfolio risk assessment, and the management of daily cash flows in accordance with portfolio holdings. The following people handle the day-to-day management of DWS Large Company Growth Fund: Owen Fitzpatrick, CFA Managing Director of Deutsche Asset Management and Lead Manager of the fund. - - Joined Deutsche Asset Management and the fund in 2009. - - Prior to joining Deutsche Assets Management, he was Managing Director of Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management and served as head of U.S. Equity Strategy and manager of the U.S. large cap core, value and growth portfolios and member of the U.S. Investment Committee and head of the Equity Strategy Group. - - Previous experience includes over 21 years of experience in trust and investment management. Prior to joining Deutsche Bank in 1995, managed an equity income fund, trust and advisory relationships for Princeton Bank & Trust Company, where he was also responsible for research coverage of the consumer cyclical sector. Previously served as a portfolio manager at Manufacturer's Hanover Trust Company. - - BA and MBA, Fordham University. Richard Shepley Managing Director of Deutsche Asset Management and Portfolio Manager of the fund. - - Joined Deutsche Asset Management in 1998 and the fund in 2007. - - Previous experience includes eight years of investment industry experience as research analyst for global beverage and media sectors at Newton Investment Management and assistant manager in corporate tax and corporate insolvency department at Price Waterhouse, London. - - MA, Oxford University. Brendan O'Neill, CFA Director of Deutsche Asset Management and Portfolio Manager of the fund. - - Joined Deutsche Asset Management in 2000 and joined the fund in 2007. - - Equity Research Analyst covering the financial services sector since 2001. - - Previously served as a member of the Large Cap Core Equity team. - - BA, Queens College, CUNY; MS, Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College. The fund's Statement of Additional Information provides additional information about a portfolio manager's investments in the fund, a description of the portfolio management compensation structure and information regarding other accounts managed. 16 | Who Manages and Oversees the Fund ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCE INFORMATION The table below illustrates the performance of a composite of certain private accounts ("Accounts") managed by OWEN FITZPATRICK, Lead Manager of the fund, while employed by Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management. For more information about Owen Fitzpatrick, please refer to the "Portfolio management" section of this prospectus. Each of the Accounts included in the composite has objectives, policies and strategies substantially similar to those of the fund. As of December 31, 2008, the total assets in the composite were $328 million. Unlike management of the private accounts included in the composite, Owen Fitzpatrick's management of the fund is subject to certain regulatory restrictions (e.g., limits on percentage of assets invested in a single issuer and industry and requirements on distributing income to shareholders) that do not apply to the Accounts. In addition, the fund generally experiences cash flows that are different from those of the Accounts. All of these factors may adversely affect the performance of the fund and cause it to differ from that of the Accounts in the composite described below. Composite results below represent the performance of the Accounts, net of the annual rate of estimated total operating expenses of DWS Large Company Growth Fund - Class A, as of December 31, 2008. THE COMPOSITE RESULTS DO NOT REPRESENT THE PERFORMANCE OF THE DWS LARGE COMPANY GROWTH FUND, AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AN INDICATION OF FUTURE PERFORMANCE OF THE FUND. The composite results are not required to be, and were not calculated in accordance with SEC mandated mutual fund performance calculation methodology. The use of such methodology could yield a different result.
AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURN (%)** (AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2008) 1 YEAR 3 YEARS SINCE INCEPTION* FEE ADJUSTED, NO-LOAD (reflects no deduction for sales charge) -33.96% -3.06% 0.20% FEE ADJUSTED, LOAD ADJUSTED** -37.75% -4.95% -1.04% RUSSELL 1000 (Reg. TM) GROWTH INDEX (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) -38.44% -9.11% -3.76% STANDARD & POOR'S 500 INDEX (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) -37.00% -8.36% -2.65%
* Date of Inception is April 1, 2004 which corresponds to the date that Mr. Fitzpatrick became the sole, lead portfolio manager of the Accounts. ** Average Annual Total Returns reflect the gross returns of the Accounts reduced by the estimated net annual operating expenses of the DWS Large Company Growth Fund - Class A shares (1.38% annually) and shown both with and without the imposition of sales charges (5.75% for Class A shares). Actual fees and expenses of the Accounts may Who Manages and Oversees the Fund | 17 have been more or less than those of the fund. Returns reflect the reinvestment of dividends and distributions. RUSSELL 1000 (Reg. TM) INDEX is an unmanaged price-only index of the 1,000 largest capitalized companies that are domiciled in the US and whose common stocks are traded. STANDARD & POOR'S 500 INDEX (S&P 500) is an unmanaged, capitalization-weighted index of 500 stocks. The index is designed to measure performance of the broad domestic economy through changes in the aggregate market value of 500 stocks representing all major industries. 18 | Who Manages and Oversees the Fund FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS The financial highlights are designed to help you understand recent financial performance. The figures in the first part of each table are for a single share. The total return figures represent the percentage that an investor in the fund would have earned (or lost), assuming all dividends and distributions were reinvested. This information has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the fund's financial statements, is included in the fund's annual report (see "Shareholder reports" on the back cover). Financial Highlights | 19 DWS Large Company Growth Fund - Class A
YEARS ENDED JULY 31, 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 SELECTED PER SHARE DATA - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NET ASSET VALUE, BEGINNING OF PERIOD $ 28.04 $ 24.47 $ 24.36 $ 21.54 $ 20.32 - -------------------------------- ------- --------- -------- -------- -------- Income (loss) from investment operations: Net investment income (loss)a ( .03) .05d ( .07) .05 ( .08) ________________________________ _______ _________ ________ ________ ________ Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) ( .05) 3.52 .25 2.77 1.30 - -------------------------------- ------- --------- -------- -------- -------- TOTAL FROM INVESTMENT OPERATIONS ( .08) 3.57 .18 2.82 1.22 ________________________________ _______ _________ ________ ________ ________ Less distributions from: Net investment income ( .05) - ( .07) - - ________________________________ _______ _________ ________ ________ ________ Redemption fees .00* .00* .00* .00* - - -------------------------------- ------- --------- -------- -------- -------- NET ASSET VALUE, END OF PERIOD $ 27.91 $ 28.04 $ 24.47 $ 24.36 $ 21.54 - -------------------------------- ------- --------- -------- -------- -------- Total Return (%)b ( .30)c 14.59c,d .69c 13.09 6.00c - -------------------------------- ------- --------- -------- -------- -------- RATIOS TO AVERAGE NET ASSETS AND SUPPLEMENTAL DATA - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net assets, end of period ($ millions) 20 20 24 28 42 ________________________________ _______ _________ ________ ________ ________ Ratio of expenses before expense reductions (%) 1.38 1.30 1.37 1.27 1.35 ________________________________ _______ _________ ________ ________ ________ Ratio of expenses after expense reductions (%) 1.36 1.28 1.35 1.27 1.29 ________________________________ _______ _________ ________ ________ ________ Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%) ( .12) .17d ( .26) .22 ( .38) ________________________________ _______ _________ ________ ________ ________ Portfolio turnover rate (%) 43 23 16 20 21 - -------------------------------- ------- --------- -------- -------- --------
a Based on average shares outstanding during the period. b Total return does not reflect the effect of any sales charges. c Total return would have been lower had certain expenses not been reduced. d Includes non-recurring income from the Advisor recorded as a result of an administrative proceeding regarding disclosure of brokerage allocation practices in connection with sales of DWS Funds. The non-recurring income resulted in an increase in net investment income of $0.031 per share and an increase in the ratio of net investment income (loss) of 0.12%. Excluding this non-recurring income, total return would have been 0.12% lower. * Amount is less than $.005. 20 | Financial Highlights DWS Large Company Growth Fund - Class B
YEARS ENDED JULY 31, 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 SELECTED PER SHARE DATA - --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NET ASSET VALUE, BEGINNING OF PERIOD $ 26.74 $ 23.50 $ 23.51 $ 20.94 $ 19.91 - -------------------------------- ------- -------- ------- -------- -------- Income (loss) from investment operations: Net investment income (loss)a ( .23) ( .13)d ( .24) ( .11) ( .24) ________________________________ _______ ________ _______ ________ ________ Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) ( .06) 3.37 .23 2.68 1.27 - -------------------------------- ------- -------- ------- -------- -------- TOTAL FROM INVESTMENT OPERATIONS ( .29) 3.24 ( .01) 2.57 1.03 ________________________________ _______ ________ _______ ________ ________ Redemption fees .00* .00* .00* .00* - - -------------------------------- ------- -------- ------- -------- -------- NET ASSET VALUE, END OF PERIOD $ 26.45 $ 26.74 $ 23.50 $ 23.51 $ 20.94 - -------------------------------- ------- -------- ------- -------- -------- Total Return (%)b ( 1.08)c 13.79c,d ( .04)c 12.27c 5.17c - -------------------------------- ------- -------- ------- -------- -------- RATIOS TO AVERAGE NET ASSETS AND SUPPLEMENTAL DATA - --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net assets, end of period ($ millions) 2 3 3 4 4 ________________________________ _______ ________ _______ ________ ________ Ratio of expenses before expense reductions (%) 2.20 2.07 2.45 2.30 2.15 ________________________________ _______ ________ _______ ________ ________ Ratio of expenses after expense reductions (%) 2.14 2.01 2.11 2.05 2.06 ________________________________ _______ ________ _______ ________ ________ Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%) ( .90) ( .56)d ( 1.02) ( .56) ( 1.15) ________________________________ _______ ________ _______ ________ ________ Portfolio turnover rate (%) 43 23 16 20 21 - -------------------------------- ------- -------- ------- -------- --------
a Based on average shares outstanding during the period. b Total return does not reflect the effect of any sales charges. c Total return would have been lower had certain expenses not been reduced. d Includes non-recurring income from the Advisor recorded as a result of an administrative proceeding regarding disclosure of brokerage allocation practices in connection with sales of DWS Funds. The non-recurring income resulted in an increase in net investment income of $0.031 per share and an increase in the ratio of net investment income (loss) of 0.12%. Excluding this non-recurring income, total return would have been 0.12% lower. * Amount is less than $.005. Financial Highlights | 21 DWS Large Company Growth Fund - Class C
YEARS ENDED JULY 31, 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 SELECTED PER SHARE DATA - --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NET ASSET VALUE, BEGINNING OF PERIOD $ 26.76 $ 23.53 $ 23.54 $ 20.97 $ 19.94 - -------------------------------- -------- -------- ------- -------- -------- Income (loss) from investment operations: Net investment income (loss)a ( .21) ( .14)d ( .24) ( .11) ( .24) ________________________________ ________ ________ _______ ________ ________ Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) ( .07) 3.37 .23 2.68 1.27 - -------------------------------- -------- -------- ------- -------- -------- TOTAL FROM INVESTMENT OPERATIONS ( .28) 3.23 ( .01) 2.57 1.03 ________________________________ ________ ________ _______ ________ ________ Redemption fees .00* .00* .00* .00* - - -------------------------------- -------- -------- ------- -------- -------- NET ASSET VALUE, END OF PERIOD $ 26.48 $ 26.76 $ 23.53 $ 23.54 $ 20.97 - -------------------------------- -------- -------- ------- -------- -------- Total Return (%)b ( 1.05) 13.73c,d ( .04)c 12.26c 5.17c - -------------------------------- -------- -------- ------- -------- -------- RATIOS TO AVERAGE NET ASSETS AND SUPPLEMENTAL DATA - --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net assets, end of period ($ millions) 3 3 3 3 3 ________________________________ ________ ________ _______ ________ ________ Ratio of expenses before expense reductions (%) 2.09 2.06 2.22 2.20 2.18 ________________________________ ________ ________ _______ ________ ________ Ratio of expenses after expense reductions (%) 2.09 2.04 2.12 2.04 2.06 ________________________________ ________ ________ _______ ________ ________ Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%) ( .85) ( .59)d ( 1.03) ( .55) ( 1.15) ________________________________ ________ ________ _______ ________ ________ Portfolio turnover rate (%) 43 23 16 20 21 - -------------------------------- -------- -------- ------- -------- --------
a Based on average shares outstanding during the period. b Total return does not reflect the effect of any sales charges. c Total return would have been lower had certain expenses not been reduced. d Includes non-recurring income from the Advisor recorded as a result of an administrative proceeding regarding disclosure of brokerage allocation practices in connection with sales of DWS Funds. The non-recurring income resulted in an increase in net investment income of $0.031 per share and an increase in the ratio of net investment income (loss) of 0.12%. Excluding this non-recurring income, total return would have been 0.12% lower. * Amount is less than $.005. 22 | Financial Highlights HOW TO INVEST IN THE FUND This prospectus offers the share classes noted on the front cover. Each class has its own fees and expenses, offering you a choice of cost structures. The fund offers other classes of shares in a separate prospectus. These shares are intended for investors seeking the advice and assistance of a financial advisor, who will typically receive compensation for those services. THE FOLLOWING PAGES TELL YOU HOW TO INVEST IN THE FUND AND WHAT TO EXPECT AS A SHAREHOLDER. The following pages also tell you about many of the services, choices and benefits of being a shareholder. You'll also find information on how to check the status of your account using the method that's most convenient for you. If you're investing directly with DWS Investments, all of this information applies to you. If you're investing through a "third party provider" - for example, a workplace retirement plan, financial supermarket or financial advisor - your provider may have its own policies or instructions and you should follow those. You can find out more about the topics covered here by speaking with your FINANCIAL ADVISOR OR A REPRESENTATIVE OF YOUR WORKPLACE RETIREMENT PLAN OR OTHER INVESTMENT PROVIDER. Before you invest, take a moment to look over the characteristics of each share class, so that you can be sure to choose the class that's right for you. YOU MAY WANT TO ASK YOUR FINANCIAL ADVISOR TO HELP YOU WITH THIS DECISION. CHOOSING A SHARE CLASS We describe each share class in detail on the following pages. But first, you may want to look at the table below, which gives you a brief description and comparison of the main features of each class. You should consult with your financial advisor to determine which class of shares is appropriate for you.
CLASSES AND FEATURES POINTS TO HELP YOU COMPARE CLASS A - Sales charge of up to 5.75% charged - Some investors may be able to reduce when you buy shares or eliminate their sales charge; see "Class A shares" - In most cases, no charge when you - Total annual expenses are lower than sell shares those for Class B or Class C - Up to 0.25% annual shareholder - Distributions are generally higher than servicing fee Class B or Class C CLASS B - No sales charge when you buy shares - The deferred sales charge rate falls to zero after six years - Deferred sales charge declining from 4.00%, charged when you sell shares - Shares automatically convert to you bought within the last six years Class A after six years, which means lower annual expenses going forward - 0.75% annual distribution fee and up to 0.25% annual shareholder servicing - Distributions are generally lower than fee Class A CLASS C - No sales charge when you buy shares - The first year deferred sales charge rate is lower for Class C shares than - Deferred sales charge of 1.00%, Class B shares, but your shares never charged when you sell shares you automatically convert to Class A, so bought within the last year annual expenses remain higher than Class A - 0.75% annual distribution fee and up to 0.25% annual shareholder servicing - Distributions are generally lower than fee Class A
Your financial advisor will typically be paid a fee when you buy shares and may receive different levels of compensation depending upon which class of shares you buy. The fund may pay financial advisors or other intermediaries compensation for the services they provide to their clients. This compensation may vary depending on the share class and fund you buy. Your financial advisor may also receive compensation from the Advisor and/or its affiliates. Please see "Financial intermediary support payments" for more information. 24 | Choosing a Share Class Class A shares Class A shares may make sense for long-term investors, especially those who are eligible for a reduced or eliminated sales charge. Class A shares have a 12b-1 plan, under which a shareholder servicing fee of up to 0.25% is deducted from class assets each year. Because the shareholder servicing fee is continuous in nature, it may, over time, increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than paying other types of sales charges. Class A shares have an up-front sales charge that varies with the amount you invest:
FRONT-END SALES FRONT-END SALES CHARGE AS % CHARGE AS % OF YOUR YOUR INVESTMENT OF OFFERING PRICE 1,2 NET INVESTMENT 2 Up to $50,000 5.75% 6.10% $ 50,000-$99,999 4.50 4.71 $ 100,000-$249,999 3.50 3.63 $ 250,000-$499,999 2.60 2.67 $ 500,000-$999,999 2.00 2.04 $1 million or more see below see below
1 The offering price includes the sales charge. 2 Because of rounding in the calculation of the offering price, the actual front-end sales charge paid by an investor may be higher or lower than the percentages noted. YOU MAY BE ABLE TO LOWER YOUR CLASS A SALES CHARGE IF: - you indicate your intent in writing to invest at least $50,000 in Class A shares (including Class A shares in other retail DWS funds) over the next 24 months ("Letter of Intent") - the amount of Class A shares you already own (including Class A shares in other retail DWS funds) plus the amount you're investing now in Class A shares is at least $50,000 ("Cumulative Discount") - you are investing a total of $50,000 or more in Class A shares of several retail DWS funds on the same day ("Combined Purchases") Choosing a Share Class | 25 The point of these three features is to let you count investments made at other times or in certain other funds for purposes of calculating your present sales charge. Any time you can use the privileges to "move" your investment into a lower sales charge category, it's generally beneficial for you to do so. For purposes of determining whether you are eligible for a reduced Class A sales charge, you and your immediate family (your spouse or life partner and your children or stepchildren age 21 or younger) may aggregate your investments in the DWS family of funds. This includes, for example, investments held in a retirement account, an employee benefit plan or at a financial advisor other than the one handling your current purchase. These combined investments will be valued at their current offering price to determine whether your current investment qualifies for a reduced sales charge. To receive a reduction in your Class A initial sales charge, you must let your financial advisor or Shareholder Services know at the time you purchase shares that you qualify for such a reduction. You may be asked by your financial advisor or Shareholder Services to provide account statements or other information regarding related accounts of you or your immediate family in order to verify your eligibility for a reduced sales charge. For more information about sales charge discounts, please visit www.dws-investments.com (click on the link entitled "Fund Sales Charge and Breakpoint Schedule"), consult with your financial advisor or refer to the section entitled "Purchase or Redemption of Shares" in the fund's Statement of Additional Information. IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES, YOU MAY BE ABLE TO BUY CLASS A SHARES WITHOUT A SALES CHARGE. For example, the sales charge will be waived if you are reinvesting dividends or distributions or if you are exchanging an investment in Class A shares of another fund in the DWS family of funds for an investment in Class A shares of the fund. In addition, a sales charge waiver may apply to transactions by certain retirement plans and certain other entities or persons (e.g., affiliated persons of Deutsche Asset Management or the DWS funds) and with respect to certain types of investments (e.g., an investment advisory or agency commission program under which you pay a fee to an investment advisor or other firm for portfolio management or brokerage services). 26 | Choosing a Share Class Details regarding the types of investment programs and categories of investors eligible for a sales charge waiver are provided in the fund's Statement of Additional Information. There are a number of additional provisions that apply in order to be eligible for a sales charge waiver. The fund may waive the sales charge for investors in other situations as well. Your financial advisor or Shareholder Services can answer your questions and help you determine if you are eligible. IF YOU'RE INVESTING $1 MILLION OR MORE, either as a lump sum or through one of the sales charge reduction features described above, you may be eligible to buy Class A shares without a sales charge ("Large Order NAV Purchase Privilege"). However, you may be charged a contingent deferred sales charge (CDSC) of 1.00% on any shares you sell within 12 months of owning them and a similar charge of 0.50% on shares you sell within the following six months. This CDSC is waived under certain circumstances (see "Policies You Should Know About"). Your financial advisor or Shareholder Services can answer your questions and help you determine if you're eligible. Class B shares Class B shares may make sense for long-term investors who prefer to see all of their investment go to work right away and can accept somewhat higher annual expenses. Please note, however, that since not all DWS funds offer Class B shares, exchange options may be limited. With Class B shares, you pay no up-front sales charge to the fund. Class B shares have a 12b-1 plan, under which a distribution fee of 0.75% and a shareholder servicing fee of up to 0.25% are deducted from class assets each year. This means the annual expenses for Class B shares are somewhat higher (and their performance correspondingly lower) compared to Class A shares. However, unlike Class A shares, your entire investment goes to work immediately. After six years, Class B shares automatically convert on a tax-free basis to Class A shares, which has the net effect of lowering the annual expenses from the seventh year on. Choosing a Share Class | 27 Class B shares have a CDSC. This charge declines over the years you own shares and disappears completely after six years of ownership. But for any shares you sell within those six years, you may be charged as follows:
YEAR AFTER YOU BOUGHT SHARES CDSC ON SHARES YOU SELL First year 4.00% Second or third year 3.00 Fourth or fifth year 2.00 Sixth year 1.00 Seventh year and later None (automatic conversion to Class A)
This CDSC is waived under certain circumstances (see "Policies You Should Know About"). Your financial advisor or Shareholder Services can answer your questions and help you determine if you're eligible. While Class B shares don't have any front-end sales charge, their higher annual expenses mean that over the years you could end up paying more than the equivalent of the maximum allowable front-end sales charge. If you are thinking of making a large purchase in Class B shares or if you already own a large amount of Class A shares of the fund or other DWS funds, it may be more cost efficient to purchase Class A shares instead. Orders to purchase Class B shares of $100,000 or more will be declined with the exception of orders received from financial representatives acting for clients whose shares are held in an omnibus account and certain employer-sponsored employee benefit plans. 28 | Choosing a Share Class Class C shares Class C shares may appeal to investors who plan to sell some or all of their shares within six years of buying them or who aren't certain of their investment time horizon. With Class C shares, you pay no up-front sales charge to the fund. Class C shares have a 12b-1 plan, under which a distribution fee of 0.75% and a shareholder servicing fee of up to 0.25% are deducted from class assets each year. Because of these fees, the annual expenses for Class C shares are similar to those of Class B shares, but higher than those for Class A shares (and the performance of Class C shares is correspondingly lower than that of Class A shares). Unlike Class B shares, Class C shares do NOT automatically convert to Class A shares after six years, so they continue to have higher annual expenses. Class C shares have a CDSC, but only on shares you sell within one year of buying them:
YEAR AFTER YOU BOUGHT SHARES CDSC ON SHARES YOU SELL First year 1.00% Second year and later None
This CDSC is waived under certain circumstances (see "Policies You Should Know About"). Your financial advisor or Shareholder Services can answer your questions and help you determine if you're eligible. While Class C shares do not have an up-front sales charge, their higher annual expenses mean that, over the years, you could end up paying more than the equivalent of the maximum allowable up-front sales charge. Orders to purchase Class C shares of $500,000 or more will be declined with the exception of orders received from financial representatives acting for clients whose shares are held in an omnibus account and certain employer-sponsored employee benefit plans. Choosing a Share Class | 29 How to BUY Class A, B and C Shares
FIRST INVESTMENT ADDITIONAL INVESTMENTS $1,000 or more for most accounts $50 or more for most accounts and IRAs $500 or more for IRAs $50 or more for an account with an $500 or more for an account with an Automatic Investment Plan Automatic Investment Plan THROUGH A FINANCIAL ADVISOR - To obtain an application, contact your - Contact your advisor using the advisor method that's most convenient for you BY MAIL OR EXPRESS MAIL (SEE BELOW) - Fill out and sign an application - Send a check payable to "DWS Investments" and an investment slip - Send it to us at the appropriate address, along with an investment - If you don't have an investment slip, check made payable to "DWS include a letter with your name, Investments" account number, the full name of the fund and the share class and your investment instructions BY WIRE - Call (800) 621-1048 for instructions - Call (800) 621-1048 for instructions BY PHONE Not available - Call (800) 621-1048 for instructions WITH AN AUTOMATIC INVESTMENT PLAN - Fill in the information on your - To set up regular investments from a application including a check for the bank checking account call (800) 621- initial investment and a voided check 1048 ($50 minimum) USING QuickBuy Not available - Call (800) 621-1048 to make sure QuickBuy is set up on your account; if it is, you can request a transfer from your bank account of any amount between $50 and $250,000 ON THE INTERNET Not available - Call (800) 621-1048 to ensure you have electronic services - Register at www.dws- investments.com or log in if already registered - Follow the instructions for buying shares with money from your bank account
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- REGULAR MAIL: First Investment: DWS Investments, PO Box 219356, Kansas City, MO 64121-9356 Additional Investments: DWS Investments, PO Box 219154, Kansas City, MO 64121-9154 EXPRESS, REGISTERED OR CERTIFIED MAIL: DWS Investments, 210 West 10th Street, Kansas City, MO 64105-1614 30 | How to Buy Class A, B and C Shares How to EXCHANGE or SELL Class A, B and C Shares
EXCHANGING INTO ANOTHER FUND SELLING SHARES Some transactions, including most for - Exchanges into existing accounts: over $100,000, can only be ordered in $50 minimum per fund writing with a signature guarantee; - Exchanges into new accounts: please see "Signature Guarantee" $1,000 minimum per fund for most accounts $500 minimum for IRAs THROUGH A FINANCIAL ADVISOR - Contact your advisor using the - Contact your advisor using the method that's most convenient for you method that's most convenient for you BY PHONE BY PHONE OR WIRE - Call (800) 621-1048 for instructions - Call (800) 621-1048 for instructions BY MAIL OR EXPRESS MAIL (see previous page for address) Write a letter that includes: Write a letter that includes: - the fund, class and account number - the fund, class and account number you're exchanging out of from which you want to sell shares - the dollar amount or number of shares - the dollar amount or number of shares you want to exchange you want to sell - the name and class of the fund you - your name(s), signature(s) and want to exchange into address, as they appear on your account - your name(s), signature(s) and address, as they appear on your - a daytime telephone number account - a daytime telephone number WITH AN AUTOMATIC EXCHANGE PLAN WITH AN AUTOMATIC WITHDRAWAL PLAN - To set up regular exchanges from a - Call (800) 621-1048 (minimum $50) fund account, call (800) 621-1048 USING QuickSell Not available - Call (800) 621-1048 to make sure QuickSell is set up on your account; if it is, you can request a transfer to your bank account of any amount between $50 and $250,000 ON THE INTERNET - Register at www.dws- - Register at www.dws- investments.com or log in if already investments.com or log in if already registered registered - Follow the instructions for making on- - Follow the instructions for making on- line exchanges line redemptions
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TO REACH US: WEB SITE: www.dws-investments.com TELEPHONE REPRESENTATIVE: (800) 621-1048, M-F, 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. ET TDD LINE: (800) 972-3006, M-F, 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. ET
How to Exchange or Sell Class A, B and C Shares | 31 Financial intermediary support payments The Advisor, DWS Investments Distributors, Inc. (the "Distributor") and/or their affiliates may pay additional compensation, out of their own assets and not as an additional charge to the fund, to selected affiliated and unaffiliated brokers, dealers, participating insurance companies or other financial intermediaries ("financial advisors") in connection with the sale and/or distribution of fund shares or the retention and/or servicing of fund investors and fund shares ("revenue sharing"). Such revenue sharing payments are in addition to any distribution or service fees payable under any Rule 12b-1 or service plan of the fund, any record keeping/sub-transfer agency/networking fees payable by the fund (generally through the Distributor or an affiliate) and/or the Distributor to certain financial advisors for performing such services and any sales charge, commissions, non-cash compensation arrangements expressly permitted under applicable rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority or other concessions described in the fee table or elsewhere in this prospectus or the Statement of Additional Information as payable to all financial advisors. For example, the Advisor, the Distributor and/or their affiliates may compensate financial advisors for providing the fund with "shelf space" or access to a third party platform or fund offering list or other marketing programs, including, without limitation, inclusion of the fund on preferred or recommended sales lists, mutual fund "supermarket" platforms and other formal sales programs; granting the Distributor access to the financial advisor's sales force; granting the Distributor access to the financial advisor's conferences and meetings; assistance in training and educating the financial advisor's personnel; and obtaining other forms of marketing support. The level of revenue sharing payments made to financial advisors may be a fixed fee or based upon one or more of the following factors: gross sales, current assets and/or number of accounts of the fund attributable to the financial advisor, the particular fund or fund type or other measures as agreed to by the Advisor, the Distributor and/or their affiliates and the financial advisors or any combination thereof. The amount of these revenue sharing payments is determined at the discretion of the Advisor, the Distributor and/or their affiliates from time to time, may be substantial, and may be different for different financial advisors based on, for example, the nature of the services provided by the financial advisor. 32 | How to Exchange or Sell Class A, B and C Shares The Advisor, the Distributor and/or their affiliates currently make revenue sharing payments from their own assets in connection with the sale and/or distribution of DWS fund shares or the retention and/or servicing of investors and DWS fund shares to financial advisors in amounts that generally range from .01% up to .50% of assets of the fund serviced and maintained by the financial advisor, .05% to .25% of sales of the fund attributable to the financial advisor, a flat fee of $13,350 up to $500,000, or any combination thereof. These amounts are subject to change at the discretion of the Advisor, the Distributor and/or their affiliates. Receipt of, or the prospect of receiving, this additional compensation may influence your financial advisor's recommendation of the fund or of any particular share class of the fund. You should review your financial advisor's compensation disclosure and/or talk to your financial advisor to obtain more information on how this compensation may have influenced your financial advisor's recommendation of the fund. Additional information regarding these revenue sharing payments is included in the fund's Statement of Additional Information, which is available to you on request at no charge (see the back cover of this prospectus for more information on how to request a copy of the Statement of Additional Information). The Advisor, the Distributor and/or their affiliates may also make such revenue sharing payments to financial advisors under the terms discussed above in connection with the distribution of both DWS funds and non-DWS funds by financial advisors to retirement plans that obtain record keeping services from ADP, Inc. on the DWS Investments branded retirement plan platform (the "Platform") with the level of revenue sharing payments being based upon sales of both the DWS funds and the non-DWS funds by the financial advisor on the Platform or current assets of both the DWS funds and the non-DWS funds serviced and maintained by the financial advisor on the Platform. It is likely that broker-dealers that execute portfolio transactions for the fund will include firms that also sell shares of the DWS funds to their customers. However, the Advisor will not consider sales of DWS fund shares as a factor in the selection of broker-dealers to execute portfolio transactions for the DWS funds. Accordingly, the Advisor has implemented policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent its traders from considering sales of DWS fund shares as a factor in the selection of How to Exchange or Sell Class A, B and C Shares | 33 broker-dealers to execute portfolio transactions for the fund. In addition, the Advisor, the Distributor and/or their affiliates will not use fund brokerage to pay for their obligation to provide additional compensation to financial advisors as described above. POLICIES YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT Along with the information on the previous pages, the policies below may affect you as a shareholder. Some of this information, such as the section on distributions and taxes, applies to all investors, including those investing through a financial advisor. If you are investing through a financial advisor or through a retirement plan, check the materials you received from them about how to buy and sell shares because particular financial advisors or other intermediaries may adopt policies, procedures or limitations that are separate from those described by the fund. Please note that a financial advisor may charge fees separate from those charged by the fund and may be compensated by the fund. Keep in mind that the information in this prospectus applies only to the shares offered herein. Other share classes are described in separate prospectuses and have different fees, requirements and services. In order to reduce the amount of mail you receive and to help reduce expenses, we generally send a single copy of any shareholder report and prospectus to each household. If you do not want the mailing of these documents to be combined with those for other members of your household, please contact your financial advisor or call (800) 621-1048. Policies about transactions THE FUND IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS each day the New York Stock Exchange is open. The fund calculates its share price for each class every business day, as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (typically 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, but sometimes earlier, as in the case of scheduled half-day trading or unscheduled suspensions of trading). You can place an order to buy or sell shares at any time. 34 | Policies You Should Know About To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, federal law requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify and record information that identifies each person who opens an account. What this means to you: When you open an account, we will ask for your name, address, date of birth and other information that will allow us to identify you. Some or all of this information will be used to verify the identity of all persons opening an account. We might request additional information about you (which may include certain documents, such as articles of incorporation for companies) to help us verify your identity and, in some cases, the information and/or documents may be required to conduct the verification. The information and documents will be used solely to verify your identity. We will attempt to collect any missing required and requested information by contacting you or your financial advisor. If we are unable to obtain this information within the time frames established by the fund, then we may reject your application and order. The fund will not invest your purchase until all required and requested identification information has been provided and your application has been submitted in "good order." After we receive all the information, your application is deemed to be in good order and we accept your purchase, you will receive the net asset value per share next calculated, less any applicable sales charge. If we are unable to verify your identity within time frames established by the fund, after a reasonable effort to do so, you will receive written notification. With certain limited exceptions, only US residents may invest in the fund. Because orders placed through a financial advisor must be forwarded to the transfer agent before they can be processed, you'll need to allow extra time. Your financial advisor should be able to tell you approximately when your order will be processed. It is the responsibility of your financial advisor to forward your order to the transfer agent in a timely manner. INITIAL PURCHASE MINIMUMS. The minimum initial investment for Class A, B and C shares is $1,000, except for investments on behalf of participants in certain fee-based and wrap programs offered through certain financial intermediaries approved by the Policies You Should Know About | 35 Advisor, for which there is no minimum initial investment; and IRAs, for which the minimum initial investment is $500 per account. The minimum initial investment is $500 per account if you establish an automatic investment plan. Group retirement plans and certain other accounts have similar or lower minimum share balance requirements. SUB-MINIMUM BALANCES. The fund may close your account and send you the proceeds if your balance falls below $1,000 ($500 for accounts with an Automatic Investment Plan funded with $50 or more per month in subsequent investments) or below $250 for retirement accounts. We will give you 60 days' notice (90 days for retirement accounts) so you can either increase your balance or close your account (these policies don't apply to investors with $100,000 or more in DWS fund shares, investors in certain fee-based and wrap programs offered through certain financial intermediaries approved by the Advisor, or group retirement plans and certain other accounts having lower minimum share balance requirements). SUBSEQUENT INVESTMENTS. The minimum subsequent investment is $50. However, there is no minimum investment requirement for subsequent investments in Class A shares on behalf of participants in certain fee-based and wrap programs offered through certain financial intermediaries approved by the Advisor. MARKET TIMING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES. Short-term and excessive trading of fund shares may present risks to long-term shareholders, including potential dilution in the value of fund shares, interference with the efficient management of the fund's portfolio (including losses on the sale of investments), taxable gains to remaining shareholders and increased brokerage and administrative costs. These risks may be more pronounced if the fund invests in certain securities, such as those that trade in foreign markets, are illiquid or do not otherwise have "readily available market quotations." Certain investors may seek to employ short-term trading strategies aimed at exploiting variations in portfolio valuation that arise from the nature of the securities held by the fund (e.g., "time zone arbitrage"). The fund discourages short-term and excessive trading and has adopted policies and procedures that are intended to detect and deter short-term and excessive trading. 36 | Policies You Should Know About Pursuant to its policies, the fund will impose a 2% redemption fee on fund shares held for less than a specified holding period (subject to certain exceptions discussed below under "Redemption fees"). The fund also reserves the right to reject or cancel a purchase or exchange order for any reason without prior notice. For example, the fund may in its discretion reject or cancel a purchase or an exchange order even if the transaction is not subject to the specific roundtrip transaction limitation described below if the Advisor believes that there appears to be a pattern of short-term or excessive trading activity by a shareholder or deems any other trading activity harmful or disruptive to the fund. The fund, through its Advisor and transfer agent, will measure short-term and excessive trading by the number of roundtrip transactions within a shareholder's account during a rolling 12-month period. A "roundtrip" transaction is defined as any combination of purchase and redemption activity (including exchanges) of the same fund's shares. The fund may take other trading activity into account if the fund believes such activity is of an amount or frequency that may be harmful to long-term shareholders or disruptive to portfolio management. Shareholders are limited to four roundtrip transactions in the same DWS fund (excluding money market funds) over a rolling 12-month period. Shareholders with four or more roundtrip transactions in the same DWS fund within a rolling 12-month period generally will be blocked from making additional purchases of, or exchanges into, that DWS fund. The fund has sole discretion whether to remove a block from a shareholder's account. The rights of a shareholder to redeem shares of a DWS fund are not affected by the four roundtrip transaction limitation, but all redemptions remain subject to the fund's redemption fee policy (see "Redemption fees" described below). The fund may make exceptions to the roundtrip transaction policy for certain types of transactions if, in the opinion of the Advisor, the transactions do not represent short-term or excessive trading or are not abusive or harmful to the fund, such as, but not limited to, systematic transactions, required minimum retirement distributions, transactions initiated by the fund or administrator and transactions by certain qualified funds-of-funds. Policies You Should Know About | 37 In certain circumstances where shareholders hold shares of the fund through a financial intermediary, the fund may rely upon the financial intermediary's policy to deter short-term or excessive trading if the Advisor believes that the financial intermediary's policy is reasonably designed to detect and deter transactions that are not in the best interests of the fund. A financial intermediary's policy relating to short-term or excessive trading may be more or less restrictive than the DWS funds' policy, may permit certain transactions not permitted by the DWS funds' policies, or prohibit transactions not subject to the DWS funds' policies. The Advisor may also accept undertakings from a financial intermediary to enforce short-term or excessive trading policies on behalf of the fund that provide a substantially similar level of protection for the fund against such transactions. For example, certain financial intermediaries may have contractual, legal or operational restrictions that prevent them from blocking an account. In such instances, the financial intermediary may use alternate techniques that the Advisor considers to be a reasonable substitute for such a block. In addition, if the fund invests some portion of its assets in foreign securities, it has adopted certain fair valuation practices intended to protect the fund from "time zone arbitrage" with respect to its foreign securities holdings and other trading practices that seek to exploit variations in portfolio valuation that arise from the nature of the securities held by the fund. (See "How the fund calculates share price.") There is no assurance that these policies and procedures will be effective in limiting short-term and excessive trading in all cases. For example, the Advisor may not be able to effectively monitor, detect or limit short-term or excessive trading by underlying shareholders that occurs through omnibus accounts maintained by broker-dealers or other financial intermediaries. The Advisor reviews trading activity at the omnibus level to detect short-term or excessive trading. If the Advisor has reason to suspect that short-term or excessive trading is occurring at the omnibus level, the Advisor will contact the financial intermediary to request underlying shareholder level activity. Depending on the amount of fund shares held in such omnibus accounts (which may represent most of the fund's shares) short-term and/or excessive trading of fund shares could adversely affect long-term shareholders in the fund. If short-term or excessive trading is identified, the Advisor will take appropriate action. 38 | Policies You Should Know About The fund's market timing policies and procedures may be modified or terminated at any time. REDEMPTION FEES. The fund imposes a redemption fee of 2% of the total redemption amount (calculated at net asset value, without regard to the effect of any contingent deferred sales charge; any contingent deferred sales charge is also assessed on the total redemption amount without regard to the assessment of the 2% redemption fee) on all fund shares redeemed or exchanged within 15 days of buying them (either by purchase or exchange). The redemption fee is paid directly to the fund and is designed to encourage long-term investment and to offset transaction and other costs associated with short-term or excessive trading. For purposes of determining whether the redemption fee applies, shares held the longest time will be treated as being redeemed first and shares held the shortest time will be treated as being redeemed last. The redemption fee is applicable to fund shares purchased either directly or through a financial intermediary, such as a broker-dealer. Transactions through financial intermediaries typically are placed with the fund on an omnibus basis and include both purchase and sale transactions placed on behalf of multiple investors. These purchase and sale transactions are generally netted against one another and placed on an aggregate basis; consequently the identities of the individuals on whose behalf the transactions are placed generally are not known to the fund. For this reason, the fund has undertaken to notify financial intermediaries of their obligation to assess the redemption fee on customer accounts and to collect and remit the proceeds to the fund. However, due to operational requirements, the intermediaries' methods for tracking and calculating the fee may be inadequate or differ in some respects from the fund's. Subject to approval by the Advisor or the fund's Board, intermediaries who transact business on an omnibus basis may implement the redemption fees according to their own operational guidelines (which may be different than the fund's policies) and remit the fees to the fund. The redemption fee will not be charged in connection with the following exchange or redemption transactions: (i) transactions on behalf of participants in certain research wrap programs; (ii) transactions on behalf of a shareholder to return any excess IRA contributions to the shareholder; (iii) transactions on behalf of a shareholder to effect a required minimum distribution on an IRA; (iv) transactions on behalf of any mutual fund advised by Policies You Should Know About | 39 the Advisor and its affiliates (e.g., "funds of funds") or, in the case of a master/feeder relationship, redemptions by the feeder fund from the master portfolio; (v) transactions on behalf of certain unaffiliated mutual funds operating as funds of funds; (vi) transactions following death or disability of any registered shareholder, beneficial owner or grantor of a living trust with respect to shares purchased before death or disability; (vii) transactions involving hardship of any registered shareholder; (viii) systematic transactions with pre-defined trade dates for purchases, exchanges or redemptions, such as automatic account rebalancing, or loan origination and repayments; (ix) transactions involving shares purchased through the reinvestment of dividends or other distributions; (x) transactions involving shares transferred from another account in the same fund or converted from another class of the same fund (the redemption fee period will carry over to the acquired shares); (xi) transactions initiated by the fund or administrator (e.g., redemptions for not meeting account minimums, to pay account fees funded by share redemptions, or in the event of the liquidation or merger of the fund); or (xii) transactions in cases when there are legal or contractual limitations or restrictions on the imposition of the redemption fee (as determined by the fund or its agents in their sole discretion). It is the policy of the DWS funds to permit approved fund platform providers to execute transactions in shares of the funds without the imposition of a redemption fee if such providers have implemented alternative measures that are determined by the Advisor to provide controls on short-term and excessive trading that are comparable to the DWS funds' policies. THE AUTOMATED INFORMATION LINE IS AVAILABLE 24 HOURS A DAY BY CALLING (800) 621-1048. You can use our automated phone services to get information on DWS funds generally and on accounts held directly at DWS Investments. You can also use this service to make exchanges and to purchase and sell shares. QUICKBUY AND QUICKSELL let you set up a link between a DWS fund account and a bank account. Once this link is in place, you can move money between the two with a phone call. You'll need to make sure your bank has Automated Clearing House (ACH) services. Transactions take two to THE FOLLOWING SIDEBAR TEXT APPEARS NEXT TO THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPHS The DWS Investments Web site can be a valuable resource for shareholders with Internet access. Go to WWW.DWS-INVESTMENTS.COM to get up-to-date information, review balances or even place orders for exchanges. 40 | Policies You Should Know About three days to be completed and there is a $50 minimum and a $250,000 maximum. To set up QuickBuy or QuickSell on a new account, see the account application; to add it to an existing account, call (800) 621-1048. TELEPHONE AND ELECTRONIC TRANSACTIONS. Generally, you are automatically entitled to telephone and electronic transaction privileges, but you may elect not to have them when you open your account or by contacting Shareholder Services at (800) 621-1048 at a later date. Since many transactions may be initiated by telephone or electronically, it's important to understand that as long as we take reasonable steps to ensure that an order to purchase or redeem shares is genuine, such as recording calls or requesting personalized security codes or other information, we are not responsible for any losses that may occur as a result. For transactions conducted over the Internet, we recommend the use of a secure Internet browser. In addition, you should verify the accuracy of your confirmation statements immediately after you receive them. THE FUND DOES NOT ISSUE SHARE CERTIFICATES. However, if you currently have shares in certificated form, you must include the share certificates properly endorsed or accompanied by a duly executed stock power when exchanging or redeeming shares. You may not exchange or redeem shares in certificate form by telephone or via the Internet. WHEN YOU ASK US TO SEND OR RECEIVE A WIRE, please note that while we don't charge a fee to send or receive wires, it's possible that your bank may do so. Wire transactions are generally completed within 24 hours. The fund can only send wires of $1,000 or more and accept wires of $50 or more. THE FUND ACCEPTS PAYMENT FOR SHARES ONLY IN US DOLLARS by a check drawn on a US bank, a bank or Federal Funds wire transfer or an electronic bank transfer. The fund does not accept third party checks. A third party check is a check made payable to one or more parties and offered as payment to one or more other parties (e.g., a check made payable to you that you offer as payment to someone else). Checks should normally be payable to DWS Investments and drawn by you or a financial institution on your behalf with your name or account number included with the check. THE FOLLOWING SIDEBAR TEXT APPEARS NEXT TO THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPHS If you ever have difficulty placing an order by phone or Internet, you can send us your order in writing. Policies You Should Know About | 41 SIGNATURE GUARANTEE. When you want to sell more than $100,000 worth of shares or send proceeds to a third party or to a new address, you'll usually need to place your order in writing and include a signature guarantee. However, if you want money wired to a bank account that is already on file with us, you don't need a signature guarantee. Also, generally you don't need a signature guarantee for an exchange, although we may require one in certain other circumstances. A signature guarantee is simply a certification of your signature - a valuable safeguard against fraud. You can get a signature guarantee from an eligible guarantor institution, including commercial banks, savings and loans, trust companies, credit unions, member firms of a national stock exchange or any member or participant of an approved signature guarantor program. Note that you can't get a signature guarantee from a notary public and we must be provided the original guarantee. SELLING SHARES OF TRUST ACCOUNTS AND BUSINESS OR ORGANIZATION ACCOUNTS may require additional documentation. Please call (800) 621-1048 or contact your financial advisor for more information. WHEN YOU SELL SHARES THAT HAVE A CDSC, we calculate the CDSC as a percentage of what you paid for the shares or what you are selling them for - whichever results in the lower charge to you. In processing orders to sell shares, the shares with the lowest CDSC are sold first. Exchanges from one fund into another don't affect CDSCs; for each investment you make, the date you first bought shares is the date we use to calculate a CDSC on that particular investment. There are certain cases in which you may be exempt from a CDSC. These include: - the death or disability of an account owner (including a joint owner). This waiver applies only under certain conditions. Please contact your financial advisor or Shareholder Services to determine if the conditions exist - withdrawals made through an automatic withdrawal plan up to a maximum of 12% per year of the net asset value of the account - withdrawals related to certain retirement or benefit plans - redemptions for certain loan advances, hardship provisions or returns of excess contributions from retirement plans 42 | Policies You Should Know About - for Class A shares purchased through the Large Order NAV Purchase Privilege, redemption of shares whose dealer of record at the time of the investment notifies the Distributor that the dealer waives the applicable commission - for Class C shares, redemption of shares purchased through a dealer-sponsored asset allocation program maintained on an omnibus record-keeping system, provided the dealer of record has waived the advance of the first year distribution and service fees applicable to such shares and has agreed to receive such fees quarterly In each of these cases, there are a number of additional provisions that apply in order to be eligible for a CDSC waiver. Your financial advisor or Shareholder Services can answer your questions and help you determine if you are eligible. IF YOU SELL SHARES IN A DWS FUND AND THEN DECIDE TO INVEST WITH DWS INVESTMENTS AGAIN WITHIN SIX MONTHS, you may be able to take advantage of the "reinstatement feature." With this feature, you can put your money back into the same class of a DWS fund at its current net asset value and, for purposes of a sales charge, it will be treated as if it had never left DWS Investments. You'll be reimbursed (in the form of fund shares) for any CDSC you paid when you sold. Future CDSC calculations will be based on your original investment date, rather than your reinstatement date. There is also an option that lets investors who sold Class B shares buy Class A shares (if available) with no sales charge, although they won't be reimbursed for any CDSC they paid. You can only use the reinstatement feature once for any given group of shares. To take advantage of this feature, contact Shareholder Services or your financial advisor. MONEY FROM SHARES YOU SELL is normally sent out within one business day of when your order is processed (not when it is received), although it could be delayed for up to seven days. There are circumstances when it could be longer, including, but not limited to, when you are selling shares you bought recently by check or ACH (the funds will be placed under a 10 calendar day hold to ensure good funds) or when unusual circumstances prompt the SEC to allow further delays. Certain expedited redemption processes (e.g., redemption proceeds by wire) may also be delayed or unavailable when you are selling shares recently purchased or in the event of the closing of the Federal Reserve wire payment system. The fund reserves the right to Policies You Should Know About | 43 suspend or postpone redemptions as permitted pursuant to Section 22(e) of the Investment Company Act of 1940. Generally, those circumstances are when 1) the New York Stock Exchange is closed other than customary weekend or holiday closings; 2) trading on the New York Stock Exchange is restricted; 3) an emergency exists which makes the disposal of securities owned by the fund or the fair determination of the value of the fund's net assets not reasonably practicable; or 4) the SEC, by order, permits the suspension of the right of redemption. Redemption payments by wire may also be delayed in the event of a non-routine closure of the Federal Reserve wire payment system. For additional rights reserved by the fund, please see "Other rights we reserve." You may obtain additional information about other ways to sell your shares by contacting your financial advisor. How the fund calculates share price To calculate net asset value, or NAV, each share class uses the following equation: TOTAL ASSETS - TOTAL LIABILITIES ----------------------------------------- = NAV TOTAL NUMBER OF SHARES OUTSTANDING
The price at which you buy shares is based on the NAV per share calculated after the order is received and accepted by the transfer agent, although for Class A shares it will be adjusted to allow for any applicable sales charge (see "Choosing a Share Class"). The price at which you sell shares is also based on the NAV per share calculated after the order is received and accepted by the transfer agent, although a CDSC may be taken out of the proceeds (see "Choosing a Share Class"). THE FUND CHARGES A REDEMPTION FEE EQUAL TO 2.00% of the value of shares redeemed or exchanged within 15 days of purchase. Please see "Policies about transactions - Redemption fees" for further information. WE TYPICALLY VALUE SECURITIES USING INFORMATION FURNISHED BY AN INDEPENDENT PRICING SERVICE OR MARKET QUOTATIONS, WHERE APPROPRIATE. However, we may use methods approved by the Board, such as a fair valuation model, which are intended to reflect fair value when pricing service information or market quotations are not readily available or when a security's value or a meaningful portion of the value of the fund's portfolio is 44 | Policies You Should Know About believed to have been materially affected by a significant event, such as a natural disaster, an economic event like a bankruptcy filing, or a substantial fluctuation in domestic or foreign markets that has occurred between the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded (for example, a foreign exchange or market) and the close of the New York Stock Exchange. In such a case, the fund's value for a security is likely to be different from the last quoted market price or pricing service information. In addition, due to the subjective and variable nature of fair value pricing, it is possible that the value determined for a particular asset may be materially different from the value realized upon such asset's sale. It is -expected that the greater the percentage of fund assets that is -invested in non-US securities, the more extensive will be the -fund's use of fair value pricing. This is intended to reduce the fund's exposure to "time zone arbitrage" and other harmful -trading practices. (See "Market -timing policies and procedures.") TO THE EXTENT THAT THE FUND INVESTS IN SECURITIES THAT ARE TRADED PRIMARILY IN FOREIGN MARKETS, the value of its holdings could change at a time when you aren't able to buy or sell fund shares. This is because some foreign markets are open on days or at times when the fund doesn't price its shares. (Note that prices for securities that trade on foreign exchanges can change significantly on days when the New York Stock Exchange is closed and you cannot buy or sell fund shares. Price changes in the securities the fund owns may ultimately affect the price of fund shares the next time the NAV is calculated.) Other rights we reserve You should be aware that we may do any of the following: - withdraw or suspend the offering of shares at any time - withhold a portion of your distributions and redemption proceeds if we have been notified by the IRS that you are subject to backup withholding or if you fail to provide us with the correct taxpayer ID number and certain certifications, including certification that you are not subject to backup withholding - reject a new account application if you don't provide any required or requested identifying information, or for any other reason Policies You Should Know About | 45 - refuse, cancel, limit or rescind any purchase or exchange order, without prior notice; freeze any account (meaning you will not be able to purchase fund shares in your account); suspend account services; and/or involuntarily redeem your account if we think that the account is being used for fraudulent or illegal purposes; one or more of these actions will be taken when, at our sole discretion, they are deemed to be in the fund's best interests or when the fund is requested or compelled to do so by governmental authority or by applicable law - close and liquidate your account if we are unable to verify your identity, or for other reasons; if we decide to close your account, your fund shares will be redeemed at the net asset value per share next calculated after we determine to close your account (less any applicable sales charges or redemption fees); you may recognize a gain or loss on the redemption of your fund shares and you may incur a tax liability - pay you for shares you sell by "redeeming in kind," that is, by giving you securities (which typically will involve brokerage costs for you to liquidate) rather than cash, but which will be taxable to the same extent as a redemption for cash; the fund generally won't make a redemption in kind unless your requests over a 90-day period total more than $250,000 or 1% of the value of the fund's net assets, whichever is less - change, add or withdraw various services, fees and account policies (for example, we may adjust the fund's investment minimums at any time) UNDERSTANDING DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES The fund intends to distribute to its shareholders virtually all of its net earnings. The fund can earn money in two ways: by receiving interest, dividends or other income from investments it holds and by selling investments for more than it paid for them. (The fund's earnings are separate from any gains or losses stemming from your own purchase and sale of shares.) The fund may not always pay a dividend or other distribution for a given period. THE FOLLOWING SIDEBAR TEXT APPEARS NEXT TO THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPHS Because each shareholder's tax situation is unique, ask your tax professional about the tax consequences of your investments, including any state and local tax consequences. 46 | Understanding Distributions and Taxes THE FUND INTENDS TO PAY DIVIDENDS TO SHAREHOLDERS ANNUALLY IN DECEMBER, AND IF NECESSARY, THE FUND MAY DISTRIBUTE AT OTHER TIMES AS NEEDED. Dividends or distributions declared and payable to shareholders of record in the last quarter of a given calendar year are treated for federal income tax purposes as if they were received on December 31 of that year, provided such dividends or distributions are paid by the end of the following January. For federal income tax purposes, income and capital gains distributions are generally taxable to shareholders. However, dividends and distributions received by retirement plans qualifying for tax exemption under federal income tax laws generally will not be taxable. YOU CAN CHOOSE HOW TO RECEIVE YOUR DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS. You can have them all automatically reinvested in fund shares (at NAV), all deposited directly to your bank account or all sent to you by check, have one type reinvested and the other sent to you by check or have them invested in a different fund. Tell us your preference on your application. If you don't indicate a preference, your dividends and distributions will all be reinvested in shares of the fund without a sales charge (if applicable). Distributions are treated the same for federal income tax purposes whether you receive them in cash or reinvest them in additional shares. Under the terms of employer-sponsored qualified plans, and retirement plans, reinvestment (at NAV) is the only option. BUYING, SELLING OR EXCHANGING FUND SHARES WILL USUALLY HAVE FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES FOR YOU (except in employer-sponsored qualified plans, IRAs or other tax-advantaged accounts). Your sale of shares may result in a capital gain or loss. The gain or loss will be long-term or short-term depending on how long you owned the shares that were sold. For federal income tax purposes, an exchange is treated the same as a sale. Understanding Distributions and Taxes | 47 THE FEDERAL INCOME TAX STATUS of the fund's earnings you receive and your own fund transactions generally depends on their type:
GENERALLY TAXED AT LONG-TERM GENERALLY TAXED AT ORDINARY CAPITAL GAIN RATES: INCOME RATES: DISTRIBUTIONS FROM THE FUND - - gains from the sale of - gains from the sale of securities held (or treated as securities held by the fund for held) by the fund for more one year or less than one year - all other taxable income - - qualified dividend income TRANSACTIONS INVOLVING FUND SHARES - - gains from selling fund - gains from selling fund shares held for more than shares held for one year or one year less
ANY DIRECT INVESTMENTS IN FOREIGN SECURITIES BY THE FUND MAY BE SUBJECT TO FOREIGN WITHHOLDING TAXES. In that case, the fund's yield on those securities would generally be decreased. Shareholders generally will not be entitled to claim a credit or deduction with respect to foreign taxes paid by the fund. In addition, any investments in foreign securities or foreign currencies may increase or accelerate the fund's recognition of ordinary income and may affect the timing or amount of the fund's distributions. If you invest in the fund through a taxable account, your after-tax return could be negatively impacted. Investments in certain debt obligations or other securities may cause the fund to recognize taxable income in excess of the cash generated by them. Thus, the fund could be required at times to liquidate other investments in order to satisfy its distribution requirements. For taxable years beginning before January 1, 2011, distributions to individuals and other noncorporate shareholders of investment income designated by the fund as derived from qualified dividend income are eligible for taxation for federal income tax purposes at the more favorable long-term capital gain rates. Qualified dividend income generally includes dividends received by the fund from domestic and some foreign corporations. It does not include income from investments in debt securities or, generally, from real estate investment trusts. In addition, the fund must meet certain holding period 48 | Understanding Distributions and Taxes and other requirements with respect to the dividend-paying stocks in its portfolio and the shareholder must meet certain holding period and other requirements with respect to the fund's shares for the lower tax rates to apply. For taxable years beginning before January 1, 2011, the maximum federal income tax rate imposed on long-term capital gains recognized by individuals and other noncorporate shareholders has been temporarily reduced to 15%, in general, with lower rates applying to taxpayers in the 10% and 15% rate brackets. For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2011, the maximum long-term capital gain rate is scheduled to return to 20%. YOUR FUND WILL SEND YOU DETAILED FEDERAL INCOME TAX INFORMATION EVERY JANUARY. These statements tell you the amount and the federal income tax classification of any dividends or distributions you received. They also have certain details on your purchases and sales of shares. IF YOU INVEST RIGHT BEFORE THE FUND PAYS A DIVIDEND, you'll be getting some of your investment back as a taxable dividend. You can avoid this by investing after the fund pays a dividend. In tax- advantaged retirement accounts you generally do not need to worry about this. If the fund's distributions exceed its current and accumulated earnings and profits, the excess will be treated for federal income tax purposes as a tax-free return of capital to the extent of your basis in your shares and thereafter as a gain from the sale or exchange of your shares. Because a return of capital distribution reduces the basis of your shares, a return of capital distribution may result in a higher capital gain or a lower capital loss when you sell your shares. CORPORATIONS are taxed at the same rates on ordinary income and capital gains but may be eligible for a dividends-received deduction for a portion of the income dividends they receive from the fund, provided certain holding period and other requirements are met. The above discussion summarizes certain federal income tax consequences for shareholders who are US persons. If you are a non-US person, please consult your own tax advisor with respect to the US tax consequences to you of an investment in the fund. For more information, see "Taxes" in the Statement of Additional Information. Understanding Distributions and Taxes | 49 APPENDIX - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hypothetical Expense Summary Using the annual fund operating expense ratios presented in the fee tables in the fund prospectus, the Hypothetical Expense Summary shows the estimated fees and expenses, in actual dollars, that would be charged on a hypothetical investment of $10,000 in the fund held for the next 10 years and the impact of such fees and expenses on fund returns for each year and cumulatively, assuming a 5% return for each year. The historical rate of return for the fund may be higher or lower than 5% and, for money funds, is typically less than 5%. The tables also assume that all dividends and distributions are reinvested and that Class B shares convert to Class A shares after six years. The annual fund expense ratios shown are net of any contractual fee waivers or expense reimbursements, if any, for the period of the contractual commitment. The tables reflect the maximum initial sales charge, if any, but do not reflect any contingent deferred sales charge or redemption fees, if any, which may be payable upon redemption. If contingent deferred sales charges or redemption fees were shown, the "Hypothetical Year-End Balance After Fees and Expenses" amounts shown would be lower and the "Annual Fees and Expenses" amounts shown would be higher. Also, please note that if you are investing through a third party provider, that provider may have fees and expenses separate from those of the fund that are not reflected here. Mutual fund fees and expenses fluctuate over time and actual expenses may be higher or lower than those shown. The Hypothetical Expense Summary should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy or a recommendation or endorsement of any specific mutual fund. You should carefully review the fund's prospectus to consider the investment objectives, risks, expenses and charges of the fund prior to investing. 50 | Appendix DWS Large Company Growth Fund - Class A
MAXIMUM INITIAL HYPOTHETICAL ASSUMED RATE SALES CHARGE: INVESTMENT: OF RETURN: 5.75% $10,000 5% HYPOTHETICAL CUMULATIVE ANNUAL CUMULATIVE YEAR-END RETURN BEFORE FUND RETURN AFTER BALANCE AFTER ANNUAL FEES FEES AND EXPENSE FEES AND FEES AND AND YEAR EXPENSES RATIOS EXPENSES EXPENSES EXPENSES 1 5.00% 1.38% -2.34% $ 9,766.19 $ 707.42 2 10.25% 1.38% 1.20% $ 10,119.72 $ 137.21 3 15.76% 1.38% 4.86% $ 10,486.05 $ 142.18 4 21.55% 1.38% 8.66% $ 10,865.65 $ 147.33 5 27.63% 1.38% 12.59% $ 11,258.99 $ 152.66 6 34.01% 1.38% 16.67% $ 11,666.56 $ 158.19 7 40.71% 1.38% 20.89% $ 12,088.89 $ 163.91 8 47.75% 1.38% 25.27% $ 12,526.51 $ 169.85 9 55.13% 1.38% 29.80% $ 12,979.97 $ 175.99 10 62.89% 1.38% 34.50% $ 13,449.84 $ 182.37 TOTAL $ 2,137.11
DWS Large Company Growth Fund - Class B
MAXIMUM INITIAL HYPOTHETICAL ASSUMED RATE SALES CHARGE: INVESTMENT: OF RETURN: 0.00% $10,000 5% HYPOTHETICAL CUMULATIVE ANNUAL CUMULATIVE YEAR-END RETURN BEFORE FUND RETURN AFTER BALANCE AFTER ANNUAL FEES AND EXPENSE FEES AND FEES AND FEES AND YEAR EXPENSES RATIOS EXPENSES EXPENSES EXPENSES 1 5.00% 2.20% 2.80% $ 10,280.00 $ 223.08 2 10.25% 2.20% 5.68% $ 10,567.84 $ 229.33 3 15.76% 2.20% 8.64% $ 10,863.74 $ 235.75 4 21.55% 2.20% 11.68% $ 11,167.92 $ 242.35 5 27.63% 2.20% 14.81% $ 11,480.63 $ 249.13 6 34.01% 2.20% 18.02% $ 11,802.08 $ 256.11 7 40.71% 1.38% 22.29% $ 12,229.32 $ 165.82 8 47.75% 1.38% 26.72% $ 12,672.02 $ 171.82 9 55.13% 1.38% 31.31% $ 13,130.75 $ 178.04 10 62.89% 1.38% 36.06% $ 13,606.08 $ 184.48 TOTAL $ 2,135.91
Appendix | 51 DWS Large Company Growth Fund - Class C
MAXIMUM INITIAL HYPOTHETICAL ASSUMED RATE SALES CHARGE: INVESTMENT: OF RETURN: 0.00% $10,000 5% HYPOTHETICAL CUMULATIVE ANNUAL CUMULATIVE YEAR-END RETURN BEFORE FUND RETURN AFTER BALANCE AFTER ANNUAL FEES FEES AND EXPENSE FEES AND FEES AND AND YEAR EXPENSES RATIOS EXPENSES EXPENSES EXPENSES 1 5.00% 2.09% 2.91% $ 10,291.00 $ 212.04 2 10.25% 2.09% 5.90% $ 10.590.47 $ 218.21 3 15.76% 2.09% 8.99% $ 10,898.65 $ 224.56 4 21.55% 2.09% 12.16% $ 11,215.80 $ 231.10 5 27.63% 2.09% 15.42% $ 11.542.18 $ 237.82 6 34.01% 2.09% 18.78% $ 11,878.06 $ 244.74 7 40.71% 2.09% 22.24% $ 12,223.71 $ 251.86 8 47.75% 2.09% 25.79% $ 12,579.42 $ 259.19 9 55.13% 2.09% 29.45% $ 12,945.48 $ 266.74 10 62.89% 2.09% 33.22% $ 13,322.19 $ 274.50 TOTAL $ 2,420.76
52 | Appendix TO GET MORE INFORMATION SHAREHOLDER REPORTS - These include commentary from the fund's management team about recent market conditions and the effects of the fund's strategies on its performance. They also have detailed performance figures, a list of everything the fund owns, and its financial statements. Shareholders get these reports automatically. STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (SAI) - This tells you more about the fund's features and policies, including additional risk information. The SAI is incorporated by reference into this document (meaning that it's legally part of this prospectus). For a free copy of any of these documents or to request other information about the fund, call (800) 621-1048, or contact DWS Investments at the address listed below. The fund's SAI and shareholder reports are also available through the DWS Investments Web site at www.dws-investments.com. These documents and other information about the fund are available from the EDGAR Database on the SEC's Internet site at www.sec.gov. If you like, you may obtain copies of this information, after paying a copying fee, by e-mailing a request to publicinfo@sec.gov or by writing the SEC at the address listed below. You can also review and copy these documents and other information about the fund, including the fund's SAI, at the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Information on the operation of the SEC's Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling (800) SEC-0330.
DWS INVESTMENTS SEC DISTRIBUTOR - ----------------- -------------------- ------------------------------ PO Box 219151 100 F Street, N.E. DWS Investments Distributors, Kansas City, MO Washington, D.C. Inc. 64121-9151 20549-0102 222 South Riverside Plaza WWW.DWS- WWW.SEC.GOV Chicago, IL 60606-5808 INVESTMENTS.COM (800) SEC-0330 (800) 621-1148 (800) 621-1048
SEC FILE NUMBER: DWS Investment Trust DWS Large Company Growth Fund 811-00043
(04/01/09) DLCGF-1 [RECYCLE GRAPHIC APPEARS HERE] [DWS INVESTMENTS LOGO] Deutsche Bank Group DECEMBER 1, 2008, AS REVISED APRIL 1, 2009 PROSPECTUS ------------------ INSTITUTIONAL CLASS DWS LARGE COMPANY GROWTH FUND As with all mutual funds, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) does not approve or disapprove these shares or determine whether the information in this prospectus is truthful or complete. It is a criminal offense for anyone to inform you otherwise. RESHAPING INVESTING. [DWS INVESTMENTS LOGO] Deutsche Bank Group CONTENTS HOW THE FUND WORKS 4 The Fund's Main Investment Strategy 5 The Main Risks of Investing in the Fund 8 The Fund's Performance History 10 How Much Investors Pay 11 Other Policies and Secondary Risks 13 Who Manages and Oversees the Fund 16 Additional Performance Information 18 Financial Highlights
HOW TO INVEST IN THE FUND 21 Buying and Selling Institutional Class Shares 27 Policies You Should Know About 38 Understanding Distributions and Taxes 42 Appendix
HOW THE FUND WORKS On the next few pages, you'll find information about the fund's investment objective, the main strategies it uses to pursue that objective and the main risks that could affect performance. Whether you are considering investing in the fund or are already a shareholder, you'll want to LOOK THIS INFORMATION OVER CAREFULLY. You may want to keep it on hand for reference as well. Remember that mutual funds are investments, not bank deposits. They're not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC or any other government agency. Their share prices will go up and down, and you could lose money by investing in them. You can find DWS prospectuses on the Internet at WWW.DWS-INVESTMENTS.COM (the Web site does not form a part of this prospectus). Institutional Class ticker symbol SGGIX fund number 1469 DWS LARGE COMPANY GROWTH FUND
THE FUND'S MAIN INVESTMENT STRATEGY The fund seeks long-term growth of capital. The fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in large US companies that are similar in size to the companies in the Russell 1000 Growth Index (as of December 31, 2008, the Russell 1000 Growth Index had a median market capitalization of $3.3 billion). The fund intends to invest primarily in companies whose market capitalizations fall within the normal range of the Index. The fund's equity investments are mainly common stocks, but may also include other types of equities such as preferred stocks or convertible securities. The fund may also invest up to 20% of its assets in stocks and other securities of companies not publicly traded in the United States. In choosing stocks, the portfolio managers begin by utilizing a proprietary quantitative model to rank stocks based on a number of factors including valuation and profitability. The portfolio managers also apply fundamental techniques to identify companies that display above-average earnings growth compared to other companies and that have strong product lines, effective management and leadership positions within core markets. The factors considered and models used by the portfolio managers may change over time. The portfolio managers may favor different types of securities from different industries and companies at different times. The portfolio managers will normally sell a stock when they believe its price is unlikely to go higher, the company's fundamentals have changed, other investments offer better opportunities or in the course of adjusting the fund's emphasis on a given industry. 4 | DWS Large Company Growth Fund DERIVATIVES AND OTHER INVESTMENTS. The fund is permitted, but not required, to use various types of derivatives (contracts whose value is based on, for example, indices, currencies or securities). Derivatives may be used for hedging and for risk management or for non-hedging purposes to seek to enhance potential gains. The fund may use derivatives in circumstances where portfolio management believes they offer an economical means of gaining exposure to a particular asset class or to keep cash on hand to meet shareholder redemptions or other needs while maintaining exposure to the market. In particular, the fund may use futures and options and write covered call options. SECURITIES LENDING. The fund may lend its investment securities in an amount up to 33 1/3% of its total assets to approved institutional borrowers who need to borrow securities in order to complete certain transactions. THE MAIN RISKS OF INVESTING IN THE FUND 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. STOCK MARKET RISK. The fund is affected by how the stock market performs. To the extent the fund invests in a particular market sector, the fund's performance may be proportionately affected by that segment's general performance. When stock prices fall, you should expect the value of your investment to fall as well. Because a stock represents ownership in its issuer, stock prices can be hurt by poor management, shrinking product demand and other business risks. These may affect single companies as well as groups of companies. In addition, movements in financial markets may adversely affect a stock's price, regardless of how well the company performs. The market as a whole may not favor the types of investments the fund makes and the fund may not be able to get an attractive price for them. GROWTH INVESTING RISK. Since growth stocks usually reinvest a large portion of earnings in their own businesses, they may lack the dividends associated with value stocks that might otherwise cushion their decline in a falling market. Earnings THE FOLLOWING SIDEBAR TEXT APPEARS NEXT TO THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPHS This fund is designed for investors with long-term goals who are interested in a growth-style approach to large-cap investing. DWS Large Company Growth Fund | 5 disappointments in growth stocks often result in sharp price declines because investors buy these stocks for their potential superior earnings growth. Growth stocks may also be out of favor for certain periods in relation to value stocks. SECURITY SELECTION RISK. A risk that pervades all investing is the risk that the securities in the fund's portfolio may decline in value. FOREIGN INVESTMENT RISK. To the extent the fund invests in companies based outside the US, it faces the risks inherent in foreign investing. Adverse political, economic or social developments could undermine the value of the fund's investments or prevent the fund from realizing their full value. 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 the US markets. These risks tend to be greater in emerging markets so, to the extent the fund invests in emerging markets, it takes on greater risks. The currency of a country in which the fund has invested could decline relative to the value of the US dollar, which decreases the value of the investment to US investors. The investments of the fund may be subject to foreign withholding taxes. INDUSTRY RISK. While the fund does not concentrate in any industry, to the extent that the fund has exposure to a given industry or sector, any factors affecting that industry or sector could affect the value of portfolio securities. For example, manufacturers of consumer goods could be hurt by a rise in unemployment or technology companies could be hurt by such factors as market saturation, price competition and rapid obsolescence. DERIVATIVES RISK. Risks associated with derivatives include the risk that the derivative is not well correlated with the security, index or currency to which it relates; the risk that derivatives may result in losses or missed opportunities; the risk that the fund will be unable to sell the derivative because of an illiquid secondary market; the risk that a counterparty is unwilling or unable to meet its obligation; and the risk that the derivative transaction could expose the fund to the effects of leverage, which could increase the fund's exposure to the market and magnify potential losses. There is no guarantee that derivatives, to the extent employed, will have the intended 6 | DWS Large Company Growth Fund effect, and their use could cause lower returns or even losses to the fund. The use of derivatives by the fund to hedge risk may reduce the opportunity for gain by offsetting the positive effect of favorable price movements. SECURITIES LENDING RISK. Any loss in the market price of securities loaned by the fund that occurs during the term of the loan would be borne by the fund and would adversely affect the fund's performance. Also, there may be delays in recovery of securities loaned or even a loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially while the loan is outstanding. However, loans will be made only to borrowers selected by the fund's delegate after a review of relevant facts and circumstances, including the creditworthiness of the borrower. Another factor that could affect performance is: - portfolio management could be wrong in the analysis of industries, companies, economic trends, the relative attractiveness of different securities or other matters. DWS Large Company Growth Fund | 7 THE FUND'S PERFORMANCE HISTORY While a fund's past performance (before and after taxes) isn't necessarily a sign of how it will do in the future, it can be valuable for an investor to know. The bar chart shows how the performance of the fund's Institutional Class shares has varied from year to year, which may give some idea of risk. The table on the following page shows how fund performance compares to relevant index performance (which, unlike fund performance, does not reflect fees or expenses). The performance of the fund and the index information varies over time. All figures assume reinvestment of dividends and distributions (in the case of after-tax returns, reinvested net of assumed tax rates). The table shows returns for Institutional Class shares on a before-tax and after-tax basis. After-tax returns are estimates calculated using the historical highest marginal individual federal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown in the table. After-tax returns shown are not relevant for investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. DWS Large Company Growth Fund ANNUAL TOTAL RETURN (%) AS OF 12/31 EACH YEAR - Institutional Class [BAR GRAPHIC OMITTED HERE] [BAR GRAPHIC DATA] - -22.48 -29.55 25.19 4.65 8.40 7.36 13.01 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
2008 TOTAL RETURN AS OF SEPTEMBER 30: -14.36% FOR THE PERIODS INCLUDED IN THE BAR CHART: BEST QUARTER: 10.64%, Q4 2001 WORST QUARTER: -21.18%, Q1 2001
8 | DWS Large Company Growth Fund AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS (%) as of 12/31/2007
1 YEAR 5 YEARS SINCE INCEPTION* INSTITUTIONAL CLASS Return before Taxes 13.01 11.51 -0.87 Return after Taxes on Distributions 12.90 11.45 -0.89 Return after Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares 8.59 10.05 -0.74** RUSSELL 1000 (Reg. TM) GROWTH INDEX (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) 11.81 12.11 0.23
Total returns would have been lower if operating expenses hadn't been reduced. * Since 12/29/2000. Index comparison begins 12/31/2000. ** Return after Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares is higher than other return figures for the same period due to a capital loss occurring upon redemption resulting in an assumed tax deduction for the shareholder. RUSSELL 1000 (Reg. TM) GROWTH INDEX is an unmanaged index that consists of those stocks in the Russell 1000 (Reg. TM) Index that have higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values. Russell 1000 (Reg. TM) Index is an unmanaged price-only index of the 1,000 largest capitalized companies that are domiciled in the US and whose common stocks are traded. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current performance may be higher or lower than the performance data quoted above. For more recent performance information, call your financial advisor or (800) 730-1313 or visit our Web site at www.dws-investments.com. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return information assumes that fund shares were sold at the end of the period. RETURN AFTER TAXES ON DISTRIBUTIONS reflects taxes only on the fund's distributions and not on a shareholder's gain or loss from selling fund shares. RETURN AFTER TAXES ON DISTRIBUTIONS AND SALE OF FUND SHARES reflects taxes on both the fund's distributions and a shareholder's gain or loss from selling fund shares. ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCE INFORMATION. Owen Fitzpatrick, Lead Manager to the fund, previously managed private accounts with substantially similar investment objectives, policies and strategies as the fund when he was employed by Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management. See the section entitled "Additional Performance Information" for more information. This performance does not represent the performance of the fund and should not be considered an indication of future performance of the fund. DWS Large Company Growth Fund | 9 HOW MUCH INVESTORS PAY This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold Institutional Class shares of the fund. This information doesn't include any fees that may be charged by your financial advisor.
FEE TABLE SHAREHOLDER FEES, paid directly from your investment ______________________________________ Sales Charge None Redemption/Exchange Fee on shares owned less than 15 days (as % of redemption proceeds) 1 2.00% ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSES, deducted from fund assets ________________________________________________________________________ Management Fee 0.62% Distribution (12b-1) Fee None Other Expenses 2 0.21 TOTAL ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSES 3 0.83
1 This fee is charged on applicable redemptions or exchanges. Please see "Policies You Should Know About - Policies about transactions" for further information. 2 "Other Expenses" include an administrative services fee paid to the Advisor in the amount of 0.10% of average daily net assets. 3 Except as otherwise noted, the information in the table is based on amounts incurred during the fund's most recent fiscal year. It is important for you to understand that a decline in the fund's average net assets during the current fiscal year due to recent unprecedented market volatility or other factors could cause the fund's expense ratios for the fund's current fiscal year to be higher than the expense information presented. Based on the costs above, this example helps you compare the expenses of the share class to those of other mutual funds. This example assumes the expenses above remain the same. It also assumes that you invested $10,000, earned 5% annual returns and reinvested all dividends and distributions. This is only an example; actual expenses will be different.
EXAMPLE 1 YEAR 3 YEARS 5 YEARS 10 YEARS Institutional Class $85 $265 $460 $1,025
10 | DWS Large Company Growth Fund OTHER POLICIES AND SECONDARY RISKS While the previous pages describe the main points of the fund's strategy and risks, there are a few other issues to know about: - Although major changes tend to be infrequent, the fund's Board could change the fund's investment objective without seeking shareholder approval. In addition, the Board will provide shareholders with at least 60 days' notice prior to making any changes to the fund's 80% investment policy, as described herein. - As a temporary defensive measure, the fund could shift up to 100% of assets into investments such as money market securities. This could prevent losses, but, while engaged in a temporary defensive position, the fund will not be pursuing its investment objective. However, portfolio management may choose not to use these strategies for various reasons, even in volatile market conditions. - The fund may trade actively. This could raise transaction costs (thus lowering return) and could mean increased taxable distributions to shareholders and distributions that will be taxable to shareholders at higher federal income tax rates. - Certain DWS fund-of-funds are permitted to invest in the fund. As a result, the fund may have large inflows or outflows of cash from time to time. This could have adverse effects on the fund's performance if the fund were required to sell securities or invest cash at times when it otherwise would not do so. This activity could also accelerate the realization of capital gains and increase the fund's transaction costs. The Advisor will monitor the impact of these transactions and the fund may discontinue such arrangements if they are not deemed to be in the best interests of the fund. Secondary risks PRICING RISK. At times, market conditions may make it difficult to value some investments, and the fund may use certain valuation methodologies for some of its investments, such as fair value pricing. Given the subjective nature of such valuation methodologies, it is possible that the value determined for an investment may be different than the value realized upon such investment's sale. If the fund has valued its securities too Other Policies and Secondary Risks | 11 highly, you may pay too much for fund shares when you buy into the fund. If the fund has underestimated the price of its securities, you may not receive the full market value when you sell your fund shares. IPO RISK. Securities purchased in initial public offerings (IPOs) may be very volatile. The price of such securities may rise and fall rapidly, often based, among other reasons, on investor perceptions rather than economic reasons. Additionally, investments in IPOs may magnify the fund's performance if it has a small asset base. The fund is less likely to experience a similar impact on its performance as its assets grow because it is unlikely that the fund will obtain proportionately larger IPO allocations. For more information This prospectus doesn't tell you about every policy or risk of investing in the fund. If you want more information on the fund's allowable securities and investment practices and the characteristics and risks of each one, you may want to request a copy of the Statement of Additional Information (the back cover tells you how to do this). Keep in mind that there is no assurance that the fund will achieve its investment objective. A complete list of the fund's portfolio holdings as of the month-end is posted on www.dws-investments.com on or about the 15th day of the following month. More frequent posting of portfolio holdings information may be made from time to time on www.dws-investments.com. The posted portfolio holdings information is available by fund and generally remains accessible at least until the date on which the fund files its Form N-CSR or N-Q with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the period that includes the date as of which the posted information is current. The fund's Statement of Additional Information includes a description of the fund's policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the fund's portfolio holdings. 12 | Other Policies and Secondary Risks WHO MANAGES AND OVERSEES THE FUND The investment advisor Deutsche Investment Management Americas Inc. ("DIMA" or the "Advisor"), with headquarters at 345 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10154, is the investment advisor for the fund. Under the oversight of the Board, the Advisor makes investment decisions, buys and sells securities for the fund and conducts research that leads to these purchase and sale decisions. The Advisor provides a full range of global investment advisory services to institutional and retail clients. DWS Investments is part of Deutsche Bank's Asset Management division and, within the US, represents the retail asset management activities of Deutsche Bank AG, Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, DIMA and DWS Trust Company. Deutsche Asset Management is a global asset management organization that offers a wide range of investing expertise and resources, including hundreds of portfolio managers and analysts and an office network that reaches the world's major investment centers. This well-resourced global investment platform brings together a wide variety of experience and investment insight across industries, regions, asset classes and investing styles. The Advisor is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Bank AG. Deutsche Bank AG is a major global banking institution that is engaged in a wide range of financial services, including investment management, mutual funds, retail, private and commercial banking, investment banking and insurance. Who Manages and Oversees the Fund | 13 MANAGEMENT FEE. The Advisor receives a management fee from the fund. Below is the actual rate paid by the fund for the most recent fiscal year, as a percentage of the fund's average daily net assets.
FUND NAME FEE PAID DWS Large Company Growth Fund 0.62%
A discussion regarding the basis for the Board's approval of the fund's investment management agreement is contained in the most recent shareholder report for the semi-annual period ended January 31 (see "Shareholder reports" on the back cover). Under a separate administrative services agreement between the fund and the Advisor, the fund pays the Advisor a fee for providing most of the fund's administrative services. 14 | Who Manages and Oversees the Fund Portfolio management DWS Large Company Growth Fund is managed by a team of investment professionals who collaborate to implement the fund's investment strategy. The team is led by a lead manager who is responsible for developing the fund's investment strategy. Each portfolio manager on the team has authority over all aspects of the fund's investment portfolio, including but not limited to, purchases and sales of individual securities, portfolio construction techniques, portfolio risk assessment, and the management of daily cash flows in accordance with portfolio holdings. The following people handle the day-to-day management of DWS Large Company Growth Fund: Owen Fitzpatrick, CFA Managing Director of Deutsche Asset Management and Lead Manager of the fund. - - Joined Deutsche Asset Management and the fund in 2009. - - Prior to joining Deutsche Assets Management, he was Managing Director of Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management and served as head of U.S. Equity Strategy and manager of the U.S. large cap core, value and growth portfolios and member of the U.S. Investment Committee and head of the Equity Strategy Group. - - Previous experience includes over 21 years of experience in trust and investment management. Prior to joining Deutsche Bank in 1995, managed an equity income fund, trust and advisory relationships for Princeton Bank & Trust Company, where he was also responsible for research coverage of the consumer cyclical sector. Previously served as a portfolio manager at Manufacturer's Hanover Trust Company. - - BA and MBA, Fordham University. Richard Shepley Managing Director of Deutsche Asset Management and Portfolio Manager of the fund. - - Joined Deutsche Asset Management in 1998 and the fund in 2007. - - Previous experience includes eight years of investment industry experience as research analyst for global beverage and media sectors at Newton Investment Management and assistant manager in corporate tax and corporate insolvency department at Price Waterhouse, London. - - MA, Oxford University. Brendan O'Neill, CFA Director of Deutsche Asset Management and Portfolio Manager of the fund. - - Joined Deutsche Asset Management in 2000 and joined the fund in 2007. - - Equity Research Analyst covering the financial services sector since 2001. - - Previously served as a member of the Large Cap Core Equity team. - - BA, Queens College, CUNY; MS, Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College. The fund's Statement of Additional Information provides additional information about a portfolio manager's investments in the fund, a description of the portfolio management compensation structure and information regarding other accounts managed. Who Manages and Oversees the Fund | 15 ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCE INFORMATION The table below illustrates the performance of a composite of certain private accounts ("Accounts") managed by OWEN FITZPATRICK, Lead Manager of the fund, while employed by Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management. For more information about Owen Fitzpatrick, please refer to the "Portfolio management" section of this prospectus. Each of the Accounts included in the composite has objectives, policies and strategies substantially similar to those of the fund. As of December 31, 2008, the total assets in the composite were $328 million. Unlike management of the private accounts included in the composite, Owen Fitzpatrick's management of the fund is subject to certain regulatory restrictions (e.g., limits on percentage of assets invested in a single issuer and industry and requirements on distributing income to shareholders) that do not apply to the Accounts. In addition, the fund generally experiences cash flows that are different from those of the Accounts. All of these factors may adversely affect the performance of the fund and cause it to differ from that of the Accounts in the composite described below. Composite results below represent the performance of the Accounts, net of the annual rate of estimated total operating expenses of DWS Large Company Growth Fund - Class A, as of December 31, 2008. THE COMPOSITE RESULTS DO NOT REPRESENT THE PERFORMANCE OF THE DWS LARGE COMPANY GROWTH FUND, AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AN INDICATION OF FUTURE PERFORMANCE OF THE FUND. The composite results are not required to be, and were not calculated in accordance with SEC mandated mutual fund performance calculation methodology. The use of such methodology could yield a different result.
AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURN (%)** (AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2008) 1 YEAR 3 YEARS SINCE INCEPTION* FEE ADJUSTED, NO-LOAD (reflects no deduction for sales charge) -33.96% -3.06% 0.20% FEE ADJUSTED, LOAD ADJUSTED** -37.75% -4.95% -1.04% RUSSELL 1000 (Reg. TM) GROWTH INDEX (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) -38.44% -9.11% -3.76% STANDARD & POOR'S 500 INDEX (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) -37.00% -8.36% -2.65%
* Date of Inception is April 1, 2004 which corresponds to the date that Mr. Fitzpatrick became the sole, lead portfolio manager of the Accounts. ** Average Annual Total Returns reflect the gross returns of the Accounts reduced by the estimated net annual operating expenses of the DWS Large Company Growth Fund - Class A shares (1.38% annually) and shown both with and without the imposition of sales charges (5.75% for Class A shares). Actual fees and expenses of the Accounts may 16 | Who Manages and Oversees the Fund have been more or less than those of the fund. Returns reflect the reinvestment of dividends and distributions. RUSSELL 1000 (Reg. TM) INDEX is an unmanaged price-only index of the 1,000 largest capitalized companies that are domiciled in the US and whose common stocks are traded. STANDARD & POOR'S 500 INDEX (S&P 500) is an unmanaged, capitalization-weighted index of 500 stocks. The index is designed to measure performance of the broad domestic economy through changes in the aggregate market value of 500 stocks representing all major industries. Who Manages and Oversees the Fund | 17 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS The financial highlights are designed to help you understand recent financial performance. The figures in the first part of the table are for a single share. The total return figures represent the percentage that an investor in the fund would have earned (or lost), assuming all dividends and distributions were reinvested. This information has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the fund's financial statements, is included in the fund's annual report (see "Shareholder reports" on the back cover). 18 | Financial Highlights DWS Large Company Growth Fund - Institutional Class
YEARS ENDED JULY 31, 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 SELECTED PER SHARE DATA - --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NET ASSET VALUE, BEGINNING OF PERIOD $ 28.73 $ 24.96 $ 24.86 $ 21.88 $ 20.56 - -------------------------------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- Income (loss) from investment operations: Net investment income (loss)a .12 .16c .03 .15 .01 ________________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) ( .04) 3.61 .26 2.83 1.31 - -------------------------------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- TOTAL FROM INVESTMENT OPERATIONS .08 3.77 .29 2.98 1.32 ________________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Less distributions from: Net investment income ( .19) - ( .19) - - ________________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Redemption fees .00* .00* .00* .00* - - -------------------------------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- NET ASSET VALUE, END OF PERIOD $ 28.62 $ 28.73 $ 24.96 $ 24.86 $ 21.88 - -------------------------------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- Total Return (%) .19 15.10b 1.12c 13.62 6.42 - -------------------------------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- RATIOS TO AVERAGE NET ASSETS AND SUPPLEMENTAL DATA - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net assets, end of period ($ millions) 21 18 19 37 20 ________________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Ratio of expenses before expense reductions (%) .83 .83 .99 .84 .85 ________________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Ratio of expenses after expense reductions (%) .83 .83 .96 .84 .85 ________________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%) .41 .62c .13 .65 .06 ________________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Portfolio turnover rate (%) 43 23 16 20 21 - -------------------------------- -------- -------- -------- -------- --------
a Based on average shares outstanding during the period. b Total return would have been lower had certain expenses not been reduced. c Includes non-recurring income from the Advisor recorded as a result of an administrative proceeding regarding disclosure of brokerage allocation practices in connection with sales of DWS Funds. The non-recurring income resulted in an increase in net investment income of $0.031 per share and an increase in the ratio of net investment income (loss) of 0.12%. Excluding this non-recurring income, total return would have been 0.12% lower. * Amount is less than $.005. Financial Highlights | 19 HOW TO INVEST IN THE FUND THE FOLLOWING PAGES TELL YOU HOW TO INVEST IN THE FUND AND WHAT TO EXPECT AS A SHAREHOLDER. The following pages also tell you about many of the services, choices and benefits of being a shareholder. You'll also find information on how to check the status of your account using the method that's most convenient for you. If you're investing directly with DWS Investments, all of this information applies to you. If you're investing through a "third party provider" - for example, a workplace retirement plan, financial supermarket or financial advisor - your provider may have its own policies or instructions and you should follow those. You can find out more about the topics covered here by speaking with your FINANCIAL ADVISOR OR A REPRESENTATIVE OF YOUR WORKPLACE RETIREMENT PLAN OR OTHER INVESTMENT PROVIDER. Buying and Selling INSTITUTIONAL CLASS Shares You may buy Institutional Class shares through your securities dealer or through any financial institution that is authorized to act as a shareholder servicing agent ("financial advisor"). Contact them for details on how to place and pay for your order. Your financial advisor may also receive compensation from the Advisor and/or its affiliates. For more information, please see "Financial intermediary support payments." You may also buy Institutional Class shares by sending your check (along with a completed account application) directly to DWS Investments Service Company (the "transfer agent"). Your purchase order may not be accepted if the fund withdraws the offering of fund shares, the sale of fund shares has been suspended or if it is determined that your purchase would be detrimental to the interests of the fund's shareholders. Eligibility requirements You may buy Institutional Class shares if you are any of the following: - An eligible institution (e.g., a financial institution, corporation, trust, estate or educational, religious or charitable institution). - An employee benefit plan with assets of at least $50 million. - A registered investment advisor or financial planner purchasing on behalf of clients and charging an asset-based or hourly fee. - A client of the private banking division of Deutsche Bank AG. - A current or former director or trustee of the Deutsche or DWS mutual funds. - An employee, the employee's spouse or life partner and children or stepchildren age 21 or younger of Deutsche Bank or its affiliates or a subadvisor to any fund in the DWS family of funds or a broker-dealer authorized to sell shares in the funds. Buying and Selling Institutional Class Shares | 21 Investment minimum Your initial investment must be for at least $1,000,000. There are no minimum subsequent investment requirements. The minimum initial investment is waived for: - Shareholders with existing accounts prior to August 13, 2004 who met the previous minimum investment eligibility requirement. - Investment advisory affiliates of Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc., DWS funds or Deutsche funds purchasing shares for the accounts of their investment advisory clients. - Employee benefit plans with assets of at least $50 million. - Clients of the private banking division of Deutsche Bank AG. - Institutional clients and qualified purchasers that are clients of a division of Deutsche Bank AG. - A current or former director or trustee of the Deutsche or DWS funds. - An employee, the employee's spouse or life partner and children or stepchildren age 21 or younger of Deutsche Bank or its affiliates or a subadvisor to any fund in the DWS family of funds or a broker-dealer authorized to sell shares of the funds. - Registered investment advisors who trade through platforms approved by the Advisor and whose client assets in the aggregate meet or, in the Advisor's judgment, will meet within a reasonable period of time, the $1,000,000 minimum investment. - Employee benefit plan platforms approved by the Advisor that invest in the fund through an omnibus account, and that meet or, in the Advisor's judgment, will meet within a reasonable period of time, the $1,000,000 minimum investment. The fund reserves the right to modify the above eligibility requirements and investment minimum at any time. In addition, the fund, in its discretion, may waive the minimum initial investment for specific employee benefit plans (or family of plans) whose aggregate investment in Institutional Class shares of the fund equals or exceeds the minimum initial investment amount but where a particular account or program may not on its own meet such minimum amount. 22 | Buying and Selling Institutional Class Shares How to contact the transfer agent BY PHONE: (800) 730-1313 FIRST INVESTMENTS DWS Investments Service Company BY MAIL: P.O. Box 219210 Kansas City, MO 64121-9210 ADDITIONAL DWS Investments Service Company INVESTMENTS BY P.O. Box 219210 MAIL: Kansas City, MO 64121-9210 BY OVERNIGHT MAIL: DWS Investments Service Company 210 West 10th Street Kansas City, MO 64105-1614
You can reach the automated information line, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by calling (800) 621-1048. How to open your account MAIL: Complete and sign the account application that accompanies this prospectus. (You may obtain additional applications by calling the transfer agent.) Mail the completed application along with a check payable to the fund you have selected to the transfer agent. Be sure to include the fund number. The applicable addresses are shown under "How to contact the transfer agent." WIRE: Call the transfer agent to set up a wire account. FUND NAME AND Please use the complete fund name. Refer to the FUND NUMBER: start of "The Fund's Main Investment Strategy" above for the fund number.
Please note that your account cannot become activated until we receive a completed account application. How to BUY and SELL shares MAIL: BUYING: Send your check, payable to the fund you have selected, to the transfer agent. Be sure to include the fund number and your account number on your check. If you are investing in more than one fund, make your check payable to "DWS Investments" and include your account number, the names and numbers of each fund you have selected, and the dollar amount or percentage you would like invested in each fund. Mailing addresses are shown under "How to contact the transfer agent." Buying and Selling Institutional Class Shares | 23 SELLING: Send a signed letter to the transfer agent with your name, your fund number and account number, the fund's name, and either the number of shares you wish to sell or the dollar amount you wish to receive. In certain circumstances, a signature guarantee may be required to sell shares of the fund by mail. For information about a signature guarantee, see "Signature Guarantee." Unless exchanging into another DWS fund, you must submit a written authorization to sell shares in a retirement account. WIRE: BUYING: You may buy shares by wire only if your account is authorized to do so. Please note that you or your financial advisor must call Institutional Investment Services at (800) 730-1313 to notify us in advance of a wire transfer purchase. After you inform Institutional Investment Services of the amount of your purchase, you will receive a trade confirmation number. Instruct your bank to send payment by wire using the wire instructions noted below. All wires must be received by 4:00 p.m. Eastern time the next business day following your purchase. If your wire is not received by 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on the next business day after the fund receives your request to purchase shares, your transaction will be canceled at your expense and risk. BANK NAME: State Street Bank Boston ROUTING NO: 011000028 ATTN: DWS Investments DDA NO: 9903-5552 FBO: (Account name) (Account number) CREDIT: (Fund name, Fund number and, if applicable, class name) (see "How to open your account")
Refer to your account statement for the account name and number. Wire transfers normally take two or more hours to complete. Wire transfers may be restricted on holidays and at certain other times. SELLING: You may sell shares by wire only if your account is authorized to do so. You will be paid for redeemed shares by wire transfer of funds to your financial advisor or bank upon receipt of a duly authorized redemption request as promptly as feasible. For your protection, you may not change the destination bank account over the phone. To sell by wire, 24 | Buying and Selling Institutional Class Shares contact your financial advisor or Institutional Investment Services at (800) 730-1313. After you inform Institutional Investment Services of the amount of your redemption, you will receive a trade confirmation number. The minimum redemption by wire is $1,000. We must receive your order by 4:00 p.m. Eastern time to wire your account the next business day. TELEPHONE TRANSACTIONS: You may place orders to buy and sell over the phone by calling your financial advisor or Institutional Investment Services at (800) 730-1313. If your shares are in an account with the transfer agent, you may (1) redeem by check in an amount up to $100,000, or by wire (minimum $1,000), or (2) exchange the shares for Institutional Class shares of another DWS fund by calling the transfer agent. You may make regular investments from a bank checking account. For more information on setting up an automatic investment plan or payroll investment plan, call Institutional Investment Services at (800) 730-1313. Financial intermediary support payments The Advisor, DWS Investments Distributors, Inc. (the "Distributor") and/or their affiliates may pay additional compensation, out of their own assets and not as an additional charge to the fund, to selected affiliated and unaffiliated brokers, dealers, participating insurance companies or other financial intermediaries ("financial advisors") in connection with the sale and/or distribution of fund shares or the retention and/ or servicing of fund investors and fund shares ("revenue sharing"). Such revenue sharing payments are in addition to any distribution or service fees payable under any Rule 12b-1 or service plan of the fund, any record keeping/sub-transfer agency/networking fees payable by the fund (generally through the Distributor or an affiliate) and/or the Distributor to certain financial advisors for performing such services and any sales charge, commissions, non-cash compensation arrangements expressly permitted under applicable rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority or other concessions described in the fee table or elsewhere in this prospectus or the Statement of Additional Information as payable to all financial advisors. For example, the Advisor, the Distributor and/or their affiliates may compensate financial advisors for providing the fund with "shelf space" or access to a third party platform or fund offering list or Buying and Selling Institutional Class Shares | 25 other marketing programs, including, without limitation, inclusion of the fund on preferred or recommended sales lists, mutual fund "supermarket" platforms and other formal sales programs; granting the Distributor access to the financial advisor's sales force; granting the Distributor access to the financial advisor's conferences and meetings; assistance in training and educating the financial advisor's personnel; and obtaining other forms of marketing support. The level of revenue sharing payments made to financial advisors may be a fixed fee or based upon one or more of the following factors: gross sales, current assets and/or number of accounts of the fund attributable to the financial advisor, the particular fund or fund type or other measures as agreed to by the Advisor, the Distributor and/or their affiliates and the financial advisors or any combination thereof. The amount of these revenue sharing payments is determined at the discretion of the Advisor, the Distributor and/or their affiliates from time to time, may be substantial, and may be different for different financial advisors based on, for example, the nature of the services provided by the financial advisor. The Advisor, the Distributor and/or their affiliates currently make revenue sharing payments from their own assets in connection with the sale and/or distribution of DWS fund shares or the retention and/or servicing of investors and DWS fund shares to financial advisors in amounts that generally range from .01% up to .50% of assets of the fund serviced and maintained by the financial advisor, .05% to .25% of sales of the fund attributable to the financial advisor, a flat fee of $13,350 up to $500,000, or any combination thereof. These amounts are subject to change at the discretion of the Advisor, the Distributor and/or their affiliates. Receipt of, or the prospect of receiving, this additional compensation may influence your financial advisor's recommendation of the fund or of any particular share class of the fund. You should review your financial advisor's compensation disclosure and/or talk to your financial advisor to obtain more information on how this compensation may have influenced your financial advisor's recommendation of the fund. Additional information regarding these revenue sharing payments is included in the fund's Statement of Additional Information, which is available to you on request at no charge (see the back cover of this prospectus for more information on how to request a copy of the Statement of Additional Information). 26 | Buying and Selling Institutional Class Shares The Advisor, the Distributor and/or their affiliates may also make such revenue sharing payments to financial advisors under the terms discussed above in connection with the distribution of both DWS funds and non-DWS funds by financial advisors to retirement plans that obtain record keeping services from ADP, Inc. on the DWS Investments branded retirement plan platform (the "Platform") with the level of revenue sharing payments being based upon sales of both the DWS funds and the non-DWS funds by the financial advisor on the Platform or current assets of both the DWS funds and the non-DWS funds serviced and maintained by the financial advisor on the Platform. It is likely that broker-dealers that execute portfolio transactions for the fund will include firms that also sell shares of the DWS funds to their customers. However, the Advisor will not consider sales of DWS fund shares as a factor in the selection of broker-dealers to execute portfolio transactions for the DWS funds. Accordingly, the Advisor has implemented policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent its traders from considering sales of DWS fund shares as a factor in the selection of broker-dealers to execute portfolio transactions for the fund. In addition, the Advisor, the Distributor and/or their affiliates will not use fund brokerage to pay for their obligation to provide additional compensation to financial advisors as described above. POLICIES YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT Along with the information on the previous pages, the policies below may affect you as a shareholder. Some of this information, such as the section on distributions and taxes, applies to all investors, including those investing through a financial advisor. If you are investing through a financial advisor or through a retirement plan, check the materials you received from them about how to buy and sell shares because particular financial advisors or other intermediaries may adopt policies, procedures or limitations that are separate from those described by the fund. Please note that a financial advisor may charge fees separate from those charged by the fund and may be compensated by the fund. Policies You Should Know About | 27 Keep in mind that the information in this prospectus applies only to the shares offered herein. Other share classes are described in separate prospectuses and have different fees, requirements and services. In order to reduce the amount of mail you receive and to help reduce expenses, we generally send a single copy of any shareholder report and prospectus to each household. If you do not want the mailing of these documents to be combined with those for other members of your household, please contact your financial advisor or call (800) 730-1313. Policies about transactions THE FUND IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS each day the New York Stock Exchange is open. The fund calculates its share price for each class every business day, as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (typically 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, but sometimes earlier, as in the case of scheduled half-day trading or unscheduled suspensions of trading). You can place an order to buy or sell shares at any time. To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, federal law requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify and record information that identifies each person who opens an account. What this means to you: When you open an account, we will ask for your name, address, date of birth and other information that will allow us to identify you. Some or all of this information will be used to verify the identity of all persons opening an account. We might request additional information about you (which may include certain documents, such as articles of incorporation for companies) to help us verify your identity and, in some cases, the information and/or documents may be required to conduct the verification. The information and documents will be used solely to verify your identity. We will attempt to collect any missing required and requested information by contacting you or your financial advisor. If we are unable to obtain this information within the time frames established by the fund, then we may reject your application and order. 28 | Policies You Should Know About The fund will not invest your purchase until all required and requested identification information has been provided and your application has been submitted in "good order." After we receive all the information, your application is deemed to be in good order and we accept your purchase, you will receive the net asset value per share next calculated. If we are unable to verify your identity within time frames established by the fund, after a reasonable effort to do so, you will receive written notification. With certain limited exceptions, only US residents may invest in the fund. Because orders placed through a financial advisor must be forwarded to the transfer agent before they can be processed, you'll need to allow extra time. Your financial advisor should be able to tell you approximately when your order will be processed. It is the responsibility of your financial advisor to forward your order to the transfer agent in a timely manner. SUB-MINIMUM BALANCES. The fund may redeem your shares and close your account on 60 days' notice if it fails to meet the minimum account balance requirement of $1,000,000 for any reason other than a change in market value. MARKET TIMING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES. Short-term and excessive trading of fund shares may present risks to long-term shareholders, including potential dilution in the value of fund shares, interference with the efficient management of the fund's portfolio (including losses on the sale of investments), taxable gains to remaining shareholders and increased brokerage and administrative costs. These risks may be more pronounced if the fund invests in certain securities, such as those that trade in foreign markets, are illiquid or do not otherwise have "readily available market quotations." Certain investors may seek to employ short-term trading strategies aimed at exploiting variations in portfolio valuation that arise from the nature of the securities held by the fund (e.g., "time zone arbitrage"). The fund discourages short-term and excessive trading and has adopted policies and procedures that are intended to detect and deter short-term and excessive trading. Pursuant to its policies, the fund will impose a 2% redemption fee on fund shares held for less than a specified holding period (subject to certain exceptions discussed below under "Redemption fees"). The fund also reserves the right to reject Policies You Should Know About | 29 or cancel a purchase or exchange order for any reason without prior notice. For example, the fund may in its discretion reject or cancel a purchase or an exchange order even if the transaction is not subject to the specific roundtrip transaction limitation described below if the Advisor believes that there appears to be a pattern of short-term or excessive trading activity by a shareholder or deems any other trading activity harmful or disruptive to the fund. The fund, through its Advisor and transfer agent, will measure short-term and excessive trading by the number of roundtrip transactions within a shareholder's account during a rolling 12-month period. A "roundtrip" transaction is defined as any combination of purchase and redemption activity (including exchanges) of the same fund's shares. The fund may take other trading activity into account if the fund believes such activity is of an amount or frequency that may be harmful to long-term shareholders or disruptive to portfolio management. Shareholders are limited to four roundtrip transactions in the same DWS fund (excluding money market funds) over a rolling 12-month period. Shareholders with four or more roundtrip transactions in the same DWS fund within a rolling 12-month period generally will be blocked from making additional purchases of, or exchanges into, that DWS fund. The fund has sole discretion whether to remove a block from a shareholder's account. The rights of a shareholder to redeem shares of a DWS fund are not affected by the four roundtrip transaction limitation, but all redemptions remain subject to the fund's redemption fee policy (see "Redemption fees" described below). The fund may make exceptions to the roundtrip transaction policy for certain types of transactions if, in the opinion of the Advisor, the transactions do not represent short-term or excessive trading or are not abusive or harmful to the fund, such as, but not limited to, systematic transactions, required minimum retirement distributions, transactions initiated by the fund or administrator and transactions by certain qualified funds-of-funds. In certain circumstances where shareholders hold shares of the fund through a financial intermediary, the fund may rely upon the financial intermediary's policy to deter short-term or excessive trading if the Advisor believes that the financial intermediary's policy is reasonably designed to detect and deter transactions that are not in the best interests of the fund. A financial intermediary's policy relating to short-term or excessive 30 | Policies You Should Know About trading may be more or less restrictive than the DWS funds' policy, may permit certain transactions not permitted by the DWS funds' policies, or prohibit transactions not subject to the DWS funds' policies. The Advisor may also accept undertakings from a financial intermediary to enforce short-term or excessive trading policies on behalf of the fund that provide a substantially similar level of protection for the fund against such transactions. For example, certain financial intermediaries may have contractual, legal or operational restrictions that prevent them from blocking an account. In such instances, the financial intermediary may use alternate techniques that the Advisor considers to be a reasonable substitute for such a block. In addition, if the fund invests some portion of its assets in foreign securities, it has adopted certain fair valuation practices intended to protect the fund from "time zone arbitrage" with respect to its foreign securities holdings and other trading practices that seek to exploit variations in portfolio valuation that arise from the nature of the securities held by the fund. (See "How the fund calculates share price.") There is no assurance that these policies and procedures will be effective in limiting short-term and excessive trading in all cases. For example, the Advisor may not be able to effectively monitor, detect or limit short-term or excessive trading by underlying shareholders that occurs through omnibus accounts maintained by broker-dealers or other financial intermediaries. The Advisor reviews trading activity at the omnibus level to detect short-term or excessive trading. If the Advisor has reason to suspect that short-term or excessive trading is occurring at the omnibus level, the Advisor will contact the financial intermediary to request underlying shareholder level activity. Depending on the amount of fund shares held in such omnibus accounts (which may represent most of the fund's shares) short-term and/or excessive trading of fund shares could adversely affect long-term shareholders in the fund. If short-term or excessive trading is identified, the Advisor will take appropriate action. The fund's market timing policies and procedures may be modified or terminated at any time. REDEMPTION FEES. The fund imposes a redemption fee of 2% of the total redemption amount (calculated at net asset value) on all fund shares redeemed or exchanged within 15 days of buying them (either by purchase or exchange). The redemption Policies You Should Know About | 31 fee is paid directly to the fund and is designed to encourage long-term investment and to offset transaction and other costs associated with short-term or excessive trading. For purposes of determining whether the redemption fee applies, shares held the longest time will be treated as being redeemed first and shares held the shortest time will be treated as being redeemed last. The redemption fee is applicable to fund shares purchased either directly or through a financial intermediary, such as a broker-dealer. Transactions through financial intermediaries typically are placed with the fund on an omnibus basis and include both purchase and sale transactions placed on behalf of multiple investors. These purchase and sale transactions are generally netted against one another and placed on an aggregate basis; consequently the identities of the individuals on whose behalf the transactions are placed generally are not known to the fund. For this reason, the fund has undertaken to notify financial intermediaries of their obligation to assess the redemption fee on customer accounts and to collect and remit the proceeds to the fund. However, due to operational requirements, the intermediaries' methods for tracking and calculating the fee may be inadequate or differ in some respects from the fund's. The redemption fee will not be charged in connection with the following exchange or redemption transactions: (i) transactions on behalf of participants in certain research wrap programs; (ii) transactions on behalf of a shareholder to return any excess IRA contributions to the shareholder; (iii) transactions on behalf of a shareholder to effect a required minimum distribution on an IRA; (iv) transactions on behalf of any mutual fund advised by the Advisor and its affiliates (e.g., "funds of funds") or, in the case of a master/feeder relationship, redemptions by the feeder fund from the master portfolio; (v) transactions on behalf of certain unaffiliated mutual funds operating as funds of funds; (vi) transactions following death or disability of any registered shareholder, beneficial owner or grantor of a living trust with respect to shares purchased before death or disability; (vii) transactions involving hardship of any registered shareholder; (viii) systematic transactions with pre-defined trade dates for purchases, exchanges or redemptions, such as automatic account rebalancing, or loan origination and repayments; (ix) transactions involving shares purchased through the reinvestment of dividends or other distributions; (x) transactions 32 | Policies You Should Know About involving shares transferred from another account in the same fund or converted from another class of the same fund (the redemption fee period will carry over to the acquired shares); (xi) transactions initiated by the fund or administrator (e.g., redemptions for not meeting account minimums, to pay account fees funded by share redemptions, or in the event of the liquidation or merger of the fund); or (xii) transactions in cases when there are legal or contractual limitations or restrictions on the imposition of the redemption fee (as determined by the fund or its agents in their sole discretion). It is the policy of the DWS funds to permit approved fund platform providers to execute transactions in shares of the funds without the imposition of a redemption fee if such providers have implemented alternative measures that are determined by the Advisor to provide controls on short-term and excessive trading that are comparable to the DWS funds' policies. THE AUTOMATED INFORMATION LINE IS AVAILABLE 24 HOURS A DAY BY CALLING (800) 621-1048. You can use our automated phone services to get information on DWS funds generally and on accounts held directly at DWS Investments. QUICKBUY AND QUICKSELL let you set up a link between a DWS fund account and a bank account. Once this link is in place, you can move money between the two with a phone call. You'll need to make sure your bank has Automated Clearing House (ACH) services. Transactions take two to three days to be completed and there is a $50 minimum and a $250,000 maximum. To set up QuickBuy or QuickSell on a new account, see the account application; to add it to an existing account, call (800) 730-1313. TELEPHONE AND ELECTRONIC TRANSACTIONS. Generally, you are automatically entitled to telephone and electronic transaction privileges, but you may elect not to have them when you open your account or by contacting Institutional Investment Services at (800) 730-1313 at a later date. Since many transactions may be initiated by telephone or electronically, it's important to understand that as long as we take reasonable steps to ensure that an order to purchase or redeem shares is genuine, such as recording calls or requesting personalized security codes or other information, we are not responsible for any losses THE FOLLOWING SIDEBAR TEXT APPEARS NEXT TO THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPHS The DWS Investments Web site can be a valuable resource for shareholders with Internet access. Go to WWW.DWS-INVESTMENTS.COM to get up-to-date information, review balances or even place orders for exchanges. Policies You Should Know About | 33 that may occur as a result. For transactions conducted over the Internet, we recommend the use of a secure Internet browser. In addition, you should verify the accuracy of your confirmation statements immediately after you receive them. THE FUND DOES NOT ISSUE SHARE CERTIFICATES. However, if you currently have shares in certificated form, you must include the share certificates properly endorsed or accompanied by a duly executed stock power when exchanging or redeeming shares. You may not exchange or redeem shares in certificate form by telephone or via the Internet. WHEN YOU ASK US TO SEND OR RECEIVE A WIRE, please note that while we don't charge a fee to send or receive wires, it's possible that your bank may do so. Wire transactions are generally completed within 24 hours. The fund can only send wires of $1,000 or more and accept wires of $50 or more. IF YOU PAY FOR SHARES BY CHECK and the check fails to clear, or if you order shares by phone and fail to pay for them by 4:00 p.m. Eastern time the next business day, we have the right to cancel your order, hold you liable or charge you or your account for any losses or fees the fund or its agents have incurred. To sell shares, you must state whether you would like to receive the proceeds by wire or check. THE FUND ACCEPTS PAYMENT FOR SHARES ONLY IN US DOLLARS by a check drawn on a US bank, a bank or Federal Funds wire transfer or an electronic bank transfer. The fund does not accept third party checks. A third party check is a check made payable to one or more parties and offered as payment to one or more other parties (e.g., a check made payable to you that you offer as payment to someone else). Checks should normally be payable to DWS Investments and drawn by you or a financial institution on your behalf with your name or account number included with the check. SIGNATURE GUARANTEE. When you want to sell more than $100,000 worth of shares or send proceeds to a third party or to a new address, you'll usually need to place your order in writing and include a signature guarantee. However, if you want money wired to a bank account that is already on file with us, you don't need a signature guarantee. Also, generally you don't need a signature guarantee for an exchange, although we may require one in certain other circumstances. THE FOLLOWING SIDEBAR TEXT APPEARS NEXT TO THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPHS If you ever have difficulty placing an order by phone or Internet, you can send us your order in writing. 34 | Policies You Should Know About A signature guarantee is simply a certification of your signature - a valuable safeguard against fraud. You can get a signature guarantee from an eligible guarantor institution, including commercial banks, savings and loans, trust companies, credit unions, member firms of a national stock exchange or any member or participant of an approved signature guarantor program. Note that you can't get a signature guarantee from a notary public and we must be provided the original guarantee. SELLING SHARES OF TRUST ACCOUNTS AND BUSINESS OR ORGANIZATION ACCOUNTS may require additional documentation. Please call (800) 730-1313 or contact your financial advisor for more information. MONEY FROM SHARES YOU SELL is normally sent out within one business day of when your order is processed (not when it is received), although it could be delayed for up to seven days. There are circumstances when it could be longer, including, but not limited to, when you are selling shares you bought recently by check or ACH (the funds will be placed under a 10 calendar day hold to ensure good funds) or when unusual circumstances prompt the SEC to allow further delays. Certain expedited redemption processes (e.g., redemption proceeds by wire) may also be delayed or unavailable when you are selling shares recently purchased or in the event of the closing of the Federal Reserve wire payment system. The fund reserves the right to suspend or postpone redemptions as permitted pursuant to Section 22(e) of the Investment Company Act of 1940. Generally, those circumstances are when 1) the New York Stock Exchange is closed other than customary weekend or holiday closings; 2) trading on the New York Stock Exchange is restricted; 3) an emergency exists which makes the disposal of securities owned by the fund or the fair determination of the value of the fund's net assets not reasonably practicable; or 4) the SEC, by order, permits the suspension of the right of redemption. Redemption payments by wire may also be delayed in the event of a non-routine closure of the Federal Reserve wire payment system. For additional rights reserved by the fund, please see "Other rights we reserve." You may obtain additional information about other ways to sell your shares by contacting your financial advisor. Policies You Should Know About | 35 How the fund calculates share price To calculate net asset value, or NAV, each share class uses the following equation: TOTAL ASSETS - TOTAL LIABILITIES ----------------------------------------- = NAV TOTAL NUMBER OF SHARES OUTSTANDING
The price at which you buy and sell shares is based on the NAV per share next calculated after the order is received and accepted by the transfer agent. THE FUND CHARGES A REDEMPTION FEE EQUAL TO 2.00% of the value of shares redeemed or exchanged within 15 days of purchase. Please see "Policies about transactions - Redemption fees" for further information. WE TYPICALLY VALUE SECURITIES USING INFORMATION FURNISHED BY AN INDEPENDENT PRICING SERVICE OR MARKET QUOTATIONS, WHERE APPROPRIATE. However, we may use methods approved by the Board, such as a fair valuation model, which are intended to reflect fair value when pricing service information or market quotations are not readily available or when a security's value or a meaningful portion of the value of the fund's portfolio is believed to have been materially affected by a significant event, such as a natural disaster, an economic event like a bankruptcy filing, or a substantial fluctuation in domestic or foreign markets that has occurred between the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded (for example, a foreign exchange or market) and the close of the New York Stock Exchange. In such a case, the fund's value for a security is likely to be different from the last quoted market price or pricing service information. In addition, due to the subjective and variable nature of fair value pricing, it is possible that the value determined for a particular asset may be materially different from the value realized upon such asset's sale. It is -expected that the greater the percentage of fund assets that is -invested in non-US securities, the more extensive will be the -fund's use of fair value pricing. This is intended to reduce the fund's exposure to "time zone arbitrage" and other harmful -trading practices. (See "Market -timing policies and procedures.") TO THE EXTENT THAT THE FUND INVESTS IN SECURITIES THAT ARE TRADED PRIMARILY IN FOREIGN MARKETS, the value of its holdings could change at a time when you aren't able to buy or sell fund shares. This is because some foreign markets are open on days 36 | Policies You Should Know About or at times when the fund doesn't price its shares. (Note that prices for securities that trade on foreign exchanges can change significantly on days when the New York Stock Exchange is closed and you cannot buy or sell fund shares. Price changes in the securities the fund owns may ultimately affect the price of fund shares the next time the NAV is calculated.) Other rights we reserve You should be aware that we may do any of the following: - withdraw or suspend the offering of shares at any time - withhold a portion of your distributions and redemption proceeds if we have been notified by the IRS that you are subject to backup withholding or if you fail to provide us with the correct taxpayer ID number and certain certifications, including certification that you are not subject to backup withholding - reject a new account application if you don't provide any required or requested identifying information, or for any other reason - refuse, cancel, limit or rescind any purchase or exchange order, without prior notice; freeze any account (meaning you will not be able to purchase fund shares in your account); suspend account services; and/or involuntarily redeem your account if we think that the account is being used for fraudulent or illegal purposes; one or more of these actions will be taken when, at our sole discretion, they are deemed to be in the fund's best interests or when the fund is requested or compelled to do so by governmental authority or by applicable law - close and liquidate your account if we are unable to verify your identity, or for other reasons; if we decide to close your account, your fund shares will be redeemed at the net asset value per share next calculated after we determine to close your account (less applicable redemption fee, if any); you may recognize a gain or loss on the redemption of your fund shares and you may incur a tax liability Policies You Should Know About | 37 - pay you for shares you sell by "redeeming in kind," that is, by giving you securities (which typically will involve brokerage costs for you to liquidate) rather than cash, but which will be taxable to the same extent as a redemption for cash; the fund generally won't make a redemption in kind unless your requests over a 90-day period total more than $250,000 or 1% of the value of the fund's net assets, whichever is less - change, add or withdraw various services, fees and account policies (for example, we may adjust the fund's investment minimums at any time) UNDERSTANDING DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES The fund intends to distribute to its shareholders virtually all of its net earnings. The fund can earn money in two ways: by receiving interest, dividends or other income from investments it holds and by selling investments for more than it paid for them. (The fund's earnings are separate from any gains or losses stemming from your own purchase and sale of shares.) The fund may not always pay a dividend or other distribution for a given period. THE FUND INTENDS TO PAY DIVIDENDS TO SHAREHOLDERS ANNUALLY IN DECEMBER, AND IF NECESSARY, THE FUND MAY DISTRIBUTE AT OTHER TIMES AS NEEDED. Dividends or distributions declared and payable to shareholders of record in the last quarter of a given calendar year are treated for federal income tax purposes as if they were received on December 31 of that year, provided such dividends or distributions are paid by the end of the following January. For federal income tax purposes, income and capital gains distributions are generally taxable to shareholders. However, dividends and distributions received by retirement plans qualifying for tax exemption under federal income tax laws generally will not be taxable. YOU CAN CHOOSE HOW TO RECEIVE YOUR DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS. You can have them all automatically reinvested in fund shares (at NAV), all deposited directly to your bank account or all sent to you by check, have one type reinvested and the other sent to you by check or have them invested in a different fund. Tell us your preference on your THE FOLLOWING SIDEBAR TEXT APPEARS NEXT TO THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPHS Because each shareholder's tax situation is unique, ask your tax professional about the tax consequences of your investments, including any state and local tax consequences. 38 | Understanding Distributions and Taxes application. If you don't indicate a preference, your dividends and distributions will all be reinvested in shares of the fund without a sales charge (if applicable). Distributions are treated the same for federal income tax purposes whether you receive them in cash or reinvest them in additional shares. Under the terms of employer-sponsored qualified plans, and retirement plans, reinvestment (at NAV) is the only option. BUYING, SELLING OR EXCHANGING FUND SHARES WILL USUALLY HAVE FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES FOR YOU (except in employer-sponsored qualified plans, IRAs or other tax-advantaged accounts). Your sale of shares may result in a capital gain or loss. The gain or loss will be long-term or short-term depending on how long you owned the shares that were sold. For federal income tax purposes, an exchange is treated the same as a sale. THE FEDERAL INCOME TAX STATUS of the fund's earnings you receive and your own fund transactions generally depends on their type:
GENERALLY TAXED AT LONG-TERM GENERALLY TAXED AT ORDINARY CAPITAL GAIN RATES: INCOME RATES: DISTRIBUTIONS FROM THE FUND - - gains from the sale of - gains from the sale of securities held (or treated as securities held by the fund for held) by the fund for more one year or less than one year - all other taxable income - - qualified dividend income TRANSACTIONS INVOLVING FUND SHARES - - gains from selling fund - gains from selling fund shares held for more than shares held for one year or one year less
ANY DIRECT INVESTMENTS IN FOREIGN SECURITIES BY THE FUND MAY BE SUBJECT TO FOREIGN WITHHOLDING TAXES. In that case, the fund's yield on those securities would generally be decreased. Shareholders generally will not be entitled to claim a credit or deduction with respect to foreign taxes paid by the fund. In addition, any investments in foreign securities or foreign currencies may increase or accelerate the fund's recognition of ordinary income and may affect the timing or amount of the fund's distributions. If you invest in the fund through a taxable account, your after-tax return could be negatively impacted. Understanding Distributions and Taxes | 39 Investments in certain debt obligations or other securities may cause the fund to recognize taxable income in excess of the cash generated by them. Thus, the fund could be required at times to liquidate other investments in order to satisfy its distribution requirements. For taxable years beginning before January 1, 2011, distributions to individuals and other noncorporate shareholders of investment income designated by the fund as derived from qualified dividend income are eligible for taxation for federal income tax purposes at the more favorable long-term capital gain rates. Qualified dividend income generally includes dividends received by the fund from domestic and some foreign corporations. It does not include income from investments in debt securities or, generally, from real estate investment trusts. In addition, the fund must meet certain holding period and other requirements with respect to the dividend-paying stocks in its portfolio and the shareholder must meet certain holding period and other requirements with respect to the fund's shares for the lower tax rates to apply. For taxable years beginning before January 1, 2011, the maximum federal income tax rate imposed on long-term capital gains recognized by individuals and other noncorporate shareholders has been temporarily reduced to 15%, in general, with lower rates applying to taxpayers in the 10% and 15% rate brackets. For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2011, the maximum long-term capital gain rate is scheduled to return to 20%. YOUR FUND WILL SEND YOU DETAILED FEDERAL INCOME TAX INFORMATION EVERY JANUARY. These statements tell you the amount and the federal income tax classification of any dividends or distributions you received. They also have certain details on your purchases and sales of shares. IF YOU INVEST RIGHT BEFORE THE FUND PAYS A DIVIDEND, you'll be getting some of your investment back as a taxable dividend. You can avoid this by investing after the fund pays a dividend. In tax- advantaged retirement accounts you generally do not need to worry about this. If the fund's distributions exceed its current and accumulated earnings and profits, the excess will be treated for federal income tax purposes as a tax-free return of capital to the extent of your basis in your shares and thereafter as a gain from the 40 | Understanding Distributions and Taxes sale or exchange of your shares. Because a return of capital distribution reduces the basis of your shares, a return of capital distribution may result in a higher capital gain or a lower capital loss when you sell your shares. CORPORATIONS are taxed at the same rates on ordinary income and capital gains but may be eligible for a dividends-received deduction for a portion of the income dividends they receive from the fund, provided certain holding period and other requirements are met. The above discussion summarizes certain federal income tax consequences for shareholders who are US persons. If you are a non-US person, please consult your own tax advisor with respect to the US tax consequences to you of an investment in the fund. For more information, see "Taxes" in the Statement of Additional Information. Understanding Distributions and Taxes | 41 APPENDIX - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hypothetical Expense Summary Using the annual fund operating expense ratios presented in the fee tables in the fund prospectus, the Hypothetical Expense Summary shows the estimated fees and expenses, in actual dollars, that would be charged on a hypothetical investment of $10,000 in the fund held for the next 10 years and the impact of such fees and expenses on fund returns for each year and cumulatively, assuming a 5% return for each year. The historical rate of return for the fund may be higher or lower than 5% and, for money funds, is typically less than 5%. The tables also assume that all dividends and distributions are reinvested. The annual fund expense ratios shown are net of any contractual fee waivers or expense reimbursements, if any, for the period of the contractual commitment. The tables do not reflect redemption fees, if any, which may be payable upon redemption. If redemption fees were shown, the "Hypothetical Year-End Balance After Fees and Expenses" amounts shown would be lower and the "Annual Fees and Expenses" amounts shown would be higher. Also, please note that if you are investing through a third party provider, that provider may have fees and expenses separate from those of the fund that are not reflected here. Mutual fund fees and expenses fluctuate over time and actual expenses may be higher or lower than those shown. The Hypothetical Expense Summary should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy or a recommendation or endorsement of any specific mutual fund. You should carefully review the fund's prospectus to consider the investment objectives, risks, expenses and charges of the fund prior to investing. 42 | Appendix DWS Large Company Growth Fund - Institutional Class
MAXIMUM INITIAL HYPOTHETICAL ASSUMED RATE SALES CHARGE: INVESTMENT: OF RETURN: 0.00% $10,000 5% HYPOTHETICAL CUMULATIVE ANNUAL CUMULATIVE YEAR-END RETURN BEFORE FUND RETURN AFTER BALANCE AFTER ANNUAL FEES FEES AND EXPENSE FEES AND FEES AND AND YEAR EXPENSES RATIOS EXPENSES EXPENSES EXPENSES 1 5.00% 0.83% 4.17% $ 10,417.00 $ 84.73 2 10.25% 0.83% 8.51% $ 10,851.39 $ 88.26 3 15.76% 0.83% 13.04% $ 11,303.89 $ 91.94 4 21.55% 0.83% 17.75% $ 11.775.26 $ 95.78 5 27.63% 0.83% 22.66% $ 12,266.29 $ 99.77 6 34.01% 0.83% 27.78% $ 12,777.80 $ 103.93 7 40.71% 0.83% 33.11% $ 13,310.63 $ 108.27 8 47.75% 0.83% 38.66% $ 13,865.68 $ 112.78 9 55.13% 0.83% 44.44% $ 14,443.88 $ 117.48 10 62.89% 0.83% 50.46% $ 15,046.19 $ 122.38 TOTAL $ 1,025.32
Appendix | 43 TO GET MORE INFORMATION SHAREHOLDER REPORTS - These include commentary from the fund's management team about recent market conditions and the effects of the fund's strategies on its performance. They also have detailed performance figures, a list of everything the fund owns, and its financial statements. Shareholders get these reports automatically. STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (SAI) - This tells you more about the fund's features and policies, including additional risk information. The SAI is incorporated by reference into this document (meaning that it's legally part of this prospectus). For a free copy of any of these documents or to request other information about the fund, call (800) 730-1313, or contact DWS Investments at the address listed below. The fund's SAI and shareholder reports are also available through the DWS Investments Web site at www.dws-investments.com. These documents and other information about the fund are available from the EDGAR Database on the SEC's Internet site at www.sec.gov. If you like, you may obtain copies of this information, after paying a copying fee, by e-mailing a request to publicinfo@sec.gov or by writing the SEC at the address listed below. You can also review and copy these documents and other information about the fund, including the fund's SAI, at the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Information on the operation of the SEC's Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling (800) SEC-0330.
DWS INVESTMENTS SEC DISTRIBUTOR - ----------------- -------------------- ------------------------------ PO Box 219210 100 F Street, N.E. DWS Investments Distributors, Kansas City, MO Washington, D.C. Inc. 64121-9210 20549-0102 222 South Riverside Plaza WWW.DWS- WWW.SEC.GOV Chicago, IL 60606-5808 INVESTMENTS.COM (800) SEC-0330 (800) 621-1148 (800) 730-1313
SEC FILE NUMBER: DWS Investment Trust DWS Large Company Growth Fund 811-00043
(04/01/09) DLCGF-1-IN [RECYCLE GRAPHIC APPEARS HERE] [DWS INVESTMENTS LOGO] Deutsche Bank Group DECEMBER 1, 2008, AS REVISED APRIL 1, 2009 PROSPECTUS ------------------ CLASS S DWS LARGE COMPANY GROWTH FUND As with all mutual funds, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) does not approve or disapprove these shares or determine whether the information in this prospectus is truthful or complete. It is a criminal offense for anyone to inform you otherwise. RESHAPING INVESTING. [DWS INVESTMENTS LOGO] Deutsche Bank Group CONTENTS HOW THE FUND WORKS 4 The Fund's Main Investment Strategy 5 The Main Risks of Investing in the Fund 8 The Fund's Performance History 10 How Much Investors Pay 11 Other Policies and Secondary Risks 13 Who Manages and Oversees the Fund 16 Additional Performance Information 18 Financial Highlights
HOW TO INVEST IN THE FUND 21 How to Buy Class S Shares 22 How to Exchange or Sell Class S Shares 25 Policies You Should Know About 36 Understanding Distributions and Taxes 40 Appendix
HOW THE FUND WORKS On the next few pages, you'll find information about the fund's investment objective, the main strategies it uses to pursue that objective and the main risks that could affect performance. Whether you are considering investing in the fund or are already a shareholder, you'll want to LOOK THIS INFORMATION OVER CAREFULLY. You may want to keep it on hand for reference as well. CLASS S shares are generally only available to new investors through fee-based programs of investment dealers that have special agreements with the fund's distributor, through certain group retirement plans and through certain registered investment advisors. These dealers and advisors typically charge ongoing fees for services they provide. Remember that mutual funds are investments, not bank deposits. They're not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC or any other government agency. Their share prices will go up and down, and you could lose money by investing in them. You can find DWS prospectuses on the Internet at WWW.DWS-INVESTMENTS.COM (the Web site does not form a part of this prospectus). Class S ticker symbol SCQGX fund number 2060 DWS LARGE COMPANY GROWTH FUND
THE FUND'S MAIN INVESTMENT STRATEGY The fund seeks long-term growth of capital. The fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in large US companies that are similar in size to the companies in the Russell 1000 Growth Index (as of December 31, 2008, the Russell 1000 Growth Index had a median market capitalization of $3.3 billion). The fund intends to invest primarily in companies whose market capitalizations fall within the normal range of the Index. The fund's equity investments are mainly common stocks, but may also include other types of equities such as preferred stocks or convertible securities. The fund may also invest up to 20% of its assets in stocks and other securities of companies not publicly traded in the United States. In choosing stocks, the portfolio managers begin by utilizing a proprietary quantitative model to rank stocks based on a number of factors including valuation and profitability. The portfolio managers also apply fundamental techniques to identify companies that display above-average earnings growth compared to other companies and that have strong product lines, effective management and leadership positions within core markets. The factors considered and models used by the portfolio managers may change over time. The portfolio managers may favor different types of securities from different industries and companies at different times. The portfolio managers will normally sell a stock when they believe its price is unlikely to go higher, the company's fundamentals have changed, other investments offer better opportunities or in the course of adjusting the fund's emphasis on a given industry. 4 | DWS Large Company Growth Fund DERIVATIVES AND OTHER INVESTMENTS. The fund is permitted, but not required, to use various types of derivatives (contracts whose value is based on, for example, indices, currencies or securities). Derivatives may be used for hedging and for risk management or for non-hedging purposes to seek to enhance potential gains. The fund may use derivatives in circumstances where portfolio management believes they offer an economical means of gaining exposure to a particular asset class or to keep cash on hand to meet shareholder redemptions or other needs while maintaining exposure to the market. In particular, the fund may use futures and options and write covered call options. SECURITIES LENDING. The fund may lend its investment securities in an amount up to 33 1/3% of its total assets to approved institutional borrowers who need to borrow securities in order to complete certain transactions. THE MAIN RISKS OF INVESTING IN THE FUND 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. STOCK MARKET RISK. The fund is affected by how the stock market performs. To the extent the fund invests in a particular market sector, the fund's performance may be proportionately affected by that segment's general performance. When stock prices fall, you should expect the value of your investment to fall as well. Because a stock represents ownership in its issuer, stock prices can be hurt by poor management, shrinking product demand and other business risks. These may affect single companies as well as groups of companies. In addition, movements in financial markets may adversely affect a stock's price, regardless of how well the company performs. The market as a whole may not favor the types of investments the fund makes and the fund may not be able to get an attractive price for them. GROWTH INVESTING RISK. Since growth stocks usually reinvest a large portion of earnings in their own businesses, they may lack the dividends associated with value stocks that might otherwise cushion their decline in a falling market. Earnings THE FOLLOWING SIDEBAR TEXT APPEARS NEXT TO THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPHS This fund is designed for investors with long-term goals who are interested in a growth-style approach to large-cap investing. DWS Large Company Growth Fund | 5 disappointments in growth stocks often result in sharp price declines because investors buy these stocks for their potential superior earnings growth. Growth stocks may also be out of favor for certain periods in relation to value stocks. SECURITY SELECTION RISK. A risk that pervades all investing is the risk that the securities in the fund's portfolio may decline in value. FOREIGN INVESTMENT RISK. To the extent the fund invests in companies based outside the US, it faces the risks inherent in foreign investing. Adverse political, economic or social developments could undermine the value of the fund's investments or prevent the fund from realizing their full value. 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 the US markets. These risks tend to be greater in emerging markets so, to the extent the fund invests in emerging markets, it takes on greater risks. The currency of a country in which the fund has invested could decline relative to the value of the US dollar, which decreases the value of the investment to US investors. The investments of the fund may be subject to foreign withholding taxes. INDUSTRY RISK. While the fund does not concentrate in any industry, to the extent that the fund has exposure to a given industry or sector, any factors affecting that industry or sector could affect the value of portfolio securities. For example, manufacturers of consumer goods could be hurt by a rise in unemployment or technology companies could be hurt by such factors as market saturation, price competition and rapid obsolescence. DERIVATIVES RISK. Risks associated with derivatives include the risk that the derivative is not well correlated with the security, index or currency to which it relates; the risk that derivatives may result in losses or missed opportunities; the risk that the fund will be unable to sell the derivative because of an illiquid secondary market; the risk that a counterparty is unwilling or unable to meet its obligation; and the risk that the derivative transaction could expose the fund to the effects of leverage, which could increase the fund's exposure to the market and magnify potential losses. There is no guarantee that derivatives, to the extent employed, will have the intended 6 | DWS Large Company Growth Fund effect, and their use could cause lower returns or even losses to the fund. The use of derivatives by the fund to hedge risk may reduce the opportunity for gain by offsetting the positive effect of favorable price movements. SECURITIES LENDING RISK. Any loss in the market price of securities loaned by the fund that occurs during the term of the loan would be borne by the fund and would adversely affect the fund's performance. Also, there may be delays in recovery of securities loaned or even a loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially while the loan is outstanding. However, loans will be made only to borrowers selected by the fund's delegate after a review of relevant facts and circumstances, including the creditworthiness of the borrower. Another factor that could affect performance is: - portfolio management could be wrong in the analysis of industries, companies, economic trends, the relative attractiveness of different securities or other matters. DWS Large Company Growth Fund | 7 THE FUND'S PERFORMANCE HISTORY While a fund's past performance (before and after taxes) isn't necessarily a sign of how it will do in the future, it can be valuable for an investor to know. The bar chart shows how the performance of the fund's Class S shares has varied from year to year, which may give some idea of risk. The table on the following page shows how fund performance compares to relevant index performance (which, unlike fund performance, does not reflect fees or expenses). The performance of the fund and the index information varies over time. All figures assume reinvestment of dividends and distributions (in the case of after-tax returns, reinvested net of assumed tax rates). The table shows returns for Class S shares on a before-tax and after-tax basis. After-tax returns are estimates calculated using the historical highest marginal individual federal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown in the table. After-tax returns shown are not relevant for investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. DWS Large Company Growth Fund ANNUAL TOTAL RETURN (%) AS OF 12/31 EACH YEAR - Class S [BAR GRAPHIC OMITTED HERE] [BAR GRAPHIC DATA] 35.05 -19.26 -22.65 -29.68 24.99 4.49 8.18 7.22 12.70 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
2008 TOTAL RETURN AS OF SEPTEMBER 30: -14.50% FOR THE PERIODS INCLUDED IN THE BAR CHART: BEST QUARTER: 28.07%, Q4 1999 WORST QUARTER: -21.23%, Q1 2001
8 | DWS Large Company Growth Fund AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS (%) as of 12/31/2007
1 YEAR 5 YEARS 10 YEARS CLASS S Return before Taxes 12.70 11.29 3.04 Return after Taxes on Distributions 12.63 11.26 2.82 Return after Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares 8.35 9.87 2.58 RUSSELL 1000 (Reg. TM) GROWTH INDEX (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) 11.81 12.11 3.83
Total returns would have been lower if operating expenses hadn't been reduced. RUSSELL 1000 (Reg. TM) GROWTH INDEX is an unmanaged index that consists of those stocks in the Russell 1000 (Reg. TM) Index that have higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values. Russell 1000 (Reg. TM) Index is an unmanaged price-only index of the 1,000 largest capitalized companies that are domiciled in the US and whose common stocks are traded. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current performance may be higher or lower than the performance data quoted above. For more recent performance information, call your financial advisor or (800) 728-3337 or visit our Web site at www.dws-investments.com. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return information assumes that fund shares were sold at the end of the period. RETURN AFTER TAXES ON DISTRIBUTIONS reflects taxes only on the fund's distributions and not on a shareholder's gain or loss from selling fund shares. RETURN AFTER TAXES ON DISTRIBUTIONS AND SALE OF FUND SHARES reflects taxes on both the fund's distributions and a shareholder's gain or loss from selling fund shares. ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCE INFORMATION. Owen Fitzpatrick, Lead Manager to the fund, previously managed private accounts with substantially similar investment objectives, policies and strategies as the fund when he was employed by Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management. See the section entitled "Additional Performance Information" for more information. This performance does not represent the performance of the fund and should not be considered an indication of future performance of the fund. DWS Large Company Growth Fund | 9 HOW MUCH INVESTORS PAY The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold fund shares. This information doesn't include any fees that may be charged by your financial advisor.
FEE TABLE CLASS S irectly from your investment ______________________________________ Sales Charge None Redemption/Exchange Fee on shares owned less than 15 days (as % of redemption proceeds) 1 2.00% ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSES, deducted from fund assets ________________________________________________________________________ Management Fee 0.62% Distribution (12b-1) Fee None Other Expenses 2 0.47 TOTAL ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSES 3 1.09
1 This fee is charged on applicable redemptions or exchanges. Please see "Policies You Should Know About - Policies about transactions" for further information. 2 "Other Expenses" include an administrative services fee paid to the Advisor in the amount of 0.10% of average daily net assets. 3 Except as otherwise noted, the information in the table is based on amounts incurred during the fund's most recent fiscal year. It is important for you to understand that a decline in the fund's average net assets during the current fiscal year due to recent unprecedented market volatility or other factors could cause the fund's expense ratios for the fund's current fiscal year to be higher than the expense information presented. Based on the costs above, this example helps you compare the expenses of the fund to those of other mutual funds. This example assumes the expenses above remain the same. It also assumes that you invested $10,000, earned 5% annual returns and reinvested all dividends and distributions. This is only an example; actual expenses will be different.
EXAMPLE 1 YEAR 3 YEARS 5 YEARS 10 YEARS Class S $111 $347 $601 $1,329
10 | DWS Large Company Growth Fund OTHER POLICIES AND SECONDARY RISKS While the previous pages describe the main points of the fund's strategy and risks, there are a few other issues to know about: - Although major changes tend to be infrequent, the fund's Board could change the fund's investment objective without seeking shareholder approval. In addition, the Board will provide shareholders with at least 60 days' notice prior to making any changes to the fund's 80% investment policy, as described herein. - As a temporary defensive measure, the fund could shift up to 100% of assets into investments such as money market securities. This could prevent losses, but, while engaged in a temporary defensive position, the fund will not be pursuing its investment objective. However, portfolio management may choose not to use these strategies for various reasons, even in volatile market conditions. - The fund may trade actively. This could raise transaction costs (thus lowering return) and could mean increased taxable distributions to shareholders and distributions that will be taxable to shareholders at higher federal income tax rates. - Certain DWS fund-of-funds are permitted to invest in the fund. As a result, the fund may have large inflows or outflows of cash from time to time. This could have adverse effects on the fund's performance if the fund were required to sell securities or invest cash at times when it otherwise would not do so. This activity could also accelerate the realization of capital gains and increase the fund's transaction costs. The Advisor will monitor the impact of these transactions and the fund may discontinue such arrangements if they are not deemed to be in the best interests of the fund. Secondary risks PRICING RISK. At times, market conditions may make it difficult to value some investments, and the fund may use certain valuation methodologies for some of its investments, such as fair value pricing. Given the subjective nature of such valuation methodologies, it is possible that the value determined for an investment may be different than the value realized upon such investment's sale. If the fund has valued its securities too Other Policies and Secondary Risks | 11 highly, you may pay too much for fund shares when you buy into the fund. If the fund has underestimated the price of its securities, you may not receive the full market value when you sell your fund shares. IPO RISK. Securities purchased in initial public offerings (IPOs) may be very volatile. The price of such securities may rise and fall rapidly, often based, among other reasons, on investor perceptions rather than economic reasons. Additionally, investments in IPOs may magnify the fund's performance if it has a small asset base. The fund is less likely to experience a similar impact on its performance as its assets grow because it is unlikely that the fund will obtain proportionately larger IPO allocations. For more information This prospectus doesn't tell you about every policy or risk of investing in the fund. If you want more information on the fund's allowable securities and investment practices and the characteristics and risks of each one, you may want to request a copy of the Statement of Additional Information (the back cover tells you how to do this). Keep in mind that there is no assurance that the fund will achieve its investment objective. A complete list of the fund's portfolio holdings as of the month-end is posted on www.dws-investments.com on or about the 15th day of the following month. More frequent posting of portfolio holdings information may be made from time to time on www.dws-investments.com. The posted portfolio holdings information is available by fund and generally remains accessible at least until the date on which the fund files its Form N-CSR or N-Q with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the period that includes the date as of which the posted information is current. The fund's Statement of Additional Information includes a description of the fund's policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the fund's portfolio holdings. 12 | Other Policies and Secondary Risks WHO MANAGES AND OVERSEES THE FUND The investment advisor Deutsche Investment Management Americas Inc. ("DIMA" or the "Advisor"), with headquarters at 345 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10154, is the investment advisor for the fund. Under the oversight of the Board, the Advisor makes investment decisions, buys and sells securities for the fund and conducts research that leads to these purchase and sale decisions. The Advisor provides a full range of global investment advisory services to institutional and retail clients. DWS Investments is part of Deutsche Bank's Asset Management division and, within the US, represents the retail asset management activities of Deutsche Bank AG, Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, DIMA and DWS Trust Company. Deutsche Asset Management is a global asset management organization that offers a wide range of investing expertise and resources, including hundreds of portfolio managers and analysts and an office network that reaches the world's major investment centers. This well-resourced global investment platform brings together a wide variety of experience and investment insight across industries, regions, asset classes and investing styles. The Advisor is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Bank AG. Deutsche Bank AG is a major global banking institution that is engaged in a wide range of financial services, including investment management, mutual funds, retail, private and commercial banking, investment banking and insurance. Who Manages and Oversees the Fund | 13 MANAGEMENT FEE. The Advisor receives a management fee from the fund. Below is the actual rate paid by the fund for the most recent fiscal year, as a percentage of the fund's average daily net assets.
FUND NAME FEE PAID DWS Large Company Growth Fund 0.62%
A discussion regarding the basis for the Board's approval of the fund's investment management agreement is contained in the most recent shareholder report for the semi-annual period ended January 31 (see "Shareholder reports" on the back cover). Under a separate administrative services agreement between the fund and the Advisor, the fund pays the Advisor a fee for providing most of the fund's administrative services. 14 | Who Manages and Oversees the Fund Portfolio management DWS Large Company Growth Fund is managed by a team of investment professionals who collaborate to implement the fund's investment strategy. The team is led by a lead manager who is responsible for developing the fund's investment strategy. Each portfolio manager on the team has authority over all aspects of the fund's investment portfolio, including but not limited to, purchases and sales of individual securities, portfolio construction techniques, portfolio risk assessment, and the management of daily cash flows in accordance with portfolio holdings. The following people handle the day-to-day management of DWS Large Company Growth Fund: Owen Fitzpatrick, CFA Managing Director of Deutsche Asset Management and Lead Manager of the fund. - - Joined Deutsche Asset Management and the fund in 2009. - - Prior to joining Deutsche Assets Management, he was Managing Director of Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management and served as head of U.S. Equity Strategy and manager of the U.S. large cap core, value and growth portfolios and member of the U.S. Investment Committee and head of the Equity Strategy Group. - - Previous experience includes over 21 years of experience in trust and investment management. Prior to joining Deutsche Bank in 1995, managed an equity income fund, trust and advisory relationships for Princeton Bank & Trust Company, where he was also responsible for research coverage of the consumer cyclical sector. Previously served as a portfolio manager at Manufacturer's Hanover Trust Company. - - BA and MBA, Fordham University. Richard Shepley Managing Director of Deutsche Asset Management and Portfolio Manager of the fund. - - Joined Deutsche Asset Management in 1998 and the fund in 2007. - - Previous experience includes eight years of investment industry experience as research analyst for global beverage and media sectors at Newton Investment Management and assistant manager in corporate tax and corporate insolvency department at Price Waterhouse, London. - - MA, Oxford University. Brendan O'Neill, CFA Director of Deutsche Asset Management and Portfolio Manager of the fund. - - Joined Deutsche Asset Management in 2000 and joined the fund in 2007. - - Equity Research Analyst covering the financial services sector since 2001. - - Previously served as a member of the Large Cap Core Equity team. - - BA, Queens College, CUNY; MS, Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College. The fund's Statement of Additional Information provides additional information about a portfolio manager's investments in the fund, a description of the portfolio management compensation structure and information regarding other accounts managed. Who Manages and Oversees the Fund | 15 ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCE INFORMATION The table below illustrates the performance of a composite of certain private accounts ("Accounts") managed by OWEN FITZPATRICK, Lead Manager of the fund, while employed by Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management. For more information about Owen Fitzpatrick, please refer to the "Portfolio management" section of this prospectus. Each of the Accounts included in the composite has objectives, policies and strategies substantially similar to those of the fund. As of December 31, 2008, the total assets in the composite were $328 million. Unlike management of the private accounts included in the composite, Owen Fitzpatrick's management of the fund is subject to certain regulatory restrictions (e.g., limits on percentage of assets invested in a single issuer and industry and requirements on distributing income to shareholders) that do not apply to the Accounts. In addition, the fund generally experiences cash flows that are different from those of the Accounts. All of these factors may adversely affect the performance of the fund and cause it to differ from that of the Accounts in the composite described below. Composite results below represent the performance of the Accounts, net of the annual rate of estimated total operating expenses of DWS Large Company Growth Fund - Class A, as of December 31, 2008. THE COMPOSITE RESULTS DO NOT REPRESENT THE PERFORMANCE OF THE DWS LARGE COMPANY GROWTH FUND, AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AN INDICATION OF FUTURE PERFORMANCE OF THE FUND. The composite results are not required to be, and were not calculated in accordance with SEC mandated mutual fund performance calculation methodology. The use of such methodology could yield a different result.
AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURN (%)** (AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2008) 1 YEAR 3 YEARS SINCE INCEPTION* FEE ADJUSTED, NO-LOAD (reflects no deduction for sales charge) -33.96% -3.06% 0.20% FEE ADJUSTED, LOAD ADJUSTED** -37.75% -4.95% -1.04% RUSSELL 1000 (Reg. TM) GROWTH INDEX (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) -38.44% -9.11% -3.76% STANDARD & POOR'S 500 INDEX (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) -37.00% -8.36% -2.65%
* Date of Inception is April 1, 2004 which corresponds to the date that Mr. Fitzpatrick became the sole, lead portfolio manager of the Accounts. ** Average Annual Total Returns reflect the gross returns of the Accounts reduced by the estimated net annual operating expenses of the DWS Large Company Growth Fund - Class A shares (1.38% annually) and shown both with and without the imposition of sales charges (5.75% for Class A shares). Actual fees and expenses of the Accounts may 16 | Who Manages and Oversees the Fund have been more or less than those of the fund. Returns reflect the reinvestment of dividends and distributions. RUSSELL 1000 (Reg. TM) INDEX is an unmanaged price-only index of the 1,000 largest capitalized companies that are domiciled in the US and whose common stocks are traded. STANDARD & POOR'S 500 INDEX (S&P 500) is an unmanaged, capitalization-weighted index of 500 stocks. The index is designed to measure performance of the broad domestic economy through changes in the aggregate market value of 500 stocks representing all major industries. Who Manages and Oversees the Fund | 17 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS The financial highlights are designed to help you understand recent financial performance. The figures in the first part of the table are for a single share. The total return figures represent the percentage that an investor in the fund would have earned (or lost), assuming all dividends and distributions were reinvested. This information has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the fund's financial statements, is included in the fund's annual report (see "Shareholder reports" on the back cover). 18 | Financial Highlights DWS Large Company Growth Fund - Class S
YEARS ENDED JULY 31, 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 SELECTED PER SHARE DATA - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NET ASSET VALUE, BEGINNING OF PERIOD $ 28.56 $ 24.86 $ 24.73 $ 21.81 $ 20.52 - -------------------------------- ------- --------- -------- -------- -------- Income (loss) from investment operations: Net investment income (loss)a .05 .11c ( .01) .10 ( .03) ________________________________ _______ _________ ________ ________ ________ Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) ( .05) 3.59 .26 2.82 1.32 - -------------------------------- ------- --------- -------- -------- -------- TOTAL FROM INVESTMENT OPERATIONS - 3.70 .25 2.92 1.29 ________________________________ _______ _________ ________ ________ ________ Less distributions from: Net investment income ( .13) - ( .12) - - ________________________________ _______ _________ ________ ________ ________ Redemption fees .00* .00* .00* .00* - - -------------------------------- ------- --------- -------- -------- -------- NET ASSET VALUE, END OF PERIOD $ 28.43 $ 28.56 $ 24.86 $ 24.73 $ 21.81 - -------------------------------- ------- --------- -------- -------- -------- Total Return (%) ( .03)b 14.88b,c .94b 13.39b 6.29b - -------------------------------- ------- --------- -------- -------- -------- RATIOS TO AVERAGE NET ASSETS AND SUPPLEMENTAL DATA - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net assets, end of period ($ millions) 212 255 270 349 401 ________________________________ _______ _________ ________ ________ ________ Ratio of expenses before expense reductions (%) 1.09 1.04 1.21 1.10 1.08 ________________________________ _______ _________ ________ ________ ________ Ratio of expenses after expense reductions (%) 1.08 1.02 1.11 1.06 1.02 ________________________________ _______ _________ ________ ________ ________ Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%) .16 .43c ( .02) .43 ( .11) ________________________________ _______ _________ ________ ________ ________ Portfolio turnover rate (%) 43 23 16 20 21 - -------------------------------- ------- --------- -------- -------- --------
a Based on average shares outstanding during the period. b Total return would have been lower had certain expenses not been reduced. c Includes non-recurring income from the Advisor recorded as a result of an administrative proceeding regarding disclosure of brokerage allocation practices in connection with sales of DWS Funds. The non-recurring income resulted in an increase in net investment income of $0.031 per share and an increase in the ratio of net investment income (loss) of 0.12%. Excluding this non-recurring income, total return would have been 0.12% lower. * Amount is less than $.005. Financial Highlights | 19 HOW TO INVEST IN THE FUND THE FOLLOWING PAGES TELL YOU HOW TO INVEST IN THE FUND AND WHAT TO EXPECT AS A SHAREHOLDER. The following pages also tell you about many of the services, choices and benefits of being a shareholder. You'll also find information on how to check the status of your account using the method that's most convenient for you. If you're investing directly with DWS Investments, all of this information applies to you. If you're investing through a "third party provider" - for example, a workplace retirement plan, financial supermarket or financial advisor - your provider may have its own policies or instructions and you should follow those. Please remember, CLASS S shares are generally only available to new investors through fee-based programs of investment dealers that have special agreements with the fund's distributor, through certain group retirement plans and through certain registered investment advisors. These dealers and advisors typically charge ongoing fees for services they provide. You can find out more about the topics covered here by speaking with your FINANCIAL ADVISOR OR A REPRESENTATIVE OF YOUR WORKPLACE RETIREMENT PLAN OR OTHER INVESTMENT PROVIDER. How to BUY Class S Shares
FIRST INVESTMENT ADDITIONAL INVESTMENTS $2,500 or more for most accounts $50 or more for most accounts and IRAs $1,000 or more for IRAs and UTMAs/ $50 or more for an account with an UGMAs Automatic Investment Plan $1,000 or more for an account with an Automatic Investment Plan BY MAIL OR EXPRESS MAIL (SEE BELOW) Send a DWS Investments investment - Fill out and sign an application slip or short note that includes: - Send it to us at the appropriate - fund and class name address, along with an investment check made payable to "DWS - account number Investments" - check made payable to "DWS Investments" BY WIRE - Call (800) 728-3337 for instructions - Call (800) 728-3337 for instructions BY PHONE Not available - Call (800) 728-3337 for instructions WITH AN AUTOMATIC INVESTMENT PLAN - Fill in the information on your - To set up regular investments from a application including a check for the bank checking account, call initial investment and a voided check (800) 728-3337 (minimum $50) USING QuickBuy Not available - Call (800) 728-3337 to make sure QuickBuy is set up on your account; if it is, you can request a transfer from your bank account of any amount between $50 and $250,000 ON THE INTERNET - Register at - Call (800) 728-3337 to ensure you have www.dws-investments.com or log in if electronic services already registered - Register at www.dws- - Print out a prospectus and a new investments.com account application or log in if already registered - Complete and return the application - Follow the instructions for buying with your check shares with money from your bank account
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- REGULAR MAIL: First Investment: DWS Investments, PO Box 219356, Kansas City, MO 64121-9356 Additional Investments: DWS Investments, PO Box 219154, Kansas City, MO 64121-9154 EXPRESS, REGISTERED OR CERTIFIED MAIL: DWS Investments, 210 West 10th Street, Kansas City, MO 64105-1614 How to Buy Class S Shares | 21 How to EXCHANGE or SELL Class S Shares
EXCHANGING INTO ANOTHER FUND SELLING SHARES Some transactions, including most for - Exchanges into existing accounts: over $100,000, can only be ordered in $50 minimum per fund writing with a signature guarantee; - Exchanges into new accounts: please see "Signature Guarantee" $2,500 minimum per fund $1,000 minimum for IRAs and UTMAs/UGMAs BY PHONE BY PHONE OR WIRE - Call (800) 728-3337 for instructions - Call (800) 728-3337 for instructions USING THE AUTOMATED INFORMATION LINE - Call (800) 728-3337 for instructions - Call (800) 728-3337 for instructions BY MAIL OR EXPRESS MAIL (see previous page for address) Your instructions should include: Your instructions should include: - the fund, class and account number - the fund, class and account number you're exchanging out of from which you want to sell shares - the dollar amount or number of shares - the dollar amount or number of shares you want to exchange you want to sell - the name and class of the fund you - your name(s), signature(s) and want to exchange into address, as they appear on your account - your name(s), signature(s) and address, as they appear on your - a daytime telephone number account - a daytime telephone number WITH AN AUTOMATIC EXCHANGE PLAN WITH AN AUTOMATIC WITHDRAWAL PLAN - To set up regular exchanges from a - To set up regular cash payments from fund account, call (800) 728-3337 a DWS fund account, call (800) 728-3337 USING QuickSell Not available - Call (800) 728-3337 to make sure QuickSell is set up on your account; if it is, you can request a transfer to your bank account of any amount between $50 and $250,000 ON THE INTERNET - Register at www.dws- - Register at www.dws- investments.com or log in if already investments.com or log in if already registered registered - Follow the instructions for making on- - Follow the instructions for making on- line exchanges line redemptions
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TO REACH US: WEB SITE: www.dws-investments.com TELEPHONE REPRESENTATIVE: (800) 728-3337, M-F, 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. ET TDD LINE: (800) 972-3006, M-F, 9 a.m.- 6 p.m. ET
22 | How to Sell or Exchange Class S Shares Financial intermediary support payments The Advisor, DWS Investments Distributors, Inc. (the "Distributor") and/or their affiliates may pay additional compensation, out of their own assets and not as an additional charge to the fund, to selected affiliated and unaffiliated brokers, dealers, participating insurance companies or other financial intermediaries ("financial advisors") in connection with the sale and/or distribution of fund shares or the retention and/or servicing of fund investors and fund shares ("revenue sharing"). Such revenue sharing payments are in addition to any distribution or service fees payable under any Rule 12b-1 or service plan of the fund, any record keeping/sub-transfer agency/networking fees payable by the fund (generally through the Distributor or an affiliate) and/or the Distributor to certain financial advisors for performing such services and any sales charge, commissions, non-cash compensation arrangements expressly permitted under applicable rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority or other concessions described in the fee table or elsewhere in this prospectus or the Statement of Additional Information as payable to all financial advisors. For example, the Advisor, the Distributor and/or their affiliates may compensate financial advisors for providing the fund with "shelf space" or access to a third party platform or fund offering list or other marketing programs, including, without limitation, inclusion of the fund on preferred or recommended sales lists, mutual fund "supermarket" platforms and other formal sales programs; granting the Distributor access to the financial advisor's sales force; granting the Distributor access to the financial advisor's conferences and meetings; assistance in training and educating the financial advisor's personnel; and obtaining other forms of marketing support. The level of revenue sharing payments made to financial advisors may be a fixed fee or based upon one or more of the following factors: gross sales, current assets and/or number of accounts of the fund attributable to the financial advisor, the particular fund or fund type or other measures as agreed to by the Advisor, the Distributor and/or their affiliates and the financial advisors or any combination thereof. The amount of these revenue sharing payments is determined at the discretion of the Advisor, the Distributor and/or their affiliates from time to time, may be substantial, and may be different for different financial advisors based on, for example, the nature of the services provided by the financial advisor. How to Sell or Exchange Class S Shares | 23 The Advisor, the Distributor and/or their affiliates currently make revenue sharing payments from their own assets in connection with the sale and/or distribution of DWS fund shares or the retention and/or servicing of investors and DWS fund shares to financial advisors in amounts that generally range from .01% up to .50% of assets of the fund serviced and maintained by the financial advisor, .05% to .25% of sales of the fund attributable to the financial advisor, a flat fee of $13,350 up to $500,000, or any combination thereof. These amounts are subject to change at the discretion of the Advisor, the Distributor and/or their affiliates. Receipt of, or the prospect of receiving, this additional compensation may influence your financial advisor's recommendation of the fund or of any particular share class of the fund. You should review your financial advisor's compensation disclosure and/or talk to your financial advisor to obtain more information on how this compensation may have influenced your financial advisor's recommendation of the fund. Additional information regarding these revenue sharing payments is included in the fund's Statement of Additional Information, which is available to you on request at no charge (see the back cover of this prospectus for more information on how to request a copy of the Statement of Additional Information). The Advisor, the Distributor and/or their affiliates may also make such revenue sharing payments to financial advisors under the terms discussed above in connection with the distribution of both DWS funds and non-DWS funds by financial advisors to retirement plans that obtain record keeping services from ADP, Inc. on the DWS Investments branded retirement plan platform (the "Platform") with the level of revenue sharing payments being based upon sales of both the DWS funds and the non-DWS funds by the financial advisor on the Platform or current assets of both the DWS funds and the non-DWS funds serviced and maintained by the financial advisor on the Platform. It is likely that broker-dealers that execute portfolio transactions for the fund will include firms that also sell shares of the DWS funds to their customers. However, the Advisor will not consider sales of DWS fund shares as a factor in the selection of broker-dealers to execute portfolio transactions for the DWS funds. Accordingly, the Advisor has implemented policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent its traders from considering sales of DWS fund shares as a factor in the selection of 24 | How to Sell or Exchange Class S Shares broker-dealers to execute portfolio transactions for the fund. In addition, the Advisor, the Distributor and/or their affiliates will not use fund brokerage to pay for their obligation to provide additional compensation to financial advisors as described above. POLICIES YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT Along with the information on the previous pages, the policies below may affect you as a shareholder. Some of this information, such as the section on distributions and taxes, applies to all investors, including those investing through a financial advisor. If you are investing through a financial advisor or through a retirement plan, check the materials you received from them about how to buy and sell shares because particular financial advisors or other intermediaries may adopt policies, procedures or limitations that are separate from those described by the fund. Please note that a financial advisor may charge fees separate from those charged by the fund and may be compensated by the fund. Keep in mind that the information in this prospectus applies only to the shares offered herein. Other share classes are described in separate prospectuses and have different fees, requirements and services. In order to reduce the amount of mail you receive and to help reduce expenses, we generally send a single copy of any shareholder report and prospectus to each household. If you do not want the mailing of these documents to be combined with those for other members of your household, please contact your financial advisor or call (800) 728-3337. Policies about transactions THE FUND IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS each day the New York Stock Exchange is open. The fund calculates its share price for each class every business day, as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (typically 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, but sometimes earlier, as in the case of scheduled half-day trading or unscheduled suspensions of trading). You can place an order to buy or sell shares at any time. THE FOLLOWING SIDEBAR TEXT APPEARS NEXT TO THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPHS Questions? You can speak to a DWS Investments representative between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Eastern time on any fund business day by calling (800) 728-3337. Policies You Should Know About | 25 To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, federal law requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify and record information that identifies each person who opens an account. What this means to you: When you open an account, we will ask for your name, address, date of birth and other information that will allow us to identify you. Some or all of this information will be used to verify the identity of all persons opening an account. We might request additional information about you (which may include certain documents, such as articles of incorporation for companies) to help us verify your identity and, in some cases, the information and/or documents may be required to conduct the verification. The information and documents will be used solely to verify your identity. We will attempt to collect any missing required and requested information by contacting you or your financial advisor. If we are unable to obtain this information within the time frames established by the fund, then we may reject your application and order. The fund will not invest your purchase until all required and requested identification information has been provided and your application has been submitted in "good order." After we receive all the information, your application is deemed to be in good order and we accept your purchase, you will receive the net asset value per share next calculated. If we are unable to verify your identity within time frames established by the fund, after a reasonable effort to do so, you will receive written notification. With certain limited exceptions, only US residents may invest in the fund. Because orders placed through a financial advisor must be forwarded to the transfer agent before they can be processed, you'll need to allow extra time. Your financial advisor should be able to tell you approximately when your order will be processed. It is the responsibility of your financial advisor to forward your order to the transfer agent in a timely manner. INITIAL PURCHASE MINIMUMS. The minimum initial investment is $2,500, except for investments on behalf of participants in certain fee-based and wrap programs offered through certain financial intermediaries approved by the Advisor, for which there is no minimum initial investment; and fiduciary accounts such as 26 | Policies You Should Know About IRAs and custodial accounts such as Uniform Gifts to Minors Act and Uniform Transfers to Minors Act accounts for which the minimum initial investment is $1,000 per account. In addition, the minimum initial investment is $1,000 if an automatic investment plan of $50 per month is established. Group retirement plans and certain other accounts have similar or lower minimum share balance requirements. SUB-MINIMUM BALANCES. The fund may close your account and send you the proceeds if your balance falls below $2,500 ($1,000 with an Automatic Investment Plan funded with $50 or more per month in subsequent investments) or below $250 for retirement accounts. We will give you 60 days' notice (90 days for retirement accounts) so you can either increase your balance or close your account (these policies don't apply to investors with $100,000 or more in DWS fund shares, investors in certain fee-based and wrap programs offered through certain financial intermediaries approved by the Advisor, or group retirement plans and certain other accounts having lower minimum share balance requirements). Because of the high cost of servicing accounts with low balances, an account maintenance fee of $6.25 per quarter (for a $25 annual fee) will be assessed on accounts whose balances fail to meet the minimum initial investment requirement for a period of 90 days prior to the assessment date. The quarterly assessment will occur on or about the 15th of the last month in each calendar quarter. Please note that the fee will be assessed on accounts that fall below the minimum for any reason, including due to market value fluctuations, redemptions or exchanges. The account maintenance fee will apply to all shareholders of the DWS funds except for: accounts with an automatic investment plan, accounts held in an omnibus account through a financial services firm, accounts maintained on behalf of participants in certain fee based and wrap programs offered through certain financial intermediaries approved by the Advisor and participant level accounts in group retirement plans held on the records of a retirement plan record keeper. SUBSEQUENT INVESTMENTS. The minimum subsequent investment is $50. However, there is no minimum investment requirement for subsequent investments on behalf of participants in certain fee-based and wrap programs offered through certain financial intermediaries approved by the Advisor. Policies You Should Know About | 27 MARKET TIMING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES. Short-term and excessive trading of fund shares may present risks to long-term shareholders, including potential dilution in the value of fund shares, interference with the efficient management of the fund's portfolio (including losses on the sale of investments), taxable gains to remaining shareholders and increased brokerage and administrative costs. These risks may be more pronounced if the fund invests in certain securities, such as those that trade in foreign markets, are illiquid or do not otherwise have "readily available market quotations." Certain investors may seek to employ short-term trading strategies aimed at exploiting variations in portfolio valuation that arise from the nature of the securities held by the fund (e.g., "time zone arbitrage"). The fund discourages short-term and excessive trading and has adopted policies and procedures that are intended to detect and deter short-term and excessive trading. Pursuant to its policies, the fund will impose a 2% redemption fee on fund shares held for less than a specified holding period (subject to certain exceptions discussed below under "Redemption fees"). The fund also reserves the right to reject or cancel a purchase or exchange order for any reason without prior notice. For example, the fund may in its discretion reject or cancel a purchase or an exchange order even if the transaction is not subject to the specific roundtrip transaction limitation described below if the Advisor believes that there appears to be a pattern of short-term or excessive trading activity by a shareholder or deems any other trading activity harmful or disruptive to the fund. The fund, through its Advisor and transfer agent, will measure short-term and excessive trading by the number of roundtrip transactions within a shareholder's account during a rolling 12-month period. A "roundtrip" transaction is defined as any combination of purchase and redemption activity (including exchanges) of the same fund's shares. The fund may take other trading activity into account if the fund believes such activity is of an amount or frequency that may be harmful to long-term shareholders or disruptive to portfolio management. Shareholders are limited to four roundtrip transactions in the same DWS fund (excluding money market funds) over a rolling 12-month period. Shareholders with four or more roundtrip transactions in the same DWS fund within a rolling 12-month period generally will be blocked from making additional purchases of, or exchanges into, that DWS fund. The fund has sole discretion whether to remove a block from a shareholder's 28 | Policies You Should Know About account. The rights of a shareholder to redeem shares of a DWS fund are not affected by the four roundtrip transaction limitation, but all redemptions remain subject to the fund's redemption fee policy (see "Redemption fees" described below). The fund may make exceptions to the roundtrip transaction policy for certain types of transactions if, in the opinion of the Advisor, the transactions do not represent short-term or excessive trading or are not abusive or harmful to the fund, such as, but not limited to, systematic transactions, required minimum retirement distributions, transactions initiated by the fund or administrator and transactions by certain qualified funds-of-funds. In certain circumstances where shareholders hold shares of the fund through a financial intermediary, the fund may rely upon the financial intermediary's policy to deter short-term or excessive trading if the Advisor believes that the financial intermediary's policy is reasonably designed to detect and deter transactions that are not in the best interests of the fund. A financial intermediary's policy relating to short-term or excessive trading may be more or less restrictive than the DWS funds' policy, may permit certain transactions not permitted by the DWS funds' policies, or prohibit transactions not subject to the DWS funds' policies. The Advisor may also accept undertakings from a financial intermediary to enforce short-term or excessive trading policies on behalf of the fund that provide a substantially similar level of protection for the fund against such transactions. For example, certain financial intermediaries may have contractual, legal or operational restrictions that prevent them from blocking an account. In such instances, the financial intermediary may use alternate techniques that the Advisor considers to be a reasonable substitute for such a block. In addition, if the fund invests some portion of its assets in foreign securities, it has adopted certain fair valuation practices intended to protect the fund from "time zone arbitrage" with respect to its foreign securities holdings and other trading practices that seek to exploit variations in portfolio valuation that arise from the nature of the securities held by the fund. (See "How the fund calculates share price.") Policies You Should Know About | 29 There is no assurance that these policies and procedures will be effective in limiting short-term and excessive trading in all cases. For example, the Advisor may not be able to effectively monitor, detect or limit short-term or excessive trading by underlying shareholders that occurs through omnibus accounts maintained by broker-dealers or other financial intermediaries. The Advisor reviews trading activity at the omnibus level to detect short-term or excessive trading. If the Advisor has reason to suspect that short-term or excessive trading is occurring at the omnibus level, the Advisor will contact the financial intermediary to request underlying shareholder level activity. Depending on the amount of fund shares held in such omnibus accounts (which may represent most of the fund's shares) short-term and/or excessive trading of fund shares could adversely affect long-term shareholders in the fund. If short-term or excessive trading is identified, the Advisor will take appropriate action. The fund's market timing policies and procedures may be modified or terminated at any time. REDEMPTION FEES. The fund imposes a redemption fee of 2% of the total redemption amount (calculated at net asset value) on all fund shares redeemed or exchanged within 15 days of buying them (either by purchase or exchange). The redemption fee is paid directly to the fund and is designed to encourage long-term investment and to offset transaction and other costs associated with short-term or excessive trading. For purposes of determining whether the redemption fee applies, shares held the longest time will be treated as being redeemed first and shares held the shortest time will be treated as being redeemed last. The redemption fee is applicable to fund shares purchased either directly or through a financial intermediary, such as a broker-dealer. Transactions through financial intermediaries typically are placed with the fund on an omnibus basis and include both purchase and sale transactions placed on behalf of multiple investors. These purchase and sale transactions are generally netted against one another and placed on an aggregate basis; consequently the identities of the individuals on whose behalf the transactions are placed generally are not known to the fund. For this reason, the fund has undertaken to notify financial intermediaries of their obligation to assess the redemption fee on 30 | Policies You Should Know About customer accounts and to collect and remit the proceeds to the fund. However, due to operational requirements, the intermediaries' methods for tracking and calculating the fee may be inadequate or differ in some respects from the fund's. The redemption fee will not be charged in connection with the following exchange or redemption transactions: (i) transactions on behalf of participants in certain research wrap programs; (ii) transactions on behalf of a shareholder to return any excess IRA contributions to the shareholder; (iii) transactions on behalf of a shareholder to effect a required minimum distribution on an IRA; (iv) transactions on behalf of any mutual fund advised by the Advisor and its affiliates (e.g., "funds of funds") or, in the case of a master/feeder relationship, redemptions by the feeder fund from the master portfolio; (v) transactions on behalf of certain unaffiliated mutual funds operating as funds of funds; (vi) transactions following death or disability of any registered shareholder, beneficial owner or grantor of a living trust with respect to shares purchased before death or disability; (vii) transactions involving hardship of any registered shareholder; (viii) systematic transactions with pre-defined trade dates for purchases, exchanges or redemptions, such as automatic account rebalancing, or loan origination and repayments; (ix) transactions involving shares purchased through the reinvestment of dividends or other distributions; (x) transactions involving shares transferred from another account in the same fund or converted from another class of the same fund (the redemption fee period will carry over to the acquired shares); (xi) transactions initiated by the fund or administrator (e.g., redemptions for not meeting account minimums, to pay account fees funded by share redemptions, or in the event of the liquidation or merger of the fund); or (xii) transactions in cases when there are legal or contractual limitations or restrictions on the imposition of the redemption fee (as determined by the fund or its agents in their sole discretion). It is the policy of the DWS funds to permit approved fund platform providers to execute transactions in shares of the funds without the imposition of a redemption fee if such providers have implemented alternative measures that are determined by the Advisor to provide controls on short-term and excessive trading that are comparable to the DWS funds' policies. Policies You Should Know About | 31 THE AUTOMATED INFORMATION LINE IS AVAILABLE 24 HOURS A DAY BY CALLING (800) 728-3337. You can use our automated phone services to get information on DWS funds generally and on accounts held directly at DWS Investments. You can also use this service to make exchanges and to purchase and sell shares. QUICKBUY AND QUICKSELL let you set up a link between a DWS fund account and a bank account. Once this link is in place, you can move money between the two with a phone call. You'll need to make sure your bank has Automated Clearing House (ACH) services. Transactions take two to three days to be completed and there is a $50 minimum and a $250,000 maximum. To set up QuickBuy or QuickSell on a new account, see the account application; to add it to an existing account, call (800) 728-3337. TELEPHONE AND ELECTRONIC TRANSACTIONS. Generally, you are automatically entitled to telephone and electronic transaction privileges, but you may elect not to have them when you open your account or by contacting Shareholder Services at (800) 728-3337 at a later date. Since many transactions may be initiated by telephone or electronically, it's important to understand that as long as we take reasonable steps to ensure that an order to purchase or redeem shares is genuine, such as recording calls or requesting personalized security codes or other information, we are not responsible for any losses that may occur as a result. For transactions conducted over the Internet, we recommend the use of a secure Internet browser. In addition, you should verify the accuracy of your confirmation statements immediately after you receive them. THE FUND DOES NOT ISSUE SHARE CERTIFICATES. However, if you currently have shares in certificated form, you must include the share certificates properly endorsed or accompanied by a duly executed stock power when exchanging or redeeming shares. You may not exchange or redeem shares in certificate form by telephone or via the Internet. THE FOLLOWING SIDEBAR TEXT APPEARS NEXT TO THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPHS The DWS Investments Web site can be a valuable resource for shareholders with Internet access. Go to WWW.DWS-INVESTMENTS.COM to get up-to-date information, review balances or even place orders for exchanges. 32 | Policies You Should Know About WHEN YOU ASK US TO SEND OR RECEIVE A WIRE, please note that while we don't charge a fee to send or receive wires, it's possible that your bank may do so. Wire transactions are generally completed within 24 hours. The fund can only send wires of $1,000 or more and accept wires of $50 or more. THE FUND ACCEPTS PAYMENT FOR SHARES ONLY IN US DOLLARS by a check drawn on a US bank, a bank or Federal Funds wire transfer or an electronic bank transfer. The fund does not accept third party checks. A third party check is a check made payable to one or more parties and offered as payment to one or more other parties (e.g., a check made payable to you that you offer as payment to someone else). Checks should normally be payable to DWS Investments and drawn by you or a financial institution on your behalf with your name or account number included with the check. SIGNATURE GUARANTEE. When you want to sell more than $100,000 worth of shares or send proceeds to a third party or to a new address, you'll usually need to place your order in writing and include a signature guarantee. However, if you want money wired to a bank account that is already on file with us, you don't need a signature guarantee. Also, generally you don't need a signature guarantee for an exchange, although we may require one in certain other circumstances. A signature guarantee is simply a certification of your signature - a valuable safeguard against fraud. You can get a signature guarantee from an eligible guarantor institution, including commercial banks, savings and loans, trust companies, credit unions, member firms of a national stock exchange or any member or participant of an approved signature guarantor program. Note that you can't get a signature guarantee from a notary public and we must be provided the original guarantee. SELLING SHARES OF TRUST ACCOUNTS AND BUSINESS OR ORGANIZATION ACCOUNTS may require additional documentation. Please call (800) 728-3337 or contact your financial advisor for more information. MONEY FROM SHARES YOU SELL is normally sent out within one business day of when your order is processed (not when it is received), although it could be delayed for up to seven days. There are circumstances when it could be longer, including, but not limited to, when you are selling shares you bought recently by check or ACH (the funds will be placed THE FOLLOWING SIDEBAR TEXT APPEARS NEXT TO THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPHS If you ever have difficulty placing an order by phone or Internet, you can send us your order in writing. Policies You Should Know About | 33 under a 10 calendar day hold to ensure good funds) or when unusual circumstances prompt the SEC to allow further delays. Certain expedited redemption processes (e.g., redemption proceeds by wire) may also be delayed or unavailable when you are selling shares recently purchased or in the event of the closing of the Federal Reserve wire payment system. The fund reserves the right to suspend or postpone redemptions as permitted pursuant to Section 22(e) of the Investment Company Act of 1940. Generally, those circumstances are when 1) the New York Stock Exchange is closed other than customary weekend or holiday closings; 2) trading on the New York Stock Exchange is restricted; 3) an emergency exists which makes the disposal of securities owned by the fund or the fair determination of the value of the fund's net assets not reasonably practicable; or 4) the SEC, by order, permits the suspension of the right of redemption. Redemption payments by wire may also be delayed in the event of a non-routine closure of the Federal Reserve wire payment system. For additional rights reserved by the fund, please see "Other rights we reserve." You may obtain additional information about other ways to sell your shares by contacting your financial advisor. How the fund calculates share price To calculate net asset value, or NAV, each share class uses the following equation: TOTAL ASSETS - TOTAL LIABILITIES ----------------------------------------- = NAV TOTAL NUMBER OF SHARES OUTSTANDING
The price at which you buy and sell shares is based on the NAV per share next calculated after the order is received and accepted by the transfer agent. THE FUND CHARGES A REDEMPTION FEE EQUAL TO 2.00% of the value of shares redeemed or exchanged within 15 days of purchase. Please see "Policies about transactions - Redemption fees" for further information. WE TYPICALLY VALUE SECURITIES USING INFORMATION FURNISHED BY AN INDEPENDENT PRICING SERVICE OR MARKET QUOTATIONS, WHERE APPROPRIATE. However, we may use methods approved by the Board, such as a fair valuation model, which are intended to reflect fair value when pricing service information or market quotations are not readily available or when a security's value or 34 | Policies You Should Know About a meaningful portion of the value of the fund's portfolio is believed to have been materially affected by a significant event, such as a natural disaster, an economic event like a bankruptcy filing, or a substantial fluctuation in domestic or foreign markets that has occurred between the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded (for example, a foreign exchange or market) and the close of the New York Stock Exchange. In such a case, the fund's value for a security is likely to be different from the last quoted market price or pricing service information. In addition, due to the subjective and variable nature of fair value pricing, it is possible that the value determined for a particular asset may be materially different from the value realized upon such asset's sale. It is -expected that the greater the percentage of fund assets that is -invested in non-US securities, the more extensive will be the -fund's use of fair value pricing. This is intended to reduce the fund's exposure to "time zone arbitrage" and other harmful -trading practices. (See "Market -timing policies and procedures.") TO THE EXTENT THAT THE FUND INVESTS IN SECURITIES THAT ARE TRADED PRIMARILY IN FOREIGN MARKETS, the value of its holdings could change at a time when you aren't able to buy or sell fund shares. This is because some foreign markets are open on days or at times when the fund doesn't price its shares. (Note that prices for securities that trade on foreign exchanges can change significantly on days when the New York Stock Exchange is closed and you cannot buy or sell fund shares. Price changes in the securities the fund owns may ultimately affect the price of fund shares the next time the NAV is calculated.) Other rights we reserve You should be aware that we may do any of the following: - withdraw or suspend the offering of shares at any time - withhold a portion of your distributions and redemption proceeds if we have been notified by the IRS that you are subject to backup withholding or if you fail to provide us with the correct taxpayer ID number and certain certifications, including certification that you are not subject to backup withholding - reject a new account application if you don't provide any required or requested identifying information, or for any other reason Policies You Should Know About | 35 - refuse, cancel, limit or rescind any purchase or exchange order, without prior notice; freeze any account (meaning you will not be able to purchase fund shares in your account); suspend account services; and/or involuntarily redeem your account if we think that the account is being used for fraudulent or illegal purposes; one or more of these actions will be taken when, at our sole discretion, they are deemed to be in the fund's best interests or when the fund is requested or compelled to do so by governmental authority or by applicable law - close and liquidate your account if we are unable to verify your identity, or for other reasons; if we decide to close your account, your fund shares will be redeemed at the net asset value per share next calculated after we determine to close your account (less applicable redemption fee, if any); you may recognize a gain or loss on the redemption of your fund shares and you may incur a tax liability - pay you for shares you sell by "redeeming in kind," that is, by giving you securities (which typically will involve brokerage costs for you to liquidate) rather than cash, but which will be taxable to the same extent as a redemption for cash; the fund generally won't make a redemption in kind unless your requests over a 90-day period total more than $250,000 or 1% of the value of the fund's net assets, whichever is less - change, add or withdraw various services, fees and account policies (for example, we may adjust the fund's investment minimums at any time) UNDERSTANDING DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES The fund intends to distribute to its shareholders virtually all of its net earnings. The fund can earn money in two ways: by receiving interest, dividends or other income from investments it holds and by selling investments for more than it paid for them. (The fund's earnings are separate from any gains or losses stemming from your own purchase and sale of shares.) The fund may not always pay a dividend or other distribution for a given period. THE FOLLOWING SIDEBAR TEXT APPEARS NEXT TO THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPHS Because each shareholder's tax situation is unique, ask your tax professional about the tax consequences of your investments, including any state and local tax consequences. 36 | Understanding Distributions and Taxes THE FUND INTENDS TO PAY DIVIDENDS TO SHAREHOLDERS ANNUALLY IN DECEMBER, AND IF NECESSARY, THE FUND MAY DISTRIBUTE AT OTHER TIMES AS NEEDED. Dividends or distributions declared and payable to shareholders of record in the last quarter of a given calendar year are treated for federal income tax purposes as if they were received on December 31 of that year, provided such dividends or distributions are paid by the end of the following January. For federal income tax purposes, income and capital gains distributions are generally taxable to shareholders. However, dividends and distributions received by retirement plans qualifying for tax exemption under federal income tax laws generally will not be taxable. YOU CAN CHOOSE HOW TO RECEIVE YOUR DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS. You can have them all automatically reinvested in fund shares (at NAV), all deposited directly to your bank account or all sent to you by check, have one type reinvested and the other sent to you by check or have them invested in a different fund. Tell us your preference on your application. If you don't indicate a preference, your dividends and distributions will all be reinvested in shares of the fund without a sales charge (if applicable). Distributions are treated the same for federal income tax purposes whether you receive them in cash or reinvest them in additional shares. Under the terms of employer-sponsored qualified plans, and retirement plans, reinvestment (at NAV) is the only option. BUYING, SELLING OR EXCHANGING FUND SHARES WILL USUALLY HAVE FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES FOR YOU (except in employer-sponsored qualified plans, IRAs or other tax-advantaged accounts). Your sale of shares may result in a capital gain or loss. The gain or loss will be long-term or short-term depending on how long you owned the shares that were sold. For federal income tax purposes, an exchange is treated the same as a sale. Understanding Distributions and Taxes | 37 THE FEDERAL INCOME TAX STATUS of the fund's earnings you receive and your own fund transactions generally depends on their type:
GENERALLY TAXED AT LONG-TERM GENERALLY TAXED AT ORDINARY CAPITAL GAIN RATES: INCOME RATES: DISTRIBUTIONS FROM THE FUND - - gains from the sale of - gains from the sale of securities held (or treated as securities held by the fund for held) by the fund for more one year or less than one year - all other taxable income - - qualified dividend income TRANSACTIONS INVOLVING FUND SHARES - - gains from selling fund - gains from selling fund shares held for more than shares held for one year or one year less
ANY DIRECT INVESTMENTS IN FOREIGN SECURITIES BY THE FUND MAY BE SUBJECT TO FOREIGN WITHHOLDING TAXES. In that case, the fund's yield on those securities would generally be decreased. Shareholders generally will not be entitled to claim a credit or deduction with respect to foreign taxes paid by the fund. In addition, any investments in foreign securities or foreign currencies may increase or accelerate the fund's recognition of ordinary income and may affect the timing or amount of the fund's distributions. If you invest in the fund through a taxable account, your after-tax return could be negatively impacted. Investments in certain debt obligations or other securities may cause the fund to recognize taxable income in excess of the cash generated by them. Thus, the fund could be required at times to liquidate other investments in order to satisfy its distribution requirements. For taxable years beginning before January 1, 2011, distributions to individuals and other noncorporate shareholders of investment income designated by the fund as derived from qualified dividend income are eligible for taxation for federal income tax purposes at the more favorable long-term capital gain rates. Qualified dividend income generally includes dividends received by the fund from domestic and some foreign corporations. It does not include income from investments in debt securities or, generally, from real estate investment trusts. In addition, the fund must meet certain holding period 38 | Understanding Distributions and Taxes and other requirements with respect to the dividend-paying stocks in its portfolio and the shareholder must meet certain holding period and other requirements with respect to the fund's shares for the lower tax rates to apply. For taxable years beginning before January 1, 2011, the maximum federal income tax rate imposed on long-term capital gains recognized by individuals and other noncorporate shareholders has been temporarily reduced to 15%, in general, with lower rates applying to taxpayers in the 10% and 15% rate brackets. For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2011, the maximum long-term capital gain rate is scheduled to return to 20%. YOUR FUND WILL SEND YOU DETAILED FEDERAL INCOME TAX INFORMATION EVERY JANUARY. These statements tell you the amount and the federal income tax classification of any dividends or distributions you received. They also have certain details on your purchases and sales of shares. IF YOU INVEST RIGHT BEFORE THE FUND PAYS A DIVIDEND, you'll be getting some of your investment back as a taxable dividend. You can avoid this by investing after the fund pays a dividend. In tax- advantaged retirement accounts you generally do not need to worry about this. If the fund's distributions exceed its current and accumulated earnings and profits, the excess will be treated for federal income tax purposes as a tax-free return of capital to the extent of your basis in your shares and thereafter as a gain from the sale or exchange of your shares. Because a return of capital distribution reduces the basis of your shares, a return of capital distribution may result in a higher capital gain or a lower capital loss when you sell your shares. CORPORATIONS are taxed at the same rates on ordinary income and capital gains but may be eligible for a dividends-received deduction for a portion of the income dividends they receive from the fund, provided certain holding period and other requirements are met. The above discussion summarizes certain federal income tax consequences for shareholders who are US persons. If you are a non-US person, please consult your own tax advisor with respect to the US tax consequences to you of an investment in the fund. For more information, see "Taxes" in the Statement of Additional Information. Understanding Distributions and Taxes | 39 APPENDIX - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hypothetical Expense Summary Using the annual fund operating expense ratios presented in the fee tables in the fund prospectus, the Hypothetical Expense Summary shows the estimated fees and expenses, in actual dollars, that would be charged on a hypothetical investment of $10,000 in the fund held for the next 10 years and the impact of such fees and expenses on fund returns for each year and cumulatively, assuming a 5% return for each year. The historical rate of return for the fund may be higher or lower than 5% and, for money funds, is typically less than 5%. The tables also assume that all dividends and distributions are reinvested. The annual fund expense ratios shown are net of any contractual fee waivers or expense reimbursements, if any, for the period of the contractual commitment. The tables do not reflect redemption fees, if any, which may be payable upon redemption. If redemption fees were shown, the "Hypothetical Year-End Balance After Fees and Expenses" amounts shown would be lower and the "Annual Fees and Expenses" amounts shown would be higher. Also, please note that if you are investing through a third party provider, that provider may have fees and expenses separate from those of the fund that are not reflected here. Mutual fund fees and expenses fluctuate over time and actual expenses may be higher or lower than those shown. The Hypothetical Expense Summary should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy or a recommendation or endorsement of any specific mutual fund. You should carefully review the fund's prospectus to consider the investment objectives, risks, expenses and charges of the fund prior to investing. 40 | Appendix DWS Large Company Growth Fund - Class S
MAXIMUM INITIAL HYPOTHETICAL ASSUMED RATE SALES CHARGE: INVESTMENT: OF RETURN: 0.00% $10,000 5% HYPOTHETICAL CUMULATIVE ANNUAL CUMULATIVE YEAR-END RETURN BEFORE FUND RETURN AFTER BALANCE AFTER ANNUAL FEES FEES AND EXPENSE FEES AND FEES AND AND YEAR EXPENSES RATIOS EXPENSES EXPENSES EXPENSES 1 5.00% 1.09% 3.91% $ 10,391.00 $ 111.13 2 10.25% 1.09% 7.97% $ 10,797.29 $ 115.48 3 15.76% 1.09% 12.19% $ 11,219.46 $ 119.99 4 21.55% 1.09% 16.58% $ 11,658.14 $ 124.68 5 27.63% 1.09% 21.14% $ 12,113.98 $ 129.56 6 34.01% 1.09% 25.88% $ 12,587.63 $ 134.62 7 40.71% 1.09% 30.80% $ 13,079.81 $ 139.89 8 47.75% 1.09% 35.91% $ 13,591.23 $ 145.36 9 55.13% 1.09% 41.23% $ 14,122.65 $ 151.04 10 62.89% 1.09% 46.75% $ 14,674.84 $ 156.95 TOTAL $ 1,328.70
Appendix | 41 TO GET MORE INFORMATION SHAREHOLDER REPORTS - These include commentary from the fund's management team about recent market conditions and the effects of the fund's strategies on its performance. They also have detailed performance figures, a list of everything the fund owns, and its financial statements. Shareholders get these reports automatically. STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (SAI) - This tells you more about the fund's features and policies, including additional risk information. The SAI is incorporated by reference into this document (meaning that it's legally part of this prospectus). For a free copy of any of these documents or to request other information about the fund, call (800) 728-3337, or contact DWS Investments at the address listed below. The fund's SAI and shareholder reports are also available through the DWS Investments Web site at www.dws-investments.com. These documents and other information about the fund are available from the EDGAR Database on the SEC's Internet site at www.sec.gov. If you like, you may obtain copies of this information, after paying a copying fee, by e-mailing a request to publicinfo@sec.gov or by writing the SEC at the address listed below. You can also review and copy these documents and other information about the fund, including the fund's SAI, at the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Information on the operation of the SEC's Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling (800) SEC-0330.
DWS INVESTMENTS SEC DISTRIBUTOR - ----------------- -------------------- ------------------------------ PO Box 219151 100 F Street, N.E. DWS Investments Distributors, Kansas City, MO Washington, D.C. Inc. 64121-9151 20549-0102 222 South Riverside Plaza WWW.DWS- WWW.SEC.GOV Chicago, IL 60606-5808 INVESTMENTS.COM (800) SEC-0330 (800) 621-1148 (800) 728-3337
SEC FILE NUMBER: DWS Investment Trust DWS Large Company Growth Fund 811-00043
(04/01/09) 60-2 [RECYCLE GRAPHIC APPEARS HERE] [DWS INVESTMENTS LOGO] Deutsche Bank Group FEBRUARY 1, 2009, AS REVISED APRIL 1, 2009 PROSPECTUS ------------------ DWS GROWTH & INCOME FUND - Classes A, B and C DWS CAPITAL GROWTH FUND - Classes A, B, C and R DWS SMALL CAP CORE FUND - Classes A, B and C DWS BLUE CHIP FUND - Classes A, B and C As with all mutual funds, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) does not approve or disapprove these shares or determine whether the information in this prospectus is truthful or complete. It is a criminal offense for anyone to inform you otherwise. RESHAPING INVESTING. [DWS INVESTMENTS LOGO] Deutsche Bank Group CONTENTS HOW EACH FUND WORKS 4 DWS Growth & Income Fund 11 DWS Capital Growth Fund 19 DWS Small Cap Core Fund 26 DWS Blue Chip Fund 33 Other Policies and Secondary Risks 35 Who Manages and Oversees the Funds 41 Additional Performance Information 43 Financial Highlights
HOW TO INVEST IN THE FUNDS 58 Choosing a Share Class 65 How to Buy Class A, B and C Shares 66 How to Exchange or Sell Class A, B and C Shares 67 How to Buy and Sell Class R Shares 69 Policies You Should Know About 83 Understanding Distributions and Taxes 87 Appendix
HOW EACH FUND WORKS On the next few pages, you'll find information about each fund's investment objective, the main strategies each uses to pursue that objective and the main risks that could affect performance. Whether you are considering investing in a fund or are already a shareholder, you'll want to LOOK THIS INFORMATION OVER CAREFULLY. You may want to keep it on hand for reference as well. CLASSES A, B AND C shares are generally intended for investors seeking the advice and assistance of a financial advisor. CLASS R shares are only available to participants in certain retirement plans. Remember that mutual funds are investments, not bank deposits. They're not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC or any other government agency. Their share prices will go up and down, and you could lose money by investing in them. You can find DWS prospectuses on the Internet at WWW.DWS-INVESTMENTS.COM (the Web site does not form a part of this prospectus). Class A Class B Class C ticker symbol SUWAX SUWBX SUWCX fund number 464 664 764 DWS GROWTH & INCOME FUND
THE FUND'S MAIN INVESTMENT STRATEGY The fund seeks long-term growth of capital, current income and growth of income. The fund invests at least 65% of total assets in equities, mainly common stocks. Although the fund can invest in companies of any size and from any country, it invests primarily in large US companies. The portfolio managers may favor securities from different industries and companies at different times. The portfolio managers use quantitative stock techniques and fundamental equity analysis to evaluate each company's stock price relative to the company's earnings, operating trends, market outlook and other measures of performance potential. The portfolio managers will normally sell a stock when they believe its fundamental factors have changed, other investments offer better opportunities or in the course of adjusting the fund's emphasis on or within a given industry. DERIVATIVES AND OTHER INVESTMENTS. The fund is permitted, but not required, to use various types of derivatives (contracts whose value is based on, for example, indexes, currencies or securities). The fund may use derivatives in circumstances where the managers believe they offer an economical means of gaining exposure to a particular asset class or to keep cash on hand to meet shareholder redemptions or other needs while maintaining exposure to the market. SECURITIES LENDING. The fund may lend its investment securities in an amount up to 33 1/3% of its total assets to approved institutional borrowers who need to borrow securities in order to complete certain transactions. 4 | DWS Growth & Income Fund THE MAIN RISKS OF INVESTING IN THE FUND 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. STOCK MARKET RISK. The fund is affected by how the stock market performs. To the extent the fund invests in a particular capitalization or market sector, the fund's performance may be proportionately affected by that segment's general performance. When stock prices fall, you should expect the value of your investment to fall as well. Because a stock represents ownership in its issuer, stock prices can be hurt by poor management, shrinking product demand and other business risks. These factors may affect single companies as well as groups of companies. In addition, movements in financial markets may adversely affect a stock's price, regardless of how well the company performs. The market as a whole may not favor the types of investments the fund makes, which could affect the fund's ability to sell them at an attractive price. INDUSTRY RISK. While the fund does not concentrate in any industry, to the extent that the fund has exposure to a given industry or sector, any factors affecting that industry or sector could affect the value of portfolio securities. For example, manufacturers of consumer goods could be hurt by a rise in unemployment or technology companies could be hurt by such factors as market saturation, price competition and rapid obsolescence. SECURITY SELECTION RISK. A risk that pervades all investing is the risk that the securities in the fund's portfolio may decline in value. SECURITIES LENDING RISK. Any loss in the market price of securities loaned by the fund that occurs during the term of the loan would be borne by the fund and would adversely affect the fund's performance. Also, there may be delays in recovery of securities loaned or even a loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially while the loan is outstanding. However, loans will be made only to borrowers selected by the fund's delegate after a review of relevant facts and circumstances, including the creditworthiness of the borrower. THE FOLLOWING SIDEBAR TEXT APPEARS NEXT TO THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPHS This fund is designed for investors interested in a relatively conservative equity fund to provide long-term growth and some current income. DWS Growth & Income Fund | 5 Other factors that could affect performance include: - portfolio management could be wrong in the analysis of industries, companies, economic trends, the relative attractiveness of different securities or other matters. - foreign securities may be more volatile than their US counterparts, for reasons such as currency fluctuations and political and economic uncertainty. - derivatives could produce disproportionate losses due to a variety of factors, including the failure of the counterparty to meet its obligations or unexpected price or interest rate movements. 6 | DWS Growth & Income Fund THE FUND'S PERFORMANCE HISTORY While a fund's past performance (before and after taxes) isn't necessarily a sign of how it will do in the future, it can be valuable for an investor to know. The bar chart shows how the performance of the fund's Class A shares has varied from year to year, which may give some idea of risk. The bar chart does not reflect sales loads; if it did, total returns would be lower than those shown. The table on the following page shows how fund performance compares to relevant index performance (which, unlike fund performance, does not reflect fees or expenses). The table includes the effects of maximum sales loads on fund performance. The performance of the fund and the index information varies over time. All figures assume reinvestment of dividends and distributions (in the case of after-tax returns, reinvested net of assumed tax rates). The table shows returns for Class A shares on a before-tax and after-tax basis. After-tax returns are shown for Class A only and will vary for Classes B and C. After-tax returns are estimates calculated using the historical highest marginal individual federal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown in the table. After-tax returns shown are not relevant for investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. The inception date for Class A (formerly Class R) is August 2, 1999. In the bar chart, the performance for Class A shares for the period prior to inception are based on the historical performance of the fund's original share class (Class S), adjusted to reflect the higher gross total annual operating expenses of Class A. In the table, the performance figures for each share class for the periods prior to its inception (August 2, 1999 for Class A and December 29, 2000 for Classes B and C) are based on the historical performance of Class S, adjusted to reflect both the higher gross total annual operating expenses of Classes A, B or C and the current applicable sales charges of Classes A, B or C. Class S shares are offered in a separate prospectus. DWS Growth & Income Fund ANNUAL TOTAL RETURN (%) AS OF 12/31 EACH YEAR - CLASS A (Results do not reflect sales loads; if they did, total returns would be lower than those shown.) [BAR GRAPHIC OMITTED HERE] [BAR GRAPHIC DATA] 5.78 5.18 -3.18 -12.33 -23.70 26.55 9.37 5.58 13.07 0.47 -38.74 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
FOR THE PERIODS INCLUDED IN THE BAR CHART: BEST QUARTER: 12.77%, Q2 2003 WORST QUARTER: -21.99%, Q4 2008
DWS Growth & Income Fund | 7 AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS (%) as of 12/31/2008 (Fund returns include the effects of maximum sales load.)
1 YEAR 5 YEARS 10 YEARS CLASS A Return before Taxes -42.26 -5.40 -4.12 Return after Taxes on Distributions -42.35 -6.81 -5.13 Return after Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares -29.36* -5.16* -3.88* CLASS B (Return before Taxes) -41.08 -5.26 -4.31 CLASS C (Return before Taxes) -39.15 -5.03 -4.25 RUSSELL 1000 (Reg. TM) INDEX (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) -37.60 -2.04 -1.09
Total returns would have been lower if operating expenses hadn't been reduced. * Return after Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares is higher than other return figures for the same period due to a capital loss occurring upon redemption resulting in an assumed tax deduction for the shareholder. RUSSELL 1000 (Reg. TM) INDEX is an unmanaged price-only index of the 1,000 largest capitalized companies that are domiciled in the US and whose common stocks are traded. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current performance may be higher or lower than the performance data quoted above. For more recent performance information, call your financial advisor or (800) 621-1048 or visit our Web site at www.dws-investments.com. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return information assumes that fund shares were sold at the end of the period. RETURN AFTER TAXES ON DISTRIBUTIONS reflects taxes only on the fund's distributions and not on a shareholder's gain or loss from selling fund shares. RETURN AFTER TAXES ON DISTRIBUTIONS AND SALE OF FUND SHARES reflects taxes on both the fund's distributions and a shareholder's gain or loss from selling fund shares. 8 | DWS Growth & Income Fund HOW MUCH INVESTORS PAY The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold fund shares. This information doesn't include any fees that may be charged by your financial advisor.
FEE TABLE CLASS A CLASS B CLASS C SHAREHOLDER FEES, paid directly from your investment ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as % of offering price) 5.75% 1 None None Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as % of redemption proceeds) None 2 4.00% 1.00% Redemption/Exchange fee on shares owned less than 15 days (as % of redemption proceeds) 3 2.00 2.00 2.00 ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSES, deducted from fund assets ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Management Fee 0.35 % 0.35% 0.35% Distribution/Service (12b-1) Fee 0.24 1.00 1.00 Other Expenses 4 0.43 0.61 0.44 TOTAL ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSES 5 1.02 1.96 1.79
1 Because of rounding in the calculation of the offering price, the actual maximum front-end sales charge paid by an investor may be higher than the percentage noted (see "Choosing a Share Class - Class A shares"). 2 The redemption of shares purchased at net asset value under the Large Order NAV Purchase Privilege (see "Choosing a Share Class - Class A shares") may be subject to a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00% if redeemed within 12 months of purchase and 0.50% if redeemed within the following six months. 3 This fee is charged on all applicable redemptions or exchanges. Please see "Policies You Should Know About - Policies about transactions" for further information. 4 "Other Expenses" include an administrative services fee paid to the Advisor in the amount of 0.10% of average daily net assets. 5 Except as otherwise noted, the information in the table is based on amounts incurred during the fund's most recent fiscal year. It is important for you to understand that a decline in the fund's average net assets during the current fiscal year due to recent unprecedented market volatility or other factors could cause the fund's expense ratios for the fund's current fiscal year to be higher than the expense information presented. DWS Growth & Income Fund | 9 Based on the costs above, this example helps you compare the expenses of the Fund to those of other mutual funds. This example assumes the expenses above remain the same. It also assumes that you invested $10,000, earned 5% annual returns and reinvested all dividends and distributions. This is only an example; actual expenses will be different.
EXAMPLE 1 YEAR 3 YEARS 5 YEARS 10 YEARS EXPENSES, assuming you sold your shares at the end of each period _________________________________________________________________________ Class A shares $673 $881 $1,106 $1,751 Class B shares* 599 915 1,257 1,817 Class C shares 282 563 970 2,105 EXPENSES, assuming you kept your shares _________________________________________________________________________ Class A shares $673 $881 $1,106 $1,751 Class B shares* 199 615 1,057 1,817 Class C shares 182 563 970 2,105
* Reflects conversion of Class B to Class A shares, which pay lower fees. Conversion occurs six years after purchase. 10 | DWS Growth & Income Fund Class A Class B Class C Class R ticker symbol SDGAX SDGBX SDGCX SDGRX fund number 498 698 798 1508 DWS CAPITAL GROWTH FUND
THE FUND'S MAIN INVESTMENT STRATEGY The fund seeks to provide long-term growth of capital. The fund normally invests at least 65% of total assets in equities, mainly common stocks of US companies. Although the fund can invest in companies of any size, it generally focuses on established companies that are similar in size to the companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 (Reg. TM) Composite Stock Price Index (the "S&P 500 Index") or the Russell 1000 (Reg. TM) Growth Index (as of December 31, 2008, the S&P 500 Index and the Russell 1000 (Reg. TM) Growth Index had median market capitalizations of $6.4 billion and $3.3 billion, respectively). Although the fund may invest in companies of any size, the fund intends to invest primarily in companies whose market capitalizations fall within the normal range of these indexes. The fund may also invest in other types of equity securities such as preferred stocks or convertible securities. In choosing stocks, the portfolio managers begin by utilizing a proprietary quantitative model to rank stocks based on a number of factors including valuation and profitability. The portfolio managers also apply fundamental techniques to identify companies that display above-average earnings growth compared to other companies and that have strong product lines, effective management and leadership positions within core markets. The factors considered and models used by the portfolio managers may change over time. The portfolio managers will normally sell a stock when they believe its potential risks have increased, its price is unlikely to go higher, its fundamental factors have changed, other investments offer better opportunities or in the course of adjusting the fund's emphasis on a given industry. DERIVATIVES AND OTHER INVESTMENTS. The fund is permitted, but not required, to use various types of derivatives (contracts whose value is based on, for example, indices, currencies or securities). Derivatives may be used for hedging and for risk DWS Capital Growth Fund | 11 management or for non-hedging purposes to seek to enhance potential gains. The fund may use derivatives in circumstances where portfolio management believes they offer an economical means of gaining exposure to a particular asset class or to keep cash on hand to meet shareholder redemptions or other needs while maintaining exposure to the market. In particular, the fund may use futures and options and write covered call options. SECURITIES LENDING. The fund may lend its investment securities in an amount up to 33 1/3% of its total assets to approved institutional borrowers who need to borrow securities in order to complete certain transactions. THE MAIN RISKS OF INVESTING IN THE FUND 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. STOCK MARKET RISK. The fund is affected by how the stock market performs. To the extent the fund invests in a particular capitalization or market sector, the fund's performance may be proportionately affected by that segment's general performance. When stock prices fall, you should expect the value of your investment to fall as well. Because a stock represents ownership in its issuer, stock prices can be hurt by poor management, shrinking product demand and other business risks. These factors may affect single companies as well as groups of companies. In addition, movements in financial markets may adversely affect a stock's price, regardless of how well the company performs. The market as a whole may not favor the types of investments the fund makes, which could affect the fund's ability to sell them at an attractive price. GROWTH INVESTING RISK. Since growth stocks usually reinvest a large portion of earnings in their own businesses, they may lack the dividends associated with value stocks that might otherwise cushion their decline in a falling market. Earnings disappointments in growth stocks often result in THE FOLLOWING SIDEBAR TEXT APPEARS NEXT TO THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPHS This fund is designed for investors with long-term goals who are interested in a growth-style approach to investing. 12 | DWS Capital Growth Fund sharp price declines because investors buy these stocks for their potential superior earnings growth. Growth stocks may also be out of favor for certain periods in relation to value stocks. INDUSTRY RISK. While the fund does not concentrate in any industry, to the extent that the fund has exposure to a given industry or sector, any factors affecting that industry or sector could affect the value of portfolio securities. For example, manufacturers of consumer goods could be hurt by a rise in unemployment or technology companies could be hurt by such factors as market saturation, price competition and rapid obsolescence. SECURITY SELECTION RISK. A risk that pervades all investing is the risk that the securities in the fund's portfolio may decline in value. SECURITIES LENDING RISK. Any loss in the market price of securities loaned by the fund that occurs during the term of the loan would be borne by the fund and would adversely affect the fund's performance. Also, there may be delays in recovery of securities loaned or even a loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially while the loan is outstanding. However, loans will be made only to borrowers selected by the fund's delegate after a review of relevant facts and circumstances, including the creditworthiness of the borrower. Other factors that could affect performance include: - portfolio management could be wrong in the analysis of industries, companies, economic trends, the relative attractiveness of different securities or other matters. - foreign securities may be more volatile than their US counterparts, for reasons such as currency fluctuations and political and economic uncertainty. - derivatives could produce disproportionate losses due to a variety of factors, including the failure of the counterparty to meet its obligations or unexpected price or interest rate movements. DWS Capital Growth Fund | 13 THE FUND'S PERFORMANCE HISTORY While a fund's past performance (before and after taxes) isn't necessarily a sign of how it will do in the future, it can be valuable for an investor to know. The bar chart shows how the performance of the fund's Class A shares has varied from year to year, which may give some idea of risk. The bar chart does not reflect sales loads; if it did, total returns would be lower than those shown. The table on the following page shows how fund performance compares to relevant index performance (which, unlike fund performance, does not reflect fees or expenses). The table includes the effects of maximum sales loads on fund performance. The performance of the fund and the index information varies over time. All figures assume reinvestment of dividends and distributions (in the case of after-tax returns, reinvested net of assumed tax rates). The table shows returns for Class A shares on a before-tax and after-tax basis. After-tax returns are shown for Class A only and will vary for Classes B and C. After-tax returns are estimates calculated using the historical highest marginal individual federal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown in the table. After-tax returns shown are not relevant for investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. In addition, after-tax returns are not relevant for Class R shares. On July 17, 2000, the fund was reorganized from AARP Capital Growth Fund, a series of AARP Growth Trust, into Class AARP of Scudder Capital Growth Fund, a newly created series of Investment Trust. Effective February 6, 2006, Scudder Capital Growth Fund changed its name to DWS Capital Growth Fund. The inception date for Classes A, B and C shares was June 25, 2001. The inception date for Class R shares was November 3, 2003. In the bar chart, the performance figures for Class A before its inception date are based on the historical performance of the fund's original share class (Class AARP) and for periods prior to July 17, 2000, the performance of AARP Capital Growth Fund, each adjusted to reflect the higher gross total annual operating expenses of Class A. In the table, the performance figures for each share class for the periods prior to its inception date are based on the historical performance of the fund's original share class (Class AARP) and for periods prior to July 17, 2000, the performance of AARP Capital Growth Fund, each adjusted to reflect both the higher gross total annual operating expenses of Classes A, B, C or R and the current applicable sales charge of Classes A, B and C. Class AARP shares were merged into Class S shares of the fund on July 14, 2006. Class S shares are offered in a separate prospectus. 14 | DWS Capital Growth Fund DWS Capital Growth Fund ANNUAL TOTAL RETURN (%) AS OF 12/31 EACH YEAR - CLASS A (Results do not reflect sales loads; if they did, total returns would be lower than those shown.) [BAR GRAPHIC OMITTED HERE] [BAR GRAPHIC DATA] 23.39 35.07 -10.57 -20.62 -29.60 25.99 7.10 8.16 8.06 11.98 -32.98 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
FOR THE PERIODS INCLUDED IN THE BAR CHART: BEST QUARTER: 24.46%, Q4 1999 WORST QUARTER: -21.28%, Q4 2008
DWS Capital Growth Fund | 15 AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS (%) as of 12/31/2008 (Fund returns include the effects of maximum sales load.)
1 YEAR 5 YEARS 10 YEARS CLASS A Return before Taxes -36.83 -2.40 -2.80 Return after Taxes on Distributions -36.87 -2.43 -3.22 Return after Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares -25.90* -2.22* -2.57* CLASS B (Return before Taxes) -35.12 -1.97 -2.87 CLASS C (Return before Taxes) -33.54 -2.05 -3.00 CLASS R (Return before Taxes) -33.24 -1.54 -2.54 RUSSELL 1000 (Reg. TM) GROWTH INDEX (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) -38.44 -3.42 -4.27 STANDARD & POOR'S 500 INDEX (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) -37.00 -2.19 -1.38
Total returns would have been lower if operating expenses hadn't been reduced. On April 1, 2009, the Russell 1000 Growth Index will replace the S&P 500 as the fund's benchmark index because the Advisor believes that it more accurately reflects the fund's investment strategy. * Return after Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares is higher than other return figures for the same period due to a capital loss occurring upon redemption resulting in an assumed tax deduction for the shareholder. RUSSELL 1000 (Reg. TM) GROWTH INDEX is an unmanaged index that consists of those stocks in the Russell 1000 (Reg. TM) Index that have higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values. Russell 1000 (Reg. TM) Index is an unmanaged price-only index of the 1,000 largest capitalized companies that are domiciled in the US and whose common stocks are traded. STANDARD & POOR'S 500 INDEX (S&P 500) is an unmanaged, capitalization-weighted index of 500 stocks. The index is designed to measure performance of the broad domestic economy through changes in the aggregate market value of 500 stocks representing all major industries. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current performance may be higher or lower than the performance data quoted above. For more recent performance information, call your financial advisor or (800) 621-1048 or visit our Web site at www.dws-investments.com. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return information assumes that fund shares were sold at the end of the period. RETURN AFTER TAXES ON DISTRIBUTIONS reflects taxes only on the fund's distributions and not on a shareholder's gain or loss from selling fund shares. RETURN AFTER TAXES ON DISTRIBUTIONS AND SALE OF FUND SHARES reflects taxes on both the fund's distributions and a shareholder's gain or loss from selling fund shares. 16 | DWS Capital Growth Fund ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCE INFORMATION. Owen Fitzpatrick, Lead Manager to the fund, previously managed private accounts with substantially similar investment objectives, policies and strategies as the fund when he was employed by Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management. See the section entitled "Additional Performance Information" for more information. This performance does not represent the performance of the fund and should not be considered an indication of future performance of the fund. HOW MUCH INVESTORS PAY The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold fund shares. This information doesn't include any fees that may be charged by your financial advisor.
FEE TABLE CLASS A CLASS B CLASS C CLASS R SHAREHOLDER FEES, paid directly from your investment _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as % of offering price) 5.75% 1 None None None Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as % of redemption proceeds) None 2 4.00% 1.00% None Redemption/Exchange fee on shares owned less than 15 days (as % of redemption proceeds) 3 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00% ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSES, deducted from fund assets _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Management Fee 0.46 % 0.46% 0.46% 0.46% Distribution/Service (12b-1) Fee 0.24 0.99 1.00 0.50 Other Expenses 4 0.37 0.57 0.43 0.45 TOTAL ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSES 5 1.07 2.02 1.89 1.41
1 Because of rounding in the calculation of the offering price, the actual maximum front-end sales charge paid by an investor may be higher than the percentage noted (see "Choosing a Share Class - Class A shares"). 2 The redemption of shares purchased at net asset value under the Large Order NAV Purchase Privilege (see "Choosing a Share Class - Class A shares") may be subject to a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00% if redeemed within 12 months of purchase and 0.50% if redeemed within the following six months. 3 This fee is charged on all applicable redemptions or exchanges. Please see "Policies You Should Know About - Policies about transactions" for further information. 4 "Other Expenses" include an administrative services fee paid to the Advisor in the amount of 0.10% of average daily net assets. 5 Except as otherwise noted, the information in the table is based on amounts incurred during the fund's most recent fiscal year. It is important for you to understand that a decline in the fund's average net assets during the current fiscal year due to recent unprecedented market volatility or other factors could cause the fund's expense ratios for the fund's current fiscal year to be higher than the expense information presented. DWS Capital Growth Fund | 17 Based on the costs above, this example helps you compare the expenses of the Fund to those of other mutual funds. This example assumes the expenses above remain the same. It also assumes that you invested $10,000, earned 5% annual returns and reinvested all dividends and distributions. This is only an example; actual expenses will be different.
EXAMPLE 1 YEAR 3 YEARS 5 YEARS 10 YEARS EXPENSES, assuming you sold your shares at the end of each period _________________________________________________________________________ Class A shares $678 $896 $1,131 $1,806 Class B shares* 605 934 1,288 1,877 Class C shares 292 594 1,021 2,212 Class R shares 144 446 771 1,691 EXPENSES, assuming you kept your shares _________________________________________________________________________ Class A shares $678 $896 $1,131 $1,806 Class B shares* 205 634 1,088 1,877 Class C shares 192 594 1,021 2,212 Class R shares 144 446 771 1,691
* Reflects conversion of Class B to Class A shares, which pay lower fees. Conversion occurs six years after purchase. 18 | DWS Capital Growth Fund Class A Class B Class C ticker symbol SZCAX SZCBX SZCCX fund number 439 639 739 DWS SMALL CAP CORE FUND
THE FUND'S MAIN INVESTMENT STRATEGY The fund seeks to provide long-term capital growth. Under normal circumstances, the fund invests at least 80% of net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in common stocks of small US companies with potential for above-average long-term capital growth. These companies are similar in size to the companies in the Russell 2000 (Reg. TM) Index (as of December 31, 2008, the Russell 2000 Index had a median market capitalization of $319 million). The fund intends to invest in companies whose market capitalizations fall within the normal range of the Russell 2000 Index. While the fund invests primarily in common stocks, it may invest up to 20% of total assets in US government securities. The fund may also invest in other types of equity securities such as preferred stocks or convertible securities. A quantitative stock valuation model compares each company's stock price to the company's earnings, book value, sales and other measures of performance potential. The portfolio managers believe that by combining techniques used by fundamental value investors with extensive growth and earnings analysis they can minimize investment style bias and ultimately produce a "pure" stock selection process that seeks to add value in any market environment. The team also incorporates technical analysis to capture short-term price changes and evaluate the market's responsiveness to new information. The portfolio managers then build a diversified portfolio of attractively rated companies. The portfolio managers will normally sell a stock when they believe it is too highly valued, its fundamental qualities have deteriorated, when its potential risks have increased or when the company no longer qualifies as a small company. DWS Small Cap Core Fund | 19 DERIVATIVES AND OTHER INVESTMENTS. The fund is permitted, but not required, to use various types of derivatives (contracts whose value is based on, for example, indices, currencies or securities). Derivatives may be used for hedging and for risk management or for non-hedging purposes to seek to enhance potential gains. The fund may use derivatives in circumstances where portfolio management believes they offer an economical means of gaining exposure to a particular asset class or to keep cash on hand to meet shareholder redemptions or other needs while maintaining exposure to the market. SECURITIES LENDING. The fund may lend its investment securities in an amount up to 33 1/3% of its total assets to approved institutional borrowers who need to borrow securities in order to complete certain transactions. THE MAIN RISKS OF INVESTING IN THE FUND 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. STOCK MARKET RISK. The fund is affected by how the stock market performs. To the extent the fund invests in a particular capitalization or market sector, the fund's performance may be proportionately affected by that segment's general performance. When stock prices fall, you should expect the value of your investment to fall as well. Because a stock represents ownership in its issuer, stock prices can be hurt by poor management, shrinking product demand and other business risks. These factors may affect single companies as well as groups of companies. In addition, movements in financial markets may adversely affect a stock's price, regardless of how well the company performs. The market as a whole may not favor the types of investments the fund makes, which could affect the fund's ability to sell them at an attractive price. SMALL COMPANY CAPITALIZATION RISK. Small company stocks tend to experience steeper price fluctuations than the stocks of larger companies. A shortage of reliable information can also pose added risk to small company stocks. Industry-wide reversals may have a greater impact on small THE FOLLOWING SIDEBAR TEXT APPEARS NEXT TO THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPHS This fund is designed for long-term investors looking for broad exposure to small company stocks. 20 | DWS Small Cap Core Fund companies, since they lack the financial resources of larger companies. Small company stocks are typically less liquid than large company stocks. Accordingly, it may be harder to find buyers for small company shares. INDUSTRY RISK. While the fund does not concentrate in any industry, to the extent that the fund has exposure to a given industry or sector, any factors affecting that industry or sector could affect the value of portfolio securities. For example, manufacturers of consumer goods could be hurt by a rise in unemployment or technology companies could be hurt by such factors as market saturation, price competition and rapid obsolescence. SECURITY SELECTION RISK. A risk that pervades all investing is the risk that the securities in the fund's portfolio may decline in value. SECURITIES LENDING RISK. Any loss in the market price of securities loaned by the fund that occurs during the term of the loan would be borne by the fund and would adversely affect the fund's performance. Also, there may be delays in recovery of securities loaned or even a loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially while the loan is outstanding. However, loans will be made only to borrowers selected by the fund's delegate after a review of relevant facts and circumstances, including the creditworthiness of the borrower. Other factors that could affect performance include: - portfolio management could be wrong in the analysis of industries, companies, economic trends, the relative attractiveness of different securities or other matters. - derivatives could produce disproportionate losses due to a variety of factors, including the failure of the counterparty to meet its obligations or unexpected price or interest rate movements. DWS Small Cap Core Fund | 21 THE FUND'S PERFORMANCE HISTORY While a fund's past performance (before and after taxes) isn't necessarily a sign of how it will do in the future, it can be valuable for an investor to know. The bar chart shows how the performance of the fund's Class A shares has varied from year to year, which may give some idea of risk. The bar chart does not reflect sales loads; if it did, total returns would be lower than those shown. The table on the following page shows how fund performance compares to relevant index performance (which, unlike fund performance, does not reflect fees or expenses). The table includes the effects of maximum sales loads on fund performance. The performance of the fund and the index information varies over time. All figures assume reinvestment of dividends and distributions (in the case of after-tax returns, reinvested net of assumed tax rates). The table shows returns for Class A shares on a before-tax and after-tax basis. After-tax returns are shown for Class A only and will vary for Classes B and C. After-tax returns are estimates calculated using the historical highest marginal individual federal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown in the table. After-tax returns shown are not relevant for investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. On July 17, 2000, the fund was reorganized from AARP Small Company Stock Fund, a series of AARP Growth Trust, into Class AARP of Scudder Small Company Stock Fund, a newly created series of Investment Trust. Effective February 6, 2006 Scudder Small Company Stock Fund changed its name to DWS Small Cap Core Fund. The inception date for Classes A, B and C shares is June 25, 2001. In the bar chart, the performance figures for Class A shares for the periods prior to its inception are based on the historical performance of the fund's original share class (Class AARP) and prior to July 17, 2000, the performance of AARP Small Company Stock Fund, each adjusted to reflect the higher gross total annual operating expenses of Class A. In the table, the performance figures for each share class for the periods prior to its inception are based on the historical performance of the fund's original shares class (Class AARP) and prior to July 17, 2000, the performance of AARP Small Company Stock Fund, each adjusted to reflect both the higher gross total annual operating expenses of Classes A, B or C and the current applicable sales charges of Classes A, B or C. Class AARP shares were merged into Class S shares of the fund on July 14, 2006. Class S shares are offered in a separate prospectus. DWS Small Cap Core Fund ANNUAL TOTAL RETURN (%) AS OF 12/31 EACH YEAR - CLASS A (Results do not reflect sales loads; if they did, total returns would be lower than those shown.) [BAR GRAPHIC OMITTED HERE] [BAR GRAPHIC DATA] - -6.50 -3.80 -2.16 9.25 -13.16 48.56 16.37 2.53 15.21 -11.66 -38.48 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
FOR THE PERIODS INCLUDED IN THE BAR CHART: BEST QUARTER: 21.83%, Q2 2003 WORST QUARTER: -27.55%, Q4 2008
22 | DWS Small Cap Core Fund AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS (%) as of 12/31/2008 (Fund returns include the effects of maximum sales load.)
1 YEAR 5 YEARS 10 YEARS CLASS A Return before Taxes -42.01 -6.77 -0.68 Return after Taxes on Distributions -42.03 -9.03 -1.97 Return after Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares -29.31* -6.84* -1.26* CLASS B (Return before Taxes) -40.76 -6.51 -0.89 CLASS C (Return before Taxes) -39.01 -6.38 -0.87 RUSSELL (Reg. TM) 2000 INDEX (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) -33.79 -0.93 3.02
Total returns would have been lower if operating expenses hadn't been reduced. * Return after Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares is higher than other return figures for the same period due to a capital loss occurring upon redemption resulting in an assumed tax deduction for the shareholder. RUSSELL 2000 (Reg. TM) INDEX is an unmanaged capitalization-weighted measure of approximately 2,000 small US stocks. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current performance may be higher or lower than the performance data quoted above. For more recent performance information, call your financial advisor or (800) 621-1048 or visit our Web site at www.dws-investments.com. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return information assumes that fund shares were sold at the end of the period. RETURN AFTER TAXES ON DISTRIBUTIONS reflects taxes only on the fund's distributions and not on a shareholder's gain or loss from selling fund shares. RETURN AFTER TAXES ON DISTRIBUTIONS AND SALE OF FUND SHARES reflects taxes on both the fund's distributions and a shareholder's gain or loss from selling fund shares. DWS Small Cap Core Fund | 23 HOW MUCH INVESTORS PAY The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold fund shares. This information doesn't include any fees that may be charged by your financial advisor.
FEE TABLE CLASS A CLASS B CLASS C SHAREHOLDER FEES, paid directly from your investment ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as % of offering price) 5.75% 1 None None Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as % of redemption proceeds) None 2 4.00% 1.00% Redemption/Exchange fee on shares owned less than 15 days (as % of redemption proceeds) 3 2.00 2.00 2.00 ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSES, deducted from fund assets ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Management Fee 0.67% 0.67% 0.67% Distribution/Service (12b-1) Fee 0.24 1.00 1.00 Other Expenses 4 0.67 0.77 0.68 TOTAL ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSES 5,6 1.58 2.44 2.35
1 Because of rounding in the calculation of the offering price, the actual maximum front-end sales charge paid by an investor may be higher than the percentage noted (see "Choosing a Share Class - Class A shares"). 2 The redemption of shares purchased at net asset value under the Large Order NAV Purchase Privilege (see "Choosing a Share Class - Class A shares") may be subject to a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00% if redeemed within 12 months of purchase and 0.50% if redeemed within the following six months. 3 This fee is charged on all applicable redemptions or exchanges. Please see "Policies You Should Know About - Policies about transactions" for further information. 4 "Other Expenses" include an administrative services fee paid to the Advisor in the amount of 0.10% of average daily net assets. 5 Through September 30, 2009, the Advisor has contractually agreed to waive all or a portion of its management fee and reimburse or pay operating expenses of the fund to the extent necessary to maintain the fund's total annual operating expenses at 1.52%, 2.27% and 2.27% for Class A, B and C shares, respectively, excluding certain expenses such as extraordinary expenses, taxes, brokerage and interest. 6 Except as otherwise noted, the information in the table is based on amounts incurred during the fund's most recent fiscal year. It is important for you to understand that a decline in the fund's average net assets during the current fiscal year due to recent unprecedented market volatility or other factors could cause the fund's expense ratios for the fund's current fiscal year to be higher than the expense information presented. 24 | DWS Small Cap Core Fund Based on the costs above, this example helps you compare the expenses of the Fund to those of other mutual funds. This example assumes the expenses above remain the same. It also assumes that you invested $10,000, earned 5% annual returns and reinvested all dividends and distributions. This is only an example; actual expenses will be different.
EXAMPLE 1 YEAR 3 YEARS 5 YEARS 10 YEARS EXPENSES, assuming you sold your shares at the end of each period _________________________________________________________________________ Class A shares $726 $1,045 $1,386 $2,345 Class B shares* 647 1,061 1,501 2,368 Class C shares 338 733 1,255 2,686 EXPENSES, assuming you kept your shares _________________________________________________________________________ Class A shares $726 $1,045 $1,386 $2,345 Class B shares* 247 761 1,301 2,368 Class C shares 238 733 1,255 2,686
* Reflects conversion of Class B to Class A shares, which pay lower fees. Conversion occurs six years after purchase. DWS Small Cap Core Fund | 25 Class A Class B Class C ticker symbol KBCAX KBCBX KBCCX fund number 031 231 331 DWS BLUE CHIP FUND
THE FUND'S MAIN INVESTMENT STRATEGY The fund seeks growth of capital and of income. Under normal circumstances, the fund invests at least 80% of net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in common stocks of large US companies that are similar in size to the companies in the S&P 500 Index (as of December 31, 2008, the S&P 500 Index had a median market capitalization of $6.4 billion) and that the portfolio managers consider to be "blue chip" companies. Blue chip companies are large, well-known companies that typically have an established earnings and dividends history, easy access to credit, solid positions in their industry and strong management. While the fund invests mainly in US common stocks, it could invest up to 20% of net assets in foreign securities. The fund may also invest in other types of equity securities such as preferred stocks or convertible securities. The portfolio managers look for "blue chip" companies whose stock price is attractive relative to potential growth. The portfolio managers use quantitative stock techniques and fundamental equity analysis to evaluate each company's stock price relative to the company's earnings, operating trends, market outlook and other measures of performance potential. The portfolio managers will normally sell a stock when the managers believe its fundamental factors have changed, other investments offer better opportunities or in the course of adjusting the fund's emphasis on or within a given industry. DERIVATIVES AND OTHER INVESTMENTS. The fund is permitted, but not required, to use various types of derivatives (contracts whose value is based on, for example, indices, currencies or securities). Derivatives may be used for hedging and for risk management or for non-hedging purposes to seek to enhance potential gains. The fund may use derivatives in circumstances 26 | DWS Blue Chip Fund where portfolio management believes they offer an economical means of gaining exposure to a particular asset class or to keep cash on hand to meet shareholder redemptions or other needs while maintaining exposure to the market. SECURITIES LENDING. The fund may lend its investment securities in an amount up to 33 1/3% of its total assets to approved institutional borrowers who need to borrow securities in order to complete certain transactions. THE MAIN RISKS OF INVESTING IN THE FUND 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. STOCK MARKET RISK. The fund is affected by how the stock market performs. To the extent the fund invests in a particular capitalization or market sector, the fund's performance may be proportionately affected by that segment's general performance. When stock prices fall, you should expect the value of your investment to fall as well. Because a stock represents ownership in its issuer, stock prices can be hurt by poor management, shrinking product demand and other business risks. These factors may affect single companies as well as groups of companies. In addition, movements in financial markets may adversely affect a stock's price, regardless of how well the company performs. The market as a whole may not favor the types of investments the fund makes, which could affect the fund's ability to sell them at an attractive price. INDUSTRY RISK. While the fund does not concentrate in any industry, to the extent that the fund has exposure to a given industry or sector, any factors affecting that industry or sector could affect the value of portfolio securities. For example, manufacturers of consumer goods could be hurt by a rise in unemployment or technology companies could be hurt by such factors as market saturation, price competition and rapid obsolescence. SECURITY SELECTION RISK. A risk that pervades all investing is the risk that the securities in the fund's portfolio may decline in value. THE FOLLOWING SIDEBAR TEXT APPEARS NEXT TO THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPHS This fund is designed for investors with long-term goals who are interested in a core stock investment. DWS Blue Chip Fund | 27 SECURITIES LENDING RISK. Any loss in the market price of securities loaned by the fund that occurs during the term of the loan would be borne by the fund and would adversely affect the fund's performance. Also, there may be delays in recovery of securities loaned or even a loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially while the loan is outstanding. However, loans will be made only to borrowers selected by the fund's delegate after a review of relevant facts and circumstances, including the creditworthiness of the borrower. Other factors that could affect performance include: - portfolio management could be wrong in the analysis of industries, companies, economic trends, the relative attractiveness of different securities or other matters. - foreign securities may be more volatile than their US counterparts, for reasons such as currency fluctuations and political and economic uncertainty. - derivatives could produce disproportionate losses due to a variety of factors, including the failure of the counterparty to meet its obligations or unexpected price or interest rate movements. 28 | DWS Blue Chip Fund THE FUND'S PERFORMANCE HISTORY While a fund's past performance (before and after taxes) isn't necessarily a sign of how it will do in the future, it can be valuable for an investor to know. The bar chart shows how the performance of the fund's Class A shares has varied from year to year, which may give some idea of risk. The bar chart does not reflect sales loads; if it did, total returns would be lower than those shown. The table on the following page shows how fund performance compares to relevant index performance (which, unlike fund performance, does not reflect fees or expenses). The table includes the effects of maximum sales loads on fund performance. The performance of the fund and the index information varies over time. All figures assume reinvestment of dividends and distributions (in the case of after-tax returns, reinvested net of assumed tax rates). The table shows returns for Class A shares on a before-tax and after-tax basis. After-tax returns are shown for Class A only and will vary for Classes B and C. After-tax returns are estimates calculated using the historical highest marginal individual federal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown in the table. After-tax returns shown are not relevant for investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. DWS Blue Chip Fund ANNUAL TOTAL RETURN (%) AS OF 12/31 EACH YEAR - CLASS A (Results do not reflect sales loads; if they did, total returns would be lower than those shown.) [BAR GRAPHIC OMITTED HERE] [BAR GRAPHIC DATA] 14.40 26.08 -8.67 -16.89 -22.66 28.74 15.54 7.23 14.19 3.16 -38.77 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
FOR THE PERIODS INCLUDED IN THE BAR CHART: BEST QUARTER: 17.65%, Q4 1999 WORST QUARTER: -22.03%, Q4 2008
DWS Blue Chip Fund | 29 AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS (%) as of 12/31/2008 (Fund returns include the effects of maximum sales load.)
1 YEAR 5 YEARS 10 YEARS CLASS A Return before Taxes -42.29 -3.38 -2.18 Return after Taxes on Distributions -42.38 -4.64 -2.95 Return after Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares -27.37* -2.92* -1.86* CLASS B (Return before Taxes) -41.16 -3.21 -2.44 CLASS C (Return before Taxes) -39.27 -2.99 -2.36 RUSSELL 1000 (Reg. TM) INDEX (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) -37.60 -2.04 -1.09 STANDARD & POOR'S 500 INDEX (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) -37.00 -2.19 -1.38
Total returns would have been lower if operating expenses hadn't been reduced. * Return after Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares is higher than other return figures for the same period due to a capital loss occurring upon redemption resulting in an assumed tax deduction for the shareholder. RUSSELL 1000 (Reg. TM) INDEX is an unmanaged price-only index of the 1,000 largest capitalized companies that are domiciled in the US and whose common stocks are traded. STANDARD & POOR'S 500 INDEX (S&P 500) is an unmanaged, capitalization-weighted index of 500 stocks. The index is designed to measure performance of the broad domestic economy through changes in the aggregate market value of 500 stocks representing all major industries. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current performance may be higher or lower than the performance data quoted above. For more recent performance information, call your financial advisor or (800) 621-1048 or visit our Web site at www.dws-investments.com. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return information assumes that fund shares were sold at the end of the period. RETURN AFTER TAXES ON DISTRIBUTIONS reflects taxes only on the fund's distributions and not on a shareholder's gain or loss from selling fund shares. RETURN AFTER TAXES ON DISTRIBUTIONS AND SALE OF FUND SHARES reflects taxes on both the fund's distributions and a shareholder's gain or loss from selling fund shares. 30 | DWS Blue Chip Fund HOW MUCH INVESTORS PAY The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold fund shares. This information doesn't include any fees that may be charged by your financial advisor.
FEE TABLE CLASS A CLASS B CLASS C SHAREHOLDER FEES, paid directly from your investment ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as % of offering price) 5.75% 1 None None Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as % of redemption proceeds) None 2 4.00% 1.00% Redemption/Exchange fee on shares owned less than 15 days (as % of redemption proceeds) 3 2.00 2.00 2.00 ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSES, deducted from fund assets ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Management Fee4 0.47% 0.47% 0.47% Distribution/Service (12b-1) Fee 0.24 1.00 1.00 Other Expenses 5 0.42 0.57 0.44 TOTAL ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSES 6,7 1.13 2.04 1.91
1 Because of rounding in the calculation of the offering price, the actual maximum front-end sales charge paid by an investor may be higher than the percentage noted (see "Choosing a Share Class - Class A shares"). 2 The redemption of shares purchased at net asset value under the Large Order NAV Purchase Privilege (see "Choosing a Share Class - Class A shares") may be subject to a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00% if redeemed within 12 months of purchase and 0.50% if redeemed within the following six months. 3 This fee is charged on all applicable redemptions or exchanges. Please see "Policies You Should Know About - Policies about transactions" for further information. 4 Restated on an annualized basis to reflect fee changes which took effect on June 1, 2008. 5 "Other Expenses" include an administrative services fee paid to the Advisor in the amount of 0.10% of average daily net assets. 6 Through September 30, 2009, the Advisor has contractually agreed to waive all or a portion of its management fee and reimburse or pay operating expenses of the fund to the extent necessary to maintain the fund's total operating expenses at 2.08% for Class B shares, excluding certain expenses such as extraordinary expenses, taxes, brokerage and interest. 7 Except as otherwise noted, the information in the table is based on amounts incurred during the fund's most recent fiscal year. It is important for you to understand that a decline in the fund's average net assets during the current fiscal year due to recent unprecedented market volatility or other factors could cause the fund's expense ratios for the fund's current fiscal year to be higher than the expense information presented. DWS Blue Chip Fund | 31 Based on the costs above, this example helps you compare the expenses of the Fund to those of other mutual funds. This example assumes the expenses above remain the same. It also assumes that you invested $10,000, earned 5% annual returns and reinvested all dividends and distributions. This is only an example; actual expenses will be different.
EXAMPLE 1 YEAR 3 YEARS 5 YEARS 10 YEARS EXPENSES, assuming you sold your shares at the end of each period _________________________________________________________________________ Class A shares $684 $913 $1,161 $1,871 Class B shares* 607 940 1,298 1,919 Class C shares 294 600 1,032 2,233 EXPENSES, assuming you kept your shares _________________________________________________________________________ Class A shares $684 $913 $1,161 $1,871 Class B shares* 207 640 1,098 1,919 Class C shares 194 600 1,032 2,233
* Reflects conversion of Class B to Class A shares, which pay lower fees. Conversion occurs six years after purchase. 32 | DWS Blue Chip Fund OTHER POLICIES AND SECONDARY RISKS While the previous pages describe the main points of each fund's strategy and risks, there are a few other issues to know about: - Although major changes tend to be infrequent, each fund's Board could change a fund's investment objective without seeking shareholder approval. A fund's Board will provide shareholders with at least 60 days' notice prior to making any changes to the 80% investment policy of DWS Small Cap Core Fund or DWS Blue Chip Fund as described herein. - As a temporary defensive measure, each fund could shift up to 100% of assets into investments such as money market securities or other short-term securities that offer comparable levels of risk. This could prevent losses, but, while engaged in a temporary defensive position, a fund will not be pursuing its investment objective. However, portfolio management may choose not to use these strategies for various reasons, even in volatile market conditions. - Each fund may trade actively. This could raise transaction costs (thus lowering return) and could mean increased taxable distributions to shareholders and distributions that will be taxable to shareholders at higher federal income tax rates. - Certain DWS fund-of-funds are permitted to invest in each fund. As a result, a fund may have large inflows or outflows of cash from time to time. This could have adverse effects on a fund's performance if a fund were required to sell securities or invest cash at times when it otherwise would not do so. This activity could also accelerate the realization of capital gains and increase a fund's transaction costs. The Advisor will monitor the impact of these transactions and a fund may discontinue such arrangements if they are not deemed to be in the best interests of a fund. Secondary risks The risk disclosure below applies to each fund, unless otherwise noted. DERIVATIVES RISK. Risks associated with derivatives include the risk that the derivative is not well correlated with the security, index or currency to which it relates; the risk that derivatives may result in losses or missed opportunities; the risk that the fund will be unable to sell the derivative because of an illiquid Other Policies and Secondary Risks | 33 secondary market; the risk that a counterparty is unwilling or unable to meet its obligation; and the risk that the derivative transaction could expose the fund to the effects of leverage, which could increase the fund's exposure to the market and magnify potential losses. There is no guarantee that derivatives, to the extent employed, will have the intended effect, and their use could cause lower returns or even losses to the fund. The use of derivatives by the fund to hedge risk may reduce the opportunity for gain by offsetting the positive effect of favorable price movements. PRICING RISK. At times, market conditions may make it difficult to value some investments, and the fund may use certain valuation methodologies for some of its investments, such as fair value pricing. Given the subjective nature of such valuation methodologies, it is possible that the value determined for an investment may be different than the value realized upon such investment's sale. If the fund has valued its securities too highly, you may pay too much for fund shares when you buy into the fund. If the fund has underestimated the price of its securities, you may not receive the full market value when you sell your fund shares. IPO RISK. Securities purchased in initial public offerings (IPOs) may be very volatile. The price of such securities may rise and fall rapidly, often based, among other reasons, on investor perceptions rather than economic reasons. Additionally, investments in IPOs may magnify the fund's performance if it has a small asset base. The fund is less likely to experience a similar impact on its performance as its assets grow because it is unlikely that the fund will obtain proportionately larger IPO allocations. For more information This prospectus doesn't tell you about every policy or risk of investing in each fund. If you want more information on each fund's allowable securities and investment practices and the characteristics and risks of each one, you may want to request a copy of the Statement of Additional Information (the back cover tells you how to do this). Keep in mind that there is no assurance that a fund will achieve its investment objective. 34 | Other Policies and Secondary Risks A complete list of each fund's portfolio holdings as of the month-end is posted on www.dws-investments.com on or about the 15th day of the following month. More frequent posting of portfolio holdings information may be made from time to time on www.dws-investments.com. The posted portfolio holdings information is available by fund and generally remains accessible at least until the date on which a fund files its Form N-CSR or N-Q with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the period that includes the date as of which the posted information is current. Each fund's Statement of Additional Information includes a description of a fund's policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of a fund's portfolio holdings. WHO MANAGES AND OVERSEES THE FUNDS The investment advisor Deutsche Investment Management Americas Inc. ("DIMA" or the "Advisor"), with headquarters at 345 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10154, is the investment advisor for each fund. Under the oversight of the Board, the Advisor makes investment decisions, buys and sells securities for each fund and conducts research that leads to these purchase and sale decisions. The Advisor provides a full range of global investment advisory services to institutional and retail clients. DWS Investments is part of Deutsche Bank's Asset Management division and, within the US, represents the retail asset management activities of Deutsche Bank AG, Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, DIMA and DWS Trust Company. Deutsche Asset Management is a global asset management organization that offers a wide range of investing expertise and resources, including hundreds of portfolio managers and analysts and an office network that reaches the world's major investment centers. This well-resourced global investment platform brings together a wide variety of experience and investment insight across industries, regions, asset classes and investing styles. The Advisor is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Bank AG. Deutsche Bank AG is a major global banking institution that is engaged in a wide range of financial services, including investment management, mutual funds, retail, private and commercial banking, investment banking and insurance. Who Manages and Oversees the Funds | 35 MANAGEMENT FEE. The Advisor receives a management fee from each fund. Below are the actual rates paid by each fund for the most recent fiscal year, as a percentage of each fund's average daily net assets.
FUND NAME FEE PAID DWS Growth & Income Fund 0.35% DWS Capital Growth Fund 0.46% DWS Small Cap Core Fund 0.67% DWS Blue Chip Fund 0.53%
Effective June 1, 2008, DWS Blue Chip Fund pays the Advisor a fee, calculated daily and paid monthly, at the annual rate of 0.48% of the fund's average daily net assets up to $250 million, 0.45% of the next $750 million, 0.43% of the next $1.5 billion, 0.41% of the next $2.5 billion, 0.38% of the next $2.5 billion, 0.36% of the next $2.5 billion, 0.34% of next $2.5 billion and 0.32% thereafter. A discussion regarding the basis for the Board's approval of each fund's investment management agreement is contained in the most recent shareholder report for the annual period ended October 31 for DWS Blue Chip Fund and September 30 for DWS Growth & Income Fund, DWS Capital Growth Fund and DWS Small Cap Core Fund (see "Shareholder reports" on the back cover). Under a separate administrative services agreement between each fund and the Advisor, each fund pays the Advisor a fee for providing most of each fund's administrative services. 36 | Who Manages and Oversees the Funds Portfolio management DWS Growth & Income Fund is managed by a team of investment professionals who collaborate to implement the fund's investment strategy. The team is led by a lead portfolio manager who is responsible for developing the fund's investment strategy. Each portfolio manager on the team has authority over all aspects of the fund's investment portfolio, including but not limited to, purchases and sales of individual securities, portfolio construction techniques, portfolio risk assessment, and the management of daily cash flows in accordance with portfolio holdings. The following people handle the day-to-day management of DWS Growth & Income Fund: Robert Wang Managing Director of Deutsche Asset Management and Portfolio Manager of the fund. - - Joined Deutsche Asset Management in 1995 as portfolio manager for asset allocation after 13 years of experience trading fixed income and derivative securities at J.P. Morgan. - - Senior portfolio manager for Multi Asset Class Quantitative Strategies: New York. - - Joined the fund in 2007. - - BS, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. James B. Francis, CFA Director of Deutsche Asset Management and Portfolio Manager of the fund. - - Head of Active Quantitative Equity Portfolio Management: New York. - - Joined Deutsche Asset Management in 2008 after 20 years of experience as senior quantitative global equity portfolio manager at State Street Global Advisors, and most recently, Northern Trust Global Investments. - - BS in Applied Mathematics from University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Julie Abbett Director of Deutsche Asset Management and Portfolio Manager of the fund. - - Senior portfolio manager for Global Quantitative Equity: New York. - - Joined Deutsche Asset Management in 2000 after four years of combined experience as a consultant with equity trading services for BARRA, Inc. and a product developer for FactSet Research. - - Joined the fund in 2007. - - BA, University of Connecticut. Who Manages and Oversees the Funds | 37 DWS Capital Growth Fund is managed by a team of investment professionals who collaborate to implement the fund's investment strategy. The team is led by a lead manager who is responsible for developing the fund's investment strategy. Each portfolio manager on the team has authority over all aspects of the fund's investment portfolio, including but not limited to, purchases and sales of individual securities, portfolio construction techniques, portfolio risk assessment, and the management of daily cash flows in accordance with portfolio holdings. The following people handle the day-to-day management of DWS Capital Growth Fund: Owen Fitzpatrick, CFA Managing Director of Deutsche Asset Management and Lead Manager of the fund. - - Joined Deutsche Asset Management and the fund in 2009. - - Prior to joining Deutsche Assets Management, he was Managing Director of Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management and served as head of U.S. Equity Strategy and manager of the U.S. large cap core, value and growth portfolios and member of the U.S. Investment Committee and head of the Equity Strategy Group. - - Previous experience includes over 21 years of experience in trust and investment management. Prior to joining Deutsche Bank in 1995, managed an equity income fund, trust and advisory relationships for Princeton Bank & Trust Company, where he was also responsible for research coverage of the consumer cyclical sector. Previously served as a portfolio manager at Manufacturer's Hanover Trust Company. - - BA and MBA, Fordham University. Richard Shepley Managing Director of Deutsche Asset Management and Portfolio Manager of the fund. - - Joined Deutsche Asset Management in 1998 and the fund in 2007. - - Previous experience includes eight years of investment industry experience as research analyst for global beverage and media sectors at Newton Investment Management and assistant manager in corporate tax and corporate insolvency department at PriceWaterhouse, London. - - MA, Oxford University. Brendan O'Neill, CFA Director of Deutsche Asset Management and Portfolio Manager of the fund. - - Joined Deutsche Asset Management in 2000 and joined DWS Large Company Growth Fund in 2007 and DWS Capital Growth Fund in 2009. - - Equity Research Analyst covering the financial services sector since 2001. - - Previously served as a member of the Large Cap Core Equity team. - - BA, Queens College, CUNY; MS, Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College. 38 | Who Manages and Oversees the Funds The following person handles the day-to-day management of DWS Small Cap Core Fund: Di Kumble, Ph.D., CFA Managing Director of Deutsche Asset Management and Portfolio Manager of the fund. - - Joined DB Advisors LLC in 2003 and Deutsche Asset Management in 2005 and has been involved in managing and developing fundamental-based equity strategies. - - Previous experience includes 7 combined years at Graham Capital Management as portfolio manager, Millennium Partners in equity trading, ITG Inc. in quantitative trading strategies development and Morgan Stanley in quantitative equity research. - - Joined the fund in 2008. - - BS, Beijing University; Ph.D., Princeton University. The following person has been named consultant to the Advisor: James W. McDonald Managing Director of Deutsche Asset Management. - - Joined DB Advisors LLC in 2001 and Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas in 2005 and currently serves as Head of Fundamental Value Trading for Deutsche Asset Management (Japan), Limited. - - Previous experience includes 16 combined years in proprietary trading with Credit Suisse First Boston, Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley, and as fund manager with National Bank of New Zealand, and as institutional equity broker with Morgan Stanley in Tokyo. - - Joined the fund in 2008. - - B.A., University of San Francisco; M.B.A., American Graduate School of International Business (Thunderbird). Who Manages and Oversees the Funds | 39 DWS Blue Chip Fund is managed by a team of investment professionals who collaborate to develop and implement the fund's investment strategy. Each portfolio manager has authority over all aspects of the fund's investment portfolio, including, but not limited to, purchases and sales of individual securities, portfolio construction techniques, portfolio risk assessment, and the management of daily cash flows in accordance with portfolio holdings. The following people handle the day-to-day management of DWS Blue Chip Fund: Robert Wang Managing Director of Deutsche Asset Management and Portfolio Manager of the fund. - - Joined Deutsche Asset Management in 1995 as portfolio manager for asset allocation after 13 years of experience trading fixed income and derivative securities at J.P. Morgan. - - Senior portfolio manager for Multi Asset Class Quantitative Strategies: New York. - - Joined the fund in 2003. - - BS, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. James B. Francis, CFA Director of Deutsche Asset Management and Portfolio Manager of the fund. - - Head of Active Quantitative Equity Portfolio Management: New York. - - Joined Deutsche Asset Management in 2008 after 20 years of experience as senior quantitative global equity portfolio manager at State Street Global Advisors, and most recently, Northern Trust Global Investments. - - BS in Applied Mathematics from University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Julie Abbett Director of Deutsche Asset Management and Portfolio Manager of the fund. - - Senior portfolio manager for Global Quantitative Equity: New York. - - Joined Deutsche Asset Management in 2000 after four years of combined experience as a consultant with equity trading services for BARRA, Inc. and a product developer for FactSet Research. - - Joined the fund in 2005. - - BA, University of Connecticut. Each fund's Statement of Additional Information provides additional information about a portfolio manager's investments in each fund, a description of the portfolio management compensation structure and information regarding other accounts managed. 40 | Who Manages and Oversees the Funds ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCE INFORMATION The table below illustrates the performance of a composite of certain private accounts ("Accounts") managed by OWEN FITZPATRICK, the Lead Manager to DWS Capital Growth Fund, while employed by Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management. For more information about Owen Fitzpatrick, please refer to the "Portfolio management" section of this prospectus. Each of the Accounts included in the composite has objectives, policies and strategies substantially similar to those of the fund. As of December 31, 2008, the total assets in the composite were $328 million. Unlike management of the private accounts included in the composite, Owen Fitzpatrick's management of the fund is subject to certain regulatory restrictions (e.g., limits on percentage of assets invested in a single issuer and industry and requirements on distributing income to shareholders) that do not apply to the Accounts. In addition, the fund generally experiences cash flows that are different from those of the Accounts. All of these factors may adversely affect the performance of the fund and cause it to differ from that of the Accounts in the composite described below. Composite results below represent the performance of the Accounts, net of the annual rate of estimated total operating expenses of DWS Capital Growth Fund - Class A, as of December 31, 2008. THE COMPOSITE RESULTS DO NOT REPRESENT THE PERFORMANCE OF THE DWS CAPITAL GROWTH FUND, AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AN INDICATION OF FUTURE PERFORMANCE OF THE FUND. The composite results are not required to be, and were not calculated in accordance with SEC mandated mutual fund performance calculation methodology. The use of such methodology could yield a different result.
AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURN (%)** (AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2008) 1 YEAR 3 YEARS SINCE INCEPTION* FEE ADJUSTED, NO-LOAD (reflects no deduction for sales charge) -33.74% -2.76% 0.51% FEE ADJUSTED, LOAD ADJUSTED** -37.55% -4.66% -0.74% RUSSELL 1000 (Reg. TM) GROWTH INDEX (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) -38.44% -9.11% -3.76% STANDARD & POOR'S 500 INDEX (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) -37.00% -8.36% -2.65%
* Date of Inception is April 1, 2004 which corresponds to the date that Mr. Fitzpatrick became the sole, lead portfolio manager of the Accounts. ** Average Annual Total Returns reflect the gross returns of the Accounts reduced by the estimated net annual operating expenses of the DWS Capital Growth Fund - Class A shares (1.07% annually) and shown both with and without the imposition of sales charges (5.75% for Class A shares). Actual fees and expenses of the Accounts may have Who Manages and Oversees the Funds | 41 been more or less than those of the fund. Returns reflect the reinvestment of dividends and distributions. RUSSELL 1000 (Reg. TM) GROWTH INDEX is an unmanaged index that consists of those stocks in the Russell 1000 (Reg. TM) Index that have higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values. Russell 1000 (Reg. TM) Index is an unmanaged price-only index of the 1,000 largest capitalized companies that are domiciled in the US and whose common stocks are traded. STANDARD & POOR'S 500 INDEX (S&P 500) is an unmanaged, capitalization-weighted index of 500 stocks. The index is designed to measure performance of the broad domestic economy through changes in the aggregate market value of 500 stocks representing all major industries. 42 | Who Manages and Oversees the Funds FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS The financial highlights are designed to help you understand recent financial performance. The figures in the first part of each table are for a single share. The total return figures represent the percentage that an investor in a fund would have earned (or lost), assuming all dividends and distributions were reinvested. The information for DWS Growth & Income Fund, DWS Capital Growth Fund and DWS Small Cap Core Fund has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, and the information for DWS Blue Chip Fund has been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with each fund's financial statements, is included in each fund's annual report (see "Shareholder reports" on the back cover). Financial Highlights | 43 DWS Growth & Income Fund - Class A
YEARS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 SELECTED PER SHARE DATA - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - NET ASSET VALUE, BEGINNING OF PERIOD $ 22.80 $ 22.91 $ 22.38 $ 20.05 $ 18.04 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- Income (loss) from investment operations: Net investment income (loss)a .15 .17 .16d .21 .07 ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) ( 4.76) 2.17 1.68 2.35 1.99 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- TOTAL FROM INVESTMENT OPERATIONS ( 4.61) 2.34 1.84 2.56 2.06 ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Less distributions from: Net investment income ( .14) ( .20) ( .14) ( .23) ( .05) ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Net realized gains ( 4.03) ( 2.25) ( 1.17) - - ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ TOTAL DISTRIBUTIONS ( 4.17) ( 2.45) ( 1.31) ( .23) ( .05) ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Redemption fees .00* .00* .00* .00* - - ------------------------------ -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- NET ASSET VALUE, END OF PERIOD $ 14.02 $ 22.80 $ 22.91 $ 22.38 $ 20.05 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- Total Return (%)b (24.06)c 10.59 8.50d 12.83c 11.44 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- RATIOS TO AVERAGE NET ASSETS AND SUPPLEMENTAL DATA - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------- Net assets, end of period ($ millions) 49 76 80 87 32 ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Ratio of expenses before expense reductions (%) 1.02 1.00 1.02 1.08 1.12 ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Ratio of expenses after expense reductions (%) 1.01 1.00 1.02 1.03 1.12 ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%) .83 .74 .72d .96 .33 ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Portfolio turnover rate (%) 154 271 101 98 26 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- -------- -------- --------
a Based on average shares outstanding during the period. b Total return does not reflect the effect of any sales charges. c Total return would have been lower had certain expenses not been reduced. d Includes non-recurring income from the Advisor recorded as a result of an administrative proceeding regarding disclosure of brokerage allocation practices in connection with sales of DWS Funds. The non-recurring income resulted in an increase in net investment income of $0.032 per share and an increase in the ratio of net investment income of 0.13%. Excluding this non-recurring income, total return would have been 0.14% lower. * Amount is less than $.005. 44 | Financial Highlights DWS Growth & Income Fund - Class B
YEARS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 SELECTED PER SHARE DATA - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - NET ASSET VALUE, BEGINNING OF PERIOD $ 22.27 $ 22.45 $ 22.03 $ 19.78 $ 17.90 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- ------- -------- -------- Income (loss) from investment operations: Net investment income (loss)a ( .01) ( .01) ( .04)d .02 ( .10) ______________________________ ________ ________ _______ ________ ________ Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) ( 4.62) 2.11 1.63 2.31 1.98 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- ------- -------- -------- TOTAL FROM INVESTMENT OPERATIONS ( 4.63) 2.10 1.59 2.33 1.88 ______________________________ ________ ________ _______ ________ ________ Less distributions from: Net investment income ( .01) ( .03) - ( .08) - ______________________________ ________ ________ _______ ________ ________ Net realized gains ( 4.03) ( 2.25) ( 1.17) - - ______________________________ ________ ________ _______ ________ ________ TOTAL DISTRIBUTIONS ( 4.04) ( 2.28) ( 1.17) ( .08) - ______________________________ ________ ________ _______ ________ ________ Redemption fees .00* .00* .00* .00* - - ------------------------------ -------- -------- ------- -------- -------- NET ASSET VALUE, END OF PERIOD $ 13.60 $ 22.27 $ 22.45 $ 22.03 $ 19.78 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- ------- -------- -------- Total Return (%)b (24.77)c 9.61 7.49c,d 11.75c 10.50c - ------------------------------ -------- -------- ------- -------- -------- RATIOS TO AVERAGE NET ASSETS AND SUPPLEMENTAL DATA - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------- Net assets, end of period ($ millions) 4 10 14 20 11 ______________________________ ________ ________ _______ ________ ________ Ratio of expenses before expense reductions (%) 1.96 1.85 2.07 2.08 1.99 ______________________________ ________ ________ _______ ________ ________ Ratio of expenses after expense reductions (%) 1.93 1.85 2.00 1.94 1.97 ______________________________ ________ ________ _______ ________ ________ Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%) ( .09) ( .11) ( .26)d .05 ( .52) ______________________________ ________ ________ _______ ________ ________ Portfolio turnover rate (%) 154 271 101 98 26 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- ------- -------- --------
a Based on average shares outstanding during the period. b Total return does not reflect the effect of any sales charges. c Total return would have been lower had certain expenses not been reduced. d Includes non-recurring income from the Advisor recorded as a result of an administrative proceeding regarding disclosure of brokerage allocation practices in connection with sales of DWS Funds. The non-recurring income resulted in an increase in net investment income of $0.032 per share and an increase in the ratio of net investment income of 0.13%. Excluding this non-recurring income, total return would have been 0.14% lower. * Amount is less than $.005. Financial Highlights | 45 DWS Growth & Income Fund - Class C
YEARS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 SELECTED PER SHARE DATA - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - NET ASSET VALUE, BEGINNING OF PERIOD $ 22.35 $ 22.51 $ 22.04 $ 19.78 $ 17.89 - ------------------------------ -------- ------- -------- -------- -------- Income (loss) from investment operations: Net investment income (loss)a .02 ( .00)* .00 d* .03 ( .10) ______________________________ ________ _______ ________ ________ ________ Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) ( 4.65) 2.13 1.64 2.31 1.99 - ------------------------------ -------- ------- -------- -------- -------- TOTAL FROM INVESTMENT OPERATIONS ( 4.63) 2.13 1.64 2.34 1.89 ______________________________ ________ _______ ________ ________ ________ Less distributions from: Net investment income ( .01) ( .04) - ( .08) - ______________________________ ________ _______ ________ ________ ________ Net realized gains ( 4.03) ( 2.25) ( 1.17) - - ______________________________ ________ _______ ________ ________ ________ TOTAL DISTRIBUTIONS ( 4.04) ( 2.29) ( 1.17) ( .08) - ______________________________ ________ _______ ________ ________ ________ Redemption fees .00* .00* .00* .00* - - ------------------------------ -------- ------- -------- -------- -------- NET ASSET VALUE, END OF PERIOD $ 13.68 $ 22.35 $ 22.51 $ 22.04 $ 19.78 - ------------------------------ -------- ------- -------- -------- -------- Total Return (%)b (24.65) 9.73 7.68d 11.86c 10.56c - ------------------------------ -------- ------- -------- -------- -------- RATIOS TO AVERAGE NET ASSETS AND SUPPLEMENTAL DATA - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------- Net assets, end of period ($ millions) 5 8 9 11 5 ______________________________ ________ _______ ________ ________ ________ Ratio of expenses before expense reductions (%) 1.79 1.79 1.77 1.93 2.02 ______________________________ ________ _______ ________ ________ ________ Ratio of expenses after expense reductions (%) 1.79 1.79 1.77 1.89 1.96 ______________________________ ________ _______ ________ ________ ________ Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%) .05 ( .05) ( .03)d .10 ( .51) ______________________________ ________ _______ ________ ________ ________ Portfolio turnover rate (%) 154 271 101 98 26 - ------------------------------ -------- ------- -------- -------- --------
a Based on average shares outstanding during the period. b Total return does not reflect the effect of any sales charges. c Total return would have been lower had certain expenses not been reduced. d Includes non-recurring income from the Advisor recorded as a result of an administrative proceeding regarding disclosure of brokerage allocation practices in connection with sales of DWS Funds. The non-recurring income resulted in an increase in net investment income of $0.032 per share and an increase in the ratio of net investment income of 0.13%. Excluding this non-recurring income, total return would have been 0.14% lower. * Amount is less than $.005. 46 | Financial Highlights DWS Capital Growth Fund - Class A
YEARS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 SELECTED PER SHARE DATA - --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - NET ASSET VALUE, BEGINNING OF PERIOD $ 56.59 $ 48.07 $ 45.84 $ 40.26 $ 37.08 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- Income (loss) from investment operations: Net investment income (loss)a .12 .15e .06d .14 ( .06) ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) ( 8.54) 8.41 2.17 5.50 3.24 ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ TOTAL FROM INVESTMENT OPERATIONS ( 8.42) 8.56 2.23 5.64 3.18 ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Less distributions from: Net investment income ( .16) ( .04) - ( .06) - ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Redemption fees .00* .00* .00* .00* - - ------------------------------ -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- NET ASSET VALUE, END OF PERIOD $ 48.01 $ 56.59 $ 48.07 $ 45.84 $ 40.26 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- Total Return (%)b,c (14.92) 17.81 4.86d 14.02 8.58 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- RATIOS TO AVERAGE NET ASSETS AND SUPPLEMENTAL DATA - --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------- Net assets, end of year ($ millions) 645 809 780 855 110 ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Ratio of expenses before expense reductions (%) 1.07 1.08 1.16 1.10 1.28 ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Ratio of expenses after expense reductions (%) 1.06 1.07 1.11 1.08 1.25 ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%) .23 .28e .13d .33 ( .15) ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Portfolio turnover rate (%) 27 28 15 19 12 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- -------- -------- --------
a Based on average shares outstanding during the period. b Total return does not reflect the effect of any sales charges. c Total return would have been lower had certain expenses not been reduced. d Includes non-recurring income from the Advisor recorded as a result of an administrative proceeding regarding disclosure of brokerage allocation practices in connection with sales of DWS Funds. The non-recurring income resulted in an increase in net investment income of $0.030 per share and an increase in the ratio of net investment income of 0.06%. Excluding this non-recurring income, total return would have been 0.07% lower. e Net investment income per share and the ratio of net investment income include non-recurring dividend income amounting to $0.08 per share and 0.16% of average daily net assets, respectively. * Amount is less than $.005. Financial Highlights | 47 DWS Capital Growth Fund - Class B
YEARS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 SELECTED PER SHARE DATA - --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - NET ASSET VALUE, BEGINNING OF PERIOD $ 54.27 $ 46.14 $ 44.36 $ 39.25 $ 36.43 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- ------- -------- -------- Income (loss) from investment operations: Net investment income (loss)a .04 .08e ( .30)d ( .24) ( .35) ______________________________ ________ ________ _______ ________ ________ Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) ( 8.22) 8.05 2.08 5.35 3.17 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- ------- -------- -------- TOTAL FROM INVESTMENT OPERATIONS ( 8.18) 8.13 1.78 5.11 2.82 ______________________________ ________ ________ _______ ________ ________ Less distributions from: Net investment income ( .06) - - - - ______________________________ ________ ________ _______ ________ ________ Redemption fees .00* .00* .00* .00* - - ------------------------------ -------- -------- ------- -------- -------- NET ASSET VALUE, END OF PERIOD $ 46.03 $ 54.27 $ 46.14 $ 44.36 $ 39.25 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- ------- -------- -------- Total Return (%)b,c (15.09) 17.62 4.01d 13.02 7.80 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- ------- -------- -------- RATIOS TO AVERAGE NET ASSETS AND SUPPLEMENTAL DATA - --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------- Net assets, end of year ($ millions) 25 42 56 85 39 ______________________________ ________ ________ _______ ________ ________ Ratio of expenses before expense reductions (%) 2.02 2.00 2.21 2.18 2.09 ______________________________ ________ ________ _______ ________ ________ Ratio of expenses after expense reductions (%) 1.27 1.24 1.94 2.01 2.02 ______________________________ ________ ________ _______ ________ ________ Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%) .02 .11e ( .70)d ( .60) ( .92) ______________________________ ________ ________ _______ ________ ________ Portfolio turnover rate (%) 27 28 15 19 12 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- ------- -------- --------
a Based on average shares outstanding during the period. b Total return does not reflect the effect of any sales charges. c Total return would have been lower had certain expenses not been reduced. d Includes non-recurring income from the Advisor recorded as a result of an administrative proceeding regarding disclosure of brokerage allocation practices in connection with sales of DWS Funds. The non-recurring income resulted in an increase in net investment income of $0.030 per share and an increase in the ratio of net investment income of 0.06%. Excluding this non-recurring income, total return would have been 0.07% lower. e Net investment income per share and the ratio of net investment income include non-recurring dividend income amounting to $0.08 per share and 0.16% of average daily net assets, respectively. * Amount is less than $.005. 48 | Financial Highlights DWS Capital Growth Fund - Class C
YEARS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 SELECTED PER SHARE DATA - --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - NET ASSET VALUE, BEGINNING OF PERIOD $ 53.94 $ 46.18 $ 44.40 $ 39.27 $ 36.44 - ------------------------------ -------- ------- ------- -------- -------- Income (loss) from investment operations: Net investment income (loss)a ( .31) ( .26)e ( .29)d ( .23) ( .34) ______________________________ ________ _______ _______ ________ ________ Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) ( 8.11) 8.02 2.07 5.36 3.17 - ------------------------------ -------- ------- ------- -------- -------- TOTAL FROM INVESTMENT OPERATIONS ( 8.42) 7.76 1.78 5.13 2.83 ______________________________ ________ _______ _______ ________ ________ Redemption fees .00* .00* .00* .00* - - ------------------------------ -------- ------- ------- -------- -------- NET ASSET VALUE, END OF PERIOD $ 45.52 $ 53.94 $ 46.18 $ 44.40 $ 39.27 - ------------------------------ -------- ------- ------- -------- -------- Total Return (%)b (15.61) 16.80 4.01d 13.06c 7.79c - ------------------------------ -------- ------- ------- -------- -------- RATIOS TO AVERAGE NET ASSETS AND SUPPLEMENTAL DATA - --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------- Net assets, end of year ($ millions) 26 30 31 35 20 ______________________________ ________ _______ _______ ________ ________ Ratio of expenses before expense reductions (%) 1.89 1.93 1.91 2.12 2.06 ______________________________ ________ _______ _______ ________ ________ Ratio of expenses after expense reductions (%) 1.89 1.93 1.91 1.99 1.99 ______________________________ ________ _______ _______ ________ ________ Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%) ( .60) ( .58)e ( .67)d ( .58) ( .89) ______________________________ ________ _______ _______ ________ ________ Portfolio turnover rate (%) 27 28 15 19 12 - ------------------------------ -------- ------- ------- -------- --------
a Based on average shares outstanding during the period. b Total return does not reflect the effect of any sales charges. c Total return would have been lower had certain expenses not been reduced. d Includes non-recurring income from the Advisor recorded as a result of an administrative proceeding regarding disclosure of brokerage allocation practices in connection with sales of DWS Funds. The non-recurring income resulted in an increase in net investment income of $0.030 per share and an increase in the ratio of net investment income of 0.06%. Excluding this non-recurring income, total return would have been 0.07% lower. e Net investment income per share and the ratio of net investment income include non-recurring dividend income amounting to $0.08 per share and 0.16% of average daily net assets, respectively. * Amount is less than $.005. Financial Highlights | 49 DWS Capital Growth Fund - Class R
YEARS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004A SELECTED PER SHARE DATA - --------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - NET ASSET VALUE, BEGINNING OF PERIOD 56.44 $ 48.08 $ 45.98 $ 40.46 $ 39.45 - ------------------------------ ------ -------- -------- -------- --------- Income (loss) from investment operations: Net investment income (loss)b ( .02) ( .00)e ( .08)d ( .03) ( .09) ______________________________ _______ ________ ________ ________ _________ Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) ( 8.57) 8.36 2.18 5.55 1.13 - ------------------------------ ------- -------- -------- -------- --------- TOTAL FROM INVESTMENT OPERATIONS ( 8.59) 8.36 2.10 5.52 1.04 ______________________________ _______ ________ ________ ________ _________ Less distributions from: Net investment income .00*** - - - ( .03) ______________________________ _______ ________ ________ ________ _________ Redemption fees .00*** .00*** .00*** .00*** - - ------------------------------ ------- -------- -------- -------- --------- NET ASSET VALUE, END OF PERIOD $ 47.85 $ 56.44 $ 48.08 $ 45.98 $ 40.46 - ------------------------------ --------- -------- -------- -------- --------- Total Return (%) (15.22) 17.39 4.57c,d 13.64c 2.63 c** - ------------------------------ --------- -------- -------- -------- --------- RATIOS TO AVERAGE NET ASSETS AND SUPPLEMENTAL DATA - --------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------- --------- Net assets, end of period ($ millions) 35 .41 2 1 .34 ______________________________ _________ ________ ________ ________ _________ Ratio of expenses before expense reductions (%) 1.41 1.35 1.42 1.62 1.64* ______________________________ _________ ________ ________ ________ _________ Ratio of expenses after expense reductions (%) 1.41 1.35 1.40 1.47 1.45* ______________________________ _________ ________ ________ ________ _________ Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%) ( .12) ( .01)e ( .16)d ( .06) ( .35)* ______________________________ _________ ________ ________ ________ _________ Portfolio turnover rate (%) 27 28 15 19 12 - ------------------------------ --------- -------- -------- -------- ---------
a For the period from November 3, 2003 (commencement of operations of Class R shares) to September 30, 2004. b Based on average shares outstanding during the period. c Total return would have been lower had certain expenses not been reduced. d Includes non-recurring income from the Advisor recorded as a result of an administrative proceeding regarding disclosure of brokerage allocation practices in connection with sales of DWS Funds. The non-recurring income resulted in an increase in net investment income of $0.030 per share and an increase in the ratio of net investment income of 0.06%. Excluding this non-recurring income, total return would have been 0.07% lower. e Net investment income per share and the ratio of net investment income include non-recurring dividend income amounting to $0.08 per share and 0.16% of average daily net assets, respectively. * Annualized ** Not annualized *** Amount is less than $.005. 50 | Financial Highlights DWS Small Cap Core Fund - Class A
YEARS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 SELECTED PER SHARE DATA - --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NET ASSET VALUE, BEGINNING OF PERIOD $ 21.77 $ 23.27 $ 25.70 $ 24.87 $ 21.43 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- ------- -------- -------- Income (loss) from investment operations: Net investment income (loss)a ( .02) ( .02) ( .08)c ( .16) ( .15) ______________________________ ________ ________ _______ ________ ________ Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) ( 4.09) 1.19 1.05 4.10 4.29 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- ------- -------- -------- TOTAL FROM INVESTMENT OPERATIONS ( 4.11) 1.17 .97 3.94 4.14 ______________________________ ________ ________ _______ ________ ________ Less distributions from: Net realized gains ( 2.91) ( 2.67) ( 3.40) ( 3.11) ( .70) ______________________________ ________ ________ _______ ________ ________ Redemption fees .00* .00* .00* .00* - - ------------------------------ -------- -------- ------- -------- -------- NET ASSET VALUE, END OF PERIOD $ 14.75 $ 21.77 $ 23.27 $ 25.70 $ 24.87 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- ------- -------- -------- Total Return (%)b (21.02) 4.45 4.41c 16.45 19.45 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- ------- -------- -------- RATIOS TO AVERAGE NET ASSETS AND SUPPLEMENTAL DATA - --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net assets, end of period ($ millions) 6 10 12 12 13 ______________________________ ________ ________ _______ ________ ________ Ratio of expenses (%) 1.58 1.48 1.57 1.50 1.50 ______________________________ ________ ________ _______ ________ ________ Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%) ( .13) ( .12) ( .37)c ( .63) ( .62) ______________________________ ________ ________ _______ ________ ________ Portfolio turnover rate (%) 304 202 205 198 186 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- ------- -------- --------
a Based on average shares outstanding during the period. b Total return does not reflect the effect of any sales charges. c Includes non-recurring income from the Advisor recorded as a result of an administrative proceeding regarding disclosure of brokerage allocation practices in connection with sales of DWS Funds. The non-recurring income resulted in an increase in net investment income of $0.001 per share. Excluding this non-recurring income, total return would have remained the same. * Amount is less than $.005. Financial Highlights | 51 DWS Small Cap Core Fund - Class B
YEARS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 SELECTED PER SHARE DATA - --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NET ASSET VALUE, BEGINNING OF PERIOD $ 20.32 $ 22.04 $ 24.70 $ 24.20 $ 21.03 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- ------- -------- -------- Income (loss) from investment operations: Net investment income (loss)a ( .13) ( .17) ( .25)d ( .36) ( .33) ______________________________ ________ ________ _______ ________ ________ Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) ( 3.76) 1.12 .99 3.97 4.20 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- ------- -------- -------- TOTAL FROM INVESTMENT OPERATIONS ( 3.89) .95 .74 3.61 3.87 ______________________________ ________ ________ _______ ________ ________ Less distributions from: Net realized gains ( 2.91) ( 2.67) ( 3.40) ( 3.11) ( .70) ______________________________ ________ ________ _______ ________ ________ Redemption fees .00* .00* .00* .00* - - ------------------------------ -------- -------- ------- -------- -------- NET ASSET VALUE, END OF PERIOD $ 13.52 $ 20.32 $ 22.04 $ 24.70 $ 24.20 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- ------- -------- -------- Total Return (%)b,c (21.49) 3.62 3.58d 15.50 18.47 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- ------- -------- -------- RATIOS TO AVERAGE NET ASSETS AND SUPPLEMENTAL DATA - --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net assets, end of period ($ millions) 2 3 3 3 3 ______________________________ ________ ________ _______ ________ ________ Ratio of expenses before expense reductions (%) 2.44 2.38 2.39 2.38 2.32 ______________________________ ________ ________ _______ ________ ________ Ratio of expenses after expense reductions (%) 2.25 2.25 2.38 2.35 2.31 ______________________________ ________ ________ _______ ________ ________ Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%) ( .80) ( .89) ( 1.18)d ( 1.48) ( 1.43) ______________________________ ________ ________ _______ ________ ________ Portfolio turnover rate (%) 304 202 205 198 186 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- ------- -------- --------
a Based on average shares outstanding during the period. b Total return does not reflect the effect of any sales charges. c Total return would have been lower had certain expenses not been reduced. d Includes non-recurring income from the Advisor recorded as a result of an administrative proceeding regarding disclosure of brokerage allocation practices in connection with sales of DWS Funds. The non-recurring income resulted in an increase in net investment income of $0.001 per share. Excluding this non-recurring income, total return would have remained the same. * Amount is less than $.005. 52 | Financial Highlights DWS Small Cap Core Fund - Class C
YEARS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 SELECTED PER SHARE DATA - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NET ASSET VALUE, BEGINNING OF PERIOD $ 20.39 $ 22.10 $ 24.74 $ 24.21 $ 21.04 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- ------- -------- -------- Income (loss) from investment operations: Net investment income (loss)a ( .13) ( .17) ( .22)d ( .35) ( .33) ______________________________ ________ ________ _______ ________ ________ Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) ( 3.80) 1.13 .98 3.99 4.20 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- ------- -------- -------- TOTAL FROM INVESTMENT OPERATIONS ( 3.93) .96 .76 3.64 3.87 ______________________________ ________ ________ _______ ________ ________ Less distributions from: Net realized gains ( 2.91) ( 2.67) ( 3.40) ( 3.11) ( .70) ______________________________ ________ ________ _______ ________ ________ Redemption fees .00* .00* .00* .00* - - ------------------------------ -------- -------- ------- -------- -------- NET ASSET VALUE, END OF PERIOD $ 13.55 $ 20.39 $ 22.10 $ 24.74 $ 24.21 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- ------- -------- -------- Total Return (%)b (21.64)c 3.66 3.70d 15.54 18.51 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- ------- -------- -------- RATIOS TO AVERAGE NET ASSETS AND SUPPLEMENTAL DATA - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net assets, end of period ($ millions) 1 2 2 2 1 ______________________________ ________ ________ _______ ________ ________ Ratio of expenses before expense reductions (%) 2.35 2.23 2.27 2.30 2.28 ______________________________ ________ ________ _______ ________ ________ Ratio of expenses after expense reductions (%) 2.35 2.23 2.27 2.30 2.28 ______________________________ ________ ________ _______ ________ ________ Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%) ( .90) ( .87) ( 1.07)d ( 1.43) ( 1.40) ______________________________ ________ ________ _______ ________ ________ Portfolio turnover rate (%) 304 202 205 198 186 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- ------- -------- --------
a Based on average shares outstanding during the period. b Total return does not reflect the effect of any sales charges. c Total return would have been lower has certain expenses not been reduced. d Includes non-recurring income from the Advisor recorded as a result of an administrative proceeding regarding disclosure of brokerage allocation practices in connection with sales of DWS Funds. The non-recurring income resulted in an increase in net investment income of $0.001 per share. Excluding this non-recurring income, total return would have remained the same. * Amount is less than $.005. Financial Highlights | 53 DWS Blue Chip Fund - Class A
YEARS ENDED OCTOBER 31, 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 SELECTED PER SHARE DATA - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NET ASSET VALUE, BEGINNING OF PERIOD $ 22.57 $ 22.16 $ 19.07 $ 17.30 $ 15.24 - -------------------------------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- Income (loss) from investment operations: Net investment income (loss)a .11 .14 .17d .09 .06 ________________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) ( 8.15) 2.47 2.98 1.73 2.00 - -------------------------------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- TOTAL FROM INVESTMENT OPERATIONS ( 8.04) 2.61 3.15 1.82 2.06 ________________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Less distributions from: Net investment income ( .16) ( .14) ( .06) ( .05) - ________________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Net realized gains ( 2.94) ( 2.06) - - - - -------------------------------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- TOTAL DISTRIBUTIONS ( 3.10) ( 2.20) ( .06) ( .05) - ________________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Redemption fees .00* .00* .00* .00* - ________________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ NET ASSET VALUE, END OF PERIOD $ 11.43 $ 22.57 $ 22.16 $ 19.07 $ 17.30 ________________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Total Return (%)b (40.56)c 12.68 16.54d 10.54 13.52 - -------------------------------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- RATIOS TO AVERAGE NET ASSETS AND SUPPLEMENTAL DATA - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net assets, end of period ($ millions) 218 436 429 405 382 ________________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Ratio of expenses (%) 1.19 1.13 1.12 1.19 1.13 ________________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Ratio of net investment income (%) .69 .68 .82d .49 .42 ________________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Portfolio turnover rate (%) 140 266 259 329 222 - -------------------------------- -------- -------- -------- -------- --------
a Based on average shares outstanding during the period. b Total return does not reflect the effect of any sales charges. c Total return would have been lower had certain expenses not been reduced. d Includes non-recurring income from the Advisor recorded as a result of an administrative proceeding regarding disclosure of brokerage allocation practices in connection with sales of DWS Funds. The non-recurring income resulted in an increase in net investment income of $0.012 per share and an increase in the ratio of net investment income of 0.06%. Excluding this non-recurring income, total return would have been 0.06% lower. * Amount is less than $.005. 54 | Financial Highlights DWS Blue Chip Fund - Class B
YEARS ENDED OCTOBER 31, 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 SELECTED PER SHARE DATA - --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NET ASSET VALUE, BEGINNING OF PERIOD $ 20.92 $ 20.72 $ 17.94 $ 16.37 $ 14.55 - -------------------------------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- Income (loss) from investment operations: Net investment income (loss)a ( .01) ( .01) ( .01)d ( .04) ( .06) ________________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) ( 7.51) 2.27 2.79 1.61 1.88 - -------------------------------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- TOTAL FROM INVESTMENT OPERATIONS ( 7.52) 2.26 2.78 1.57 1.82 ________________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Less distributions from: Net realized gains ( 2.94) ( 2.06) - - - ________________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Redemption fees .00* .00* .00* .00* - - -------------------------------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- NET ASSET VALUE, END OF PERIOD $ 10.46 $ 20.92 $ 20.72 $ 17.94 $ 16.37 - -------------------------------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- Total Return (%)b (41.08)c 11.72 15.50c,d 9.59c 12.51c - -------------------------------- -------- -------- --------- -------- -------- RATIOS TO AVERAGE NET ASSETS AND SUPPLEMENTAL DATA - --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net assets, end of period ($ millions) 19 52 74 100 138 ________________________________ ________ ________ _________ ________ ________ Ratio of expenses before expense reductions (%) 2.10 1.99 2.11 2.16 2.09 ________________________________ ________ ________ _________ ________ ________ Ratio of expenses after expense reductions (%) 2.09 1.99 2.02 2.01 2.01 ________________________________ ________ ________ _________ ________ ________ Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%) ( .21) ( .18) ( .06)d ( .33) ( .46) ________________________________ ________ ________ _________ ________ ________ Portfolio turnover rate (%) 140 266 259 329 222 - -------------------------------- -------- -------- --------- -------- --------
a Based on average shares outstanding during the period. b Total return does not reflect the effect of any sales charges. c Total return would have been lower had certain expenses not been reduced. d Includes non-recurring income from the Advisor recorded as a result of an administrative proceeding regarding disclosure of brokerage allocation practices in connection with sales of DWS Funds. The non-recurring income resulted in an increase in net investment income of $0.012 per share and an increase in the ratio of net investment income of 0.06%. Excluding this non-recurring income, total return would have been 0.06% lower. * Amount is less than $.005. Financial Highlights | 55 DWS Blue Chip Fund - Class C
YEARS ENDED OCTOBER 31, 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 SELECTED PER SHARE DATA - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NET ASSET VALUE, BEGINNING OF PERIOD $ 21.22 $ 20.97 $ 18.12 $ 16.53 $ 14.69 - -------------------------------- -------- ------- -------- -------- -------- Income (loss) from investment operations: Net investment income (loss)a ( .00)* ( .00)* .02d ( .04) ( .07) ________________________________ ________ _______ ________ ________ ________ Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) ( 7.63) 2.31 2.83 1.63 1.91 - -------------------------------- -------- ------- -------- -------- -------- TOTAL FROM INVESTMENT OPERATIONS ( 7.63) 2.31 2.85 1.59 1.84 ________________________________ ________ _______ ________ ________ ________ Less distributions from: Net realized gains ( 2.94) ( 2.06) - - - ________________________________ ________ _______ ________ ________ ________ Redemption fees .00* .00* .00* .00* - - -------------------------------- -------- ------- -------- -------- -------- NET ASSET VALUE, END OF PERIOD $ 10.65 $ 21.22 $ 20.97 $ 18.12 $ 16.53 - -------------------------------- -------- ------- -------- -------- -------- Total Return (%)b (41.06)c 11.77 15.73d 9.62c 12.53c - -------------------------------- -------- ------- -------- -------- -------- RATIOS TO AVERAGE NET ASSETS AND SUPPLEMENTAL DATA - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net assets, end of period ($ millions) 19 40 43 43 46 ________________________________ ________ _______ ________ ________ ________ Ratio of expenses before expense reductions (%) 1.97 1.91 1.83 2.02 2.06 ________________________________ ________ _______ ________ ________ ________ Ratio of expenses after expense reductions (%) 1.97 1.91 1.83 2.00 2.00 ________________________________ ________ _______ ________ ________ ________ Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%) ( .09) ( .10) .11d ( .32) ( .45) ________________________________ ________ _______ ________ ________ ________ Portfolio turnover rate (%) 140 266 259 329 222 - -------------------------------- -------- ------- -------- -------- --------
a Based on average shares outstanding during the period. b Total return does not reflect the effect of any sales charges. c Total return would have been lower had certain expenses not been reduced. d Includes non-recurring income from the Advisor recorded as a result of an administrative proceeding regarding disclosure of brokerage allocation practices in connection with sales of DWS Funds. The non-recurring income resulted in an increase in net investment income of $0.012 per share and an increase in the ratio of net investment income of 0.06%. Excluding this non-recurring income, total return would have been 0.06% lower. * Amount is less than $.005. 56 | Financial Highlights HOW TO INVEST IN THE FUNDS This prospectus offers the share classes noted on the front cover. Each class has its own fees and expenses, offering you a choice of cost structures. Each fund may offer other classes of shares in a separate prospectus. These shares are intended for investors seeking the advice and assistance of a financial advisor, who will typically receive compensation for those services. Class R shares are only available to participants in certain retirement plans. THE FOLLOWING PAGES TELL YOU HOW TO INVEST IN A FUND AND WHAT TO EXPECT AS A SHAREHOLDER. The following pages also tell you about many of the services, choices and benefits of being a shareholder. You'll also find information on how to check the status of your account using the method that's most convenient for you. If you're investing directly with DWS Investments, all of this information applies to you. If you're investing through a "third party provider" - for example, a workplace retirement plan, financial supermarket or financial advisor - your provider may have its own policies or instructions and you should follow those. You can find out more about the topics covered here by speaking with your FINANCIAL ADVISOR OR A REPRESENTATIVE OF YOUR WORKPLACE RETIREMENT PLAN OR OTHER INVESTMENT PROVIDER. Before you invest, take a moment to look over the characteristics of each share class, so that you can be sure to choose the class that's right for you. YOU MAY WANT TO ASK YOUR FINANCIAL ADVISOR TO HELP YOU WITH THIS DECISION. CHOOSING A SHARE CLASS We describe each share class in detail on the following pages. But first, you may want to look at the table below, which gives you a brief description and comparison of the main features of each class. You should consult with your financial advisor to determine which class of shares is appropriate for you.
CLASSES AND FEATURES POINTS TO HELP YOU COMPARE CLASS A - Some investors may be able to reduce - Sales charge of up to 5.75% charged or eliminate their sales charge; see when you buy shares "Class A shares" - In most cases, no charge when you - Total annual expenses are lower than sell shares those for Class B or Class C - Up to 0.25% annual shareholder - Distributions are generally higher than servicing fee Class B or Class C CLASS B - No sales charge when you buy shares - The deferred sales charge rate falls to zero after six years - Deferred sales charge declining from 4.00%, charged when you sell shares - Shares automatically convert to you bought within the last six years Class A after six years, which means lower annual expenses going forward - 0.75% annual distribution fee and up to 0.25% annual shareholder servicing - Distributions are generally lower than fee Class A CLASS C - No sales charge when you buy shares - The first year deferred sales charge rate is lower for Class C shares than - Deferred sales charge of 1.00%, Class B shares, but your shares never charged when you sell shares you automatically convert to Class A, so bought within the last year annual expenses remain higher than - 0.75% annual distribution fee and up Class A to 0.25% annual shareholder servicing - Distributions are generally lower than fee Class A CLASS R - No sales charge when you buy or sell - Class R is only available to participants shares in certain retirement plans - 0.25% annual distribution fee and up to 0.25% annual shareholder servicing fee
Your financial advisor will typically be paid a fee when you buy shares and may receive different levels of compensation depending upon which class of shares you buy. Each fund may pay financial advisors or other intermediaries compensation for the services they provide to their clients. This compensation may vary depending on the share class and fund you buy. Your financial advisor may also receive compensation from the Advisor and/or its affiliates. Please see "Financial intermediary support payments" for more information. 58 | Choosing a Share Class Class A shares Class A shares may make sense for long-term investors, especially those who are eligible for a reduced or eliminated sales charge. Class A shares have a 12b-1 plan, under which a shareholder servicing fee of up to 0.25% is deducted from class assets each year. Because the shareholder servicing fee is continuous in nature, it may, over time, increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than paying other types of sales charges. Class A shares have an up-front sales charge that varies with the amount you invest:
FRONT-END SALES FRONT-END SALES CHARGE AS % CHARGE AS % OF YOUR YOUR INVESTMENT OF OFFERING PRICE 1,2 NET INVESTMENT 2 Up to $50,000 5.75% 6.10% $ 50,000-$99,999 4.50 4.71 $ 100,000-$249,999 3.50 3.63 $ 250,000-$499,999 2.60 2.67 $ 500,000-$999,999 2.00 2.04 $1 million or more see below see below
1 The offering price includes the sales charge. 2 Because of rounding in the calculation of the offering price, the actual front-end sales charge paid by an investor may be higher or lower than the percentages noted. YOU MAY BE ABLE TO LOWER YOUR CLASS A SALES CHARGE IF: - you indicate your intent in writing to invest at least $50,000 in Class A shares (including Class A shares in other retail DWS funds) over the next 24 months ("Letter of Intent") - the amount of Class A shares you already own (including Class A shares in other retail DWS funds) plus the amount you're investing now in Class A shares is at least $50,000 ("Cumulative Discount") - you are investing a total of $50,000 or more in Class A shares of several retail DWS funds on the same day ("Combined Purchases") Choosing a Share Class | 59 The point of these three features is to let you count investments made at other times or in certain other funds for purposes of calculating your present sales charge. Any time you can use the privileges to "move" your investment into a lower sales charge category, it's generally beneficial for you to do so. For purposes of determining whether you are eligible for a reduced Class A sales charge, you and your immediate family (your spouse or life partner and your children or stepchildren age 21 or younger) may aggregate your investments in the DWS family of funds. This includes, for example, investments held in a retirement account, an employee benefit plan or at a financial advisor other than the one handling your current purchase. These combined investments will be valued at their current offering price to determine whether your current investment qualifies for a reduced sales charge. To receive a reduction in your Class A initial sales charge, you must let your financial advisor or Shareholder Services know at the time you purchase shares that you qualify for such a reduction. You may be asked by your financial advisor or Shareholder Services to provide account statements or other information regarding related accounts of you or your immediate family in order to verify your eligibility for a reduced sales charge. For more information about sales charge discounts, please visit www.dws-investments.com (click on the link entitled "Fund Sales Charge and Breakpoint Schedule"), consult with your financial advisor or refer to the section entitled "Purchase or Redemption of Shares" in each fund's Statement of Additional Information. IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES, YOU MAY BE ABLE TO BUY CLASS A SHARES WITHOUT A SALES CHARGE. For example, the sales charge will be waived if you are reinvesting dividends or distributions or if you are exchanging an investment in Class A shares of another fund in the DWS family of funds for an investment in Class A shares of a fund. In addition, a sales charge waiver may apply to transactions by certain retirement plans and certain other entities or persons (e.g., affiliated persons of Deutsche Asset Management or the DWS funds) and with respect to certain types of investments (e.g., an investment advisory or agency commission program under which you pay a fee to an investment advisor or other firm for portfolio management or brokerage services). 60 | Choosing a Share Class Details regarding the types of investment programs and categories of investors eligible for a sales charge waiver are provided in each fund's Statement of Additional Information. There are a number of additional provisions that apply in order to be eligible for a sales charge waiver. Each fund may waive the sales charge for investors in other situations as well. Your financial advisor or Shareholder Services can answer your questions and help you determine if you are eligible. IF YOU'RE INVESTING $1 MILLION OR MORE, either as a lump sum or through one of the sales charge reduction features described above, you may be eligible to buy Class A shares without a sales charge ("Large Order NAV Purchase Privilege"). However, you may be charged a contingent deferred sales charge (CDSC) of 1.00% on any shares you sell within 12 months of owning them and a similar charge of 0.50% on shares you sell within the following six months. This CDSC is waived under certain circumstances (see "Policies You Should Know About"). Your financial advisor or Shareholder Services can answer your questions and help you determine if you're eligible. Class B shares Class B shares may make sense for long-term investors who prefer to see all of their investment go to work right away and can accept somewhat higher annual expenses. Please note, however, that since not all DWS funds offer Class B shares, exchange options may be limited. With Class B shares, you pay no up-front sales charge to a fund. Class B shares have a 12b-1 plan, under which a distribution fee of 0.75% and a shareholder servicing fee of up to 0.25% are deducted from class assets each year. This means the annual expenses for Class B shares are somewhat higher (and their performance correspondingly lower) compared to Class A shares. However, unlike Class A shares, your entire investment goes to work immediately. After six years, Class B shares automatically convert on a tax-free basis to Class A shares, which has the net effect of lowering the annual expenses from the seventh year on. Choosing a Share Class | 61 Class B shares have a CDSC. This charge declines over the years you own shares and disappears completely after six years of ownership. But for any shares you sell within those six years, you may be charged as follows:
YEAR AFTER YOU BOUGHT SHARES CDSC ON SHARES YOU SELL First year 4.00% Second or third year 3.00 Fourth or fifth year 2.00 Sixth year 1.00 Seventh year and later None (automatic conversion to Class A)
This CDSC is waived under certain circumstances (see "Policies You Should Know About"). Your financial advisor or Shareholder Services can answer your questions and help you determine if you're eligible. While Class B shares don't have any front-end sales charge, their higher annual expenses mean that over the years you could end up paying more than the equivalent of the maximum allowable front-end sales charge. If you are thinking of making a large purchase in Class B shares or if you already own a large amount of Class A shares of a fund or other DWS funds, it may be more cost efficient to purchase Class A shares instead. Orders to purchase Class B shares of $100,000 or more will be declined with the exception of orders received from financial representatives acting for clients whose shares are held in an omnibus account and certain employer-sponsored employee benefit plans. Class C shares Class C shares may appeal to investors who plan to sell some or all of their shares within six years of buying them or who aren't certain of their investment time horizon. With Class C shares, you pay no up-front sales charge to a fund. Class C shares have a 12b-1 plan, under which a distribution fee of 0.75% and a shareholder servicing fee of up to 0.25% are deducted from class assets each year. Because of these fees, the annual expenses for Class C shares are similar to those of Class B shares, but higher than those for Class A shares (and the performance of Class C shares is correspondingly lower than that of Class A shares). 62 | Choosing a Share Class Unlike Class B shares, Class C shares do NOT automatically convert to Class A shares after six years, so they continue to have higher annual expenses. Class C shares have a CDSC, but only on shares you sell within one year of buying them:
YEAR AFTER YOU BOUGHT SHARES CDSC ON SHARES YOU SELL First year 1.00% Second year and later None
This CDSC is waived under certain circumstances (see "Policies You Should Know About"). Your financial advisor or Shareholder Services can answer your questions and help you determine if you're eligible. While Class C shares do not have an up-front sales charge, their higher annual expenses mean that, over the years, you could end up paying more than the equivalent of the maximum allowable up-front sales charge. Orders to purchase Class C shares of $500,000 or more will be declined with the exception of orders received from financial representatives acting for clients whose shares are held in an omnibus account and certain employer-sponsored employee benefit plans. Choosing a Share Class | 63 Class R shares Class R shares have no initial sales charge or deferred sales charge. Class R shares have a 12b-1 plan, under which a distribution fee of 0.25% and a shareholder servicing fee of up to 0.25% are deducted from class assets each year. Because distribution fees are continuous in nature, these fees may, over time, increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than paying other types of sales charges. Eligibility requirements YOU MAY BUY CLASS R SHARES if you are a participant in certain retirement plan platforms that offer Class R shares of the fund through a plan level or omnibus account, including: - Section 401(a) and 457 plans - Certain section 403(b)(7) plans - 401(k), profit sharing, money purchase pension and defined benefit plans - Non-qualified deferred compensation plans - Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) 64 | Choosing a Share Class How to BUY Class A, B and C Shares
FIRST INVESTMENT ADDITIONAL INVESTMENTS $1,000 or more for most accounts $50 or more for most accounts and IRAs $500 or more for IRAs $50 or more for an account with an $500 or more for an account with an Automatic Investment Plan Automatic Investment Plan THROUGH A FINANCIAL ADVISOR - To obtain an application, contact your - Contact your advisor using the advisor method that's most convenient for you BY MAIL OR EXPRESS MAIL (SEE BELOW) - Fill out and sign an application - Send a check payable to "DWS Investments" and an investment slip - Send it to us at the appropriate address, along with an investmen - If you don't have an investment slip, check made payable to "DWS include a letter with your name, Investments" account number, the full name of the fund and the share class and your investment instructions BY WIRE - Call (800) 621-1048 for instructions - Call (800) 621-1048 for instructions BY PHONE Not available - Call (800) 621-1048 for instructions WITH AN AUTOMATIC INVESTMENT PLAN - Fill in the information on your - To set up regular investments from a application including a check for the bank checking account call (800) 621- initial investment and a voided check 1048 ($50 minimum) USING QuickBuy Not available - Call (800) 621-1048 to make sure QuickBuy is set up on your account; if it is, you can request a transfer from your bank account of any amount between $50 and $250,000 ON THE INTERNET Not available - Call (800) 621-1048 to ensure you have electronic services - Register at www.dws- investments.com or log in if already registered - Follow the instructions for buying shares with money from your bank account
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- REGULAR MAIL: First Investment: DWS Investments, PO Box 219356, Kansas City, MO 64121-9356 Additional Investments: DWS Investments, PO Box 219154, Kansas City, MO 64121-9154 EXPRESS, REGISTERED OR CERTIFIED MAIL: DWS Investments, 210 West 10th Street, Kansas City, MO 64105-1614 How to Buy Class A, B and C Shares | 65 How to EXCHANGE or SELL Class A, B and C Shares
EXCHANGING INTO ANOTHER FUND SELLING SHARES Some transactions, including most for - Exchanges into existing accounts: over $100,000, can only be ordered in $50 minimum per fund writing with a signature guarantee; - Exchanges into new accounts: please see "Signature Guarantee" $1,000 minimum per fund for most accounts $500 minimum for IRAs THROUGH A FINANCIAL ADVISOR - Contact your advisor using the - Contact your advisor using the method that's most convenient for you method that's most convenient for you BY PHONE BY PHONE OR WIRE - Call (800) 621-1048 for instructions - Call (800) 621-1048 for instructions BY MAIL OR EXPRESS MAIL (see previous page for address) Write a letter that includes: Write a letter that includes: - the fund, class and account number - the fund, class and account number you're exchanging out of from which you want to sell shares - the dollar amount or number of shares - the dollar amount or number of shares you want to exchange you want to sell - the name and class of the fund you - your name(s), signature(s) and want to exchange into address, as they appear on your account - your name(s), signature(s) and address, as they appear on your - a daytime telephone number account - a daytime telephone number WITH AN AUTOMATIC EXCHANGE PLAN WITH AN AUTOMATIC WITHDRAWAL PLAN - To set up regular exchanges from a - Call (800) 621-1048 (minimum $50) fund account, call (800) 621-1048 USING QuickSell Not available - Call (800) 621-1048 to make sure QuickSell is set up on your account; if it is, you can request a transfer to your bank account of any amount between $50 and $250,000 ON THE INTERNET - Register at www.dws- - Register at www.dws- investments.com or log in if already investments.com or log in if already registered registered - Follow the instructions for making on- - Follow the instructions for making on- line exchanges line redemptions
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TO REACH US: WEB SITE: www.dws-investments.com TELEPHONE REPRESENTATIVE: (800) 621-1048, M-F, 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. ET TDD LINE: (800) 972-3006, M-F, 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. ET
66 | How to Exchange or Sell Class A, B and C Shares How to BUY and SELL Class R Shares If your plan sponsor has selected Class R shares as an investment option, you may buy Class R shares through your securities dealer or through any financial institution that is authorized to act as a shareholder servicing agent ("shareholder servicing agent"). Contact them for details on how to enter and pay for your order. Shareholder servicing agents include brokers, financial representatives or any other bank, dealer or other institution that has a sub-shareholder servicing agreement with the funds. Shareholder servicing agents may charge additional fees to investors for those services not otherwise included in their sub-distribution or servicing agreement, such as cash management or special trust or retirement investment reporting. In addition, the Advisor or administrator may provide compensation to shareholder servicing agents for distribution, administrative and promotional services. There are no minimum investments with respect to Class R shares. Instructions for buying and selling shares must generally be submitted by your retirement plan, not by plan participants for whose benefit the shares are held. Please contact your shareholder servicing agent for more information on how to open a fund account. Financial intermediary support payments The Advisor, DWS Investments Distributors, Inc. (the "Distributor") and/or their affiliates may pay additional compensation, out of their own assets and not as an additional charge to each fund, to selected affiliated and unaffiliated brokers, dealers, participating insurance companies or other financial intermediaries ("financial advisors") in connection with the sale and/or distribution of fund shares or the retention and/or servicing of fund investors and fund shares ("revenue sharing"). Such revenue sharing payments are in addition to any distribution or service fees payable under any Rule 12b-1 or service plan of each fund, any record keeping/sub-transfer agency/networking fees payable by each fund (generally through the Distributor or an affiliate) and/or the Distributor to certain financial advisors for performing such services and any sales charge, commissions, non-cash compensation arrangements expressly permitted under applicable rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority or other concessions described in the fee table or elsewhere in How to Buy and Sell Class R Shares | 67 this prospectus or the Statement of Additional Information as payable to all financial advisors. For example, the Advisor, the Distributor and/or their affiliates may compensate financial advisors for providing a fund with "shelf space" or access to a third party platform or fund offering list or other marketing programs, including, without limitation, inclusion of the fund on preferred or recommended sales lists, mutual fund "supermarket" platforms and other formal sales programs; granting the Distributor access to the financial advisor's sales force; granting the Distributor access to the financial advisor's conferences and meetings; assistance in training and educating the financial advisor's personnel; and obtaining other forms of marketing support. The level of revenue sharing payments made to financial advisors may be a fixed fee or based upon one or more of the following factors: gross sales, current assets and/or number of accounts of each fund attributable to the financial advisor, the particular fund or fund type or other measures as agreed to by the Advisor, the Distributor and/or their affiliates and the financial advisors or any combination thereof. The amount of these revenue sharing payments is determined at the discretion of the Advisor, the Distributor and/or their affiliates from time to time, may be substantial, and may be different for different financial advisors based on, for example, the nature of the services provided by the financial advisor. The Advisor, the Distributor and/or their affiliates currently make revenue sharing payments from their own assets in connection with the sale and/or distribution of DWS fund shares or the retention and/or servicing of investors and DWS fund shares to financial advisors in amounts that generally range from .01% up to .50% of assets of each fund serviced and maintained by the financial advisor, .05% to .25% of sales of each fund attributable to the financial advisor, a flat fee of $13,350 up to $500,000, or any combination thereof. These amounts are subject to change at the discretion of the Advisor, the Distributor and/or their affiliates. Receipt of, or the prospect of receiving, this additional compensation may influence your financial advisor's recommendation of each fund or of any particular share class of each fund. You should review your financial advisor's compensation disclosure and/or talk to your financial advisor to obtain more information on how this compensation may have influenced your financial advisor's recommendation of each fund. Additional information regarding these revenue sharing 68 | How to Buy and Sell Class R Shares payments is included in each fund's Statement of Additional Information, which is available to you on request at no charge (see the back cover of this prospectus for more information on how to request a copy of the Statement of Additional Information). The Advisor, the Distributor and/or their affiliates may also make such revenue sharing payments to financial advisors under the terms discussed above in connection with the distribution of both DWS funds and non-DWS funds by financial advisors to retirement plans that obtain record keeping services from ADP, Inc. on the DWS Investments branded retirement plan platform (the "Platform") with the level of revenue sharing payments being based upon sales of both the DWS funds and the non-DWS funds by the financial advisor on the Platform or current assets of both the DWS funds and the non-DWS funds serviced and maintained by the financial advisor on the Platform. It is likely that broker-dealers that execute portfolio transactions for each fund will include firms that also sell shares of the DWS funds to their customers. However, the Advisor will not consider sales of DWS fund shares as a factor in the selection of broker-dealers to execute portfolio transactions for the DWS funds. Accordingly, the Advisor has implemented policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent its traders from considering sales of DWS fund shares as a factor in the selection of broker-dealers to execute portfolio transactions for each fund. In addition, the Advisor, the Distributor and/or their affiliates will not use fund brokerage to pay for their obligation to provide additional compensation to financial advisors as described above. POLICIES YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT Along with the information on the previous pages, the policies below may affect you as a shareholder. Some of this information, such as the section on distributions and taxes, applies to all investors, including those investing through a financial advisor. Policies You Should Know About | 69 If you are investing through a financial advisor or through a retirement plan, check the materials you received from them about how to buy and sell shares because particular financial advisors or other intermediaries may adopt policies, procedures or limitations that are separate from those described by a fund. Please note that a financial advisor may charge fees separate from those charged by a fund and may be compensated by a fund. Keep in mind that the information in this prospectus applies only to the shares offered herein. Other share classes are described in separate prospectuses and have different fees, requirements and services. In order to reduce the amount of mail you receive and to help reduce expenses, we generally send a single copy of any shareholder report and prospectus to each household. If you do not want the mailing of these documents to be combined with those for other members of your household, please contact your financial advisor or call (800) 621-1048. Policies about transactions EACH FUND IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS each day the New York Stock Exchange is open. Each fund calculates its share price for each class every business day, as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (typically 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, but sometimes earlier, as in the case of scheduled half-day trading or unscheduled suspensions of trading). You can place an order to buy or sell shares at any time. To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, federal law requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify and record information that identifies each person who opens an account. What this means to you: When you open an account, we will ask for your name, address, date of birth and other information that will allow us to identify you. Some or all of this information will be used to verify the identity of all persons opening an account. We might request additional information about you (which may include certain documents, such as articles of incorporation for companies) to help us verify your identity and, in some cases, the information and/or documents may be required to conduct the verification. The information and documents will be used solely to verify your identity. 70 | Policies You Should Know About We will attempt to collect any missing required and requested information by contacting you or your financial advisor. If we are unable to obtain this information within the time frames established by each fund, then we may reject your application and order. Each fund will not invest your purchase until all required and requested identification information has been provided and your application has been submitted in "good order." After we receive all the information, your application is deemed to be in good order and we accept your purchase, you will receive the net asset value per share next calculated, less any applicable sales charge. If we are unable to verify your identity within time frames established by each fund, after a reasonable effort to do so, you will receive written notification. With certain limited exceptions, only US residents may invest in each fund. Because orders placed through a financial advisor must be forwarded to the transfer agent before they can be processed, you'll need to allow extra time. Your financial advisor should be able to tell you approximately when your order will be processed. It is the responsibility of your financial advisor to forward your order to the transfer agent in a timely manner. INITIAL PURCHASE MINIMUMS. The minimum initial investment for Class A, B and C shares is $1,000, except for investments on behalf of participants in certain fee-based and wrap programs offered through certain financial intermediaries approved by the Advisor, for which there is no minimum initial investment; and IRAs, for which the minimum initial investment is $500 per account. The minimum initial investment is $500 per account if you establish an automatic investment plan. Group retirement plans and certain other accounts have similar or lower minimum share balance requirements. IRA ROLLOVERS. You may complete a direct rollover from a retirement plan offering Class R shares to a DWS IRA account by reinvesting up to the full amount of your distribution in Class A shares of any DWS fund at net asset value. Subsequent purchases of Class A shares will be made at the public offering price as described in the prospectus for Class A shares. Please Policies You Should Know About | 71 note that if you terminate your participation in a retirement plan and transfer all of your Class R shares, you will lose the privilege of purchasing Class R shares in the future. Rollovers to a DWS Class R share IRA are not permitted. SUB-MINIMUM BALANCES. Each fund may close your account and send you the proceeds if your balance falls below $1,000 ($500 for accounts with an Automatic Investment Plan funded with $50 or more per month in subsequent investments), or below $250 for retirement accounts. We will give you 60 days' notice (90 days for retirement accounts) so you can either increase your balance or close your account (these policies don't apply to investors with $100,000 or more in DWS fund shares, investors in certain fee-based and wrap programs offered through certain financial intermediaries approved by the Advisor, or group retirement plans and certain other accounts having lower minimum share balance requirements or Class R shares). SUBSEQUENT INVESTMENTS. The minimum subsequent investment is $50. However, there is no minimum investment requirement for subsequent investments in Class A shares on behalf of participants in certain fee-based and wrap programs offered through certain financial intermediaries approved by the Advisor. MARKET TIMING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES. Short-term and excessive trading of fund shares may present risks to long-term shareholders, including potential dilution in the value of fund shares, interference with the efficient management of a fund's portfolio (including losses on the sale of investments), taxable gains to remaining shareholders and increased brokerage and administrative costs. These risks may be more pronounced if a fund invests in certain securities, such as those that trade in foreign markets, are illiquid or do not otherwise have "readily available market quotations." Certain investors may seek to employ short-term trading strategies aimed at exploiting variations in portfolio valuation that arise from the nature of the securities held by a fund (e.g., "time zone arbitrage"). Each fund discourages short-term and excessive trading and has adopted policies and procedures that are intended to detect and deter short-term and excessive trading. Pursuant to its policies, each fund will impose a 2% redemption fee on fund shares held for less than a specified holding period (subject to certain exceptions discussed below under "Redemption fees"). Each fund also reserves the right to reject or cancel a purchase or exchange order for any reason without prior 72 | Policies You Should Know About notice. For example, a fund may in its discretion reject or cancel a purchase or an exchange order even if the transaction is not subject to the specific roundtrip transaction limitation described below if the Advisor believes that there appears to be a pattern of short-term or excessive trading activity by a shareholder or deems any other trading activity harmful or disruptive to a fund. Each fund, through its Advisor and transfer agent, will measure short-term and excessive trading by the number of roundtrip transactions within a shareholder's account during a rolling 12-month period. A "roundtrip" transaction is defined as any combination of purchase and redemption activity (including exchanges) of the same fund's shares. Each fund may take other trading activity into account if a fund believes such activity is of an amount or frequency that may be harmful to long-term shareholders or disruptive to portfolio management. Shareholders are limited to four roundtrip transactions in the same DWS fund (excluding money market funds) over a rolling 12-month period. Shareholders with four or more roundtrip transactions in the same DWS fund within a rolling 12-month period generally will be blocked from making additional purchases of, or exchanges into, that DWS fund. Each fund has sole discretion whether to remove a block from a shareholder's account. The rights of a shareholder to redeem shares of a DWS fund are not affected by the four roundtrip transaction limitation, but all redemptions remain subject to each fund's redemption fee policy (see "Redemption fees" described below). Each fund may make exceptions to the roundtrip transaction policy for certain types of transactions if, in the opinion of the Advisor, the transactions do not represent short-term or excessive trading or are not abusive or harmful to a fund, such as, but not limited to, systematic transactions, required minimum retirement distributions, transactions initiated by a fund or administrator and transactions by certain qualified funds-of-funds. In certain circumstances where shareholders hold shares of a fund through a financial intermediary, the fund may rely upon the financial intermediary's policy to deter short-term or excessive trading if the Advisor believes that the financial intermediary's policy is reasonably designed to detect and deter transactions that are not in the best interests of a fund. A financial Policies You Should Know About | 73 intermediary's policy relating to short-term or excessive trading may be more or less restrictive than the DWS funds' policy, may permit certain transactions not permitted by the DWS funds' policies, or prohibit transactions not subject to the DWS funds' policies. The Advisor may also accept undertakings from a financial intermediary to enforce short-term or excessive trading policies on behalf of a fund that provide a substantially similar level of protection for each fund against such transactions. For example, certain financial intermediaries may have contractual, legal or operational restrictions that prevent them from blocking an account. In such instances, the financial intermediary may use alternate techniques that the Advisor considers to be a reasonable substitute for such a block. In addition, if a fund invests some portion of its assets in foreign securities, it has adopted certain fair valuation practices intended to protect the fund from "time zone arbitrage" with respect to its foreign securities holdings and other trading practices that seek to exploit variations in portfolio valuation that arise from the nature of the securities held by a fund. (See "How each fund calculates share price.") There is no assurance that these policies and procedures will be effective in limiting short-term and excessive trading in all cases. For example, the Advisor may not be able to effectively monitor, detect or limit short-term or excessive trading by underlying shareholders that occurs through omnibus accounts maintained by broker-dealers or other financial intermediaries. The Advisor reviews trading activity at the omnibus level to detect short-term or excessive trading. If the Advisor has reason to suspect that short-term or excessive trading is occurring at the omnibus level, the Advisor will contact the financial intermediary to request underlying shareholder level activity. Depending on the amount of fund shares held in such omnibus accounts (which may represent most of a fund's shares) short-term and/or excessive trading of fund shares could adversely affect long-term shareholders in a fund. If short-term or excessive trading is identified, the Advisor will take appropriate action. Each fund's market timing policies and procedures may be modified or terminated at any time. 74 | Policies You Should Know About REDEMPTION FEES. Each fund imposes a redemption fee of 2% of the total redemption amount (calculated at net asset value, without regard to the effect of any contingent deferred sales charge; any contingent deferred sales charge is also assessed on the total redemption amount without regard to the assessment of the 2% redemption fee) on all fund shares redeemed or exchanged within 15 days of buying them (either by purchase or exchange). The redemption fee is paid directly to each fund and is designed to encourage long-term investment and to offset transaction and other costs associated with short-term or excessive trading. For purposes of determining whether the redemption fee applies, shares held the longest time will be treated as being redeemed first and shares held the shortest time will be treated as being redeemed last. The redemption fee is applicable to fund shares purchased either directly or through a financial intermediary, such as a broker-dealer. Transactions through financial intermediaries typically are placed with a fund on an omnibus basis and include both purchase and sale transactions placed on behalf of multiple investors. These purchase and sale transactions are generally netted against one another and placed on an aggregate basis; consequently the identities of the individuals on whose behalf the transactions are placed generally are not known to a fund. For this reason, each fund has undertaken to notify financial intermediaries of their obligation to assess the redemption fee on customer accounts and to collect and remit the proceeds to each fund. However, due to operational requirements, the intermediaries' methods for tracking and calculating the fee may be inadequate or differ in some respects from each fund's. Subject to approval by the Advisor or each fund's Board, intermediaries who transact business on an omnibus basis may implement the redemption fees according to their own operational guidelines (which may be different than the funds' policies) and remit the fees to the funds. The redemption fee will not be charged in connection with the following exchange or redemption transactions: (i) transactions on behalf of participants in certain research wrap programs; (ii) transactions on behalf of a shareholder to return any excess IRA contributions to the shareholder; (iii) transactions on behalf of a shareholder to effect a required minimum distribution on an IRA; (iv) transactions on behalf of any mutual fund advised by the Advisor and its affiliates (e.g., "funds of funds") or, in the case of a master/feeder relationship, redemptions by the feeder Policies You Should Know About | 75 fund from the master portfolio; (v) transactions on behalf of certain unaffiliated mutual funds operating as funds of funds; (vi) transactions following death or disability of any registered shareholder, beneficial owner or grantor of a living trust with respect to shares purchased before death or disability; (vii) transactions involving hardship of any registered shareholder; (viii) systematic transactions with pre-defined trade dates for purchases, exchanges or redemptions, such as automatic account rebalancing, or loan origination and repayments; (ix) transactions involving shares purchased through the reinvestment of dividends or other distributions; (x) transactions involving shares transferred from another account in the same fund or converted from another class of the same fund (the redemption fee period will carry over to the acquired shares); (xi) transactions initiated by a fund or administrator (e.g., redemptions for not meeting account minimums, to pay account fees funded by share redemptions, or in the event of the liquidation or merger of the fund); or (xii) transactions in cases when there are legal or contractual limitations or restrictions on the imposition of the redemption fee (as determined by a fund or its agents in their sole discretion). It is the policy of the DWS funds to permit approved fund platform providers to execute transactions in shares of the funds without the imposition of a redemption fee if such providers have implemented alternative measures that are determined by the Advisor to provide controls on short-term and excessive trading that are comparable to the DWS funds' policies. THE AUTOMATED INFORMATION LINE IS AVAILABLE 24 HOURS A DAY BY CALLING (800) 621-1048. You can use our automated phone services to get information on DWS funds generally and on accounts held directly at DWS Investments. You can also use this service to make exchanges and to purchase and sell shares. QUICKBUY AND QUICKSELL let you set up a link between a DWS fund account and a bank account. Once this link is in place, you can move money between the two with a phone call. You'll need to make sure your bank has Automated Clearing House (ACH) services. Transactions take two to THE FOLLOWING SIDEBAR TEXT APPEARS NEXT TO THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPHS The DWS Investments Web site can be a valuable resource for shareholders with Internet access. Go to WWW.DWS-INVESTMENTS.COM to get up-to-date information, review balances or even place orders for exchanges. 76 | Policies You Should Know About three days to be completed and there is a $50 minimum and a $250,000 maximum. To set up QuickBuy or QuickSell on a new account, see the account application; to add it to an existing account, call (800) 621-1048. TELEPHONE AND ELECTRONIC TRANSACTIONS. Generally, you are automatically entitled to telephone and electronic transaction privileges, but you may elect not to have them when you open your account or by contacting Shareholder Services at (800) 621-1048 at a later date. Since many transactions may be initiated by telephone or electronically, it's important to understand that as long as we take reasonable steps to ensure that an order to purchase or redeem shares is genuine, such as recording calls or requesting personalized security codes or other information, we are not responsible for any losses that may occur as a result. For transactions conducted over the Internet, we recommend the use of a secure Internet browser. In addition, you should verify the accuracy of your confirmation statements immediately after you receive them. EACH FUND DOES NOT ISSUE SHARE CERTIFICATES. However, if you currently have shares in certificated form, you must include the share certificates properly endorsed or accompanied by a duly executed stock power when exchanging or redeeming shares. You may not exchange or redeem shares in certificate form by telephone or via the Internet. WHEN YOU ASK US TO SEND OR RECEIVE A WIRE, please note that while we don't charge a fee to send or receive wires, it's possible that your bank may do so. Wire transactions are generally completed within 24 hours. Each fund can only send wires of $1,000 or more and accept wires of $50 or more. EACH FUND ACCEPTS PAYMENT FOR SHARES ONLY IN US DOLLARS by a check drawn on a US bank, a bank or Federal Funds wire transfer or an electronic bank transfer. Each fund does not accept third party checks. A third party check is a check made payable to one or more parties and offered as pay- ment to one or more other parties (e.g., a check made payable to you that you offer as payment to someone else). Checks should normally be payable to DWS Investments and drawn by you or a financial institution on your behalf with your name or account number included with the check. THE FOLLOWING SIDEBAR TEXT APPEARS NEXT TO THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPHS If you ever have difficulty placing an order by phone or Internet, you can send us your order in writing. Policies You Should Know About | 77 SIGNATURE GUARANTEE. When you want to sell more than $100,000 worth of shares or send proceeds to a third party or to a new address, you'll usually need to place your order in writing and include a signature guarantee. However, if you want money wired to a bank account that is already on file with us, you don't need a signature guarantee. Also, generally you don't need a signature guarantee for an exchange, although we may require one in certain other circumstances. A signature guarantee is simply a certification of your signature - a valuable safeguard against fraud. You can get a signature guarantee from an eligible guarantor institution, including commercial banks, savings and loans, trust companies, credit unions, member firms of a national stock exchange or any member or participant of an approved signature guarantor program. Note that you can't get a signature guarantee from a notary public and we must be provided the original guarantee. SELLING SHARES OF TRUST ACCOUNTS AND BUSINESS OR ORGANIZATION ACCOUNTS may require additional documentation. Please call (800) 621-1048 or contact your financial advisor for more information. WHEN YOU SELL SHARES THAT HAVE A CDSC, we calculate the CDSC as a percentage of what you paid for the shares or what you are selling them for - whichever results in the lower charge to you. In processing orders to sell shares, the shares with the lowest CDSC are sold first. Exchanges from one fund into another don't affect CDSCs; for each investment you make, the date you first bought shares is the date we use to calculate a CDSC on that particular investment. There are certain cases in which you may be exempt from a CDSC. These include: - the death or disability of an account owner (including a joint owner). This waiver applies only under certain conditions. Please contact your financial advisor or Shareholder Services to determine if the conditions exist - withdrawals made through an automatic withdrawal plan up to a maximum of 12% per year of the net asset value of the account - withdrawals related to certain retirement or benefit plans - redemptions for certain loan advances, hardship provisions or returns of excess contributions from retirement plans 78 | Policies You Should Know About - for Class A shares purchased through the Large Order NAV Purchase Privilege, redemption of shares whose dealer of record at the time of the investment notifies the Distributor that the dealer waives the applicable commission - for Class C shares, redemption of shares purchased through a dealer-sponsored asset allocation program maintained on an omnibus record-keeping system, provided the dealer of record has waived the advance of the first year distribution and service fees applicable to such shares and has agreed to receive such fees quarterly In each of these cases, there are a number of additional provisions that apply in order to be eligible for a CDSC waiver. Your financial advisor or Shareholder Services can answer your questions and help you determine if you are eligible. IF YOU SELL SHARES IN A DWS FUND AND THEN DECIDE TO INVEST WITH DWS INVESTMENTS AGAIN WITHIN SIX MONTHS, you may be able to take advantage of the "reinstatement feature." With this feature, you can put your money back into the same class of a DWS fund at its current net asset value and, for purposes of a sales charge, it will be treated as if it had never left DWS Investments. You'll be reimbursed (in the form of fund shares) for any CDSC you paid when you sold. Future CDSC calculations will be based on your original investment date, rather than your reinstatement date. There is also an option that lets investors who sold Class B shares buy Class A shares (if available) with no sales charge, although they won't be reimbursed for any CDSC they paid. You can only use the reinstatement feature once for any given group of shares. To take advantage of this feature, contact Shareholder Services or your financial advisor. MONEY FROM SHARES YOU SELL is normally sent out within one business day of when your order is processed (not when it is received), although it could be delayed for up to seven days. There are circumstances when it could be longer, including, but not limited to, when you are selling shares you bought recently by check or ACH (the funds will be placed under a 10 calendar day hold to ensure good funds) or when unusual circumstances prompt the SEC to allow further delays. Certain expedited redemption processes (e.g., redemption proceeds by wire) may also be delayed or unavailable when you are selling shares recently purchased or in the event of the closing of the Federal Reserve wire payment system. Each fund reserves the right to Policies You Should Know About | 79 suspend or postpone redemptions as permitted pursuant to Section 22(e) of the Investment Company Act of 1940. Generally, those circumstances are when 1) the New York Stock Exchange is closed other than customary weekend or holiday closings; 2) trading on the New York Stock Exchange is restricted; 3) an emergency exists which makes the disposal of securities owned by a fund or the fair determination of the value of a fund's net assets not reasonably practicable; or 4) the SEC, by order, permits the suspension of the right of redemption. Redemption payments by wire may also be delayed in the event of a non-routine closure of the Federal Reserve wire payment system. For additional rights reserved by each fund, please see "Other rights we reserve." You may obtain additional information about other ways to sell your shares by contacting your financial advisor. How each fund calculates share price To calculate net asset value, or NAV, each share class uses the following equation: TOTAL ASSETS - TOTAL LIABILITIES ----------------------------------------- = NAV TOTAL NUMBER OF SHARES OUTSTANDING
The price at which you buy shares is based on the NAV per share calculated after the order is received and accepted by the transfer agent, although for Class A shares it will be adjusted to allow for any applicable sales charge (see "Choosing a Share Class"). The price at which you sell shares is also based on the NAV per share calculated after the order is received and accepted by the transfer agent, although a CDSC may be taken out of the proceeds (see "Choosing a Share Class"). EACH FUND CHARGES A REDEMPTION FEE EQUAL TO 2.00% of the value of shares redeemed or exchanged within 15 days of purchase. Please see "Policies about transactions - Redemption fees" for further information. WE TYPICALLY VALUE SECURITIES USING INFORMATION FURNISHED BY AN INDEPENDENT PRICING SERVICE OR MARKET QUOTATIONS, WHERE APPROPRIATE. However, we may use methods approved by the Board, such as a fair valuation model, which are intended to reflect fair value when pricing service information or market quotations are not readily available or when a security's value or a meaningful portion of the value of a fund's portfolio is believed 80 | Policies You Should Know About to have been materially affected by a significant event, such as a natural disaster, an economic event like a bankruptcy filing, or a substantial fluctuation in domestic or foreign markets that has occurred between the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded (for example, a foreign exchange or market) and the close of the New York Stock Exchange. In such a case, a fund's value for a security is likely to be different from the last quoted market price or pricing service information. In addition, due to the subjective and variable nature of fair value pricing, it is possible that the value determined for a particular asset may be materially different from the value realized upon such asset's sale. It is expected that the greater the percentage of fund assets that is invested in non-US securities, the more extensive will be a fund's use of fair value pricing. This is intended to reduce a fund's exposure to "time zone arbitrage" and other harmful trading practices. (See "Market timing policies and procedures.") TO THE EXTENT THAT A FUND INVESTS IN SECURITIES THAT ARE TRADED PRIMARILY IN FOREIGN MARKETS, the value of its holdings could change at a time when you aren't able to buy or sell fund shares. This is because some foreign markets are open on days or at times when a fund doesn't price its shares. (Note that prices for securities that trade on foreign exchanges can change significantly on days when the New York Stock Exchange is closed and you cannot buy or sell fund shares. Price changes in the securities a fund owns may ultimately affect the price of fund shares the next time the NAV is calculated.) Other rights we reserve You should be aware that we may do any of the following: - withdraw or suspend the offering of shares at any time - withhold a portion of your distributions and redemption proceeds if we have been notified by the IRS that you are subject to backup withholding or if you fail to provide us with the correct taxpayer ID number and certain certifications, including certification that you are not subject to backup withholding - reject a new account application if you don't provide any required or requested identifying information, or for any other reason Policies You Should Know About | 81 - refuse, cancel, limit or rescind any purchase or exchange order, without prior notice; freeze any account (meaning you will not be able to purchase fund shares in your account); suspend account services; and/or involuntarily redeem your account if we think that the account is being used for fraudulent or illegal purposes; one or more of these actions will be taken when, at our sole discretion, they are deemed to be in a fund's best interests or when a fund is requested or compelled to do so by governmental authority or by applicable law - close and liquidate your account if we are unable to verify your identity, or for other reasons; if we decide to close your account, your fund shares will be redeemed at the net asset value per share next calculated after we determine to close your account (less any applicable sales charges or redemption fees); you may recognize a gain or loss on the redemption of your fund shares and you may incur a tax liability - pay you for shares you sell by "redeeming in kind," that is, by giving you securities (which typically will involve brokerage costs for you to liquidate) rather than cash, but which will be taxable to the same extent as a redemption for cash; a fund generally won't make a redemption in kind unless your requests over a 90-day period total more than $250,000 or 1% of the value of a fund's net assets, whichever is less - change, add or withdraw various services, fees and account policies (for example, we may adjust a fund's investment minimums at any time) 82 | Policies You Should Know About UNDERSTANDING DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES Each fund intends to distribute to its shareholders virtually all of its net earnings. Each fund can earn money in two ways: by receiving interest, dividends or other income from investments it holds and by selling investments for more than it paid for them. (Each fund's earnings are separate from any gains or losses stemming from your own purchase and sale of shares.) Each fund may not always pay a dividend or other distribution for a given period. DWS Growth & Income Fund intends to pay dividends and distributions of investment income to its shareholders in March, June, September and December; long-term and short-term capital gains are normally paid in December. DWS Capital Growth Fund, DWS Small Cap Core Fund and DWS Blue Chip Fund each intends to pay dividends and distributions of both investment income and long-term and short-term capital gains to its shareholders annually in December. If necessary, a fund may distribute at other times as needed. Dividends or distributions declared and payable to shareholders of record in the last quarter of a given calendar year are treated for federal income tax purposes as if they were received on December 31 of that year, provided such dividends or distributions are paid by the end of the following January. For federal income tax purposes, income and capital gains distributions are generally taxable to shareholders. However, dividends and distributions received by retirement plans qualifying for tax exemption under federal income tax laws generally will not be taxable. YOU CAN CHOOSE HOW TO RECEIVE YOUR DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS. You can have them all automatically reinvested in fund shares (at NAV), all deposited directly to your bank account or all sent to you by check, have one type reinvested and the other sent to you by check or have them invested in a different fund. Tell us your preference on your application. If you don't indicate a preference, your dividends and distributions will all be reinvested in shares of the fund without a sales charge (if applicable). Distributions are treated the same for THE FOLLOWING SIDEBAR TEXT APPEARS NEXT TO THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPHS Because each shareholder's tax situation is unique, ask your tax professional about the tax consequences of your investments, including any state and local tax consequences. Understanding Distributions and Taxes | 83 federal income tax purposes whether you receive them in cash or reinvest them in additional shares. Under the terms of employer-sponsored qualified plans, and retirement plans, reinvestment (at NAV) is the only option. BUYING, SELLING OR EXCHANGING FUND SHARES WILL USUALLY HAVE FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES FOR YOU (except in employer-sponsored qualified plans, IRAs or other tax-advantaged accounts). Your sale of shares may result in a capital gain or loss. The gain or loss will be long-term or short-term depending on how long you owned the shares that were sold. For federal income tax purposes, an exchange is treated the same as a sale. THE FEDERAL INCOME TAX STATUS of a fund's earnings you receive and your own fund transactions generally depends on their type:
GENERALLY TAXED AT LONG-TERM GENERALLY TAXED AT ORDINARY CAPITAL GAIN RATES: INCOME RATES: DISTRIBUTIONS FROM A FUND - - gains from the sale of - gains from the sale of securities held (or treated as securities held by a fund for held) by a fund for more than one year or less one year - all other taxable income - - qualified dividend income TRANSACTIONS INVOLVING FUND SHARES - - gains from selling fund - gains from selling fund shares held for more than shares held for one year or one year less
ANY DIRECT INVESTMENTS IN FOREIGN SECURITIES BY A FUND MAY BE SUBJECT TO FOREIGN WITHHOLDING TAXES. In that case, a fund's yield on those securities would generally be decreased. Shareholders generally will not be entitled to claim a credit or deduction with respect to foreign taxes paid by a fund. In addition, any investments in foreign securities or foreign currencies may increase or accelerate a fund's recognition of ordinary income and may affect the timing or amount of the fund's distributions. If you invest in a fund through a taxable account, your after-tax return could be negatively impacted. 84 | Understanding Distributions and Taxes Investments in certain debt obligations or other securities may cause a fund to recognize taxable income in excess of the cash generated by them. Thus, a fund could be required at times to liquidate other investments in order to satisfy its distribution requirements. For taxable years beginning before January 1, 2011, distributions to individuals and other noncorporate shareholders of investment income designated by a fund as derived from qualified dividend income are eligible for taxation for federal income tax purposes at the more favorable long-term capital gain rates. Qualified dividend income generally includes dividends received by a fund from domestic and some foreign corporations. It does not include income from investments in debt securities or, generally, from real estate investment trusts. In addition, a fund must meet certain holding period and other requirements with respect to the dividend-paying stocks in its portfolio and the shareholder must meet certain holding period and other requirements with respect to a fund's shares for the lower tax rates to apply. For taxable years beginning before January 1, 2011, the maximum federal income tax rate imposed on long-term capital gains recognized by individuals and other noncorporate shareholders has been temporarily reduced to 15%, in general, with lower rates applying to taxpayers in the 10% and 15% rate brackets. For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2011, the maximum long-term capital gain rate is scheduled to return to 20%. YOUR FUND WILL SEND YOU DETAILED FEDERAL INCOME TAX INFORMATION EVERY JANUARY. These statements tell you the amount and the federal income tax classification of any dividends or distributions you received. They also have certain details on your purchases and sales of shares. IF YOU INVEST RIGHT BEFORE A FUND PAYS A DIVIDEND, you'll be getting some of your investment back as a taxable dividend. You can avoid this by investing after a fund pays a dividend. In tax-advantaged retirement accounts you generally do not need to worry about this. If a fund's distributions exceed its current and accumulated earnings and profits, the excess will be treated for federal income tax purposes as a tax-free return of capital to the extent of your basis in your shares and thereafter as a gain from the Understanding Distributions and Taxes | 85 sale or exchange of your shares. Because a return of capital distribution reduces the basis of your shares, a return of capital distribution may result in a higher capital gain or a lower capital loss when you sell your shares. CORPORATIONS are taxed at the same rates on ordinary income and capital gains but may be eligible for a dividends-received deduction for a portion of the income dividends they receive from a fund, provided certain holding period and other requirements are met. The above discussion summarizes certain federal income tax consequences for shareholders who are US persons. If you are a non-US person, please consult your own tax advisor with respect to the US tax consequences to you of an investment in a fund. For more information, see "Taxes" in the Statement of Additional Information. 86 | Understanding Distributions and Taxes APPENDIX - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hypothetical Expense Summary Using the annual fund operating expense ratios presented in the fee tables in the fund prospectus, the Hypothetical Expense Summary shows the estimated fees and expenses, in actual dollars, that would be charged on a hypothetical investment of $10,000 in the fund held for the next 10 years and the impact of such fees and expenses on fund returns for each year and cumulatively, assuming a 5% return for each year. The historical rate of return for the fund may be higher or lower than 5% and, for money funds, is typically less than 5%. The tables also assume that all dividends and distributions are reinvested and that Class B shares convert to Class A shares after six years. The annual fund expense ratios shown are net of any contractual fee waivers or expense reimbursements, if any, for the period of the contractual commitment. The tables reflect the maximum initial sales charge, if any, but do not reflect any contingent deferred sales charge or redemption fees, if any, which may be payable upon redemption. If contingent deferred sales charges or redemption fees were shown, the "Hypothetical Year-End Balance After Fees and Expenses" amounts shown would be lower and the "Annual Fees and Expenses" amounts shown would be higher. Also, please note that if you are investing through a third party provider, that provider may have fees and expenses separate from those of the fund that are not reflected here. Mutual fund fees and expenses fluctuate over time and actual expenses may be higher or lower than those shown. The Hypothetical Expense Summary should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy or a recommendation or endorsement of any specific mutual fund. You should carefully review the fund's prospectus to consider the investment objectives, risks, expenses and charges of the fund prior to investing. Appendix | 87 DWS Growth & Income Fund - Class A
MAXIMUM INITIAL HYPOTHETICAL ASSUMED RATE SALES CHARGE: INVESTMENT: OF RETURN: 5.75% $10,000 5% HYPOTHETICAL CUMULATIVE ANNUAL CUMULATIVE YEAR-END RETURN BEFORE FUND RETURN AFTER BALANCE AFTER ANNUAL FEES FEES AND EXPENSE FEES AND FEES AND AND YEAR EXPENSES RATIOS EXPENSES EXPENSES EXPENSES 1 5.00% 1.02% -2.00% $ 9,800.12 $ 673.05 2 10.25% 1.02% 1.90% $ 10,190.16 $ 101.95 3 15.76% 1.02% 5.96% $ 10,595.73 $ 106.01 4 21.55% 1.02% 10.17% $ 11,017.44 $ 110.23 5 27.63% 1.02% 14.56% $ 11,455.93 $ 114.61 6 34.01% 1.02% 19.12% $ 11,911.88 $ 119.18 7 40.71% 1.02% 23.86% $ 12,385.97 $ 123.92 8 47.75% 1.02% 28.79% $ 12,878.93 $ 128.85 9 55.13% 1.02% 33.92% $ 13,391.51 $ 133.98 10 62.89% 1.02% 39.24% $ 13,924.50 $ 139.31 TOTAL $ 1,751.09
DWS Growth & Income Fund - Class B
MAXIMUM INITIAL HYPOTHETICAL ASSUMED RATE SALES CHARGE: INVESTMENT: OF RETURN: 0.00% $10,000 5% HYPOTHETICAL CUMULATIVE ANNUAL CUMULATIVE YEAR-END RETURN BEFORE FUND RETURN AFTER BALANCE AFTER ANNUAL FEES AND EXPENSE FEES AND FEES AND FEES AND YEAR EXPENSES RATIOS EXPENSES EXPENSES EXPENSES 1 5.00% 1.96% 3.04% $ 10,304.00 $ 198.98 2 10.25% 1.96% 6.17% $ 10,617.24 $ 205.03 3 15.76% 1.96% 9.40% $ 10,940.01 $ 211.26 4 21.55% 1.96% 12.73% $ 11,272.58 $ 217.68 5 27.63% 1.96% 16.15% $ 11,615.27 $ 224.30 6 34.01% 1.96% 19.68% $ 11,968.37 $ 231.12 7 40.71% 1.02% 24.45% $ 12,444.71 $ 124.51 8 47.75% 1.02% 29.40% $ 12,940.01 $ 129.46 9 55.13% 1.02% 34.55% $ 13,455.03 $ 134.61 10 62.89% 1.02% 39.91% $ 13,990.54 $ 139.97 TOTAL $ 1,816.92
88 | Appendix DWS Growth & Income Fund - Class C
MAXIMUM INITIAL HYPOTHETICAL ASSUMED RATE SALES CHARGE: INVESTMENT: OF RETURN: 0.00% $10,000 5% HYPOTHETICAL CUMULATIVE ANNUAL CUMULATIVE YEAR-END RETURN BEFORE FUND RETURN AFTER BALANCE AFTER ANNUAL FEES FEES AND EXPENSE FEES AND FEES AND AND YEAR EXPENSES RATIOS EXPENSES EXPENSES EXPENSES 1 5.00% 1.79% 3.21% $ 10,321.00 $ 181.87 2 10.25% 1.79% 6.52% $ 10,652.30 $ 187.71 3 15.76% 1.79% 9.94% $ 10,994.24 $ 193.74 4 21.55% 1.79% 13.47% $ 11,347.16 $ 199.96 5 27.63% 1.79% 17.11% $ 11,711.40 $ 206.37 6 34.01% 1.79% 20.87% $ 12,087.34 $ 213.00 7 40.71% 1.79% 24.75% $ 12,475.34 $ 219.84 8 47.75% 1.79% 28.76% $ 12,875.80 $ 226.89 9 55.13% 1.79% 32.89% $ 13,289.11 $ 234.18 10 62.89% 1.79% 37.16% $ 13,715.69 $ 241.69 TOTAL $ 2,105.25
DWS Capital Growth Fund - Class A
MAXIMUM INITIAL HYPOTHETICAL ASSUMED RATE SALES CHARGE: INVESTMENT: OF RETURN: 5.75% $10,000 5% HYPOTHETICAL CUMULATIVE ANNUAL CUMULATIVE YEAR-END RETURN BEFORE FUND RETURN AFTER BALANCE AFTER ANNUAL FEES AND EXPENSE FEES AND FEES AND FEES AND YEAR EXPENSES RATIOS EXPENSES EXPENSES EXPENSES 1 5.00% 1.07% -2.05% $ 9,795.40 $ 677.83 2 10.25% 1.07% 1.80% $ 10,180.36 $ 106.87 3 15.76% 1.07% 5.80% $ 10,580.45 $ 111.07 4 21.55% 1.07% 9.96% $ 10,996.26 $ 115.44 5 27.63% 1.07% 14.28% $ 11,428.41 $ 119.97 6 34.01% 1.07% 18.78% $ 11,877.55 $ 124.69 7 40.71% 1.07% 23.44% $ 12,344.34 $ 129.59 8 47.75% 1.07% 28.29% $ 12,829.47 $ 134.68 9 55.13% 1.07% 33.34% $ 13,333.67 $ 139.97 10 62.89% 1.07% 38.58% $ 13,857.68 $ 145.47 TOTAL $ 1,805.58
Appendix | 89 DWS Capital Growth Fund - Class B
MAXIMUM INITIAL HYPOTHETICAL ASSUMED RATE SALES CHARGE: INVESTMENT: OF RETURN: 0.00% $10,000 5% HYPOTHETICAL CUMULATIVE ANNUAL CUMULATIVE YEAR-END RETURN BEFORE FUND RETURN AFTER BALANCE AFTER ANNUAL FEES FEES AND EXPENSE FEES AND FEES AND AND YEAR EXPENSES RATIOS EXPENSES EXPENSES EXPENSES 1 5.00% 2.02% 2.98% $ 10,298.00 $ 205.01 2 10.25% 2.02% 6.05% $ 10,604.88 $ 211.12 3 15.76% 2.02% 9.21% $ 10,920.91 $ 217.41 4 21.55% 2.02% 12.46% $ 11,246.35 $ 223.89 5 27.63% 2.02% 15.81% $ 11,581.49 $ 230.56 6 34.01% 2.02% 19.27% $ 11,926.62 $ 237.43 7 40.71% 1.07% 23.95% $ 12,395.33 $ 130.12 8 47.75% 1.07% 28.82% $ 12,882.47 $ 135.24 9 55.13% 1.07% 33.89% $ 13,388.75 $ 140.55 10 62.89% 1.07% 39.15% $ 13,914.93 $ 146.07 TOTAL $ 1,877.40
DWS Capital Growth Fund - Class C
MAXIMUM INITIAL HYPOTHETICAL ASSUMED RATE SALES CHARGE: INVESTMENT: OF RETURN: 0.00% $10,000 5% HYPOTHETICAL CUMULATIVE ANNUAL CUMULATIVE YEAR-END RETURN BEFORE FUND RETURN AFTER BALANCE AFTER ANNUAL FEES AND EXPENSE FEES AND FEES AND FEES AND YEAR EXPENSES RATIOS EXPENSES EXPENSES EXPENSES 1 5.00% 1.89% 3.11% $ 10,311.00 $ 191.94 2 10.25% 1.89% 6.32% $ 10,631.67 $ 197.91 3 15.76% 1.89% 9.62% $ 10,962.32 $ 204.06 4 21.55% 1.89% 13.03% $ 11,303.25 $ 210.41 5 27.63% 1.89% 16.55% $ 11,654.78 $ 216.95 6 34.01% 1.89% 20.17% $ 12,017.24 $ 223.70 7 40.71% 1.89% 23.91% $ 12,390.98 $ 230.66 8 47.75% 1.89% 27.76% $ 12,776.34 $ 237.83 9 55.13% 1.89% 31.74% $ 13,173.68 $ 245.23 10 62.89% 1.89% 35.83% $ 13,583.38 $ 252.85 TOTAL $ 2,211.54
90 | Appendix DWS Capital Growth Fund - Class R
MAXIMUM INITIAL HYPOTHETICAL ASSUMED RATE SALES CHARGE: INVESTMENT: OF RETURN: 0.00% $10,000 5% HYPOTHETICAL CUMULATIVE ANNUAL CUMULATIVE YEAR-END RETURN BEFORE FUND RETURN AFTER BALANCE AFTER ANNUAL FEES AND EXPENSE FEES AND FEES AND FEES AND YEAR EXPENSES RATIOS EXPENSES EXPENSES EXPENSES 1 5.00% 1.41% 3.59% $ 10,359.00 $ 143.53 2 10.25% 1.41% 7.31% $ 10,730.89 $ 148.68 3 15.76% 1.41% 11.16% $ 11,116.13 $ 154.02 4 21.55% 1.41% 15.15% $ 11,515.20 $ 159.55 5 27.63% 1.41% 19.29% $ 11,928.59 $ 165.28 6 34.01% 1.41% 23.57% $ 12,356.83 $ 171.21 7 40.71% 1.41% 28.00% $ 12,800.44 $ 177.36 8 47.75% 1.41% 32.60% $ 13,259.97 $ 183.73 9 55.13% 1.41% 37.36% $ 13,736.01 $ 190.32 10 62.89% 1.41% 42.29% $ 14,229.13 $ 197.15 TOTAL $ 1,690.83
DWS Small Cap Core Fund - Class A
MAXIMUM INITIAL HYPOTHETICAL ASSUMED RATE SALES CHARGE: INVESTMENT: OF RETURN: 5.75% $10,000 5% HYPOTHETICAL CUMULATIVE ANNUAL CUMULATIVE YEAR-END RETURN BEFORE FUND RETURN AFTER BALANCE AFTER ANNUAL FEES AND EXPENSE FEES AND FEES AND FEES AND YEAR EXPENSES RATIOS EXPENSES EXPENSES EXPENSES 1 5.00% 1.58% -2.53% $ 9,747.34 $ 726.46 2 10.25% 1.58% 0.81% $ 10,080.69 $ 156.64 3 15.76% 1.58% 4.25% $ 10,425.45 $ 162.00 4 21.55% 1.58% 7.82% $ 10,782.00 $ 167.54 5 27.63% 1.58% 11.51% $ 11,150.75 $ 173.27 6 34.01% 1.58% 15.32% $ 11,532.10 $ 179.19 7 40.71% 1.58% 19.27% $ 11,926.50 $ 185.32 8 47.75% 1.58% 23.34% $ 12,334.39 $ 191.66 9 55.13% 1.58% 27.56% $ 12,756.22 $ 198.22 10 62.89% 1.58% 31.92% $ 13,192.49 $ 204.99 TOTAL $ 2,345.29
Appendix | 91 DWS Small Cap Core Fund - Class B
MAXIMUM INITIAL HYPOTHETICAL ASSUMED RATE SALES CHARGE: INVESTMENT: OF RETURN: 0.00% $10,000 5% HYPOTHETICAL CUMULATIVE ANNUAL CUMULATIVE YEAR-END RETURN BEFORE FUND RETURN AFTER BALANCE AFTER ANNUAL FEES FEES AND EXPENSE FEES AND FEES AND AND YEAR EXPENSES RATIOS EXPENSES EXPENSES EXPENSES 1 5.00% 2.44% 2.56% $ 10,256.00 $ 247.12 2 10.25% 2.44% 5.19% $ 10,518.55 $ 253.45 3 15.76% 2.44% 7.88% $ 10,787.83 $ 259.94 4 21.55% 2.44% 10.64% $ 11,064.00 $ 266.59 5 27.63% 2.44% 13.47% $ 11,347.24 $ 273.42 6 34.01% 2.44% 16.38% $ 11,637.72 $ 280.42 7 40.71% 1.58% 20.36% $ 12,035.73 $ 187.02 8 47.75% 1.58% 24.47% $ 12,447.36 $ 193.42 9 55.13% 1.58% 28.73% $ 12,873.06 $ 200.03 10 62.89% 1.58% 33.13% $ 13,313.31 $ 206.87 TOTAL $ 2,368.28
DWS Small Cap Core Fund - Class C
MAXIMUM INITIAL HYPOTHETICAL ASSUMED RATE SALES CHARGE: INVESTMENT: OF RETURN: 0.00% $10,000 5% HYPOTHETICAL CUMULATIVE ANNUAL CUMULATIVE YEAR-END RETURN BEFORE FUND RETURN AFTER BALANCE AFTER ANNUAL FEES AND EXPENSE FEES AND FEES AND FEES AND YEAR EXPENSES RATIOS EXPENSES EXPENSES EXPENSES 1 5.00% 2.35% 2.65% $ 10,265.00 $ 238.11 2 10.25% 2.35% 5.37% $ 10,537.02 $ 244.42 3 15.76% 2.35% 8.16% $ 10,816.25 $ 250.90 4 21.55% 2.35% 11.03% $ 11,102.88 $ 257.55 5 27.63% 2.35% 13.97% $ 11,397.11 $ 264.37 6 34.01% 2.35% 16.99% $ 11,699.13 $ 271.38 7 40.71% 2.35% 20.09% $ 12,009.16 $ 278.57 8 47.75% 2.35% 23.27% $ 12,327.40 $ 285.95 9 55.13% 2.35% 26.54% $ 12,654.08 $ 293.53 10 62.89% 2.35% 29.89% $ 12,989.41 $ 301.31 TOTAL $ 2,686.09
92 | Appendix DWS Blue Chip Fund - Class A
MAXIMUM INITIAL HYPOTHETICAL ASSUMED RATE SALES CHARGE: INVESTMENT: OF RETURN: 5.75% $10,000 5% HYPOTHETICAL CUMULATIVE ANNUAL CUMULATIVE YEAR-END RETURN BEFORE FUND RETURN AFTER BALANCE AFTER ANNUAL FEES FEES AND EXPENSE FEES AND FEES AND AND YEAR EXPENSES RATIOS EXPENSES EXPENSES EXPENSES 1 5.00% 1.13% -2.10% $ 9,789.75 $ 683.56 2 10.25% 1.13% 1.69% $ 10,168.61 $ 112.76 3 15.76% 1.13% 5.62% $ 10,562.14 $ 117.13 4 21.55% 1.13% 9.71% $ 10,970.89 $ 121.66 5 27.63% 1.13% 13.95% $ 11,395.46 $ 126.37 6 34.01% 1.13% 18.36% $ 11,836.47 $ 131.26 7 40.71% 1.13% 22.95% $ 12,294.54 $ 136.34 8 47.75% 1.13% 27.70% $ 12,770.34 $ 141.62 9 55.13% 1.13% 32.65% $ 13,264.55 $ 147.10 10 62.89% 1.13% 37.78% $ 13,777.89 $ 152.79 TOTAL $ 1,870.59
DWS Blue Chip Fund - Class B
MAXIMUM INITIAL HYPOTHETICAL ASSUMED RATE SALES CHARGE: INVESTMENT: OF RETURN: 0.00% $10,000 5% HYPOTHETICAL CUMULATIVE ANNUAL CUMULATIVE YEAR-END RETURN BEFORE FUND RETURN AFTER BALANCE AFTER ANNUAL FEES AND EXPENSE FEES AND FEES AND FEES AND YEAR EXPENSES RATIOS EXPENSES EXPENSES EXPENSES 1 5.00% 2.04% 2.96% $ 10,296.00 $ 207.02 2 10.25% 2.04% 6.01% $ 10,600.76 $ 213.15 3 15.76% 2.04% 9.15% $ 10,914.54 $ 219.46 4 21.55% 2.04% 12.38% $ 11,237.61 $ 225.95 5 27.63% 2.04% 15.70% $ 11,570.25 $ 232.64 6 34.01% 2.04% 19.13% $ 11,912.73 $ 239.53 7 40.71% 1.13% 23.74% $ 12,373.75 $ 137.22 8 47.75% 1.13% 28.53% $ 12,852.61 $ 142.53 9 55.13% 1.13% 33.40% $ 13,350.01 $ 148.04 10 62.89% 1.13% 38.67% $ 13,866.66 $ 153.77 TOTAL $ 1,919.31
Appendix | 93 DWS Blue Chip Fund - Class C
MAXIMUM INITIAL HYPOTHETICAL ASSUMED RATE SALES CHARGE: INVESTMENT: OF RETURN: 0.00% $10,000 5% HYPOTHETICAL CUMULATIVE ANNUAL CUMULATIVE YEAR-END RETURN BEFORE FUND RETURN AFTER BALANCE AFTER ANNUAL FEES AND EXPENSE FEES AND FEES AND FEES AND YEAR EXPENSES RATIOS EXPENSES EXPENSES EXPENSES 1 5.00% 1.91% 3.09% $ 10,309.00 $ 193.95 2 10.25% 1.91% 6.28% $ 10,627.55 $ 199.94 3 15.76% 1.91% 9.56% $ 10,955.94 $ 206.12 4 21.55% 1.91% 12.94% $ 11,294.48 $ 212.49 5 27.63% 1.91% 16.43% $ 11,643.48 $ 219.06 6 34.01% 1.91% 20.03% $ 12,003.26 $ 225.83 7 40.71% 1.91% 23.74% $ 12,374.16 $ 232.80 8 47.75% 1.91% 27.57% $ 12,756.52 $ 240.00 9 55.13% 1.91% 31.51% $ 13,150.70 $ 247.41 10 62.89% 1.91% 35.57% $ 13,557.06 $ 255.06 TOTAL $ 2,232.66
94 | Appendix TO GET MORE INFORMATION SHAREHOLDER REPORTS - These include commentary from a fund's management team about recent market conditions and the effects of a fund's strategies on its performance. They also have detailed performance figures, a list of everything a fund owns, and its financial statements. Shareholders get these reports automatically. STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (SAI) - This tells you more about a fund's features and policies, including additional risk information. The SAI is incorporated by reference into this document (meaning that it's legally part of this prospectus). For a free copy of any of these documents or to request other information about a fund, call (800) 621-1048, or contact DWS Investments at the address listed below. Each fund's SAI and shareholder reports are also available through the DWS Investments Web site at www.dws-investments.com. These documents and other information about each fund are available from the EDGAR Database on the SEC's Internet site at www.sec.gov. If you like, you may obtain copies of this information, after paying a copying fee, by e-mailing a request to publicinfo@sec.gov or by writing the SEC at the address listed below. You can also review and copy these documents and other information about each fund, including each fund's SAI, at the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Information on the operation of the SEC's Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling (800) SEC-0330.
DWS INVESTMENTS SEC DISTRIBUTOR - ----------------- -------------------- ------------------------------ PO Box 219151 100 F Street, N.E. DWS Investments Distributors, Kansas City, MO Washington, D.C. Inc. 64121-9151 20549-0102 222 South Riverside Plaza WWW.DWS- WWW.SEC.GOV Chicago, IL 60606-5808 INVESTMENTS.COM (800) SEC-0330 (800) 621-1148 (800) 621-1048
SEC FILE NUMBER: DWS Investment Trust DWS Growth & Income Fund 811-00043 DWS Investment Trust DWS Capital Growth Fund 811-00043 DWS Investment Trust DWS Small Cap Core Fund 811-00043 DWS Blue Chip Fund 811-05357
(04/01/09) DGF-1 [RECYCLE GRAPHIC APPEARS HERE] [DWS INVESTMENTS LOGO] Deutsche Bank Group FEBRUARY 1, 2009, AS REVISED APRIL 1, 2009 PROSPECTUS ------------------ INSTITUTIONAL CLASS DWS GROWTH & INCOME FUND DWS CAPITAL GROWTH FUND DWS BLUE CHIP FUND As with all mutual funds, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) does not approve or disapprove these shares or determine whether the information in this prospectus is truthful or complete. It is a criminal offense for anyone to inform you otherwise. RESHAPING INVESTING. [DWS INVESTMENTS LOGO] Deutsche Bank Group CONTENTS HOW EACH FUND WORKS 4 DWS Growth & Income Fund 10 DWS Capital Growth Fund 16 DWS Blue Chip Fund 22 Other Policies and Secondary Risks 24 Who Manages and Oversees the Funds 29 Additional Performance Information 31 Financial Highlights
HOW TO INVEST IN THE FUNDS 36 Buying and Selling Institutional Class Shares 42 Policies You Should Know About 53 Understanding Distributions and Taxes 57 Appendix
HOW EACH FUND WORKS On the next few pages, you'll find information about each fund's investment objective, the main strategies each uses to pursue that objective and the main risks that could affect performance. Whether you are considering investing in a fund or are already a shareholder, you'll want to LOOK THIS INFORMATION OVER CAREFULLY. You may want to keep it on hand for reference as well. Remember that mutual funds are investments, not bank deposits. They're not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC or any other government agency. Their share prices will go up and down, and you could lose money by investing in them. You can find DWS prospectuses on the Internet at WWW.DWS-INVESTMENTS.COM (the Web site does not form a part of this prospectus). Institutional Class ticker symbol SUWIX fund number 550 DWS GROWTH & INCOME FUND
THE FUND'S MAIN INVESTMENT STRATEGY The fund seeks long-term growth of capital, current income and growth of income. The fund invests at least 65% of total assets in equities, mainly common stocks. Although the fund can invest in companies of any size and from any country, it invests primarily in large US companies. The portfolio managers may favor securities from different industries and companies at different times. The portfolio managers use quantitative stock techniques and fundamental equity analysis to evaluate each company's stock price relative to the company's earnings, operating trends, market outlook and other measures of performance potential. The portfolio managers will normally sell a stock when they believe its fundamental factors have changed, other investments offer better opportunities or in the course of adjusting the fund's emphasis on or within a given industry. DERIVATIVES AND OTHER INVESTMENTS. The fund is permitted, but not required, to use various types of derivatives (contracts whose value is based on, for example, indexes, currencies or securities). The fund may use derivatives in circumstances where the managers believe they offer an economical means of gaining exposure to a particular asset class or to keep cash on hand to meet shareholder redemptions or other needs while maintaining exposure to the market. SECURITIES LENDING. The fund may lend its investment securities in an amount up to 33 1/3% of its total assets to approved institutional borrowers who need to borrow securities in order to complete certain transactions. 4 | DWS Growth & Income Fund THE MAIN RISKS OF INVESTING IN THE FUND 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. STOCK MARKET RISK. The fund is affected by how the stock market performs. To the extent the fund invests in a particular capitalization or market sector, the fund's performance may be proportionately affected by that segment's general performance. When stock prices fall, you should expect the value of your investment to fall as well. Because a stock represents ownership in its issuer, stock prices can be hurt by poor management, shrinking product demand and other business risks. These factors may affect single companies as well as groups of companies. In addition, movements in financial markets may adversely affect a stock's price, regardless of how well the company performs. The market as a whole may not favor the types of investments the fund makes, which could affect the fund's ability to sell them at an attractive price. INDUSTRY RISK. While the fund does not concentrate in any industry, to the extent that the fund has exposure to a given industry or sector, any factors affecting that industry or sector could affect the value of portfolio securities. For example, manufacturers of consumer goods could be hurt by a rise in unemployment or technology companies could be hurt by such factors as market saturation, price competition and rapid obsolescence. SECURITY SELECTION RISK. A risk that pervades all investing is the risk that the securities in the fund's portfolio may decline in value. SECURITIES LENDING RISK. Any loss in the market price of securities loaned by the fund that occurs during the term of the loan would be borne by the fund and would adversely affect the fund's performance. Also, there may be delays in recovery of securities loaned or even a loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially while the loan is outstanding. However, loans will be made only to borrowers selected by the fund's delegate after a review of relevant facts and circumstances, including the creditworthiness of the borrower. THE FOLLOWING SIDEBAR TEXT APPEARS NEXT TO THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPHS This fund is designed for investors interested in a relatively conservative equity fund to provide long-term growth and some current income. DWS Growth & Income Fund | 5 Other factors that could affect performance include: - portfolio management could be wrong in the analysis of industries, companies, economic trends, the relative attractiveness of different securities or other matters. - foreign securities may be more volatile than their US counterparts, for reasons such as currency fluctuations and political and economic uncertainty. - derivatives could produce disproportionate losses due to a variety of factors, including the failure of the counterparty to meet its obligations or unexpected price or interest rate movements. 6 | DWS Growth & Income Fund THE FUND'S PERFORMANCE HISTORY While a fund's past performance (before and after taxes) isn't necessarily a sign of how it will do in the future, it can be valuable for an investor to know. The bar chart shows how the performance of the fund's Institutional Class shares has varied from year to year, which may give some idea of risk. The table on the following page shows how fund performance compares to relevant index performance (which, unlike fund performance, does not reflect fees or expenses). The performance of the fund and the index information varies over time. All figures assume reinvestment of dividends and distributions (in the case of after-tax returns, reinvested net of assumed tax rates). The table shows returns for Institutional Class shares on a before-tax and after-tax basis. After-tax returns are estimates calculated using the historical highest marginal individual federal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown in the table. After-tax returns shown are not relevant for investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. DWS Growth & Income Fund ANNUAL TOTAL RETURN (%) AS OF 12/31 EACH YEAR - Institutional Class [BAR GRAPHIC OMITTED HERE] [BAR GRAPHIC DATA] 27.06 9.91 6.06 13.56 0.96 -38.38 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
FOR THE PERIODS INCLUDED IN THE BAR CHART: BEST QUARTER: 12.91%, Q2 2003 WORST QUARTER: -21.83%, Q4 2008
DWS Growth & Income Fund | 7 AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS (%) as of 12/31/2008
1 YEAR 5 YEAR SINCE INCEPTION* INSTITUTIONAL CLASS Return before Taxes -38.38 -3.81 -0.74 Return after Taxes on Distributions -38.53 -5.32 -2.01 Return after Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares -24.68** -2.93** -0.42** RUSSELL 1000 (Reg. TM) INDEX (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) -37.60 -2.04 1.97
Total returns would have been lower if operating expenses hadn't been reduced. * Since August 19, 2002. Index comparisons begin August 31, 2002. ** Return after Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares is higher than other return figures for the same period due to a capital loss occurring upon redemption resulting in an assumed tax deduction for the shareholder. RUSSELL 1000 (Reg. TM) INDEX is an unmanaged price-only index of the 1,000 largest capitalized companies that are domiciled in the US and whose common stocks are traded. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current performance may be higher or lower than the performance data quoted above. For more recent performance information, call your financial advisor or (800) 730-1313 or visit our Web site at www.dws-investments.com. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return information assumes that fund shares were sold at the end of the period. RETURN AFTER TAXES ON DISTRIBUTIONS reflects taxes only on the fund's distributions and not on a shareholder's gain or loss from selling fund shares. RETURN AFTER TAXES ON DISTRIBUTIONS AND SALE OF FUND SHARES reflects taxes on both the fund's distributions and a shareholder's gain or loss from selling fund shares. 8 | DWS Growth & Income Fund HOW MUCH INVESTORS PAY The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold fund shares. This information doesn't include any fees that may be charged by your financial advisor.
FEE TABLE SHAREHOLDER FEES, paid directly from your investment ______________________________________________________________________ Sales Charge None Redemption/Exchange Fee on shares owned less than 15 days (as % of redemption proceeds) 1 2.00% ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSES, deducted from fund assets ______________________________________________________________________ Management Fees 0.35% Distribution/Service (12b-1) Fees None Other Expenses 2 0.16 TOTAL ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSES 3 0.51
1 This fee is charged on all applicable redemptions or exchanges. Please see "Policies You Should Know About - Policies about transactions" for further information. 2 "Other Expenses" include an administrative services fee paid to the Advisor in the amount of 0.10% of average daily net assets. 3 Except as otherwise noted, the information in the table is based on amounts incurred during the fund's most recent fiscal year. It is important for you to understand that a decline in the fund's average net assets during the current fiscal year due to recent unprecedented market volatility or other factors could cause the fund's expense ratios for the fund's current fiscal year to be higher than the expense information presented. Based on the costs above, this example helps you compare the expenses of the Fund to those of other mutual funds. This example assumes the expenses above remain the same. It also assumes that you invested $10,000, earned 5% annual returns and reinvested all dividends and distributions. This is only an example; actual expenses will be different.
EXAMPLE 1 YEAR 3 YEARS 5 YEARS 10 YEARS Institutional Class $52 $164 $285 $640
DWS Growth & Income Fund | 9 Institutional Class ticker symbol SDGTX fund number 564 DWS CAPITAL GROWTH FUND
THE FUND'S MAIN INVESTMENT STRATEGY The fund seeks to provide long-term growth of capital. The fund normally invests at least 65% of total assets in equities, mainly common stocks of US companies. Although the fund can invest in companies of any size, it generally focuses on established companies that are similar in size to the companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 (Reg. TM) Composite Stock Price Index (the "S&P 500 Index") or the Russell 1000 (Reg. TM) Growth Index (as of December 31, 2008, the S&P 500 Index and the Russell 1000 (Reg. TM) Growth Index had median market capitalizations of $6.4 billion and $3.3 billion, respectively). Although the fund may invest in companies of any size, the fund intends to invest primarily in companies whose market capitalizations fall within the normal range of these indexes. The fund may also invest in other types of equity securities such as preferred stocks or convertible securities. In choosing stocks, the portfolio managers begin by utilizing a proprietary quantitative model to rank stocks based on a number of factors including valuation and profitability. The portfolio managers also apply fundamental techniques to identify companies that display above-average earnings growth compared to other companies and that have strong product lines, effective management and leadership positions within core markets. The factors considered and models used by the portfolio managers may change over time. The portfolio managers will normally sell a stock when they believe its potential risks have increased, its price is unlikely to go higher, its fundamental factors have changed, other investments offer better opportunities or in the course of adjusting the fund's emphasis on a given industry. DERIVATIVES AND OTHER INVESTMENTS. The fund is permitted, but not required, to use various types of derivatives (contracts whose value is based on, for example, indices, currencies or securities). Derivatives may be used for hedging and for risk 10 | DWS Capital Growth Fund management or for non-hedging purposes to seek to enhance potential gains. The fund may use derivatives in circumstances where portfolio management believes they offer an economical means of gaining exposure to a particular asset class or to keep cash on hand to meet shareholder redemptions or other needs while maintaining exposure to the market. In particular, the fund may use futures and options and write covered call options. SECURITIES LENDING. The fund may lend its investment securities in an amount up to 33 1/3% of its total assets to approved institutional borrowers who need to borrow securities in order to complete certain transactions. THE MAIN RISKS OF INVESTING IN THE FUND 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. STOCK MARKET RISK. The fund is affected by how the stock market performs. To the extent the fund invests in a particular capitalization or market sector, the fund's performance may be proportionately affected by that segment's general performance. When stock prices fall, you should expect the value of your investment to fall as well. Because a stock represents ownership in its issuer, stock prices can be hurt by poor management, shrinking product demand and other business risks. These factors may affect single companies as well as groups of companies. In addition, movements in financial markets may adversely affect a stock's price, regardless of how well the company performs. The market as a whole may not favor the types of investments the fund makes, which could affect the fund's ability to sell them at an attractive price. GROWTH INVESTING RISK. Since growth stocks usually reinvest a large portion of earnings in their own businesses, they may lack the dividends associated with value stocks that might otherwise cushion their decline in a falling market. Earnings disappointments in growth stocks often result in THE FOLLOWING SIDEBAR TEXT APPEARS NEXT TO THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPHS This fund is designed for investors with long-term goals who are interested in a growth-style approach to investing. DWS Capital Growth Fund | 11 sharp price declines because investors buy these stocks for their potential superior earnings growth. Growth stocks may also be out of favor for certain periods in relation to value stocks. INDUSTRY RISK. While the fund does not concentrate in any industry, to the extent that the fund has exposure to a given industry or sector, any factors affecting that industry or sector could affect the value of portfolio securities. For example, manufacturers of consumer goods could be hurt by a rise in unemployment or technology companies could be hurt by such factors as market saturation, price competition and rapid obsolescence. SECURITY SELECTION RISK. A risk that pervades all investing is the risk that the securities in the fund's portfolio may decline in value. SECURITIES LENDING RISK. Any loss in the market price of securities loaned by the fund that occurs during the term of the loan would be borne by the fund and would adversely affect the fund's performance. Also, there may be delays in recovery of securities loaned or even a loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially while the loan is outstanding. However, loans will be made only to borrowers selected by the fund's delegate after a review of relevant facts and circumstances, including the creditworthiness of the borrower. Other factors that could affect performance include: - portfolio management could be wrong in the analysis of industries, companies, economic trends, the relative attractiveness of different securities or other matters. - foreign securities may be more volatile than their US counterparts, for reasons such as currency fluctuations and political and economic uncertainty. - derivatives could produce disproportionate losses due to a variety of factors, including the failure of the counterparty to meet its obligations or unexpected price or interest rate movements. 12 | DWS Capital Growth Fund THE FUND'S PERFORMANCE HISTORY While a fund's past performance (before and after taxes) isn't necessarily a sign of how it will do in the future, it can be valuable for an investor to know. The bar chart shows how the performance of the fund's Institutional Class shares has varied from year to year, which may give some idea of risk. The table on the following page shows how fund performance compares to relevant index performance (which, unlike fund performance, does not reflect fees or expenses). The performance of the fund and the index information varies over time. All figures assume reinvestment of dividends and distributions (in the case of after-tax returns, reinvested net of assumed tax rates). The table shows returns for Institutional Class shares on a before-tax and after-tax basis. After-tax returns are estimates calculated using the historical highest marginal individual federal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown in the table. After-tax returns shown are not relevant for investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. DWS Capital Growth Fund ANNUAL TOTAL RETURN (%) AS OF 12/31 EACH YEAR - Institutional Class [BAR GRAPHIC OMITTED HERE] [BAR GRAPHIC DATA] 26.45 7.66 8.60 8.43 12.35 -32.75 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
FOR THE PERIODS INCLUDED IN THE BAR CHART: BEST QUARTER:12.52%, Q2 2003 WORST QUARTER: -21.21%, Q4 2008
DWS Capital Growth Fund | 13 AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS (%) as of 12/31/2008
1 YEAR 5 YEAR SINCE INCEPTION* INSTITUTIONAL CLASS Return before Taxes -32.75 -0.86 1.40 Return after Taxes on Distributions -32.82 -0.94 1.33 Return after Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares -21.19** -0.71** 1.21 RUSSELL 1000 (Reg. TM) GROWTH INDEX (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) -38.44 -3.42 0.73 STANDARD & POOR'S 500 INDEX (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) -37.00 -2.19 1.71
Total returns would have been lower if operating expenses hadn't been reduced. On April 1, 2009, the Russell 1000 Growth Index will replace the S&P 500 as the fund's benchmark index because the Advisor believes that it more accurately reflects the fund's investment strategy. * Since August 19, 2002. Index comparisons begin August 31, 2002. ** Return after Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares is higher than other return figures for the same period due to a capital loss occurring upon redemption resulting in an assumed tax deduction for the shareholder. RUSSELL 1000 (Reg. TM) GROWTH INDEX is an unmanaged index that consists of those stocks in the Russell 1000 (Reg. TM) Index that have higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values. Russell 1000 (Reg. TM) Index is an unmanaged price-only index of the 1,000 largest capitalized companies that are domiciled in the US and whose common stocks are traded. STANDARD & POOR'S 500 INDEX (S&P 500) is an unmanaged, capitalization-weighted index of 500 stocks. The index is designed to measure performance of the broad domestic economy through changes in the aggregate market value of 500 stocks representing all major industries. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current performance may be higher or lower than the performance data quoted above. For more recent performance information, call your financial advisor or (800) 730-1313 or visit our Web site at www.dws-investments.com. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return information assumes that fund shares were sold at the end of the period. RETURN AFTER TAXES ON DISTRIBUTIONS reflects taxes only on the fund's distributions and not on a shareholder's gain or loss from selling fund shares. RETURN AFTER TAXES ON DISTRIBUTIONS AND SALE OF FUND SHARES reflects taxes on both the fund's distributions and a shareholder's gain or loss from selling fund shares. 14 | DWS Capital Growth Fund ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCE INFORMATION. Owen Fitzpatrick, Lead Manager to the fund, previously managed private accounts with substantially similar investment objectives, policies and strategies as the fund when he was employed by Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management. See the section entitled "Additional Performance Information" for more information. This performance does not represent the performance of the fund and should not be considered an indication of future performance of the fund. HOW MUCH INVESTORS PAY The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold fund shares. This information doesn't include any fees that may be charged by your financial advisor.
FEE TABLE SHAREHOLDER FEES, paid directly from your investment ______________________________________________________________________ Sales Charge None Redemption/Exchange Fee on shares owned less than 15 days (as % of redemption proceeds) 1 2.00% ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSES, deducted from fund assets ______________________________________________________________________ Management Fees 0.46% Distribution/Service (12b-1) Fees None Other Expenses 2 0.27 TOTAL ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSES 3 0.73
1 This fee is charged on all applicable redemptions or exchanges. Please see "Policies You Should Know About - Policies about transactions" for further information. 2 "Other Expenses" include an administrative services fee paid to the Advisor in the amount of 0.10% of average daily net assets. 3 Except as otherwise noted, the information in the table is based on amounts incurred during the fund's most recent fiscal year. It is important for you to understand that a decline in the fund's average net assets during the current fiscal year due to recent unprecedented market volatility or other factors could cause the fund's expense ratios for the fund's current fiscal year to be higher than the expense information presented. Based on the costs above, this example helps you compare the expenses of the Fund to those of other mutual funds. This example assumes the expenses above remain the same. It also assumes that you invested $10,000, earned 5% annual returns and reinvested all dividends and distributions. This is only an example; actual expenses will be different.
EXAMPLE 1 YEAR 3 YEARS 5 YEARS 10 YEARS Institutional Class $75 $233 $406 $906
DWS Capital Growth Fund | 15 Institutional Class ticker symbol KBCIX fund number 1431 DWS BLUE CHIP FUND
THE FUND'S MAIN INVESTMENT STRATEGY The fund seeks growth of capital and of income. Under normal circumstances, the fund invests at least 80% of net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in common stocks of large US companies that are similar in size to the companies in the S&P 500 Index (as of December 31, 2008, the S&P 500 Index had a median market capitalization of $6.4 billion) and that the portfolio managers consider to be "blue chip" companies. Blue chip companies are large, well-known companies that typically have an established earnings and dividends history, easy access to credit, solid positions in their industry and strong management. While the fund invests mainly in US common stocks, it could invest up to 20% of net assets in foreign securities. The fund may also invest in other types of equity securities such as preferred stocks or convertible securities. The portfolio managers look for "blue chip" companies whose stock price is attractive relative to potential growth. The portfolio managers use quantitative stock techniques and fundamental equity analysis to evaluate each company's stock price relative to the company's earnings, operating trends, market outlook and other measures of performance potential. The portfolio managers will normally sell a stock when the managers believe its fundamental factors have changed, other investments offer better opportunities or in the course of adjusting the fund's emphasis on or within a given industry. DERIVATIVES AND OTHER INVESTMENTS. The fund is permitted, but not required, to use various types of derivatives (contracts whose value is based on, for example, indices, currencies or securities). Derivatives may be used for hedging and for risk management or for non-hedging purposes to seek to enhance potential gains. The fund may use derivatives in circumstances 16 | DWS Blue Chip Fund where portfolio management believes they offer an economical means of gaining exposure to a particular asset class or to keep cash on hand to meet shareholder redemptions or other needs while maintaining exposure to the market. SECURITIES LENDING. The fund may lend its investment securities in an amount up to 33 1/3% of its total assets to approved institutional borrowers who need to borrow securities in order to complete certain transactions. THE MAIN RISKS OF INVESTING IN THE FUND 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. STOCK MARKET RISK. The fund is affected by how the stock market performs. To the extent the fund invests in a particular capitalization or market sector, the fund's performance may be proportionately affected by that segment's general performance. When stock prices fall, you should expect the value of your investment to fall as well. Because a stock represents ownership in its issuer, stock prices can be hurt by poor management, shrinking product demand and other business risks. These factors may affect single companies as well as groups of companies. In addition, movements in financial markets may adversely affect a stock's price, regardless of how well the company performs. The market as a whole may not favor the types of investments the fund makes, which could affect the fund's ability to sell them at an attractive price. INDUSTRY RISK. While the fund does not concentrate in any industry, to the extent that the fund has exposure to a given industry or sector, any factors affecting that industry or sector could affect the value of portfolio securities. For example, manufacturers of consumer goods could be hurt by a rise in unemployment or technology companies could be hurt by such factors as market saturation, price competition and rapid obsolescence. SECURITY SELECTION RISK. A risk that pervades all investing is the risk that the securities in the fund's portfolio may decline in value. THE FOLLOWING SIDEBAR TEXT APPEARS NEXT TO THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPHS This fund is designed for investors with long-term goals who are interested in a core stock investment. DWS Blue Chip Fund | 17 SECURITIES LENDING RISK. Any loss in the market price of securities loaned by the fund that occurs during the term of the loan would be borne by the fund and would adversely affect the fund's performance. Also, there may be delays in recovery of securities loaned or even a loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially while the loan is outstanding. However, loans will be made only to borrowers selected by the fund's delegate after a review of relevant facts and circumstances, including the creditworthiness of the borrower. Other factors that could affect performance include: - portfolio management could be wrong in the analysis of industries, companies, economic trends, the relative attractiveness of different securities or other matters. - foreign securities may be more volatile than their US counterparts, for reasons such as currency fluctuations and political and economic uncertainty. - derivatives could produce disproportionate losses due to a variety of factors, including the failure of the counterparty to meet its obligations or unexpected price or interest rate movements. 18 | DWS Blue Chip Fund THE FUND'S PERFORMANCE HISTORY While a fund's past performance (before and after taxes) isn't necessarily a sign of how it will do in the future, it can be valuable for an investor to know. The bar chart shows how the performance of the fund's Institutional Class shares has varied from year to year, which may give some idea of risk. The table on the following page shows how fund performance compares to relevant index performance (which, unlike fund performance, does not reflect fees or expenses). The performance of the fund and the index information varies over time. All figures assume reinvestment of dividends and distributions (in the case of after-tax returns, reinvested net of assumed tax rates). The table shows returns for Institutional Class shares on a before-tax and after-tax basis. After-tax returns are estimates calculated using the historical highest marginal individual federal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown in the table. After-tax returns shown are not relevant for investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. DWS Blue Chip Fund ANNUAL TOTAL RETURN (%) AS OF 12/31 EACH YEAR - Institutional Class [BAR GRAPHIC OMITTED HERE] [BAR GRAPHIC DATA] 15.77 26.37 -8.29 -16.45 -22.34 28.99 16.24 7.77 14.62 3.70 -38.55 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
FOR THE PERIODS INCLUDED IN THE BAR CHART: BEST QUARTER: 18.36%, Q4 1999 WORST QUARTER: -21.88%, Q4 2008
DWS Blue Chip Fund | 19 AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS (%) as of 12/31/2008
1 YEAR 5 YEARS 10 YEARS INSTITUTIONAL CLASS Return before Taxes -38.55 -1.76 -1.18 Return after Taxes on Distributions -38.68 -3.10 -1.99 Return after Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares -24.88* -1.58* -1.05* RUSSELL 1000 (Reg. TM) INDEX (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) -37.60 -2.04 -1.09 STANDARD & POOR'S 500 INDEX (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) -37.00 -2.19 -1.38
Total returns would have been lower if operating expenses hadn't been reduced. * Return after Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares is higher than other return figures for the same period due to a capital loss occurring upon redemption resulting in an assumed tax deduction for the shareholder. RUSSELL 1000 (Reg. TM) INDEX is an unmanaged price-only index of the 1,000 largest capitalized companies that are domiciled in the US and whose common stocks are traded. STANDARD & POOR'S 500 INDEX (S&P 500) is an unmanaged, capitalization-weighted index of 500 stocks. The index is designed to measure performance of the broad domestic economy through changes in the aggregate market value of 500 stocks representing all major industries. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current performance may be higher or lower than the performance data quoted above. For more recent performance information, call your financial advisor or (800) 730-1313 or visit our Web site at www.dws-investments.com. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return information assumes that fund shares were sold at the end of the period. RETURN AFTER TAXES ON DISTRIBUTIONS reflects taxes only on the fund's distributions and not on a shareholder's gain or loss from selling fund shares. RETURN AFTER TAXES ON DISTRIBUTIONS AND SALE OF FUND SHARES reflects taxes on both the fund's distributions and a shareholder's gain or loss from selling fund shares. 20 | DWS Blue Chip Fund HOW MUCH INVESTORS PAY The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold fund shares. This information doesn't include any fees that may be charged by your financial advisor.
FEE TABLE SHAREHOLDER FEES, paid directly from your investment ______________________________________________________________________ Sales Charge None Redemption/Exchange Fee on shares owned less than 15 days (as % of redemption proceeds) 1 2.00% ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSES, deducted from fund assets ______________________________________________________________________ Management Fees 2 0.47% Distribution/Service (12b-1) Fees None Other Expenses 3 0.22 TOTAL ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSES 4 0.69
1 This fee is charged on all applicable redemptions or exchanges. Please see "Policies You Should Know About - Policies about transactions" for further information. 2 Restated on an annualized basis to reflect fee changes which took effect on June 1, 2008. 3 "Other Expenses" include an administrative services fee paid to the Advisor in the amount of 0.10% of average daily net assets. 4 Except as otherwise noted, the information in the table is based on amounts incurred during the fund's most recent fiscal year. It is important for you to understand that a decline in the fund's average net assets during the current fiscal year due to recent unprecedented market volatility or other factors could cause the fund's expense ratios for the fund's current fiscal year to be higher than the expense information presented. Based on the costs above, this example helps you compare the expenses of the Fund to those of other mutual funds. This example assumes the expenses above remain the same. It also assumes that you invested $10,000, earned 5% annual returns and reinvested all dividends and distributions. This is only an example; actual expenses will be different.
EXAMPLE 1 YEAR 3 YEARS 5 YEARS 10 YEARS Institutional Class $70 $221 $384 $859
DWS Blue Chip Fund | 21 OTHER POLICIES AND SECONDARY RISKS While the previous pages describe the main points of each fund's strategy and risks, there are a few other issues to know about: - Although major changes tend to be infrequent, each fund's Board could change a fund's investment objective without seeking shareholder approval. The fund's Board will provide shareholders with at least 60 days' notice prior to making any changes to the 80% investment policy of DWS Blue Chip Fund as described herein. - As a temporary defensive measure, each fund could shift up to 100% of assets into investments such as money market securities or other short-term securities that offer comparable levels of risk. This could prevent losses, but, while engaged in a temporary defensive position, a fund will not be pursuing its investment objective. However, portfolio management may choose not to use these strategies for various reasons, even in volatile market conditions. - Each fund may trade actively. This could raise transaction costs (thus lowering return) and could mean increased taxable distributions to shareholders and distributions that will be taxable to shareholders at higher federal income tax rates. - Certain DWS fund-of-funds are permitted to invest in the fund. As a result, a fund may have large inflows or outflows of cash from time to time. This could have adverse effects on a fund's performance if a fund were required to sell securities or invest cash at times when it otherwise would not do so. This activity could also accelerate the realization of capital gains and increase a fund's transaction costs. The Advisor will monitor the impact of these transactions and a fund may discontinue such arrangements if they are not deemed to be in the best interests of a fund. Secondary risks The risk disclosure below applies to each fund, unless otherwise noted. DERIVATIVES RISK. Risks associated with derivatives include the risk that the derivative is not well correlated with the security, index or currency to which it relates; the risk that derivatives may result in losses or missed opportunities; the risk that the fund will be unable to sell the derivative because of an illiquid 22 | Other Policies and Secondary Risks secondary market; the risk that a counterparty is unwilling or unable to meet its obligation; and the risk that the derivative transaction could expose the fund to the effects of leverage, which could increase the fund's exposure to the market and magnify potential losses. There is no guarantee that derivatives, to the extent employed, will have the intended effect, and their use could cause lower returns or even losses to the fund. The use of derivatives by the fund to hedge risk may reduce the opportunity for gain by offsetting the positive effect of favorable price movements. PRICING RISK. At times, market conditions may make it difficult to value some investments, and the fund may use certain valuation methodologies for some of its investments, such as fair value pricing. Given the subjective nature of such valuation methodologies, it is possible that the value determined for an investment may be different than the value realized upon such investment's sale. If the fund has valued its securities too highly, you may pay too much for fund shares when you buy into the fund. If the fund has underestimated the price of its securities, you may not receive the full market value when you sell your fund shares. IPO RISK. Securities purchased in initial public offerings (IPOs) may be very volatile. The price of such securities may rise and fall rapidly, often based, among other reasons, on investor perceptions rather than economic reasons. Additionally, investments in IPOs may magnify the fund's performance if it has a small asset base. The fund is less likely to experience a similar impact on its performance as its assets grow because it is unlikely that the fund will obtain proportionately larger IPO allocations. For more information This prospectus doesn't tell you about every policy or risk of investing in each fund. If you want more information on each fund's allowable securities and investment practices and the characteristics and risks of each one, you may want to request a copy of the Statement of Additional Information (the back cover tells you how to do this). Keep in mind that there is no assurance that a fund will achieve its investment objective. Other Policies and Secondary Risks | 23 A complete list of each fund's portfolio holdings as of the month-end is posted on www.dws-investments.com on or about the 15th day of the following month. More frequent posting of portfolio holdings information may be made from time to time on www.dws-investments.com. The posted portfolio holdings information is available by fund and generally remains accessible at least until the date on which a fund files its Form N-CSR or N-Q with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the period that includes the date as of which the posted information is current. Each fund's Statement of Additional Information includes a description of a fund's policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of a fund's portfolio holdings. WHO MANAGES AND OVERSEES THE FUNDS The investment advisor Deutsche Investment Management Americas Inc. ("DIMA" or the "Advisor"), with headquarters at 345 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10154, is the investment advisor for each fund. Under the oversight of the Board, the Advisor makes investment decisions, buys and sells securities for each fund and conducts research that leads to these purchase and sale decisions. The Advisor provides a full range of global investment advisory services to institutional and retail clients. DWS Investments is part of Deutsche Bank's Asset Management division and, within the US, represents the retail asset management activities of Deutsche Bank AG, Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, DIMA and DWS Trust Company. Deutsche Asset Management is a global asset management organization that offers a wide range of investing expertise and resources, including hundreds of portfolio managers and analysts and an office network that reaches the world's major investment centers. This well-resourced global investment platform brings together a wide variety of experience and investment insight across industries, regions, asset classes and investing styles. The Advisor is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Bank AG. Deutsche Bank AG is a major global banking institution that is engaged in a wide range of financial services, including investment management, mutual funds, retail, private and commercial banking, investment banking and insurance. 24 | Who Manages and Oversees the Funds MANAGEMENT FEE. The Advisor receives a management fee from each fund. Below are the actual rates paid by each fund for the most recent fiscal year, as a percentage of each fund's average daily net assets.
FUND NAME FEE PAID DWS Growth & Income Fund 0.35% DWS Capital Growth Fund 0.46% DWS Blue Chip Fund 0.53%
Effective June 1, 2008, DWS Blue Chip Fund pays the Advisor a fee, calculated daily and paid monthly, at the annual rate of 0.48% of the fund's average daily net assets up to $250 million, 0.45% of the next $750 million, 0.43% of the next $1.5 billion, 0.41% of the next $2.5 billion, 0.38% of the next $2.5 billion, 0.36% of the next $2.5 billion, 0.34% of next $2.5 billion and 0.32% thereafter. A discussion regarding the basis for the Board's approval of each fund's investment management agreement is contained in the most recent shareholder report for the annual period ended October 31 for DWS Blue Chip Fund and September 30 for DWS Growth & Income Fund and DWS Capital Growth Fund (see "Shareholder reports" on the back cover). Under a separate administrative services agreement between each fund and the Advisor, each fund pays the Advisor a fee for providing most of each fund's administrative services. Who Manages and Oversees the Funds | 25 Portfolio management DWS Growth & Income Fund is managed by a team of investment professionals who collaborate to implement the fund's investment strategy. The team is led by a lead portfolio manager who is responsible for developing the fund's investment strategy. Each portfolio manager on the team has authority over all aspects of the fund's investment portfolio, including but not limited to, purchases and sales of individual securities, portfolio construction techniques, portfolio risk assessment, and the management of daily cash flows in accordance with portfolio holdings. The following people handle the day-to-day management of DWS Growth & Income Fund: Robert Wang Managing Director of Deutsche Asset Management and Portfolio Manager of the fund. - - Joined Deutsche Asset Management in 1995 as portfolio manager for asset allocation after 13 years of experience trading fixed income and derivative securities at J.P. Morgan. - - Senior portfolio manager for Multi Asset Class Quantitative Strategies: New York. - - Joined the fund in 2007. - - BS, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. James B. Francis, CFA Director of Deutsche Asset Management and Portfolio Manager of the fund. - - Head of Active Quantitative Equity Portfolio Management: New York. - - Joined Deutsche Asset Management in 2008 after 20 years of experience as senior quantitative global equity portfolio manager at State Street Global Advisors, and most recently, Northern Trust Global Investments. - - BS in Applied Mathematics from University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Julie Abbett Director of Deutsche Asset Management and Portfolio Manager of the fund. - - Senior portfolio manager for Global Quantitative Equity: New York. - - Joined Deutsche Asset Management in 2000 after four years of combined experience as a consultant with equity trading services for BARRA, Inc. and a product developer for FactSet Research. - - Joined the fund in 2007. - - BA, University of Connecticut. 26 | Who Manages and Oversees the Funds DWS Capital Growth Fund is managed by a team of investment professionals who collaborate to implement the fund's investment strategy. The team is led by a lead manager who is responsible for developing the fund's investment strategy. Each portfolio manager on the team has authority over all aspects of the fund's investment portfolio, including but not limited to, purchases and sales of individual securities, portfolio construction techniques, portfolio risk assessment, and the management of daily cash flows in accordance with portfolio holdings. The following people handle the day-to-day management of DWS Capital Growth Fund: Owen Fitzpatrick, CFA Managing Director of Deutsche Asset Management and Lead Manager of the fund. - - Joined Deutsche Asset Management and the fund in 2009. - - Prior to joining Deutsche Assets Management, he was Managing Director of Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management and served as head of U.S. Equity Strategy and manager of the U.S. large cap core, value and growth portfolios and member of the U.S. Investment Committee and head of the Equity Strategy Group. - - Previous experience includes over 21 years of experience in trust and investment management. Prior to joining Deutsche Bank in 1995, managed an equity income fund, trust and advisory relationships for Princeton Bank & Trust Company, where he was also responsible for research coverage of the consumer cyclical sector. Previously served as a portfolio manager at Manufacturer's Hanover Trust Company. - - BA and MBA, Fordham University. Richard Shepley Managing Director of Deutsche Asset Management and Portfolio Manager of the fund. - - Joined Deutsche Asset Management in 1998 and the fund in 2007. - - Previous experience includes eight years of investment industry experience as research analyst for global beverage and media sectors at Newton Investment Management and assistant manager in corporate tax and corporate insolvency department at PriceWaterhouse, London. - - MA, Oxford University. Brendan O'Neill, CFA Director of Deutsche Asset Management and Portfolio Manager of the fund. - - Joined Deutsche Asset Management in 2000 and joined DWS Large Company Growth Fund in 2007 and DWS Capital Growth Fund in 2009. - - Equity Research Analyst covering the financial services sector since 2001. - - Previously served as a member of the Large Cap Core Equity team. - - BA, Queens College, CUNY; MS, Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College. Who Manages and Oversees the Funds | 27 DWS Blue Chip Fund is managed by a team of investment professionals who collaborate to develop and implement the fund's investment strategy. Each portfolio manager has authority over all aspects of the fund's investment portfolio, including, but not limited to, purchases and sales of individual securities, portfolio construction techniques, portfolio risk assessment, and the management of daily cash flows in accordance with portfolio holdings. The following people handle the day-to-day management of DWS Blue Chip Fund: Robert Wang Managing Director of Deutsche Asset Management and Portfolio Manager of the fund. - - Joined Deutsche Asset Management in 1995 as portfolio manager for asset allocation after 13 years of experience trading fixed income and derivative securities at J.P. Morgan. - - Senior portfolio manager for Multi Asset Class Quantitative Strategies: New York. - - Joined the fund in 2003. - - BS, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. James B. Francis, CFA Director of Deutsche Asset Management and Portfolio Manager of the fund. - - Head of Active Quantitative Equity Portfolio Management: New York. - - Joined Deutsche Asset Management in 2008 after 20 years of experience as senior quantitative global equity portfolio manager at State Street Global Advisors, and most recently, Northern Trust Global Investments. - - BS in Applied Mathematics from University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Julie Abbett Director of Deutsche Asset Management and Portfolio Manager of the fund. - - Senior portfolio manager for Global Quantitative Equity: New York. - - Joined Deutsche Asset Management in 2000 after four years of combined experience as a consultant with equity trading services for BARRA, Inc. and a product developer for FactSet Research. - - Joined the fund in 2005. - - BA, University of Connecticut. Each fund's Statement of Additional Information provides additional information about a portfolio manager's investments in each fund, a description of the portfolio management compensation structure and information regarding other accounts managed. 28 | Who Manages and Oversees the Funds ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCE INFORMATION The table below illustrates the performance of a composite of certain private accounts ("Accounts") managed by OWEN FITZPATRICK, the Lead Manager to DWS Capital Growth Fund, while employed by Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management. For more information about Owen Fitzpatrick, please refer to the "Portfolio management" section of this prospectus. Each of the Accounts included in the composite has objectives, policies and strategies substantially similar to those of the fund. As of December 31, 2008, the total assets in the composite were $328 million. Unlike management of the private accounts included in the composite, Owen Fitzpatrick's management of the fund is subject to certain regulatory restrictions (e.g., limits on percentage of assets invested in a single issuer and industry and requirements on distributing income to shareholders) that do not apply to the Accounts. In addition, the fund generally experiences cash flows that are different from those of the Accounts. All of these factors may adversely affect the performance of the fund and cause it to differ from that of the Accounts in the composite described below. Composite results below represent the performance of the Accounts, net of the annual rate of estimated total operating expenses of DWS Capital Growth Fund - Class A, as of December 31, 2008. THE COMPOSITE RESULTS DO NOT REPRESENT THE PERFORMANCE OF THE DWS CAPITAL GROWTH FUND, AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AN INDICATION OF FUTURE PERFORMANCE OF THE FUND. The composite results are not required to be, and were not calculated in accordance with SEC mandated mutual fund performance calculation methodology. The use of such methodology could yield a different result.
AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURN (%)** (AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2008) 1 YEAR 3 YEARS SINCE INCEPTION* FEE ADJUSTED, NO-LOAD (reflects no deduction for sales charge) -33.74% -2.76% 0.51% FEE ADJUSTED, LOAD ADJUSTED** -37.55% -4.66% -0.74% RUSSELL 1000 (Reg. TM) GROWTH INDEX (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) -38.44% -9.11% -3.76% STANDARD & POOR'S 500 INDEX (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) -37.00% -8.36% -2.65%
* Date of Inception is April 1, 2004 which corresponds to the date that Mr. Fitzpatrick became the sole, lead portfolio manager of the Accounts. ** Average Annual Total Returns reflect the gross returns of the Accounts reduced by the estimated net annual operating expenses of the DWS Capital Growth Fund - Class A shares (1.07% annually) and shown both with and without the imposition of sales charges (5.75% for Class A shares). Actual fees and expenses of the Accounts may have Who Manages and Oversees the Funds | 29 been more or less than those of the fund. Returns reflect the reinvestment of dividends and distributions. RUSSELL 1000 (Reg. TM) GROWTH INDEX is an unmanaged index that consists of those stocks in the Russell 1000 (Reg. TM) Index that have higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values. Russell 1000 (Reg. TM) Index is an unmanaged price-only index of the 1,000 largest capitalized companies that are domiciled in the US and whose common stocks are traded. STANDARD & POOR'S 500 INDEX (S&P 500) is an unmanaged, capitalization-weighted index of 500 stocks. The index is designed to measure performance of the broad domestic economy through changes in the aggregate market value of 500 stocks representing all major industries. 30 | Who Manages and Oversees the Funds FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS The financial highlights are designed to help you understand recent financial performance. The figures in the first part of each table are for a single share. The total return figures represent the percentage that an investor in a fund would have earned (or lost), assuming all dividends and distributions were reinvested. The information for DWS Growth & Income Fund and DWS Capital Growth Fund has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, and the information for DWS Blue Chip Fund has been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with each fund's financial statements, is included in each fund's annual report (see "Shareholder reports" on the back cover). Financial Highlights | 31 DWS Growth & Income Fund - Institutional Class
YEARS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 SELECTED PER SHARE DATA - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NET ASSET VALUE, BEGINNING OF PERIOD $ 22.98 $ 23.07 $ 22.53 $ 20.18 $ 18.15 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- Income (loss) from investment operations: Net investment income (loss)a .24 .28 .25c .30 .16 ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) ( 4.81) 2.19 1.69 2.38 2.01 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- TOTAL FROM INVESTMENT OPERATIONS ( 4.57) 2.47 1.94 2.68 2.17 ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Less distributions from: Net investment income ( .23) ( .31) ( .23) ( .33) ( .14) ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Net realized gains ( 4.03) ( 2.25) ( 1.17) - - - ------------------------------ -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- TOTAL DISTRIBUTIONS ( 4.26) ( 2.56) ( 1.40) ( .33) ( .14) ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Redemption fees .00* .00* .00* .00* - - ------------------------------ -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- NET ASSET VALUE, END OF PERIOD $ 14.15 $ 22.98 $ 23.07 $ 22.53 $ 20.18 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- Total Return (%) (23.69) 11.12 8.96b,c 13.35 11.98 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- RATIOS TO AVERAGE NET ASSETS AND SUPPLEMENTAL DATA - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net assets, end of period ($ millions) 22 33 35 53 38 ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Ratio of expenses before expense reductions (%) .51 .50 .62 .58 .65 ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Ratio of expenses after expense reductions (%) .51 .50 .61 .58 .65 ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%) 1.33 1.24 1.13c 1.41 .80 ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Portfolio turnover rate (%) 154 271 101 98 26 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- -------- -------- --------
a Based on average shares outstanding during the period. b Total return would have been lower had certain expenses not been reduced. c Includes non-recurring income from the Advisor recorded as a result of an administrative proceeding regarding disclosure of brokerage allocation practices in connection with sales of DWS Funds. The non-recurring income resulted in an increase in net investment income of $0.032 per share and an increase in the ratio of net investment income of 0.13%. Excluding this non-recurring income, total return would have been 0.14% lower. * Amount is less than $.005. 32 | Financial Highlights DWS Capital Growth Fund - Institutional Class
YEARS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 SELECTED PER SHARE DATA - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NET ASSET VALUE, BEGINNING OF PERIOD $ 57.05 $ 48.45 $ 46.23 $ 40.64 $ 37.32 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- Income (loss) from investment operations: Net investment income (loss)a .31 .32d .22c .31 .12 ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) ( 8.61) 8.50 2.19 5.57 3.27 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- TOTAL FROM INVESTMENT OPERATIONS ( 8.30) 8.82 2.41 5.88 3.39 ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Less distributions from: Net investment income ( .35) ( .22) ( .19) ( .29) ( .07) ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Redemption fees .00* .00* .00* .00* - - ------------------------------ -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- NET ASSET VALUE, END OF PERIOD $ 48.40 $ 57.05 $ 48.45 $ 46.23 $ 40.64 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- Total Return (%) (14.63)b 18.24b 5.22b,c 14.53b 9.08 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- RATIOS TO AVERAGE NET ASSETS AND SUPPLEMENTAL DATA - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net assets, end of year ($ millions) 324 183 29 20 17 ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Ratio of expenses before expense reductions (%) .73 .74 .84 .70 .84 ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Ratio of expenses after expense reductions (%) .73 .73 .77 .70 .84 ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%) .56 .62d .47c .71 .26 ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Portfolio turnover rate (%) 27 28 15 19 12 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- -------- -------- --------
a Based on average shares outstanding during the period. b Total return would have been lower had certain expenses not been reduced. c Includes non-recurring income from the Advisor recorded as a result of an administrative proceeding regarding disclosure of brokerage allocation practices in connection with sales of DWS Funds. The non-recurring income resulted in an increase in net investment income of $0.030 per share and an increase in the ratio of net investment income of 0.06%. Excluding this non-recurring income, total return would have been 0.07% lower. d Net investment income per share and the ratio of net investment income include non-recurring dividend income amounting to $0.08 per share and 0.16% of average daily net assets, respectively. * Amount is less than $.005. Financial Highlights | 33 DWS Blue Chip Fund - Institutional Class
YEARS ENDED OCTOBER 31, 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 SELECTED PER SHARE DATA - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NET ASSET VALUE, BEGINNING OF PERIOD $ 23.43 $ 22.91 $ 19.73 $ 17.90 $ 15.70 - -------------------------------- -------- -------- --------- -------- -------- Income (loss) from investment operations: Net investment income (loss)a .17 .24 .26c .17 .12 ________________________________ ________ ________ _________ ________ ________ Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) ( 8.47) 2.58 3.07 1.80 2.08 - -------------------------------- -------- -------- --------- -------- -------- TOTAL FROM INVESTMENT OPERATIONS ( 8.30) 2.82 3.33 1.97 2.20 ________________________________ ________ ________ _________ ________ ________ Less distributions from: Net investment income ( .27) ( .24) ( .15) ( .14) - ________________________________ ________ ________ _________ ________ ________ Net realized gains ( 2.94) ( 2.06) - - - ________________________________ ________ ________ _________ ________ ________ TOTAL DISTRIBUTIONS ( 3.21) ( 2.30) ( .15) ( .14) - ________________________________ ________ ________ _________ ________ ________ Redemption fees .00* .00* .00* .00* - - -------------------------------- -------- -------- --------- -------- -------- NET ASSET VALUE, END OF PERIOD $ 11.92 $ 23.43 $ 22.91 $ 19.73 $ 17.90 - -------------------------------- -------- -------- --------- -------- -------- Total Return (%) (40.34)b 13.21 17.02b,c 11.04b 14.01b - -------------------------------- -------- -------- --------- -------- -------- RATIOS TO AVERAGE NET ASSETS AND SUPPLEMENTAL DATA - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net assets, end of period ($ millions) 2 29 41 73 50 ________________________________ ________ ________ _________ ________ ________ Ratio of expenses before expense reductions (%) .75 .67 .78 .77 .74 ________________________________ ________ ________ _________ ________ ________ Ratio of expenses after expense reductions (%) .75 .67 .73 .73 .74 ________________________________ ________ ________ _________ ________ ________ Ratio of net investment income (%) 1.13 1.14 1.25c .95 .81 ________________________________ ________ ________ _________ ________ ________ Portfolio turnover rate (%) 140 266 259 329 222 - -------------------------------- -------- -------- --------- -------- --------
a Based on average shares outstanding during the period. b Total return would have been lower had certain expenses not been reduced. c Includes non-recurring income from the Advisor recorded as a result of an administrative proceeding regarding disclosure of brokerage allocation practices in connection with sales of DWS Funds. The non-recurring income resulted in an increase in net investment income of $0.012 per share and an increase in the ratio of net investment income of 0.06%. Excluding this non-recurring income, total return would have been 0.06% lower. * Amount is less than $.005. 34 | Financial Highlights HOW TO INVEST IN THE FUNDS THE FOLLOWING PAGES TELL YOU HOW TO INVEST IN A FUND AND WHAT TO EXPECT AS A SHAREHOLDER. The following pages also tell you about many of the services, choices and benefits of being a shareholder. You'll also find information on how to check the status of your account using the method that's most convenient for you. If you're investing directly with DWS Investments, all of this information applies to you. If you're investing through a "third party provider" - for example, a workplace retirement plan, financial supermarket or financial advisor - your provider may have its own policies or instructions and you should follow those. You can find out more about the topics covered here by speaking with your FINANCIAL ADVISOR OR A REPRESENTATIVE OF YOUR WORKPLACE RETIREMENT PLAN OR OTHER INVESTMENT PROVIDER. Buying and Selling INSTITUTIONAL CLASS Shares You may buy Institutional Class shares through your securities dealer or through any financial institution that is authorized to act as a shareholder servicing agent ("financial advisor"). Contact them for details on how to place and pay for your order. Your financial advisor may also receive compensation from the Advisor and/or its affiliates. For more information, please see "Financial intermediary support payments." You may also buy Institutional Class shares by sending your check (along with a completed account application) directly to DWS Investments Service Company (the "transfer agent"). Your purchase order may not be accepted if a fund withdraws the offering of fund shares, the sale of fund shares has been suspended or if it is determined that your purchase would be detrimental to the interests of a fund's shareholders. Eligibility requirements You may buy Institutional Class shares if you are any of the following: - An eligible institution (e.g., a financial institution, corporation, trust, estate or educational, religious or charitable institution). - An employee benefit plan with assets of at least $50 million. - A registered investment advisor or financial planner purchasing on behalf of clients and charging an asset-based or hourly fee. - A client of the private banking division of Deutsche Bank AG. - A current or former director or trustee of the Deutsche or DWS mutual funds. - An employee, the employee's spouse or life partner and children or stepchildren age 21 or younger of Deutsche Bank or its affiliates or a subadvisor to any fund in the DWS family of funds or a broker-dealer authorized to sell shares in the funds. 36 | Buying and Selling Institutional Class Shares Investment minimum Your initial investment must be for at least $1,000,000. There are no minimum subsequent investment requirements. The minimum initial investment is waived for: - Shareholders with existing accounts prior to August 13, 2004 who met the previous minimum investment eligibility requirement. - Investment advisory affiliates of Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc., DWS funds or Deutsche funds purchasing shares for the accounts of their investment advisory clients. - Employee benefit plans with assets of at least $50 million. - Clients of the private banking division of Deutsche Bank AG. - Institutional clients and qualified purchasers that are clients of a division of Deutsche Bank AG. - A current or former director or trustee of the Deutsche or DWS funds. - An employee, the employee's spouse or life partner and children or stepchildren age 21 or younger of Deutsche Bank or its affiliates or a subadvisor to any fund in the DWS family of funds or a broker-dealer authorized to sell shares of the funds. - DWS Capital Growth Fund shareholders with existing Institutional Class accounts prior to July 23, 2007 who purchased shares through certain broker-dealers authorized to sell fund shares. - Registered investment advisors who trade through platforms approved by the Advisor and whose client assets in the aggregate meet or, in the Advisor's judgment, will meet within a reasonable period of time, the $1,000,000 minimum investment. - Employee benefit plan platforms approved by the Advisor that invest in a fund through an omnibus account, and that meet or, in the Advisor's judgment, will meet within a reasonable period of time, the $1,000,000 minimum investment. Each fund reserves the right to modify the above eligibility requirements and investment minimum at any time. In addition, each fund, in its discretion, may waive the minimum initial investment for specific employee benefit plans (or family of Buying and Selling Institutional Class Shares | 37 plans) whose aggregate investment in Institutional Class shares of a fund equals or exceeds the minimum initial investment amount but where a particular account or program may not on its own meet such minimum amount. How to contact the transfer agent BY PHONE: (800) 730-1313 FIRST INVESTMENTS DWS Investments Service Company BY MAIL: P.O. Box 219210 Kansas City, MO 64121-9210 ADDITIONAL DWS Investments Service Company INVESTMENTS BY P.O. Box 219210 MAIL: Kansas City, MO 64121-9210 BY OVERNIGHT MAIL: DWS Investments Service Company 210 West 10th Street Kansas City, MO 64105-1614
You can reach the automated information line, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by calling (800) 621-1048. How to open your account MAIL: Complete and sign the account application that accompanies this prospectus. (You may obtain additional applications by calling the transfer agent.) Mail the completed application along with a check payable to the fund you have selected to the transfer agent. Be sure to include the fund number. The applicable addresses are shown under "How to contact the transfer agent." WIRE: Call the transfer agent to set up a wire account. FUND NAME AND Please use the complete fund name. Refer to the FUND NUMBER: start of "The Fund's Main Investment Strategy" above for the fund number.
Please note that your account cannot become activated until we receive a completed account application. How to BUY and SELL shares MAIL: BUYING: Send your check, payable to the fund you have selected, to the transfer agent. Be sure to include the fund number and your account number on your check. If you are investing in more than one fund, make your check payable to "DWS Investments" and include your account number, the 38 | Buying and Selling Institutional Class Shares names and numbers of each fund you have selected, and the dollar amount or percentage you would like invested in each fund. Mailing addresses are shown under "How to contact the transfer agent." SELLING: Send a signed letter to the transfer agent with your name, your fund number and account number, the fund's name, and either the number of shares you wish to sell or the dollar amount you wish to receive. In certain circumstances, a signature guarantee may be required to sell shares of the fund by mail. For information about a signature guarantee, see "Signature Guarantee." Unless exchanging into another DWS fund, you must submit a written authorization to sell shares in a retirement account. WIRE: BUYING: You may buy shares by wire only if your account is authorized to do so. Please note that you or your financial advisor must call Institutional Investment Services at (800) 730-1313 to notify us in advance of a wire transfer purchase. After you inform Institutional Investment Services of the amount of your purchase, you will receive a trade confirmation number. Instruct your bank to send payment by wire using the wire instructions noted below. All wires must be received by 4:00 p.m. Eastern time the next business day following your purchase. If your wire is not received by 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on the next business day after the fund receives your request to purchase shares, your transaction will be canceled at your expense and risk. BANK NAME: State Street Bank Boston ROUTING NO: 011000028 ATTN: DWS Investments DDA NO: 9903-5552 FBO: (Account name) (Account number) CREDIT: (Fund name, Fund number and, if applicable, class name) (see "How to open your account")
Refer to your account statement for the account name and number. Wire transfers normally take two or more hours to complete. Wire transfers may be restricted on holidays and at certain other times. Buying and Selling Institutional Class Shares | 39 SELLING: You may sell shares by wire only if your account is authorized to do so. You will be paid for redeemed shares by wire transfer of funds to your financial advisor or bank upon receipt of a duly authorized redemption request as promptly as feasible. For your protection, you may not change the destination bank account over the phone. To sell by wire, contact your financial advisor or Institutional Investment Services at (800) 730-1313. After you inform Institutional Investment Services of the amount of your redemption, you will receive a trade confirmation number. The minimum redemption by wire is $1,000. We must receive your order by 4:00 p.m. Eastern time to wire your account the next business day. TELEPHONE TRANSACTIONS: You may place orders to buy and sell over the phone by calling your financial advisor or Institutional Investment Services at (800) 730-1313. If your shares are in an account with the transfer agent, you may (1) redeem by check in an amount up to $100,000, or by wire (minimum $1,000), or (2) exchange the shares for Institutional Class shares of another DWS fund by calling the transfer agent. You may make regular investments from a bank checking account. For more information on setting up an automatic investment plan or payroll investment plan, call Institutional Investment Services at (800) 730-1313. Financial intermediary support payments The Advisor, DWS Investments Distributors, Inc. (the "Distributor") and/or their affiliates may pay additional compensation, out of their own assets and not as an additional charge to each fund, to selected affiliated and unaffiliated brokers, dealers, participating insurance companies or other financial intermediaries ("financial advisors") in connection with the sale and/or distribution of fund shares or the retention and/ or servicing of fund investors and fund shares ("revenue sharing"). Such revenue sharing payments are in addition to any distribution or service fees payable under any Rule 12b-1 or service plan of each fund, any record keeping/sub-transfer agency/networking fees payable by each fund (generally through the Distributor or an affiliate) and/or the Distributor to certain financial advisors for performing such services and any sales charge, commissions, non-cash compensation arrangements expressly permitted under applicable rules of the Financial 40 | Buying and Selling Institutional Class Shares Industry Regulatory Authority or other concessions described in the fee table or elsewhere in this prospectus or the Statement of Additional Information as payable to all financial advisors. For example, the Advisor, the Distributor and/or their affiliates may compensate financial advisors for providing a fund with "shelf space" or access to a third party platform or fund offering list or other marketing programs, including, without limitation, inclusion of the fund on preferred or recommended sales lists, mutual fund "supermarket" platforms and other formal sales programs; granting the Distributor access to the financial advisor's sales force; granting the Distributor access to the financial advisor's conferences and meetings; assistance in training and educating the financial advisor's personnel; and obtaining other forms of marketing support. The level of revenue sharing payments made to financial advisors may be a fixed fee or based upon one or more of the following factors: gross sales, current assets and/or number of accounts of each fund attributable to the financial advisor, the particular fund or fund type or other measures as agreed to by the Advisor, the Distributor and/or their affiliates and the financial advisors or any combination thereof. The amount of these revenue sharing payments is determined at the discretion of the Advisor, the Distributor and/or their affiliates from time to time, may be substantial, and may be different for different financial advisors based on, for example, the nature of the services provided by the financial advisor. The Advisor, the Distributor and/or their affiliates currently make revenue sharing payments from their own assets in connection with the sale and/or distribution of DWS fund shares or the retention and/or servicing of investors and DWS fund shares to financial advisors in amounts that generally range from .01% up to .50% of assets of each fund serviced and maintained by the financial advisor, .05% to .25% of sales of each fund attributable to the financial advisor, a flat fee of $13,350 up to $500,000, or any combination thereof. These amounts are subject to change at the discretion of the Advisor, the Distributor and/or their affiliates. Receipt of, or the prospect of receiving, this additional compensation may influence your financial advisor's recommendation of each fund or of any particular share class of each fund. You should review your financial advisor's compensation disclosure and/or talk to your financial advisor to obtain more information on how this compensation may have influenced your financial advisor's Buying and Selling Institutional Class Shares | 41 recommendation of each fund. Additional information regarding these revenue sharing payments is included in each fund's Statement of Additional Information, which is available to you on request at no charge (see the back cover of this prospectus for more information on how to request a copy of the Statement of Additional Information). The Advisor, the Distributor and/or their affiliates may also make such revenue sharing payments to financial advisors under the terms discussed above in connection with the distribution of both DWS funds and non-DWS funds by financial advisors to retirement plans that obtain record keeping services from ADP, Inc. on the DWS Investments branded retirement plan platform (the "Platform") with the level of revenue sharing payments being based upon sales of both the DWS funds and the non-DWS funds by the financial advisor on the Platform or current assets of both the DWS funds and the non-DWS funds serviced and maintained by the financial advisor on the Platform. It is likely that broker-dealers that execute portfolio transactions for each fund will include firms that also sell shares of the DWS funds to their customers. However, the Advisor will not consider sales of DWS fund shares as a factor in the selection of broker-dealers to execute portfolio transactions for the DWS funds. Accordingly, the Advisor has implemented policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent its traders from considering sales of DWS fund shares as a factor in the selection of broker-dealers to execute portfolio transactions for each fund. In addition, the Advisor, the Distributor and/or their affiliates will not use fund brokerage to pay for their obligation to provide additional compensation to financial advisors as described above. POLICIES YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT Along with the information on the previous pages, the policies below may affect you as a shareholder. Some of this information, such as the section on distributions and taxes, applies to all investors, including those investing through a financial advisor. 42 | Policies You Should Know About If you are investing through a financial advisor or through a retirement plan, check the materials you received from them about how to buy and sell shares because particular financial advisors or other intermediaries may adopt policies, procedures or limitations that are separate from those described by a fund. Please note that a financial advisor may charge fees separate from those charged by a fund and may be compensated by a fund. Keep in mind that the information in this prospectus applies only to the shares offered herein. Other share classes are described in separate prospectuses and have different fees, requirements and services. In order to reduce the amount of mail you receive and to help reduce expenses, we generally send a single copy of any shareholder report and prospectus to each household. If you do not want the mailing of these documents to be combined with those for other members of your household, please contact your financial advisor or call (800) 730-1313. Policies about transactions EACH FUND IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS each day the New York Stock Exchange is open. Each fund calculates its share price for each class every business day, as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (typically 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, but sometimes earlier, as in the case of scheduled half-day trading or unscheduled suspensions of trading). You can place an order to buy or sell shares at any time. To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, federal law requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify and record information that identifies each person who opens an account. What this means to you: When you open an account, we will ask for your name, address, date of birth and other information that will allow us to identify you. Some or all of this information will be used to verify the identity of all persons opening an account. We might request additional information about you (which may include certain documents, such as articles of incorporation for companies) to help us verify your identity and, in some cases, the information and/or documents may be required to conduct the verification. The information and documents will be used solely to verify your identity. Policies You Should Know About | 43 We will attempt to collect any missing required and requested information by contacting you or your financial advisor. If we are unable to obtain this information within the time frames established by each fund, then we may reject your application and order. Each fund will not invest your purchase until all required and requested identification information has been provided and your application has been submitted in "good order." After we receive all the information, your application is deemed to be in good order and we accept your purchase, you will receive the net asset value per share next calculated. If we are unable to verify your identity within time frames established by each fund, after a reasonable effort to do so, you will receive written notification. With certain limited exceptions, only US residents may invest in each fund. Because orders placed through a financial advisor must be forwarded to the transfer agent before they can be processed, you'll need to allow extra time. Your financial advisor should be able to tell you approximately when your order will be processed. It is the responsibility of your financial advisor to forward your order to the transfer agent in a timely manner. MARKET TIMING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES. Short-term and excessive trading of fund shares may present risks to long-term shareholders, including potential dilution in the value of fund shares, interference with the efficient management of a fund's portfolio (including losses on the sale of investments), taxable gains to remaining shareholders and increased brokerage and administrative costs. These risks may be more pronounced if a fund invests in certain securities, such as those that trade in foreign markets, are illiquid or do not otherwise have "readily available market quotations." Certain investors may seek to employ short-term trading strategies aimed at exploiting variations in portfolio valuation that arise from the nature of the securities held by a fund (e.g., "time zone arbitrage"). Each fund discourages short-term and excessive trading and has adopted policies and procedures that are intended to detect and deter short-term and excessive trading. 44 | Policies You Should Know About Pursuant to its policies, each fund will impose a 2% redemption fee on fund shares held for less than a specified holding period (subject to certain exceptions discussed below under "Redemption fees"). Each fund also reserves the right to reject or cancel a purchase or exchange order for any reason without prior notice. For example, a fund may in its discretion reject or cancel a purchase or an exchange order even if the transaction is not subject to the specific roundtrip transaction limitation described below if the Advisor believes that there appears to be a pattern of short-term or excessive trading activity by a shareholder or deems any other trading activity harmful or disruptive to a fund. Each fund, through its Advisor and transfer agent, will measure short-term and excessive trading by the number of roundtrip transactions within a shareholder's account during a rolling 12-month period. A "roundtrip" transaction is defined as any combination of purchase and redemption activity (including exchanges) of the same fund's shares. Each fund may take other trading activity into account if a fund believes such activity is of an amount or frequency that may be harmful to long-term shareholders or disruptive to portfolio management. Shareholders are limited to four roundtrip transactions in the same DWS fund (excluding money market funds) over a rolling 12-month period. Shareholders with four or more roundtrip transactions in the same DWS fund within a rolling 12-month period generally will be blocked from making additional purchases of, or exchanges into, that DWS fund. Each fund has sole discretion whether to remove a block from a shareholder's account. The rights of a shareholder to redeem shares of a DWS fund are not affected by the four roundtrip transaction limitation, but all redemptions remain subject to each fund's redemption fee policy (see "Redemption fees" described below). Each fund may make exceptions to the roundtrip transaction policy for certain types of transactions if, in the opinion of the Advisor, the transactions do not represent short-term or excessive trading or are not abusive or harmful to a fund, such as, but not limited to, systematic transactions, required minimum retirement distributions, transactions initiated by a fund or administrator and transactions by certain qualified funds-of-funds. In certain circumstances where shareholders hold shares of a fund through a financial intermediary, the fund may rely upon the financial intermediary's policy to deter short-term or excessive trading if the Advisor believes that the financial Policies You Should Know About | 45 intermediary's policy is reasonably designed to detect and deter transactions that are not in the best interests of a fund. A financial intermediary's policy relating to short-term or excessive trading may be more or less restrictive than the DWS funds' policy, may permit certain transactions not permitted by the DWS funds' policies, or prohibit transactions not subject to the DWS funds' policies. The Advisor may also accept undertakings from a financial intermediary to enforce short-term or excessive trading policies on behalf of a fund that provide a substantially similar level of protection for each fund against such transactions. For example, certain financial intermediaries may have contractual, legal or operational restrictions that prevent them from blocking an account. In such instances, the financial intermediary may use alternate techniques that the Advisor considers to be a reasonable substitute for such a block. In addition, if a fund invests some portion of its assets in foreign securities, it has adopted certain fair valuation practices intended to protect the fund from "time zone arbitrage" with respect to its foreign securities holdings and other trading practices that seek to exploit variations in portfolio valuation that arise from the nature of the securities held by a fund. (See "How each fund calculates share price.") There is no assurance that these policies and procedures will be effective in limiting short-term and excessive trading in all cases. For example, the Advisor may not be able to effectively monitor, detect or limit short-term or excessive trading by underlying shareholders that occurs through omnibus accounts maintained by broker-dealers or other financial intermediaries. The Advisor reviews trading activity at the omnibus level to detect short-term or excessive trading. If the Advisor has reason to suspect that short-term or excessive trading is occurring at the omnibus level, the Advisor will contact the financial intermediary to request underlying shareholder level activity. Depending on the amount of fund shares held in such omnibus accounts (which may represent most of a fund's shares) short-term and/or excessive trading of fund shares could adversely affect long-term shareholders in a fund. If short-term or excessive trading is identified, the Advisor will take appropriate action. Each fund's market timing policies and procedures may be modified or terminated at any time. 46 | Policies You Should Know About REDEMPTION FEES. Each fund imposes a redemption fee of 2% of the total redemption amount (calculated at net asset value) on all fund shares redeemed or exchanged within 15 days of buying them (either by purchase or exchange). The redemption fee is paid directly to each fund and is designed to encourage long-term investment and to offset transaction and other costs associated with short-term or excessive trading. For purposes of determining whether the redemption fee applies, shares held the longest time will be treated as being redeemed first and shares held the shortest time will be treated as being redeemed last. The redemption fee is applicable to fund shares purchased either directly or through a financial intermediary, such as a broker-dealer. Transactions through financial intermediaries typically are placed with a fund on an omnibus basis and include both purchase and sale transactions placed on behalf of multiple investors. These purchase and sale transactions are generally netted against one another and placed on an aggregate basis; consequently the identities of the individuals on whose behalf the transactions are placed generally are not known to a fund. For this reason, each fund has undertaken to notify financial intermediaries of their obligation to assess the redemption fee on customer accounts and to collect and remit the proceeds to each fund. However, due to operational requirements, the intermediaries' methods for tracking and calculating the fee may be inadequate or differ in some respects from each fund's. The redemption fee will not be charged in connection with the following exchange or redemption transactions: (i) transactions on behalf of participants in certain research wrap programs; (ii) transactions on behalf of a shareholder to return any excess IRA contributions to the shareholder; (iii) transactions on behalf of a shareholder to effect a required minimum distribution on an IRA; (iv) transactions on behalf of any mutual fund advised by the Advisor and its affiliates (e.g., "funds of funds") or, in the case of a master/feeder relationship, redemptions by the feeder fund from the master portfolio; (v) transactions on behalf of certain unaffiliated mutual funds operating as funds of funds; (vi) transactions following death or disability of any registered shareholder, beneficial owner or grantor of a living trust with respect to shares purchased before death or disability; (vii) transactions involving hardship of any registered shareholder; (viii) systematic transactions with pre-defined trade dates for purchases, exchanges or redemptions, such as automatic Policies You Should Know About | 47 account rebalancing, or loan origination and repayments; (ix) transactions involving shares purchased through the reinvestment of dividends or other distributions; (x) transactions involving shares transferred from another account in the same fund or converted from another class of the same fund (the redemption fee period will carry over to the acquired shares); (xi) transactions initiated by a fund or administrator (e.g., redemptions for not meeting account minimums, to pay account fees funded by share redemptions, or in the event of the liquidation or merger of the fund); or (xii) transactions in cases when there are legal or contractual limitations or restrictions on the imposition of the redemption fee (as determined by a fund or its agents in their sole discretion). It is the policy of the DWS funds to permit approved fund platform providers to execute transactions in shares of the funds without the imposition of a redemption fee if such providers have implemented alternative measures that are determined by the Advisor to provide controls on short-term and excessive trading that are comparable to the DWS funds' policies. THE AUTOMATED INFORMATION LINE IS AVAILABLE 24 HOURS A DAY BY CALLING (800) 621-1048. You can use our automated phone services to get information on DWS funds generally and on accounts held directly at DWS Investments. QUICKBUY AND QUICKSELL let you set up a link between a DWS fund account and a bank account. Once this link is in place, you can move money between the two with a phone call. You'll need to make sure your bank has Automated Clearing House (ACH) services. Transactions take two to three days to be completed and there is a $50 minimum and a $250,000 maximum. To set up QuickBuy or QuickSell on a new account, see the account application; to add it to an existing account, call (800) 730-1313. TELEPHONE AND ELECTRONIC TRANSACTIONS. Generally, you are automatically entitled to telephone and electronic transaction privileges, but you may elect not to have them when you open your account or by contacting Institutional Investment Services at (800) 730-1313 at a later date. THE FOLLOWING SIDEBAR TEXT APPEARS NEXT TO THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPHS The DWS Investments Web site can be a valuable resource for shareholders with Internet access. Go to WWW.DWS-INVESTMENTS.COM to get up-to-date information, review balances or even place orders for exchanges. 48 | Policies You Should Know About Since many transactions may be initiated by telephone or electronically, it's important to understand that as long as we take reasonable steps to ensure that an order to purchase or redeem shares is genuine, such as recording calls or requesting personalized security codes or other information, we are not responsible for any losses that may occur as a result. For transactions conducted over the Internet, we recommend the use of a secure Internet browser. In addition, you should verify the accuracy of your confirmation statements immediately after you receive them. EACH FUND DOES NOT ISSUE SHARE CERTIFICATES. However, if you currently have shares in certificated form, you must include the share certificates properly endorsed or accompanied by a duly executed stock power when exchanging or redeeming shares. You may not exchange or redeem shares in certificate form by telephone or via the Internet. WHEN YOU ASK US TO SEND OR RECEIVE A WIRE, please note that while we don't charge a fee to send or receive wires, it's possible that your bank may do so. Wire transactions are generally completed within 24 hours. Each fund can only send wires of $1,000 or more and accept wires of $50 or more. EACH FUND ACCEPTS PAYMENT FOR SHARES ONLY IN US DOLLARS by a check drawn on a US bank, a bank or Federal Funds wire transfer or an electronic bank transfer. Each fund does not accept third party checks. A third party check is a check made payable to one or more parties and offered as payment to one or more other parties (e.g., a check made payable to you that you offer as payment to someone else). Checks should normally be payable to DWS Investments and drawn by you or a financial institution on your behalf with your name or account number included with the check. IF YOU PAY FOR SHARES BY CHECK and the check fails to clear, or if you order shares by phone and fail to pay for them by 4:00 p.m. Eastern time the next business day, we have the right to cancel your order, hold you liable or charge you or your account for any losses or fees the fund or its agents have incurred. To sell shares, you must state whether you would like to receive the proceeds by wire or check. SIGNATURE GUARANTEE. When you want to sell more than $100,000 worth of shares or send proceeds to a third party or to a new address, you'll usually need to place your order in writing and include a THE FOLLOWING SIDEBAR TEXT APPEARS NEXT TO THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPHS If you ever have difficulty placing an order by phone or Internet, you can send us your order in writing. Policies You Should Know About | 49 signature guarantee. However, if you want money wired to a bank account that is already on file with us, you don't need a signature guarantee. Also, generally you don't need a signature guarantee for an exchange, although we may require one in certain other circumstances. A signature guarantee is simply a certification of your signature - a valuable safeguard against fraud. You can get a signature guarantee from an eligible guarantor institution, including commercial banks, savings and loans, trust companies, credit unions, member firms of a national stock exchange or any member or participant of an approved signature guarantor program. Note that you can't get a signature guarantee from a notary public and we must be provided the original guarantee. SELLING SHARES OF TRUST ACCOUNTS AND BUSINESS OR ORGANIZATION ACCOUNTS may require additional documentation. Please call (800) 730-1313 or contact your financial advisor for more information. MONEY FROM SHARES YOU SELL is normally sent out within one business day of when your order is processed (not when it is received), although it could be delayed for up to seven days. There are circumstances when it could be longer, including, but not limited to, when you are selling shares you bought recently by check or ACH (the funds will be placed under a 10 calendar day hold to ensure good funds) or when unusual circumstances prompt the SEC to allow further delays. Certain expedited redemption processes (e.g., redemption proceeds by wire) may also be delayed or unavailable when you are selling shares recently purchased or in the event of the closing of the Federal Reserve wire payment system. Each fund reserves the right to suspend or postpone redemptions as permitted pursuant to Section 22(e) of the Investment Company Act of 1940. Generally, those circumstances are when 1) the New York Stock Exchange is closed other than customary weekend or holiday closings; 2) trading on the New York Stock Exchange is restricted; 3) an emergency exists which makes the disposal of securities owned by a fund or the fair determination of the value of a fund's net assets not reasonably practicable; or 4) the SEC, by order, permits the suspension of the right of redemption. Redemption payments by wire may also be delayed in the event of a non-routine closure of the Federal Reserve wire payment system. For additional rights reserved by each fund, please see "Other rights we reserve." 50 | Policies You Should Know About You may obtain additional information about other ways to sell your shares by contacting your financial advisor. ACCOUNT STATEMENTS. We or your financial advisor will generally furnish you with a written confirmation of every transaction that affects your account balance. You will also receive periodic statements reflecting the balances in your account. How each fund calculates share price To calculate net asset value, or NAV, each share class uses the following equation: TOTAL ASSETS - TOTAL LIABILITIES ----------------------------------------- = NAV TOTAL NUMBER OF SHARES OUTSTANDING
The price at which you buy and sell shares is based on the NAV per share next calculated after the order is received and accepted by the transfer agent. EACH FUND CHARGES A REDEMPTION FEE EQUAL TO 2.00% of the value of shares redeemed or exchanged within 15 days of purchase. Please see "Policies about transactions - Redemption fees" for further information. WE TYPICALLY VALUE SECURITIES USING INFORMATION FURNISHED BY AN INDEPENDENT PRICING SERVICE OR MARKET QUOTATIONS, WHERE APPROPRIATE. However, we may use methods approved by the Board, such as a fair valuation model, which are intended to reflect fair value when pricing service information or market quotations are not readily available or when a security's value or a meaningful portion of the value of a fund's portfolio is believed to have been materially affected by a significant event, such as a natural disaster, an economic event like a bankruptcy filing, or a substantial fluctuation in domestic or foreign markets that has occurred between the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded (for example, a foreign exchange or market) and the close of the New York Stock Exchange. In such a case, a fund's value for a security is likely to be different from the last quoted market price or pricing service information. In addition, due to the subjective and variable nature of fair value pricing, it is possible that the value determined for a particular asset may be materially different from the value realized upon such asset's sale. It is expected that the greater the percentage of fund assets that is invested Policies You Should Know About | 51 in non-US securities, the more extensive will be a fund's use of fair value pricing. This is intended to reduce a fund's exposure to "time zone arbitrage" and other harmful trading practices. (See "Market timing policies and procedures.") TO THE EXTENT THAT A FUND INVESTS IN SECURITIES THAT ARE TRADED PRIMARILY IN FOREIGN MARKETS, the value of its holdings could change at a time when you aren't able to buy or sell fund shares. This is because some foreign markets are open on days or at times when a fund doesn't price its shares. (Note that prices for securities that trade on foreign exchanges can change significantly on days when the New York Stock Exchange is closed and you cannot buy or sell fund shares. Price changes in the securities a fund owns may ultimately affect the price of fund shares the next time the NAV is calculated.) Other rights we reserve You should be aware that we may do any of the following: - withdraw or suspend the offering of shares at any time - withhold a portion of your distributions and redemption proceeds if we have been notified by the IRS that you are subject to backup withholding or if you fail to provide us with the correct taxpayer ID number and certain certifications, including certification that you are not subject to backup withholding - reject a new account application if you don't provide any required or requested identifying information, or for any other reason - refuse, cancel, limit or rescind any purchase or exchange order, without prior notice; freeze any account (meaning you will not be able to purchase fund shares in your account); suspend account services; and/or involuntarily redeem your account if we think that the account is being used for fraudulent or illegal purposes; one or more of these actions will be taken when, at our sole discretion, they are deemed to be in a fund's best interests or when a fund is requested or compelled to do so by governmental authority or by applicable law 52 | Policies You Should Know About - close and liquidate your account if we are unable to verify your identity, or for other reasons; if we decide to close your account, your fund shares will be redeemed at the net asset value per share next calculated after we determine to close your account (less applicable redemption fee, if any); you may recognize a gain or loss on the redemption of your fund shares and you may incur a tax liability - pay you for shares you sell by "redeeming in kind," that is, by giving you securities (which typically will involve brokerage costs for you to liquidate) rather than cash, but which will be taxable to the same extent as a redemption for cash; a fund generally won't make a redemption in kind unless your requests over a 90-day period total more than $250,000 or 1% of the value of a fund's net assets, whichever is less - change, add or withdraw various services, fees and account policies (for example, we may adjust a fund's investment minimums at any time) UNDERSTANDING DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES Each fund intends to distribute to its shareholders virtually all of its net earnings. Each fund can earn money in two ways: by receiving interest, dividends or other income from investments it holds and by selling investments for more than it paid for them. (Each fund's earnings are separate from any gains or losses stemming from your own purchase and sale of shares.) Each fund may not always pay a dividend or other distribution for a given period. DWS Growth & Income Fund intends to pay dividends and distributions of investment income to its shareholders in March, June, September and December; long-term and short-term capital gains are normally paid in December. DWS Capital Growth Fund and DWS Blue Chip Fund each intends to pay dividends and distributions of both investment income and long-term and short-term capital gains to its shareholders annually in December. If necessary, a fund may distribute at other times as needed. THE FOLLOWING SIDEBAR TEXT APPEARS NEXT TO THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPHS Because each shareholder's tax situation is unique, ask your tax professional about the tax consequences of your investments, including any state and local tax consequences. Understanding Distributions and Taxes | 53 Dividends or distributions declared and payable to shareholders of record in the last quarter of a given calendar year are treated for federal income tax purposes as if they were received on December 31 of that year, provided such dividends or distributions are paid by the end of the following January. For federal income tax purposes, income and capital gains distributions are generally taxable to shareholders. However, dividends and distributions received by retirement plans qualifying for tax exemption under federal income tax laws generally will not be taxable. YOU CAN CHOOSE HOW TO RECEIVE YOUR DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS. You can have them all automatically reinvested in fund shares (at NAV), all deposited directly to your bank account or all sent to you by check, have one type reinvested and the other sent to you by check or have them invested in a different fund. Tell us your preference on your application. If you don't indicate a preference, your dividends and distributions will all be reinvested in shares of the fund without a sales charge (if applicable). Distributions are treated the same for federal income tax purposes whether you receive them in cash or reinvest them in additional shares. Under the terms of employer-sponsored qualified plans, and retirement plans, reinvestment (at NAV) is the only option. BUYING, SELLING OR EXCHANGING FUND SHARES WILL USUALLY HAVE FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES FOR YOU (except in employer-sponsored qualified plans, IRAs or other tax-advantaged accounts). Your sale of shares may result in a capital gain or loss. The gain or loss will be long-term or short-term depending on how long you owned the shares that were sold. For federal income tax purposes, an exchange is treated the same as a sale. 54 | Understanding Distributions and Taxes THE FEDERAL INCOME TAX STATUS of a fund's earnings you receive and your own fund transactions generally depends on their type:
GENERALLY TAXED AT LONG-TERM GENERALLY TAXED AT ORDINARY CAPITAL GAIN RATES: INCOME RATES: DISTRIBUTIONS FROM A FUND - gains from the sale of - gains from the sale of securities held (or treated as securities held by a fund for held) by a fund for more than one year or less one year - all other taxable income - qualified dividend income TRANSACTIONS INVOLVING FUND SHARES - gains from selling fund - gains from selling fund shares held for more than shares held for one year or one year less
ANY DIRECT INVESTMENTS IN FOREIGN SECURITIES BY A FUND MAY BE SUBJECT TO FOREIGN WITHHOLDING TAXES. In that case, a fund's yield on those securities would generally be decreased. Shareholders generally will not be entitled to claim a credit or deduction with respect to foreign taxes paid by a fund. In addition, any investments in foreign securities or foreign currencies may increase or accelerate a fund's recognition of ordinary income and may affect the timing or amount of the fund's distributions. If you invest in a fund through a taxable account, your after-tax return could be negatively impacted. Investments in certain debt obligations or other securities may cause a fund to recognize taxable income in excess of the cash generated by them. Thus, a fund could be required at times to liquidate other investments in order to satisfy its distribution requirements. For taxable years beginning before January 1, 2011, distributions to individuals and other noncorporate shareholders of investment income designated by a fund as derived from qualified dividend income are eligible for taxation for federal income tax purposes at the more favorable long-term capital gain rates. Qualified dividend income generally includes dividends received by a fund from domestic and some foreign corporations. It does not include income from investments in debt securities or, generally, from real estate investment trusts. In addition, a fund must meet certain holding period and Understanding Distributions and Taxes | 55 other requirements with respect to the dividend-paying stocks in its portfolio and the shareholder must meet certain holding period and other requirements with respect to a fund's shares for the lower tax rates to apply. For taxable years beginning before January 1, 2011, the maximum federal income tax rate imposed on long-term capital gains recognized by individuals and other noncorporate shareholders has been temporarily reduced to 15%, in general, with lower rates applying to taxpayers in the 10% and 15% rate brackets. For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2011, the maximum long-term capital gain rate is scheduled to return to 20%. YOUR FUND WILL SEND YOU DETAILED FEDERAL INCOME TAX INFORMATION EVERY JANUARY. These statements tell you the amount and the federal income tax classification of any dividends or distributions you received. They also have certain details on your purchases and sales of shares. IF YOU INVEST RIGHT BEFORE A FUND PAYS A DIVIDEND, you'll be getting some of your investment back as a taxable dividend. You can avoid this by investing after a fund pays a dividend. In tax-advantaged retirement accounts you generally do not need to worry about this. If a fund's distributions exceed its current and accumulated earnings and profits, the excess will be treated for federal income tax purposes as a tax-free return of capital to the extent of your basis in your shares and thereafter as a gain from the sale or exchange of your shares. Because a return of capital distribution reduces the basis of your shares, a return of capital distribution may result in a higher capital gain or a lower capital loss when you sell your shares. CORPORATIONS are taxed at the same rates on ordinary income and capital gains but may be eligible for a dividends-received deduction for a portion of the income dividends they receive from a fund, provided certain holding period and other requirements are met. The above discussion summarizes certain federal income tax consequences for shareholders who are US persons. If you are a non-US person, please consult your own tax advisor with respect to the US tax consequences to you of an investment in a fund. For more information, see "Taxes" in the Statement of Additional Information. 56 | Understanding Distributions and Taxes APPENDIX - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hypothetical Expense Summary Using the annual fund operating expense ratios presented in the fee tables in the fund prospectus, the Hypothetical Expense Summary shows the estimated fees and expenses, in actual dollars, that would be charged on a hypothetical investment of $10,000 in the fund held for the next 10 years and the impact of such fees and expenses on fund returns for each year and cumulatively, assuming a 5% return for each year. The historical rate of return for the fund may be higher or lower than 5% and, for money funds, is typically less than 5%. The tables also assume that all dividends and distributions are reinvested. The annual fund expense ratios shown are net of any contractual fee waivers or expense reimbursements, if any, for the period of the contractual commitment. The tables do not reflect redemption fees, if any, which may be payable upon redemption. If redemption fees were shown, the "Hypothetical Year-End Balance After Fees and Expenses" amounts shown would be lower and the "Annual Fees and Expenses" amounts shown would be higher. Also, please note that if you are investing through a third party provider, that provider may have fees and expenses separate from those of the fund that are not reflected here. Mutual fund fees and expenses fluctuate over time and actual expenses may be higher or lower than those shown. The Hypothetical Expense Summary should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy or a recommendation or endorsement of any specific mutual fund. You should carefully review the fund's prospectus to consider the investment objectives, risks, expenses and charges of the fund prior to investing. Appendix | 57 DWS Growth & Income Fund - Institutional Class
MAXIMUM INITIAL HYPOTHETICAL ASSUMED RATE SALES CHARGE: INVESTMENT: OF RETURN: 0.00% $10,000 5% HYPOTHETICAL CUMULATIVE ANNUAL CUMULATIVE YEAR-END RETURN BEFORE FUND RETURN AFTER BALANCE AFTER ANNUAL FEES FEES AND EXPENSE FEES AND FEES AND AND YEAR EXPENSES RATIOS EXPENSES EXPENSES EXPENSES 1 5.00% 0.51% 4.49% $ 10,449.00 $ 52.14 2 10.25% 0.51% 9.18% $ 10,918.16 $ 54.49 3 15.76% 0.51% 14.08% $ 11,408.39 $ 56.93 4 21.55% 0.51% 19.21% $ 11,920.62 $ 59.49 5 27.63% 0.51% 24.56% $ 12,455.86 $ 62.16 6 34.01% 0.51% 30.15% $ 13,015.13 $ 64.95 7 40.71% 0.51% 36.00% $ 13,599.51 $ 67.87 8 47.75% 0.51% 42.10% $ 14,210.12 $ 70.91 9 55.13% 0.51% 48.48% $ 14,848.16 $ 74.10 10 62.89% 0.51% 55.15% $ 15,514.84 $ 77.43 TOTAL $ 640.47
DWS Capital Growth Fund - Institutional Class
MAXIMUM INITIAL HYPOTHETICAL ASSUMED RATE SALES CHARGE: INVESTMENT: OF RETURN: 0.00% $10,000 5% HYPOTHETICAL CUMULATIVE ANNUAL CUMULATIVE YEAR-END RETURN BEFORE FUND RETURN AFTER BALANCE AFTER ANNUAL FEES AND EXPENSE FEES AND FEES AND FEES AND YEAR EXPENSES RATIOS EXPENSES EXPENSES EXPENSES 1 5.00% 0.73% 4.27% $ 10,427.00 $ 74.56 2 10.25% 0.73% 8.72% $ 10,872.23 $ 77.74 3 15.76% 0.73% 13.36% $ 11,336.48 $ 81.06 4 21.55% 0.73% 18.21% $ 11,820.54 $ 84.52 5 27.63% 0.73% 23.35% $ 12,325.28 $ 88.13 6 34.01% 0.73% 28.52% $ 12,851.57 $ 91.90 7 40.71% 0.73% 34.00% $ 13,400.33 $ 95.82 8 47.75% 0.73% 39.73% $ 13,972.53 $ 99.91 9 55.13% 0.73% 45.69% $ 14,569.15 $ 104.18 10 62.89% 0.73% 51.91% $ 15,191.26 $ 108.63 TOTAL $ 906.45
58 | Appendix DWS Blue Chip Fund - Institutional Class
MAXIMUM INITIAL HYPOTHETICAL ASSUMED RATE SALES CHARGE: INVESTMENT: OF RETURN: 0.00% $10,000 5% HYPOTHETICAL CUMULATIVE ANNUAL CUMULATIVE YEAR-END RETURN BEFORE FUND RETURN AFTER BALANCE AFTER ANNUAL FEES FEES AND EXPENSE FEES AND FEES AND AND YEAR EXPENSES RATIOS EXPENSES EXPENSES EXPENSES 1 5.00% 0.69% 4.31% $ 10,431.00 $ 70.49 2 10.25% 0.69% 8.81% $ 10,880.58 $ 73.52 3 15.76% 0.69% 13.50% $ 11,349.53 $ 76.69 4 21.55% 0.69% 18.39% $ 11,838.69 $ 80.00 5 27.63% 0.69% 23.49% $ 12,348.94 $ 83.45 6 34.01% 0.69% 28.81% $ 12,881.18 $ 87.04 7 40.71% 0.69% 34.36% $ 13,436.36 $ 90.80 8 47.75% 0.69% 40.15% $ 14,015.49 $ 94.71 9 55.13% 0.69% 46.20% $ 14,619.53 $ 98.73 10 62.89% 0.69% 52.50% $ 15,249.64 $ 103.05 TOTAL $ 858.54
Appendix | 59 TO GET MORE INFORMATION SHAREHOLDER REPORTS - These include commentary from a fund's management team about recent market conditions and the effects of a fund's strategies on its performance. They also have detailed performance figures, a list of everything a fund owns, and its financial statements. Shareholders get these reports automatically. STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (SAI) - This tells you more about a fund's features and policies, including additional risk information. The SAI is incorporated by reference into this document (meaning that it's legally part of this prospectus). For a free copy of any of these documents or to request other information about a fund, call (800) 730-1313, or contact DWS Investments at the address listed below. Each fund's SAI and shareholder reports are also available through the DWS Investments Web site at www.dws-investments.com. These documents and other information about each fund are available from the EDGAR Database on the SEC's Internet site at www.sec.gov. If you like, you may obtain copies of this information, after paying a copying fee, by e-mailing a request to publicinfo@sec.gov or by writing the SEC at the address listed below. You can also review and copy these documents and other information about each fund, including each fund's SAI, at the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Information on the operation of the SEC's Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling (800) SEC-0330.
DWS INVESTMENTS SEC DISTRIBUTOR - ----------------- -------------------- ------------------------------ PO Box 219210 100 F Street, N.E. DWS Investments Distributors, Kansas City, MO Washington, D.C. Inc. 64121-9210 20549-0102 222 South Riverside Plaza WWW.DWS- WWW.SEC.GOV Chicago, IL 60606-5808 INVESTMENTS.COM (800) SEC-0330 (800) 621-1148 (800) 730-1313
SEC FILE NUMBER: DWS Investment Trust DWS Growth & Income Fund 811-00043 DWS Investment Trust DWS Capital Growth Fund 811-00043 DWS Blue Chip Fund 811-05357
(04/01/09) DGF-1-IN [RECYCLE GRAPHIC APPEARS HERE] [DWS INVESTMENTS LOGO] Deutsche Bank Group FEBRUARY 1, 2009, AS REVISED APRIL 1, 2009 PROSPECTUS ------------------ CLASS S DWS GROWTH & INCOME FUND DWS CAPITAL GROWTH FUND DWS SMALL CAP CORE FUND DWS BLUE CHIP FUND As with all mutual funds, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) does not approve or disapprove these shares or determine whether the information in this prospectus is truthful or complete. It is a criminal offense for anyone to inform you otherwise. RESHAPING INVESTING. [DWS INVESTMENTS LOGO] Deutsche Bank Group CONTENTS HOW EACH FUND WORKS 4 DWS Growth & Income Fund 10 DWS Capital Growth Fund 16 DWS Small Cap Core Fund 22 DWS Blue Chip Fund 28 Other Policies and Secondary Risks 30 Who Manages and Oversees the Funds 36 Additional Performance Information 38 Financial Highlights
HOW TO INVEST IN THE FUNDS 44 How to Buy Class S Shares 45 How to Exchange or Sell Class S Shares 48 Policies You Should Know About 59 Understanding Distributions and Taxes 63 Appendix
HOW EACH FUND WORKS On the next few pages, you'll find information about each fund's investment objective, the main strategies each uses to pursue that objective and the main risks that could affect performance. Whether you are considering investing in a fund or are already a shareholder, you'll want to LOOK THIS INFORMATION OVER CAREFULLY. You may want to keep it on hand for reference as well. CLASS S shares are generally only available to new investors through fee-based programs of investment dealers that have special agreements with each fund's distributor, through certain group retirement plans and through certain registered investment advisors. These dealers and advisors typically charge ongoing fees for services they provide. Remember that mutual funds are investments, not bank deposits. They're not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC or any other government agency. Their share prices will go up and down, and you could lose money by investing in them. You can find DWS prospectuses on the Internet at WWW.DWS-INVESTMENTS.COM (the Web site does not form a part of this prospectus). Class S ticker symbol SCDGX fund number 2064 DWS GROWTH & INCOME FUND
THE FUND'S MAIN INVESTMENT STRATEGY The fund seeks long-term growth of capital, current income and growth of income. The fund invests at least 65% of total assets in equities, mainly common stocks. Although the fund can invest in companies of any size and from any country, it invests primarily in large US companies. The portfolio managers may favor securities from different industries and companies at different times. The portfolio managers use quantitative stock techniques and fundamental equity analysis to evaluate each company's stock price relative to the company's earnings, operating trends, market outlook and other measures of performance potential. The portfolio managers will normally sell a stock when they believe its fundamental factors have changed, other investments offer better opportunities or in the course of adjusting the fund's emphasis on or within a given industry. DERIVATIVES AND OTHER INVESTMENTS. The fund is permitted, but not required, to use various types of derivatives (contracts whose value is based on, for example, indexes, currencies or securities). The fund may use derivatives in circumstances where the managers believe they offer an economical means of gaining exposure to a particular asset class or to keep cash on hand to meet shareholder redemptions or other needs while maintaining exposure to the market. SECURITIES LENDING. The fund may lend its investment securities in an amount up to 33 1/3% of its total assets to approved institutional borrowers who need to borrow securities in order to complete certain transactions. 4 | DWS Growth & Income Fund THE MAIN RISKS OF INVESTING IN THE FUND 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. STOCK MARKET RISK. The fund is affected by how the stock market performs. To the extent the fund invests in a particular capitalization or market sector, the fund's performance may be proportionately affected by that segment's general performance. When stock prices fall, you should expect the value of your investment to fall as well. Because a stock represents ownership in its issuer, stock prices can be hurt by poor management, shrinking product demand and other business risks. These factors may affect single companies as well as groups of companies. In addition, movements in financial markets may adversely affect a stock's price, regardless of how well the company performs. The market as a whole may not favor the types of investments the fund makes, which could affect the fund's ability to sell them at an attractive price. INDUSTRY RISK. While the fund does not concentrate in any industry, to the extent that the fund has exposure to a given industry or sector, any factors affecting that industry or sector could affect the value of portfolio securities. For example, manufacturers of consumer goods could be hurt by a rise in unemployment or technology companies could be hurt by such factors as market saturation, price competition and rapid obsolescence. SECURITY SELECTION RISK. A risk that pervades all investing is the risk that the securities in the fund's portfolio may decline in value. SECURITIES LENDING RISK. Any loss in the market price of securities loaned by the fund that occurs during the term of the loan would be borne by the fund and would adversely affect the fund's performance. Also, there may be delays in recovery of securities loaned or even a loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially while the loan is outstanding. However, loans will be made only to borrowers selected by the fund's delegate after a review of relevant facts and circumstances, including the creditworthiness of the borrower. THE FOLLOWING SIDEBAR TEXT APPEARS NEXT TO THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPHS This fund is designed for investors interested in a relatively conservative equity fund to provide long-term growth and some current income. DWS Growth & Income Fund | 5 Other factors that could affect performance include: - portfolio management could be wrong in the analysis of industries, companies, economic trends, the relative attractiveness of different securities or other matters. - foreign securities may be more volatile than their US counterparts, for reasons such as currency fluctuations and political and economic uncertainty. - derivatives could produce disproportionate losses due to a variety of factors, including the failure of the counterparty to meet its obligations or unexpected price or interest rate movements. 6 | DWS Growth & Income Fund THE FUND'S PERFORMANCE HISTORY While a fund's past performance (before and after taxes) isn't necessarily a sign of how it will do in the future, it can be valuable for an investor to know. The bar chart shows how the performance of the fund's Class S shares has varied from year to year, which may give some idea of risk. The table on the following page shows how fund performance compares to relevant index performance (which, unlike fund performance, does not reflect fees or expenses). The performance of the fund and the index information varies over time. All figures assume reinvestment of dividends and distributions (in the case of after-tax returns, reinvested net of assumed tax rates). The table shows returns for Class S shares on a before-tax and after-tax basis. After-tax returns are estimates calculated using the historical highest marginal individual federal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown in the table. After-tax returns shown are not relevant for investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. DWS Growth & Income Fund ANNUAL TOTAL RETURN (%) AS OF 12/31 EACH YEAR - Class S [BAR GRAPHIC OMITTED HERE] [BAR GRAPHIC DATA] 6.07 6.15 -2.44 -12.04 -23.52 26.80 9.86 5.92 13.51 0.79 -38.48 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
FOR THE PERIODS INCLUDED IN THE BAR CHART: BEST QUARTER: 12.84%, Q2 2003 WORST QUARTER: -21.89 Q4 2008
DWS Growth & Income Fund | 7 AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS (%) as of 12/31/2008
1 YEAR 5 YEARS 10 YEARS CLASS S Return before Taxes -38.48 -3.91 -3.18 Return after Taxes on Distributions -38.61 -5.40 -4.28 Return after Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares -24.77* -3.02* -2.59* RUSSELL 1000 (Reg. TM) INDEX (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) -37.60 -2.04 -1.09
Total returns would have been lower if operating expenses hadn't been reduced. * Return after Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares is higher than other return figures for the same period due to a capital loss occurring upon redemption resulting in an assumed tax deduction for the shareholder. RUSSELL 1000 (Reg. TM) INDEX is an unmanaged price-only index of the 1,000 largest capitalized companies that are domiciled in the US and whose common stocks are traded. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current performance may be higher or lower than the performance data quoted above. For more recent performance information, call your financial advisor or (800) 728-3337 or visit our Web site at www.dws-investments.com. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return information assumes that fund shares were sold at the end of the period. RETURN AFTER TAXES ON DISTRIBUTIONS reflects taxes only on the fund's distributions and not on a shareholder's gain or loss from selling fund shares. RETURN AFTER TAXES ON DISTRIBUTIONS AND SALE OF FUND SHARES reflects taxes on both the fund's distributions and a shareholder's gain or loss from selling fund shares. 8 | DWS Growth & Income Fund HOW MUCH INVESTORS PAY The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold fund shares. This information doesn't include any fees that may be charged by your financial advisor.
FEE TABLE CLASS S SHAREHOLDER FEES, paid directly from your investment _____________________________________________________________________ Sales Charge None Redemption/Exchange fee on shares owned less than 15 days (as % of redemption proceeds) 1 2.00 ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSES, deducted from fund assets _____________________________________________________________________ Management Fee 0.35% Distribution/Service (12b-1) Fee None Other Expenses 2 0.31 TOTAL ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSES 3 0.66
1 This fee is charged on all applicable redemptions or exchanges. Please see "Policies You Should Know About - Policies about transactions" for further information. 2 "Other Expenses" include an administrative services fee paid to the Advisor in the amount of 0.10% of average daily net assets. 3 Except as otherwise noted, the information in the table is based on amounts incurred during the fund's most recent fiscal year. It is important for you to understand that a decline in the fund's average net assets during the current fiscal year due to recent unprecedented market volatility or other factors could cause the fund's expense ratios for the fund's current fiscal year to be higher than the expense information presented. Based on the costs above, this example helps you compare the expenses of the Fund to those of other mutual funds. This example assumes the expenses above remain the same. It also assumes that you invested $10,000, earned 5% annual returns and reinvested all dividends and distributions. This is only an example; actual expenses will be different.
EXAMPLE 1 YEAR 3 YEARS 5 YEARS 10 YEARS Class S shares $67 $211 $368 $822
DWS Growth & Income Fund | 9 Class S ticker symbol SCGSX fund number 2398 DWS CAPITAL GROWTH FUND
THE FUND'S MAIN INVESTMENT STRATEGY The fund seeks to provide long-term growth of capital. The fund normally invests at least 65% of total assets in equities, mainly common stocks of US companies. Although the fund can invest in companies of any size, it generally focuses on established companies that are similar in size to the companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 (Reg. TM) Composite Stock Price Index (the "S&P 500 Index") or the Russell 1000 (Reg. TM) Growth Index (as of December 31, 2008, the S&P 500 Index and the Russell 1000 (Reg. TM) Growth Index had median market capitalizations of $6.4 billion and $3.3 billion, respectively). Although the fund may invest in companies of any size, the fund intends to invest primarily in companies whose market capitalizations fall within the normal range of these indexes. The fund may also invest in other types of equity securities such as preferred stocks or convertible securities. In choosing stocks, the portfolio managers begin by utilizing a proprietary quantitative model to rank stocks based on a number of factors including valuation and profitability. The portfolio managers also apply fundamental techniques to identify companies that display above-average earnings growth compared to other companies and that have strong product lines, effective management and leadership positions within core markets. The factors considered and models used by the portfolio managers may change over time. The portfolio managers will normally sell a stock when they believe its potential risks have increased, its price is unlikely to go higher, its fundamental factors have changed, other investments offer better opportunities or in the course of adjusting the fund's emphasis on a given industry. DERIVATIVES AND OTHER INVESTMENTS. The fund is permitted, but not required, to use various types of derivatives (contracts whose value is based on, for example, indices, currencies or securities). Derivatives may be used for hedging and for risk 10 | DWS Capital Growth Fund management or for non-hedging purposes to seek to enhance potential gains. The fund may use derivatives in circumstances where portfolio management believes they offer an economical means of gaining exposure to a particular asset class or to keep cash on hand to meet shareholder redemptions or other needs while maintaining exposure to the market. In particular, the fund may use futures and options and write covered call options. SECURITIES LENDING. The fund may lend its investment securities in an amount up to 33 1/3% of its total assets to approved institutional borrowers who need to borrow securities in order to complete certain transactions. THE MAIN RISKS OF INVESTING IN THE FUND 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. STOCK MARKET RISK. The fund is affected by how the stock market performs. To the extent the fund invests in a particular capitalization or market sector, the fund's performance may be proportionately affected by that segment's general performance. When stock prices fall, you should expect the value of your investment to fall as well. Because a stock represents ownership in its issuer, stock prices can be hurt by poor management, shrinking product demand and other business risks. These factors may affect single companies as well as groups of companies. In addition, movements in financial markets may adversely affect a stock's price, regardless of how well the company performs. The market as a whole may not favor the types of investments the fund makes, which could affect the fund's ability to sell them at an attractive price. GROWTH INVESTING RISK. Since growth stocks usually reinvest a large portion of earnings in their own businesses, they may lack the dividends associated with value stocks that might otherwise cushion their decline in a falling market. Earnings disappointments in growth stocks often result in THE FOLLOWING SIDEBAR TEXT APPEARS NEXT TO THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPHS This fund is designed for investors with long-term goals who are interested in a growth-style approach to investing. DWS Capital Growth Fund | 11 sharp price declines because investors buy these stocks for their potential superior earnings growth. Growth stocks may also be out of favor for certain periods in relation to value stocks. INDUSTRY RISK. While the fund does not concentrate in any industry, to the extent that the fund has exposure to a given industry or sector, any factors affecting that industry or sector could affect the value of portfolio securities. For example, manufacturers of consumer goods could be hurt by a rise in unemployment or technology companies could be hurt by such factors as market saturation, price competition and rapid obsolescence. SECURITY SELECTION RISK. A risk that pervades all investing is the risk that the securities in the fund's portfolio may decline in value. SECURITIES LENDING RISK. Any loss in the market price of securities loaned by the fund that occurs during the term of the loan would be borne by the fund and would adversely affect the fund's performance. Also, there may be delays in recovery of securities loaned or even a loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially while the loan is outstanding. However, loans will be made only to borrowers selected by the fund's delegate after a review of relevant facts and circumstances, including the creditworthiness of the borrower. Other factors that could affect performance include: - portfolio management could be wrong in the analysis of industries, companies, economic trends, the relative attractiveness of different securities or other matters. - foreign securities may be more volatile than their US counterparts, for reasons such as currency fluctuations and political and economic uncertainty. - derivatives could produce disproportionate losses due to a variety of factors, including the failure of the counterparty to meet its obligations or unexpected price or interest rate movements. 12 | DWS Capital Growth Fund THE FUND'S PERFORMANCE HISTORY While a fund's past performance (before and after taxes) isn't necessarily a sign of how it will do in the future, it can be valuable for an investor to know. The bar chart shows how the performance of the fund's Class S shares has varied from year to year, which may give some idea of risk. The table on the following page shows how fund performance compares to relevant index performance (which, unlike fund performance, does not reflect fees or expenses). The performance of the fund and the index information varies over time. All figures assume reinvestment of dividends and distributions (in the case of after-tax returns, reinvested net of assumed tax rates). The table shows returns for Class S shares on a before-tax and after-tax basis. After-tax returns are estimates calculated using the historical highest marginal individual federal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown in the table. After-tax returns shown are not relevant for investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. On July 17, 2000, the fund was reorganized from AARP Capital Growth Fund, a series of AARP Growth Trust, into Class AARP of Scudder Capital Growth Fund, a newly created series of Investment Trust. The inception date for Class S is July 17, 2000. Performance figures for Class S prior to its inception date are based on the historical performance of the fund's original share class (Class AARP). Class AARP shares were converted into Class S shares of the fund on July 14, 2006. DWS Capital Growth Fund ANNUAL TOTAL RETURN (%) AS OF 12/31 EACH YEAR - Class S [BAR GRAPHIC OMITTED HERE] [BAR GRAPHIC DATA] 23.73 35.44 -10.33 -20.40 -29.42 26.32 7.36 8.41 8.29 12.28 -32.80 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
FOR THE PERIODS INCLUDED IN THE BAR CHART: BEST QUARTER: 24.55%, Q4 1999 WORST QUARTER: -21.24%, Q4 2008
DWS Capital Growth Fund | 13 AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS (%) as of 12/31/2008
1 YEAR 5 YEARS 10 YEARS CLASS S Return before Taxes -32.80 -1.00 -1.97 Return after Taxes on Distributions -32.87 -0.83 -2.30 Return after Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares -21.23* -0.62* -1.68* RUSSELL 1000 (Reg. TM) GROWTH INDEX (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) -38.44 -3.42 -4.27 STANDARD & POOR'S 500 INDEX (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) -37.00 -2.19 -1.38
Total returns would have been lower if operating expenses hadn't been reduced. On April 1, 2009, the Russell 1000 Growth Index will replace the Standard & Poor's 500 Index as the fund's benchmark index because the Advisor believes that it more accurately reflects the fund's investment strategy. * Return after Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares is higher than other return figures for the same period due to a capital loss occurring upon redemption resulting in an assumed tax deduction for the shareholder. RUSSELL 1000 (Reg. TM) GROWTH INDEX is an unmanaged index that consists of those stocks in the Russell 1000 (Reg. TM) Index that have higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values. Russell 1000 (Reg. TM) Index is an unmanaged price-only index of the 1,000 largest capitalized companies that are domiciled in the US and whose common stocks are traded. STANDARD & POOR'S 500 INDEX (S&P 500) is an unmanaged, capitalization-weighted index of 500 stocks. The index is designed to measure performance of the broad domestic economy through changes in the aggregate market value of 500 stocks representing all major industries. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current performance may be higher or lower than the performance data quoted above. For more recent performance information, call your financial advisor or (800) 728-3337 or visit our Web site at www.dws-investments.com. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return information assumes that fund shares were sold at the end of the period. RETURN AFTER TAXES ON DISTRIBUTIONS reflects taxes only on the fund's distributions and not on a shareholder's gain or loss from selling fund shares. RETURN AFTER TAXES ON DISTRIBUTIONS AND SALE OF FUND SHARES reflects taxes on both the fund's distributions and a shareholder's gain or loss from selling fund shares. 14 | DWS Capital Growth Fund ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCE INFORMATION. Owen Fitzpatrick, Lead Manager to the fund, previously managed private accounts with substantially similar investment objectives, policies and strategies as the fund when he was employed by Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management. See the section entitled "Additional Performance Information" for more information. This performance does not represent the performance of the fund and should not be considered an indication of future performance of the fund. HOW MUCH INVESTORS PAY The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold fund shares. This information doesn't include any fees that may be charged by your financial advisor.
FEE TABLE CLASS S SHAREHOLDER FEES, paid directly from your investment _____________________________________________________________________ Sales Charge None Redemption/Exchange Fee on shares owned less than 15 days (as % of redemption proceeds) 1 2.00% ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSES, deducted from fund assets _____________________________________________________________________ Management Fee 0.46% Distribution/Service (12b-1) Fee None Other Expenses 2 0.33 TOTAL ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSES 3 0.79
1 This fee is charged on applicable redemptions or exchanges. Please see "Policies You Should Know About - Policies about transactions" for further information. 2 "Other Expenses" include an administrative services fee paid to the Advisor in the amount of 0.10% of average daily net assets. 3 Except as otherwise noted, the information in the table is based on amounts incurred during the fund's most recent fiscal year. It is important for you to understand that a decline in the fund's average net assets during the current fiscal year due to recent unprecedented market volatility or other factors could cause the fund's expense ratios for the fund's current fiscal year to be higher than the expense information presented. Based on the costs above, this example helps you compare the expenses of the Fund to those of other mutual funds. This example assumes the expenses above remain the same. It also assumes that you invested $10,000, earned 5% annual returns and reinvested all dividends and distributions. This is only an example; actual expenses will be different.
EXAMPLE 1 YEAR 3 YEARS 5 YEARS 10 YEARS Class S shares $81 $252 $439 $978
DWS Capital Growth Fund | 15 Class S ticker symbol SSLCX fund number 2339 DWS SMALL CAP CORE FUND
THE FUND'S MAIN INVESTMENT STRATEGY The fund seeks to provide long-term capital growth. Under normal circumstances, the fund invests at least 80% of net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in common stocks of small US companies with potential for above-average long-term capital growth. These companies are similar in size to the companies in the Russell 2000 (Reg. TM) Index (as of December 31, 2008, the Russell 2000 Index had a median market capitalization of $319 million). The fund intends to invest in companies whose market capitalizations fall within the normal range of the Russell 2000 Index. While the fund invests primarily in common stocks, it may invest up to 20% of total assets in US government securities. The fund may also invest in other types of equity securities such as preferred stocks or convertible securities. A quantitative stock valuation model compares each company's stock price to the company's earnings, book value, sales and other measures of performance potential. The portfolio managers believe that by combining techniques used by fundamental value investors with extensive growth and earnings analysis they can minimize investment style bias and ultimately produce a "pure" stock selection process that seeks to add value in any market environment. The team also incorporates technical analysis to capture short-term price changes and evaluate the market's responsiveness to new information. The portfolio managers then build a diversified portfolio of attractively rated companies. The portfolio managers will normally sell a stock when they believe it is too highly valued, its fundamental qualities have deteriorated, when its potential risks have increased or when the company no longer qualifies as a small company. 16 | DWS Small Cap Core Fund DERIVATIVES AND OTHER INVESTMENTS. The fund is permitted, but not required, to use various types of derivatives (contracts whose value is based on, for example, indices, currencies or securities). Derivatives may be used for hedging and for risk management or for non-hedging purposes to seek to enhance potential gains. The fund may use derivatives in circumstances where portfolio management believes they offer an economical means of gaining exposure to a particular asset class or to keep cash on hand to meet shareholder redemptions or other needs while maintaining exposure to the market. SECURITIES LENDING. The fund may lend its investment securities in an amount up to 33 1/3% of its total assets to approved institutional borrowers who need to borrow securities in order to complete certain transactions. THE MAIN RISKS OF INVESTING IN THE FUND 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. STOCK MARKET RISK. The fund is affected by how the stock market performs. To the extent the fund invests in a particular capitalization or market sector, the fund's performance may be proportionately affected by that segment's general performance. When stock prices fall, you should expect the value of your investment to fall as well. Because a stock represents ownership in its issuer, stock prices can be hurt by poor management, shrinking product demand and other business risks. These factors may affect single companies as well as groups of companies. In addition, movements in financial markets may adversely affect a stock's price, regardless of how well the company performs. The market as a whole may not favor the types of investments the fund makes, which could affect the fund's ability to sell them at an attractive price. SMALL COMPANY CAPITALIZATION RISK. Small company stocks tend to experience steeper price fluctuations than the stocks of larger companies. A shortage of reliable information can also pose added risk to small company stocks. Industry-wide reversals may have a greater impact on small THE FOLLOWING SIDEBAR TEXT APPEARS NEXT TO THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPHS This fund is designed for long-term investors looking for broad exposure to small company stocks. DWS Small Cap Core Fund | 17 companies, since they lack the financial resources of larger companies. Small company stocks are typically less liquid than large company stocks. Accordingly, it may be harder to find buyers for small company shares. INDUSTRY RISK. While the fund does not concentrate in any industry, to the extent that the fund has exposure to a given industry or sector, any factors affecting that industry or sector could affect the value of portfolio securities. For example, manufacturers of consumer goods could be hurt by a rise in unemployment or technology companies could be hurt by such factors as market saturation, price competition and rapid obsolescence. SECURITY SELECTION RISK. A risk that pervades all investing is the risk that the securities in the fund's portfolio may decline in value. SECURITIES LENDING RISK. Any loss in the market price of securities loaned by the fund that occurs during the term of the loan would be borne by the fund and would adversely affect the fund's performance. Also, there may be delays in recovery of securities loaned or even a loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially while the loan is outstanding. However, loans will be made only to borrowers selected by the fund's delegate after a review of relevant facts and circumstances, including the creditworthiness of the borrower. Other factors that could affect performance include: - portfolio management could be wrong in the analysis of industries, companies, economic trends, the relative attractiveness of different securities or other matters. - derivatives could produce disproportionate losses due to a variety of factors, including the failure of the counterparty to meet its obligations or unexpected price or interest rate movements. 18 | DWS Small Cap Core Fund THE FUND'S PERFORMANCE HISTORY While a fund's past performance (before and after taxes) isn't necessarily a sign of how it will do in the future, it can be valuable for an investor to know. The bar chart shows how the performance of the fund's Class S shares has varied from year to year, which may give some idea of risk. The table on the following page shows how fund performance compares to relevant index performance (which, unlike fund performance, does not reflect fees or expenses). The performance of the fund and the index information varies over time. All figures assume reinvestment of dividends and distributions (in the case of after-tax returns, reinvested net of assumed tax rates). The table shows returns for Class S shares on a before-tax and after-tax basis. After-tax returns are estimates calculated using the historical highest marginal individual federal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown in the table. After-tax returns shown are not relevant for investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. On July 17, 2000, the fund was reorganized from AARP Small Company Stock Fund, a series of AARP Growth Trust, into Class AARP of Scudder Small Company Stock Fund, a newly created series of Investment Trust. Effective June 6, 2006, Scudder Small Company Stock Fund changed its name to DWS Small Cap Core Fund. The inception date for Class S is July 17, 2000. Performance figures for Class S prior to its inception date are based on the historical performance of the fund's original share class (Class AARP). Class AARP shares were converted into Class S shares of the fund on July 14, 2006. DWS Small Cap Core Fund ANNUAL TOTAL RETURN (%) AS OF 12/31 EACH YEAR - Class S [BAR GRAPHIC OMITTED HERE] [BAR GRAPHIC DATA] - -6.24 -3.53 -1.89 9.58 -12.93 48.89 16.66 2.90 15.64 -11.31 -38.30 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
FOR THE PERIODS INCLUDED IN THE BAR CHART: BEST QUARTER: 21.85%, Q2 2003 WORST QUARTER: -27.59%, Q4 2008
DWS Small Cap Core Fund | 19 AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS (%) as of 12/31/2008
1 YEAR 5 YEARS 10 YEARS CLASS S Return before Taxes -38.30 -5.35 0.21 Return after Taxes on Distributions -38.35 -6.66 -0.56 Return after Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares -24.84* -4.58* 0.07* RUSSELL 2000 (Reg. TM) INDEX (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) -33.79 -0.93 3.02
Total returns would have been lower if operating expenses hadn't been reduced. * Return after Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares is higher than other return figures for the same period due to a capital loss occurring upon redemption resulting in an assumed tax deduction for the shareholder. RUSSELL 2000 (Reg. TM) INDEX is an unmanaged capitalization-weighted measure of approximately 2,000 small US stocks. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current performance may be higher or lower than the performance data quoted above. For more recent performance information, call your financial advisor or (800) 728-3337 or visit our Web site at www.dws-investments.com. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return information assumes that fund shares were sold at the end of the period. RETURN AFTER TAXES ON DISTRIBUTIONS reflects taxes only on the fund's distributions and not on a shareholder's gain or loss from selling fund shares. RETURN AFTER TAXES ON DISTRIBUTIONS AND SALE OF FUND SHARES reflects taxes on both the fund's distributions and a shareholder's gain or loss from selling fund shares. 20 | DWS Small Cap Core Fund HOW MUCH INVESTORS PAY The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold fund shares. This information doesn't include any fees that may be charged by your financial advisor.
FEE TABLE CLASS S SHAREHOLDER FEES, paid directly from your investment _____________________________________________________________________ Sales Charge None Redemption/Exchange Fee on shares owned less than 15 days (as % of redemption proceeds) 1 2.00% ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSES, deducted from fund assets _____________________________________________________________________ Management Fee 0.67% Distribution/Service (12b-1) Fee None Other Expenses 2 0.54 TOTAL ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSES 3 1.21
1 This fee is charged on applicable redemptions or exchanges. Please see "Policies You Should Know About - Policies about transactions" for further information. 2 "Other Expenses" include an administrative services fee paid to the Advisor in the amount of 0.10% of average daily net assets. 3 Except as otherwise noted, the information in the table is based on amounts incurred during the fund's most recent fiscal year. It is important for you to understand that a decline in the fund's average net assets during the current fiscal year due to recent unprecedented market volatility or other factors could cause the fund's expense ratios for the fund's current fiscal year to be higher than the expense information presented. Based on the costs above, this example helps you compare the expenses of the Fund to those of other mutual funds. This example assumes the expenses above remain the same. It also assumes that you invested $10,000, earned 5% annual returns and reinvested all dividends and distributions. This is only an example; actual expenses will be different.
EXAMPLE 1 YEAR 3 YEARS 5 YEARS 10 YEARS Class S shares $123 $384 $665 $1,466
DWS Small Cap Core Fund | 21 Class S ticker symbol KBCSX fund number 2331 DWS BLUE CHIP FUND
THE FUND'S MAIN INVESTMENT STRATEGY The fund seeks growth of capital and of income. Under normal circumstances, the fund invests at least 80% of net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in common stocks of large US companies that are similar in size to the companies in the S&P 500 Index (as of December 31, 2008, the S&P 500 Index had a median market capitalization of $6.4 billion) and that the portfolio managers consider to be "blue chip" companies. Blue chip companies are large, well-known companies that typically have an established earnings and dividends history, easy access to credit, solid positions in their industry and strong management. While the fund invests mainly in US common stocks, it could invest up to 20% of net assets in foreign securities. The fund may also invest in other types of equity securities such as preferred stocks or convertible securities. The portfolio managers look for "blue chip" companies whose stock price is attractive relative to potential growth. The portfolio managers use quantitative stock techniques and fundamental equity analysis to evaluate each company's stock price relative to the company's earnings, operating trends, market outlook and other measures of performance potential. The portfolio managers will normally sell a stock when the managers believe its fundamental factors have changed, other investments offer better opportunities or in the course of adjusting the fund's emphasis on or within a given industry. DERIVATIVES AND OTHER INVESTMENTS. The fund is permitted, but not required, to use various types of derivatives (contracts whose value is based on, for example, indices, currencies or securities). Derivatives may be used for hedging and for risk management or for non-hedging purposes to seek to enhance potential gains. The fund may use derivatives in circumstances 22 | DWS Blue Chip Fund where portfolio management believes they offer an economical means of gaining exposure to a particular asset class or to keep cash on hand to meet shareholder redemptions or other needs while maintaining exposure to the market. SECURITIES LENDING. The fund may lend its investment securities in an amount up to 33 1/3% of its total assets to approved institutional borrowers who need to borrow securities in order to complete certain transactions. THE MAIN RISKS OF INVESTING IN THE FUND 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. STOCK MARKET RISK. The fund is affected by how the stock market performs. To the extent the fund invests in a particular capitalization or market sector, the fund's performance may be proportionately affected by that segment's general performance. When stock prices fall, you should expect the value of your investment to fall as well. Because a stock represents ownership in its issuer, stock prices can be hurt by poor management, shrinking product demand and other business risks. These factors may affect single companies as well as groups of companies. In addition, movements in financial markets may adversely affect a stock's price, regardless of how well the company performs. The market as a whole may not favor the types of investments the fund makes, which could affect the fund's ability to sell them at an attractive price. INDUSTRY RISK. While the fund does not concentrate in any industry, to the extent that the fund has exposure to a given industry or sector, any factors affecting that industry or sector could affect the value of portfolio securities. For example, manufacturers of consumer goods could be hurt by a rise in unemployment or technology companies could be hurt by such factors as market saturation, price competition and rapid obsolescence. SECURITY SELECTION RISK. A risk that pervades all investing is the risk that the securities in the fund's portfolio may decline in value. THE FOLLOWING SIDEBAR TEXT APPEARS NEXT TO THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPHS This fund is designed for investors with long-term goals who are interested in a core stock investment. DWS Blue Chip Fund | 23 SECURITIES LENDING RISK. Any loss in the market price of securities loaned by the fund that occurs during the term of the loan would be borne by the fund and would adversely affect the fund's performance. Also, there may be delays in recovery of securities loaned or even a loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially while the loan is outstanding. However, loans will be made only to borrowers selected by the fund's delegate after a review of relevant facts and circumstances, including the creditworthiness of the borrower. Other factors that could affect performance include: - portfolio management could be wrong in the analysis of industries, companies, economic trends, the relative attractiveness of different securities or other matters. - foreign securities may be more volatile than their US counterparts, for reasons such as currency fluctuations and political and economic uncertainty. - derivatives could produce disproportionate losses due to a variety of factors, including the failure of the counterparty to meet its obligations or unexpected price or interest rate movements. 24 | DWS Blue Chip Fund THE FUND'S PERFORMANCE HISTORY While a fund's past performance (before and after taxes) isn't necessarily a sign of how it will do in the future, it can be valuable for an investor to know. The bar chart shows how the performance of the fund's Class S shares has varied from year to year, which may give some idea of risk. The table on the following page shows how fund performance compares to relevant index performance (which, unlike fund performance, does not reflect fees or expenses). The performance of the fund and the index information varies over time. All figures assume reinvestment of dividends and distributions (in the case of after-tax returns, reinvested net of assumed tax rates). The table shows returns for Class S shares on a before-tax and after-tax basis. After-tax returns are estimates calculated using the historical highest marginal individual federal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown in the table. After-tax returns shown are not relevant for investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. DWS Blue Chip Fund ANNUAL TOTAL RETURN (%) AS OF 12/31 EACH YEAR - Class S [BAR GRAPHIC OMITTED HERE] [BAR GRAPHIC DATA] 14.27 3.44 -38.69 2006 2007 2008
FOR THE PERIODS INCLUDED IN THE BAR CHART: BEST QUARTER: 5.77%, Q3 2006 WORST QUARTER: -21.97%, Q4 2008
DWS Blue Chip Fund | 25 AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS (%) as of 12/31/2008
1 YEAR SINCE INCEPTION* CLASS S Return before Taxes -38.69 -5.93 Return after Taxes on Distributions -38.80 -7.54 Return after Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares -25.01** -5.08** RUSSELL 1000 (Reg. TM) INDEX (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) -37.60 -4.62 STANDARD & POOR'S 500 INDEX (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) -37.00 -4.72
Total returns would have been lower if operating expenses hadn't been reduced. * Since February 1, 2005. Index comparison begins January 31, 2005. ** Return after Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares is higher than other return figures for the same period due to a capital loss occurring upon redemption resulting in an assumed tax deduction for the shareholder. RUSSELL 1000 (Reg. TM) INDEX is an unmanaged price-only index of the 1,000 largest capitalized companies that are domiciled in the US and whose common stocks are traded. STANDARD & POOR'S 500 INDEX (S&P 500) is an unmanaged, capitalization-weighted index of 500 stocks. The index is designed to measure performance of the broad domestic economy through changes in the aggregate market value of 500 stocks representing all major industries. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current performance may be higher or lower than the performance data quoted above. For more recent performance information, call your financial advisor or (800) 728-3337 or visit our Web site at www.dws-investments.com. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return information assumes that fund shares were sold at the end of the period. RETURN AFTER TAXES ON DISTRIBUTIONS reflects taxes only on the fund's distributions and not on a shareholder's gain or loss from selling fund shares. RETURN AFTER TAXES ON DISTRIBUTIONS AND SALE OF FUND SHARES reflects taxes on both the fund's distributions and a shareholder's gain or loss from selling fund shares. 26 | DWS Blue Chip Fund HOW MUCH INVESTORS PAY The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold fund shares. This information doesn't include any fees that may be charged by your financial advisor.
FEE TABLE CLASS S SHAREHOLDER FEES, paid directly from your investment _____________________________________________________________________ Sales Charge None Redemption/Exchange Fee on shares owned less than 15 days (as % of redemption proceeds) 1 2.00% ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSES, deducted from fund assets _____________________________________________________________________ Management Fee 2 0.47% Distribution/Service (12b-1) Fee None Other Expenses 3 0.48 TOTAL ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSES4 0.95
1 This fee is charged on applicable redemptions or exchanges. Please see "Policies You Should Know About - Policies about transactions" for further information. 2 Restated on an annualized basis to reflect fee changes which took effect on June 1, 2008. 3 "Other Expenses" include an administrative services fee paid to the Advisor in the amount of 0.10% of average daily net assets. 4 Except as otherwise noted, the information in the table is based on amounts incurred during the fund's most recent fiscal year. It is important for you to understand that a decline in the fund's average net assets during the current fiscal year due to recent unprecedented market volatility or other factors could cause the fund's expense ratios for the fund's current fiscal year to be higher than the expense information presented. Based on the costs above, this example helps you compare the expenses of the Fund to those of other mutual funds. This example assumes the expenses above remain the same. It also assumes that you invested $10,000, earned 5% annual returns and reinvested all dividends and distributions. This is only an example; actual expenses will be different.
EXAMPLE 1 YEAR 3 YEARS 5 YEARS 10 YEARS Class S shares $97 $303 $525 $1,166
DWS Blue Chip Fund | 27 OTHER POLICIES AND SECONDARY RISKS While the previous pages describe the main points of each fund's strategy and risks, there are a few other issues to know about: - Although major changes tend to be infrequent, each fund's Board could change a fund's investment objective without seeking shareholder approval. A fund's Board will provide shareholders with at least 60 days' notice prior to making any changes to the 80% investment policy of DWS Small Cap Core Fund or DWS Blue Chip Fund as described herein. - As a temporary defensive measure, each fund could shift up to 100% of assets into investments such as money market securities or other short-term securities that offer comparable levels of risk. This could prevent losses, but, while engaged in a temporary defensive position, a fund will not be pursuing its investment objective. However, portfolio management may choose not to use these strategies for various reasons, even in volatile market conditions. - Each fund may trade actively. This could raise transaction costs (thus lowering return) and could mean increased taxable distributions to shareholders and distributions that will be taxable to shareholders at higher federal income tax rates. - Certain DWS fund-of-funds are permitted to invest in each fund. As a result, a fund may have large inflows or outflows of cash from time to time. This could have adverse effects on a fund's performance if a fund were required to sell securities or invest cash at times when it otherwise would not do so. This activity could also accelerate the realization of capital gains and increase a fund's transaction costs. The Advisor will monitor the impact of these transactions and a fund may discontinue such arrangements if they are not deemed to be in the best interests of a fund. Secondary risks The risk disclosure below applies to each fund, unless otherwise noted. DERIVATIVES RISK. Risks associated with derivatives include the risk that the derivative is not well correlated with the security, index or currency to which it relates; the risk that derivatives may result in losses or missed opportunities; the risk that the fund will be unable to sell the derivative because of an illiquid 28 | Other Policies and Secondary Risks secondary market; the risk that a counterparty is unwilling or unable to meet its obligation; and the risk that the derivative transaction could expose the fund to the effects of leverage, which could increase the fund's exposure to the market and magnify potential losses. There is no guarantee that derivatives, to the extent employed, will have the intended effect, and their use could cause lower returns or even losses to the fund. The use of derivatives by the fund to hedge risk may reduce the opportunity for gain by offsetting the positive effect of favorable price movements. PRICING RISK. At times, market conditions may make it difficult to value some investments, and the fund may use certain valuation methodologies for some of its investments, such as fair value pricing. Given the subjective nature of such valuation methodologies, it is possible that the value determined for an investment may be different than the value realized upon such investment's sale. If the fund has valued its securities too highly, you may pay too much for fund shares when you buy into the fund. If the fund has underestimated the price of its securities, you may not receive the full market value when you sell your fund shares. IPO RISK. Securities purchased in initial public offerings (IPOs) may be very volatile. The price of such securities may rise and fall rapidly, often based, among other reasons, on investor perceptions rather than economic reasons. Additionally, investments in IPOs may magnify the fund's performance if it has a small asset base. The fund is less likely to experience a similar impact on its performance as its assets grow because it is unlikely that the fund will obtain proportionately larger IPO allocations. For more information This prospectus doesn't tell you about every policy or risk of investing in each fund. If you want more information on each fund's allowable securities and investment practices and the characteristics and risks of each one, you may want to request a copy of the Statement of Additional Information (the back cover tells you how to do this). Keep in mind that there is no assurance that a fund will achieve its investment objective. Other Policies and Secondary Risks | 29 A complete list of each fund's portfolio holdings as of the month-end is posted on www.dws-investments.com on or about the 15th day of the following month. More frequent posting of portfolio holdings information may be made from time to time on www.dws-investments.com. The posted portfolio holdings information is available by fund and generally remains accessible at least until the date on which a fund files its Form N-CSR or N-Q with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the period that includes the date as of which the posted information is current. Each fund's Statement of Additional Information includes a description of a fund's policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of a fund's portfolio holdings. WHO MANAGES AND OVERSEES THE FUNDS The investment advisor Deutsche Investment Management Americas Inc. ("DIMA" or the "Advisor"), with headquarters at 345 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10154, is the investment advisor for each fund. Under the oversight of the Board, the Advisor makes investment decisions, buys and sells securities for each fund and conducts research that leads to these purchase and sale decisions. The Advisor provides a full range of global investment advisory services to institutional and retail clients. DWS Investments is part of Deutsche Bank's Asset Management division and, within the US, represents the retail asset management activities of Deutsche Bank AG, Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, DIMA and DWS Trust Company. Deutsche Asset Management is a global asset management organization that offers a wide range of investing expertise and resources, including hundreds of portfolio managers and analysts and an office network that reaches the world's major investment centers. This well-resourced global investment platform brings together a wide variety of experience and investment insight across industries, regions, asset classes and investing styles. The Advisor is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Bank AG. Deutsche Bank AG is a major global banking institution that is engaged in a wide range of financial services, including investment management, mutual funds, retail, private and commercial banking, investment banking and insurance. 30 | Who Manages and Oversees the Funds MANAGEMENT FEE. The Advisor receives a management fee from each fund. Below are the actual rates paid by each fund for the most recent fiscal year, as a percentage of each fund's average daily net assets.
FUND NAME FEE PAID DWS Growth & Income Fund 0.35% DWS Capital Growth Fund 0.46% DWS Small Cap Core Fund 0.67% DWS Blue Chip Fund 0.53%
Effective June 1, 2008, DWS Blue Chip Fund pays the Advisor a fee, calculated daily and paid monthly, at the annual rate of 0.48% of the fund's average daily net assets up to $250 million, 0.45% of the next $750 million, 0.43% of the next $1.5 billion, 0.41% of the next $2.5 billion, 0.38% of the next $2.5 billion, 0.36% of the next $2.5 billion, 0.34% of next $2.5 billion and 0.32% thereafter. A discussion regarding the basis for the Board's approval of each fund's investment management agreement is contained in the most recent shareholder report for the annual period ended October 31 for DWS Blue Chip Fund and September 30 for DWS Growth & Income Fund, DWS Capital Growth Fund and DWS Small Cap Core Fund (see "Shareholder reports" on the back cover). Under a separate administrative services agreement between each fund and the Advisor, each fund pays the Advisor a fee for providing most of each fund's administrative services. Who Manages and Oversees the Funds | 31 Portfolio management DWS Growth & Income Fund is managed by a team of investment professionals who collaborate to implement the fund's investment strategy. The team is led by a lead portfolio manager who is responsible for developing the fund's investment strategy. Each portfolio manager on the team has authority over all aspects of the fund's investment portfolio, including but not limited to, purchases and sales of individual securities, portfolio construction techniques, portfolio risk assessment, and the management of daily cash flows in accordance with portfolio holdings. The following people handle the day-to-day management of DWS Growth & Income Fund: Robert Wang Managing Director of Deutsche Asset Management and Portfolio Manager of the fund. - - Joined Deutsche Asset Management in 1995 as portfolio manager for asset allocation after 13 years of experience trading fixed income and derivative securities at J.P. Morgan. - - Senior portfolio manager for Multi Asset Class Quantitative Strategies: New York. - - Joined the fund in 2007. - - BS, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. James B. Francis, CFA Director of Deutsche Asset Management and Portfolio Manager of the fund. - - Head of Active Quantitative Equity Portfolio Management: New York. - - Joined Deutsche Asset Management in 2008 after 20 years of experience as senior quantitative global equity portfolio manager at State Street Global Advisors, and most recently, Northern Trust Global Investments. - - BS in Applied Mathematics from University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Julie Abbett Director of Deutsche Asset Management and Portfolio Manager of the fund. - - Senior portfolio manager for Global Quantitative Equity: New York. - - Joined Deutsche Asset Management in 2000 after four years of combined experience as a consultant with equity trading services for BARRA, Inc. and a product developer for FactSet Research. - - Joined the fund in 2007. - - BA, University of Connecticut. 32 | Who Manages and Oversees the Funds DWS Capital Growth Fund is managed by a team of investment professionals who collaborate to implement the fund's investment strategy. The team is led by a lead manager who is responsible for developing the fund's investment strategy. Each portfolio manager on the team has authority over all aspects of the fund's investment portfolio, including but not limited to, purchases and sales of individual securities, portfolio construction techniques, portfolio risk assessment, and the management of daily cash flows in accordance with portfolio holdings. The following people handle the day-to-day management of DWS Capital Growth Fund: Owen Fitzpatrick, CFA Managing Director of Deutsche Asset Management and Lead Manager of the fund. - - Joined Deutsche Asset Management and the fund in 2009. - - Prior to joining Deutsche Assets Management, he was Managing Director of Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management and served as head of U.S. Equity Strategy and manager of the U.S. large cap core, value and growth portfolios and member of the U.S. Investment Committee and head of the Equity Strategy Group. - - Previous experience includes over 21 years of experience in trust and investment management. Prior to joining Deutsche Bank in 1995, managed an equity income fund, trust and advisory relationships for Princeton Bank & Trust Company, where he was also responsible for research coverage of the consumer cyclical sector. Previously served as a portfolio manager at Manufacturer's Hanover Trust Company. - - BA and MBA, Fordham University. Richard Shepley Managing Director of Deutsche Asset Management and Portfolio Manager of the fund. - - Joined Deutsche Asset Management in 1998 and the fund in 2007. - - Previous experience includes eight years of investment industry experience as research analyst for global beverage and media sectors at Newton Investment Management and assistant manager in corporate tax and corporate insolvency department at PriceWaterhouse, London. - - MA, Oxford University. Brendan O'Neill, CFA Director of Deutsche Asset Management and Portfolio Manager of the fund. - - Joined Deutsche Asset Management in 2000 and joined DWS Large Company Growth Fund in 2007 and DWS Capital Growth Fund in 2009. - - Equity Research Analyst covering the financial services sector since 2001. - - Previously served as a member of the Large Cap Core Equity team. - - BA, Queens College, CUNY; MS, Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College. Who Manages and Oversees the Funds | 33 The following person handles the day-to-day management of DWS Small Cap Core Fund: Di Kumble, Ph.D., CFA Managing Director of Deutsche Asset Management and Portfolio Manager of the fund. - - Joined DB Advisors LLC in 2003 and Deutsche Asset Management in 2005 and has been involved in managing and developing fundamental-based equity strategies. - - Previous experience includes 7 combined years at Graham Capital Management as portfolio manager, Millennium Partners in equity trading, ITG Inc. in quantitative trading strategies development and Morgan Stanley in quantitative equity research. - - Joined the fund in 2008. - - BS, Beijing University; Ph.D., Princeton University. The following person has been named consultant to the Advisor: James W. McDonald Managing Director of Deutsche Asset Management. - - Joined DB Advisors LLC in 2001 and Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas in 2005 and currently serves as Head of Fundamental Value Trading for Deutsche Asset Management (Japan), Limited. - - Previous experience includes 16 combined years in proprietary trading with Credit Suisse First Boston, Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley, and as fund manager with National Bank of New Zealand, and as institutional equity broker with Morgan Stanley in Tokyo. - - Joined the fund in 2008. - - B.A., University of San Francisco; M.B.A., American Graduate School of International Business (Thunderbird). 34 | Who Manages and Oversees the Funds DWS Blue Chip Fund is managed by a team of investment professionals who collaborate to develop and implement the fund's investment strategy. Each portfolio manager has authority over all aspects of the fund's investment portfolio, including, but not limited to, purchases and sales of individual securities, portfolio construction techniques, portfolio risk assessment, and the management of daily cash flows in accordance with portfolio holdings. The following people handle the day-to-day management of DWS Blue Chip Fund: Robert Wang Managing Director of Deutsche Asset Management and Portfolio Manager of the fund. - - Joined Deutsche Asset Management in 1995 as portfolio manager for asset allocation after 13 years of experience trading fixed income and derivative securities at J.P. Morgan. - - Senior portfolio manager for Multi Asset Class Quantitative Strategies: New York. - - Joined the fund in 2003. - - BS, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. James B. Francis, CFA Director of Deutsche Asset Management and Portfolio Manager of the fund. - - Head of Active Quantitative Equity Portfolio Management: New York. - - Joined Deutsche Asset Management in 2008 after 20 years of experience as senior quantitative global equity portfolio manager at State Street Global Advisors, and most recently, Northern Trust Global Investments. - - BS in Applied Mathematics from University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Julie Abbett Director of Deutsche Asset Management and Portfolio Manager of the fund. - - Senior portfolio manager for Global Quantitative Equity: New York. - - Joined Deutsche Asset Management in 2000 after four years of combined experience as a consultant with equity trading services for BARRA, Inc. and a product developer for FactSet Research. - - Joined the fund in 2005. - - BA, University of Connecticut. Each fund's Statement of Additional Information provides additional information about a portfolio manager's investments in each fund, a description of the portfolio management compensation structure and information regarding other accounts managed. Who Manages and Oversees the Funds | 35 ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCE INFORMATION The table below illustrates the performance of a composite of certain private accounts ("Accounts") managed by OWEN FITZPATRICK, the Lead Manager to DWS Capital Growth Fund, while employed by Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management. For more information about Owen Fitzpatrick, please refer to the "Portfolio management" section of this prospectus. Each of the Accounts included in the composite has objectives, policies and strategies substantially similar to those of the fund. As of December 31, 2008, the total assets in the composite were $328 million. Unlike management of the private accounts included in the composite, Owen Fitzpatrick's management of the fund is subject to certain regulatory restrictions (e.g., limits on percentage of assets invested in a single issuer and industry and requirements on distributing income to shareholders) that do not apply to the Accounts. In addition, the fund generally experiences cash flows that are different from those of the Accounts. All of these factors may adversely affect the performance of the fund and cause it to differ from that of the Accounts in the composite described below. Composite results below represent the performance of the Accounts, net of the annual rate of estimated total operating expenses of DWS Capital Growth Fund - Class A, as of December 31, 2008. THE COMPOSITE RESULTS DO NOT REPRESENT THE PERFORMANCE OF THE DWS CAPITAL GROWTH FUND, AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AN INDICATION OF FUTURE PERFORMANCE OF THE FUND. The composite results are not required to be, and were not calculated in accordance with SEC mandated mutual fund performance calculation methodology. The use of such methodology could yield a different result.
AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURN (%)** (AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2008) 1 YEAR 3 YEARS SINCE INCEPTION* FEE ADJUSTED, NO-LOAD (reflects no deduction for sales charge) -33.74% -2.76% 0.51% FEE ADJUSTED, LOAD ADJUSTED** -37.55% -4.66% -0.74% RUSSELL 1000 (Reg. TM) GROWTH INDEX (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) -38.44% -9.11% -3.76% STANDARD & POOR'S 500 INDEX (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) -37.00% -8.36% -2.65%
* Date of Inception is April 1, 2004 which corresponds to the date that Mr. Fitzpatrick became the sole, lead portfolio manager of the Accounts. ** Average Annual Total Returns reflect the gross returns of the Accounts reduced by the estimated net annual operating expenses of the DWS Capital Growth Fund - Class A shares (1.07% annually) and shown both with and without the imposition of sales charges (5.75% for Class A shares). Actual fees and expenses of the Accounts may have 36 | Who Manages and Oversees the Funds been more or less than those of the fund. Returns reflect the reinvestment of dividends and distributions. RUSSELL 1000 (Reg. TM) GROWTH INDEX is an unmanaged index that consists of those stocks in the Russell 1000 (Reg. TM) Index that have higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values. Russell 1000 (Reg. TM) Index is an unmanaged price-only index of the 1,000 largest capitalized companies that are domiciled in the US and whose common stocks are traded. STANDARD & POOR'S 500 INDEX (S&P 500) is an unmanaged, capitalization-weighted index of 500 stocks. The index is designed to measure performance of the broad domestic economy through changes in the aggregate market value of 500 stocks representing all major industries. Who Manages and Oversees the Funds | 37 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS The financial highlights are designed to help you understand recent financial performance. The figures in the first part of each table are for a single share. The total return figures represent the percentage that an investor in a fund would have earned (or lost), assuming all dividends and distributions were reinvested. The information for DWS Growth & Income Fund, DWS Capital Growth Fund and DWS Small Cap Core Fund has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, and the information for DWS Blue Chip Fund has been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with each fund's financial statements, is included in each fund's annual report (see "Shareholder reports" on the back cover). 38 | Financial Highlights DWS Growth & Income Fund - Class S
YEARS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 SELECTED PER SHARE DATA - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NET ASSET VALUE, BEGINNING OF PERIOD $ 22.95 $ 23.05 $ 22.52 $ 20.17 $ 18.13 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- Income (loss) from investment operations: Net investment income (loss)a .21 .25 .24c .29 .14 ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) ( 4.79) 2.19 1.65 2.37 2.01 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- TOTAL FROM INVESTMENT OPERATIONS ( 4.58) 2.44 1.89 2.66 2.15 ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Less distributions from: Net investment income ( .21) ( .29) ( .19) ( .31) ( .11) ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Net realized gains ( 4.03) ( 2.25) ( 1.17) - - ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ TOTAL DISTRIBUTIONS ( 4.24) ( 2.54) ( 1.36) ( .31) ( .11) ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Redemption fees .00* .00* .00* .00* - - ------------------------------ -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- NET ASSET VALUE, END OF PERIOD $ 14.13 $ 22.95 $ 23.05 $ 22.52 $ 20.17 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- Total Return (%) (23.79)b 10.97b 8.85b,c 13.26 11.86b - ------------------------------ -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- RATIOS TO AVERAGE NET ASSETS AND SUPPLEMENTAL DATA - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net assets, end of period ($ millions) 2,568 4,145 4,366 2,177 2,240 ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Ratio of expenses before expense reductions (%) .66 .65 .70 .66 .83 ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Ratio of expenses after expense reductions (%) .65 .64 .68 .66 .75 ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%) 1.19 1.10 1.06c 1.33 .70 ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Portfolio turnover rate (%) 154 271 101 98 26 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- -------- -------- --------
a Based on average shares outstanding during the period. b Total return would have been lower had certain expenses not been reduced. c Includes non-recurring income from the Advisor recorded as a result of an administrative proceeding regarding disclosure of brokerage allocation practices in connection with sales of DWS Funds. The non-recurring income resulted in an increase in net investment income of $0.032 per share and an increase in the ratio of net investment income of 0.13%. Excluding this non-recurring income, total return would have been 0.14% lower. * Amount is less than $.005. Financial Highlights | 39 DWS Capital Growth Fund - Class S
YEARS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 SELECTED PER SHARE DATA - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NET ASSET VALUE, BEGINNING OF PERIOD $ 57.06 $ 48.46 $ 46.20 $ 40.59 $ 37.31 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- Income (loss) from investment operations: Net investment income (loss)a .27 .29d .18c .22 .04 ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investment transactions ( 8.60) 8.48 2.15 5.56 3.26 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- TOTAL FROM INVESTMENT OPERATIONS ( 8.33) 8.77 2.33 5.78 3.30 ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Less distributions from: Net investment income ( .32) ( .17) ( .07) ( .17) ( .02) ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Redemption fees .00* .00* .00* .00* - - ------------------------------ -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- NET ASSET VALUE, END OF PERIOD $ 48.41 $ 57.06 $ 48.46 $ 46.20 $ 40.59 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- Total Return (%) (14.68) 18.14b 5.04b,c 14.23 8.90b - ------------------------------ -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- RATIOS TO AVERAGE NET ASSETS AND SUPPLEMENTAL DATA - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net assets, end of year ($ millions) 693 884 881 96 92 ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Ratio of expenses before expense reductions (%) .79 .82 .94 .89 1.01 ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Ratio of expenses after expense reductions (%) .79 .79 .85 .89 1.00 ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%) .50 .55d .39c .52 .10 ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Portfolio turnover rate (%) 27 28 15 19 12 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- -------- -------- --------
a Based on average shares outstanding during the period. b Total return would have been lower had certain expenses not been reduced. c Includes non-recurring income from the Advisor recorded as a result of an administrative proceeding regarding disclosure of brokerage allocation practices in connection with sales of DWS Funds. The non-recurring income resulted in an increase in net investment income of $0.030 per share and an increase in the ratio of net investment income of 0.06%. Excluding this non-recurring income, total return would have been 0.07% lower. d Net investment income per share and the ratio of net investment income include non-recurring dividend income amounting to $0.08 per share and 0.16% of average daily net assets, respectively. * Amount is less than $.005. 40 | Financial Highlights DWS Small Cap Core Fund - Class S
YEARS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 SELECTED PER SHARE DATA - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NET ASSET VALUE, BEGINNING OF PERIOD $ 22.31 $ 23.71 $ 26.04 $ 25.10 $ 21.56 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- Income (loss) from investment operations: Net investment income (loss)a .04 .06 .01c ( .07) ( .08) ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) ( 4.18) 1.21 1.06 4.12 4.32 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- TOTAL FROM INVESTMENT OPERATIONS ( 4.14) 1.27 1.07 4.05 4.24 ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Less distributions from: Net investment income ( .06) - - - - ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Net realized gains ( 2.91) ( 2.67) ( 3.40) ( 3.11) ( .70) ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Total distributions ( 2.97) - - - - - ------------------------------ -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- Redemption fees .00* .00* .00* .00* - - ------------------------------ -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- NET ASSET VALUE, END OF PERIOD $ 15.20 $ 22.31 $ 23.71 $ 26.04 $ 25.10 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- Total Return (%) (20.64) 4.82b 4.82b,c 16.72 19.80 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- RATIOS TO AVERAGE NET ASSETS AND SUPPLEMENTAL DATA - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net assets, end of period ($ millions) 74 126 138 101 77 ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Ratio of expenses before expense reductions (%) 1.21 1.15 1.19 1.14 1.20 ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Ration of expenses after expense reductions (%) 1.21 1.09 1.17 1.14 1.20 ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%) .24 .27 .03c ( .27) ( .32) ______________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Portfolio turnover rate (%) 304 202 205 198 186 - ------------------------------ -------- -------- -------- -------- --------
a Based on average shares outstanding during the period. b Total return would have been lower had certain expenses not been reduced. c Includes non-recurring income from the Advisor recorded as a result of an administrative proceeding regarding disclosure of brokerage allocation practices in connection with sales of DWS Funds. The non-recurring income resulted in an increase in net investment income of $0.001 per share. Excluding this non-recurring income, total return would have remained the same. * Amount is less than $.005. Financial Highlights | 41 DWS Blue Chip Fund - Class S
YEARS ENDED OCTOBER 31, 2008 2007 2006 2005A SELECTED PER SHARE DATA - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NET ASSET VALUE, BEGINNING OF PERIOD $ 22.59 $ 22.15 $ 19.10 $ 18.44 - ------------------------------------------- -------- -------- -------- --------- Income (loss) from investment operations: Net investment income (loss)b .15 .19 .19d .07 ___________________________________________ ________ ________ ________ _________ Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) ( 8.16) 2.48 2.98 .59 - ------------------------------------------- -------- -------- -------- --------- TOTAL FROM INVESTMENT OPERATIONS ( 8.01) 2.67 3.17 .66 ___________________________________________ ________ ________ ________ _________ Less distributions from: Net investment income ( .21) ( .17) ( .12) - ___________________________________________ ________ ________ ________ _________ Net realized gains ( 2.94) ( 2.06) - - ___________________________________________ ________ ________ ________ _________ TOTAL DISTRIBUTIONS ( 3.15) ( 2.23) ( .12) - ___________________________________________ ________ ________ ________ _________ Redemption fees .00*** .00*** .00*** .00*** - ------------------------------------------- -------- -------- -------- --------- NET ASSET VALUE, END OF PERIOD $ 11.43 $ 22.59 $ 22.15 $ 19.10 - ------------------------------------------- -------- -------- -------- --------- Total Return (%) (40.48)c 12.91 16.72c,d 3.58 c** - ------------------------------------------- -------- -------- -------- --------- RATIOS TO AVERAGE NET ASSETS AND SUPPLEMENTAL DATA - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net assets, end of period ($ millions) 12 15 4 1 ___________________________________________ ________ ________ ________ _________ Ratio of expenses before expense reductions (%) 1.01 .91 1.02 1.12* ___________________________________________ ________ ________ ________ _________ Ratio of expenses after expense reductions (%) 1.01 .91 1.01 1.00* ___________________________________________ ________ ________ ________ _________ Ratio of net investment income (%) .87 .90 .91d .49* ___________________________________________ ________ ________ ________ _________ Portfolio turnover rate (%) 140 266 259 329 - ------------------------------------------- -------- -------- -------- ---------
a For the period from February 1, 2005 (commencement of operations of Class S shares) to October 31, 2005. b Based on average shares outstanding during the period. c Total return would have been lower had certain expenses not been reduced. d Includes non-recurring income from the Advisor recorded as a result of an administrative proceeding regarding disclosure of brokerage allocation practices in connection with sales of DWS Funds. The non-recurring income resulted in an increase in net investment income of $0.012 per share and an increase in the ratio of net investment income of 0.06%. Excluding this non-recurring income, total return would have been 0.06% lower. * Annualized ** Not annualized *** Amount is less than $.005. 42 | Financial Highlights HOW TO INVEST IN THE FUNDS THE FOLLOWING PAGES TELL YOU HOW TO INVEST IN A FUND AND WHAT TO EXPECT AS A SHAREHOLDER. The following pages also tell you about many of the services, choices and benefits of being a shareholder. You'll also find information on how to check the status of your account using the method that's most convenient for you. If you're investing directly with DWS Investments, all of this information applies to you. If you're investing through a "third party provider" - for example, a workplace retirement plan, financial supermarket or financial advisor - your provider may have its own policies or instructions and you should follow those. Please remember, CLASS S shares are generally only available to new investors through fee-based programs of investment dealers that have special agreements with the funds' distributor, through certain group retirement plans and through certain registered investment advisors. These dealers and advisors typically charge ongoing fees for services they provide. You can find out more about the topics covered here by speaking with your FINANCIAL ADVISOR OR A REPRESENTATIVE OF YOUR WORKPLACE RETIREMENT PLAN OR OTHER INVESTMENT PROVIDER. How to BUY Class S Shares
FIRST INVESTMENT ADDITIONAL INVESTMENTS $2,500 or more for most accounts $50 or more for most accounts and IRAs $1,000 or more for IRAs and UTMAs/ $50 or more for an account with an UGMAs Automatic Investment Plan $1,000 or more for an account with an Automatic Investment Plan BY MAIL OR EXPRESS MAIL (SEE BELOW) Send a DWS Investments investment - Fill out and sign an application slip or short note that includes: - Send it to us at the appropriate - fund and class name address, along with an investment check made payable to "DWS - account number Investments" - check made payable to "DWS Investments" BY WIRE - Call (800) 728-3337 for instructions - Call (800) 728-3337 for instructions BY PHONE Not available - Call (800) 728-3337 for instructions WITH AN AUTOMATIC INVESTMENT PLAN - Fill in the information on your - To set up regular investments from a application including a check for the bank checking account, call initial investment and a voided check (800) 728-3337 (minimum $50) USING QuickBuy Not available - Call (800) 728-3337 to make sure QuickBuy is set up on your account; if it is, you can request a transfer from your bank account of any amount between $50 and $250,000 ON THE INTERNET - Register at - Call (800) 728-3337 to ensure you have www.dws-investments.com or log in if electronic services already registered - Register at www.dws- - Print out a prospectus and a new investments.com account application or log in if already registered - Complete and return the application - Follow the instructions for buying with your check shares with money from your bank account
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- REGULAR MAIL: First Investment: DWS Investments, PO Box 219356, Kansas City, MO 64121-9356 Additional Investments: DWS Investments, PO Box 219154, Kansas City, MO 64121-9154 EXPRESS, REGISTERED OR CERTIFIED MAIL: DWS Investments, 210 West 10th Street, Kansas City, MO 64105-1614 44 | How to Buy Class S Shares How to EXCHANGE or SELL Class S Shares
EXCHANGING INTO ANOTHER FUND SELLING SHARES Some transactions, including most for - Exchanges into existing accounts: over $100,000, can only be ordered in $50 minimum per fund writing with a signature guarantee; - Exchanges into new accounts: please see "Signature Guarantee" $2,500 minimum per fund $1,000 minimum for IRAs and UTMAs/ UGMAs BY PHONE BY PHONE OR WIRE - Call (800) 728-3337 for instructions - Call (800) 728-3337 for instructions USING THE AUTOMATED INFORMATION LINE - Call (800) 728-3337 for instructions - Call (800) 728-3337 for instructions BY MAIL OR EXPRESS MAIL (see previous page for address) Your instructions should include: Your instructions should include: - the fund, class and account number - the fund, class and account number you're exchanging out of from which you want to sell shares - the dollar amount or number of shares - the dollar amount or number of shares you want to exchange you want to sell - the name and class of the fund you - your name(s), signature(s) and want to exchange into address, as they appear on your account - your name(s), signature(s) and address, as they appear on your - a daytime telephone number account - a daytime telephone number WITH AN AUTOMATIC EXCHANGE PLAN WITH AN AUTOMATIC WITHDRAWAL PLAN - To set up regular exchanges from a - To set up regular cash payments from fund account, call (800) 728-3337 a DWS fund account, call (800) 728-3337 USING QuickSell Not available - Call (800) 728-3337 to make sure QuickSell is set up on your account; if it is, you can request a transfer to your bank account of any amount between $50 and $250,000 ON THE INTERNET - Register at www.dws- - Register at www.dws- investments.com or log in if already investments.com or log in if already registered registered - Follow the instructions for making on- - Follow the instructions for making on- line exchanges line redemptions
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TO REACH US: WEB SITE: www.dws-investments.com TELEPHONE REPRESENTATIVE: (800) 728-3337, M-F, 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. ET TDD LINE: (800) 972-3006, M-F, 9 a.m.- 6 p.m. ET
How to Sell or Exchange Class S Shares | 45 Financial intermediary support payments The Advisor, DWS Investments Distributors, Inc. (the "Distributor") and/or their affiliates may pay additional compensation, out of their own assets and not as an additional charge to each fund, to selected affiliated and unaffiliated brokers, dealers, participating insurance companies or other financial intermediaries ("financial advisors") in connection with the sale and/or distribution of fund shares or the retention and/or servicing of fund investors and fund shares ("revenue sharing"). Such revenue sharing payments are in addition to any distribution or service fees payable under any Rule 12b-1 or service plan of each fund, any record keeping/sub-transfer agency/networking fees payable by each fund (generally through the Distributor or an affiliate) and/or the Distributor to certain financial advisors for performing such services and any sales charge, commissions, non-cash compensation arrangements expressly permitted under applicable rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority or other concessions described in the fee table or elsewhere in this prospectus or the Statement of Additional Information as payable to all financial advisors. For example, the Advisor, the Distributor and/or their affiliates may compensate financial advisors for providing a fund with "shelf space" or access to a third party platform or fund offering list or other marketing programs, including, without limitation, inclusion of the fund on preferred or recommended sales lists, mutual fund "supermarket" platforms and other formal sales programs; granting the Distributor access to the financial advisor's sales force; granting the Distributor access to the financial advisor's conferences and meetings; assistance in training and educating the financial advisor's personnel; and obtaining other forms of marketing support. The level of revenue sharing payments made to financial advisors may be a fixed fee or based upon one or more of the following factors: gross sales, current assets and/or number of accounts of each fund attributable to the financial advisor, the particular fund or fund type or other measures as agreed to by the Advisor, the Distributor and/or their affiliates and the financial advisors or any combination thereof. The amount of these revenue sharing payments is determined at the discretion of the Advisor, the Distributor and/or their affiliates from time to time, may be substantial, and may be different for different financial advisors based on, for example, the nature of the services provided by the financial advisor. 46 | How to Sell or Exchange Class S Shares The Advisor, the Distributor and/or their affiliates currently make revenue sharing payments from their own assets in connection with the sale and/or distribution of DWS fund shares or the retention and/or servicing of investors and DWS fund shares to financial advisors in amounts that generally range from .01% up to .50% of assets of each fund serviced and maintained by the financial advisor, .05% to .25% of sales of each fund attributable to the financial advisor, a flat fee of $13,350 up to $500,000, or any combination thereof. These amounts are subject to change at the discretion of the Advisor, the Distributor and/or their affiliates. Receipt of, or the prospect of receiving, this additional compensation may influence your financial advisor's recommendation of each fund or of any particular share class of each fund. You should review your financial advisor's compensation disclosure and/or talk to your financial advisor to obtain more information on how this compensation may have influenced your financial advisor's recommendation of each fund. Additional information regarding these revenue sharing payments is included in each fund's Statement of Additional Information, which is available to you on request at no charge (see the back cover of this prospectus for more information on how to request a copy of the Statement of Additional Information). The Advisor, the Distributor and/or their affiliates may also make such revenue sharing payments to financial advisors under the terms discussed above in connection with the distribution of both DWS funds and non-DWS funds by financial advisors to retirement plans that obtain record keeping services from ADP, Inc. on the DWS Investments branded retirement plan platform (the "Platform") with the level of revenue sharing payments being based upon sales of both the DWS funds and the non-DWS funds by the financial advisor on the Platform or current assets of both the DWS funds and the non-DWS funds serviced and maintained by the financial advisor on the Platform. It is likely that broker-dealers that execute portfolio transactions for each fund will include firms that also sell shares of the DWS funds to their customers. However, the Advisor will not consider sales of DWS fund shares as a factor in the selection of broker-dealers to execute portfolio transactions for the DWS funds. Accordingly, the Advisor has implemented policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent its traders from considering sales of DWS fund shares as a factor in the selection of How to Sell or Exchange Class S Shares | 47 broker-dealers to execute portfolio transactions for each fund. In addition, the Advisor, the Distributor and/or their affiliates will not use fund brokerage to pay for their obligation to provide additional compensation to financial advisors as described above. POLICIES YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT Along with the information on the previous pages, the policies below may affect you as a shareholder. Some of this information, such as the section on distributions and taxes, applies to all investors, including those investing through a financial advisor. If you are investing through a financial advisor or through a retirement plan, check the materials you received from them about how to buy and sell shares because particular financial advisors or other intermediaries may adopt policies, procedures or limitations that are separate from those described by a fund. Please note that a financial advisor may charge fees separate from those charged by a fund and may be compensated by a fund. Keep in mind that the information in this prospectus applies only to the shares offered herein. Other share classes are described in separate prospectuses and have different fees, requirements and services. In order to reduce the amount of mail you receive and to help reduce expenses, we generally send a single copy of any shareholder report and prospectus to each household. If you do not want the mailing of these documents to be combined with those for other members of your household, please contact your financial advisor or call (800) 728-3337. Policies about transactions EACH FUND IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS each day the New York Stock Exchange is open. Each fund calculates its share price for each class every business day, as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (typically 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, but sometimes earlier, as in the case of scheduled half-day trading or unscheduled suspensions of trading). You can place an order to buy or sell shares at any time. THE FOLLOWING SIDEBAR TEXT APPEARS NEXT TO THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPHS Questions? You can speak to a DWS Investments representative between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Eastern time on any fund business day by calling (800) 728-3337. 48 | Policies You Should Know About To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, federal law requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify and record information that identifies each person who opens an account. What this means to you: When you open an account, we will ask for your name, address, date of birth and other information that will allow us to identify you. Some or all of this information will be used to verify the identity of all persons opening an account. We might request additional information about you (which may include certain documents, such as articles of incorporation for companies) to help us verify your identity and, in some cases, the information and/or documents may be required to conduct the verification. The information and documents will be used solely to verify your identity. We will attempt to collect any missing required and requested information by contacting you or your financial advisor. If we are unable to obtain this information within the time frames established by each fund, then we may reject your application and order. Each fund will not invest your purchase until all required and requested identification information has been provided and your application has been submitted in "good order." After we receive all the information, your application is deemed to be in good order and we accept your purchase, you will receive the net asset value per share next calculated. If we are unable to verify your identity within time frames established by each fund, after a reasonable effort to do so, you will receive written notification. With certain limited exceptions, only US residents may invest in each fund. Because orders placed through a financial advisor must be forwarded to the transfer agent before they can be processed, you'll need to allow extra time. Your financial advisor should be able to tell you approximately when your order will be processed. It is the responsibility of your financial advisor to forward your order to the transfer agent in a timely manner. INITIAL PURCHASE MINIMUMS. The minimum initial investment is $2,500, except for investments on behalf of participants in certain fee-based and wrap programs offered through certain financial intermediaries approved by the Advisor, for which there is no minimum initial investment; and fiduciary accounts such as Policies You Should Know About | 49 IRAs and custodial accounts such as Uniform Gifts to Minors Act and Uniform Transfers to Minors Act accounts for which the minimum initial investment is $1,000 per account. In addition, the minimum initial investment is $1,000 if an automatic investment plan of $50 per month is established. Group retirement plans and certain other accounts have similar or lower minimum share balance requirements. SUB-MINIMUM BALANCES. Each fund may close your account and send you the proceeds if your balance falls below $2,500 ($1,000 with an Automatic Investment Plan funded with $50 or more per month in subsequent investments) or below $250 for retirement accounts. We will give you 60 days' notice (90 days for retirement accounts) so you can either increase your balance or close your account (these policies don't apply to investors with $100,000 or more in DWS fund shares, investors in certain fee-based and wrap programs offered through certain financial intermediaries approved by the Advisor, or group retirement plans and certain other accounts having lower minimum share balance requirements). Because of the high cost of servicing accounts with low balances, an account maintenance fee of $6.25 per quarter (for a $25 annual fee) will be assessed on accounts whose balances fail to meet the minimum initial investment requirement for a period of 90 days prior to the assessment date. The quarterly assessment will occur on or about the 15th of the last month in each calendar quarter. Please note that the fee will be assessed on accounts that fall below the minimum for any reason, including due to market value fluctuations, redemptions or exchanges. The account maintenance fee will apply to all shareholders of the DWS funds except for: accounts with an automatic investment plan, accounts held in an omnibus account through a financial services firm, accounts maintained on behalf of participants in certain fee based and wrap programs offered through certain financial intermediaries approved by the Advisor and participant level accounts in group retirement plans held on the records of a retirement plan record keeper. SUBSEQUENT INVESTMENTS. The minimum subsequent investment is $50. However, there is no minimum investment requirement for subsequent investments on behalf of participants in certain fee-based and wrap programs offered through certain financial intermediaries approved by the Advisor. 50 | Policies You Should Know About MARKET TIMING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES. Short-term and excessive trading of fund shares may present risks to long-term shareholders, including potential dilution in the value of fund shares, interference with the efficient management of a fund's portfolio (including losses on the sale of investments), taxable gains to remaining shareholders and increased brokerage and administrative costs. These risks may be more pronounced if a fund invests in certain securities, such as those that trade in foreign markets, are illiquid or do not otherwise have "readily available market quotations." Certain investors may seek to employ short-term trading strategies aimed at exploiting variations in portfolio valuation that arise from the nature of the securities held by a fund (e.g., "time zone arbitrage"). Each fund discourages short-term and excessive trading and has adopted policies and procedures that are intended to detect and deter short-term and excessive trading. Pursuant to its policies, each fund will impose a 2% redemption fee on fund shares held for less than a specified holding period (subject to certain exceptions discussed below under "Redemption fees"). Each fund also reserves the right to reject or cancel a purchase or exchange order for any reason without prior notice. For example, a fund may in its discretion reject or cancel a purchase or an exchange order even if the transaction is not subject to the specific roundtrip transaction limitation described below if the Advisor believes that there appears to be a pattern of short-term or excessive trading activity by a shareholder or deems any other trading activity harmful or disruptive to a fund. Each fund, through its Advisor and transfer agent, will measure short-term and excessive trading by the number of roundtrip transactions within a shareholder's account during a rolling 12-month period. A "roundtrip" transaction is defined as any combination of purchase and redemption activity (including exchanges) of the same fund's shares. Each fund may take other trading activity into account if a fund believes such activity is of an amount or frequency that may be harmful to long-term shareholders or disruptive to portfolio management. Shareholders are limited to four roundtrip transactions in the same DWS fund (excluding money market funds) over a rolling 12-month period. Shareholders with four or more roundtrip transactions in the same DWS fund within a rolling 12-month period generally will be blocked from making additional purchases of, or exchanges into, that DWS fund. Each fund has sole discretion whether to remove a block from a shareholder's Policies You Should Know About | 51 account. The rights of a shareholder to redeem shares of a DWS fund are not affected by the four roundtrip transaction limitation, but all redemptions remain subject to each fund's redemption fee policy (see "Redemption fees" described below). Each fund may make exceptions to the roundtrip transaction policy for certain types of transactions if, in the opinion of the Advisor, the transactions do not represent short-term or excessive trading or are not abusive or harmful to a fund, such as, but not limited to, systematic transactions, required minimum retirement distributions, transactions initiated by a fund or administrator and transactions by certain qualified funds-of-funds. In certain circumstances where shareholders hold shares of a fund through a financial intermediary, the fund may rely upon the financial intermediary's policy to deter short-term or excessive trading if the Advisor believes that the financial intermediary's policy is reasonably designed to detect and deter transactions that are not in the best interests of a fund. A financial intermediary's policy relating to short-term or excessive trading may be more or less restrictive than the DWS funds' policy, may permit certain transactions not permitted by the DWS funds' policies, or prohibit transactions not subject to the DWS funds' policies. The Advisor may also accept undertakings from a financial intermediary to enforce short-term or excessive trading policies on behalf of a fund that provide a substantially similar level of protection for each fund against such transactions. For example, certain financial intermediaries may have contractual, legal or operational restrictions that prevent them from blocking an account. In such instances, the financial intermediary may use alternate techniques that the Advisor considers to be a reasonable substitute for such a block. In addition, if a fund invests some portion of its assets in foreign securities, it has adopted certain fair valuation practices intended to protect the fund from "time zone arbitrage" with respect to its foreign securities holdings and other trading practices that seek to exploit variations in portfolio valuation that arise from the nature of the securities held by a fund. (See "How each fund calculates share price.") 52 | Policies You Should Know About There is no assurance that these policies and procedures will be effective in limiting short-term and excessive trading in all cases. For example, the Advisor may not be able to effectively monitor, detect or limit short-term or excessive trading by underlying shareholders that occurs through omnibus accounts maintained by broker-dealers or other financial intermediaries. The Advisor reviews trading activity at the omnibus level to detect short-term or excessive trading. If the Advisor has reason to suspect that short-term or excessive trading is occurring at the omnibus level, the Advisor will contact the financial intermediary to request underlying shareholder level activity. Depending on the amount of fund shares held in such omnibus accounts (which may represent most of a fund's shares) short-term and/or excessive trading of fund shares could adversely affect long-term shareholders in a fund. If short-term or excessive trading is identified, the Advisor will take appropriate action. Each fund's market timing policies and procedures may be modified or terminated at any time. REDEMPTION FEES. Each fund imposes a redemption fee of 2% of the total redemption amount (calculated at net asset value) on all fund shares redeemed or exchanged within 15 days of buying them (either by purchase or exchange). The redemption fee is paid directly to each fund and is designed to encourage long-term investment and to offset transaction and other costs associated with short-term or excessive trading. For purposes of determining whether the redemption fee applies, shares held the longest time will be treated as being redeemed first and shares held the shortest time will be treated as being redeemed last. The redemption fee is applicable to fund shares purchased either directly or through a financial intermediary, such as a broker-dealer. Transactions through financial intermediaries typically are placed with a fund on an omnibus basis and include both purchase and sale transactions placed on behalf of multiple investors. These purchase and sale transactions are generally netted against one another and placed on an aggregate basis; consequently the identities of the individuals on whose behalf the transactions are placed generally are not known to a fund. For this reason, each fund has undertaken to notify financial intermediaries of their obligation to assess the redemption fee Policies You Should Know About | 53 on customer accounts and to collect and remit the proceeds to each fund. However, due to operational requirements, the intermediaries' methods for tracking and calculating the fee may be inadequate or differ in some respects from each fund's. The redemption fee will not be charged in connection with the following exchange or redemption transactions: (i) transactions on behalf of participants in certain research wrap programs; (ii) transactions on behalf of a shareholder to return any excess IRA contributions to the shareholder; (iii) transactions on behalf of a shareholder to effect a required minimum distribution on an IRA; (iv) transactions on behalf of any mutual fund advised by the Advisor and its affiliates (e.g., "funds of funds") or, in the case of a master/feeder relationship, redemptions by the feeder fund from the master portfolio; (v) transactions on behalf of certain unaffiliated mutual funds operating as funds of funds; (vi) transactions following death or disability of any registered shareholder, beneficial owner or grantor of a living trust with respect to shares purchased before death or disability; (vii) transactions involving hardship of any registered shareholder; (viii) systematic transactions with pre-defined trade dates for purchases, exchanges or redemptions, such as automatic account rebalancing, or loan origination and repayments; (ix) transactions involving shares purchased through the reinvestment of dividends or other distributions; (x) transactions involving shares transferred from another account in the same fund or converted from another class of the same fund (the redemption fee period will carry over to the acquired shares); (xi) transactions initiated by a fund or administrator (e.g., redemptions for not meeting account minimums, to pay account fees funded by share redemptions, or in the event of the liquidation or merger of the fund); or (xii) transactions in cases when there are legal or contractual limitations or restrictions on the imposition of the redemption fee (as determined by a fund or its agents in their sole discretion). It is the policy of the DWS funds to permit approved fund platform providers to execute transactions in shares of the funds without the imposition of a redemption fee if such providers have implemented alternative measures that are determined by the Advisor to provide controls on short-term and excessive trading that are comparable to the DWS funds' policies. 54 | Policies You Should Know About THE AUTOMATED INFORMATION LINE IS AVAILABLE 24 HOURS A DAY BY CALLING (800) 728-3337. You can use our automated phone services to get information on DWS funds generally and on accounts held directly at DWS Investments. You can also use this service to make exchanges and to purchase and sell shares. QUICKBUY AND QUICKSELL let you set up a link between a DWS fund account and a bank account. Once this link is in place, you can move money between the two with a phone call. You'll need to make sure your bank has Automated Clearing House (ACH) services. Transactions take two to three days to be completed and there is a $50 minimum and a $250,000 maximum. To set up QuickBuy or QuickSell on a new account, see the account application; to add it to an existing account, call (800) 728-3337. TELEPHONE AND ELECTRONIC TRANSACTIONS. Generally, you are automatically entitled to telephone and electronic transaction privileges, but you may elect not to have them when you open your account or by contacting Shareholder Services at (800) 728-3337 at a later date. Since many transactions may be initiated by telephone or electronically, it's important to understand that as long as we take reasonable steps to ensure that an order to purchase or redeem shares is genuine, such as recording calls or requesting personalized security codes or other information, we are not responsible for any losses that may occur as a result. For transactions conducted over the Internet, we recommend the use of a secure Internet browser. In addition, you should verify the accuracy of your confirmation statements immediately after you receive them. EACH FUND DOES NOT ISSUE SHARE CERTIFICATES. However, if you currently have shares in certificated form, you must include the share certificates properly endorsed or accompanied by a duly executed stock power when exchanging or redeeming shares. You may not exchange or redeem shares in certificate form by telephone or via the Internet. THE FOLLOWING SIDEBAR TEXT APPEARS NEXT TO THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPHS The DWS Investments Web site can be a valuable resource for shareholders with Internet access. Go to WWW.DWS-INVESTMENTS.COM to get up-to-date information, review balances or even place orders for exchanges. Policies You Should Know About | 55 WHEN YOU ASK US TO SEND OR RECEIVE A WIRE, please note that while we don't charge a fee to send or receive wires, it's possible that your bank may do so. Wire transactions are generally completed within 24 hours. Each fund can only send wires of $1,000 or more and accept wires of $50 or more. EACH FUND ACCEPTS PAYMENT FOR SHARES ONLY IN US DOLLARS by a check drawn on a US bank, a bank or Federal Funds wire transfer or an electronic bank transfer. Each fund does not accept third party checks. A third party check is a check made payable to one or more parties and offered as payment to one or more other parties (e.g., a check made payable to you that you offer as payment to someone else). Checks should normally be payable to DWS Investments and drawn by you or a financial institution on your behalf with your name or account number included with the check. SIGNATURE GUARANTEE. When you want to sell more than $100,000 worth of shares or send proceeds to a third party or to a new address, you'll usually need to place your order in writing and include a signature guarantee. However, if you want money wired to a bank account that is already on file with us, you don't need a signature guarantee. Also, generally you don't need a signature guarantee for an exchange, although we may require one in certain other circumstances. A signature guarantee is simply a certification of your signature - a valuable safeguard against fraud. You can get a signature guarantee from an eligible guarantor institution, including commercial banks, savings and loans, trust companies, credit unions, member firms of a national stock exchange or any member or participant of an approved signature guarantor program. Note that you can't get a signature guarantee from a notary public and we must be provided the original guarantee. SELLING SHARES OF TRUST ACCOUNTS AND BUSINESS OR ORGANIZATION ACCOUNTS may require additional documentation. Please call (800) 728-3337 or contact your financial advisor for more information. MONEY FROM SHARES YOU SELL is normally sent out within one business day of when your order is processed (not when it is received), although it could be delayed for up to seven days. There are circumstances when it could be longer, including, but not limited to, when you are selling shares you bought recently by check or ACH (the funds will be placed THE FOLLOWING SIDEBAR TEXT APPEARS NEXT TO THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPHS If you ever have difficulty placing an order by phone or Internet, you can send us your order in writing. 56 | Policies You Should Know About under a 10 calendar day hold to ensure good funds) or when unusual circumstances prompt the SEC to allow further delays. Certain expedited redemption processes (e.g., redemption proceeds by wire) may also be delayed or unavailable when you are selling shares recently purchased or in the event of the closing of the Federal Reserve wire payment system. Each fund reserves the right to suspend or postpone redemptions as permitted pursuant to Section 22(e) of the Investment Company Act of 1940. Generally, those circumstances are when 1) the New York Stock Exchange is closed other than customary weekend or holiday closings; 2) trading on the New York Stock Exchange is restricted; 3) an emergency exists which makes the disposal of securities owned by a fund or the fair determination of the value of a fund's net assets not reasonably practicable; or 4) the SEC, by order, permits the suspension of the right of redemption. Redemption payments by wire may also be delayed in the event of a non-routine closure of the Federal Reserve wire payment system. For additional rights reserved by each fund, please see "Other rights we reserve." You may obtain additional information about other ways to sell your shares by contacting your financial advisor. How each fund calculates share price To calculate net asset value, or NAV, each share class uses the following equation: TOTAL ASSETS - TOTAL LIABILITIES ----------------------------------------- = NAV TOTAL NUMBER OF SHARES OUTSTANDING
The price at which you buy and sell shares is based on the NAV per share next calculated after the order is received and accepted by the transfer agent. EACH FUND CHARGES A REDEMPTION FEE EQUAL TO 2.00% of the value of shares redeemed or exchanged within 15 days of purchase. Please see "Policies about transactions - Redemption fees" for further information. WE TYPICALLY VALUE SECURITIES USING INFORMATION FURNISHED BY AN INDEPENDENT PRICING SERVICE OR MARKET QUOTATIONS, WHERE APPROPRIATE. However, we may use methods approved by the Board, such as a fair valuation model, which are intended to reflect fair value when pricing service information or market quotations are not readily available or when a security's value or Policies You Should Know About | 57 a meaningful portion of the value of a fund's portfolio is believed to have been materially affected by a significant event, such as a natural disaster, an economic event like a bankruptcy filing, or a substantial fluctuation in domestic or foreign markets that has occurred between the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded (for example, a foreign exchange or market) and the close of the New York Stock Exchange. In such a case, a fund's value for a security is likely to be different from the last quoted market price or pricing service information. In addition, due to the subjective and variable nature of fair value pricing, it is possible that the value determined for a particular asset may be materially different from the value realized upon such asset's sale. It is expected that the greater the percentage of fund assets that is invested in non-US securities, the more extensive will be a fund's use of fair value pricing. This is intended to reduce a fund's exposure to "time zone arbitrage" and other harmful trading practices. (See "Market timing policies and procedures.") TO THE EXTENT THAT A FUND INVESTS IN SECURITIES THAT ARE TRADED PRIMARILY IN FOREIGN MARKETS, the value of its holdings could change at a time when you aren't able to buy or sell fund shares. This is because some foreign markets are open on days or at times when a fund doesn't price its shares. (Note that prices for securities that trade on foreign exchanges can change significantly on days when the New York Stock Exchange is closed and you cannot buy or sell fund shares. Price changes in the securities a fund owns may ultimately affect the price of fund shares the next time the NAV is calculated.) Other rights we reserve You should be aware that we may do any of the following: - withdraw or suspend the offering of shares at any time - withhold a portion of your distributions and redemption proceeds if we have been notified by the IRS that you are subject to backup withholding or if you fail to provide us with the correct taxpayer ID number and certain certifications, including certification that you are not subject to backup withholding - reject a new account application if you don't provide any required or requested identifying information, or for any other reason 58 | Policies You Should Know About - refuse, cancel, limit or rescind any purchase or exchange order, without prior notice; freeze any account (meaning you will not be able to purchase fund shares in your account); suspend account services; and/or involuntarily redeem your account if we think that the account is being used for fraudulent or illegal purposes; one or more of these actions will be taken when, at our sole discretion, they are deemed to be in a fund's best interests or when a fund is requested or compelled to do so by governmental authority or by applicable law - close and liquidate your account if we are unable to verify your identity, or for other reasons; if we decide to close your account, your fund shares will be redeemed at the net asset value per share next calculated after we determine to close your account (less applicable redemption fee, if any); you may recognize a gain or loss on the redemption of your fund shares and you may incur a tax liability - pay you for shares you sell by "redeeming in kind," that is, by giving you securities (which typically will involve brokerage costs for you to liquidate) rather than cash, but which will be taxable to the same extent as a redemption for cash; a fund generally won't make a redemption in kind unless your requests over a 90-day period total more than $250,000 or 1% of the value of a fund's net assets, whichever is less - change, add or withdraw various services, fees and account policies (for example, we may adjust a fund's investment minimums at any time) UNDERSTANDING DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES Each fund intends to distribute to its shareholders virtually all of its net earnings. Each fund can earn money in two ways: by receiving interest, dividends or other income from investments it holds and by selling investments for more than it paid for them. (Each fund's earnings are separate from any gains or losses stemming from your own purchase and sale of shares.) Each fund may not always pay a dividend or other distribution for a given period. THE FOLLOWING SIDEBAR TEXT APPEARS NEXT TO THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPHS Because each shareholder's tax situation is unique, ask your tax professional about the tax consequences of your investments, including any state and local tax consequences. Understanding Distributions and Taxes | 59 DWS Growth & Income Fund intends to pay dividends and distributions of investment income to its shareholders in March, June, September and December; long-term and short-term capital gains are normally paid in December. DWS Capital Growth Fund, DWS Small Cap Core Fund and DWS Blue Chip Fund each intends to pay dividends and distributions of both investment income and long-term and short-term capital gains to its shareholders annually in December. If necessary, a fund may distribute at other times as needed. Dividends or distributions declared and payable to shareholders of record in the last quarter of a given calendar year are treated for federal income tax purposes as if they were received on December 31 of that year, provided such dividends or distributions are paid by the end of the following January. For federal income tax purposes, income and capital gains distributions are generally taxable to shareholders. However, dividends and distributions received by retirement plans qualifying for tax exemption under federal income tax laws generally will not be taxable. YOU CAN CHOOSE HOW TO RECEIVE YOUR DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS. You can have them all automatically reinvested in fund shares (at NAV), all deposited directly to your bank account or all sent to you by check, have one type reinvested and the other sent to you by check or have them invested in a different fund. Tell us your preference on your application. If you don't indicate a preference, your dividends and distributions will all be reinvested in shares of the fund without a sales charge (if applicable). Distributions are treated the same for federal income tax purposes whether you receive them in cash or reinvest them in additional shares. Under the terms of employer-sponsored qualified plans, and retirement plans, reinvestment (at NAV) is the only option. BUYING, SELLING OR EXCHANGING FUND SHARES WILL USUALLY HAVE FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES FOR YOU (except in employer-sponsored qualified plans, IRAs or other tax-advantaged accounts). Your sale of shares may result in a capital gain or loss. The gain or loss will be long-term or short-term depending on how long you owned the shares that were sold. For federal income tax purposes, an exchange is treated the same as a sale. 60 | Understanding Distributions and Taxes THE FEDERAL INCOME TAX STATUS of a fund's earnings you receive and your own fund transactions generally depends on their type:
GENERALLY TAXED AT LONG-TERM GENERALLY TAXED AT ORDINARY CAPITAL GAIN RATES: INCOME RATES: DISTRIBUTIONS FROM A FUND - - gains from the sale of - gains from the sale of securities held (or treated as securities held by a fund for held) by a fund for more than one year or less one year - all other taxable income - - qualified dividend income TRANSACTIONS INVOLVING FUND SHARES - - gains from selling fund - gains from selling fund shares held for more than shares held for one year or one year less
ANY DIRECT INVESTMENTS IN FOREIGN SECURITIES BY A FUND MAY BE SUBJECT TO FOREIGN WITHHOLDING TAXES. In that case, a fund's yield on those securities would generally be decreased. Shareholders generally will not be entitled to claim a credit or deduction with respect to foreign taxes paid by a fund. In addition, any investments in foreign securities or foreign currencies may increase or accelerate a fund's recognition of ordinary income and may affect the timing or amount of the fund's distributions. If you invest in a fund through a taxable account, your after-tax return could be negatively impacted. Investments in certain debt obligations or other securities may cause a fund to recognize taxable income in excess of the cash generated by them. Thus, a fund could be required at times to liquidate other investments in order to satisfy its distribution requirements. For taxable years beginning before January 1, 2011, distributions to individuals and other noncorporate shareholders of investment income designated by a fund as derived from qualified dividend income are eligible for taxation for federal income tax purposes at the more favorable long-term capital gain rates. Qualified dividend income generally includes dividends received by a fund from domestic and some foreign corporations. It does not include income from investments in debt securities or, generally, from real estate investment trusts. In addition, a fund must meet certain holding period and Understanding Distributions and Taxes | 61 other requirements with respect to the dividend-paying stocks in its portfolio and the shareholder must meet certain holding period and other requirements with respect to a fund's shares for the lower tax rates to apply. For taxable years beginning before January 1, 2011, the maximum federal income tax rate imposed on long-term capital gains recognized by individuals and other noncorporate shareholders has been temporarily reduced to 15%, in general, with lower rates applying to taxpayers in the 10% and 15% rate brackets. For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2011, the maximum long-term capital gain rate is scheduled to return to 20%. YOUR FUND WILL SEND YOU DETAILED FEDERAL INCOME TAX INFORMATION EVERY JANUARY. These statements tell you the amount and the federal income tax classification of any dividends or distributions you received. They also have certain details on your purchases and sales of shares. IF YOU INVEST RIGHT BEFORE A FUND PAYS A DIVIDEND, you'll be getting some of your investment back as a taxable dividend. You can avoid this by investing after a fund pays a dividend. In tax-advantaged retirement accounts you generally do not need to worry about this. If a fund's distributions exceed its current and accumulated earnings and profits, the excess will be treated for federal income tax purposes as a tax-free return of capital to the extent of your basis in your shares and thereafter as a gain from the sale or exchange of your shares. Because a return of capital distribution reduces the basis of your shares, a return of capital distribution may result in a higher capital gain or a lower capital loss when you sell your shares. CORPORATIONS are taxed at the same rates on ordinary income and capital gains but may be eligible for a dividends-received deduction for a portion of the income dividends they receive from a fund, provided certain holding period and other requirements are met. The above discussion summarizes certain federal income tax consequences for shareholders who are US persons. If you are a non-US person, please consult your own tax advisor with respect to the US tax consequences to you of an investment in a fund. For more information, see "Taxes" in the Statement of Additional Information. 62 | Understanding Distributions and Taxes APPENDIX - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hypothetical Expense Summary Using the annual fund operating expense ratios presented in the fee tables in the fund prospectus, the Hypothetical Expense Summary shows the estimated fees and expenses, in actual dollars, that would be charged on a hypothetical investment of $10,000 in the fund held for the next 10 years and the impact of such fees and expenses on fund returns for each year and cumulatively, assuming a 5% return for each year. The historical rate of return for the fund may be higher or lower than 5% and, for money funds, is typically less than 5%. The tables also assume that all dividends and distributions are reinvested. The annual fund expense ratios shown are net of any contractual fee waivers or expense reimbursements, if any, for the period of the contractual commitment. The tables do not reflect redemption fees, if any, which may be payable upon redemption. If redemption fees were shown, the "Hypothetical Year-End Balance After Fees and Expenses" amounts shown would be lower and the "Annual Fees and Expenses" amounts shown would be higher. Also, please note that if you are investing through a third party provider, that provider may have fees and expenses separate from those of the fund that are not reflected here. Mutual fund fees and expenses fluctuate over time and actual expenses may be higher or lower than those shown. The Hypothetical Expense Summary should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy or a recommendation or endorsement of any specific mutual fund. You should carefully review the fund's prospectus to consider the investment objectives, risks, expenses and charges of the fund prior to investing. Appendix | 63 DWS Growth & Income Fund - Class S
MAXIMUM INITIAL HYPOTHETICAL ASSUMED RATE SALES CHARGE: INVESTMENT: OF RETURN: 0.00% $10,000 5% HYPOTHETICAL CUMULATIVE ANNUAL CUMULATIVE YEAR-END RETURN BEFORE FUND RETURN AFTER BALANCE AFTER ANNUAL FEES FEES AND EXPENSE FEES AND FEES AND AND YEAR EXPENSES RATIOS EXPENSES EXPENSES EXPENSES 1 5.00% 0.66% 4.34% $ 10,434.00 $ 67.43 2 10.25% 0.66% 8.87% $ 10,886.84 $ 70.36 3 15.76% 0.66% 13.59% $ 11,359.32 $ 73.41 4 21.55% 0.66% 18.52% $ 11,852.32 $ 76.60 5 27.63% 0.66% 23.67% $ 12,366.71 $ 79.92 6 34.01% 0.66% 29.03% $ 12,903.42 $ 83.39 7 40.71% 0.66% 34.63% $ 13,463.43 $ 87.01 8 47.75% 0.66% 40.48% $ 14,047.75 $ 90.79 9 55.13% 0.66% 46.57% $ 14,657.42 $ 94.73 10 62.89% 0.66% 52.94% $ 15,293.55 $ 98.84 TOTAL $ 822.48
DWS Capital Growth Fund - Class S
MAXIMUM INITIAL HYPOTHETICAL ASSUMED RATE SALES CHARGE: INVESTMENT: OF RETURN: 0.00% $10,000 5% HYPOTHETICAL CUMULATIVE ANNUAL CUMULATIVE YEAR-END RETURN BEFORE FUND RETURN AFTER BALANCE AFTER ANNUAL FEES AND EXPENSE FEES AND FEES AND FEES AND YEAR EXPENSES RATIOS EXPENSES EXPENSES EXPENSES 1 5.00% 0.79% 4.21% $ 10,421.00 $ 80.66 2 10.25% 0.79% 8.60% $ 10,859.72 $ 84.06 3 15.76% 0.79% 13.17% $ 11,316.92 $ 87.60 4 21.55% 0.79% 17.93% $ 11,793.36 $ 91.29 5 27.63% 0.79% 22.90% $ 12,289.86 $ 95.13 6 34.01% 0.79% 28.07% $ 12,807.26 $ 99.13 7 40.71% 0.79% 33.46% $ 13,346.45 $ 103.31 8 47.75% 0.79% 39.08% $ 13,908.34 $ 107.66 9 55.13% 0.79% 44.94% $ 14,493.88 $ 112.19 10 62.89% 0.79% 51.04% $ 15,104.07 $ 116.91 TOTAL $ 977.94
64 | Appendix DWS Small Cap Core Fund - Class S
MAXIMUM INITIAL HYPOTHETICAL ASSUMED RATE SALES CHARGE: INVESTMENT: OF RETURN: 0.00% $10,000 5% HYPOTHETICAL CUMULATIVE ANNUAL CUMULATIVE YEAR-END RETURN BEFORE FUND RETURN AFTER BALANCE AFTER ANNUAL FEES FEES AND EXPENSE FEES AND FEES AND AND YEAR EXPENSES RATIOS EXPENSES EXPENSES EXPENSES 1 5.00% 1.21% 3.79% $ 10,379.00 $ 123.29 2 10.25% 1.21% 7.72% $ 10,772.36 $ 127.97 3 15.76% 1.21% 11.81% $ 11,180.64 $ 132.82 4 21.55% 1.21% 16.04% $ 11,604.38 $ 137.85 5 27.63% 1.21% 20.44% $ 12,044.19 $ 143.07 6 34.01% 1.21% 25.01% $ 12,500.66 $ 148.50 7 40.71% 1.21% 29.74% $ 12,974.44 $ 154.12 8 47.75% 1.21% 34.66% $ 13,466.17 $ 159.97 9 55.13% 1.21% 39.77% $ 13,976.54 $ 166.03 10 62.89% 1.21% 45.06% $ 14,506.25 $ 172.32 TOTAL $ 1,465.94
DWS Blue Chip Fund - Class S
MAXIMUM INITIAL HYPOTHETICAL ASSUMED RATE SALES CHARGE: INVESTMENT: OF RETURN: 0.00% $10,000 5% HYPOTHETICAL CUMULATIVE ANNUAL CUMULATIVE YEAR-END RETURN BEFORE FUND RETURN AFTER BALANCE AFTER ANNUAL FEES AND EXPENSE FEES AND FEES AND FEES AND YEAR EXPENSES RATIOS EXPENSES EXPENSES EXPENSES 1 5.00% 0.95% 4.05% $ 10,405.00 $ 96.92 2 10.25% 0.95% 18.26% $ 10,826.40 $ 100.85 3 15.76% 0.95% 12.65% $ 11,264.87 $ 104.93 4 21.55% 0.95% 17.21% $ 11,721.10 $ 109.18 5 27.63% 0.95% 21.96% $ 12,195.80 $ 113.61 6 34.01% 0.95% 26.90% $ 12,689.73 $ 118.21 7 40.71% 0.95% 32.04% $ 13,203.67 $ 122.99 8 47.75% 0.95% 37.38% $ 13,738.42 $ 127.97 9 55.13% 0.95% 42.95% $ 14,294.82 $ 133.16 10 62.89% 0.95% 48.74% $ 14,873.76 $ 138.55 TOTAL $ 1,166.37
Appendix | 65 TO GET MORE INFORMATION SHAREHOLDER REPORTS - These include commentary from a fund's management team about recent market conditions and the effects of a fund's strategies on its performance. They also have detailed performance figures, a list of everything a fund owns, and its financial statements. Shareholders get these reports automatically. STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (SAI) - This tells you more about a fund's features and policies, including additional risk information. The SAI is incorporated by reference into this document (meaning that it's legally part of this prospectus). For a free copy of any of these documents or to request other information about a fund, call (800) 728-3337, or contact DWS Investments at the address listed below. Each fund's SAI and shareholder reports are also available through the DWS Investments Web site at www.dws-investments.com. These documents and other information about each fund are available from the EDGAR Database on the SEC's Internet site at www.sec.gov. If you like, you may obtain copies of this information, after paying a copying fee, by e-mailing a request to publicinfo@sec.gov or by writing the SEC at the address listed below. You can also review and copy these documents and other information about each fund, including each fund's SAI, at the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Information on the operation of the SEC's Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling (800) SEC-0330.
DWS INVESTMENTS SEC DISTRIBUTOR - ----------------- -------------------- ------------------------------ PO Box 219151 100 F Street, N.E. DWS Investments Distributors, Kansas City, MO Washington, D.C. Inc. 64121-9151 20549-0102 222 South Riverside Plaza WWW.DWS- WWW.SEC.GOV Chicago, IL 60606-5808 INVESTMENTS.COM (800) SEC-0330 (800) 621-1148 (800) 728-3337
SEC FILE NUMBER: DWS Investment Trust DWS Growth & Income Fund 811-00043 DWS Investment Trust DWS Capital Growth Fund 811-00043 DWS Investment Trust DWS Small Cap Core Fund 811-00043 DWS Blue Chip Fund 811-05357
(04/01/09) 64/60/339/331-2 [RECYCLE GRAPHIC APPEARS HERE] [DWS INVESTMENTS LOGO] Deutsche Bank Group -----END PRIVACY-ENHANCED MESSAGE-----