497K 1 k100123ecs.htm DWS ENHANCED COMMODITY STRATEGY FUND EDGAR HTML
 
DWS Enhanced Commodity Strategy Fund
Summary Prospectus | October 1, 2023
 
Class/Ticker
A
SKNRX
C
SKCRX
R6
SKRRX
INST
SKIRX
S
SKSRX
Before you invest, you may want to review the fund’s prospectus, which contains more information about the fund and its risks. You can find the fund’s prospectus, reports to shareholders, Statement of Additional Information (SAI) and other information about the fund online at dws.com/mutualpros. You can also get this information at no cost by e-mailing a request to service@dws.com, calling (800) 728-3337 or asking your financial representative. The Prospectus and SAI, both dated October 1, 2023, as may be revised or supplemented from time to time, are incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus.
Investment Objective
The fund's investment objective is total return.
Fees and Expenses
These are the fees and expenses you may pay when you buy, hold and sell shares. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below. You may qualify for sales charge discounts in Class A shares if you and your immediate family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in DWS funds. More information about these and other discounts and waivers is available from your financial representative and in Choosing a Share Class in the prospectus (p. 29), Sales Charge Waivers and Discounts Available Through Intermediaries in the prospectus (Appendix B, p. 63) and Purchase and Redemption of Shares in the fund’s SAI (p. II-15).
SHAREHOLDER FEES (paid directly from your investment) 
 
A
C
R6
INST
S
Maximum sales charge (load)
imposed on purchases, as % of
offering price
5.75
None
None
None
None
Maximum deferred sales charge
(load), as % of redemption
proceeds1
None
1.00
None
None
None
Account Maintenance Fee (annually,
for fund account balances below
$10,000 and subject to certain
exceptions)
$20
$20
None
None
$20
ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES
(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment) 
 
A
C
R6
INST
S
Management fee2
0.74
0.74
0.74
0.74
0.74
Distribution/service (12b-1) fees
0.25
1.00
None
None
None
Other expenses
0.33
0.25
0.22
0.27
0.36
Total annual fund operating
expenses
1.32
1.99
0.96
1.01
1.10
Fee waiver/expense reimbursement
0.18
0.10
0.07
0.12
0.11
Total annual fund operating
expenses after fee waiver/expense
reimbursement
1.14
1.89
0.89
0.89
0.99
1 Investments of $1,000,000 or more may be eligible to buy Class A shares without a sales charge (load), but may be subject to a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00% if redeemed within 12 months of the original purchase date and 0.50% if redeemed within the following six months.
2 “Management fee” is restated to reflect the fund’s new management fee rate effective October 1, 2023.
The Advisor has contractually agreed through September 30, 2024 to waive its fees and/or reimburse fund expenses to the extent necessary to maintain the fund’s total annual operating expenses (excluding certain expenses such as extraordinary expenses, taxes, brokerage, interest expense and acquired fund fees and expenses) at 1.14%, 1.89%, 0.89%, 0.89% and 0.99% for Class A, Class C, Class R6, Institutional Class and Class S, respectively. The agreement may only be terminated with the consent of the fund’s Board.
EXAMPLE
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the fund's operating expenses (including one year of capped expenses in each period) remain the same. Class C shares generally convert automatically to Class A shares after 8 years. The information
1
presented in the Example for Class C reflects the conversion of Class C shares to Class A shares after 8 years. See “Class C Shares” in the “Choosing a Share Class” section of the prospectus for more information. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be: 
Years
A
C
R6
INST
S
1
$685
$292
$91
$91
$101
3
953
615
299
310
339
5
1,241
1,063
524
546
596
10
2,059
2,136
1,172
1,225
1,330
You would pay the following expenses if you did not redeem your shares: 
Years
A
C
R6
INST
S
1
$685
$192
$91
$91
$101
3
953
615
299
310
339
5
1,241
1,063
524
546
596
10
2,059
2,136
1,172
1,225
1,330
PORTFOLIO TURNOVER 
The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover may indicate higher transaction costs and may mean higher taxes if you are investing in a taxable account. These costs are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the expense example, and can affect the fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 90% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
Main investments. Under normal circumstances, the fund invests in commodity-linked derivative instruments backed by a portfolio of fixed income instruments. The fund invests in commodity-linked derivative instruments (a contract whose value is based on a particular commodity), such as commodity-linked total return swap contracts, options and futures contracts, to gain exposure to the investment return of assets that trade in the commodity markets, without investing directly in physical commodities (see “Derivatives” subsection). Physical commodities are assets that have tangible properties such as gas, heating oil, industrial and other precious metals, livestock or agricultural products.
The fund may gain exposure to the commodity markets by investing up to 25% of the fund's total assets in a wholly-owned subsidiary formed under the laws of the Cayman Islands (the “Subsidiary”), which shares the same portfolio management team as the fund and is expected to invest mainly in commodity-linked derivative instruments and
fixed income instruments, some of which may serve as margin or collateral for the Subsidiary’s derivatives positions.
The fund invests in fixed income securities, including inflation-indexed securities, of varying maturities issued by the US government, non-US governments, their agencies or instrumentalities, and US and non-US corporations. The fund may invest in mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, adjustable rate loans that have a senior right to payment (“senior loans”) and other floating rate debt securities, taxable municipal bonds and tax-exempt municipal bonds.
The fund may invest up to 10% of its total assets in below investment grade fixed income securities (commonly referred to as junk bonds).
The fund concentrates its investments in commodities-related industries. The Advisor considers a company to be in a commodity-related industry if, as determined by the Advisor, at least 50% of the company's assets, revenues or net income are derived from or related to a commodity-related industry. Currently, the fund considers commodities-related industries to include oil, natural gas, agricultural products and metals industries; however, these criteria are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not part of the fund's fundamental investment policy regarding the concentration of its investments in any particular industry or group of industries. Accordingly, the fund may change the criteria it uses from time to time without shareholder approval.
Management process. Portfolio management generally will allocate the fund’s commodity-linked investments among a variety of different commodity sectors. Portfolio management employs three main strategies with respect to its commodity-linked investments: a relative value strategy, a tactical strategy, and a “roll enhancement” strategy. In implementing the relative value strategy, portfolio management will use a proprietary quantitative, rules-based methodology in determining the fund’s commodity sector weightings relative to the fund’s benchmark index, the Bloomberg Commodity Index. Portfolio management normally will rebalance commodity sector positions when a sector undergoes a “trigger event,” reducing the fund’s exposure to commodity sectors that are believed to be “expensive” and increasing its exposure to sectors that are believed to be “cheap.” To the extent environmental, social or governance (ESG) factors affect the market supply and demand of a commodity sector (e.g., regulations limiting production due to environmental concerns), portfolio management typically takes such factors into account when analyzing the expected supply and demand for such sector. The tactical strategy focuses on the direction of commodity markets as a whole. Portfolio management uses a proprietary, momentum-driven, quantitative formula that seeks to anticipate the direction of the commodity markets. Portfolio management may reduce the fund’s exposure to all commodity sectors when commodities in
2
DWS Enhanced Commodity Strategy Fund
Summary Prospectus October 1, 2023
general appear overvalued. In implementing the “roll enhancement” strategy, portfolio management seeks to invest in commodity contracts whose expiration is further out on the “commodity curve” than the subsequent month so as to avoid continually paying premiums to replace expiring contracts.
With respect to the fund's fixed income investments, portfolio management uses a relative value style to seek to construct a diversified portfolio of fixed income securities. When evaluating fixed income investments, portfolio management may consider a number of factors, including the security’s credit quality and terms; any underlying assets and their credit quality; interest rate sensitivity; the issuer’s management ability, capital structure, leverage, and ability to meet its current obligations; and spread relationships between individual bonds. Portfolio management may also consider financially material ESG factors. With respect to these investments, portfolio management normally targets a dollar-weighted average portfolio duration of three years or less, and primarily invests in fixed income securities that are rated, at the time of purchase, within the top four credit rating categories as rated by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc., Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, Fitch Ratings, or another Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization, or, if unrated, are determined by the Advisor to be of similar quality.
Derivatives. In addition to commodity-linked derivative instruments, the fund may use other types of derivatives, which are financial instruments whose performance is derived, at least in part, from the performance of an underlying asset, security or index (i) for hedging purposes; (ii) for risk management; (iii) for non-hedging purposes to seek to enhance potential gains; or (iv) as a substitute for direct investment in a particular asset class or to keep cash on hand to meet shareholder redemptions.
Securities lending. The fund may lend securities (up to one-third of total assets) to approved institutions, such as registered broker-dealers, pooled investment vehicles, banks and other financial institutions. In connection with such loans, the fund receives liquid collateral in an amount that is based on the type and value of the securities being lent.
Main Risks
There are several risk factors that could hurt the fund’s performance, cause you to lose money or cause the fund’s performance to trail that of other investments. The fund may not achieve its investment objective, and is not intended to be a complete investment program. An investment in the fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency.
Market disruption risk. Economies and financial markets throughout the world are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely impact
markets or issuers in other countries or regions. The value of the fund’s investments may be negatively affected by adverse changes in overall economic or market conditions, such as the level of economic activity and productivity, unemployment and labor force participation rates, inflation or deflation (and expectations for inflation or deflation), interest rates, demand and supply for particular products or resources including labor, and debt levels and credit ratings, among other factors. Such adverse conditions may contribute to an overall economic contraction across entire economies or markets, which may negatively impact the profitability of issuers operating in those economies or markets. In addition, geopolitical and other globally interconnected occurrences, including war, terrorism, economic or financial crises, uncertainty or contagion, trade disputes, government debt crises (including defaults or downgrades) or uncertainty about government debt payments, public health crises, natural disasters, climate change and related events or conditions have led, and in the future may lead, to disruptions in the US and world economies and markets, which may increase financial market volatility and have significant adverse direct or indirect effects on the fund and its investments. Adverse market conditions or disruptions could cause the fund to lose money, experience significant redemptions, and encounter operational difficulties. Although multiple asset classes may be affected by adverse market conditions or a particular market disruption, the duration and effects may not be the same for all types of assets.
Russia's military incursions in Ukraine have led to, and may lead to, additional sanctions being levied by the United States, European Union and other countries against Russia. Russia's military incursions and the resulting sanctions could adversely affect global energy, commodities and financial markets and thus could affect the value of the fund's investments. The extent and duration of the military action, sanctions and resulting market disruptions are impossible to predict, but could be substantial.
Other market disruption events include the pandemic spread of the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19, which at times has caused significant uncertainty, market volatility, decreased economic and other activity, increased government activity, including economic stimulus measures, and supply chain disruptions. While COVID-19 is no longer considered to be a public health emergency, the fund and its investments may be adversely affected by its lingering effects well into the future.
Adverse market conditions or particular market disruptions, such as those caused by Russian military action and the COVID-19 pandemic, may magnify the impact of each of the other risks described in this “MAIN RISKS” section and may increase volatility in one or more markets in which the fund invests leading to the potential for greater losses for the fund.
3
DWS Enhanced Commodity Strategy Fund
Summary Prospectus October 1, 2023
Inflation risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the real value of certain assets or real income from investments (the value of such assets or income after accounting for inflation) will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. Inflation, and investors’ expectation of future inflation, can impact the current value of the fund's portfolio, resulting in lower asset values and losses to shareholders. This risk may be elevated compared to historical market conditions because of recent monetary policy measures and the current interest rate environment.
Commodities-related investments risk. The commodities-linked derivative instruments in which the fund invests tend to be more volatile than many other types of securities and may subject the fund to special risks that do not apply to all derivatives transactions. For example, the value of commodity-linked derivative instruments may be affected by changes in overall market movements, commodity index volatility, changes in interest rates, or factors affecting a particular industry or commodity, such as climate changes, drought, floods, weather, livestock disease, changes in storage costs, embargoes, tariffs, policies of commodity cartels and international economic, political and regulatory developments.
The value of a commodity-linked derivative investment generally is based upon the price movements of a physical commodity (such as energy, minerals, or agricultural products), a futures contract, swap or commodity index, or other economic variables linked to changes in the value of commodities or the commodities markets. A liquid secondary market may not exist for the types of commodity-linked derivative instruments the fund buys, which may make it difficult for the fund to sell them at an acceptable price. The fund’s ability to gain exposure to commodity-linked investments and achieve its investment objective may be limited by its intention to qualify as a regulated investment company under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
Derivatives risk. Derivatives involve risks different from, and possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other more traditional investments. Risks associated with derivatives may include the risk that the derivative is not well correlated with the underlying asset, security or index 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, which risk may be heightened in derivative transactions entered into “over-the-counter” (i.e., not on an exchange or contract market); 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.
Inflation-indexed bond risk. Any actual or anticipated rise in interest rates may cause inflation-indexed bonds to decline in price, hurting fund performance. Interest rates in
the US have been rising and may continue to increase in the near future. If interest rates rise due to reasons other than inflation, the fund’s investment in inflation-indexed bonds may not be fully protected from the effects of rising interest rates. The performance of any bonds that are indexed to non-US rates of inflation may be higher or lower than those indexed to US inflation rates. Inflation rates may change frequently and significantly as a result of various factors, including unexpected shifts in the domestic or global economy or changes in fiscal or monetary policies. The fund’s actual returns could fail to match the real rate of inflation.
Security selection risk. The securities in the fund’s portfolio may decline in value. Portfolio management could be wrong in its analysis of industries, companies, economic trends, ESG factors, the relative attractiveness of different securities or other matters.
Concentration risk. Any fund that concentrates in a particular segment of the market will generally be more volatile than a fund that invests more broadly. Any market price movements, regulatory or technological changes, or economic conditions affecting the particular segment of the market in which the fund concentrates may have a significant impact on the fund’s performance.
Credit risk. The fund's performance could be hurt if an issuer of a debt security suffers an adverse change in financial condition that results in the issuer not making timely payments of interest or principal, a security downgrade or an inability to meet a financial obligation. Credit risk is greater for lower-rated securities.
Because the issuers of high-yield debt securities, or junk bonds (debt securities rated below the fourth highest credit rating category), may be in uncertain financial health, the prices of their debt securities can be more vulnerable to bad economic news, or even the expectation of bad news, than investment-grade debt securities. Credit risk for high-yield securities is greater than for higher-rated securities.
Interest rate risk. When interest rates rise, prices of debt securities generally decline. The longer the duration of the fund’s debt securities, the more sensitive the fund will be to interest rate changes. (As a general rule, a 1% rise in interest rates means a 1% fall in value for every year of duration.) Interest rates can change in response to the supply and demand for credit, government and/or central bank monetary policy and action, inflation rates, and other factors. Recent and potential future changes in monetary policy made by central banks or governments are likely to affect the level of interest rates. Changing interest rates may have unpredictable effects on markets, may result in heightened market volatility and potential illiquidity and may detract from fund performance to the extent the fund is exposed to such interest rates and/or volatility. Rising interest rates could cause the value of the fund’s investments — and therefore its share price as well — to decline. A rising interest rate environment may cause
4
DWS Enhanced Commodity Strategy Fund
Summary Prospectus October 1, 2023
investors to move out of fixed-income securities and related markets on a large scale, which could adversely affect the price and liquidity of such securities and could also result in increased redemptions from the fund. Increased redemptions from the fund may force the fund to sell investments at a time when it is not advantageous to do so, which could result in losses. Recently, the US Federal Reserve has raised interest rates in response to increased inflation. As a result, fixed-income and related markets may experience heightened levels of interest rate volatility and liquidity risk. A sharp rise in interest rates could cause the value of the fund’s investments to decline.
London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), a common benchmark rate previously used for certain floating rate securities, has been phased out as of the end of 2021 for most maturities and currencies. As of the end of June 2023, certain remaining widely used US Dollar LIBOR rates that were published for an additional period of time to assist with the transition were also phased out. In addition, to aid in the transition, the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom, LIBOR's regulator, has required the continued publishing of certain “synthetic” US Dollar LIBOR rates for a period of 15 months after June 30, 2023 for use in certain cases. The transition process from LIBOR to Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) for US Dollar LIBOR rates has become increasingly well defined, especially following the signing of the federal Adjustable Interest Rate (LIBOR) Act in March 2022, and the adoption of implementing regulations in December 2022, which replaced LIBOR-based benchmark rates in instruments with no, or insufficient, alternative rate-setting provisions with a SOFR-based rate following the cessation of LIBOR. There is no assurance that the composition or characteristics of any such alternative reference rate will be similar to or produce the same value or economic equivalence as LIBOR or that it will have the same volume or liquidity as did LIBOR prior to its discontinuance or unavailability, which may affect the value or liquidity of, or return on, certain of the fund's investments.
Foreign investment risk. The fund faces the risks inherent in foreign investing. Adverse political, economic or social developments, as well as US and foreign government actions such as the imposition of tariffs, economic and trade sanctions or embargoes, could undermine the value of the fund’s foreign investments, prevent the fund from realizing the full value of its foreign investments or prevent the fund from selling foreign securities it holds. As of January 1, 2021 the United Kingdom is no longer part of the European Union (EU) customs union and single market, nor is it subject to EU policies and international agreements. The long-term impact of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU is still unknown and could have adverse economic and political effects on the United Kingdom, the EU and its member countries, and the global economy, including financial markets and asset valuations.
Financial reporting standards for companies based in foreign markets differ from those in the US. Additionally, foreign securities markets generally are smaller and less liquid than US markets. To the extent that the fund invests in non-US dollar denominated foreign securities, changes in currency exchange rates may affect the US dollar value of foreign securities or the income or gain received on these securities. In addition, because non-US markets may be open on days when the fund does not price its shares, the value of the foreign securities in the fund’s portfolio may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the fund’s shares.
Emerging market securities risk. The securities of issuers located in emerging markets tend to be more volatile and less liquid than securities of issuers located in more mature economies, and emerging markets generally have less diverse and less mature economic structures and less stable political systems than those of developed countries. The securities of issuers located or doing substantial business in emerging markets are often subject to rapid and large changes in price.
Counterparty risk. A financial institution or other counterparty with whom the fund does business, or that underwrites, distributes or guarantees any investments or contracts that the fund owns or is otherwise exposed to, may decline in financial health and become unable to honor its commitments. This could cause losses for the fund or could delay the return or delivery of collateral or other assets to the fund.
Liquidity risk. In certain situations, it may be difficult or impossible to sell an investment and/or the fund may sell certain investments at a price or time that is not advantageous in order to meet redemption requests or other cash needs. Unusual market conditions, such as an unusually high volume of redemptions or other similar conditions could increase liquidity risk for the fund.
Prepayment and extension risk. When interest rates fall, issuers of high interest debt obligations may pay off the debts earlier than expected (prepayment risk), and the fund may have to reinvest the proceeds at lower yields. When interest rates rise, issuers of lower interest debt obligations may pay off the debts later than expected (extension risk), thus keeping the fund’s assets tied up in lower interest debt obligations. Ultimately, any unexpected behavior in interest rates could increase the volatility of the fund’s share price and yield and could hurt fund performance. Prepayments could also create capital gains tax liability in some instances.
Pricing risk. If market conditions make it difficult to value some investments, the fund may value these investments using more subjective methods, such as fair value pricing. In such cases, the value determined for an investment could be different from the value realized upon such investment’s sale. As a result, you could pay more than the market value when buying fund shares or receive less than the market value when selling fund shares.
5
DWS Enhanced Commodity Strategy Fund
Summary Prospectus October 1, 2023
Securities lending risk. Securities lending involves the risk that the fund may lose money because the borrower of the loaned securities fails to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. A delay in the recovery of loaned securities could interfere with the fund’s ability to vote proxies or settle transactions. Delayed settlement may limit the ability of the fund to reinvest the proceeds of a sale of securities or prevent the fund from selling securities at times and prices it considers desirable. The fund could also lose money in the event of a decline in the value of the collateral provided for the loaned securities, or a decline in the value of any investments made with cash collateral or even a loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially while holding the securities.
Senior loans risk. The fund invests in senior loans that may not be rated by a rating agency, registered with the SEC or any state securities commission or listed on any national securities exchange. Therefore, there may be less publicly available information about them than for registered or exchange-listed securities. The Advisor relies on its own evaluation of the creditworthiness of borrowers, but will consider, and may rely in part on, analyses performed by others. As a result, the fund is particularly dependent on the analytical abilities of the Advisor.
Senior loans may not be considered “securities,” and purchasers, such as the fund, therefore may not be entitled to rely on the anti-fraud and misrepresentation protections of the federal securities laws. Senior loans involve other risks, including credit risk, interest rate risk, liquidity risk, and prepayment and extension risk.
Because affiliates of the Advisor may participate in the primary and secondary market for senior loans, limitations under applicable law may restrict the fund’s ability to participate in a restructuring of a senior loan or to acquire some senior loans, or affect the timing or price of such acquisition. The fund also may be in possession of material non-public information about a borrower as a result of its ownership of a senior loan. Because of prohibitions on trading in securities of issuers while in possession of such information, the fund might be unable to enter into a transaction in a publicly-traded security of that borrower when it would otherwise be advantageous to do so. If the Advisor wishes to invest in the publicly traded securities of a borrower, it may not have access to material non-public information regarding the borrower to which other lenders have access.
Tax risk. Income and gains from commodities and certain commodity-linked derivatives generally do not constitute “qualifying income” to the fund for purposes of qualification as a “regulated investment company” for federal income tax purposes. The Internal Revenue Service has issued a private ruling to the fund that income derived from the fund's investment in the Subsidiary will constitute qualifying income to the fund. In addition, the Internal Revenue Service issued regulations under which the fund expects
its income attributable to its investment in the Subsidiary to be treated as qualifying income. Income from other commodity-linked derivatives in which the fund invests directly or indirectly may not constitute qualifying income. If the fund's nonqualifying income exceeds 10% of the fund's gross income, the fund may fail to qualify as a regulated investment company and be subject to a tax at the fund level. If the fund fails to qualify as a regulated investment company, all of the fund's taxable income would be subject to federal income tax at regular corporate rates and all distributions from earnings and profits would be taxable to shareholders as ordinary income. Investing in commodities and commodity-linked derivatives indirectly through the Subsidiary may cause the fund to recognize more ordinary income than would be the case if the fund invested directly in the investments held by the Subsidiary.
Subsidiary risk. The fund may invest in the Subsidiary, which is not registered as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and therefore is not subject to all of the investor protections of the Investment Company Act of 1940. A change in the US or the Cayman Islands laws or regulations, under which the fund and the Subsidiary, respectively, are organized, that impacts the Subsidiary or how the fund invests in the Subsidiary, such as a change in tax law, could adversely affect the fund. By investing in the Subsidiary, the fund is exposed to the risks associated with the Subsidiary’s investments, which generally include the risks of investing in derivatives and commodities-related investments.
Operational and technology risk. Cyber-attacks, disruptions or failures that affect the fund’s service providers or counterparties, issuers of securities held by the fund, or other market participants may adversely affect the fund and its shareholders, including by causing losses for the fund or impairing fund operations. For example, the fund’s or its service providers’ assets or sensitive or confidential information may be misappropriated, data may be corrupted and operations may be disrupted (e.g., cyber-attacks, operational failures or broader disruptions may cause the release of private shareholder information or confidential fund information, interfere with the processing of shareholder transactions, impact the ability to calculate the fund’s net asset value and impede trading). Market events and disruptions also may trigger a volume of transactions that overloads current information technology and communication systems and processes, impacting the ability to conduct the fund’s operations.
While the fund and its service providers may establish business continuity and other plans and processes that seek to address the possibility of and fallout from cyber-attacks, disruptions or failures, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems, including that they do not apply to third parties, such as fund counterparties, issuers of securities held by the fund or other market participants, as well as the possibility that certain risks have not been identified or that unknown threats may
6
DWS Enhanced Commodity Strategy Fund
Summary Prospectus October 1, 2023
emerge in the future and there is no assurance that such plans and processes will be effective. Among other situations, disruptions (for example, pandemics or health crises) that cause prolonged periods of remote work or significant employee absences at the fund’s service providers could impact the ability to conduct the fund’s operations. In addition, the fund cannot directly control any cybersecurity plans and systems put in place by its service providers, fund counterparties, issuers of securities held by the fund or other market participants.
Past Performance
How a fund's returns vary from year to year can give an idea of its risk; so can comparing fund performance to overall market performance (as measured by an appropriate market index). Past performance may not indicate future results. All performance figures below assume that dividends and distributions were reinvested. For more recent performance figures, go to dws.com (the Web site does not form a part of this prospectus) or call the telephone number included in this prospectus.
CALENDAR YEAR TOTAL RETURNS (%) (Class A)
These year-by-year returns do not include sales charges, if any, and would be lower if they did. Returns for other classes were different and are not shown here.
  
 
Returns
Period ending
Best Quarter
22.56%
March 31, 2022
Worst Quarter
-19.95%
March 31, 2020
Year-to-Date
-5.37%
June 30, 2023
Average Annual Total Returns
(For periods ended 12/31/2022 expressed as a %)
After-tax returns (which are shown only for Class A and would be different for other classes) reflect the historical highest individual federal income tax rates, but do not reflect any state or local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns may be different. After-tax returns are not relevant to shares held in an IRA, 401(k) or other tax-advantaged investment plan. 
 
Class
Inception
1
Year
5
Years
10
Years
Class A before tax
2/14/2005
2.90
3.30
-0.57
After tax on distribu-
tions
 
-11.09
-3.33
-4.25
After tax on distribu-
tions and sale of fund
shares
 
4.20
0.42
-1.61
Class C before tax
2/14/2005
8.60
3.77
-0.72
INST Class before tax
2/14/2005
9.66
4.91
0.35
Class S before tax
2/14/2005
9.52
4.77
0.22
Bloomberg Commodity
Index (reflects no deduc-
tion for fees, expenses
or taxes)
 
16.09
6.44
-1.28
 
 
Class
Inception
1
Year
5
Years
Since
Inception
Class R6 before tax
6/1/2016
9.62
4.93
4.18
Bloomberg Commodity
Index (reflects no deduc-
tion for fees, expenses
or taxes)
 
16.09
6.44
5.56
Management
Investment Advisor
DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc.
Portfolio Manager(s)
Darwei Kung, Head of Investment Strategy Liquid Real Assets. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2010.
Jeff Morton, CFA, Senior Portfolio Manager Fixed Income. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2022.
Avraham D. Feinberg, CFA, Head of Investment Strategy Liquid Real Assets. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2023.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
Minimum Initial Investment ($) 
 
Non-IRA
IRAs
UGMAs/
UTMAs
Automatic
Investment
Plans
A, C
1,000
500
1,000
500
R6
None
N/A
N/A
N/A
INST
1,000,000
N/A
N/A
N/A
S
2,500
1,000
1,000
1,000
7
DWS Enhanced Commodity Strategy Fund
Summary Prospectus October 1, 2023
For participants in all group retirement plans, and in certain fee-based and wrap programs approved by the Advisor, there is no minimum initial investment and no minimum additional investment for Class A, C and S shares. For Section 529 college savings plans, there is no minimum initial investment and no minimum additional investment for Class S shares and Class R6 shares. The minimum initial investment for Class S shares may be waived for eligible intermediaries that have agreements with DDI to offer Class S shares in their brokerage platforms when such Class S shares are held in omnibus accounts on such brokerage platforms. In certain instances, the minimum initial investment may be waived for Institutional Class shares. For more information regarding available Institutional Class investment minimum waivers, see “Institutional Class Shares – Investment Minimum” in the “Choosing a Share Class” section of the prospectus. There is no minimum additional investment for Institutional Class and Class R6 shares. The minimum additional investment in all other instances is $50.
To Place Orders 
Mail
All Requests
DWS
PO Box 219151
Kansas City, MO 64121-9151
Expedited Mail
DWS
430 West 7th Street
Suite 219151
Kansas City, MO 64105-1407
Web Site
dws.com
Telephone
(800) 728-3337, M – F 8 a.m. – 7 p.m. ET
Hearing Impaired
For hearing impaired assistance, please
call us using a relay service
 
The fund is generally open on days when the New York Stock Exchange is open for regular trading. If you invest with the fund directly through the transfer agent, you can open a new fund account (Class S shares only) and make an initial investment on the Internet at dws.com, by using the mobile app or by mail. You can make additional investments or sell shares of the fund on any business day by visiting the fund’s Web site, by using the mobile app, by mail, or by telephone; however you may have to elect certain privileges on your initial account application. The ability to open new fund accounts and to transact online or using the mobile app varies depending on share class and account type. If you are working with a financial representative, contact your financial representative for assistance with buying or selling fund shares. A financial representative separately may impose its own policies and procedures for buying and selling fund shares.
Class R6 shares are generally available only to certain qualifying plans and programs, which may have their own policies or instructions for buying and selling fund shares. Institutional Class shares are generally available only to qualified institutions. Class S shares are available through certain intermediary relationships with financial services firms, or can be purchased by establishing an account directly with the fund’s transfer agent.
Tax Information
The fund's distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income or capital gains, except when your investment is in an IRA, 401(k), or other tax-advantaged investment plan. Any withdrawals you make from such tax- advantaged investment plans, however, may be taxable to you.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and
Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the fund, the Advisor, and/or the Advisor’s affiliates may pay the intermediary for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s Web site for more information.
8
DWS Enhanced Commodity Strategy Fund
Summary Prospectus October 1, 2023 DECSF-SUM