volatility, which may disrupt securities markets
and have adverse long-term effects on US and world economies and markets. To the extent that the fund invests in a particular geographic region, capitalization or sector, the fund’s performance may be affected
by the general performance of that region, capitalization or sector.
Security selection risk. The securities in the fund’s portfolio may decline in value. Portfolio management could be wrong in its analysis of industries, companies, economic trends, the relative
attractiveness of different securities or other matters.
Quantitative model risk. The fund’s strategy relies heavily on quantitative models and the analysis of specific metrics to construct the fund’s portfolio. The impact of these metrics on a stock’s
performance can be difficult to predict, and stocks that previously possessed certain desirable quantitative characteristics may not continue to demonstrate those same characteristics in the future. In addition,
relying on quantitative models entails the risk that the models themselves may be limited or incorrect, that the data on which the models rely may be incorrect or incomplete, and that the Advisor may not be successful
in selecting companies for investment or determining the weighting of particular stocks in the fund’s portfolio. Any of these factors could cause the fund to underperform funds with similar strategies that do
not select stocks based on quantitative analysis.
Medium-sized company risk. Medium-sized company stocks tend to be more volatile than large company stocks. Because stock analysts are less likely to follow medium-sized companies, less information about them is
available to investors. Industry-wide reversals may have a greater impact on medium-sized companies, since they lack the financial resources of larger companies. Medium-sized company stocks are typically less liquid
than large company stocks.
Focus risk. To the extent that the fund focuses its investments in particular industries, asset classes or sectors of the economy, any market price movements, regulatory or technological changes, or
economic conditions affecting companies in those industries, asset classes or sectors may have a significant impact on the fund’s performance.
Securities lending risk. Any decline in the value of a portfolio security that occurs while the security is out on loan is borne by the fund and will adversely affect 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 holding the security.
Counterparty risk. A financial institution or other counterparty with whom the fund does business, or that underwrites, distributes or guarantees any investments or contracts that the fund owns or is
otherwise exposed to, may decline in financial health and become unable to
honor its commitments. This could cause losses for
the fund or could delay the return or delivery of collateral or other assets to the fund.
Liquidity risk. In certain situations, it may be difficult or impossible to sell an investment and/or the fund may sell certain investments at a price or time that is not advantageous in order to meet
redemption requests or other cash needs. Unusual market conditions, such as an unusually high volume of redemptions or other similar conditions could increase liquidity risk for the fund.
Pricing risk. If market conditions make it difficult to value some investments, the fund may value these investments using more subjective methods, such as fair value pricing. In such cases, the value
determined for an investment could be different from the value realized upon such investment’s sale. As a result, you could pay more than the market value when buying fund shares or receive less than the market
value when selling fund shares.
ESG investing risk. When portfolio management considers ESG factors in its fundamental research process and when making investment decisions, there is a risk that the fund may forgo otherwise attractive
investment opportunities or increase or decrease its exposure to certain types of issuers and, therefore, may underperform funds that do not consider ESG factors.
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.
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.
The performance figures for Class
T shares prior to class inception are based on the historical performance of the fund’s Class S shares adjusted to reflect the higher expenses and applicable sales charges of Class T.
The performance figures for Class
R shares prior to class inception are based on the historical performance of the fund’s Class S shares adjusted to reflect the higher expenses of Class R shares.
Prior to May 31, 2013, the fund
had a sub-advisor and a different investment management team that operated with a different investment strategy. Performance would have been different if the fund’s current investment strategy had been in
effect.