Mar. 01, 2021
DWS ESG Core Equity Fund
<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:14pt;">DWS ESG Core Equity Fund</span>
<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;font-weight:bold;margin-left:0%;text-transform:uppercase;">Investment Objective</span>
The fund seeks long-term growth of capital, current income and growth of income.
<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;font-weight:bold;margin-left:0%;text-transform:uppercase;">Fees and Expenses</span>
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 if you and your immediate family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in Class A shares in DWS funds or if you invest at least $250,000 in Class T shares in the fund. More information about these and other discounts and waivers is available from your financial representative and in Choosing a Share Class (p. 14), Sales Charge Waivers and Discounts Available Through Intermediaries (Appendix B, p. 44) and Purchase and Redemption of Shares in the fund’s Statement of Additional Information (SAI) (p. II-15).
<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;text-transform:uppercase;">SHAREHOLDER FEES </span><span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:8pt;">(paid directly from your investment)</span>
<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;text-transform:uppercase;">ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES</span> <br/><span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:8pt;">(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)</span>
The Advisor has contractually agreed through February 28, 2022 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 expenses and acquired fund fees and expenses) at ratios no higher than 1.04% and 1.29%, for Class T and Class R, respectively. The agreement may only be terminated with the consent of the fund’s Board.
<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;text-transform:uppercase;">EXAMPLE</span>
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 for Class T and Class R) remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
You would pay the following expenses if you did not redeem your shares:
<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;margin-left:0%;text-transform:uppercase;">PORTFOLIO TURNOVER </span>
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 17% of the average value of its portfolio.
<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;font-weight:bold;margin-left:0%;text-transform:uppercase;">Principal Investment Strategies</span>
Main investments. Under normal circumstances, the fund invests at least 80% of net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in equities, mainly common stocks, which meet the Advisor’s sustainability criteria at the time of investment. Although the fund can invest in companies of any size and from any country, it invests primarily in large US companies. Portfolio management may favor securities from different industries and companies at different times.Management process. In choosing stocks, portfolio management uses proprietary quantitative models to identify and acquire holdings for the fund. The quantitative models are research based and identify primarily fundamental factors, including valuation, momentum, profitability, earnings and sales growth, which have been effective sources of return historically. These are dynamic models with different factor weights for different industry groupings. The fund’s portfolio is constructed based on this quantitative process that strives to maximize returns while maintaining a risk profile similar to the fund’s benchmark index. All investment decisions are made within risk parameters set by portfolio management. The factors considered and models used by portfolio management may be adjusted from time to time and may favor different types of securities from different industries and companies at different times.Prior to considering financial information, the security selection process evaluates an issuer based on Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) criteria. An issuer’s performance across certain ESG criteria is summarized in a proprietary ESG rating which is calculated by DWS International GmbH, an affiliate of the Advisor, on the basis of data obtained from various ESG data providers. Primarily issuers with an ESG rating above a minimum threshold determined by the Advisor are considered for investment by the fund. The proprietary ESG rating for each issuer is derived from multiple factors, including:■Level of involvement in controversial sectors and weapons;■Adherence to corporate governance principles (including, but not limited to: composition, effectiveness and independence of the board of directors; remuneration; and relations with shareholders, including shareholder voting rights);■ESG performance relative to a peer group of issuers; and■Efforts to meet the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.Portfolio management may sell a security when its quantitative model indicates that other investments are more attractive, when the company no longer meets performance or risk expectations, or to maintain portfolio characteristics similar to the fund’s benchmark. Portfolio management may also sell a security when its ESG rating falls below the minimum threshold.Active trading. The fund may trade securities actively and this may lead to high portfolio turnover.Securities lending. The fund may lend securities (up to one-third of total assets) to approved institutions, such as registered broker-dealers, banks and pooled investment vehicles.
<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;font-weight:bold;margin-left:0%;text-transform:uppercase;">Main Risks</span>
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.Stock market risk. When stock prices fall, you should expect the value of your investment to fall as well. Stock prices can be hurt by poor management on the part of the stock’s issuer, shrinking product demand and other business risks. These may affect single companies as well as groups of companies. The market as a whole may not favor the types of investments the fund makes, which could adversely affect a stock’s price, regardless of how well the company performs, or the fund’s ability to sell a stock at an attractive price. There is a chance that stock prices overall will decline because stock markets tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising and falling prices. Events in the US and global financial markets, including actions taken by the US Federal Reserve or foreign central banks to stimulate or stabilize economic growth, may at times result in unusually high market volatility which could negatively affect performance. High market volatility may also result from significant shifts in momentum of one or more specific stocks due to unusual increases or decreases in trading activity. Momentum can change quickly, and securities subject to shifts in momentum may be more volatile than the market as a whole and returns on such securities may drop precipitously. To the extent that the fund invests in a particular geographic region, capitalization or sector, the fund’s performance may be affected by the general performance of that region, capitalization or sector.Market disruption risk. Geopolitical and other events, including war, terrorism, economic uncertainty, trade disputes, public health crises and related geopolitical events 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. Market disruptions could cause the fund to lose money, experience significant redemptions, and encounter operational difficulties. Although multiple asset classes may be affected by a market disruption, the duration and effects may not be the same for all types of assets.Recent market disruption events include the pandemic spread of the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19, and the significant uncertainty, market volatility, decreased economic and other activity and increased government activity that it has caused. Specifically, COVID-19 has led to significant death and morbidity, and concerns about its further spread have resulted in the closing of schools and non-essential businesses, cancellations, shelter-in-place orders, lower consumer spending in certain sectors, social distancing, bans on large social gatherings and travel, quarantines, government economic stimulus measures, reduced productivity, rapid increases in unemployment, increased demand for and strain on government and medical resources, border closings and global trade and supply chain interruptions, among others. The full effects, duration and costs of the COVID-19 pandemic are impossible to predict, and the circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to evolve. The pandemic may affect certain countries, industries, economic sectors, companies and investment products more than others, may exacerbate existing economic, political, or social tensions and may increase the probability of an economic recession or depression. The fund and its investments may be adversely affected by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and a prolonged pandemic may result in the fund and its service providers experiencing operational difficulties in coordinating a remote workforce and implementing their business continuity plans, among others.The disruptions caused by 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.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.ESG investing risk. Investing primarily in investments that meet ESG criteria carries the 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. The ESG research and ratings used by the Advisor are based on information that is publicly available and/or provided by the companies themselves or by third parties and such information may be unavailable or unreliable. Additionally, investors can differ in their views of what constitutes positive or negative ESG characteristics. As a result, the fund may invest in issuers that do not reflect the beliefs and values with respect to ESG of any particular investor.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.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.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.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.Active trading risk. Active securities trading could raise transaction costs (thus lowering returns) and could mean increased taxable distributions to shareholders and distributions that will be taxable to shareholders at higher federal income tax rates.Operational and technology risk. Cyber-attacks, disruptions or failures that affect the fund’s service providers or counterparties, issuers of securities held by the fund, or other market participants may adversely affect the fund and its shareholders, including by causing losses for the fund or impairing fund operations. For example, the fund’s or its service providers’ assets or sensitive or confidential information may be misappropriated, data may be corrupted and operations may be disrupted (e.g., cyber-attacks, operational failures or broader disruptions may cause the release of private shareholder information or confidential fund information, interfere with the processing of shareholder transactions, impact the ability to calculate the fund’s net asset value and impede trading). Market events and disruptions also may trigger a volume of transactions that overloads current information technology and communication systems and processes, impacting the ability to conduct the fund’s operations.While the fund and its service providers may establish business continuity and other plans and processes that seek to address the possibility of and fallout from cyber-attacks, disruptions or failures, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems, including that they do not apply to third parties, such as fund counterparties, issuers of securities held by the fund or other market participants, as well as the possibility that certain risks have not been identified or that unknown threats may emerge in the future and there is no assurance that such plans and processes will be effective. Among other situations, disruptions (for example, pandemics or health crises) that cause prolonged periods of remote work or significant employee absences at the fund’s service providers could impact the ability to conduct the fund’s operations. In addition, the fund cannot directly control any cybersecurity plans and systems put in place by its service providers, fund counterparties, issuers of securities held by the fund or other market participants.
<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;font-weight:bold;margin-left:0%;text-transform:uppercase;">Past Performance</span>
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.Prior to September 23, 2019, the fund operated with a different investment strategy. Prior to September 3, 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.For Class R shares, historical performance prior to class inception is based on the performance of the fund's Class A shares adjusted to reflect the higher expenses of Class R.Class T had not commenced investment operations as of the date of this prospectus. The performance figures for Class T shares are based on the historical performance of the fund’s Institutional Class shares adjusted to reflect the higher expenses and applicable sales charges of Class T.
<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;text-transform:uppercase;">CALENDAR YEAR TOTAL RETURNS </span><span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:8pt;">(%) (Class A)</span>
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.
ReturnsPeriod endingBest Quarter18.84%June 30, 2020Worst Quarter-19.92%March 31, 2020
<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;text-transform:uppercase;">Average Annual Total Returns</span> <br/><span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:8pt;">(For periods ended 12/31/2020 expressed as a %)</span>
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.

Mar. 01, 2021

DWS ESG Core Equity Fund

DWS ESG Core Equity Fund

Investment Objective

The fund seeks long-term growth of capital, current income and growth of income.

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 if you and your immediate family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in Class A shares in DWS funds or if you invest at least $250,000 in Class T shares in the fund. More information about these and other discounts and waivers is available from your financial representative and in Choosing a Share Class (p. 14), Sales Charge Waivers and Discounts Available Through Intermediaries (Appendix B, p. 44) and Purchase and Redemption of Shares in the fund’s Statement of Additional Information (SAI) (p. II-15).

SHAREHOLDER FEES (paid directly from your investment)

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

The Advisor has contractually agreed through February 28, 2022 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 expenses and acquired fund fees and expenses) at ratios no higher than 1.04% and 1.29%, for Class T and Class R, 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 for Class T and Class R) remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

You would pay the following expenses if you did not redeem your shares:

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 17% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Main investments. Under normal circumstances, the fund invests at least 80% of net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in equities, mainly common stocks, which meet the Advisor’s sustainability criteria at the time of investment. Although the fund can invest in companies of any size and from any country, it invests primarily in large US companies. Portfolio management may favor securities from different industries and companies at different times.Management process. In choosing stocks, portfolio management uses proprietary quantitative models to identify and acquire holdings for the fund. The quantitative models are research based and identify primarily fundamental factors, including valuation, momentum, profitability, earnings and sales growth, which have been effective sources of return historically. These are dynamic models with different factor weights for different industry groupings. The fund’s portfolio is constructed based on this quantitative process that strives to maximize returns while maintaining a risk profile similar to the fund’s benchmark index. All investment decisions are made within risk parameters set by portfolio management. The factors considered and models used by portfolio management may be adjusted from time to time and may favor different types of securities from different industries and companies at different times.Prior to considering financial information, the security selection process evaluates an issuer based on Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) criteria. An issuer’s performance across certain ESG criteria is summarized in a proprietary ESG rating which is calculated by DWS International GmbH, an affiliate of the Advisor, on the basis of data obtained from various ESG data providers. Primarily issuers with an ESG rating above a minimum threshold determined by the Advisor are considered for investment by the fund. The proprietary ESG rating for each issuer is derived from multiple factors, including:■Level of involvement in controversial sectors and weapons;■Adherence to corporate governance principles (including, but not limited to: composition, effectiveness and independence of the board of directors; remuneration; and relations with shareholders, including shareholder voting rights);■ESG performance relative to a peer group of issuers; and■Efforts to meet the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.Portfolio management may sell a security when its quantitative model indicates that other investments are more attractive, when the company no longer meets performance or risk expectations, or to maintain portfolio characteristics similar to the fund’s benchmark. Portfolio management may also sell a security when its ESG rating falls below the minimum threshold.Active trading. The fund may trade securities actively and this may lead to high portfolio turnover.Securities lending. The fund may lend securities (up to one-third of total assets) to approved institutions, such as registered broker-dealers, banks and pooled investment vehicles.

Main Risks

There are several risk factors that could hurt the fund’s performance, cause you to lose money or cause the fund’s performance to trail that of other investments. The fund may not achieve its investment objective, and is not intended to be a complete investment program. An investment in the fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency.Stock market risk. When stock prices fall, you should expect the value of your investment to fall as well. Stock prices can be hurt by poor management on the part of the stock’s issuer, shrinking product demand and other business risks. These may affect single companies as well as groups of companies. The market as a whole may not favor the types of investments the fund makes, which could adversely affect a stock’s price, regardless of how well the company performs, or the fund’s ability to sell a stock at an attractive price. There is a chance that stock prices overall will decline because stock markets tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising and falling prices. Events in the US and global financial markets, including actions taken by the US Federal Reserve or foreign central banks to stimulate or stabilize economic growth, may at times result in unusually high market volatility which could negatively affect performance. High market volatility may also result from significant shifts in momentum of one or more specific stocks due to unusual increases or decreases in trading activity. Momentum can change quickly, and securities subject to shifts in momentum may be more volatile than the market as a whole and returns on such securities may drop precipitously. To the extent that the fund invests in a particular geographic region, capitalization or sector, the fund’s performance may be affected by the general performance of that region, capitalization or sector.Market disruption risk. Geopolitical and other events, including war, terrorism, economic uncertainty, trade disputes, public health crises and related geopolitical events 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. Market disruptions could cause the fund to lose money, experience significant redemptions, and encounter operational difficulties. Although multiple asset classes may be affected by a market disruption, the duration and effects may not be the same for all types of assets.Recent market disruption events include the pandemic spread of the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19, and the significant uncertainty, market volatility, decreased economic and other activity and increased government activity that it has caused. Specifically, COVID-19 has led to significant death and morbidity, and concerns about its further spread have resulted in the closing of schools and non-essential businesses, cancellations, shelter-in-place orders, lower consumer spending in certain sectors, social distancing, bans on large social gatherings and travel, quarantines, government economic stimulus measures, reduced productivity, rapid increases in unemployment, increased demand for and strain on government and medical resources, border closings and global trade and supply chain interruptions, among others. The full effects, duration and costs of the COVID-19 pandemic are impossible to predict, and the circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to evolve. The pandemic may affect certain countries, industries, economic sectors, companies and investment products more than others, may exacerbate existing economic, political, or social tensions and may increase the probability of an economic recession or depression. The fund and its investments may be adversely affected by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and a prolonged pandemic may result in the fund and its service providers experiencing operational difficulties in coordinating a remote workforce and implementing their business continuity plans, among others.The disruptions caused by 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.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.ESG investing risk. Investing primarily in investments that meet ESG criteria carries the 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. The ESG research and ratings used by the Advisor are based on information that is publicly available and/or provided by the companies themselves or by third parties and such information may be unavailable or unreliable. Additionally, investors can differ in their views of what constitutes positive or negative ESG characteristics. As a result, the fund may invest in issuers that do not reflect the beliefs and values with respect to ESG of any particular investor.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.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.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.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.Active trading risk. Active securities trading could raise transaction costs (thus lowering returns) and could mean increased taxable distributions to shareholders and distributions that will be taxable to shareholders at higher federal income tax rates.Operational and technology risk. Cyber-attacks, disruptions or failures that affect the fund’s service providers or counterparties, issuers of securities held by the fund, or other market participants may adversely affect the fund and its shareholders, including by causing losses for the fund or impairing fund operations. For example, the fund’s or its service providers’ assets or sensitive or confidential information may be misappropriated, data may be corrupted and operations may be disrupted (e.g., cyber-attacks, operational failures or broader disruptions may cause the release of private shareholder information or confidential fund information, interfere with the processing of shareholder transactions, impact the ability to calculate the fund’s net asset value and impede trading). Market events and disruptions also may trigger a volume of transactions that overloads current information technology and communication systems and processes, impacting the ability to conduct the fund’s operations.While the fund and its service providers may establish business continuity and other plans and processes that seek to address the possibility of and fallout from cyber-attacks, disruptions or failures, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems, including that they do not apply to third parties, such as fund counterparties, issuers of securities held by the fund or other market participants, as well as the possibility that certain risks have not been identified or that unknown threats may emerge in the future and there is no assurance that such plans and processes will be effective. Among other situations, disruptions (for example, pandemics or health crises) that cause prolonged periods of remote work or significant employee absences at the fund’s service providers could impact the ability to conduct the fund’s operations. In addition, the fund cannot directly control any cybersecurity plans and systems put in place by its service providers, fund counterparties, issuers of securities held by the fund or other market participants.

Past Performance

How a fund's returns vary from year to year can give an idea of its risk; so can comparing fund performance to overall market performance (as measured by an appropriate market index).Past performance may not indicate future results. All performance figures below assume that dividends and distributions were reinvested. For more 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.Prior to September 23, 2019, the fund operated with a different investment strategy. Prior to September 3, 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.For Class R shares, historical performance prior to class inception is based on the performance of the fund's Class A shares adjusted to reflect the higher expenses of Class R.Class T had not commenced investment operations as of the date of this prospectus. The performance figures for Class T shares are based on the historical performance of the fund’s Institutional Class shares adjusted to reflect the higher expenses and applicable sales charges of Class T.

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.

ReturnsPeriod endingBest Quarter18.84%June 30, 2020Worst Quarter-19.92%March 31, 2020

Average Annual Total Returns (For periods ended 12/31/2020 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.