Strategy. Main investments. Under normal circumstances, the fund invests at least 80% of net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in foreign equities, mainly common stocks, which meet the Advisors sustainability criteria. The fund may, at the discretion of portfolio management, invest up to 20% of net assets in investments that do not meet such sustainability criteria, including derivatives and securities of issuers for which environmental, social and governance ( ESG) assessments have not been performed or are incomplete. Although the fund can invest in companies of any size and from any country, it invests primarily in stocks in the MSCI EAFE Index. Portfolio management may favor securities from different industries, companies, regions or countries at different … Show more… Main investments. Under normal circumstances, the fund invests at least 80% of net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in foreign equities, mainly common stocks, which meet the Advisors sustainability criteria. The fund may, at the discretion of portfolio management, invest up to 20% of net assets in investments that do not meet such sustainability criteria, including derivatives and securities of issuers for which environmental, social and governance ( ESG) assessments have not been performed or are incomplete. Although the fund can invest in companies of any size and from any country, it invests primarily in stocks in the MSCI EAFE Index. Portfolio management may favor securities from different industries, companies, regions or countries at different times. Management process. Portfolio management uses a combination of proprietary ESG assessments and proprietary quantitative models to identify investments for the fund. As described further below, the ESG assessments are used to evaluate whether investments meet the Advisors sustainability criteria. The proprietary quantitative models used by portfolio management to construct the funds portfolio are based primarily on traditional fundamental factors and do not explicitly incorporate ESG factors in identifying investments for the fund. ESG Assessments Potential investments are assessed using a proprietary DWS ESG methodology, which is applied using a number of ESG assessments. The ESG assessments utilize a proprietary software tool (the DWS ESG Engine) and seek to identify issuers that fail to meet certain minimum ESG standards in their operations and/or are significantly involved in, or significantly exposed to, certain controversial business areas and activities, in each case as determined by the DWS ESG Engine based on various inputs and calculation methodologies. The DWS ESG Engine uses data primarily from several third-party ESG data vendors and public sources to derive issuer grades for certain ESG assessments. Such graded ESG assessments are based on a letter scale from A to F, in which each issuer receives one of six possible grades, with A representing the highest grade and F representing the lowest grade on the scale. In order to meet the Advisors sustainability criteria, an issuer must receive a grade of E or above. For other ESG assessments, the DWS ESG Engine seeks to evaluate issuers for involvement in, or exposure to, business activities which have a high potential for negative social and/or environmental impacts, including fossil fuels, certain weapons categories or certain controversial sectors (collectively, controversial sectors and weapons). These assessments may be revenue-based or categorical. An issuer must satisfy each of the following ESG assessments in order to meet the Advisors sustainability criteria: DWS Climate and Transition Risk Assessment The DWS Climate and Transition Risk Assessment is designed to evaluate issuers in the context of climate change and environmental changes, for example, with respect to greenhouse gas emissions reduction and water conservation. Issuers that are determined to contribute less to climate change and other negative environmental changes, or to be less exposed to these risks, receive better grades. DWS Norm Assessment The DWS Norm Assessment is designed to evaluate the behavior of issuers within the framework of the principles of the United Nations (UN) Global Compact, the standards of the International Labor Organization, and other generally accepted international standards and principles. The DWS Norm Assessment examines, for example, an issuers practices and impacts related to human rights, workers rights, child or forced labor, the environment, and business ethics. UN Global Compact Assessment In addition to the DWS Norm Assessment, an issuer will not meet the Advisors sustainability criteria if it is determined to be directly involved in one or more very severe, unresolved controversies related to the principles of the UN Global Compact. DWS ESG Quality Assessment The DWS ESG Quality Assessment utilizes a peer group comparison and is designed to evaluate an issuers overall ESG performance, based on consensus among several ESG data vendors (best-in-class approach), for example, concerning the handling of environmental changes, product safety, employee management or corporate ethics. The peer group for an issuer is comprised of other issuers in the same industry. Issuers determined to exhibit better overall ESG performance relative to their peer group receive a better grade, while issuers determined to exhibit worse overall ESG performance relative to their peer group receive a worse grade. Exposure to controversial sectors and weapons An issuer will not meet the Advisors sustainability criteria if it is determined that it is significantly involved in, or significantly exposed to (each as determined by certain minimum revenue thresholds, generally 0-10%), certain controversial business areas and business activities, including: controversial weapons, the defense industry, civil handguns or ammunition, tobacco products, gambling, adult entertainment, palm oil, nuclear power generation, uranium mining and/or uranium enrichment, extraction of crude oil, unconventional extraction of crude oil and/or natural gas, coal mining and oil extraction, power generation from coal, power generation from and other use of other fossil fuels (excluding natural gas), and mining and exploration of and services in connection with oil sands and oil shale. An issuer also will not meet the Advisors sustainability criteria if it is identified as having coal expansion plans, such as additional coal mining, coal production or coal usage. Changes to the Advisors Sustainability Criteria / Adjustments to individual ESG assessment scores The Advisors sustainability criteria may be updated periodically to, among other things, add or remove ESG assessments, change the methodology applicable to an ESG assessment, or revise an ESG assessment grade or revenue threshold for meeting the Advisors sustainability criteria. In addition, in certain circumstances, a DWS internal review process allows for adjustment to certain individual assessment scores, as calculated by the DWS ESG Engine. Proprietary Quantitative Investment Models The quantitative models utilized by portfolio management are research based and seek to 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 funds portfolio is constructed based on this quantitative process that strives to maximize returns while maintaining a risk profile similar to the funds 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. At the time of the portfolios scheduled rebalancing, a security may be sold when a 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 funds benchmark. A security also generally will be sold if it no longer meets the Advisors sustainability criteria. Derivatives. The fund may invest in derivatives, which are financial instruments whose performance is derived, at least in part, from the performance of an underlying asset, security or index. In particular, portfolio management may use futures contracts as a substitute for direct investment in a particular asset class or to keep cash on hand to meet shareholder redemptions. In addition, portfolio management may (but is not obligated to do so) use forward currency contracts to hedge the fund's exposure to changes in foreign currency exchange rates on its foreign currency denominated portfolio holdings or to facilitate transactions in foreign currency denominated securities. Portfolio management may also use put options for hedging and volatility management purposes. The fund may also use other types of derivatives (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. Derivatives used by the fund are not subject to the Advisors sustainability criteria. 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, with riskier securities generally requiring higher levels of collateral. Show less