N-CSRS 1 sr63019scif.htm DWS SMALL CAP INDEX VIP

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D. C. 20549

 

FORM N-CSRS

 

Investment Company Act file number: 811-07507

 

Deutsche DWS Investments VIT Funds

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

 

345 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10154-0004

(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)

 

Registrant’s Telephone Number, including Area Code: (212) 250-2500

 

Diane Kenneally

One International Place

Boston, MA 02110

(Name and Address of Agent for Service)

 

Date of fiscal year end: 12/31
   
Date of reporting period: 6/30/2019

 

ITEM 1. REPORT TO STOCKHOLDERS
   

Table of Contents

June 30, 2019

Semiannual Report

Deutsche DWS Investments VIT Funds

 

 

DWS Small Cap Index VIP

Beginning on January 1, 2021, as permitted by regulations adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, you may not be receiving paper copies of the Fund’s shareholder reports from the insurance company that offers your contract unless you specifically request paper copies from your insurance company or from your financial intermediary. Instead, the shareholder reports will be made available on a Web site, and your insurance company will notify you by mail each time a report is posted and provide you with a Web site link to access the report. Instructions for requesting paper copies will be provided by your insurance company.

If you already elected to receive shareholder reports electronically, you will not be affected by this change and you need not take any action. You may elect to receive shareholder reports and other communications from your insurance company electronically by following the instructions provided by your insurance company.

You may elect to receive all future reports in paper free of charge from your insurance company. If your insurance company informs you that future reports will be delivered via Web access, you can inform your insurance company that you wish to continue receiving paper copies of your shareholder reports by following the instructions provided by your insurance company.

 

LOGO

Table of Contents

Contents

 

  3      Performance Summary
  4      Portfolio Summary
  4      Portfolio Manager
  5      Investment Portfolio
  25      Statement of Assets and Liabilities
  25      Statement of Operations
  26      Statements of Changes in Net Assets
  27      Financial Highlights
  28      Notes to Financial Statements
  33      Information About Your Fund’s Expenses
  34      Proxy Voting
  35      Advisory Agreement Board Considerations and Fee Evaluation

This report must be preceded or accompanied by a prospectus. To obtain an additional prospectus or summary prospectus, if available, call (800) 728-3337 or your financial representative. We advise you to consider the Fund’s objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. The summary prospectus and prospectus contain this and other important information about the Fund. Please read the prospectus carefully before you invest.

Stocks may decline in value. Various factors, including costs, cash flows and security selection, may cause the Fund’s performance to differ from that of the index. Smaller company stocks tend to be more volatile than medium-sized or large company stocks. The Fund may lend securities to approved institutions. Investing in derivatives entails special risks relating to liquidity, leverage and credit that may reduce returns and/or increase volatility. Please read the prospectus for details.

The brand DWS represents DWS Group GmbH & Co. KGaA and any of its subsidiaries such as DWS Distributors, Inc. which offers investment products or DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. and RREEF America L.L.C. which offer advisory services.

DWS Distributors, Inc., 222 South Riverside Plaza, Chicago, IL 60606, (800) 621-1148

NOT FDIC/NCUA INSURED     NO BANK GUARANTEE     MAY LOSE VALUE     NOT A DEPOSIT NOT INSURED BY ANY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY

 

  2     |   DWS Small Cap Index VIP

Table of Contents
Performance Summary   June 30, 2019 (Unaudited)

Fund performance shown is historical, assumes reinvestment of all dividend and capital gain distributions, and does not guarantee future results. Investment return and principal value fluctuate with changing market conditions so that, when redeemed, shares may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted. Please contact your participating insurance company for the Fund’s most recent month-end performance. Performance figures for Classes A and B differ because each class maintains a distinct expense structure. Performance does not reflect charges and fees (“contract charges”) associated with the separate account that invests in the Fund or any variable life insurance policy or variable annuity contract for which the Fund is an investment option. These charges and fees will reduce returns.

The gross expense ratios of the Fund, as stated in the fee table of the prospectus dated May 1, 2019 are 0.51% and 0.80% for Class A and Class B shares, respectively, and may differ from the expense ratios disclosed in the Financial Highlights tables in this report.

Generally accepted accounting principles require adjustments to be made to the net assets of the Fund at period end for financial reporting purposes only, and as such, the total return based on the unadjusted net asset value per share may differ from the total return reported in the financial highlights.

Growth of an Assumed $10,000 Investment

 

 

LOGO

  

The Russell 2000® Index is an unmanaged, capitalization-weighted measure of approximately 2,000 of the smallest companies in the Russell 3000® Index.

 

Index returns do not reflect any fees or expenses and it is not possible to invest directly into an index.

 

Comparative Results                  
DWS Small Cap Index VIP         6-Month‡    1-Year    3-Year    5-Year    10-Year
Class A   Growth of $10,000    $11,688    $9,646    $14,067    $13,914    $34,569
    Average annual total return    16.88%    –3.54%    12.05%    6.83%    13.21%
Russell 2000 Index   Growth of $10,000    $11,698    $9,669    $14,164    $14,067    $35,313
    Average annual total return    16.98%    –3.31%    12.30%    7.06%    13.45%
DWS Small Cap Index VIP         6-Month‡    1-Year    3-Year    5-Year    10-Year
Class B   Growth of $10,000    $11,670    $9,620    $13,951    $13,737    $33,680
    Average annual total return    16.70%    –3.80%    11.74%    6.56%    12.91%
Russell 2000 Index   Growth of $10,000    $11,698    $9,669    $14,164    $14,067    $35,313
  Average annual total return    16.98%    –3.31%    12.30%    7.06%    13.45%

The growth of $10,000 is cumulative.

 

‡ 

Total returns shown for periods less than one year are not annualized.

 

DWS Small Cap Index VIP   |   3

Table of Contents
Portfolio Summary   (Unaudited)

 

Asset Allocation (As a % of Investment Portfolio excluding Securities Lending Collateral)    6/30/19      12/31/18  
Common Stocks      99%        98%  
Cash Equivalents      1%        1%  
Government & Agency Obligations      0%        1%  
Rights      0%        0%  
       100%        100%  
Sector Diversification (As a % of Common Stocks and Rights)    6/30/19      12/31/18  
Financials      18%        18%  
Health Care      17%        16%  
Industrials      16%        15%  
Information Technology      13%        15%  
Consumer Discretionary      11%        12%  
Real Estate      8%        7%  
Energy      4%        3%  
Materials      4%        4%  
Utilities      4%        4%  
Consumer Staples      3%        3%  
Communication Services      2%        3%  
       100%        100%  

 

  Ten Largest Equity Holdings (2.8% of Net Assets)   Percent
  1     Array BioPharma, Inc.  
        Provider of drug discovery products and services   0.5%
  2     Haemonetics Corp.  
        Manufactures and markets automated blood processing systems   0.3%
  3     Novocure Ltd.  
        Researches and develops novel technologies for the treatment of cancer   0.3%
  4     Deckers Outdoor Corp.  
        Designs and markets function-oriented footwear and apparel   0.3%
  5     Science Applications International Corp.  
        Provides consulting services   0.3%
  6     EMCOR Group, Inc.  
        Provider of mechanical and electrical construction services   0.3%
  7     Portland General Electric Co.  
        Distributor of electricity   0.2%
  8     Radian Group, Inc.  
        Provider of financial guarantee insurance   0.2%
  9     Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc.  
        Distributor of natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers   0.2%
  10     Teladoc Health, Inc.  
        Provider of healthcare services   0.2%

Portfolio holdings and characteristics are subject to change.

For more complete details about the Fund’s investment portfolio, see page 5.

Following the Fund’s fiscal first and third quarter-end, a complete portfolio holdings listing is filed with the SEC on Form N-Q or Form N-PORT (available for filings after March 31, 2019). The Fund’s Form N-Q or Form N-PORT will be available on the SEC’s Web site at sec.gov. The Fund’s portfolio holdings are also posted on dws.com from time to time. Please read the Fund’s current prospectus for more information.

Portfolio Manager

Brent Reeder

Senior Vice President, Northern Trust Investments, Inc., Subadvisor to the Fund

Portfolio Manager

 

  4     |   DWS Small Cap Index VIP

Table of Contents
Investment Portfolio   as of June 30, 2019 (Unaudited)

 

    Shares     Value ($)  
Common Stocks 98.6%

 

Communication Services 2.5%

 

Diversified Telecommunication Services 0.6%

 

ATN International, Inc.

     2,043       117,943  

Bandwidth, Inc. “A”*

     2,969       222,734  

Cincinnati Bell, Inc.*

     9,221       45,644  

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc.

     7,758       460,515  

Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc. (a)

     12,539       61,817  

Frontier Communications Corp.* (a)

     18,655       32,646  

IDT Corp. “B”*

     3,076       29,130  

Intelsat SA*

     12,382       240,830  

Iridium Communications, Inc.*

     18,296       425,565  

Ooma, Inc.*

     3,785       39,667  

Orbcomm, Inc.*

     14,001       101,507  

Pareteum Corp.*

     19,839       51,780  

pdvWireless, Inc.*

     1,758       82,626  

Vonage Holdings Corp.*

     41,831       473,945  
   

 

 

  
    2,386,349  

Entertainment 0.3%

 

AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. “A” (a)

     9,301       86,778  

Eros International PLC*

     5,914       7,984  

Gaia, Inc.*

     2,099       15,910  

Glu Mobile, Inc.*

     21,398       153,638  

IMAX Corp.*

     9,729       196,526  

Liberty Media Corp.-Liberty Braves “A”*

     1,750       48,650  

Liberty Media Corp.-Liberty Braves “C”*

     6,673       186,644  

LiveXLive Media, Inc.*

     5,338       22,153  

Marcus Corp.

     4,145       136,619  

Reading International, Inc. “A”*

     2,982       38,706  

Rosetta Stone, Inc.*

     3,794       86,807  
   

 

 

  
    980,415  

Interactive Media & Services 0.5%

 

Care.com, Inc.*

     4,045       44,414  

Cargurus, Inc.*

     13,719       495,393  

Cars.com, Inc.*

     12,279       242,142  

DHI Group, Inc.*

     9,464       33,787  

Eventbrite, Inc. “A”*

     6,752       109,382  

EverQuote, Inc. “A”*

     1,566       20,358  

Liberty TripAdvisor Holdings, Inc. “A”*

     13,258       164,399  

Meet Group, Inc.*

     12,799       44,541  

QuinStreet, Inc.*

     8,381       132,839  

Travelzoo*

     892       13,772  

TrueCar, Inc.*

     19,144       104,526  

Yelp, Inc.*

     13,946       476,674  
   

 

 

  
    1,882,227  

Media 1.0%

 

Boston Omaha Corp. “A”*

     1,860       43,059  

Cardlytics, Inc.*

     2,514       65,314  

cbdMD, Inc.*

     1,747       10,307  

Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. “A”*

     16,666       72,664  

Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc.*

     6,625       31,270  
    Shares     Value ($)  

comScore, Inc.*

     9,045       46,672  

Cumulus Media, Inc. “A”*

     2,638       48,935  

Daily Journal Corp.*

     205       48,790  

Emerald Expositions Events, Inc.

     4,554       50,777  

Entercom Communications Corp. “A”

     22,972       133,238  

Entravision Communications Corp. “A”

     10,622       33,141  

Fluent, Inc.*

     7,895       42,475  

Gannett Co., Inc.

     19,476       158,924  

Gray Television, Inc.*

     16,844       276,073  

Hemisphere Media Group, Inc.*

     3,256       42,067  

Lee Enterprises, Inc.*

     9,951       22,290  

Liberty Latin America Ltd. “A”*

     8,551       147,334  

Liberty Latin America Ltd. “C”*

     21,040       361,678  

Loral Space & Communications, Inc.*

     2,351       81,133  

Marchex, Inc. “B”*

     6,430       30,221  

MDC Partners, Inc. “A”*

     10,611       26,740  

Meredith Corp.

     7,367       405,627  

MSG Networks, Inc. “A”*

     10,734       222,623  

National CineMedia, Inc.

     11,569       75,893  

New Media Investment Group, Inc.

     11,282       106,502  

Saga Communications, Inc. “A”

     704       21,993  

Scholastic Corp.

     5,328       177,103  

TechTarget, Inc.*

     4,200       89,250  

TEGNA, Inc.

     40,208       609,151  

The E.W. Scripps Co. “A”

     10,130       154,888  

Tribune Publishing Co.

     3,218       25,647  

WideOpenWest, Inc.*

     4,517       32,793  
   

 

 

  
    3,694,572  

Wireless Telecommunication Services 0.1%

 

Boingo Wireless, Inc.*

     8,028       144,263  

Gogo, Inc.* (a)

     10,268       40,867  

Shenandoah Telecommunications Co.

     8,860       341,287  

Spok Holdings, Inc.

     3,208       48,248  
   

 

 

  
    574,665  
Consumer Discretionary 10.9%

 

Auto Components 1.1%

 

Adient PLC

     16,202       393,223  

American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc.*

     20,695       264,068  

Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.

     9,362       295,371  

Cooper-Standard Holdings, Inc.*

     3,264       149,556  

Dana, Inc.

     26,707       532,538  

Dorman Products, Inc.*

     4,979       433,870  

Fox Factory Holding Corp.*

     6,952       573,609  

Gentherm, Inc.*

     6,201       259,388  

LCI Industries

     4,509       405,810  

Modine Manufacturing Co.*

     9,239       132,210  

Motorcar Parts of America, Inc.*

     3,448       73,822  

Standard Motor Products, Inc.

     3,890       176,373  

Stoneridge, Inc.*

     5,121       161,568  

Tenneco, Inc. “A”

     9,271       102,815  

Tower International, Inc.

     3,625       70,687  

Visteon Corp.*

     5,219       305,729  
   

 

 

  
    4,330,637  
 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

 

DWS Small Cap Index VIP   |   5

Table of Contents
    Shares     Value ($)  

Automobiles 0.1%

 

Winnebago Industries, Inc.

     5,749       222,199  

Distributors 0.1%

 

Core-Mark Holding Co., Inc.

     8,403       333,767  

Funko, Inc. “A”*

     3,149       76,269  

Greenlane Holdings, Inc. “A”*

     1,164       11,163  

Weyco Group, Inc.

     1,079       28,820  
   

 

 

  
    450,019  

Diversified Consumer Services 1.0%

 

Adtalem Global Education, Inc.*

     10,454       470,953  

American Public Education, Inc.*

     2,931       86,699  

Career Education Corp.*

     12,742       242,990  

Carriage Services, Inc.

     3,171       60,281  

Chegg, Inc.*

     21,441       827,408  

Collectors Universe, Inc.

     1,484       31,669  

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Co.*

     19,480       112,205  

K12, Inc.*

     7,125       216,671  

Laureate Education, Inc. “A”*

     17,582       276,213  

OneSpaWorld Holdings Ltd.*

     8,385       129,967  

Regis Corp.*

     5,245       87,067  

Select Interior Concepts, Inc. “A”*

     3,956       46,087  

Sotheby’s*

     5,851       340,119  

Strategic Education, Inc.

     3,941       701,498  

Weight Watchers International, Inc.*

     8,637       164,967  
   

 

 

  
    3,794,794  

Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure 2.7%

 

BBX Capital Corp.

     12,037       59,102  

Biglari Holdings, Inc. “B”*

     164       17,033  

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc.

     3,833       168,422  

Bloomin’ Brands, Inc.

     16,988       321,243  

Bluegreen Vacations Corp.

     1,381       16,144  

Boyd Gaming Corp.

     14,819       399,224  

Brinker International, Inc.

     6,938       273,010  

Carrols Restaurant Group, Inc.*

     6,700       60,501  

Century Casinos, Inc.*

     4,803       46,589  

Churchill Downs, Inc.

     6,496       747,495  

Chuy’s Holdings, Inc.*

     3,153       72,267  

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (a)

     3,559       607,628  

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment, Inc.

     6,734       272,525  

Del Frisco’s Restaurant Group, Inc.*

     5,911       47,051  

Del Taco Restaurants, Inc.*

     5,217       66,882  

Denny’s Corp.*

     10,861       222,976  

Dine Brands Global, Inc.

     3,095       295,480  

Drive Shack, Inc.*

     11,610       54,451  

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc.*

     3,848       41,020  

Eldorado Resorts, Inc.* (a)

     12,175       560,902  

Empire Resorts, Inc.* (a)

     587       5,635  

Everi Holdings, Inc.*

     12,499       149,113  

Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc.*

     4,413       57,987  

Golden Entertainment, Inc.*

     3,034       42,476  

Inspired Entertainment, Inc.*

     1,634       13,791  

International Speedway Corp. “A”

     4,331       194,419  

J. Alexander’s Holdings, Inc.*

     2,340       26,278  

Jack in the Box, Inc.

     4,768       388,067  

Lindblad Expeditions Holdings, Inc.*

     4,244       76,180  

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp.

     8,163       786,913  
    Shares     Value ($)  

Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc.*

     2,073       88,600  

Nathan’s Famous, Inc.

     536       41,872  

Noodles & Co.*

     5,278       41,591  

Papa John’s International, Inc.

     4,086       182,726  

Penn National Gaming, Inc.*

     20,527       395,350  

PlayAGS, Inc.*

     4,917       95,636  

Potbelly Corp.*

     4,143       21,088  

RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc.

     1,715       30,030  

Red Lion Hotels Corp.*

     4,390       31,213  

Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc.*

     2,426       74,163  

Red Rock Resorts, Inc. “A”

     12,910       277,307  

Ruth’s Hospitality Group, Inc.

     5,202       118,137  

Scientific Games Corp. “A”*

     10,390       205,930  

SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc.*

     9,326       289,106  

Shake Shack, Inc. “A”*

     5,211       376,234  

Speedway Motorsports, Inc.

     2,107       39,085  

Target Hospitality Corp.*

     6,100       55,510  

Texas Roadhouse, Inc.

     12,602       676,349  

The Cheesecake Factory, Inc.

     7,789       340,535  

The Habit Restaurants, Inc. “A”*

     3,818       40,051  

Twin River Worldwide Holdings, Inc.*

     3,871       115,162  

Wingstop, Inc.

     5,423       513,829  
   

 

 

  
    10,140,308  

Household Durables 1.6%

 

Bassett Furniture Industries, Inc.

     1,824       27,816  

Beazer Homes U.S.A., Inc.*

     5,404       51,932  

Cavco Industries, Inc.*

     1,593       250,961  

Century Communities, Inc.*

     4,915       130,641  

Ethan Allen Interiors, Inc.

     4,500       94,770  

Flexsteel Industries, Inc.

     1,324       22,587  

GoPro, Inc. “A”* (a)

     22,616       123,483  

Green Brick Partners, Inc.*

     4,485       37,270  

Hamilton Beach Brands Holding Co. “A”

     1,206       22,974  

Helen of Troy Ltd.*

     4,640       605,938  

Hooker Furniture Corp.

     2,130       43,921  

Installed Building Products, Inc.*

     4,188       248,013  

iRobot Corp.* (a)

     5,072       464,798  

KB HOME

     15,680       403,446  

La-Z-Boy, Inc.

     8,286       254,049  

Legacy Housing Corp.*

     766       9,537  

LGI Homes, Inc.*

     3,704       264,577  

Lifetime Brands, Inc.

     2,187       20,689  

Lovesac Co.*

     1,025       31,847  

M.D.C. Holdings, Inc.

     9,193       301,347  

M/I Homes, Inc.*

     4,842       138,191  

Meritage Homes Corp.*

     6,704       344,183  

Purple Innovation, Inc.*

     805       5,434  

Skyline Champion Corp.*

     9,303       254,716  

Sonos, Inc.*

     12,895       146,229  

Taylor Morrison Home Corp. “A”*

     19,848       416,014  

TopBuild Corp.*

     6,273       519,154  

TRI Pointe Group, Inc.*

     26,157       313,099  

Tupperware Brands Corp.

     8,895       169,272  

Universal Electronics, Inc.*

     2,503       102,673  

William Lyon Homes “A”*

     5,792       105,588  

ZAGG, Inc.*

     5,408       37,640  
   

 

 

  
    5,962,789  

Internet & Direct Marketing Retail 0.6%

 

1-800 FLOWERS.COM, Inc. “A”*

     4,713       88,981  

Duluth Holdings, Inc. “B”*

     1,991       27,058  

Groupon, Inc.*

     83,530       299,037  
 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

 

  6     |   DWS Small Cap Index VIP

Table of Contents
    Shares     Value ($)  

Lands’ End, Inc.*

     1,999       24,428  

Leaf Group Ltd.*

     3,048       22,586  

Liberty Expedia Holdings, Inc. “A”*

     10,078       481,628  

Liquidity Services, Inc.*

     4,921       29,969  

Overstock.com, Inc.* (a)

     4,967       67,551  

PetMed Express, Inc. (a)

     3,665       57,431  

Quotient Technology, Inc.*

     14,693       157,803  

Rubicon Project, Inc.*

     8,858       56,337  

Shutterfly, Inc.*

     6,337       320,335  

Shutterstock, Inc.

     3,534       138,497  

Stamps.com, Inc.*

     3,071       139,024  

Stitch Fix, Inc. “A”*

     7,751       247,954  

Waitr Holdings, Inc.*

     9,695       60,982  
   

 

 

  
    2,219,601  

Leisure Products 0.4%

 

Acushnet Holdings Corp.

     6,518       171,163  

American Outdoor Brands Corp.*

     9,867       88,902  

Callaway Golf Co.

     17,355       297,812  

Clarus Corp.

     4,339       62,655  

Escalade, Inc.

     1,919       22,011  

Johnson Outdoors, Inc. “A”

     890       66,367  

Malibu Boats, Inc. “A”*

     3,839       149,145  

Marine Products Corp.

     1,244       19,207  

MasterCraft Boat Holdings, Inc.*

     3,515       68,859  

Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc.

     3,113       169,596  

Vista Outdoor, Inc.*

     10,509       93,320  

YETI Holdings, Inc.* (a)

     5,715       165,449  
   

 

 

  
    1,374,486  

Multiline Retail 0.1%

 

Big Lots, Inc.

     7,286       208,452  

Dillard’s, Inc. “A” (a)

     1,974       122,941  

J.C. Penney Co., Inc.* (a)

     57,321       65,346  
   

 

 

  
    396,739  

Specialty Retail 2.3%

 

Aaron’s, Inc.

     12,474       766,028  

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. “A”

     12,317       197,565  

America’s Car-Mart, Inc.*

     1,161       99,939  

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc.

     29,959       506,307  

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc.*

     3,585       302,359  

Ascena Retail Group, Inc.*

     29,730       18,135  

At Home Group, Inc.*

     8,850       58,941  

Barnes & Noble Education, Inc.*

     6,504       21,853  

Barnes & Noble, Inc.

     10,664       71,342  

Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc. (a)

     23,338       271,188  

Boot Barn Holdings, Inc.*

     5,182       184,687  

Caleres, Inc.

     7,458       148,563  

Camping World Holdings, Inc. “A” (a)

     5,976       74,222  

Cato Corp. “A”

     4,095       50,450  

Chico’s FAS, Inc.

     21,094       71,087  

Citi Trends, Inc.

     2,158       31,550  

Conn’s, Inc.*

     3,595       64,063  

Designer Brands, Inc.

     12,055       231,094  

Express, Inc.*

     12,308       33,601  

GameStop Corp. “A” (a)

     18,867       103,203  

Genesco, Inc.*

     3,290       139,134  

GNC Holdings, Inc. “A”* (a)

     15,167       22,751  

Group 1 Automotive, Inc.

     3,275       268,190  

Guess?, Inc.

     10,622       171,545  

Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc.

     3,282       55,893  

Hibbett Sports, Inc.*

     3,297       60,005  
    Shares     Value ($)  

Hudson Ltd. “A”*

     7,204       99,343  

J. Jill, Inc. (a)

     3,079       6,127  

Lithia Motors, Inc. “A”

     4,099       486,879  

Lumber Liquidators Holdings, Inc.* (a)

     5,184       59,875  

MarineMax, Inc.*

     4,013       65,974  

Monro, Inc.

     6,042       515,383  

Murphy USA, Inc.*

     5,651       474,854  

National Vision Holdings, Inc.*

     12,741       391,531  

Office Depot, Inc.

     99,166       204,282  

Party City Holdco, Inc.* (a)

     9,725       71,284  

Pier 1 Imports, Inc.* (a)

     2       12  

Rent-A-Center, Inc.*

     9,024       240,309  

RH*

     3,370       389,572  

RTW RetailWinds, Inc.*

     5,437       9,243  

Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc.*

     22,360       298,282  

Shoe Carnival, Inc. (a)

     1,802       49,735  

Signet Jewelers Ltd.

     9,473       169,377  

Sleep Number Corp.*

     5,499       222,105  

Sonic Automotive, Inc. “A”

     4,460       104,141  

Sportsman’s Warehouse Holdings, Inc.*

     8,125       30,713  

Tailored Brands, Inc. (a)

     9,098       52,495  

The Buckle, Inc. (a)

     5,228       90,497  

The Children’s Place, Inc. (a)

     2,844       271,261  

The Container Store Group, Inc.*

     2,885       21,118  

The Michaels Companies, Inc.*

     15,856       137,947  

Tile Shop Holdings, Inc.

     7,642       30,568  

Tilly’s, Inc. “A”

     3,734       28,490  

Winmark Corp.

     453       78,437  

Zumiez, Inc.*

     3,711       96,857  
   

 

 

  
    8,720,386  

Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods 0.9%

 

Centric Brands, Inc.*

     3,062       12,585  

Crocs, Inc.*

     11,721       231,490  

Culp, Inc.

     2,036       38,684  

Deckers Outdoor Corp.*

     5,410       951,998  

Delta Apparel, Inc.*

     1,158       26,842  

Fossil Group, Inc.*

     8,665       99,648  

G-III Apparel Group Ltd.*

     8,374       246,363  

Kontoor Brands, Inc.*

     8,187       229,400  

Movado Group, Inc.

     2,852       77,004  

Oxford Industries, Inc.

     3,104       235,283  

Rocky Brands, Inc.

     1,302       35,519  

Steven Madden Ltd.

     15,663       531,759  

Superior Group of Company, Inc.

     1,996       34,191  

Unifi, Inc.*

     2,631       47,805  

Vera Bradley, Inc.*

     3,753       45,036  

Vince Holding Corp.*

     581       8,105  

Wolverine World Wide, Inc.

     16,186       445,762  
   

 

 

  
    3,297,474  
Consumer Staples 2.8%

 

Beverages 0.3%

 

Celsius Holdings, Inc.*

     4,260       18,914  

Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated

     871       260,647  

Craft Brew Alliance, Inc.*

     2,104       29,435  

MGP Ingredients, Inc. (a)

     2,411       159,873  

National Beverage Corp. (a)

     2,234       99,703  

New Age Beverages Corp.*

     13,362       62,267  

Primo Water Corp.*

     6,463       79,495  

The Boston Beer Co., Inc. “A”*

     1,544       583,262  
   

 

 

  
    1,293,596  
 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

 

DWS Small Cap Index VIP   |   7

Table of Contents
    Shares     Value ($)  

Food & Staples Retailing 0.6%

 

BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc.*

     20,958       553,291  

HF Foods Group, Inc.*

     1,393       48,490  

Ingles Markets, Inc. “A”

     2,685       83,584  

Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc.*

     1,700       17,085  

Performance Food Group Co.*

     19,033       761,891  

PriceSmart, Inc.

     4,160       212,659  

Rite Aid Corp.* (a)

     10,283       82,367  

SpartanNash Co.

     6,429       75,027  

The Andersons, Inc.

     5,835       158,945  

The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc.*

     4,468       156,693  

United Natural Foods, Inc.*

     9,227       82,766  

Village Super Market, Inc. “A”

     1,478       39,182  

Weis Markets, Inc.

     1,742       63,426  
   

 

 

  
    2,335,406  

Food Products 1.2%

 

Alico, Inc.

     753       22,846  

B&G Foods, Inc. (a)

     11,927       248,082  

Bridgford Foods Corp.*

     322       9,583  

Cal-Maine Foods, Inc.

     5,827       243,102  

Calavo Growers, Inc.

     2,996       289,833  

Darling Ingredients, Inc.*

     30,356       603,781  

Dean Foods Co.

     15,627       14,436  

Farmer Brothers Co.*

     1,808       29,597  

Fresh Del Monte Produce, Inc.

     5,741       154,720  

Freshpet, Inc.*

     5,737       261,091  

Hostess Brands, Inc.*

     18,510       267,284  

J & J Snack Foods Corp.

     2,795       449,855  

John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc.

     1,595       127,106  

Lancaster Colony Corp.

     3,495       519,357  

Landec Corp.*

     4,678       43,833  

Limoneira Co.

     2,927       58,364  

Sanderson Farms, Inc.

     3,677       502,131  

Seneca Foods Corp. “A”*

     1,168       32,505  

Simply Good Foods Co.*

     13,109       315,665  

Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc. (a)

     3,013       111,270  
   

 

 

  
    4,304,441  

Household Products 0.2%

 

Central Garden & Pet Co.*

     1,894       51,043  

Central Garden & Pet Co. “A”*

     7,856       193,572  

Oil-Dri Corp. of America

     930       31,657  

WD-40 Co.

     2,538       403,644  
   

 

 

  
    679,916  

Personal Products 0.3%

 

Edgewell Personal Care Co.*

     9,988       269,177  

elf Beauty, Inc.*

     4,846       68,329  

Inter Parfums, Inc.

     3,250       216,093  

Lifevantage Corp.*

     2,581       33,501  

Medifast, Inc.

     2,116       271,483  

Nature’s Sunshine Products, Inc.*

     1,427       13,257  

Revlon, Inc. “A”* (a)

     1,271       24,568  

USANA Health Sciences, Inc.*

     2,498       198,416  

Youngevity International, Inc.*

     1,522       8,675  
   

 

 

  
    1,103,499  

Tobacco 0.2%

 

22nd Century Group, Inc.* (a)

     22,026       46,034  

Pyxus International, Inc.* (a)

     1,641       24,943  

Turning Point Brands, Inc.

     1,528       74,842  

Universal Corp.

     4,515       274,377  
    Shares     Value ($)  

Vector Group Ltd.

     19,528       190,398  
   

 

 

  
    610,594  
Energy 4.0%

 

Energy Equipment & Services 1.4%

 

Archrock, Inc.

     23,810       252,386  

C&J Energy Services, Inc.*

     12,136       142,962  

Cactus, Inc. “A”*

     8,695       287,978  

Covia Holdings Corp.*

     8,367       16,399  

Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc.* (a)

     12,242       108,587  

DMC Global, Inc.

     2,668       169,018  

Dril-Quip, Inc.*

     6,681       320,688  

Era Group, Inc.*

     3,590       29,941  

Exterran Corp.*

     5,871       83,486  

Forum Energy Technologies, Inc.*

     14,836       50,739  

Frank’s International NV*

     19,674       107,420  

FTS International, Inc.*

     5,864       32,721  

Geospace Technologies Corp.*

     2,439       36,853  

Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc.*

     26,217       226,253  

Independence Contract Drilling, Inc.*

     8,662       13,686  

Keane Group, Inc.*

     9,814       65,950  

KLX Energy Services Holdings, Inc.*

     3,918       80,045  

Liberty Oilfield Services, Inc. “A”

     8,272       133,841  

Mammoth Energy Services, Inc.

     2,252       15,494  

Matrix Service Co.*

     4,831       97,876  

McDermott International, Inc.*

     33,516       323,765  

Nabors Industries Ltd.

     65,138       188,900  

National Energy Services Reunited Corp.*

     4,379       38,097  

Natural Gas Services Group*

     2,307       38,066  

NCS Multistage Holdings, Inc.*

     1,648       5,850  

Newpark Resources, Inc.*

     16,613       123,268  

Nine Energy Service, Inc.*

     2,961       51,314  

Noble Corp. PLC*

     47,342       88,530  

Oceaneering International, Inc.*

     18,299       373,117  

Oil States International, Inc.*

     11,148       204,008  

Pacific Drilling SA*

     5,514       69,476  

Parker Drilling Co.*

     1,718       34,841  

ProPetro Holding Corp.*

     14,767       305,677  

RigNet, Inc.*

     2,512       25,321  

RPC, Inc.

     10,727       77,342  

SEACOR Holdings, Inc.*

     3,211       152,555  

SEACOR Marine Holdings, Inc.*

     3,550       53,108  

Seadrill Ltd.*

     10,816       44,995  

Select Energy Services, Inc. “A”*

     10,946       127,083  

Smart Sand, Inc.*

     4,246       10,360  

Solaris Oilfield Infrastructure, Inc. “A”

     5,675       85,011  

Superior Energy Services, Inc.*

     27,536       35,797  

TETRA Technologies, Inc.*

     22,865       37,270  

Tidewater, Inc.*

     6,951       163,209  

U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. (a)

     13,531       173,061  

U.S. Well Services, Inc.*

     3,687       17,771  
   

 

 

  
    5,120,115  

Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels 2.6%

 

Abraxas Petroleum Corp.*

     28,532       29,388  

Altus Midstream Co. “A”*

     9,286       34,544  

Arch Coal, Inc. “A”

     3,105       292,522  

Ardmore Shipping Corp.*

     6,025       49,104  

Berry Petroleum Corp.

     11,709       124,115  
 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

 

  8     |   DWS Small Cap Index VIP

Table of Contents
    Shares     Value ($)  

Bonanza Creek Energy, Inc.*

     3,407       71,138  

Brigham Minerals, Inc. “A”*

     2,964       63,607  

California Resources Corp.*

     8,934       175,821  

Callon Petroleum Co.*

     42,285       278,658  

Carrizo Oil & Gas, Inc.*

     16,439       164,719  

Chaparral Energy, Inc. “A”*

     5,732       26,998  

Clean Energy Fuels Corp.*

     25,303       67,559  

CNX Resources Corp.*

     35,901       262,436  

Comstock Resources, Inc.*

     2,778       15,473  

CONSOL Energy, Inc.*

     5,078       135,126  

Contura Energy, Inc.*

     3,510       182,169  

CVR Energy, Inc.

     5,465       273,195  

Delek U.S. Holdings, Inc.

     14,158       573,682  

Denbury Resources, Inc.*

     83,859       103,985  

DHT Holdings, Inc.

     16,727       98,857  

Diamond S Shipping, Inc.*

     4,053       51,757  

Dorian LPG Ltd.*

     5,169       46,624  

Earthstone Energy, Inc. “A”*

     3,413       20,888  

Energy Fuels, Inc.* (a)

     17,075       53,445  

Evolution Petroleum Corp.

     5,348       38,238  

Extraction Oil & Gas, Inc.*

     18,502       80,114  

Falcon Minerals Corp.*

     7,120       59,808  

GasLog Ltd.

     7,328       105,523  

Golar LNG Ltd.

     17,492       323,252  

Goodrich Petroleum Corp.*

     1,605       20,849  

Green Plains, Inc.

     7,098       76,516  

Gulfport Energy Corp.*

     29,629       145,478  

Hallador Energy Co.

     4,074       22,937  

HighPoint Resources Corp.*

     20,079       36,544  

International Seaways, Inc.*

     4,652       88,388  

Isramco, Inc.*

     151       17,894  

Jagged Peak Energy, Inc.*

     12,086       99,951  

Laredo Petroleum, Inc.*

     33,379       96,799  

Magnolia Oil & Gas Corp. “A”*

     18,659       216,071  

Matador Resources Co.*

     20,516       407,858  

Midstates Petroleum Co., Inc.*

     2,781       16,380  

Montage Resources Corp.*

     3,954       24,119  

NACCO Industries, Inc. “A”

     660       34,280  

NextDecade Corp*

     2,234       14,119  

Nordic American Tankers Ltd.

     25,210       58,991  

Northern Oil & Gas, Inc.*

     51,611       99,609  

Oasis Petroleum, Inc.*

     58,995       335,092  

Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. “A”*

     10,681       20,080  

Panhandle Oil & Gas, Inc. “A”

     2,953       38,507  

Par Pacific Holdings, Inc.*

     6,346       130,220  

PDC Energy, Inc.*

     12,277       442,709  

Peabody Energy Corp.

     13,079       315,204  

Penn Virginia Corp.*

     2,508       76,945  

PrimeEnergy Resources Corp.*

     96       12,781  

QEP Resources, Inc.*

     44,156       319,248  

Renewable Energy Group, Inc.*

     6,909       109,577  

REX American Resources Corp.*

     1,030       75,087  

Ring Energy, Inc.*

     10,672       34,684  

Roan Resources, Inc.*

     6,568       11,428  

Rosehill Resources, Inc.*

     1,938       7,171  

SandRidge Energy, Inc.*

     5,580       38,614  

Scorpio Tankers, Inc.

     7,946       234,566  

SemGroup Corp. “A”

     14,829       177,948  

Ship Finance International Ltd.

     15,012       187,800  

SilverBow Resources, Inc.*

     1,315       18,213  

SM Energy Co.

     20,703       259,202  

Southwestern Energy Co.*

     100,493       317,558  

SRC Energy, Inc.*

     44,843       222,421  
    Shares     Value ($)  

Talos Energy, Inc.*

     3,640       87,542  

Teekay Corp. (a)

     12,360       42,518  

Teekay Tankers Ltd. “A”*

     36,367       46,550  

Tellurian, Inc.* (a)

     17,428       136,810  

Unit Corp.*

     9,955       88,500  

Uranium Energy Corp.*

     34,451       47,198  

W&T Offshore, Inc.*

     17,872       88,645  

Whiting Petroleum Corp.*

     16,814       314,086  

World Fuel Services Corp.

     12,258       440,798  
   

 

 

  
    9,957,230  
Financials 17.6%

 

Banks 9.6%

 

1st Constitution Bancorp.

     1,375       25,396  

1st Source Corp.

     2,604       120,826  

ACNB Corp.

     1,214       48,038  

Allegiance Bancshares, Inc.*

     3,590       119,691  

Amalgamated Bank “A”

     2,558       44,637  

Amerant Bancorp, Inc.*

     3,574       70,444  

American National Bankshares, Inc.

     1,965       76,144  

Ameris Bancorp.

     8,715       341,541  

Ames National Corp.

     1,708       46,287  

Arrow Financial Corp.

     2,239       77,760  

Atlantic Capital Bancshares, Inc.*

     4,383       75,037  

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp.

     15,018       530,586  

Banc of California, Inc.

     8,370       116,929  

BancFirst Corp.

     3,436       191,248  

BancorpSouth Bank

     17,680       513,427  

Bank First National Corp.

     1,066       73,511  

Bank of Commerce Holdings

     3,356       35,876  

Bank of Marin Bancorp.

     2,462       100,991  

Bank of NT Butterfield & Son Ltd.

     10,090       342,656  

Bank of Princeton

     1,086       32,580  

Bank7 Corp.*

     588       10,872  

BankFinancial Corp.

     2,413       33,758  

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc.

     1,267       36,363  

Banner Corp.

     6,380       345,477  

Bar Harbor Bankshares

     2,921       77,669  

Baycom Corp.*

     1,847       40,449  

BCB Bancorp., Inc.

     2,382       32,991  

Berkshire Hills Bancorp., Inc.

     8,544       268,196  

Boston Private Financial Holdings, Inc.

     15,325       184,973  

Bridge Bancorp., Inc.

     3,014       88,792  

Brookline Bancorp., Inc.

     14,361       220,872  

Bryn Mawr Bank Corp.

     3,702       138,159  

Business First Bancshares, Inc.

     2,304       58,637  

Byline Bancorp., Inc.*

     4,297       82,159  

C&F Financial Corp.

     613       33,476  

Cadence BanCorp.

     23,206       482,685  

Cambridge Bancorp.

     792       64,548  

Camden National Corp.

     2,833       129,950  

Capital Bancorp. Inc*

     1,557       19,151  

Capital City Bank Group, Inc.

     2,479       61,603  

Capstar Financial Holdings, Inc.

     2,692       40,784  

Carolina Financial Corp.

     3,906       137,062  

Carter Bank & Trust*

     4,174       82,436  

Cathay General Bancorp.

     14,171       508,881  

CBTX, Inc.

     3,475       97,786  

CenterState Bank Corp.

     23,250       535,447  

Central Pacific Financial Corp.

     5,235       156,841  

Central Valley Community Bancorp.

     2,061       44,250  
 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

 

DWS Small Cap Index VIP   |   9

Table of Contents
    Shares     Value ($)  

Century Bancorp., Inc. “A”

     520       45,708  

Chemical Financial Corp.

     13,236       544,132  

Chemung Financial Corp.

     703       33,983  

Citizens & Northern Corp.

     2,289       60,269  

City Holding Co.

     2,968       226,340  

Civista Bancshares, Inc.

     2,832       63,578  

CNB Financial Corp.

     2,606       73,593  

Coastal Financial Corp.*

     1,496       23,143  

Codorus Valley Bancorp., Inc.

     1,721       39,583  

Colony Bankcorp, Inc.

     1,369       23,205  

Columbia Banking System, Inc.

     13,578       491,252  

Community Bank System, Inc.

     9,392       618,369  

Community Bankers Trust Corp.

     3,937       33,346  

Community Financial Corp.

     915       30,863  

Community Trust Bancorp., Inc.

     2,914       123,233  

ConnectOne Bancorp., Inc.

     6,117       138,611  

Customers Bancorp., Inc.*

     5,294       111,174  

CVB Financial Corp.

     24,658       518,558  

DNB Financial Corp.

     641       28,505  

Eagle Bancorp., Inc.

     6,218       336,580  

Enterprise Bancorp., Inc.

     1,580       50,102  

Enterprise Financial Services Corp.

     4,550       189,280  

Equity Bancshares, Inc. “A”*

     2,788       74,328  

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc.*

     1,121       28,193  

Evans Bancorp., Inc.

     846       31,920  

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp., Inc. (a)

     1,862       54,221  

Farmers National Banc Corp.

     4,619       68,500  

FB Financial Corp.

     3,141       114,961  

Fidelity D&D Bancorp, Inc.

     532       35,750  

Fidelity Southern Corp.

     3,944       122,146  

Financial Institutions, Inc.

     2,933       85,497  

First BanCorp.

     39,657       437,813  

First BanCorp. — North Carolina

     5,480       199,582  

First Bancorp., Inc.

     1,840       49,404  

First Bancshares, Inc.

     3,056       92,719  

First Bank

     3,074       36,089  

First Busey Corp.

     9,589       253,245  

First Business Financial Services, Inc.

     1,532       36,002  

First Capital, Inc.

     597       30,172  

First Choice Bancorp.

     1,884       42,842  

First Commonwealth Financial Corp.

     18,151       244,494  

First Community Bancshares, Inc.

     2,847       96,115  

First Financial Bancorp.

     18,016       436,348  

First Financial Bankshares, Inc.

     24,029       739,853  

First Financial Corp. — Indiana

     2,166       86,987  

First Financial Northwest, Inc.

     1,554       21,989  

First Foundation, Inc.

     7,308       98,220  

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc.

     844       17,597  

First Internet Bancorp.

     1,792       38,600  

First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. “A”

     6,914       273,864  

First Merchants Corp.

     8,262       313,130  

First Mid-Illinois Bancshares, Inc.

     2,688       93,865  

First Midwest Bancorp., Inc.

     19,687       402,993  

First Northwest Bancorp.

     1,649       26,796  

First of Long Island Corp.

     4,352       87,388  

Flushing Financial Corp.

     4,992       110,822  

FNCB Bancorp, Inc.

     3,161       24,466  

Franklin Financial Network, Inc.

     2,374       66,140  

Franklin Financial Services Corp.

     769       29,314  
    Shares     Value ($)  

Fulton Financial Corp.

     30,483       499,007  

FVCBankcorp, Inc.*

     2,234       43,384  

German American Bancorp., Inc.

     4,283       129,004  

Glacier Bancorp., Inc.

     15,669       635,378  

Great Southern Bancorp., Inc.

     2,078       124,368  

Great Western Bancorp., Inc.

     10,576       377,775  

Guaranty Bancshares, Inc.

     1,517       47,255  

Hancock Whitney Corp.

     15,819       633,709  

Hanmi Financial Corp.

     5,662       126,093  

HarborOne Bancorp., Inc.*

     2,707       50,702  

Hawthorn Bancshares, Inc.

     1,043       27,952  

Heartland Financial U.S.A., Inc.

     6,058       270,974  

Heritage Commerce Corp.

     7,715       94,509  

Heritage Financial Corp.

     6,814       201,286  

Hilltop Holdings, Inc.

     13,393       284,869  

Home Bancshares, Inc.

     28,682       552,415  

HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc.

     2,933       73,736  

Hope Bancorp., Inc.

     22,336       307,790  

Horizon Bancorp, Inc.

     6,891       112,599  

Howard Bancorp., Inc.*

     2,459       37,303  

IBERIABANK Corp.

     9,982       757,135  

Independent Bank Corp./Massachusetts

     6,134       467,104  

Independent Bank Corp./Michigan

     4,158       90,603  

Independent Bank Group, Inc.

     6,697       368,067  

International Bancshares Corp.

     10,279       387,621  

Investar Holding Corp.

     1,810       43,168  

Investors Bancorp., Inc.

     42,376       472,492  

Lakeland Bancorp., Inc.

     9,001       145,366  

Lakeland Financial Corp.

     4,561       213,592  

LCNB Corp.

     2,301       43,719  

LegacyTexas Financial Group, Inc.

     8,894       362,075  

Level One Bancorp, Inc.

     921       23,016  

Live Oak Bancshares, Inc.

     4,693       80,485  

Macatawa Bank Corp.

     4,809       49,340  

Mackinac Financial Corp.

     1,700       26,860  

MainStreet Bancshares, Inc.*

     1,307       29,787  

Malvern Bancorp., Inc.*

     1,433       31,540  

MBT Financial Corp.

     6,628       66,413  

Mercantile Bank Corp.

     2,949       96,078  

Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp.*

     1,295       56,980  

Mid Penn Bancorp, Inc.

     1,273       31,761  

Midland States Bancorp., Inc.

     4,032       107,735  

MidSouth Bancorp., Inc.

     2,767       32,789  

MidWestOne Financial Group, Inc.

     2,192       61,288  

MutualFirst Financial, Inc.

     1,043       35,504  

MVB Financial Corp.

     1,875       31,800  

National Bank Holdings Corp. “A”

     5,442       197,545  

National Bankshares, Inc.

     1,234       48,040  

NBT Bancorp., Inc.

     7,880       295,579  

Nicolet Bankshares, Inc.*

     1,511       93,773  

Northeast Bank Common Stock U.S.*

     1,409       38,860  

Northrim BanCorp., Inc.

     1,251       44,611  

Norwood Financial Corp.

     1,066       37,107  

Oak Valley Bancorp.

     1,299       25,395  

OFG Bancorp.

     9,343       222,083  

Ohio Valley Banc Corp.

     758       29,236  

Old Line Bancshares, Inc.

     2,890       76,903  

Old National Bancorp.

     31,966       530,316  

Old Second Bancorp., Inc.

     5,261       67,183  

Opus Bank

     4,041       85,306  

Origin Bancorp, Inc.

     3,567       117,711  

Orrstown Financial Services, Inc.

     1,890       41,561  
 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

 

  10     |   DWS Small Cap Index VIP

Table of Contents
    Shares     Value ($)  

Pacific City Financial Corp.

     2,197       37,437  

Pacific Mercantile Bancorp.*

     3,591       29,626  

Pacific Premier Bancorp., Inc.

     11,346       350,364  

Park National Corp.

     2,482       246,686  

Parke Bancorp., Inc.

     1,664       39,853  

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corp.

     3,455       97,155  

Penns Woods Bancorp., Inc.

     867       39,232  

People’s Utah Bancorp.

     2,819       82,879  

Peoples Bancorp. of North Carolina, Inc.

     847       25,452  

Peoples Bancorp., Inc.

     3,362       108,458  

Peoples Financial Services Corp.

     1,270       57,137  

Preferred Bank

     2,595       122,614  

Premier Financial Bancorp., Inc.

     2,548       38,220  

QCR Holdings, Inc.

     2,724       94,986  

RBB Bancorp.

     3,002       58,059  

Red River Bancshares, Inc.*

     64       3,101  

Reliant Bancorp., Inc.

     1,809       42,747  

Renasant Corp.

     10,533       378,556  

Republic Bancorp., Inc. “A”

     1,820       90,545  

Republic First Bancorp., Inc.*

     8,082       39,683  

S&T Bancorp., Inc.

     6,235       233,688  

Sandy Spring Bancorp., Inc.

     6,497       226,615  

SB One Bancorp.

     1,564       34,955  

Seacoast Banking Corp. of Florida*

     9,321       237,126  

Select Bancorp, Inc.*

     3,192       36,516  

ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc.

     8,786       301,008  

Shore Bancshares, Inc.

     2,346       38,334  

Sierra Bancorp.

     2,533       68,695  

Simmons First National Corp. “A”

     16,780       390,303  

SmartFinancial, Inc.*

     2,347       50,906  

South Plains Financial, Inc.*

     623       10,280  

South State Corp.

     6,481       477,455  

Southern First Bancshares, Inc.*

     1,229       48,128  

Southern National Bancorp. of Virginia, Inc.

     3,587       54,917  

Southside Bancshares, Inc.

     5,975       193,470  

Spirit of Texas Bancshares, Inc.*

     2,163       48,667  

Stock Yards Bancorp., Inc.

     3,708       134,044  

Summit Financial Group, Inc.

     2,069       55,553  

The Bancorp., Inc.*

     9,176       81,850  

Tompkins Financial Corp.

     2,738       223,421  

TowneBank

     12,315       335,953  

TriCo Bancshares

     4,938       186,656  

TriState Capital Holdings, Inc.*

     4,475       95,496  

Triumph Bancorp., Inc.*

     4,479       130,115  

Trustmark Corp.

     11,841       393,713  

UMB Financial Corp.

     8,164       537,354  

Union Bankshares, Inc.

     789       29,201  

United Bankshares, Inc.

     18,034       668,881  

United Community Banks, Inc.

     14,554       415,662  

United Securities Bancshares

     2,548       29,022  

Unity Bancorp., Inc.

     1,412       32,052  

Univest Corp. of Pennsylvania

     5,377       141,200  

Valley National Bancorp.

     60,013       646,940  

Veritex Holdings, Inc.

     9,712       252,026  

Washington Trust Bancorp., Inc.

     2,794       145,791  

WesBanco, Inc.

     9,764       376,402  

West Bancorp.

     3,032       64,339  

Westamerica Bancorp.

     4,808       296,221  
   

 

 

  
    36,203,024  
    Shares     Value ($)  

Capital Markets 1.4%

 

Ares Management Corp. “A”

     11,887       311,083  

Artisan Partners Asset Management, Inc. “A”

     9,245       254,422  

Associated Capital Group, Inc. “A”

     415       15,521  

B. Riley Financial, Inc.

     3,853       80,374  

Blucora, Inc.*

     8,882       269,746  

BrightSphere Investment Group PLC

     12,958       147,851  

Cohen & Steers, Inc.

     4,202       216,151  

Cowen, Inc.*

     5,315       91,365  

Diamond Hill Investment Group

     601       85,174  

Donnelley Financial Solution, Inc.*

     5,952       79,400  

Federated Investors, Inc. “B”

     17,812       578,890  

Focus Financial Partners, Inc. “A”*

     5,596       152,827  

Gain Capital Holdings, Inc.

     3,505       14,476  

GAMCO Investors, Inc. “A”

     830       15,911  

Greenhill & Co., Inc.

     3,186       43,298  

Hamilton Lane, Inc. “A”

     4,024       229,609  

Houlihan Lokey, Inc.

     6,254       278,491  

INTL. FCStone, Inc.*

     2,945       116,593  

Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services, Inc.

     21,943       75,264  

Moelis & Co. “A”

     8,772       306,581  

Och-Ziff Capital Management Group, Inc. “A”

     3,112       71,452  

Oppenheimer Holdings, Inc. “A”

     1,706       46,437  

Piper Jaffray Companies, Inc.

     2,539       188,572  

PJT Partners, Inc. “A”

     4,283       173,547  

Pzena Investment Management, Inc. “A”

     2,978       25,581  

Safeguard Scientifics, Inc.*

     3,490       42,124  

Siebert Financial Corp.* (a)

     1,389       12,501  

Silvercrest Asset Management Group, Inc. “A”

     1,608       22,560  

Stifel Financial Corp.

     12,707       750,475  

Value Line, Inc.

     187       5,144  

Virtus Investment Partners, Inc.

     1,242       133,391  

Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc. “A”

     13,633       227,262  

Westwood Holdings Group, Inc.

     1,479       52,061  

WisdomTree Investments, Inc.

     24,608       151,831  
   

 

 

  
    5,265,965  

Consumer Finance 0.7%

 

Curo Group Holdings Corp.*

     3,219       35,570  

Elevate Credit, Inc.*

     3,761       15,495  

Encore Capital Group, Inc.*

     5,710       193,398  

Enova International, Inc.*

     6,091       140,398  

EZCORP, Inc. “A”*

     9,415       89,160  

FirstCash, Inc.

     7,828       782,957  

Green Dot Corp. “A”*

     9,168       448,315  

LendingClub Corp.*

     60,745       199,244  

Medallion Financial Corp.*

     3,810       25,679  

Nelnet, Inc. “A”

     3,305       195,722  

PRA Group, Inc.*

     8,314       233,956  

Regional Management Corp.*

     1,714       45,198  

World Acceptance Corp.*

     1,230       201,855  
   

 

 

  
    2,606,947  

Diversified Financial Services 0.2%

 

Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior SA “E”

     5,789       120,585  

Cannae Holdings, Inc.*

     12,473       361,468  
 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

 

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    Shares     Value ($)  

FGL Holdings

     26,731       224,540  

GWG Holdings, Inc.

     642       4,584  

Marlin Business Services Corp.

     1,586       39,539  

On Deck Capital, Inc.*

     12,295       51,024  
   

 

 

  
    801,740  

Insurance 2.3%

 

Ambac Financial Group, Inc.*

     8,422       141,911  

American Equity Investment Life Holding Co.

     16,652       452,268  

AMERISAFE, Inc.

     3,502       223,322  

Argo Group International Holdings Ltd.

     6,026       446,225  

Citizens, Inc.* (a)

     8,890       64,897  

CNO Financial Group, Inc.

     29,611       493,911  

Crawford & Co. “A”

     3,038       31,990  

Donegal Group, Inc. “A”

     1,923       29,364  

eHealth, Inc.*

     4,128       355,421  

EMC Insurance Group, Inc.

     1,803       64,962  

Employers Holdings, Inc.

     5,873       248,252  

Enstar Group Ltd.*

     2,121       369,648  

FBL Financial Group, Inc. “A”

     1,782       113,692  

FedNat Holding, Co.

     2,019       28,811  

Genworth Financial, Inc. “A”*

     93,535       347,015  

Global Indemnity Ltd.

     1,537       47,585  

Goosehead Insurance, Inc. “A”

     2,065       98,707  

Greenlight Capital Re Ltd. “A”*

     5,590       47,459  

Hallmark Financial Services, Inc.*

     2,522       35,888  

HCI Group, Inc.

     1,194       48,321  

Health Insurance Innovations, Inc. “A”* (a)

     1,801       46,682  

Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc.

     4,905       75,586  

Horace Mann Educators Corp.

     7,629       307,372  

Independence Holding Co.

     889       34,422  

Investors Title Co.

     273       45,591  

James River Group Holdings Ltd.

     5,459       256,027  

Kinsale Capital Group, Inc.

     3,629       331,981  

MBIA, Inc.* (a)

     15,799       147,089  

National General Holdings Corp.

     12,505       286,865  

National Western Life Group, Inc. “A”

     415       106,655  

NI Holdings, Inc.*

     1,683       29,638  

Palomar Holdings, Inc.*

     1,039       24,978  

ProAssurance Corp.

     9,832       355,033  

Protective Insurance Corp. “B”

     1,875       32,569  

RLI Corp.

     7,368       631,511  

Safety Insurance Group, Inc.

     2,720       258,754  

Selective Insurance Group, Inc.

     10,802       808,962  

State Auto Financial Corp.

     3,163       110,705  

Stewart Information Services Corp.

     4,314       174,674  

Third Point Reinsurance Ltd.*

     13,825       142,674  

Tiptree, Inc.

     4,966       31,286  

Trupanion, Inc.*

     5,249       189,646  

United Fire Group, Inc.

     3,905       189,236  

United Insurance Holdings Corp.

     3,984       56,812  

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc.

     5,809       162,071  

Watford Holdings Ltd.*

     3,737       102,469  
   

 

 

  
    8,628,937  

Mortgage Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) 1.3%

 

AG Mortgage Investment Trust, Inc.

     6,022       95,750  

Anworth Mortgage Asset Corp.

     18,024       68,311  
    Shares     Value ($)  

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc.

     28,098       516,722  

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corp.

     5,139       76,365  

Arlington Asset Investment Corp. “A”

     6,671       45,896  

ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc.

     10,952       204,145  

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc., “A”

     23,311       829,405  

Capstead Mortgage Corp.

     15,752       131,529  

Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment Corp.

     2,793       44,688  

Colony Credit Real Estate, Inc.

     14,892       230,826  

Dynex Capital, Inc.

     4,515       75,626  

Ellington Financial, Inc.

     4,976       89,419  

Exantas Capital Corp.

     5,585       63,166  

Granite Point Mortgage Trust, Inc.

     9,803       188,120  

Great Ajax Corp.

     2,898       40,572  

Invesco Mortgage Capital, Inc.

     23,888       385,074  

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust, Inc.

     4,666       92,947  

Ladder Capital Corp.

     19,033       316,138  

New York Mortgage Trust, Inc.

     38,523       238,843  

Orchid Island Capital, Inc. (a)

     9,513       60,503  

PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust

     13,926       304,005  

Ready Capital Corp.

     5,783       86,167  

Redwood Trust, Inc.

     17,742       293,275  

TPG RE Finance Trust, Inc.

     9,161       176,716  

Western Asset Mortgage Capital Corp.

     8,715       86,976  
   

 

 

  
    4,741,184  

Thrifts & Mortgage Finance 2.1%

 

Axos Financial, Inc.*

     10,686       291,193  

Bridgewater Bancshares, Inc.*

     4,187       48,318  

Capitol Federal Financial, Inc.

     24,397       335,947  

Columbia Financial, Inc.*

     9,756       147,316  

Dime Community Bancshares

     5,952       113,028  

Entegra Financial Corp.*

     1,222       36,807  

ESSA Bancorp., Inc.

     1,656       25,254  

Essent Group Ltd.*

     17,805       836,657  

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp. “C”

     1,669       121,270  

First Defiance Financial Corp.

     3,593       102,652  

Flagstar Bancorp., Inc.

     5,253       174,084  

FS Bancorp, Inc.

     707       36,672  

Greene County Bancorp., Inc.

     571       16,799  

Hingham Institution for Savings

     261       51,681  

Home Bancorp., Inc.

     1,408       54,180  

HomeStreet, Inc.*

     4,653       137,915  

Kearny Financial Corp.

     15,383       204,440  

Luther Burbank Corp.

     3,695       40,239  

Merchants Bancorp.

     1,599       27,231  

Meridian Bancorp., Inc.

     8,863       158,559  

Meta Financial Group, Inc.

     6,796       190,628  

MMA Capital Holdings, Inc.*

     909       30,424  

Mr Cooper Group, Inc.*

     14,095       112,901  

NMI Holdings, Inc. “A”*

     12,036       341,702  

Northfield Bancorp., Inc.

     8,153       127,268  

Northwest Bancshares, Inc.

     18,548       326,630  

OceanFirst Financial Corp.

     9,347       232,273  

Ocwen Financial Corp.*

     24,854       51,448  

OP Bancorp.

     2,318       25,127  

Oritani Financial Corp.

     7,288       129,289  
 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

 

  12     |   DWS Small Cap Index VIP

Table of Contents
    Shares     Value ($)  

PCSB Financial Corp.

     2,998       60,710  

PennyMac Financial Services, Inc.

     4,616       102,383  

Ponce de Leon Federal Bank*

     1,616       23,093  

Provident Bancorp., Inc.*

     835       23,372  

Provident Financial Holdings, Inc.

     1,084       22,753  

Provident Financial Services, Inc.

     11,413       276,765  

Prudential Bancorp., Inc.

     1,575       29,799  

Radian Group, Inc.

     38,688       884,021  

Riverview Bancorp., Inc.

     3,700       31,598  

Southern Missouri Bancorp., Inc.

     1,457       50,747  

Sterling Bancorp., Inc.

     3,148       31,386  

Territorial Bancorp., Inc.

     1,518       46,906  

Timberland Bancorp., Inc.

     1,398       41,772  

TrustCo Bank Corp.

     17,599       139,384  

United Community Financial Corp.

     8,837       84,570  

United Financial Bancorp., Inc.

     9,419       133,561  

Walker & Dunlop, Inc.

     5,120       272,435  

Washington Federal, Inc.

     14,811       517,348  

Waterstone Financial, Inc.

     4,532       77,316  

Western New England Bancorp, Inc.

     4,291       40,078  

WSFS Financial Corp.

     9,714       401,188  
   

 

 

  
    7,819,117  
Health Care 17.0%

 

Biotechnology 7.9%

 

Abeona Therapeutics, Inc.*

     5,806       27,753  

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     19,466       520,326  

Acceleron Pharma, Inc.*

     8,321       341,827  

Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     25,430       68,152  

Acorda Therapeutics, Inc.*

     8,544       65,532  

Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc.* (a)

     4,257       26,393  

ADMA Biologics, Inc.*

     5,044       19,520  

Aduro Biotech, Inc.*

     11,642       17,929  

Adverum Biotechnologies, Inc.*

     9,881       117,485  

Aeglea BioTherapeutics, Inc.*

     4,819       33,010  

Affimed NV*

     11,121       31,917  

Agenus, Inc.* (a)

     19,312       57,936  

AgeX Therapeutics, Inc.* (a)

     3,932       14,430  

Aimmune Therapeutics, Inc.*

     8,293       172,660  

Akcea Therapeutics, Inc.* (a)

     2,318       54,357  

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc.*

     21,804       105,531  

Albireo Pharma, Inc.*

     1,907       61,482  

Alder Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     13,469       158,530  

Aldeyra Therapeutics, Inc.*

     3,822       22,932  

Alector, Inc.*

     1,817       34,523  

Allakos, Inc.*

     3,205       138,873  

Allogene Therapeutics, Inc.* (a)

     7,168       192,461  

AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     6,366       63,596  

Amicus Therapeutics, Inc.*

     42,781       533,907  

AnaptysBio, Inc.*

     4,539       256,090  

Anavex Life Sciences Corp.*

     7,924       26,704  

Anika Therapeutics, Inc.*

     2,514       102,119  

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     8,929       226,261  

Arcus Biosciences, Inc.*

     6,084       48,368  

Ardelyx, Inc.*

     8,100       21,789  

Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     9,235       541,448  

ArQule, Inc.*

     18,841       207,439  

Array BioPharma, Inc.*

     41,176       1,907,684  

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     17,253       457,205  

Assembly Biosciences, Inc.*

     4,312       58,169  

Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc.*

     8,193       164,761  

Athenex, Inc.*

     10,945       216,711  

Athersys, Inc.* (a)

     23,640       39,715  
    Shares     Value ($)  

Audentes Therapeutics, Inc.*

     8,103       306,780  

Avid Bioservices, Inc.*

     10,374       58,094  

Avrobio, Inc.*

     2,897       47,105  

Axcella Health, Inc.*

     543       5,055  

Beyondspring, Inc.*

     1,978       46,879  

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     20,755       78,661  

Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Co., Ltd.*

     6,151       269,352  

BioSpecifics Technologies Corp.*

     1,135       67,771  

BioTime, Inc.* (a)

     19,721       21,693  

Bioxcel Therapeutics, Inc.*

     1,113       12,198  

Blueprint Medicines Corp.*

     9,022       851,045  

Calithera Biosciences, Inc.*

     6,940       27,066  

Calyxt, Inc.*

     1,724       21,516  

Cara Therapeutics, Inc.*

     6,298       135,407  

CareDx, Inc.*

     7,598       273,452  

CASI Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     9,558       30,586  

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     17,299       66,428  

CEL-SCI Corp*

     4,869       40,802  

Celcuity, Inc.*

     1,097       27,425  

Cellular Biomedicine Group, Inc.*

     2,118       35,011  

Checkpoint Therapeutics, Inc.*

     4,256       12,896  

ChemoCentryx, Inc.*

     7,527       70,001  

Chimerix, Inc.*

     8,328       35,977  

Clovis Oncology, Inc.*

     9,017       134,083  

Coherus Biosciences, Inc.*

     11,435       252,714  

Concert Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     3,953       47,436  

Constellation Pharmaceuticals, Inc.* (a)

     2,696       33,107  

Corbus Pharmaceuticals Holdings, Inc.* (a)

     10,962       75,967  

Cortexyme, Inc.*

     534       22,700  

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     2,040       51,000  

Cue Biopharma, Inc.*

     3,329       29,928  

Cyclerion Therapeutics, Inc.*

     4,363       49,956  

Cytokinetics, Inc.*

     10,114       113,783  

CytomX Therapeutics, Inc.*

     8,135       91,275  

Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     2,728       61,516  

Denali Therapeutics, Inc.* (a)

     8,861       183,954  

Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     9,592       151,074  

Dynavax Technologies Corp.*

     11,319       45,163  

Eagle Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     1,717       95,603  

Editas Medicine, Inc.*

     9,169       226,841  

Eidos Therapeutics, Inc.* (a)

     2,045       63,559  

Eiger BioPharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     4,323       45,824  

Emergent BioSolutions, Inc.*

     8,433       407,398  

Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     3,171       267,569  

Enochian Biosciences, Inc.*

     1,020       4,590  

Epizyme, Inc.*

     14,347       180,055  

Esperion Therapeutics, Inc.*

     4,607       214,318  

Evelo Biosciences, Inc.* (a)

     2,496       22,414  

Fate Therapeutics, Inc.*

     9,666       196,220  

FibroGen, Inc.*

     14,344       648,062  

Five Prime Therapeutics, Inc.*

     6,656       40,136  

Flexion Therapeutics, Inc.* (a)

     6,269       77,109  

Forty Seven, Inc.*

     3,047       32,298  

G1 Therapeutics, Inc.*

     6,251       191,656  

Galectin Therapeutics, Inc.*

     5,956       24,717  

Genomic Health, Inc.*

     4,980       289,687  

Geron Corp.* (a)

     33,517       47,259  

Global Blood Therapeutics, Inc.*

     10,059       529,103  

GlycoMimetics, Inc.*

     6,180       73,666  

Gossamer Bio, Inc.*

     3,695       81,955  

Gritstone Oncology, Inc.*

     4,603       51,277  
 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

 

DWS Small Cap Index VIP   |   13

Table of Contents
    Shares     Value ($)  

Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc.*

     26,451       454,428  

Harpoon Therapeutics, Inc.*

     1,094       14,222  

Heron Therapeutics, Inc.*

     13,635       253,475  

Homology Medicines, Inc.*

     4,491       87,889  

ImmunoGen, Inc.*

     26,951       58,484  

Immunomedics, Inc.*

     32,334       448,473  

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc.* (a)

     17,050       50,127  

Insmed, Inc.*

     14,322       366,643  

Intellia Therapeutics, Inc.* (a)

     6,726       110,105  

Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     4,574       363,953  

Intrexon Corp.* (a)

     13,254       101,526  

Invitae Corp.*

     16,010       376,235  

Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc.*

     21,188       519,530  

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     28,392       310,608  

Jounce Therapeutics, Inc.*

     2,760       13,662  

Kadmon Holdings, Inc.*

     24,028       49,498  

KalVista Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     2,157       47,778  

Karyopharm Therapeutics, Inc.* (a)

     10,664       63,877  

Kezar Life Sciences, Inc.*

     2,871       22,135  

Kindred Biosciences, Inc.*

     6,680       55,644  

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals Ltd. “A”*

     2,577       34,893  

Kodiak Sciences, Inc.*

     4,356       50,965  

Krystal Biotech, Inc.*

     1,619       65,197  

Kura Oncology, Inc.*

     5,354       105,420  

La Jolla Pharmaceutical Co.* (a)

     4,075       37,694  

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc.* (a)

     7,485       47,081  

Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     3,532       403,178  

LogicBio Therapeutics, Inc.*

     1,472       19,136  

MacroGenics, Inc.*

     8,802       149,370  

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc.* (a)

     1,444       151,346  

Magenta Therapeutics, Inc.*

     3,598       53,071  

MannKind Corp.* (a)

     34,601       39,791  

Marker Therapeutics, Inc.*

     5,003       39,624  

Medicines Co.*

     12,996       473,964  

MediciNova, Inc.* (a)

     7,646       73,631  

MEI Pharma, Inc.*

     12,566       31,415  

MeiraGTx Holdings PLC*

     2,883       77,495  

Mersana Therapeutics, Inc.*

     6,635       26,872  

Millendo Therapeutics, Inc.*

     1,731       20,010  

Minerva Neurosciences, Inc.*

     5,484       30,875  

Mirati Therapeutics, Inc.*

     4,616       475,448  

Molecular Templates, Inc.*

     3,153       26,328  

Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     18,203       226,627  

Mustang Bio, Inc.*

     5,138       18,908  

Myriad Genetics, Inc.*

     12,963       360,112  

Natera, Inc.*

     10,338       285,122  

Neon Therapeutics, Inc.*

     2,468       11,698  

NextCure, Inc.*

     533       7,984  

Novavax, Inc. It’s clinical stage biotechnology company.* (a)

     4,328       25,362  

Oncocyte Corp.*

     3,973       9,893  

OPKO Health, Inc.*

     62,768       153,154  

Organogenesis Holdings, Inc.*

     1,949       14,812  

Palatin Technologies, Inc.* (a)

     36,862       42,760  

PDL BioPharma, Inc.*

     21,991       69,052  

Pfenex, Inc.*

     5,287       35,634  

PhaseBio Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     2,535       33,259  

Pieris Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     8,549       40,180  

PolarityTE, Inc.*

     2,587       14,746  

Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc.* (a)

     12,327       334,432  

Precision BioSciences, Inc.*

     1,685       22,326  

Principia Biopharma, Inc.*

     2,476       82,178  

Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     15,319       94,518  
    Shares     Value ($)  

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc.*

     2,800       33,908  

Prothena Corp. PLC*

     7,340       77,584  

PTC Therapeutics, Inc.*

     10,581       476,145  

Puma Biotechnology, Inc.*

     5,734       72,879  

Ra Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     5,785       173,955  

Radius Health, Inc.*

     8,323       202,748  

Recro Pharma, Inc.*

     3,553       36,134  

REGENXBIO, Inc.*

     6,168       316,850  

Repligen Corp.*

     8,762       753,094  

Replimune Group, Inc.*

     1,996       29,261  

Retrophin, Inc.*

     7,645       153,588  

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     4,243       93,346  

Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     30,309       79,106  

Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     5,495       82,425  

Rubius Therapeutics, Inc.* (a)

     6,463       101,663  

Sangamo Therapeutics, Inc.*

     21,224       228,582  

Savara, Inc.*

     5,281       12,516  

Scholar Rock Holding Corp.*

     2,886       45,772  

Seres Therapeutics, Inc.*

     3,735       12,027  

Solid Biosciences, Inc.*

     3,302       18,987  

Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc.* (a)

     22,186       59,237  

Spark Therapeutics, Inc.*

     6,351       650,215  

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     20,596       177,332  

Spero Therapeutics, Inc.*

     1,891       21,765  

Stemline Therapeutics, Inc.*

     7,400       113,368  

Sutro Biopharma, Inc.*

     2,010       22,874  

Syndax Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     3,711       34,549  

Synlogic, Inc.*

     2,897       26,363  

Synthorx, Inc.* (a)

     1,246       16,833  

Syros Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     6,399       59,255  

TCR2 Therapeutics, Inc.*

     341       4,880  

TG Therapeutics, Inc.*

     14,517       125,572  

Tocagen, Inc.*

     3,709       24,776  

Translate Bio, Inc.*

     5,449       68,821  

Turning Point Therapeutics I C*

     1,226       49,898  

Twist Bioscience Corp.*

     3,928       113,951  

Tyme Technologies, Inc.* (a)

     10,890       13,286  

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical, Inc.*

     10,097       641,160  

UNITY Biotechnology, Inc.*

     5,127       48,707  

UroGen Pharma Ltd.*

     3,460       124,352  

Vanda Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     9,625       135,616  

VBI Vaccines, Inc.*

     15,486       18,119  

Veracyte, Inc.*

     8,608       245,414  

Vericel Corp.*

     8,126       153,500  

Viking Therapeutics, Inc.* (a)

     11,991       99,525  

Voyager Therapeutics, Inc.*

     4,460       121,401  

X4 Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     1,289       19,335  

XBiotech, Inc.*

     3,086       23,392  

Xencor, Inc.*

     8,743       357,851  

Y-mAbs Therapeutics, Inc.*

     3,760       85,991  

ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc.* (a)

     29,657       172,900  
   

 

 

  
    29,766,358  

Health Care Equipment & Supplies 3.8%

 

Accuray, Inc.*

     15,540       60,140  

Alphatec Holdings, Inc.*

     5,497       24,956  

AngioDynamics, Inc.*

     6,759       133,085  

Antares Pharma, Inc.*

     29,836       98,160  

Apyx Medical Corp.*

     6,141       41,268  

AtriCure, Inc.*

     6,917       206,403  

Atrion Corp.

     266       226,829  

Avanos Medical, Inc.*

     8,734       380,890  

Avedro, Inc.*

     924       18,147  

AxoGen, Inc.*

     6,343       125,591  
 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

 

  14     |   DWS Small Cap Index VIP

Table of Contents
    Shares     Value ($)  

Axonics Modulation Technologies, Inc.*

     2,851       116,806  

BioLife Solutions, Inc.*

     1,230       20,849  

BioSig Technologies, Inc.*

     2,887       27,109  

Cardiovascular Systems, Inc.*

     6,311       270,931  

Cerus Corp.*

     25,113       141,135  

ConforMIS, Inc.*

     11,793       51,418  

CONMED Corp.

     5,026       430,075  

Corindus Vascular Robotics, Inc.*

     16,950       50,511  

CryoLife, Inc.*

     6,725       201,279  

CryoPort, Inc.*

     5,106       93,542  

Cutera, Inc.*

     2,534       52,657  

CytoSorbents Corp.*

     5,332       35,245  

ElectroCore, Inc.* (a)

     2,066       4,132  

GenMark Diagnostics, Inc.*

     10,167       65,984  

Glaukos Corp.*

     6,582       496,283  

Globus Medical, Inc. “A”*

     14,040       593,892  

Haemonetics Corp.*

     9,460       1,138,416  

Heska Corp.*

     1,279       108,932  

Inogen, Inc.*

     3,374       225,248  

Integer Holdings Corp.*

     6,001       503,604  

IntriCon, Corp.*

     1,565       36,558  

Invacare Corp.

     6,316       32,780  

iRadimed Corp.*

     898       18,364  

iRhythm Technologies, Inc.*

     4,569       361,317  

Lantheus Holdings, Inc.*

     7,044       199,345  

LeMaitre Vascular, Inc.

     2,995       83,800  

LivaNova PLC*

     8,967       645,265  

Meridian Bioscience, Inc.

     7,556       89,765  

Merit Medical Systems, Inc.*

     9,893       589,227  

Mesa Laboratories, Inc.

     629       153,690  

Misonix, Inc.*

     1,354       34,419  

Natus Medical, Inc.*

     6,219       159,766  

Neogen Corp.*

     9,467       587,995  

Neuronetics, Inc.*

     2,597       32,488  

Nevro Corp.*

     5,459       353,907  

Novocure Ltd.*

     15,654       989,802  

NuVasive, Inc.*

     9,590       561,399  

OraSure Technologies, Inc.*

     11,341       105,245  

Orthofix Medical, Inc.*

     3,330       176,090  

OrthoPediatrics Corp.*

     1,617       63,063  

Pulse Biosciences, Inc.*

     2,158       28,486  

Quidel Corp.*

     6,538       387,834  

Rockwell Medical, Inc.*

     10,285       30,958  

RTI Surgical, Inc.*

     10,287       43,720  

SeaSpine Holdings Corp.*

     3,080       40,810  

Senseonics Holdings, Inc.* (a)

     19,640       40,066  

Shockwave Medical, Inc.*

     1,220       69,650  

SI-BONE, Inc.*

     2,960       60,206  

Sientra, Inc.*

     4,327       26,654  

Silk Road Medical, Inc.*

     1,281       62,077  

Soliton, Inc.*

     402       5,909  

STAAR Surgical Co.*

     8,208       241,151  

SurModics, Inc.*

     2,471       106,673  

Tactile Systems Technology, Inc.*

     3,352       190,796  

Tandem Diabetes Care, Inc.*

     10,253       661,524  

TransEnterix, Inc.* (a)

     34,002       46,243  

TransMedics Group, Inc.*

     1,213       35,165  

Utah Medical Products, Inc.

     659       63,066  

Vapotherm, Inc.*

     849       19,527  

Varex Imaging Corp.*

     6,958       213,263  

ViewRay, Inc.* (a)

     12,810       112,856  

Wright Medical Group NV*

     23,295       694,657  
    Shares     Value ($)  

Zynex, Inc.

     2,874       25,837  
   

 

 

  
    14,424,930  

Health Care Providers & Services 2.0%

 

Addus HomeCare Corp.*

     1,950       146,152  

Amedisys, Inc.*

     5,797       703,814  

American Renal Associates Holdings, Inc.*

     3,389       25,214  

AMN Healthcare Services, Inc.*

     8,509       461,613  

Apollo Medical Holdings, Inc.*

     1,167       19,501  

Avalon GloboCare Corp.*

     4,006       10,416  

BioScrip, Inc.*

     21,744       56,534  

BioTelemetry, Inc.*

     6,132       295,256  

Brookdale Senior Living, Inc.*

     34,127       246,056  

Catasys, Inc.*

     1,304       25,063  

Community Health Systems, Inc.*

     15,055       40,197  

CorVel Corp.*

     1,646       143,218  

Cross Country Healthcare, Inc.*

     6,558       61,514  

Diplomat Pharmacy, Inc.*

     10,684       65,066  

Enzo Biochem, Inc.*

     8,562       28,854  

Genesis Healthcare, Inc.*

     14,991       18,589  

Hanger, Inc.*

     6,691       128,133  

HealthEquity, Inc.*

     11,343       741,832  

LHC Group, Inc.*

     5,563       665,223  

Magellan Health, Inc.*

     3,996       296,623  

National Healthcare Corp.

     2,260       183,399  

National Research Corp. “A”

     2,223       128,023  

Owens & Minor, Inc.

     11,809       37,789  

Patterson Companies, Inc.

     15,453       353,874  

PetIQ, Inc.*

     3,489       114,997  

Providence Service Corp.*

     2,155       123,568  

R1 RCM, Inc.*

     18,839       236,995  

RadNet, Inc.*

     7,767       107,107  

Select Medical Holdings Corp.*

     20,334       322,701  

Surgery Partners, Inc.*

     4,424       36,011  

Tenet Healthcare Corp.*

     19,008       392,705  

The Ensign Group, Inc.

     9,349       532,145  

The Joint Corp.*

     2,412       43,898  

Tivity Health, Inc.*

     8,871       145,839  

Triple-S Management Corp. “B”*

     4,026       96,020  

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc.

     2,322       284,607  
   

 

 

  
    7,318,546  

Health Care Technology 1.0%

 

Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc.*

     30,644       356,390  

Castlight Health, Inc. “B”*

     18,589       60,042  

Computer Programs & Systems, Inc.

     2,346       65,195  

Evolent Health, Inc. “A”*

     13,379       106,363  

HealthStream, Inc.*

     4,844       125,266  

HMS Holdings Corp.*

     16,037       519,438  

Inovalon Holdings, Inc. “A”* (a)

     12,998       188,601  

Inspire Medical Systems, Inc.*

     2,461       149,260  

NextGen Healthcare, Inc.*

     9,995       198,900  

Omnicell, Inc.*

     7,574       651,591  

OptimizeRx Corp.*

     2,214       35,867  

Simulations Plus, Inc.

     2,244       64,089  

Tabula Rasa HealthCare, Inc.*

     3,603       179,898  

Teladoc Health, Inc.* (a)

     13,197       876,413  

Vocera Communications, Inc.*

     5,691       181,657  
   

 

 

  
    3,758,970  

Life Sciences Tools & Services 0.7%

 

Accelerate Diagnostics, Inc.* (a)

     5,033       115,155  

Cambrex Corp.*

     6,225       291,392  
 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

 

DWS Small Cap Index VIP   |   15

Table of Contents
    Shares     Value ($)  

ChromaDex Corp.* (a)

     7,218       33,564  

Codexis, Inc.*

     9,761       179,895  

Fluidigm Corp.*

     12,764       157,253  

Luminex Corp.

     7,757       160,105  

Medpace Holdings, Inc.*

     5,099       333,577  

NanoString Technologies, Inc.*

     6,101       185,165  

NeoGenomics, Inc.*

     16,166       354,682  

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc.*

     26,256       158,849  

Quanterix Corp.*

     1,757       59,369  

Syneos Health, Inc.*

     11,504       587,739  
   

 

 

  
    2,616,745  

Pharmaceuticals 1.6%

 

AcelRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     14,440       36,533  

Acer Therapeutics, Inc.*

     1,214       4,735  

Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc.*

     5,273       11,548  

Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     7,794       230,313  

Akorn, Inc.*

     17,243       88,801  

Amneal Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     17,305       124,077  

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     6,637       140,107  

ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     1,687       138,671  

Aratana Therapeutics, Inc.*

     8,838       45,604  

Arvinas Holding Co. LLC*

     3,248       71,424  

Assertio Therapeutics, Inc.*

     12,185       42,038  

Axsome Therapeutics, Inc.*

     4,498       115,823  

BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc.*

     15,041       69,941  

Cerecor, Inc.*

     3,952       21,499  

Chiasma, Inc.*

     4,806       35,901  

Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc.*

     5,935       78,045  

Corcept Therapeutics, Inc.*

     17,827       198,771  

CorMedix, Inc.*

     4,352       39,037  

Cymabay Therapeutics, Inc.*

     12,712       91,018  

Dermira, Inc.*

     8,606       82,273  

Dova Pharmaceuticals, Inc.* (a)

     1,503       21,192  

Eloxx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     4,043       40,309  

Endo International PLC*

     41,977       172,945  

Evofem Biosciences, Inc.*

     2,606       17,304  

Evolus, Inc.* (a)

     2,046       29,913  

EyePoint Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     11,389       18,678  

Innoviva, Inc.*

     11,809       171,939  

Intersect ENT, Inc.*

     5,670       129,049  

Intra-Cellular Therapies, Inc.*

     8,097       105,099  

Kala Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     4,016       25,622  

Kaleido Biosciences, Inc.*

     920       10,672  

Lannett Co., Inc.*

     6,172       37,402  

Liquidia Technologies, Inc.*

     2,474       19,792  

Mallinckrodt PLC* (a)

     15,553       142,777  

Marinus Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     9,640       40,006  

Menlo Therapeutics, Inc.*

     2,839       17,006  

MyoKardia, Inc.*

     8,206       411,449  

NGM Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     1,230       18,007  

Ocular Therapeutix, Inc.* (a)

     7,234       31,830  

Odonate Therapeutics, Inc.*

     1,431       52,503  

Omeros Corp.* (a)

     8,592       134,808  

Optinose, Inc.*

     4,592       32,511  

Osmotica Pharmaceuticals PLC*

     1,755       6,669  

Pacira BioSciences, Inc.*

     7,491       325,784  

Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc.* (a)

     5,751       22,946  

Phibro Animal Health Corp. “A”

     3,832       121,743  

Prestige Consumer Healthcare, Inc.*

     9,614       304,572  

Reata Pharmaceuticals, Inc. “A”* (a)

     3,713       350,322  
    Shares     Value ($)  

resTORbio, Inc.*

     2,759       28,142  

Revance Therapeutics, Inc.*

     8,109       105,174  

SIGA Technologies, Inc.*

     10,568       60,026  

Strongbridge Biopharma PLC*

     6,681       20,912  

Supernus Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     9,110       301,450  

TherapeuticsMD, Inc.* (a)

     36,351       94,513  

Theravance Biopharma, Inc.* (a)

     8,237       134,510  

Tricida, Inc.*

     4,031       159,063  

Verrica Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     2,378       27,632  

WaVe Life Sciences Ltd.*

     4,156       108,430  

Xeris Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     4,920       56,285  

Zogenix, Inc.*

     7,876       376,315  

Zynerba Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*

     3,839       52,018  
   

 

 

  
    6,003,478  
Industrials 15.6%

 

Aerospace & Defense 1.3%

 

AAR Corp.

     6,154       226,406  

Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc.*

     13,493       604,082  

Aerovironment, Inc.*

     3,933       223,276  

Astronics Corp.*

     4,476       180,025  

Axon Enterprise, Inc.*

     10,777       691,991  

Cubic Corp.

     5,773       372,243  

Ducommun, Inc.*

     2,007       90,456  

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc.*

     16,643       380,958  

Maxar Technologies, Inc.*

     11,114       86,912  

Mercury Systems, Inc.*

     9,858       693,510  

Moog, Inc. “A”

     5,938       555,856  

National Presto Industries, Inc.

     907       84,614  

Parsons Corp.*

     3,444       126,946  

Triumph Group, Inc.

     9,156       209,672  

Vectrus, Inc.*

     2,070       83,959  

Wesco Aircraft Holdings, Inc.*

     10,061       111,677  
   

 

 

  
    4,722,583  

Air Freight & Logistics 0.3%

 

Air Transport Services Group, Inc.*

     10,836       264,399  

Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc.*

     4,324       193,023  

Echo Global Logistics, Inc.*

     4,953       103,369  

Forward Air Corp.

     5,307       313,909  

Hub Group, Inc. “A”*

     6,091       255,700  

Radiant Logistics, Inc.*

     7,206       44,245  
   

 

 

  
    1,174,645  

Airlines 0.5%

 

Allegiant Travel Co.

     2,404       344,974  

Hawaiian Holdings, Inc.

     8,726       239,354  

Mesa Air Group, Inc.*

     3,860       35,280  

SkyWest, Inc.

     9,259       561,744  

Spirit Airlines, Inc.*

     12,679       605,169  
   

 

 

  
    1,786,521  

Building Products 1.4%

 

AAON, Inc.

     7,584       380,565  

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc.

     6,718       220,283  

American Woodmark Corp.*

     2,801       237,021  

Apogee Enterprises, Inc.

     4,878       211,900  

Armstrong Flooring, Inc.*

     3,852       37,942  

Builders FirstSource, Inc.*

     21,060       355,071  

Caesarstone Ltd.

     4,164       62,585  
 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

 

  16     |   DWS Small Cap Index VIP

Table of Contents
    Shares     Value ($)  

Continental Building Products, Inc.*

     6,417       170,500  

Cornerstone Building Brands, Inc.*

     8,775       51,158  

CSW Industrials, Inc.

     2,741       186,799  

Gibraltar Industries, Inc.*

     5,959       240,505  

Griffon Corp.

     6,738       114,007  

Insteel Industries, Inc.

     3,514       73,161  

JELD-WEN Holding, Inc.*

     12,590       267,286  

Masonite International Corp.*

     4,595       242,065  

Patrick Industries, Inc.*

     4,195       206,352  

PGT Innovations, Inc.*

     10,476       175,159  

Quanex Building Products Corp.

     5,994       113,227  

Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc.

     8,271       549,691  

Trex Co., Inc.*

     10,857       778,447  

Universal Forest Products, Inc.

     10,999       418,622  
   

 

 

  
    5,092,346  

Commercial Services & Supplies 2.6%

 

ABM Industries, Inc.

     12,307       492,280  

Acco Brands Corp.

     18,579       146,217  

Advanced Disposal Services, Inc.*

     13,423       428,328  

Brady Corp. “A”

     8,834       435,693  

BrightView Holdings, Inc.*

     5,770       107,957  

Casella Waste Systems, Inc. “A”*

     8,235       326,353  

CECO Environmental Corp.*

     5,438       52,150  

Charah Solutions, Inc.*

     1,307       7,188  

Cimpress NV*

     4,051       368,195  

CompX International, Inc.

     395       6,675  

Covanta Holding Corp.

     21,808       390,581  

Deluxe Corp.

     8,089       328,899  

Ennis, Inc.

     4,826       99,029  

Healthcare Services Group, Inc.

     13,746       416,779  

Heritage-Crystal Clean, Inc.*

     2,808       73,878  

Herman Miller, Inc.

     10,897       487,096  

HNI Corp.

     8,010       283,394  

Interface, Inc.

     10,990       168,477  

Kimball International, Inc. “B”

     6,508       113,434  

Knoll, Inc.

     9,074       208,520  

LSC Communications, Inc.

     5,898       21,646  

Matthews International Corp. “A”

     5,668       197,530  

McGrath RentCorp.

     4,476       278,183  

Mobile Mini, Inc.

     8,269       251,626  

MSA Safety, Inc.

     6,526       687,775  

Multi-Color Corp.

     2,621       130,971  

NL Industries, Inc.*

     1,487       5,428  

NRC Group Holdings Corp.*

     1,874       20,839  

PICO Holdings, Inc.*

     3,587       41,681  

Pitney Bowes, Inc.

     32,965       141,090  

Quad Graphics, Inc.

     5,771       45,649  

R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co.

     12,460       24,546  

SP Plus Corp.*

     4,220       134,745  

Steelcase, Inc. “A”

     16,081       274,985  

Team, Inc.*

     5,386       82,514  

Tetra Tech, Inc.

     10,087       792,334  

The Brink’s Co.

     9,225       748,885  

U.S. Ecology, Inc.

     4,077       242,745  

UniFirst Corp.

     2,798       527,619  

Viad Corp.

     3,695       244,757  

VSE Corp.

     1,588       45,560  
   

 

 

  
    9,882,231  

Construction & Engineering 1.1%

 

Aegion Corp.*

     5,674       104,402  

Ameresco, Inc. “A”*

     4,055       59,730  
    Shares     Value ($)  

Arcosa, Inc.

     8,996       338,520  

Argan, Inc.

     2,754       111,702  

Comfort Systems U.S.A., Inc.

     6,719       342,602  

Concrete Pumping Holdings, Inc.*

     2,054       10,516  

Construction Partners, Inc. “A”*

     2,222       33,374  

Dycom Industries, Inc.*

     5,618       330,732  

EMCOR Group, Inc.

     10,332       910,249  

Granite Construction, Inc.

     8,666       417,528  

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co.*

     11,254       124,244  

IES Holdings, Inc.*

     1,464       27,596  

MasTec, Inc.*

     11,092       571,571  

MYR Group, Inc.*

     2,924       109,211  

Northwest Pipe Co.*

     1,845       47,564  

NV5 Holdings, Inc.*

     1,882       153,195  

Primoris Services Corp.

     8,191       171,438  

Sterling Construction Co., Inc.*

     4,979       66,818  

Tutor Perini Corp.*

     7,381       102,374  

Willscot Corp.*

     9,538       143,452  
   

 

 

  
    4,176,818  

Electrical Equipment 0.9%

 

Allied Motion Technologies, Inc.

     1,304       49,422  

American Superconductor Corp.*

     3,878       35,988  

Atkore International Group, Inc.*

     8,540       220,930  

AZZ, Inc.

     4,831       222,323  

Bloom Energy Corp. “A”*

     10,179       124,896  

Encore Wire Corp.

     3,800       222,604  

Energous Corp.* (a)

     5,624       24,577  

EnerSys

     7,989       547,246  

Generac Holdings, Inc.*

     11,300       784,333  

Plug Power, Inc.* (a)

     42,354       95,296  

Powell Industries, Inc.

     1,591       60,458  

Preformed Line Products Co.

     538       29,870  

Sunrun, Inc.*

     20,434       383,342  

Thermon Group Holdings, Inc.*

     6,011       154,182  

TPI Composites, Inc.*

     5,329       131,733  

Vicor Corp.*

     3,362       104,390  

Vivint Solar, Inc.*

     8,048       58,750  
   

 

 

  
    3,250,340  

Industrial Conglomerates 0.1%

 

Raven Industries, Inc.

     6,634       238,028  

Machinery 3.9%

 

Actuant Corp. “A”

     10,286       255,196  

Alamo Group, Inc.

     1,796       179,474  

Albany International Corp. “A”

     5,341       442,822  

Altra Industrial Motion Corp.

     11,883       426,362  

Astec Industries, Inc.

     4,196       136,622  

Barnes Group, Inc.

     8,829       497,426  

Blue Bird Corp.*

     2,755       54,246  

Briggs & Stratton Corp.

     7,536       77,169  

Chart Industries, Inc.*

     6,549       503,487  

CIRCOR International, Inc.*

     3,605       165,830  

Columbus McKinnon Corp.

     4,205       176,484  

Commercial Vehicle Group, Inc.*

     5,504       44,142  

Douglas Dynamics, Inc.

     4,133       164,452  

Energy Recovery, Inc.*

     7,028       73,232  

EnPro Industries, Inc.

     3,798       242,464  

ESCO Technologies, Inc.

     4,713       389,388  

Evoqua Water Technologies Corp.*

     13,832       196,968  

Federal Signal Corp.

     11,026       294,945  

Franklin Electric Co., Inc.

     8,531       405,222  

Gencor Industries, Inc.*

     1,725       22,425  
 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

 

DWS Small Cap Index VIP   |   17

Table of Contents
    Shares     Value ($)  

Gorman-Rupp Co.

     3,319       108,963  

Graham Corp.

     1,680       33,953  

Greenbrier Companies, Inc.

     5,932       180,333  

Harsco Corp.*

     14,744       404,575  

Helios Technologies, Inc.

     5,410       251,078  

Hillenbrand, Inc.

     11,436       452,523  

Hurco Companies, Inc.

     1,130       40,183  

Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc.

     1,866       103,115  

John Bean Technologies Corp.

     5,762       697,951  

Kadant, Inc.

     2,026       183,981  

Kennametal, Inc.

     15,171       561,175  

L.B. Foster Co. “A”*

     1,846       50,470  

Lindsay Corp.

     1,993       163,845  

Luxfer Holdings PLC

     5,023       123,164  

Lydall, Inc.*

     3,097       62,559  

Manitowoc Co., Inc.*

     6,682       118,940  

Meritor, Inc.*

     14,819       359,361  

Milacron Holdings Corp.*

     12,763       176,129  

Miller Industries, Inc.

     2,025       62,269  

Mueller Industries, Inc.

     10,271       300,632  

Mueller Water Products, Inc. “A”

     28,965       284,436  

Navistar International Corp.*

     9,158       315,493  

NN, Inc.

     7,650       74,664  

Omega Flex, Inc.

     507       38,943  

Park-Ohio Holdings Corp.

     1,663       54,197  

Proto Labs, Inc.*

     4,981       577,896  

RBC Bearings, Inc.*

     4,480       747,309  

REV Group, Inc.

     4,959       71,459  

Rexnord Corp.*

     19,441       587,507  

Spartan Motors, Inc.

     6,560       71,898  

SPX Corp.*

     8,061       266,174  

SPX FLOW, Inc.*

     7,762       324,917  

Standex International Corp.

     2,291       167,564  

Tennant Co.

     3,329       203,735  

Terex Corp.

     11,702       367,443  

The Eastern Co.

     1,014       28,412  

Titan International, Inc.

     9,043       44,220  

TriMas Corp.*

     8,478       262,564  

Twin Disc, Inc.*

     2,015       30,427  

Wabash National Corp.

     10,231       166,458  

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. “A”

     5,091       474,379  

Welbilt, Inc.*

     23,972       400,332  
   

 

 

  
    14,743,982  

Marine 0.1%

 

Costamare, Inc.

     8,752       44,898  

Eagle Bulk Shipping, Inc.*

     8,691       45,541  

Genco Shipping & Trading Ltd.*

     2,821       23,809  

Matson, Inc.

     7,858       305,283  

Safe Bulkers, Inc.*

     9,520       14,851  

Scorpio Bulkers, Inc.

     9,412       43,295  
   

 

 

  
    477,677  

Professional Services 1.6%

 

Acacia Research Corp.*

     8,909       26,371  

ASGN, Inc.*

     9,445       572,367  

Barrett Business Services, Inc.

     1,338       110,519  

BG Staffing, Inc.

     1,876       35,419  

CBIZ, Inc.*

     9,474       185,596  

CRA International, Inc.

     1,379       52,857  

Exponent, Inc.

     9,557       559,467  

Forrester Research, Inc.

     1,987       93,449  

Franklin Covey Co.*

     1,793       60,962  
    Shares     Value ($)  

FTI Consulting, Inc.*

     6,967       584,113  

GP Strategies Corp.*

     2,366       35,679  

Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc.

     3,512       105,255  

Huron Consulting Group, Inc.*

     4,142       208,674  

ICF International, Inc.

     3,353       244,098  

Innerworkings, Inc.*

     8,230       31,438  

Insperity, Inc.

     7,162       874,767  

Kelly Services, Inc. “A”

     6,122       160,335  

Kforce, Inc.

     4,128       144,851  

Korn/Ferry International

     10,426       417,770  

Mistras Group, Inc.*

     3,243       46,602  

Navigant Consulting, Inc.

     7,193       166,806  

Resources Connection, Inc.

     5,505       88,135  

TriNet Group, Inc.*

     8,257       559,824  

TrueBlue, Inc.*

     7,431       163,928  

Upwork, Inc.*

     10,144       163,115  

WageWorks, Inc.*

     7,391       375,389  

Willdan Group, Inc.*

     1,863       69,397  
   

 

 

  
    6,137,183  

Road & Rail 0.5%

 

ArcBest Corp.

     4,775       134,225  

Avis Budget Group, Inc.*

     10,921       383,982  

Covenant Transportation Group, Inc. “A”*

     2,308       33,951  

Daseke, Inc.*

     8,679       31,245  

Heartland Express, Inc.

     8,605       155,492  

Hertz Global Holdings, Inc.* (a)

     12,032       192,031  

Marten Transport Ltd.

     7,311       132,695  

P.A.M. Transportation Services, Inc.*

     333       20,646  

Roadrunner Transportation Systems, Inc.*

     653       6,236  

Saia, Inc.*

     4,782       309,252  

U.S. Xpress Enterprises, Inc. “A”*

     3,914       20,118  

Universal Logistics Holdings, Inc.

     1,573       35,345  

Werner Enterprises, Inc.

     8,423       261,787  

YRC Worldwide, Inc.*

     6,102       24,591  
   

 

 

  
    1,741,596  

Trading Companies & Distributors 1.3%

 

Aircastle Ltd.

     9,667       205,520  

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc.

     7,088       436,125  

Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc.*

     12,550       460,836  

BlueLinx Holdings, Inc.* (a)

     1,673       33,142  

BMC Stock Holdings, Inc.*

     12,216       258,979  

CAI International, Inc.*

     3,152       78,233  

DXP Enterprises, Inc.*

     3,009       114,011  

EVI Industries, Inc. (a)

     839       32,109  

Foundation Building Materials, Inc.*

     2,698       47,970  

GATX Corp.

     6,676       529,340  

General Finance Corp.*

     2,432       20,356  

GMS, Inc.*

     5,827       128,194  

H&E Equipment Services, Inc.

     5,904       171,747  

Herc Holdings, Inc.*

     4,455       204,173  

Kaman Corp.

     5,111       325,520  

Lawson Products, Inc.*

     770       28,282  

MRC Global, Inc.*

     14,694       251,561  

NOW, Inc.*

     20,014       295,407  

Rush Enterprises, Inc. “A”

     5,088       185,814  

Rush Enterprises, Inc. “B”

     817       30,155  

SiteOne Landscape Supply, Inc.* (a)

     7,551       523,284  
 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

 

  18     |   DWS Small Cap Index VIP

Table of Contents
    Shares     Value ($)  

Systemax, Inc.

     2,247       49,794  

Textainer Group Holdings Ltd.*

     5,028       50,682  

Titan Machinery, Inc.*

     3,437       70,733  

Transcat, Inc.*

     1,257       32,167  

Triton International Ltd.

     10,505       344,144  

Veritiv Corp.*

     2,394       46,491  

Willis Lease Finance Corp.*

     574       33,476  
   

 

 

  
    4,988,245  
Information Technology 13.0%

 

Communications Equipment 1.2%

 

Acacia Communications, Inc.*

     6,927       326,677  

ADTRAN, Inc.

     8,930       136,183  

Aerohive Networks, Inc.*

     8,086       35,821  

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.* (a)

     3,437       35,332  

CalAmp Corp.*

     6,174       72,112  

Calix, Inc.*

     8,113       53,221  

Casa Systems, Inc.*

     5,871       37,751  

Clearfield, Inc.*

     2,171       28,766  

Comtech Telecommunications Corp.

     4,360       122,560  

DASAN Zhone Solutions, Inc.*

     1,081       14,042  

Digi International, Inc.*

     5,352       67,863  

Extreme Networks, Inc.*

     21,664       140,166  

Finisar Corp.*

     21,170       484,158  

Harmonic, Inc.*

     16,113       89,427  

Infinera Corp.*

     32,409       94,310  

Inseego Corp.*

     8,243       39,484  

InterDigital, Inc.

     5,879       378,608  

KVH Industries, Inc.*

     2,950       32,067  

Lumentum Holdings, Inc.*

     14,139       755,164  

NETGEAR, Inc.*

     5,758       145,620  

NetScout Systems, Inc.*

     13,816       350,788  

Plantronics, Inc.

     6,180       228,907  

Ribbon Communications, Inc.*

     11,054       54,054  

TESSCO Technologies, Inc.

     1,151       20,557  

Viavi Solutions, Inc.*

     42,496       564,772  
   

 

 

  
    4,308,410  

Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components 2.4%

 

Airgain, Inc.*

     1,707       24,154  

Akoustis Technologies, Inc.*

     4,631       29,638  

Anixter International, Inc.*

     5,634       336,406  

Arlo Technologies, Inc.*

     14,235       57,082  

AVX Corp.

     8,709       144,569  

Badger Meter, Inc.

     5,281       315,223  

Bel Fuse, Inc. “B”

     1,697       29,138  

Belden, Inc.

     7,204       429,142  

Benchmark Electronics, Inc.

     7,129       179,080  

Coda Octopus Group, Inc.*

     856       11,171  

Control4 Corp.*

     5,004       118,845  

CTS Corp.

     6,003       165,563  

Daktronics, Inc.

     6,822       42,092  

ePlus, Inc.*

     2,436       167,938  

Fabrinet*

     6,737       334,627  

FARO Technologies, Inc.*

     3,182       167,310  

Fitbit, Inc. “A”*

     40,883       179,885  

II-VI, Inc.*

     11,614       424,608  

Insight Enterprises, Inc.*

     6,548       381,094  

Iteris, Inc.*

     5,537       28,626  

Itron, Inc.*

     6,336       396,444  

KEMET Corp.

     10,526       197,994  

Kimball Electronics, Inc.*

     4,651       75,532  

Knowles Corp.*

     15,029       275,181  
    Shares     Value ($)  

Methode Electronics, Inc.

     6,769       193,390  

MTS Systems Corp.

     3,316       194,086  

Napco Security Technologies, Inc.*

     2,167       64,317  

nLight, Inc.*

     5,995       115,104  

Novanta, Inc.*

     6,222       586,735  

OSI Systems, Inc.*

     3,056       344,197  

PAR Technology Corp.* (a)

     2,087       58,853  

Park Electrochemical Corp.

     3,272       54,610  

PC Connection, Inc.

     2,047       71,604  

PCM, Inc.*

     1,749       61,285  

Plexus Corp.*

     5,452       318,233  

Rogers Corp.*

     3,419       590,051  

Sanmina Corp.*

     12,511       378,833  

ScanSource, Inc.*

     4,775       155,474  

Tech Data Corp.*

     6,804       711,698  

TTM Technologies, Inc.*

     18,321       186,874  

Vishay Intertechnology, Inc.

     24,532       405,269  

Vishay Precision Group, Inc.*

     1,981       80,488  

Wrap Technologies, Inc.*

     1,399       8,702  
   

 

 

  
    9,091,145  

IT Services 2.2%

 

Brightcove, Inc.*

     7,156       73,921  

Carbonite, Inc.*

     6,118       159,313  

Cardtronics PLC “A”*

     7,024       191,896  

Cass Information Systems, Inc.

     2,580       125,078  

Conduent, Inc.*

     31,957       306,468  

CSG Systems International, Inc.

     6,078       296,789  

Endurance International Group Holdings, Inc.*

     12,838       61,622  

EVERTEC, Inc.

     11,206       366,436  

Evo Payments, Inc. “A”*

     5,775       182,086  

Exela Technologies, Inc.*

     9,127       19,988  

Exlservice Holdings, Inc.*

     6,193       409,543  

GTT Communications, Inc.* (a)

     6,146       108,170  

I3 Verticals, Inc. “A”*

     1,673       49,270  

Information Services Group, Inc.*

     5,870       18,549  

International Money Express, Inc.*

     2,387       33,657  

KBR, Inc.

     26,173       652,755  

Limelight Networks, Inc.*

     21,456       57,931  

LiveRamp Holdings, Inc.*

     12,613       611,478  

ManTech International Corp. “A”

     4,949       325,892  

MAXIMUS, Inc.

     11,754       852,635  

NIC, Inc.

     12,148       194,854  

Paysign, Inc.*

     5,502       73,562  

Perficient, Inc.*

     5,961       204,581  

Perspecta, Inc.

     26,134       611,797  

Presidio, Inc.

     8,527       116,564  

PRGX Global, Inc.*

     3,855       25,906  

Priority Technology Holdings, Inc.*

     1,214       9,530  

Science Applications International Corp.

     10,970       949,563  

StarTek, Inc.*

     2,999       24,502  

Sykes Enterprises, Inc.*

     7,204       197,822  

The Hackett Group, Inc.

     4,674       78,476  

TTEC Holdings, Inc.

     2,693       125,467  

Tucows, Inc. “A”* (a)

     1,707       104,161  

U.S.A. Technologies, Inc.* (a)

     10,544       78,342  

Unisys Corp.* (a)

     9,633       93,633  

Verra Mobility Corp.*

     18,191       238,120  

Virtusa Corp.*

     5,315       236,145  
   

 

 

  
    8,266,502  
 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

 

DWS Small Cap Index VIP   |   19

Table of Contents
    Shares     Value ($)  

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment 2.3%

 

Adesto Technologies Corp.*

     5,181       42,225  

Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.*

     7,032       395,691  

Alpha & Omega Semiconductor Ltd.*

     3,567       33,316  

Ambarella, Inc.*

     5,831       257,322  

Amkor Technology, Inc.*

     18,234       136,026  

Aquantia Corp.*

     5,186       67,574  

Axcelis Technologies, Inc.*

     6,132       92,287  

AXT, Inc.*

     7,189       28,468  

Brooks Automation, Inc.

     13,112       508,090  

Cabot Microelectronics Corp.

     5,357       589,699  

CEVA, Inc.*

     4,021       97,911  

Cirrus Logic, Inc.*

     10,947       478,384  

Cohu, Inc.

     7,505       115,802  

Diodes, Inc.*

     7,585       275,866  

DSP Group, Inc.*

     4,006       57,526  

Enphase Energy, Inc.*

     16,966       309,290  

FormFactor, Inc.*

     13,788       216,058  

GSI Technology, Inc.*

     2,812       24,099  

Ichor Holdings Ltd.*

     4,014       94,891  

Impinj, Inc.*

     2,726       78,018  

Inphi Corp.*

     8,303       415,980  

Lattice Semiconductor Corp.*

     23,034       336,066  

MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc.*

     8,502       128,635  

MaxLinear, Inc.*

     12,037       282,147  

Nanometrics, Inc.*

     4,288       148,837  

NeoPhotonics Corp.*

     7,335       30,660  

NVE Corp.

     878       61,135  

PDF Solutions, Inc.*

     5,065       66,453  

Photronics, Inc.*

     12,085       99,097  

Power Integrations, Inc.

     5,238       419,983  

Rambus, Inc.*

     20,379       245,363  

Rudolph Technologies, Inc.*

     5,662       156,441  

Semtech Corp.*

     12,175       585,009  

Silicon Laboratories, Inc.*

     7,940       820,996  

SMART Global Holdings, Inc.*

     2,472       56,831  

SunPower Corp.*

     11,606       124,068  

Synaptics, Inc.*

     6,426       187,254  

Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc.*

     7,071       98,428  

Veeco Instruments, Inc.*

     9,065       110,774  

Xperi Corp.

     9,094       187,246  
   

 

 

  
    8,459,946  

Software 4.6%

 

8x8, Inc.*

     17,313       417,243  

A10 Networks, Inc.*

     10,302       70,260  

ACI Worldwide, Inc.*

     20,157       692,191  

Agilysys, Inc.*

     3,264       70,078  

Alarm.com Holdings, Inc.*

     6,789       363,212  

Altair Engineering, Inc. “A”*

     7,123       287,698  

Amber Road, Inc.*

     4,610       60,207  

American Software, Inc. “A”

     5,172       68,012  

Appfolio, Inc. “A”*

     2,829       289,322  

Appian Corp.*

     5,760       207,763  

Avaya Holdings Corp.*

     20,501       244,167  

Benefitfocus, Inc.*

     5,473       148,592  

Blackbaud, Inc.

     9,029       753,921  

Blackline, Inc.*

     7,903       422,890  

Bottomline Technologies de, Inc.*

     7,917       350,248  

Box, Inc. “A”*

     26,468       466,101  

Carbon Black, Inc.*

     10,306       172,316  

ChannelAdvisor Corp.*

     4,781       41,882  
    Shares     Value ($)  

Cision Ltd.*

     16,915       198,413  

Cloudera, Inc.*

     43,605       229,362  

CommVault Systems, Inc.*

     6,318       313,499  

Cornerstone OnDemand, Inc.*

     10,345       599,286  

Digimarc Corp.*

     2,112       93,752  

Digital Turbine, Inc.*

     14,294       71,470  

Domo, Inc. “B”*

     3,200       87,424  

Ebix, Inc. (a)

     4,277       214,791  

eGain Corp.*

     4,063       33,073  

Envestnet, Inc.*

     8,828       603,570  

Everbridge, Inc.*

     6,025       538,755  

Five9, Inc.*

     10,875       557,779  

ForeScout Technologies, Inc.*

     7,498       253,882  

Gty Govtech, Inc.*

     5,564       38,113  

Ideanomics, Inc.*

     9,455       23,259  

Instructure, Inc.*

     6,215       264,138  

Intelligent Systems Corp.*

     1,260       36,275  

j2 Global, Inc.

     8,618       766,054  

LivePerson, Inc.*

     11,236       315,057  

Majesco*

     1,211       11,274  

MicroStrategy, Inc. “A”*

     1,527       218,834  

Mitek Systems, Inc.*

     6,808       67,672  

MobileIron, Inc.*

     17,653       109,449  

Model N, Inc.*

     5,989       116,786  

Monotype Imaging Holdings, Inc.

     7,591       127,832  

OneSpan, Inc.*

     6,052       85,757  

Phunware, Inc.*

     1,524       4,740  

Progress Software Corp.

     8,215       358,338  

PROS Holdings, Inc.*

     6,076       384,368  

Q2 Holdings, Inc.*

     7,401       565,140  

QAD, Inc. “A”

     2,036       81,868  

Qualys, Inc.*

     6,284       547,211  

Rapid7, Inc.*

     8,887       514,024  

Rimini Street, Inc.*

     3,637       19,276  

SailPoint Technologies Holding, Inc.*

     15,842       317,474  

SecureWorks Corp. “A”*

     1,587       21,091  

SharpSpring, Inc.*

     1,580       20,524  

ShotSpotter, Inc.*

     1,482       65,504  

SPS Commerce, Inc.*

     3,319       339,235  

SVMK, Inc.*

     15,500       255,905  

Synchronoss Technologies, Inc.*

     7,059       55,837  

Telaria, Inc.*

     8,032       60,401  

TeleNav, Inc.*

     6,158       49,264  

Tenable Holdings, Inc.*

     6,839       195,185  

TiVo Corp.

     22,711       167,380  

Upland Software, Inc.*

     4,151       188,995  

Varonis Systems, Inc.*

     5,478       339,307  

Verint Systems, Inc.*

     12,090       650,200  

Virnetx Holding Corp.* (a)

     11,475       71,260  

Workiva, Inc.*

     6,474       376,075  

Yext, Inc.*

     17,171       344,965  

Zix Corp.*

     9,873       89,746  

Zuora, Inc. “A”*

     15,747       241,244  
   

 

 

  
    17,426,216  

Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals 0.3%

 

3D Systems Corp.* (a)

     20,985       190,964  

AstroNova, Inc.

     1,262       32,610  

Avid Technology, Inc.*

     5,253       47,907  

Cray, Inc.*

     7,540       262,543  

Diebold Nixdorf, Inc.*

     14,185       129,935  

Electronics for Imaging, Inc.*

     7,922       292,401  

Immersion Corp.*

     5,748       43,742  
 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

 

  20     |   DWS Small Cap Index VIP

Table of Contents
    Shares     Value ($)  

Sonim Technologies, Inc.*

     662       8,427  

Stratasys Ltd.*

     9,501       279,044  
   

 

 

  
    1,287,573  
Materials 3.9%

 

Chemicals 2.0%

 

Advanced Emissions Solutions, Inc.

     2,919       36,896  

AdvanSix, Inc.*

     5,342       130,505  

American Vanguard Corp.

     5,200       80,132  

Amyris, Inc.* (a)

     7,231       25,742  

Balchem Corp.

     5,947       594,522  

Chase Corp.

     1,350       145,314  

Ferro Corp.*

     15,097       238,533  

Flotek Industries, Inc.*

     9,983       33,044  

FutureFuel Corp.

     4,721       55,188  

GCP Applied Technologies, Inc.*

     9,983       226,015  

H.B. Fuller Co.

     9,404       436,346  

Hawkins, Inc.

     1,751       76,011  

Ingevity Corp.*

     7,768       816,961  

Innophos Holdings, Inc.

     3,699       107,678  

Innospec, Inc.

     4,488       409,485  

Intrepid Potash, Inc.*

     17,507       58,823  

Koppers Holdings, Inc.*

     3,533       103,729  

Kraton Corp.*

     5,821       180,858  

Kronos Worldwide, Inc.

     4,040       61,893  

Livent Corp.*

     27,070       187,324  

LSB Industries, Inc.*

     3,974       15,499  

Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc.* (a)

     10,223       15,334  

Minerals Technologies, Inc.

     6,507       348,190  

Omnova Solutions, Inc.*

     8,183       50,980  

Orion Engineered Carbons SA

     11,006       235,638  

PolyOne Corp.

     14,386       451,576  

PQ Group Holdings, Inc.*

     6,987       110,744  

Quaker Chemical Corp.

     2,423       491,578  

Rayonier Advanced Materials, Inc. (a)

     9,091       59,001  

Sensient Technologies Corp.

     7,822       574,761  

Stepan Co.

     3,778       347,236  

Trecora Resources*

     4,191       40,108  

Tredegar Corp.

     4,740       78,779  

Trinseo SA

     7,566       320,344  

Tronox Holdings PLC “A”*

     17,747       226,807  

Valhi, Inc.

     4,843       14,384  
   

 

 

  
    7,385,958  

Construction Materials 0.1%

 

Forterra, Inc.*

     3,676       18,270  

Summit Materials, Inc. “A”*

     20,786       400,130  

U.S. Concrete, Inc.*

     2,958       146,983  

United States Lime & Minerals, Inc.

     377       30,160  
   

 

 

  
    595,543  

Containers & Packaging 0.1%

 

Greif, Inc. “A”

     4,769       155,231  

Greif, Inc. “B”

     1,154       50,372  

Myers Industries, Inc.

     6,632       127,799  

UFP Technologies, Inc.*

     1,205       50,140  
   

 

 

  
    383,542  

Metals & Mining 1.3%

 

AK Steel Holding Corp.* (a)

     58,393       138,391  

Allegheny Technologies, Inc.*

     23,251       585,925  

Carpenter Technology Corp.

     8,710       417,906  
    Shares     Value ($)  

Century Aluminum Co.*

     8,889       61,423  

Cleveland-Cliffs, Inc. (a)

     52,046       555,331  

Coeur Mining, Inc.*

     37,533       162,893  

Commercial Metals Co.

     21,807       389,255  

Compass Minerals International, Inc.

     6,307       346,570  

Ferroglobe Representation & Warranty Insurance Trust (Beneficial Units) (b)

     12,466       0  

Global Brass & Copper Holdings, Inc.

     3,908       170,897  

Gold Resource Corp.

     11,352       38,370  

Haynes International, Inc.

     2,364       75,199  

Hecla Mining Co.

     89,033       160,259  

Kaiser Aluminum Corp.

     2,970       289,902  

Materion Corp.

     3,751       254,355  

Mayville Engineering Co., Inc.*

     1,165       16,077  

Novagold Resources, Inc.*

     42,758       252,700  

Olympic Steel, Inc.

     1,747       23,846  

Ramaco Resources, Inc.*

     1,195       6,357  

Ryerson Holding Corp.*

     2,757       22,966  

Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc. “A”

     4,639       121,403  

SunCoke Energy, Inc.*

     15,780       140,126  

Synalloy Corp.

     1,549       24,195  

TimkenSteel Corp.*

     7,267       59,081  

Warrior Met Coal, Inc.

     9,566       249,864  

Worthington Industries, Inc.

     7,242       291,563  
   

 

 

  
    4,854,854  

Paper & Forest Products 0.4%

 

Boise Cascade Co.

     7,158       201,212  

Clearwater Paper Corp.*

     2,964       54,804  

Louisiana-Pacific Corp.

     22,928       601,172  

Neenah, Inc.

     3,084       208,324  

P.H. Glatfelter Co.

     8,168       137,876  

Schweitzer-Mauduit International, Inc.

     5,751       190,818  

Verso Corp. “A”*

     6,457       123,006  
   

 

 

  
    1,517,212  
Real Estate 7.6%

 

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) 6.9%

 

Acadia Realty Trust

     15,032       411,426  

Agree Realty Corp.

     6,942       444,635  

Alexander & Baldwin, Inc.

     12,668       292,631  

Alexander’s, Inc.

     393       145,528  

American Assets Trust, Inc.

     8,584       404,478  

American Finance Trust, Inc.

     19,757       215,351  

Armada Hoffler Properties, Inc.

     9,595       158,797  

Ashford Hospitality Trust

     17,370       51,589  

Bluerock Residential Growth REIT, Inc.

     3,897       45,790  

Braemar Hotels & Resorts, Inc.

     5,814       57,559  

BRT Apartments Corp.

     1,928       27,243  

CareTrust REIT, Inc.

     17,627       419,170  

CatchMark Timber Trust, Inc. “A”

     8,978       93,820  

CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. (a)

     33,152       34,478  

Cedar Realty Trust, Inc.

     14,993       39,731  

Chatham Lodging Trust

     8,480       160,018  

Chesapeake Lodging Trust

     11,032       313,529  

CIM Commercial Trust Corp.

     760       15,671  

City Office REIT, Inc.

     7,023       84,206  

Clipper Realty, Inc.

     2,541       28,408  
 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

 

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    Shares     Value ($)  

Community Healthcare Trust, Inc.

     3,309       130,408  

CoreCivic, Inc.

     22,020       457,135  

CorEnergy Infrastructure Trust, Inc.

     2,377       94,272  

CorePoint Lodging, Inc.

     7,524       93,222  

DiamondRock Hospitality Co.

     36,992       382,497  

Easterly Government Properties, Inc.

     12,595       228,095  

EastGroup Properties, Inc.

     6,702       777,298  

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc.

     9,144       183,246  

Farmland Partners, Inc. (a)

     5,124       36,124  

First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc.

     23,282       855,381  

Four Corners Property Trust, Inc.

     12,639       345,424  

Franklin Street Properties Corp.

     19,225       141,880  

Front Yard Residential Corp.

     9,327       113,976  

Getty Realty Corp.

     6,156       189,359  

Gladstone Commercial Corp.

     5,518       117,092  

Gladstone Land Corp.

     3,001       34,602  

Global Medical REIT, Inc.

     5,679       59,629  

Global Net Lease, Inc.

     15,596       305,994  

Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital, Inc.

     11,372       320,463  

Healthcare Realty Trust, Inc.

     23,629       740,060  

Hersha Hospitality Trust

     6,447       106,633  

Independence Realty Trust, Inc.

     16,608       192,155  

Industrial Logistics Properties Trust

     12,001       249,861  

Innovative Industrial Properties, Inc. (a)

     1,732       214,006  

Investors Real Estate Trust

     2,153       126,316  

iStar, Inc.

     11,208       139,203  

Jernigan Capital, Inc.

     3,852       78,966  

Kite Realty Group Trust

     15,344       232,155  

Lexington Realty Trust

     42,344       398,457  

LTC Properties, Inc.

     7,273       332,085  

Mack-Cali Realty Corp.

     16,755       390,224  

Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corp.

     16,832       228,074  

National Health Investors, Inc.

     7,733       603,406  

National Storage Affiliates Trust

     10,512       304,217  

New Senior Investment Group, Inc.

     15,248       102,467  

NexPoint Residential Trust, Inc.

     3,453       142,954  

NorthStar Realty Europe Corp.

     8,325       136,780  

Office Properties Income Trust

     8,872       233,067  

One Liberty Properties, Inc.

     2,909       84,245  

Pebblebrook Hotel Trust

     24,033       677,250  

Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust

     12,699       82,543  

Physicians Realty Trust

     34,308       598,331  

Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. “A”

     23,116       460,702  

PotlatchDeltic Corp.

     12,224       476,492  

Preferred Apartment Communities, Inc. “A”

     8,005       119,675  

PS Business Parks, Inc.

     3,696       622,887  

QTS Realty Trust, Inc. “A”

     10,109       466,834  

Retail Opportunity Investments Corp.

     20,786       356,064  

Retail Value, Inc.

     2,750       95,700  

Rexford Industrial Realty, Inc.

     19,175       774,095  

RLJ Lodging Trust

     31,838       564,806  

RPT Realty

     14,530       175,958  

Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc.

     8,481       687,724  
    Shares     Value ($)  

Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc.

     33,081       651,365  

Safehold, Inc. (a)

     1,460       44,092  

Saul Centers, Inc.

     2,207       123,879  

Senior Housing Properties Trust

     43,766       361,945  

Seritage Growth Properties “A”

     6,049       259,865  

Spirit MTA REIT

     7,981       66,562  

STAG Industrial, Inc.

     23,353       706,195  

Summit Hotel Properties, Inc.

     19,239       220,671  

Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc.

     42,187       578,384  

Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc. (a)

     16,969       275,067  

Terreno Realty Corp.

     11,470       562,489  

The Geo Group, Inc.

     21,998       462,178  

UMH Properties, Inc.

     6,454       80,094  

Uniti Group, Inc.

     34,200       324,900  

Universal Health Realty Income Trust

     2,394       203,322  

Urban Edge Properties

     21,261       368,453  

Urstadt Biddle Properties “A”

     5,544       116,424  

Washington Prime Group, Inc. (a)

     34,580       132,096  

Washington Real Estate Investment Trust

     14,807       395,791  

Whitestone REIT

     7,036       89,287  

Xenia Hotels & Resorts, Inc.

     20,948       436,766  
   

 

 

  
    25,964,372  

Real Estate Management & Development 0.7%

 

Altisource Portfolio Solutions SA*

     1,075       21,135  

American Realty Investors, Inc.*

     447       6,097  

Consolidated-Tomoka Land Co.

     917       54,745  

Cushman & Wakefield PLC*

     18,916       338,218  

EXP World Holdings, Inc.*

     2,942       32,744  

Forestar Group, Inc.*

     1,945       38,025  

FRP Holdings, Inc.*

     1,335       74,453  

Griffin Land & Nurseries, Inc.

     211       7,459  

HFF, Inc. “A”

     7,056       320,907  

Kennedy-Wilson Holdings, Inc.

     22,764       468,255  

Marcus & Millichap, Inc.*

     4,226       130,372  

Maui Land & Pineapple Co., Inc.*

     1,307       13,449  

Newmark Group, Inc. “A”

     26,528       238,221  

Rafael Holdings, Inc. “B”*

     1,946       55,947  

RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. “A”

     3,363       103,446  

Realogy Holdings Corp.

     21,033       152,279  

Redfin Corp.*

     16,304       293,146  

Stratus Properties, Inc.*

     1,152       37,359  

Tejon Ranch Co.*

     3,867       64,154  

The RMR Group, Inc. “A”

     1,296       60,886  

The St. Joe Co.*

     6,293       108,743  

Transcontinental Realty Investors, Inc.*

     152       3,896  
   

 

 

  
    2,623,936  
Utilities 3.7%

 

Electric Utilities 1.0%

 

ALLETE, Inc.

     9,577       796,902  

El Paso Electric Co.

     7,497       490,304  

Genie Energy Ltd. “B”

     2,658       28,308  

MGE Energy, Inc.

     6,447       471,147  

Otter Tail Corp.

     7,281       384,509  

PNM Resources, Inc.

     14,684       747,562  

Portland General Electric Co.

     16,581       898,193  

Spark Energy, Inc. “A” (a)

     2,257       25,256  
   

 

 

  
    3,842,181  
 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

 

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    Shares     Value ($)  

Gas Utilities 1.2%

 

Chesapeake Utilities Corp.

     2,950       280,309  

New Jersey Resources Corp.

     16,401       816,278  

Northwest Natural Holding Co.

     5,315       369,393  

ONE Gas, Inc.

     9,649       871,305  

RGC Resources, Inc.

     1,479       45,139  

South Jersey Industries, Inc.

     17,113       577,221  

Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc.

     9,862       883,832  

Spire, Inc.

     9,183       770,637  
   

 

 

  
    4,614,114  

Independent Power & Renewable Electricity Producers 0.4%

 

Atlantic Power Corp.*

     19,053       46,108  

Clearway Energy, Inc. “A”

     6,495       105,089  

Clearway Energy, Inc. “C”

     13,732       231,521  

Ormat Technologies, Inc.

     7,330       464,649  

Pattern Energy Group, Inc. “A”

     16,318       376,783  

TerraForm Power, Inc. “A”

     13,497       193,007  
   

 

 

  
    1,417,157  

Multi-Utilities 0.6%

 

Avista Corp.

     12,126       540,820  

Black Hills Corp.

     11,155       871,986  

NorthWestern Corp.

     9,359       675,252  

Unitil Corp.

     2,695       161,404  
   

 

 

  
    2,249,462  

Water Utilities 0.5%

 

American States Water Co.

     6,765       508,999  

AquaVenture Holdings Ltd.*

     2,197       43,874  

Artesian Resources Corp. “A”

     1,452       53,971  

Cadiz, Inc.* (a)

     2,333       26,246  

California Water Service Group

     8,873       449,240  

Connecticut Water Service, Inc.

     2,233       155,685  

Consolidated Water Co., Ltd.

     2,624       37,418  

Global Water Resources, Inc.

     2,048       21,381  

Middlesex Water Co.

     2,960       175,380  

Pure Cycle Corp.*

     3,157       33,464  

SJW Group

     4,859       295,281  

York Water Co.

     2,451       87,550  
   

 

 

  
        1,888,489  

Total Common Stocks (Cost $304,815,352)

 

     370,377,205  
    Shares     Value ($)  
Rights 0.0%

 

Health Care 0.0%

 

GTX, Inc.* (a) (b)

     123       252  

Omthera Pharmaceutical, Inc.* (b)

     1,167       700  

Tobira Therapeutics, Inc.* (b)

     1,687       101  
   

 

 

  
    1,053  

Industrials 0.0%

 

Hertz Global Holdings, Inc.* (a)

     9,745       19,003  

Materials 0.0%

 

Schulman A, Inc., “A”* (b)

     5,009       2,169  

Total Rights (Cost $15,602)

 

     22,225  
    Principal
Amount ($)		     Value ($)  
Government & Agency Obligations 0.4%

 

U.S. Treasury Obligation

 

U.S. Treasury Bill, 2.31%**, 7/18/2019 (c)
(Cost $1,518,263)

     1,520,000       1,518,528  
    Shares     Value ($)  
Securities Lending Collateral 3.3%

 

DWS Government & Agency Securities Portfolio “DWS Government Cash Institutional Shares”, 2.28% (d) (e) (Cost $12,293,450)

     12,293,450       12,293,450  
Cash Equivalents 1.0%

 

DWS Central Cash Management Government Fund, 2.40% (d) (Cost $3,751,160)

     3,751,160       3,751,160  
    % of Net
Assets		     Value ($)  

Total Investment Portfolio (Cost $322,393,827)

     103.3       387,962,568  
Other Assets and Liabilities, Net     (3.3 )      (12,520,921 ) 
Net Assets     100.0       375,441,647  
 

A summary of the Fund’s transactions with affiliated investments during the period ended June 30, 2019 are as follows:

 

Value ($) at
12/31/2018		   Purchases
Cost ($)		     Sales
Proceeds ($)		     Net
Realized
Gain/
(Loss) ($)		     Net Change in
Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation) ($)		     Income ($)     Capital Gain
Distributions ($)		     Number
of Shares
at
6/30/2019		     Value ($)
at
6/30/2019		  

Securities Lending Collateral 3.3%

 

DWS Government & Agency Securities Portfolio “DWS Government Cash Institutional Shares”, 2.28% (d) (e)

 

14,620,153       —       2,326,703 (f)      —       —       136,850       —       12,293,450       12,293,450  

Cash Equivalents 1.0%

 

DWS Central Cash Management Government Fund, 2.40% (d)

 

4,694,157     62,718,841       63,661,838       —       —       68,920       —       3,751,160       3,751,160  
19,314,310     62,718,841       65,988,541       —       —       205,770       —       16,044,610       16,044,610  

 

*

Non-income producing security.

 

**

Annualized yield at time of purchase; not a coupon rate.

 

(a)

All or a portion of these securities were on loan. In addition, “Other Assets and Liabilities, Net” may include pending sales that are also on loan. The value of securities loaned at June 30, 2019 amounted to $12,031,817, which is 3.2% of net assets.

 

(b)

Investment was valued using significant unobservable inputs.

 

(c)

At June 30, 2019, this security has been pledged, in whole or in part, to cover initial margin requirements for open futures contracts.

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

 

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(d)

Affiliated fund managed by DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. The rate shown is the annualized seven-day yield at period end.

 

(e)

Represents cash collateral held in connection with securities lending. Income earned by the Fund is net of borrower rebates.

 

(f)

Represents the net increase (purchase cost) or decrease (sales proceeds) in the amount invested in cash collateral for the period ended June 30, 2019.

At June 30, 2019, open futures contracts purchased were as follows:

 

Futures   Currency   Expiration
Date		   Contracts     Notional
Amount ($)		     Notional
Value ($)		      Unrealized
Appreciation ($)		  
Russell E Mini 2000 Index   USD   9/20/2019     56       4,320,691       4,387,880        67,189  

Currency Abbreviation

 

USD

United States Dollar

For information on the Fund’s policy and additional disclosures regarding futures contracts, please refer to the Derivatives section of Note B in the accompanying Notes to Financial Statements

Fair Value Measurements

Various inputs are used in determining the value of the Fund’s investments. These inputs are summarized in three broad levels. Level 1 includes quoted prices in active markets for identical securities. Level 2 includes other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar securities, interest rates, prepayment speeds and credit risk). Level 3 includes significant unobservable inputs (including the Fund’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments). The level assigned to the securities valuations may not be an indication of the risk or liquidity associated with investing in those securities.

The following is a summary of the inputs used as of June 30, 2019 in valuing the Fund’s investments. For information on the Fund’s policy regarding the valuation of investments, please refer to the Security Valuation section of Note A in the accompanying Notes to Financial Statements.

 

Assets   Level 1     Level 2     Level 3      Total  
Common Stocks (g)   $ 370,377,205     $ —     $ —      $ 370,377,205  
Rights (g)     19,003       —       3,222        22,225  
Government & Agency Obligation     —       1,518,528       —        1,518,528  
Short-Term Investments (g)     16,044,610       —       —        16,044,610  
Derivatives (h)         

Futures Contracts

     67,189       —       —        67,189  
Total   $     386,508,007     $     1,518,528     $     3,222      $     388,029,757  

 

(g)

See Investment Portfolio for additional detailed categorizations.

 

(h)

Derivatives include unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on open futures contracts.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

 

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Statement of Assets and Liabilities

 

as of June 30, 2019 (Unaudited)

 

Assets        
Investments in non-affiliated securities, at value (cost $306,349,217) — including $12,031,817 of securities loaned   $   371,917,958  
Investment in DWS Government & Agency Securities Portfolio (cost $12,293,450)*     12,293,450  
Investment in DWS Central Cash Management Government Fund (cost $3,751,160)     3,751,160  
Cash     11,947  
Receivable for investments sold     32,703,879  
Receivable for Fund shares sold     471,261  
Dividends receivable     400,189  
Interest receivable     22,984  
Receivable for variation margin on futures contracts     62,505  
Other assets     2,153  
Total assets     421,637,486  
Liabilities        
Payable upon return of securities loaned     12,293,450  
Payable for investments purchased     33,666,359  
Payable for Fund shares redeemed     52,226  
Accrued management fee     55,268  
Accrued Trustees’ fees     2,121  
Other accrued expenses and payables     126,415  
Total liabilities     46,195,839  
Net assets, at value   $ 375,441,647  
Net Assets Consist of        
Distributable earnings (loss)     87,575,682  
Paid-in capital     287,865,965  
Net assets, at value   $ 375,441,647  
Net Asset Value        

Class A

  
Net Asset Value and redemption price per share ($345,905,587 ÷ 21,842,786 outstanding shares of beneficial interest, $.001 par value, unlimited number of shares authorized)   $ 15.84  

Class B

  
Net Asset Value offering and redemption price per share ($29,536,060 ÷ 1,862,735 outstanding shares of beneficial interest, $.001 par value, unlimited number of shares authorized)   $ 15.86  

 

*

Represents collateral on securities loaned

Statement of Operations

 

for the six months ended June 30, 2019 (Unaudited)

 

Investment Income        
Income:  
Dividends (net of foreign taxes withheld
of $332)		   $ 2,455,773  
Interest     17,093  
Income distributions — DWS Central Cash Management Government Fund     68,920  
Securities lending income, net of borrower rebates     136,850  
Total income     2,678,636  
Expenses:  
Management fee     636,015  
Administration fee     181,719  
Services to Shareholders     1,795  
Recordkeeping fee (Class B)     4,620  
Distribution service fee (Class B)     37,764  
Custodian fee     20,019  
Professional fees     39,978  
Reports to shareholders     29,490  
Trustees’ fees and expenses     11,563  
Other     40,138  
Total expenses before expense reductions     1,003,101  
Expense reductions     (250,926 ) 
Total expenses after expense reductions     752,175  
Net investment income     1,926,461  
Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss)        
Net realized gain (loss) from:  
Investments     21,889,855  
Futures     655,898  
      22,545,753  
Change in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on:  
Investments     31,418,286  
Futures     360,286  
Foreign currency     55  
    $ 31,778,627  
Net gain (loss)     54,324,380  
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations   $   56,250,841  
 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

 

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Statements of Changes in Net Assets  

 

Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets  

Six Months

Ended

June 30, 2019

(Unaudited)

    

Year Ended

December 31,

2018

  
Operations:    
Net investment income (loss)   $ 1,926,461     $ 4,120,982  
Net realized gain (loss)     22,545,753       32,583,952  
Change in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation)     31,778,627       (78,598,339 ) 
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations     56,250,841       (41,893,405 ) 
Distributions to shareholders:    

Class A

     (33,194,342 )      (28,419,168 ) 

Class B

     (2,947,799 )      (2,572,476 ) 
Total distributions     (36,142,141 )      (30,991,644 ) 
Fund share transactions:

 

Class A

    
Proceeds from shares sold     36,817,643       41,172,754  
Reinvestment of distributions     33,194,342       28,419,168  
Payments for shares redeemed     (50,760,557 )      (54,633,970 ) 
Net increase (decrease) in net assets from Class A share transactions     19,251,428       14,957,952  

Class B

    
Proceeds from shares sold     1,806,231       18,227,770  
Reinvestment of distributions     2,947,799       2,572,476  
Payments for shares redeemed     (4,762,110 )      (21,601,323 ) 
Net increase (decrease) in net assets from Class B share transactions     (8,080 )      (801,077 ) 
Increase (decrease) in net assets     39,352,048       (58,728,174 ) 
Net assets at beginning of period     336,089,599       394,817,773  
Net assets at end of period   $ 375,441,647     $ 336,089,599  
Other Information                

Class A

    
Shares outstanding at beginning of period     20,590,649       19,690,579  
Shares sold     2,193,147       2,269,653  
Shares issued to shareholders in reinvestment of distributions     2,089,008       1,663,885  
Shares redeemed     (3,030,018 )      (3,033,468 ) 
Net increase (decrease) in Class A shares     1,252,137       900,070  
Shares outstanding at end of period     21,842,786       20,590,649  

Class B

    
Shares outstanding at beginning of period     1,861,335       1,897,242  
Shares sold     112,220       982,362  
Shares issued to shareholders in reinvestment of distributions     185,163       150,437  
Shares redeemed     (295,983 )      (1,168,706 ) 
Net increase (decrease) in Class B shares     1,400       (35,907 ) 
Shares outstanding at end of period     1,862,735       1,861,335  

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

 

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Financial Highlights

 

    Six Months
Ended 6/30/19		     Years Ended December 31,  
Class A   (Unaudited)     2018     2017     2016     2015     2014  
Selected Per Share Data                                                
Net asset value, beginning of period   $ 14.97     $ 18.29     $ 16.78     $ 15.18     $ 17.33     $ 17.69  
Income (loss) from investment operations:            

Net investment income (loss)a

     .09       .19       .17       .18       .19       .17  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

     2.44       (2.06 )      2.16       2.76       (.87 )      .59  

Total from investment operations

     2.53       (1.87 )      2.33       2.94       (.68 )      .76  
Less distributions from:            

Net investment income

     (.18 )      (.18 )      (.17 )      (.17 )      (.18 )      (.17 ) 

Net realized gains

     (1.48 )      (1.27 )      (.65 )      (1.17 )      (1.29 )      (.95 ) 

Total distributions

     (1.66 )      (1.45 )      (.82 )      (1.34 )      (1.47 )      (1.12 ) 
Net asset value, end of period   $ 15.84     $ 14.97     $ 18.29     $ 16.78     $ 15.18     $ 17.33  
Total Return (%)b     16.88 **      (11.23 )      14.33       21.03       (4.60 )      4.74  
Ratios to Average Net Assets and Supplemental Data                                                
Net assets, end of period ($ millions)     346       308       360       343       284       313  
Ratio of expenses before expense reductions (%)c     .53 *      .51       .51       .53       .54       .53  
Ratio of expenses after expense reductions (%)c     .39 *      .41       .44       .45       .45       .47  
Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%)     1.09 *      1.03       1.00       1.25       1.14       1.04  
Portfolio turnover rate (%)     16 **      17       15       18       21       21  

 

a 

Based on average shares outstanding during the period.

 

b 

Total return would have been lower had certain expenses not been reduced.

 

c 

Expense ratio does not reflect charges and fees associated with the separate account that invests in the Fund or any variable life insurance policy or variable annuity contract for which the Fund is an investment option.

 

* 

Annualized

 

** 

Not annualized

 

    Six Months
Ended 6/30/19		     Years Ended December 31,  
Class B   (Unaudited)     2018     2017     2016     2015     2014  
Selected Per Share Data                                                
Net asset value, beginning of period   $ 14.97     $ 18.28     $ 16.77     $ 15.17     $ 17.31     $ 17.68  
Income (loss) from investment operations:            

Net investment income (loss)a

     .06       .14       .13       .15       .14       .13  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

     2.44       (2.05 )      2.15       2.75       (.86 )      .57  

Total from investment operations

     2.50       (1.91 )      2.28       2.90       (.72 )      .70  
Less distributions from:            

Net investment income

     (.13 )      (.13 )      (.12 )      (.13 )      (.13 )      (.12 ) 

Net realized gains

     (1.48 )      (1.27 )      (.65 )      (1.17 )      (1.29 )      (.95 ) 

Total distributions

     (1.61 )      (1.40 )      (.77 )      (1.30 )      (1.42 )      (1.07 ) 
Net asset value, end of period   $ 15.86     $ 14.97     $ 18.28     $ 16.77     $ 15.17     $ 17.31  
Total Return (%)b     16.70 **      (11.42 )      14.03       20.71       (4.85 )      4.47  
Ratios to Average Net Assets and Supplemental Data                                                
Net assets, end of period ($ millions)     30       28       35       30       25       27  
Ratio of expenses before expense reductions (%)c     .81 *      .80       .78       .78       .79       .79  
Ratio of expenses after expense reductions (%)c     .65 *      .67       .70       .71       .71       .72  
Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%)     .78 *      .77       .76       .99       .88       .80  
Portfolio turnover rate (%)     16 **      17       15       18       21       21  

 

a 

Based on average shares outstanding during the period.

 

b 

Total return would have been lower had certain expenses not been reduced.

 

c 

Expense ratio does not reflect charges and fees associated with the separate account that invests in the Fund or any variable life insurance policy or variable annuity contract for which the Fund is an investment option.

 

* 

Annualized

 

** 

Not annualized

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

 

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Notes to Financial Statements   (Unaudited)

A. Organization and Significant Accounting Policies

Deutsche DWS Investments VIT Funds (the “Trust”) is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), as an open-end management investment company. The Trust is organized as a Massachusetts business trust. DWS Small Cap Index VIP (the “Fund”) is a diversified series of the Trust offered to investors. The Fund is an underlying investment vehicle for variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies to be offered by the separate accounts of certain life insurance companies (“Participating Insurance Companies”).

Multiple Classes of Shares of Beneficial Interest. The Fund offers two classes of shares to investors: Class A shares and Class B shares. Class B shares are subject to Rule 12b-1 distribution fees under the 1940 Act and recordkeeping fees equal to an annual rate of 0.25% and up to 0.15%, respectively, of the Class B shares average daily net assets. Class A shares are not subject to such fees.

Investment income, realized and unrealized gains and losses, and certain fund-level expenses and expense reductions, if any, are borne pro rata on the basis of relative net assets by the holders of all classes of shares, except that each class bears certain expenses unique to that class (including the applicable Rule 12b-1 distribution fees). Differences in class-level expenses may result in payment of different per share dividends by class. All shares have equal rights with respect to voting subject to class-specific arrangements.

The Fund’s financial statements are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) which require the use of management estimates. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The Fund qualifies as an investment company under Topic 946 of Accounting Standards Codification of U.S. GAAP. The policies described below are followed consistently by the Fund in the preparation of its financial statements.

Security Valuation. Investments are stated at value determined as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange on each day the exchange is open for trading.

Various inputs are used in determining the value of the Fund’s investments. These inputs are summarized in three broad levels. Level 1 includes quoted prices in active markets for identical securities. Level 2 includes other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar securities, interest rates, prepayment speeds and credit risk). Level 3 includes significant unobservable inputs (including the Fund’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments). The level assigned to the securities valuations may not be an indication of the risk or liquidity associated with investing in those securities.

Equity securities are valued at the most recent sale price or official closing price reported on the exchange (U.S. or foreign) or over-the-counter market on which they trade. Securities for which no sales are reported are valued at the calculated mean between the most recent bid and asked quotations on the relevant market or, if a mean cannot be determined, at the most recent bid quotation. Equity securities are generally categorized as Level 1.

Debt securities are valued at prices supplied by independent pricing services approved by the Fund’s Board. If the pricing services are unable to provide valuations, securities are valued at the most recent bid quotation or evaluated price, as applicable, obtained from one or more broker-dealers. Such services may use various pricing techniques which take into account appropriate factors such as yield, quality, coupon rate, maturity, type of issue, trading characteristics and other data, as well as broker quotes. These securities are generally categorized as Level 2.

Investments in open-end investment companies are valued at their net asset value each business day and are categorized as Level 1.

Futures contracts are generally valued at the settlement prices established each day on the exchange on which they are traded and are categorized as Level 1.

Securities and other assets for which market quotations are not readily available or for which the above valuation procedures are deemed not to reflect fair value are valued in a manner that is intended to reflect their fair value as determined in accordance with procedures approved by the Board and are generally categorized as Level 3. In accordance with the Fund’s valuation procedures, factors considered in determining value may include, but are not limited to, the type of the security; the size of the holding; the initial cost of the security; the existence of any contractual restrictions on the security’s disposition; the price and extent of public trading in similar securities of the issuer or of comparable companies; quotations or

 

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evaluated prices from broker-dealers and/or pricing services; information obtained from the issuer, analysts, and/or the appropriate stock exchange (for exchange-traded securities); an analysis of the company’s or issuer’s financial statements; an evaluation of the forces that influence the issuer and the market(s) in which the security is purchased and sold; and with respect to debt securities, the maturity, coupon, creditworthiness, currency denomination and the movement of the market in which the security is normally traded. The value determined under these procedures may differ from published values for the same securities.

Disclosure about the classification of fair value measurements is included in a table following the Fund’s Investment Portfolio.

Securities Lending. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. serves as securities lending agent for the Fund, lends securities of the Fund to certain financial institutions under the terms of its securities lending agreement. During the term of the loans, the Fund continues to receive interest and dividends generated by the securities and to participate in any changes in their market value. The Fund requires the borrowers of the securities to maintain collateral with the Fund consisting of either cash and/or U.S. Treasury Securities having a value at least equal to the value of the securities loaned. When the collateral falls below specified amounts, the lending agent will use its best effort to obtain additional collateral on the next business day to meet required amounts under the security lending agreement. During the six months ended June 30, 2019, the Fund invested the cash collateral into a joint trading account in DWS Government & Agency Securities Portfolio, an affiliated money market fund managed by DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. receives a management/administration fee (0.11% annualized effective rate as of June 30, 2019) on the cash collateral invested in DWS Government & Agency Securities Portfolio. The Fund receives compensation for lending its securities either in the form of fees or by earning interest on invested cash collateral net of borrower rebates and fees paid to a lending agent. Either the Fund or the borrower may terminate the loan at any time, and the borrower, after notice, is required to return borrowed securities within a standard time period. There may be risks of delay and costs in recovery of securities or even loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially. If the Fund is not able to recover securities lent, the Fund may sell the collateral and purchase a replacement investment in the market, incurring the risk that the value of the replacement security is greater than the value of the collateral. The Fund is also subject to all investment risks associated with the reinvestment of any cash collateral received, including, but not limited to, interest rate, credit and liquidity risk associated with such investments.

As of June 30, 2019, the Fund had securities on loan, which were classified as common stock and rights in the Investment Portfolio. The value of the related collateral exceeded the value of the securities loaned at period end.

 

Remaining Contractual Maturity of the Agreements as of June 30, 2019  
    

Overnight

and

Continuous

     <30 days    

Between 30

& 90 days

      >90 days      Total  

Securities Lending Transactions

            
Common Stocks   $ 12,268,970     $           —     $           —      $           —      $ 12,268,970  
Rights     24,480       —       —        —        24,480  
Total Borrowings   $ 12,293,450     $ —     $ —      $ —      $ 12,293,450  

Gross amount of recognized liabilities for securities lending transactions:

 

         $ 12,293,450  

Federal Income Taxes. The Fund’s policy is to comply with the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended, which are applicable to regulated investment companies, and to distribute all of its taxable income to its shareholders.

At June 30, 2019, the aggregate cost of investments for federal income tax purposes was $324,830,719. The net unrealized appreciation for all investments based on tax cost was $63,131,849. This consisted of aggregate gross unrealized appreciation for all investments in which there was an excess of value over tax cost of $106,224,951 and aggregate gross unrealized depreciation for all investments in which there was an excess of tax cost over value of $43,093,102.

The Fund has reviewed the tax positions for the open tax years as of December 31, 2018 and has determined that no provision for income tax and/or uncertain tax positions is required in the Fund’s financial statements. The Fund’s federal tax returns for the prior three fiscal years remain open subject to examination by the Internal Revenue Service.

 

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Distribution of Income and Gains. Net investment income of the Fund, if any, is distributed to shareholders annually. Net realized gains from investment transactions, in excess of available capital loss carryforwards, would be taxable to the Fund if not distributed, and, therefore, will be distributed to shareholders at least annually. The Fund may also make additional distributions for tax purposes if necessary.

The timing and characterization of certain income and capital gain distributions are determined annually in accordance with federal tax regulations, which may differ from accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. These differences primarily relate to investments in futures contracts and certain securities sold at a loss. As a result, net investment income (loss) and net realized gain (loss) on investment transactions for a reporting period may differ significantly from distributions during such period. Accordingly, the Fund may periodically make reclassifications among certain of its capital accounts without impacting the net asset value of the Fund.

The tax character of current year distributions will be determined at the end of the current fiscal year.

Contingencies. In the normal course of business, the Fund may enter into contracts with service providers that contain general indemnification clauses. The Fund’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown, as this would involve future claims that may be made against the Fund that have not yet been made. However, based on experience, the Fund expects the risk of loss to be remote.

Expenses. Expenses of the Trust arising in connection with a specific fund are allocated to that fund. Other Trust expenses which cannot be directly attributed to a fund are apportioned among the funds in the Trust based upon the relative net assets or other appropriate measures.

Real Estate Investment Trusts. The Fund at its fiscal year end recharacterizes distributions received from a Real Estate Investment Trust (“REIT”) investment based on information provided by the REIT into the following categories: ordinary income, long-term and short-term capital gains, and return of capital. If information is not available timely from a REIT, the recharacterization will be estimated for financial statement purposes and a recharacterization will be made within the accounting records in the following year when such information becomes available. Distributions received from REITs in excess of income are recorded as either a reduction of cost of investments or realized gains.

Other. Investment transactions are accounted for on a trade date plus one basis for daily net asset valuation calculations. However, for financial reporting purposes, investment transactions are reported on trade date. Interest income is recorded on the accrual basis. Dividend income is recorded on the ex-dividend date net of foreign withholding taxes. Realized gains and losses from investment transactions are recorded on an identified cost basis. Proceeds from litigation payments, if any, are included in net realized gain (loss) from investments.

B. Derivative Instruments

A futures contract is an agreement between a buyer or seller and an established futures exchange or its clearinghouse in which the buyer or seller agrees to take or make a delivery of a specific amount of a financial instrument at a specified price on a specific date (settlement date). For the six months ended June 30, 2019, the Fund invested in futures to keep cash on hand to meet shareholder redemptions or other needs while maintaining exposure to the stock market.

Upon entering into a futures contract, the Fund is required to deposit with a financial intermediary cash or securities (“initial margin”) in an amount equal to a certain percentage of the face value indicated in the futures contract. Subsequent payments (“variation margin”) are made or received by the Fund dependent upon the daily fluctuations in the value and are recorded for financial reporting purposes as unrealized gains or losses by the Fund. Gains or losses are realized when the contract expires or is closed. Since all futures contracts are exchange traded, counterparty risk is minimized as the exchange’s clearinghouse acts as the counterparty, and guarantees the futures against default.

Certain risks may arise upon entering into futures contracts, including the risk that an illiquid market will limit the Fund’s ability to close out a futures contract prior to the settlement date and the risk that the futures contract is not well correlated with the security, index or currency to which it relates. Risk of loss may exceed amounts disclosed in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities.

A summary of the open futures contracts as of June 30, 2019, is included in a table following the Fund’s Investment Portfolio. For the six months ended June 30, 2019, the investment in futures contracts purchased had a total notional value generally indicative of a range from $4,388,000 to approximately $16,056,000.

 

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The following tables summarize the value of the Fund’s derivative instruments held as of June 30, 2019 and the related location in the accompanying Statement of Assets and Liabilities, presented by primary underlying risk exposure:

 

Asset Derivative   Futures
Contracts		  
Equity Contracts (a)   $ 67,189  

The above derivative is located in the following Statement of Assets and Liabilities account:

 

(a)

Includes cumulative appreciation of futures contracts as disclosed in the Investment Portfolio. Unsettled variation margin is disclosed separately within the Statement of Assets and Liabilities.

Additionally, the amount of unrealized and realized gains and losses on derivative instruments recognized in Fund earnings during the six months ended June 30, 2019 and the related location in the accompanying Statement of Operations is summarized in the following tables by primary underlying risk exposure:

 

Realized Gain (Loss)  

Futures

Contracts

  
Equity Contracts (b)   $ 655,898  

The above derivative is located in the following Statement of Operations account:

 

(b)

Net realized gain (loss) from futures

 

Change in Net Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation)  

Futures

Contracts

  
Equity Contracts (c)   $ 360,286  

The above derivative is located in the following Statement of Operations account:

 

(c)

Change in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on futures

C. Purchases and Sales of Securities

During the six months ended June 30, 2019, purchases and sales of investment securities (excluding short-term investments) aggregated $55,780,228 and $67,984,117, respectively.

D. Related Parties

Investment Management Agreement. Under the Investment Management Agreement with DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. (“DIMA” or the “Advisor”), an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of DWS Group GmbH & Co. KGaA (“DWS Group”), the Advisor determines the securities, instruments and other contracts relating to investments to be purchased, sold, or entered into by the Fund or delegates such responsibility to the Fund’s subadvisor. Northern Trust Investments, Inc. (“NTI”) serves as subadvisor. As a subadvisor to the Fund, NTI makes investment decisions and buys and sells securities for the Fund. NTI is paid by the Advisor for the services NTI provides to the Fund.

Pursuant to the Investment Management Agreement with the Advisor, the Fund pays the Advisor an annual fee based on its average daily net assets, computed and accrued daily and payable monthly at the annual rate (exclusive of any applicable waivers/reimbursements) of 0.35%.

For the period from January 1, 2019 through April 30, 2020, the Advisor has contractually agreed to waive all or a portion of its fees and/or reimburse certain operating expenses of the Fund to the extent necessary to maintain the total annual operating expenses (excluding certain expenses such as extraordinary expenses, taxes, brokerage and interest) of each class as follows:

 

Class A     .39 % 
Class B     .65 % 

For the six months ended June 30, 2019, fees waived and/or expenses reimbursed for each class are as follows:

 

Class A   $ 227,210  
Class B     23,716  
    $ 250,926  

Administration Fee. Pursuant to the Administrative Services Agreement, DIMA provides most administrative services to the Fund. For all services provided under the Administrative Services Agreement, the Fund pays DIMA an annual fee (“Administration Fee”) of 0.10% of the Fund’s average daily net assets,

 

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computed and accrued daily and payable monthly. For the six months ended June 30, 2019, the Administration Fee was $181,719, of which $29,790 is unpaid.

Distribution Service Agreement. DWS Distributors, Inc. (“DDI”), an affiliate of the Advisor, is the Fund’s distributor. In accordance with the Distribution Plan, DDI receives 12b-1 fees of 0.25% of average daily net assets of Class B shares. For the six months ended June 30, 2019, the Distribution Service Fee was as follows:

 

Distribution Service Fee   Total
Aggregated		     Unpaid at
June 30, 2019		  
Class B   $ 37,764     $ 5,848  

Service Provider Fees. DWS Service Company (“DSC”), an affiliate of the Advisor, is the transfer agent, dividend-paying agent and shareholder service agent of the Fund. Pursuant to a sub-transfer agency agreement among DSC and DST Systems, Inc. (“DST”), DSC has delegated certain transfer agent, dividend-paying agent and shareholder service agent functions to DST. DSC compensates DST out of the shareholder servicing fee they receive from the Fund. For the six months ended June 30, 2019, the amounts charged to the Fund by DSC were as follows:

 

Services to Shareholders  

Total

Aggregated

    

Unpaid at

June 30, 2019

  
Class A   $ 522     $ 168  
Class B     110       36  
    $ 632     $ 204  

Typesetting and Filing Service Fees. Under an agreement with the fund, DIMA is compensated for providing certain pre-press and regulatory filing services to the Fund. For the six months ended June 30, 2019, the amount charged to the Fund by DIMA included in the Statement of Operations under “Reports to shareholders” aggregated $9,618, all of which is unpaid.

Trustees’ Fees and Expenses. The Fund paid retainer fees to each Trustee not affiliated with the Advisor, plus specified amounts to the Board Chairperson and to each committee Chairperson.

Affiliated Cash Management Vehicles. The Fund may invest uninvested cash balances in DWS Central Cash Management Government Fund and DWS ESG Liquidity Fund, affiliated money market funds which are managed by the Advisor. Each affiliated money market fund is managed in accordance with Rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act, which governs the quality, maturity, diversity and liquidity of instruments in which a money market fund may invest. DWS Central Cash Management Government Fund seeks to maintain a stable net asset value, and DWS ESG Liquidity Fund maintains a floating net asset value. The Fund indirectly bears its proportionate share of the expenses of each affiliated money market fund in which it invests. DWS Central Cash Management Government Fund does not pay the Advisor an investment management fee. To the extent that DWS ESG Liquidity Fund pays an investment management fee to the Advisor, the Advisor will waive an amount of the investment management fee payable to the Advisor by the Fund equal to the amount of the investment management fee payable on the Fund’s assets invested in DWS ESG Liquidity Fund.

E. Line of Credit

The Fund and other affiliated funds (the “Participants”) share in a $400 million revolving credit facility provided by a syndication of banks. The Fund may borrow for temporary or emergency purposes, including the meeting of redemption requests that otherwise might require the untimely disposition of securities. The Participants are charged an annual commitment fee which is allocated based on net assets, among each of the Participants. Interest is calculated at a rate per annum equal to the sum of the Federal Funds Rate plus 1.25 percent plus if the one-month LIBOR exceeds the Federal Funds Rate, the amount of such excess. The Fund may borrow up to a maximum of 33 percent of its net assets under the agreement. The Fund had no outstanding loans at June 30, 2019.

F. Ownership of the Fund

At June 30, 2019, three participating insurance companies were beneficial owners of record of 10% or more of the total outstanding Class A shares of the Fund, each owning 38%, 17% and 12%, respectively. At June 30, 2019, three participating insurance companies were beneficial owners of record of 10% or more of the outstanding Class B shares of the Fund, each owning 48%, 15% and 14%, respectively.

 

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Information About Your Fund’s Expenses   (Unaudited)

As an investor of the Fund, you incur two types of costs: ongoing expenses and transaction costs. Ongoing expenses include management fees, distribution and service (12b-1) fees and other Fund expenses. Examples of transaction costs include contract charges, which are not shown in this section. The following tables are intended to help you understand your ongoing expenses (in dollars) of investing in the Fund and to help you compare these expenses with the ongoing expenses of investing in other mutual funds. In the most recent six-month period, the Fund limited these expenses; had it not done so, expenses would have been higher. The example in the table is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the six-month period and held for the entire period (January 1, 2019 to June 30, 2019).

The tables illustrate your Fund’s expenses in two ways:

 

–  

Actual Fund Return. This helps you estimate the actual dollar amount of ongoing expenses (but not transaction costs) paid on a $1,000 investment in the Fund using the Fund’s actual return during the period. To estimate the expenses you paid over the period, simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number in the “Expenses Paid per $1,000” line under the share class you hold.

 

–  

Hypothetical 5% Fund Return. This helps you to compare your Fund’s ongoing expenses (but not transaction costs) with those of other mutual funds using the Fund’s actual expense ratio and a hypothetical rate of return of 5% per year before expenses. Examples using a 5% hypothetical Fund return may be found in the shareholder reports of other mutual funds. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period.

Please note that the expenses shown in these tables are meant to highlight your ongoing expenses only and do not reflect any transaction costs. The “Expenses Paid per $1,000” line of the tables is useful in comparing ongoing expenses only and will not help you determine the relative total expense of owning different funds. If these transaction costs had been included, your costs would have been higher.

 

Expenses and Value of a $1,000 Investment for the six months ended June 30, 2019         
Actual Fund Return     Class A       Class B  
Beginning Account Value 1/1/19   $ 1,000.00     $ 1,000.00  
Ending Account Value 6/30/19   $ 1,168.80     $ 1,167.00  
Expenses Paid per $1,000*   $ 2.10     $ 3.49  
Hypothetical 5% Fund Return     Class A       Class B  
Beginning Account Value 1/1/19   $ 1,000.00     $ 1,000.00  
Ending Account Value 6/30/19   $ 1,022.86     $ 1,021.57  
Expenses Paid per $1,000*   $ 1.96     $ 3.26  

 

*

Expenses are equal to the Fund’s annualized expense ratio for each share class, multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by 181 (the number of days in the most recent six-month period), then divided by 365.

 

Annualized Expense Ratios   Class A     Class B  
DWS Small Cap Index VIP     .39 %      .65 % 

For more information, please refer to the Fund’s prospectus.

These tables do not reflect charges and fees (“contract charges”) associated with the separate account that invests in the Fund or any variable life insurance policy or variable annuity contract for which the Fund is an investment option.

For an analysis of the fees associated with an investment in the Fund or similar funds, please refer to the current and hypothetical expense calculators for Variable Insurance Products which can be found at dws.com/calculators.

 

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Proxy Voting

The Fund’s policies and procedures for voting proxies for portfolio securities and information about how the Fund voted proxies related to its portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 are available on our Web site — dws.com/en-us/resources/proxy-voting — or on the SEC’s Web site — sec.gov. To obtain a written copy of the Fund’s policies and procedures without charge, upon request, call us toll free at (800) 728-3337.

 

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Advisory Agreement Board Considerations and Fee Evaluation

The Board of Trustees (hereinafter referred to as the “Board” or “Trustees”) approved the renewal of DWS Small Cap Index VIP’s (the “Fund”) investment management agreement (the “Agreement”) with DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. (“DIMA”) and sub-advisory agreement (the “Sub-Advisory Agreement” and together with the Agreement, the “Agreements”) between DIMA and Northern Trust Investments, Inc. (“NTI”) in September 2018.

In terms of the process that the Board followed prior to approving the Agreements, shareholders should know that:

 

–  

During the entire process, all of the Fund’s Trustees were independent of DIMA and its affiliates (the “Independent Trustees”).

 

–  

The Board met frequently during the past year to discuss fund matters and dedicated a substantial amount of time to contract review matters. Over the course of several months, the Board’s Contract Committee reviewed extensive materials received from DIMA, independent third parties and independent counsel. These materials included an analysis of the Fund’s performance, fees and expenses, and profitability from a fee consultant retained by the Fund’s Independent Trustees (the “Fee Consultant”). Based on its evaluation of the information provided, the Contract Committee presented its findings and recommendations to the Board. The Board then reviewed the Contract Committee’s findings and recommendations.

 

–  

The Board also received extensive information throughout the year regarding performance of the Fund.

 

–  

The Independent Trustees regularly met privately with counsel to discuss contract review and other matters. In addition, the Independent Trustees were advised by the Fee Consultant in the course of their review of the Fund’s contractual arrangements and considered a comprehensive report prepared by the Fee Consultant in connection with their deliberations.

 

–  

In connection with reviewing the Agreements, the Board also reviewed the terms of the Fund’s Rule 12b-1 plan, distribution agreement, administrative services agreement, transfer agency agreement and other material service agreements.

In connection with the contract review process, the Contract Committee and the Board considered the factors discussed below, among others. The Board also considered that DIMA and its predecessors have managed the Fund since its inception, and the Board believes that a long-term relationship with a capable, conscientious advisor is in the best interests of the Fund. The Board considered, generally, that shareholders chose to invest or remain invested in the Fund knowing that DIMA managed the Fund. DIMA is part of DWS Group GmbH & Co. KGaA (“DWS Group”). DWS Group is a global asset management business that offers a wide range of investing expertise and resources, including research capabilities in many countries throughout the world. In 2018, approximately 20% of DWS Group’s shares were sold in an initial public offering, with Deutsche Bank AG owning the remaining shares.

As part of the contract review process, the Board carefully considered the fees and expenses of each DWS fund overseen by the Board in light of the fund’s performance. In many cases, this led to the negotiation and implementation of expense caps. As part of these negotiations, the Board indicated that it would consider relaxing these caps in future years following sustained improvements in performance, among other considerations.

While shareholders may focus primarily on fund performance and fees, the Fund’s Board considers these and many other factors, including the quality and integrity of DIMA’s and NTI’s personnel and administrative support services provided by DIMA, such as back-office operations, fund valuations, and compliance policies and procedures.

Nature, Quality and Extent of Services. The Board considered the terms of the Agreements, including the scope of advisory services provided under the Agreements. The Board noted that, under the Agreements, DIMA and NTI provide portfolio management services to the Fund and that, pursuant to a separate administrative services agreement, DIMA provides administrative services to the Fund. The Board considered the experience and skills of senior management and investment personnel and the resources made available to such personnel. Throughout the course of the year, the Board also received information regarding DIMA’s oversight of fund sub-advisers, including NTI. The Board reviewed the Fund’s performance over short-term and long-term periods and compared those returns to various agreed-upon performance measures, including market index(es) and a peer universe compiled using information supplied by

 

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Morningstar Direct (“Morningstar”), an independent fund data service. The Board also noted that it has put into place a process of identifying “Funds in Review” (e.g., funds performing poorly relative to a peer universe), and receives additional reporting from DIMA regarding such funds and, where appropriate, DIMA’s plans to address underperformance. The Board believes this process is an effective manner of identifying and addressing underperforming funds. Based on the information provided, the Board noted that, for the one-, three- and five-year periods ended December 31, 2017, the Fund’s performance (Class A shares) was in the 1st quartile, 2nd quartile and 3rd quartile, respectively, of the applicable Morningstar universe (the 1st quartile being the best performers and the 4th quartile being the worst performers).

Fees and Expenses. The Board considered the Fund’s investment management fee schedule, sub-advisory fee schedule, operating expenses and total expense ratios, and comparative information provided by Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (“Broadridge”) and the Fee Consultant regarding investment management fee rates paid to other investment advisors by similar funds (1st quartile being the most favorable and 4th quartile being the least favorable). With respect to management fees paid to other investment advisors by similar funds, the Board noted that the contractual fee rates paid by the Fund, which include a 0.10% fee paid to DIMA under the Fund’s administrative services agreement, were higher than the median (4th quartile) of the applicable Broadridge peer group (based on Broadridge data provided as of December 31, 2017). With respect to the sub-advisory fee paid to NTI, the Board noted that the fee is paid by DIMA out of its fee and not directly by the Fund. The Board noted that the Fund’s Class A shares total (net) operating expenses were expected to be higher than the median (3rd quartile) of the applicable Broadridge expense universe (based on Broadridge data provided as of December 31, 2017, and analyzing Broadridge expense universe Class A (net) expenses less any applicable 12b-1 fees) (“Broadridge Universe Expenses”). The Board also reviewed data comparing each share class’s total (net) operating expenses to the applicable Broadridge Universe Expenses. The Board noted that the expense limitations agreed to by DIMA were expected to help the Fund’s total (net) operating expenses remain competitive. The Board considered the Fund’s management fee rate as compared to fees charged by DIMA to comparable DWS U.S. registered funds (“DWS Funds”) and considered differences between the Fund and the comparable DWS Funds. The information requested by the Board as part of its review of fees and expenses also included information about institutional accounts (including any sub-advised funds and accounts) and funds offered primarily to European investors (“DWS Europe Funds”) managed by DWS Group. The Board noted that DIMA indicated that DWS Group does not manage any institutional accounts or DWS Europe Funds comparable to the Fund.

On the basis of the information provided, the Board concluded that management fees were reasonable and appropriate in light of the nature, quality and extent of services provided by DIMA and NTI.

Profitability. The Board reviewed detailed information regarding revenues received by DIMA under the Agreement. The Board considered the estimated costs to DIMA, and pre-tax profits realized by DIMA, from advising the DWS Funds, as well as estimates of the pre-tax profits attributable to managing the Fund in particular. The Board also received information regarding the estimated enterprise-wide profitability of DIMA and its affiliates with respect to all fund services in totality and by fund. The Board and the Fee Consultant reviewed DIMA’s methodology in allocating its costs to the management of the Fund. Based on the information provided, the Board concluded that the pre-tax profits realized by DIMA in connection with the management of the Fund were not unreasonable. The Board also reviewed certain publicly available information regarding the profitability of certain similar investment management firms. The Board noted that, while information regarding the profitability of such firms is limited (and in some cases is not necessarily prepared on a comparable basis), DIMA and its affiliates’ overall profitability with respect to the DWS Funds (after taking into account distribution and other services provided to the funds by DIMA and its affiliates) was lower than the overall profitability levels of most comparable firms for which such data was available. The Board did not consider the profitability of NTI with respect to the Fund. The Board noted that DIMA pays NTI’s fee out of its management fee, and its understanding that the Fund’s sub-advisory fee schedule was the product of an arm’s length negotiation with DIMA.

Economies of Scale. The Board considered whether there are economies of scale with respect to the management of the Fund and whether the Fund benefits from any economies of scale. In this regard, the Board observed that while the Fund’s current investment management fee schedule does not include breakpoints, the Fund’s fee schedule represents an appropriate sharing between the Fund and DIMA of such economies of scale as may exist in the management of the Fund at current asset levels.

Other Benefits to DIMA and NTI and Their Affiliates. The Board also considered the character and amount of other incidental or “fall-out” benefits received by DIMA and NTI and their affiliates, including any fees received by DIMA for administrative services provided to the Fund, any fees received by an affiliate of DIMA

 

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for transfer agency services provided to the Fund and any fees received by an affiliate of DIMA for distribution services. The Board also considered benefits to DIMA and NTI related to brokerage and soft-dollar allocations, including allocating brokerage to pay for research generated by parties other than the executing broker dealers, which pertain primarily to funds investing in equity securities. In addition, the Board considered the incidental public relations benefits to DIMA and NTI related to DWS Funds advertising and cross-selling opportunities among DIMA products and services. The Board considered these benefits in reaching its conclusion that the Fund’s management fees were reasonable.

Compliance. The Board considered the significant attention and resources dedicated by DIMA to its compliance processes in recent years. The Board noted in particular (i) the experience, seniority and time commitment of the individuals serving as DIMA’s and the Fund’s chief compliance officers and (ii) the substantial commitment of resources by DIMA and its affiliates to compliance matters, including the retention of compliance personnel. The Board also considered the attention and resources dedicated by DIMA to the oversight of the investment sub-advisor’s compliance program and compliance with the applicable fund policies and procedures.

Based on all of the information considered and the conclusions reached, the Board unanimously determined that the continuation of the Agreements is in the best interests of the Fund. In making this determination, the Board did not give particular weight to any single factor identified above. The Board considered these factors over the course of numerous meetings, certain of which were in executive session with only the Independent Trustees and counsel present. It is possible that individual Independent Trustees may have weighed these factors differently in reaching their individual decisions to approve the continuation of the Agreements.

 

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Notes

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Notes

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LOGO  

vit-scif-3 (R-028372-8 8/19)

  

   
ITEM 2. CODE OF ETHICS
   
  Not applicable.
   
ITEM 3. AUDIT COMMITTEE FINANCIAL EXPERT
   
  Not applicable
   
ITEM 4. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES
   
  Not applicable
   
ITEM 5. AUDIT COMMITTEE OF LISTED REGISTRANTS
   
  Not applicable
   
ITEM 6. SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS
   
  Not applicable
   
ITEM 7. DISCLOSURE OF PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR CLOSED-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES
   
  Not applicable
   
ITEM 8. PORTFOLIO MANAGERS OF CLOSED-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES
   
  Not applicable
   
ITEM 9. PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES BY CLOSED-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANY AND AFFILIATED PURCHASERS
   
  Not applicable
   
ITEM 10. SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS
   
  There were no material changes to the procedures by which shareholders may recommend nominees to the Fund’s Board.  The primary function of the Nominating and Governance Committee is to identify and recommend individuals for membership on the Board and oversee the administration of the Board Governance Guidelines. Shareholders may recommend candidates for Board positions by forwarding their correspondence by U.S. mail or courier service to Keith R. Fox, DWS Funds Board Chair, c/o Thomas R. Hiller, Ropes & Gray LLP, Prudential Tower, 800 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02199-3600.
   
ITEM 11. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
   
  (a) The Chief Executive and Financial Officers concluded that the Registrant’s Disclosure Controls and Procedures are effective based on the evaluation of the Disclosure Controls and Procedures as of a date within six months of the filing date of this report.
   
  (b) There have been no changes in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the six-month period covered by this report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal controls over financial reporting.
   
ITEM 12. Disclosure of Securities Lending Activities for Closed-End Management Investment Companies.
   
  Not applicable
   
ITEM 13. EXHIBITS
   
  (a)(1) Not applicable
   
  (a)(2) Certification pursuant to Rule 30a-2(a) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (17 CFR 270.30a-2(a)) is filed and attached hereto as Exhibit 99.CERT.
   
  (a)(3) Not applicable
   
  (a)(4)(i) Certification pursuant to Item 4.01 of Form 8-K under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 249.308) is attached hereto.
   
  (a)(4)(ii) Letter from former accountant pursuant to Item 304(a) under Regulation S-K is attached hereto.
   
  (b) Certification pursuant to Rule 30a-2(b) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (17 CFR 270.30a-2(b)) is furnished and attached hereto as Exhibit 99.906CERT.
       

 

 

SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

 

Registrant: DWS Small Cap Index VIP, a series of Deutsche DWS Investments VIT Funds
   
   
By:

/s/Hepsen Uzcan

Hepsen Uzcan

President

   
Date: 8/21/2019

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 

 

By:

/s/Hepsen Uzcan

Hepsen Uzcan

President

   
Date: 8/21/2019
   
   
   
By:

/s/Diane Kenneally

Diane Kenneally

Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

   
Date: 8/21/2019