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Xtrackers MSCI USA ESG Leaders Equity ETF
Xtrackers MSCI USA ESG Leaders Equity ETF
Investment Objective

Xtrackers MSCI USA ESG Leaders Equity ETF (the "fund"), seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI USA ESG Leaders Index (the "Underlying Index").

Fees and Expenses

These are the fees and expenses that you will pay when you buy and hold shares. You may also pay brokerage commissions on the purchase and sale of shares of the fund, which are not reflected in the table.

ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES (expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
Xtrackers MSCI USA ESG Leaders Equity ETF
Xtrackers MSCI USA ESG Leaders Equity ETF
Management fee 0.10%
Other Expenses none [1]
Total annual fund operating expenses 0.10%
[1] Because the fund is new, "Other Expenses" are based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year.
EXAMPLE
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the fund's operating expenses remain the same. The Example does not take into account brokerage commissions that you may pay on your purchases and sales of shares of the fund. It also does not include the transaction fees on purchases and redemptions of Creation Units (defined herein), because those fees will not be imposed on retail investors. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
Expense Example
1 Year
3 Years
Xtrackers MSCI USA ESG Leaders Equity ETF | Xtrackers MSCI USA ESG Leaders Equity ETF | USD ($) 10 32
PORTFOLIO TURNOVER 

The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover may indicate higher transaction costs and may mean higher taxes if you are investing in a taxable account. These costs are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the expense example, and can affect the fund's performance.

Portfolio turnover rate for the fund, for the period from March 7, 2019 (commencement of operations) through the most recent fiscal year, was 5%.

Principal Investment Strategies

The fund, using a "passive" or indexing investment approach, seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of the Underlying Index, which is a capitalization weighted index that provides exposure to companies with high environmental, social and governance ("ESG") performance relative to their sector peers. The Underlying Index consists of large- and medium-capitalization companies in the US market. The annual review of the Underlying Index takes place in May and it is rebalanced in August, November and February; the fund updates and rebalances its portfolio in a corresponding fashion.

The Underlying Index uses MSCI ESG Ratings, MSCI ESG Controversies and MSCI Business Involvement Screening Research (collectively, "MSCI ESG Research") to determine index components for the Underlying Index.

■ MSCI ESG Ratings provides research, analysis and ratings of how well companies manage their ESG risks and opportunities. MSCI ESG Ratings provides a company with an overall ESG rating on a seven point scale, ranging from 'AAA' to 'CCC.' Existing constituents of the Underlying Index are required to have an MSCI ESG rating of BB or above to remain in the index, and companies that are currently not constituents of the Underlying Index are also required to have an MSCI ESG rating of BB or above to be considered eligible for addition.

■ MSCI ESG Controversies provides assessments of controversies concerning the negative ESG impact of company operations, products and services. A controversy case is defined as an instance or ongoing situation in which company operations and/or products allegedly have a negative environmental, social, and/or governance impact. A case is typically a single event such as a spill, accident, regulatory action, or a set of closely linked events or allegations such as health and safety fines at the same facility, multiple allegations of anti-competitive behavior related to the same product line, multiple community protests at the same company location, or multiple individual lawsuits alleging the same type of discrimination. MSCI ESG Controversies score companies on a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 being the most severe controversy. Existing constituents of the Underlying Index are required to have an MSCI ESG Controversies Score of 1 or above to remain in the index, while companies that are currently not constituents of the Underlying Index are required to have an MSCI ESG Controversies Score of 3 or above to be considered eligible for addition.

■ MSCI ESG Business Involvement Screening Research aims to enable institutional investors to manage ESG standards and restrictions reliably and efficiently. Companies that are involved in specific business activities which have high potential for negative social and/or environmental impact, such as alcohol, gambling, tobacco, nuclear power, conventional weapons, nuclear weapons, controversial weapons and civilian firearms, are ineligible for inclusion.

The fund uses a full replication indexing strategy to seek to track the Underlying Index. As such, the fund invests directly in the component securities (or a substantial number of the component securities) of the Underlying Index in substantially the same weightings in which they are represented in the Underlying Index. If it is not possible for the fund to acquire component securities due to limited availability or regulatory restrictions, the fund may use a representative sampling indexing strategy to seek to track the Underlying Index instead of a full replication indexing strategy. "Representative sampling" is an indexing strategy that involves investing in a representative sample of securities that collectively has an investment profile similar to the Underlying Index. The securities selected are expected to have, in the aggregate, investment characteristics (based on factors such as market capitalization and industry weightings), fundamental characteristics (such as return variability and yield), and liquidity measures similar to those of the Underlying Index. The fund may or may not hold all of the securities in the Underlying Index when using a representative sampling indexing strategy. The fund will invest at least 80% of its total assets (but typically far more) in component securities of the Underlying Index.

As of October 31, 2019, the Underlying Index consisted of 324 securities, with an average market capitalization of approximately $41.5 billion and a minimum market capitalization of approximately $3.1 billion. The fund will normally invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in listed equity securities of issuers incorporated in the United States.

The fund will concentrate its investments (i.e., hold 25% or more of its total assets) in a particular industry or group of industries to the extent that its Underlying Index is concentrated. As of October 31, 2019, a significant percentage of the Underlying Index was comprised of issuers in the information technology sector (22.6%). The information technology sector includes companies engaged in developing software and providing data processing and outsourced services, along with manufacturing and distributing communications equipment, computers and other electronic equipment and instruments. To the extent that the fund tracks the Underlying Index, the fund's investment in certain sectors or countries may change over time.

While the fund is currently classified as "non-diversified" under the Investment Company Act of 1940, it may operate as or become classified as "diversified" over time. The fund could again become non-diversified solely as a result of a change in relative market capitalization or index weighting of one or more constituents of the index that the fund is designed to track. Shareholder approval will not be sought when the fund crosses from diversified to non-diversified status under such circumstances.

The fund or securities referred to herein are not sponsored, endorsed, issued, sold or promoted by MSCI, and MSCI bears no liability with respect to any the fund or securities or any index on which the fund or securities are based. The Prospectus contains a more detailed description of the limited relationship MSCI has with DBX Advisors LLC and any related funds.

Securities lending. The fund may lend its portfolio securities to brokers, dealers and other financial institutions desiring to borrow securities to complete transactions and for other purposes. In connection with such loans, the fund receives liquid collateral equal to at least 102% of the value of the portfolio securities being lent. This collateral is marked to market on a daily basis. The fund may lend its portfolio securities in an amount up to 33 1/3% of its total assets.

Main Risks

As with any investment, you could lose all or part of your investment in the fund, and the fund's performance could trail that of other investments. The fund is subject to the main risks noted below, any of which may adversely affect the fund's net asset value ("NAV"), trading price, yield, total return and ability to meet its investment objective, as well as numerous other risks that are described in greater detail in the section of this Prospectus entitled "Additional Information About Fund Strategies, Underlying Index Information and Risks" and in the Statement of Additional Information ("SAI").

ESG investment strategy risk. The Underlying Index's ESG methodology, and thus the fund's investment strategy, limits the types and number of investment opportunities available to the fund and, as a result, the fund may underperform other funds that do not have an ESG focus. The Underlying Index's ESG methodology may result in the fund investing in securities or industry sectors that underperform the market as a whole or underperform other funds screened for ESG standards. In addition, the index provider may be unsuccessful in creating an index composed of companies that exhibit positive ESG characteristics.

Stock market risk. When stock prices fall, you should expect the value of your investment to fall as well. Stock prices can be hurt by poor management on the part of the stock's issuer, shrinking product demand and other business risks. These may affect single companies as well as groups of companies. The market as a whole may not favor the types of investments the fund makes, which could adversely affect a stock's price, regardless of how well the company performs, or the fund's ability to sell a stock at an attractive price. There is a chance that stock prices overall will decline because stock markets tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising and falling prices. Events in the US and global financial markets, including actions taken by the US Federal Reserve or foreign central banks to stimulate or stabilize economic growth, may at times result in unusually high market volatility which could negatively affect performance. Further, geopolitical and other events, including war, terrorism, economic uncertainty, trade disputes and related geopolitical events have led, and in the future may lead, to increased short-term market volatility, which may disrupt securities markets and have adverse long-term effects on US and world economies and markets. To the extent that the fund invests in a particular geographic region, capitalization or sector, the fund's performance may be affected by the general performance of that region, capitalization or sector.

Medium-sized company risk. Medium-sized company stocks tend to be more volatile than large company stocks. Because stock analysts are less likely to follow medium-sized companies, less information about them is available to investors. Industry-wide reversals may have a greater impact on medium-sized companies, since they lack the financial resources of larger companies. Medium-sized company stocks are typically less liquid than large company stocks.

Liquidity risk. In certain situations, it may be difficult or impossible to sell an investment at an acceptable price. This risk can be ongoing for any security that does not trade actively or in large volumes, for any security that trades primarily on smaller markets, and for investments that typically trade only among a limited number of large investors (such as certain types of derivatives or restricted securities). In unusual market conditions, even normally liquid securities may be affected by a degree of liquidity risk. This may affect only certain securities or an overall securities market.

Although the fund primarily seeks to redeem shares of the fund on an in-kind basis, if the fund is forced to sell underlying investments at reduced prices or under unfavorable conditions to meet redemption requests or other cash needs, the fund may suffer a loss. This may be magnified in circumstances where redemptions from the fund may be higher than normal.

Focus risk. To the extent that the fund focuses its investments in particular industries, asset classes or sectors of the economy, any market price movements, regulatory or technological changes, or economic conditions affecting companies in those industries, asset classes or sectors may have a significant impact on the fund's performance.

Information technology sector risk. To the extent that the fund invests significantly in the information technology sector, the fund will be sensitive to changes in, and the fund's performance may depend to a greater extent on, the overall condition of the information technology sector. Information technology companies are particularly vulnerable to government regulation and competition, both domestically and internationally, including competition from foreign competitors with lower production costs. Information technology companies also face competition for services of qualified personnel. Additionally, the products of information technology companies may face obsolescence due to rapid technological development and frequent new product introduction by competitors. Finally, information technology companies are heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights, the loss or impairment of which may adversely affect profitability.

Indexing risk. While the exposure of an index to its component securities is by definition 100%, the fund's effective exposure to index securities may vary over time. Because an index fund is designed to maintain a high level of exposure to its Underlying Index at all times, it will not take any steps to invest defensively or otherwise reduce the risk of loss during market downturns.

Tracking error risk. The performance of the fund may diverge from that of its Underlying Index for a number of reasons, including operating expenses, transaction costs, cash flows and operational inefficiencies. The fund's return also may diverge from the return of the Underlying Index because the fund bears the costs and risks associated with buying and selling securities (especially when rebalancing the fund's securities holdings to reflect changes in the Underlying Index) while such costs and risks are not factored into the return of the Underlying Index. Transaction costs, including brokerage costs, will decrease the fund's NAV to the extent not offset by the transaction fee payable by an "Authorized Participant" ("AP"). Market disruptions and regulatory restrictions could have an adverse effect on the fund's ability to adjust its exposure to the required levels in order to track the Underlying Index. In addition, to the extent that portfolio management uses a representative sampling approach (investing in a representative selection of securities included in the Underlying Index rather than all securities in the Underlying Index) it may cause the fund to not be as well correlated with the return of the Underlying Index as would be the case if the fund purchased all of the securities in the Underlying Index in the proportions represented in the Underlying Index. Errors in the Underlying Index data, the Underlying Index computations and/or the construction of the Underlying Index in accordance with its methodology may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the index provider for a period of time or at all, which may have an adverse impact on the fund and its shareholders. In addition, the fund may not be able to invest in certain securities included in the Underlying Index, or invest in them in the exact proportions in which they are represented in the Underlying Index, due to legal restrictions or limitations imposed by the governments of certain countries, a lack of liquidity in the markets in which such securities trade, potential adverse tax consequences or other regulatory reasons. To the extent the fund calculates its NAV based on fair value prices and the value of the Underlying Index is based on securities' closing prices (i.e., the value of the Underlying Index is not based on fair value prices), the fund's ability to track the Underlying Index may be adversely affected. For tax efficiency purposes, the fund may sell certain securities, and such sale may cause the fund to realize a loss and deviate from the performance of the Underlying Index. In light of the factors discussed above, the fund's return may deviate significantly from the return of the Underlying Index.

Market price risk. Fund shares are listed for trading on an exchange and are bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The market prices of shares will fluctuate, in some cases materially, in response to changes in the NAV and supply and demand for shares. As a result, the trading prices of shares may deviate significantly from the NAV during periods of market volatility. The Advisor cannot predict whether shares will trade above, below or at their NAV. Given the fact that shares can be created and redeemed in Creation Units (defined below), the Advisor believes that large discounts or premiums to the NAV of shares should not be sustained in the long-term. If market makers exit the business or are unable to continue making markets in fund shares, shares may trade at a discount to NAV like closed-end fund shares and may even face delisting (that is, investors would no longer be able to trade shares in the secondary market). Further, while the creation/redemption feature is designed to make it likely that shares normally will trade close to the value of the fund's holdings, disruptions to creations and redemptions, including disruptions at market makers, APs or market participants, or during periods of significant market volatility, may result in market prices that differ significantly from the value of the fund's holdings. Although market makers will generally take advantage of differences between the NAV and the market price of fund shares through arbitrage opportunities, there is no guarantee that they will do so. Secondary markets may be subject to irregular trading activity, wide bid-ask spreads and extended trade settlement periods, which could cause a material decline in the fund's NAV. The fund's investment results are measured based upon the daily NAV of the fund. Investors purchasing and selling shares in the secondary market may not experience investment results consistent with those experienced by those APs creating and redeeming shares directly with the fund.

Operational risk. Cyber-attacks, disruptions, or failures that affect the fund's service providers or counterparties, issuers of securities held by the fund, or other market participants may adversely affect the fund and its shareholders, including by causing losses for the fund or impairing fund operations.

Authorized Participant concentration risk. The fund may have a limited number of financial institutions that may act as APs. Only APs who have entered into agreements with the fund's distributor may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the fund (as described below under "Buying and Selling Shares"). If those APs exit the business or are unable to process creation and/or redemption orders, (including in situations where APs have limited or diminished access to capital required to post collateral) and no other AP is able to step forward to create and redeem in either of these cases, shares may trade at a discount to NAV like closed-end fund shares and may even face delisting (that is, investors would no longer be able to trade shares in the secondary market).

Non-diversification risk. The fund is classified as non-diversified under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. This means that the fund may invest in securities of relatively few issuers. Thus, the performance of one or a small number of portfolio holdings can affect overall performance.

If the fund becomes classified as "diversified" over time and again becomes non-diversified as a result of a change in relative market capitalization or index weighting of one or more constituents of the index that the fund is designed to track, non-diversification risk would apply.

Securities lending risk. Securities lending involves the risk that the fund may lose money because the borrower of the loaned securities fails to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. The fund could also lose money in the event of a decline in the value of the collateral provided for the loaned securities or a decline in the value of any investments made with cash collateral. These events, and securities lending in general, could trigger adverse tax consequences for the fund and its investors. For example, if the fund loans its securities, the fund and its investors may lose the ability to treat certain fund distributions associated with those securities as qualified dividend income.

Past Performance

Since the fund commenced operations on March 7, 2019, performance information is not available for a full calendar year.

Once available, the fund's performance information will be accessible on the fund's website at Xtrackers.com (the website does not form a part of this prospectus) and will provide some indication of the risks of investing in the fund by showing changes in the fund's performance and by showing how the fund's returns compare with those of a broad measure of market performance.