485BPOS 1 d693724d485bpos.htm 485BPOS 485BPOS

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 10, 2019

Securities Act File No. 333-170122

Investment Company File No. 811-22487

 

 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20549

 

 

FORM N-1A

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

 

  UNDER  
  THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933  
  Pre-Effective Amendment No.  
  Post-Effective Amendment No. 452  

and/or

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

 

  UNDER  
  THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940  
  Amendment No. 454  

(Check appropriate box or boxes)

 

 

DBX ETF TRUST

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

345 Park Avenue

New York, New York 10154

(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)

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

 

 

Freddi Klassen

DBX ETF Trust

345 Park Avenue

New York, New York 10154

(Name and Address of Agent for Service)

Copy to: Stuart Strauss, Esq.

Dechert LLP

1095 Avenue of the Americas

New York, New York 10036

 

 

It is proposed that this filing will become effective: (check appropriate box)

 

immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b)

 

on (date) pursuant to paragraph (b)

 

60 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a) (1)

 

on (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)

 

75 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(2)

 

on (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of Rule 485

If appropriate, check the following box:

 

this post-effective amendment designates a new effective date for a previously filed post-effective amendment

 

 


LOGO

 

  Xtrackers S&P 500 ESG ETF  
  NYSE: SPYE  
     

 

 

 

The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has not approved or disapproved these securities or passed upon the adequacy of this Prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.


LOGO

 

XTRACKERS S&P 500 ESG ETF     
Investment Objective        1  
Fees and Expenses        1  
Principal Investment Strategies        1  
Main Risks        2  
Performance Information        4  
Management        4  
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares        4  
Tax Information        4  
Payment to Broker-Dealers and
Other Financial Intermediaries
       4  
FUND DETAILS     
Additional Information About the Fund’s Investment Strategies, Underlying Index and Risks        5  
Further Discussion of Main Risks        7  
Portfolio Holdings Information        10  
Management        10  
Shareholder Information        11  
Dividends and Distributions        13  
Creations and Redemptions        15  
Distribution        16  
Fund Service Providers        16  
Index Provider and Licenses        16  
Disclaimers        17  
Premium/Discount Information        18  
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS        19  
 

 

YOUR INVESTMENT IN THE FUND IS NOT A BANK DEPOSIT AND IS NOT INSURED OR GUARANTEED BY THE FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION OR ANY OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCY, ENTITY OR PERSON.

 

i


LOGO

 

INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE

Xtrackers S&P 500 ESG ETF (the “Fund”), seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of the S&P 500 ESG Index (the “Underlying Index”).

FEES AND EXPENSES

These are the fees and expenses that you will pay when you buy and hold shares. You will also incur usual and customary brokerage commissions when buying or selling shares of the Fund, which are not reflected in the Example that follows:

ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES

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

 

Management Fee     0.11%  
Other Expenses*     None  
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses     0.11%  

 

*

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. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

 

       
1 Year   3 Years   5 Years   10 Years
$11   $35   $62   $141

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 rate 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. Because the Fund is newly organized, no portfolio turnover figures are available.

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 broad-based, market capitalization weighted index that provides exposure to companies with high environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) performance relative to their sector peers, while maintaining similar overall industry group weights as the S&P 500 Index. The Underlying Index seeks to target 75% of the float market capitalization (i.e., the amount of stock which is available for trading by the general public) of each Global Industry Classification Standard Industry Group (“GICS Industry Group”) within the S&P 500 Index, using an ESG score as the defining characteristic. The Underlying Index is rebalanced annually, effective after the close of the last business day of April, and thus the Fund rebalances its portfolio in a corresponding fashion.

All constituents of the S&P 500 Index are eligible for selection by the Underlying Index, with the exception of companies that:

 

 

Are engaged in the production and sale of tobacco.

 

Are engaged in the business of controversial weapons (cluster weapons, landmines (anti-personnel mines), biological or chemical weapons, depleted uranium weapons, white phosphorous weapons, nuclear weapons).

 

Fall within the bottom 5% of the United Nations Global Compact (“UNGC”) score ranking. UNGC scores are provided by Arabesque, a global asset management firm, which implements quantitative models and data to rate a company based on the normative principles of the United Nations Global Compact – human rights, labor rights, the environment, and anti-corruption.

 

Fall within the lowest 25% of ESG scores from each GICS Industry Group. ESG scores are assigned by RobecoSAM, an international investment company

 

 

Prospectus    April 10, 2019   1   Xtrackers S&P 500 ESG ETF


   

focusing on sustainability investments. For the purposes of ESG assessment, companies are assigned to industries defined by RobecoSAM and the assessment is largely specific to each industry. RobecoSAM uses the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS®) as its starting point for determining industry classification.

After excluding such companies, the Underlying Index selects from the remaining companies in the S&P 500 Index as follows:

1. For each GICS Industry Group, companies are selected in decreasing order of ESG Score, until 65% of the Universe float-adjusted market capitalization (“FMC”) is reached.

2. For each GICS Industry Group, existing companies ranked between 65% and 85% are selected to get as close as possible to the target 75% of FMC.

3. If the combined FMC of selected companies is not above the 75% FMC target, companies not already selected from the Eligible Universe may be added in decreasing order of ESG Score to get as close as possible to the 75% FMC target. This process will stop when the addition of the next eligible company would result in the total FMC of the relevant GICS Industry Group moving further away from the 75% FMC target.

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 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 March 29, 2019, the Underlying Index consisted of 329 securities, with an average market capitalization of approximately $56.3 billion and a minimum market capitalization of approximately $2.5 billion. The Fund is classified as non-diversified under the Investment

Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). 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 March 29, 2019, a significant percentage of the Underlying Index was comprised of issuers in the information technology sector (25.3%).

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 the Prospectus entitled “Additional Information About the Fund’s Investment Strategies, Underlying Index and Risks – Further Discussion of Main 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. In addition, movements in financial markets may adversely affect a stock’s price, regardless of how well the company performs. The market as a whole may not favor the types of investments the Fund makes, which could affect the Fund’s ability to sell them at an attractive price. To the extent the Fund invests in a particular capitalization or sector, the Fund’s performance may be affected by the general performance of that particular capitalization or sector.

Medium company risk. Investing in securities of medium capitalization companies involves greater risk than customarily is associated with investing in larger, more established companies. These companies’ securities may be more volatile and less liquid than those of more established companies. These securities may have returns

 

 

Prospectus    April 10, 2019   2   Xtrackers S&P 500 ESG ETF


that vary, sometimes significantly, from the overall securities market. Often medium capitalization companies and the industries in which they focus are still evolving and, as a result, they may be more sensitive to changing market conditions.

Information technology sector risk. The Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in securities of issuers in the information technology sector in order to track the Underlying Index’s allocation to that sector. 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. 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 the Underlying Index to its component securities is by definition 100%, the Fund’s effective exposure to Underlying Index securities may vary over time. Because the Fund, as 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. To the extent the Fund utilizes a representative sampling indexing strategy, the Fund may

experience higher tracking error than it would if it held all the securities of its Underlying Index with the same weightings as 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 on stock exchanges 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. The need to comply with the tax diversification and other requirements of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, may also impact a Fund’s ability to replicate the performance of its Underlying Index. Actions taken in response to proposed corporate actions could result in increased tracking error. In light of the factors discussed above, a Fund’s return may deviate significantly from the return of its Underlying Index.

Market price risk. Fund shares are listed for trading on NYSE Arca, Inc. (“NYSE Arca”) 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 NAV during periods of market volatility. DBX Advisors LLC (the “Adviser”) 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 Adviser 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

 

 

Prospectus    April 10, 2019   3   Xtrackers S&P 500 ESG ETF


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. Further, 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. The Fund is exposed to operational risk arising from a number of factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or system failures. The Fund seeks to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate for those risks that they are intended to address.

Authorized Participant concentration risk. The Fund may have a limited number of financial institutions that may act as Authorized Participants (“APs”) or market makers. 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 “Purchase and Sale of Fund 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.

Non-diversification risk. The Fund is classified as non-diversified under the 1940 Act. 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.

PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

As of the date of this Prospectus, the Fund has not yet commenced operations and therefore does not report its performance information. Once available, the Fund’s performance information will be accessible on the Fund’s website at www.Xtrackers.com 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.

MANAGEMENT

Investment Adviser.

DBX Advisors LLC.

Portfolio Managers.

Bryan Richards, Patrick Dwyer, Navid Sohrabi, Shlomo Bassous and Charlotte Cipolletti are portfolio managers for the Fund and are primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Each portfolio manager functions as a member of a portfolio management team. Messrs. Richards, Dwyer, Sohrabi and Bassous and Ms. Cipolletti have been portfolio managers of the Fund since the Fund’s inception.

PURCHASE AND SALE OF FUND SHARES

The Fund is an exchange-traded fund (commonly referred to as an “ETF”). Individual Fund shares may only be purchased and sold through a brokerage firm. The price of Fund shares is based on market price, and because ETF shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (a premium) or less than NAV (a discount). The Fund will only issue or redeem shares that have been aggregated into blocks of 50,000 shares or multiples thereof (“Creation Units”) to APs who have entered into agreements with the Fund’s distributor.

TAX INFORMATION

The Fund’s distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income or capital gains, except when your investment is an IRA, 401(k), or other tax-deferred investment plan. Any withdrawals you make from such tax-deferred investment plans, however, may be taxable to you.

PAYMENT TO BROKER-DEALERS AND OTHER FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES

If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Adviser or other related companies may pay the intermediary for marketing activities and presentations, educational training programs, the support of technology platforms and/or reporting systems or other services related to the sale or promotion of the Fund. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

 

 

Prospectus    April 10, 2019   4   Xtrackers S&P 500 ESG ETF


LOGO

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND’S INVESTMENT STRATEGIES, UNDERLYING INDEX AND RISKS

Additional Information About the Fund’s Investment Strategies

Xtrackers S&P 500 ESG ETF will invest at least 80% of its total assets (but typically far more) in instruments that comprise its Underlying Index.

The Fund may invest its remaining assets in other securities, including securities not in the Underlying Index, cash and cash equivalents, money market instruments, such as repurchase agreements or money market funds (including money market funds advised by DBX Advisors LLC (“DBXA” or the “Adviser”) or its affiliates (subject to applicable limitations under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), or exemptions therefrom), convertible securities, structured notes (notes on which the amount of principal repayment and interest payments are based on the movement of one or more specified factors, such as the movement of a particular stock or stock index) and in futures contracts, options on futures contracts and other types of options and swaps related to its Underlying Index. The Fund’s will not invest in money market instruments or other short-term investments as part of a temporary defensive strategy to protect against potential stock market declines.

Each of the policies described herein, including the investment objective and 80% investment policies of the Fund, constitutes a non-fundamental policy that may be changed by the Board of the Trust without shareholder approval. The Fund’s 80% investment policies require 60 days’ prior written notice to shareholders before they can be changed. Certain fundamental policies of the Fund are set forth in the SAI.

Borrowing Money. The Fund may borrow money from a bank up to a limit of 10% of the value of its assets, but only for temporary or emergency purposes.

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 331/3 % of its total assets.

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.

Regulations adopted by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and other regulators throughout the world, which are scheduled to take effect with respect to the Fund in 2019, will require counterparties that are part of U.S. or foreign global systemically important banking organizations to include contractual restrictions on close-out and cross-default in agreements relating to qualified financial contracts. Securities lending agreements are included in the category of qualified financial contracts (as well as repurchase agreements and agreements relating to swaps, currency forwards and other derivatives). The restrictions prevent the Fund from closing out a qualified financial contract during a specified time period (e.g., two days) if the counterparty is subject to resolution proceedings and prohibit the Fund from exercising default rights during that period due to a receivership or similar proceeding of an affiliate of the counterparty. Implementation of these requirements may increase credit and other risks to the Fund.

 

 

Prospectus    April 10, 2019   5   Fund Details


Additional Information about The Fund’s Underlying Index

The S&P 500 ESG Index is calculated and maintained by S&P Dow Jones Indices (“Index Provider” or “S&P”). The Underlying Index is a is a broad-based, market capitalization weighted index that provides exposure to companies with high environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) performance relative to their sector peers, while maintaining similar overall industry group weights as the S&P 500 Index.

The Underlying Index generally selects its components from amongst all constituents of the S&P 500 Index, but excludes companies engaged in specific business activities, and/or companies with disqualifying United Nations Global Compact (“UNGC”) or RobecoSAM ESG scores as described below:

Tobacco. Using data provided by Sustainalytics, a global leader in sustainability research and analysis, S&P excludes from the Underlying Index companies that either:

 

 

Produce tobacco;

 

Have tobacco sales accounting for greater than 10% of their revenue; or

 

Have tobacco-related products and services accounting for greater than 10% of their revenue.

Sustainalytics data is also used to identify companies that own 25% or more of another company involved with tobacco production.

Controversial Weapons. Sustainalytics data is used to identify companies involved in the business of controversial weapons, which are defined to include:

 

 

Cluster weapons;

 

Landmines (anti-personnel mines)

 

Biological or chemical weapons;

 

Depleted uranium weapons;

 

White phosphorus weapons; or

 

Nuclear weapons.

Sustainalytics data is also used to identify companies that own 25% or more of another company involved in the business of controversial weapons.

Low UNGC Score. Using a data tool provided by Arabesque, a global asset management firm, which implements quantitative models and data to assign a company a UNGC score based on the normative principles of the United Nations Global Compact (human rights, labor rights, the environment, and anti-corruption), the Underlying Index excludes companies scoring at or below the bottom 5% of the UNGC score universe.

Low ESG Score. Companies with an ESG score that falls within the lowest 25% of ESG scores from each Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS®) Industry Group are excluded from the Underlying Index. The Underlying Index

uses ESG scores calculated by RobecoSAM, an international investment company focusing on sustainability investments.

Defining the Equity Universe. The Underlying Index selects companies from its selection universe, which consists of the constituents of the S&P 500 Index. The Underlying Index uses company ratings and research provided by RobecoSAM to determine eligibility for inclusion in the Underlying Index. After companies in the S&P 500 Index that engage in the businesses, or have the low UNGC or RobecoSAM ESG scores, as described above are excluded, the selection of index constituents for the Underlying Index is done as follows:

1. For each GICS Industry Group, companies are selected in decreasing order of ESG Score, until 65% of the Universe float-adjusted market capitalization (“FMC”) is reached.

2. For each GICS Industry Group, existing companies ranked between 65% and 85% are selected to get as close as possible to the target 75% of FMC.

3. If the combined FMC of selected companies is not above the 75% FMC target, companies not already selected from the Eligible Universe may be added in decreasing order of ESG Score to get as close as possible to the 75% FMC target. This process will stop when the addition of the next eligible company would result in the total FMC of the relevant GICS Industry Group moving further away from the 75% FMC target.

Maintaining the Underlying Index. The Underlying Index is rebalanced annually, effective after the close of the last business day of April. The constituents of the Underlying Index are drawn from the S&P 500 Index. Specific changes to constituents of the Underlying Index, such as share changes, dividend distributions and price adjustments, follow the policies of the S&P 500 Index.

The Underlying Index is reviewed on an ongoing basis to account for corporate events such as mergers, takeovers, delistings, suspensions, spin-offs/demergers or bankruptcies. Changes to index composition and related weight adjustments are made as soon as they are effective. Generally, no stocks are added to the Underlying Index between rebalancings. If a stock is dropped from the S&P 500 Index, it is also removed from the Underlying Index simultaneously. Between rebalancings, a stock may be deleted from the Underlying Index due to corporate events such as mergers, takeovers, delistings, suspensions, spin-offs/demergers or bankruptcies.

The Underlying Index consists of large- and medium-capitalization companies in the U.S. market. Currently, there are approximately 329 components in the Underlying Index.

 

 

Prospectus    April 10, 2019   6   Fund Details


Further Discussion of Main Risks

The Fund is subject to the main risks noted below, any of which may adversely affect the Fund’s NAV, trading price, yield, total return and ability to meet its investment objective. You could lose all or part of your investment in the Fund, and the Fund could underperform other investments.

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.

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.

Information technology sector risk. The Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in securities of issuers in the information technology sector in order to track the Underlying Index’s allocation to that sector. 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. 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 the Underlying Index to its component securities is by definition 100%, the Fund’s effective exposure to Underlying Index securities may vary over time. Because the Fund, as 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 Fund’s return may not match the return of its Underlying Index for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs a number of operating expenses not applicable to its Underlying Index and incurs costs associated with buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s securities holdings to reflect changes in the composition of its Underlying Index and raising cash to meet redemptions or deploying cash in connection with newly created Creation Units. Transaction costs, including brokerage costs, will decrease the Fund’s NAV to the extent not offset by the transaction fee payable by an 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 its Underlying Index. There is no assurance that the Index Provider or any agents that may act on its behalf will compile the Fund’s Underlying Index accurately, or that the Underlying Index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. Errors in respect of the quality, accuracy and completeness of the data used to compile an Underlying Index 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, particularly where the indices are less commonly used as benchmarks by funds or managers. Therefore, gains, losses or costs associated with errors of the Index Provider or its agents will generally be borne by the applicable Fund and its shareholders. For example, during a period where the Fund’s Underlying Index contains incorrect constituents, the Fund would have market exposure to such constituents and would be underexposed to the Underlying Index’s other constituents. Such errors may negatively or positively impact the Fund and its shareholders. Any gains due to the Index Provider’s or others’ errors will be kept by the Fund and its shareholders and any losses resulting from the Index Provider’s or others’ errors will be borne by the applicable Fund and its shareholders. Imperfect correlation between the Fund’s portfolio securities and those in its Underlying Index, rounding of prices, changes to the Underlying Index and regulatory requirements may cause tracking error, the divergence of the Fund’s performance from that of its Underlying Index. This risk may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market conditions. Tracking error also may result because the Fund incurs fees and expenses while its

 

 

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Underlying Index does not. To the extent the Fund utilizes a representative sampling indexing strategy, the Fund may experience higher tracking error than it would if it held all the securities of its Underlying Index with the same weightings as the Underlying Index. In addition, the Fund may not be able to invest in certain securities and other instruments included in its Underlying Index, or invest in them in the exact proportions they represent of its Underlying Index, due to legal restrictions or limitations imposed by the governments of certain countries, or a lack of liquidity on stock exchanges in which such securities trade, potential adverse tax consequences or other regulatory reasons (such as diversification requirements). Moreover, the Fund may be delayed in purchasing or selling securities and other instruments included in its Underlying Index. 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 its Underlying Index.

Market price risk. Fund shares are expected to be listed for trading on NYSE Arca, Inc. (“NYSE Arca”) and will be 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 NAV during periods of market volatility. Differences between secondary market prices and the value of the Fund’s holdings may be due largely to supply and demand forces in the secondary market, which may not be the same forces as those influencing prices for securities held by the Fund at a particular time. The Adviser 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, the Adviser believes that large discounts or premiums to the NAV of shares should not be sustained in the long-term. In addition, there may be times when the market price and the value of the Fund’s holdings vary significantly and you may pay more than the value of the Fund’s holdings when buying shares on the secondary market, and you may receive less than the value of the Fund’s holdings when you sell those shares. 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 trading 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. If market makers exit the business or are unable to continue

making markets in Fund shares, the Fund’s 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). The market price of shares, like the price of any exchange-traded security, includes a “bid-ask spread” charged by the exchange specialist, market makers or other participants that trade the particular security. In times of severe market disruption, the bid-ask spread often increases significantly. This means that shares may trade at a discount to the Fund’s NAV, and the discount is likely to be greatest when the price of shares is falling fastest, which may be the time that you most want to sell your shares. There are various methods by which investors can purchase and sell shares of the Fund and various orders that may be placed. Investors should consult their financial intermediary before purchasing or selling shares of the Fund. More generally, 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 bid-ask spread varies over time for shares of the Fund based on the Fund’s trading volume and market liquidity, and is generally lower if the Fund has substantial trading volume and market liquidity, and higher if the Fund has little trading volume and market liquidity (which is often the case for funds that are newly launched or small in size). The Fund’s bid-ask spread may also be impacted by the liquidity of the underlying securities held by the Fund, particularly for newly launched or smaller funds or in instances of significant volatility of the underlying securities. 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. In addition, transactions by large shareholders may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on NYSE Arca and may, therefore, have a material effect on the market price of the Fund’s shares.

Operational risk. The Fund is exposed to operational risk arising from a number of factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or system failures. The Fund seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate for those risks that they are intended to address.

Authorized Participant concentration risk. The Fund may have a limited number of financial institutions that may act as APs or market makers. Only APs who have entered into agreements with the Fund’s distributor may

 

 

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engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund (as described below under “Purchase and Sale of Fund 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.

Additional Risks of Investing in the Fund

Absence of Active Market. Although shares of the Fund are listed for trading on one or more stock exchanges, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such shares will develop or be maintained.

Trading Risks. Secondary market trading in Fund shares may be halted by a stock exchange because of market conditions or other reasons. In addition, trading in Fund shares on a stock exchange or in any market may be subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to “circuit breaker” rules on the exchange or market. If a trading halt or unanticipated early closing of a stock exchange occurs, a shareholder may be unable to purchase or sell shares of the Fund. There can be no assurance that the requirements necessary to maintain the listing or trading of Fund shares will continue to be met or will remain unchanged or that shares will trade with any volume, or at all, in any secondary market. As with all other exchange traded securities, shares may be sold short and may experience increased volatility and price decreases associated with such trading activity.

Risks Relating to Calculation of Net Asset Value. The Fund rely on various sources to calculate their NAVs. Therefore, the Fund is subject to certain operational risks associated with reliance on third party service providers and data sources. NAV calculation may be impacted by operational risks arising from factors such as failures in systems and technology. Such failures may result in delays in the calculation of the Fund’s NAV and/or the inability to calculate NAV over extended time periods. The Fund may be unable to recover any losses associated with such failures.

Costs of Buying or Selling Fund Shares. Buying or selling Fund shares involves two types of costs that apply to all securities transactions. When buying or selling shares of the Fund through a broker, you will incur a brokerage commission or other charges imposed by brokers as determined by that broker. In addition, you will also incur the cost of the “spread” – that is, the difference between what professional investors are willing to pay for Fund shares (the “bid” price) and the price at which they are willing to sell Fund shares (the “ask” price). Because of the costs inherent in buying or selling Fund shares, frequent

trading may detract significantly from investment results and an investment in Fund shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.

Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments, such as futures and swaps, whose values are based on the value of one or more indicators, such as a security, asset, currency, interest rate, or index. Derivatives involve risks different from, and possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other more traditional investments. For example, derivatives involve the risk of mispricing or improper valuation and the risk that changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying indicator. Derivative transactions can create investment leverage, may be highly volatile and the Fund could lose more than the amount it invests. Many derivative transactions are entered into “over-the-counter” (not on an exchange or contract market); as a result, the value of such a derivative transaction will depend on the ability and the willingness of the Fund’s counterparty to perform its obligations under the transaction. If a counterparty were to default on its obligations, the Fund’s contractual remedies against such counterparty may be subject to bankruptcy and insolvency laws, which could affect the Fund’s rights as a creditor (e.g., the Fund may not receive the net amount of payments that it is contractually entitled to receive). A liquid secondary market may not always exist for the Fund’s derivative positions at any time.

Futures. A futures contract is a standardized exchange-traded agreement to buy or sell a specific quantity of an underlying instrument at a specific price at a specific future time. The value of a futures contract tends to increase and decrease in tandem with the value of the underlying instrument. Depending on the terms of the particular contract, futures contracts are settled through either physical delivery of the underlying instrument on the settlement date or by payment of a cash settlement amount on the settlement date. A decision as to whether, when and how to use futures involves the exercise of skill and judgment and even a well-conceived futures transaction may be unsuccessful because of market behavior or unexpected events. In addition to the derivatives risks discussed above, the prices of futures can be highly volatile, using futures can lower total return and the potential loss from futures can exceed the Fund’s initial investment in such contracts.

Assets Under Management (AUM) Risk. From time to time a third party, the Adviser and/or its affiliates may invest in the Fund and hold its investment for a specific period of time in order for the Fund to achieve size or scale. There can be no assurance that any such entity would not redeem its investment or that the size of the Fund would

 

 

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be maintained at such levels. Pursuant to Section 619 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and certain rules promulgated thereunder known as the Volcker Rule, if the Adviser and/or its affiliates own 25% or more of the outstanding ownership interests of the Fund after the permitted seeding period from the implementation of the Fund’s investment strategy, the Fund could be subject to restrictions on trading that would adversely impact the Fund’s ability to execute its investment strategy. Generally, the permitted seeding period is three years from the implementation of the Fund’s investment strategy. As a result, the Adviser and/or its affiliates may be required to reduce their ownership interests in the Fund at a time that is sooner than would otherwise be desirable, which may result in the Fund’s liquidation or, if the Fund is able to continue operating, may result in losses, increased transaction costs and adverse tax consequences as a result of the sale of portfolio securities.

PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS INFORMATION

A description of the Trust’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Fund’s portfolio securities is available in the Fund’s SAI. The top holdings of the Fund can be found at www.Xtrackers.com. Fund fact sheets provide information regarding the Fund’s top holdings and may be requested by calling 1-855-329-3837 (1-855-DBX-ETFS).

MANAGEMENT

Investment Adviser

DBX Advisors LLC, with headquarters at 345 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10154, is the investment adviser for the Fund. Under the oversight of the Board, the Adviser (or a sub-adviser, if any, under the oversight of the Adviser) makes the investment decisions, buys and sells securities for the Fund and conducts research that leads to these purchase and sale decisions.

Deutsche Bank AG (the “Bank”) reorganized its asset management division, Deutsche Asset Management, into a separate financial services firm, DWS Group GmbH & Co. KGaA (“DWS Group”). DWS Group is now a separate, publicly-listed financial services firm that is an indirect, majority-owned subsidiary of Deutsche Bank AG. The Adviser is an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of DWS Group. Founded in 2010, the Adviser managed approximately $14.2 billion in 39 operational exchange-traded funds, as of March 29, 2019.

DWS represents the asset management activities conducted by DWS Group or any of its subsidiaries, including the Adviser and other affiliated investment advisors. DWS is a global organization that offers a wide range of investing expertise and resources, including

hundreds of portfolio managers and analysts and an office network that reaches the world’s major investment centers. This well-resourced global investment platform brings together a wide variety of experience and investment insight across industries, regions, asset classes and investing styles.

The Adviser may utilize the resources of its global investment platform to provide investment management services through branch offices or affiliates located outside the U.S. In some cases, the Adviser may also utilize its branch offices or affiliates located in the U.S. or outside the U.S. to perform certain services, such as trade execution, trade matching and settlement, or various administrative, back-office or other services. To the extent services are performed outside the U.S., such activity may be subject to both U.S. and foreign regulation. It is possible that the jurisdiction in which the Adviser or its affiliate performs such services may impose restrictions or limitations on portfolio transactions that are different from, and in addition to, those in the U.S.

Management Fee

For its services to the Fund, the Adviser is paid a unitary management fee from the Fund at the following annual rate as a percentage of the Fund’s average daily net assets:

 

   
Fund      Fee as a % of average
daily net assets
 
Xtrackers S&P 500 ESG ETF        0.11 %* 

Pursuant to the investment advisory agreement between the Adviser and the Trust (entered into on behalf of the Fund) (the “Investment Advisory Agreement”), the Adviser is responsible for substantially all expenses of the Fund, including the cost of transfer agency, custody, fund administration, compensation paid to the Independent Trustees, legal, audit and other services except for the fee payments under the Investment Advisory Agreement, interest expense, acquired fund fees and expenses, taxes, brokerage expenses, distribution fees or expenses, litigation expenses and other extraordinary expenses.

A discussion regarding the basis for the Board’s approval of the Investment Advisory Agreement will be available in the Fund’s semi-annual report for the period ended February 28, 2019.

Manager of Managers Structure

The Adviser and the Trust may rely on an exemptive order (the “Order”) from the SEC that permits the Adviser to enter into investment sub-advisory agreements with unaffiliated or wholly-owned sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval. The Adviser, subject to the review and approval of the Board, selects sub-advisers for

 

 

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the Fund and supervises, monitors and evaluates the performance of each sub-adviser.

The Order also permits the Adviser, subject to the approval of the Board, to replace sub-advisers and amend investment sub-advisory agreements, including fees, without shareholder approval whenever the Adviser and the Board believe such action will benefit the Fund and its shareholders. The Adviser thus has the ultimate responsibility (subject to the ultimate oversight of the Board) to recommend the hiring and replacement of sub-advisers as well as the discretion to terminate any sub-adviser and reallocate the Fund’s assets for management among any other sub-adviser(s) and itself. This means that the Adviser is able to reduce the sub-advisory fees and retain a larger portion of the management fee, or increase the sub-advisory fees and retain a smaller portion of the management fee. Pursuant to the Order, the Adviser is not required to disclose its contractual fee arrangements with any sub-adviser. The Adviser compensates each sub-adviser out of its management fee.

Portfolio Managers

Mr. Richards is a Managing Director with DWS and has served as a Portfolio Manager in the Passive Asset Management business since 2011. Prior to his current role, Mr. Richards served as an equity analyst for Fairhaven Capital LLC, a long/short equity fund, and at XShares Advisors, on behalf of an ETF issuer based in New York. At Deutsche Bank, Mr. Richards served as the primary portfolio manager for the PowerShares DB Commodity ETFs until their sale in 2015. He is currently responsible for the DBXA-managed ETFs as well as oversight of DBXA-sub-advised funds. Mr. Richards earned a BS in Finance from Boston College and is a CFA Charterholder.

Mr. Dwyer is a Director with DWS and has served as a Portfolio Manager in the Passive Asset Management business since 2016. Prior to his current role, Mr. Dwyer was the head of Northern Trust’s International Equity Index ETF and Overlay portfolio management team in Chicago, managing portfolios for North American based clients. His time at Northern Trust included working in New York, Chicago, and in Hong Kong building a portfolio management desk. Mr. Dwyer has a broad range of experience managing developed, emerging, and frontier index mandates, and currency and future overlay portfolios. Prior to joining Northern Trust in 2003, Mr. Dwyer participated in the DWS (formerly, Deutsche Asset Management) graduate training program. He rotated through the domestic fixed income and US structured equity fund management groups. Mr. Dwyer received a BS in Finance from Rutgers University in 2001.

Mr. Sohrabi is a Vice President with DWS and has served as a Portfolio Manager and quantitative multi-asset strategist in the Passive Asset Management business since 2015. Prior to his current role, Mr. Sohrabi served as a derivatives trader for several institutional asset managers and commodity trading advisors where he developed and managed systematic risk and trading strategies in equities, options, fx and futures. Mr. Sohrabi earned a BA in neurobiology from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Masters of Financial Engineering from the Anderson School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles and is a CFA charterholder.

Mr. Bassous is a Vice President with DWS and has served as a Portfolio Manager in the Passive Asset Management business since 2017. Prior to his current role, Mr. Bassous served as Portfolio Manager at Northern Trust Asset Management where he managed equity portfolios across a variety of global benchmarks. While at Northern Trust, he spent several years in Chicago, London and Hong Kong where he managed portfolios on behalf of institutional clients in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Before joining Northern Trust in 2007, he worked at The Bank of New York Mellon and Morgan Stanley in a variety of roles supporting equity trading and portfolio management. Mr. Bassous received a BS in Finance from Yeshiva University in 2004.

Ms. Cipolletti is an Associate with DWS. She joined Deutsche Bank through Deutsche Bank’s graduate program and has served as a Junior Portfolio Manager in the Passive Asset Management business since 2015. Prior to her current role, she served internships at DWS (formerly, Deutsche Asset Management), Deutsche Wealth Management, Private Banking and National Financial Partners. Ms. Cipolletti earned a BA in sustainable development with a focus in economics from Columbia University.

The Fund’s SAI provides additional information about the Portfolio Managers’ compensation, other accounts managed by the Portfolio Managers and the Portfolio Managers’ ownership (if any) of shares of the Fund.

SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION

Additional shareholder information, including how to buy and sell shares of the Fund, is available free of charge by calling toll-free: 1-855-329-3837 (1-855-DBX-ETFS) or visiting our website at www.Xtrackers.com.

Buying and Selling Shares

Shares of the Fund will be listed for trading on a national securities exchange during the trading day. Shares can be bought and sold throughout the trading day at market prices like shares of other publicly-traded companies. The Trust does not impose any minimum investment for

 

 

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shares of the Fund purchased on an exchange. Buying or selling Fund shares involves two types of costs that may apply to all securities transactions. When buying or selling shares of the Fund through a broker, you will likely incur a brokerage commission or other charges determined by your broker. In addition, you may incur the cost of the “spread” – that is, any difference between the bid price and the ask price. The commission is frequently a fixed amount and may be a significant proportional cost for investors seeking to buy or sell small amounts of shares. The spread varies over time for shares of the Fund based on its trading volume and market liquidity, and is generally lower if the Fund has a lot of trading volume and market liquidity and higher if the Fund has little trading volume and market liquidity. The Fund’s shares trade on NYSE Arca under the following ticker symbol:

 

   
Fund      Ticker Symbol  
Xtrackers S&P 500 ESG ETF        SPYE  

Shares of the Fund may be acquired or redeemed directly from the Fund only in Creation Units or multiples thereof, as discussed in the section of this Prospectus entitled “Creations and Redemptions.” Only an AP may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. Once created, shares of the Fund generally trade in the secondary market in amounts less than a Creation Unit.

The Board has evaluated the risks of market timing activities by the Fund’s shareholders. The Board noted that the Fund’s shares can only be purchased and redeemed directly from the Fund in Creation Units by APs and that the vast majority of trading in the Fund’s shares occurs on the secondary market. Because the secondary market trades do not involve the Fund directly, it is unlikely those trades would cause many of the harmful effects of market timing, including dilution, disruption of portfolio management, increases in the Fund’s trading costs and the realization of capital gains. With regard to the purchase or redemption of Creation Units directly with the Fund’s, to the extent effected in-kind (i.e., for securities), such trades do not cause any of the harmful effects (as previously noted) that may result from frequent cash trades. To the extent trades are effected in whole or in part in cash, the Board noted that such trades could result in dilution to the Fund and increased transaction costs, which could negatively impact the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective. However, the Board noted that direct trading by APs is critical to ensuring that the Fund’s shares trade at or close to NAV. In addition, the Fund imposes both fixed and variable transaction fees on purchases and redemptions of Fund shares to cover the custodial and other costs incurred by the Fund in effecting trades. These fees increase if an investor substitutes cash in part or in whole for securities, reflecting the fact that the

Fund’s trading costs increase in those circumstances. Given this structure, the Board determined that with respect to the Fund it is not necessary to adopt policies and procedures to detect and deter market timing of the Fund’s shares.

The national securities exchange on which the Fund’s shares are listed is open for trading Monday through Friday and is closed on weekends and the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act restricts investments by registered investment companies in the securities of other investment companies. Registered investment companies are permitted to invest in the Fund beyond the limits set forth in Section 12(d)(1), subject to certain terms and conditions set forth in an SEC exemptive order issued to the Trust, including that such investment companies enter into an agreement with the Trust.

Book Entry

Shares of the Fund are held in book-entry form, which means that no stock certificates are issued. The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) or its nominee is the record owner of all outstanding shares of the Fund and is recognized as the owner of all shares for all purposes.

Investors owning shares of the Fund are beneficial owners as shown on the records of DTC or its participants. DTC serves as the securities depository for shares of the Fund. DTC participants include securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and other institutions that directly or indirectly maintain a custodial relationship with DTC. As a beneficial owner of shares, you are not entitled to receive physical delivery of stock certificates or to have shares registered in your name, and you are not considered a registered owner of shares. Therefore, to exercise any right as an owner of shares, you must rely upon the procedures of DTC and its participants. These procedures are the same as those that apply to any other securities that you hold in book-entry or “street name” form.

Share Prices

The trading prices of the Fund’s shares in the secondary market generally differ from the Fund’s daily NAV per share and are affected by market forces such as supply and demand, economic conditions and other factors. Information regarding the intraday value of shares of the Fund, also known as the “indicative optimized portfolio value” (“IOPV”), is disseminated every 15 seconds throughout the trading day by the national securities exchange on which the Fund’s shares are listed or by market data vendors or other information providers. The

 

 

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IOPV is based on the current market value of the securities and/or cash required to be deposited in exchange for a Creation Unit. The IOPV does not necessarily reflect the precise composition of the current portfolio of securities held by the Fund at a particular point in time nor the best possible valuation of the current portfolio. Therefore, the IOPV should not be viewed as a “real-time” update of the NAV, which is computed only once a day. The IOPV is generally determined by using both current market quotations and/or price quotations obtained from broker-dealers that may trade in the portfolio securities held by the Fund. The quotations of certain Fund holdings may not be updated during U.S. trading hours if such holdings do not trade in the U.S., as is the case for the Fund. The Fund is not involved in, or responsible for, the calculation or dissemination of the IOPV and make no representation or warranty as to its accuracy.

Determination of Net Asset Value

The NAV of the Fund is generally determined once daily Monday through Friday generally as of the regularly scheduled close of business of the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) (normally 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time) on each day that the NYSE is open for trading, provided that (a) any Fund assets or liabilities denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar are translated into U.S. dollars at the prevailing market rates on the date of valuation as quoted by one or more data service providers (as detailed below) and (b) U.S. fixed-income assets may be valued as of the announced closing time for trading in fixed-income instruments in a particular market or exchange. NAV is calculated by deducting all of the Fund’s liabilities from the total value of its assets and dividing the result by the number of shares outstanding, rounding to the nearest cent. All valuations are subject to review by the Trust’s Board or its delegate.

In determining NAV, expenses are accrued and applied daily and securities and other assets for which market quotations are available are valued at market value. Equity investments are valued at market value, which is generally determined using the last reported official closing or last trading price on the exchange or market on which the security is primarily traded at the time of valuation. Debt securities’ values are based on price quotations or other equivalent indications of value provided by a third-party pricing service. Any such third-party pricing service may use a variety of methodologies to value some or all of the Fund’s debt securities to determine the market price. For example, the prices of securities with characteristics similar to those held by the Fund may be used to assist with the pricing process. In addition, the pricing service may use proprietary pricing models. In certain cases, some of the Fund’s debt securities may be valued at the mean between the last available bid and ask prices for such

securities or, if such prices are not available, at prices for securities of comparable maturity, quality, and type. Short-term securities for which market quotations are not readily available are valued at amortized cost, which approximates market value. Money market securities maturing in 60 days or less will be valued at amortized cost. The approximate value of shares of the applicable Fund, an amount representing on a per share basis the sum of the current value of the deposit securities based on their then current market price and the estimated cash component will be disseminated every 15 seconds throughout the trading day through the facilities of the Consolidated Tape Association.

If a security’s market price is not readily available or does not otherwise accurately reflect the fair value of the security, the security will be valued by another method that the Adviser believes will better reflect fair value in accordance with the Trust’s valuation policies and procedures approved by the Board. The Fund may use fair value pricing in a variety of circumstances, including but not limited to, situations when the value of a security in the Fund’s portfolio has been materially affected by events occurring after the close of the market on which the security is principally traded (such as a corporate action or other news that may materially affect the price of a security) or trading in a security has been suspended or halted. Fair value pricing involves subjective judgments and it is possible that a fair value determination for a security is materially different than the value that could be realized upon the sale of the security. In addition, fair value pricing could result in a difference between the prices used to calculate the Fund’s NAV and the prices used by the Fund’s Underlying Index. This may adversely affect the Fund’s ability to track its Underlying Index.

Householding

Householding is an option available to certain Fund investors. Householding is a method of delivery, based on the preference of the individual investor, in which a single copy of certain shareholder documents can be delivered to investors who share the same address, even if their accounts are registered under different names. Please contact your broker-dealer if you are interested in enrolling in householding and receiving a single copy of prospectuses and other shareholder documents, or if you are currently enrolled in householding and wish to change your householding status.

DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS

General Policies. Dividends from net investment income, if any, are generally declared and paid semi-annually by the Fund. Distributions of net realized capital gains, if any, generally are declared and paid once a year, but the Trust may make distributions on a more frequent basis for the

 

 

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Fund. The Trust reserves the right to declare special distributions if, in its reasonable discretion, such action is necessary or advisable to preserve its status as a regulated investment company (“RIC”) or to avoid imposition of income or excise taxes on undistributed income or realized gains.

Dividends and other distributions on shares of the Fund are distributed on a pro rata basis to beneficial owners of such shares. Dividend payments are made through DTC participants and indirect participants to beneficial owners then of record with proceeds received from the Fund.

Dividend Reinvestment Service. No dividend reinvestment service is provided by the Trust. Broker-dealers may make available the DTC book-entry Dividend Reinvestment Service for use by beneficial owners of the Fund for reinvestment of their dividend distributions. Beneficial owners should contact their broker to determine the availability and costs of the service and the details of participation therein. Brokers may require beneficial owners to adhere to specific procedures and timetables. If this service is available and used, dividend distributions of both income and realized gains will be automatically reinvested in additional whole shares of the Fund purchased in the secondary market.

TAXES

As with any investment, you should consider how your investment in shares of the Fund will be taxed. The tax information in this Prospectus is provided as general information. You should consult your own tax professional about the tax consequences of an investment in shares of the Fund.

Unless your investment in Fund shares is made through a tax-exempt entity or tax-deferred retirement account, such as an IRA, you need to be aware of the possible tax consequences when the Fund makes distributions or you sell Fund shares.

Taxes on Distributions

Distributions from the Fund’s net investment income (other than qualified dividend income), including distributions of income from securities lending and distributions out of the Fund’s net short-term capital gains, if any, are taxable to you as ordinary income. Distributions by the Fund of net long-term capital gains in excess of net short-term capital losses (capital gain dividends) are taxable to you as long-term capital gains, regardless of how long you have held such Fund’s shares. Distributions by the Fund that qualify as qualified dividend income are taxable to you at long-term capital gain rates. The maximum individual rate applicable to “qualified dividend income” and long-term capital gains is generally either 15% or 20%, depending on whether the individual’s income exceeds certain threshold amounts.

Dividends are eligible to be qualified dividend income to you, if you meet certain holding period requirements discussed below, if they are attributable to qualified dividend income received by the Fund. Generally, qualified dividend income includes dividend income from taxable U.S. corporations and qualified non-U.S. corporations, provided that the Fund satisfies certain holding period requirements in respect of the stock of such corporations and has not hedged its position in the stock in certain ways. For this purpose, a qualified non-U.S. corporation means any non-U.S. corporation that is eligible for benefits under a comprehensive income tax treaty with the United States which includes an exchange of information program or if the stock with respect to which the dividend was paid is readily tradable on an established United States security market. The term excludes a corporation that is a passive foreign investment company.

For a dividend to be treated as qualified dividend income, the dividend must be received with respect to a share of stock held without being hedged by the Fund, and to a share of the Fund held without being hedged by you, for 61 days during the 121-day period beginning at the date which is 60 days before the date on which such share becomes ex-dividend with respect to such dividend or in the case of certain preferred stock 91 days during the 181-day period beginning 90 days before such date.

In general, your distributions are subject to U.S. federal income tax for the year when they are paid. Certain distributions paid in January, however, may be treated as paid on December 31 of the prior year.

If the Fund’s distributions exceed current and accumulated earnings and profits, all or a portion of the distributions made in the taxable year may be re-characterized as a return of capital to shareholders. A return of capital distribution generally will not be taxable but will reduce the shareholder’s cost basis and result in a higher capital gain or lower capital loss when those shares on which the distribution was received are sold.

If you are neither a resident nor a citizen of the United States or if you are a non-U.S. entity, the Fund’s ordinary income dividends (which include distributions of net short- term capital gains) will generally be subject to a 30% U.S. withholding tax, unless a lower treaty rate applies, provided that withholding tax will generally not apply to any gain or income realized by a non-U.S. shareholder in respect of any distributions of long-term capital gains or upon the sale or other disposition of shares of the Fund.

If you are a resident or a citizen of the United States, by law, back-up withholding (currently at a rate of 24%) will apply to your distributions and proceeds if you have not provided a taxpayer identification number or social security number and made other required certifications.

 

 

Prospectus    April 10, 2019   14   Fund Details


Taxes when Shares are Sold

Currently, any capital gain or loss realized upon a sale of Fund shares is generally treated as a long-term gain or loss if the shares have been held for more than one year. Any capital gain or loss realized upon a sale of Fund shares held for one year or less is generally treated as short-term gain or loss, except that any capital loss on the sale of shares held for six months or less is treated as long-term capital loss to the extent that capital gain dividends were paid with respect to such shares.

Medicare Tax

An additional 3.8% Medicare tax is imposed on certain net investment income (including ordinary dividends and capital gain distributions received from the Fund and net gains from redemptions or other taxable dispositions of Fund shares) of U.S. individuals, estates and trusts to the extent that such person’s “modified adjusted gross income” (in the case of an individual) or “adjusted gross income” (in the case of an estate or trust) exceeds certain threshold amounts.

The foregoing discussion summarizes some of the consequences under current U.S. federal tax law of an investment in the Fund. It is not a substitute for personal tax advice. You may also be subject to state and local taxation on Fund distributions and sales of shares. Consult your personal tax advisor about the potential tax consequences of an investment in shares of the Fund under all applicable tax laws.

CREATIONS AND REDEMPTIONS

Creations and Redemptions

Prior to trading in the secondary market, shares of the Fund are “created” at NAV by market makers, large investors and institutions only in block-size Creation Units of 50,000 shares or multiples thereof. The size of a Creation Unit will be subject to change. Each “creator” or “AP” enters into an authorized participant agreement (“Authorized Participant Agreement”) with the Fund’s distributor, ALPS Distributors, Inc. (the “Distributor”), subject to acceptance by the Fund’s Transfer Agent. Only an AP may create or redeem Creation Units. Creation Units generally are issued and redeemed in exchange for a specific basket of securities approximating the holdings of the Fund and a designated amount of cash. The Fund may pay out a portion of its redemption proceeds in cash rather than through the in-kind delivery of portfolio securities. Except when aggregated in Creation Units, shares are not redeemable by the Fund. The prices at which creations and redemptions occur are based on the next calculation of NAV after an order is received in a form described in the Authorized Participant Agreement.

Orders for creations and redemptions must be made by an AP that is a DTC participant and must have executed an agreement with the Distributor with respect to creations and redemptions of Creation Unit aggregations. Information about the procedures regarding creation and redemption of Creation Units (including the cut-off times for receipt of creation and redemption orders) is included in the SAI.

The Fund intends to comply with the U.S. federal securities laws in accepting securities for deposits and satisfying redemptions with redemption securities, including that the securities accepted for deposits and the securities used to satisfy redemption requests will be sold in transactions that would be exempt from registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”). Further, an AP that is not a “qualified institutional buyer,” as such term is defined under Rule 144A of the 1933 Act, will not be able to receive fund securities that are restricted securities eligible for resale under Rule 144A.

Authorized Participants and the Continuous Offering of Shares

Because new shares may be created and issued on an ongoing basis, at any point during the life of the Fund a “distribution,” as such term is used in the 1933 Act, may be occurring. Broker-dealers and other persons are cautioned that some activities on their part may, depending on the circumstances, result in their being deemed participants in a distribution in a manner that could render them statutory underwriters and subject to the prospectus delivery and liability provisions of the 1933 Act. Any determination of whether one is an underwriter must take into account all the relevant facts and circumstances of each particular case.

Broker-dealers should also note that dealers who are not “underwriters” but are participating in a distribution (as contrasted to ordinary secondary transactions), and thus dealing with shares that are part of an “unsold allotment” within the meaning of Section 4(3)(C) of the 1933 Act, would be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(3) of the 1933 Act. For delivery of prospectuses to exchange members, the prospectus delivery mechanism of Rule 153 under the 1933 Act is available only with respect to transactions on a national securities exchange.

Certain affiliates of the Fund and the Adviser may purchase and resell Creation Units pursuant to this Prospectus.

Transaction Fees

APs are charged standard creation and redemption transaction fees to offset transfer and other transaction costs associated with the issuance and redemption of Creation Units. Purchasers and redeemers of Creation

 

 

Prospectus    April 10, 2019   15   Fund Details


Units for cash are required to pay an additional variable charge (up to a maximum of 2% for redemptions, including the standard redemption fee) to compensate for brokerage and market impact expenses. The standard creation and redemption transaction fee for the Fund is set forth in the table below. The maximum redemption fee, as a percentage of the amount redeemed, is 2%.

 

   
Fund   Fee  
Xtrackers S&P 500 ESG ETF   $ 800  

DISTRIBUTION

The Distributor distributes Creation Units for the Fund on an agency basis. The Distributor does not maintain a secondary market in shares of the Fund. The Distributor has no role in determining the policies of the Fund or the securities that are purchased or sold by the Fund. The Distributor’s principal address is 1290 Broadway, Suite 1100, Denver, Colorado 80203.

The Adviser and/or its affiliates may pay additional compensation, out of their own assets and not as an additional charge to the Fund, to selected affiliated and unaffiliated brokers, dealers, participating insurance companies or other financial intermediaries (“financial advisers”) in connection with the sale and/or distribution of Fund shares or the retention and/or servicing of Fund investors and Fund shares (“revenue sharing”). For example, the Adviser and/or its affiliates may compensate financial advisers for providing the Fund with “shelf space” or access to a third party platform or fund offering list or other marketing programs, including, without limitation, inclusion of the Fund on preferred or recommended sales lists, fund “supermarket” platforms and other formal sales programs; granting the Adviser and/or its affiliates access to the financial adviser’s sales force; granting the Adviser and/or its affiliates access to the financial adviser’s conferences and meetings; assistance in training and educating the financial adviser’s personnel; and obtaining other forms of marketing support.

The level of revenue sharing payments made to financial advisers may be a fixed fee or based upon one or more of the following factors: gross sales, current assets and/or number of accounts of the Fund attributable to the financial adviser, the particular Fund or Fund type or other measures as agreed to by the Adviser and/or its affiliates and the financial advisers or any combination thereof. The amount of these revenue sharing payments is determined at the discretion of the Adviser and/or its affiliates from time to time, may be substantial, and may be different for different financial advisers based on, for example, the nature of the services provided by the financial adviser.

Receipt of, or the prospect of receiving, additional compensation may influence your financial adviser’s

recommendation of the Fund. You should review your financial adviser’s compensation disclosure and/or talk to your financial adviser to obtain more information on how this compensation may have influenced your financial adviser’s recommendation of the Fund. Additional information regarding these revenue sharing payments is included in the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information, which is available to you on request at no charge (see the back cover of this Prospectus for more information on how to request a copy of the Statement of Additional Information).

It is possible that broker-dealers that execute portfolio transactions for the Fund will include firms that also sell shares of the Fund to their customers. However, the Adviser will not consider the sale of Fund shares as a factor in the selection of broker-dealers to execute portfolio transactions for the Fund’s. Accordingly, the Adviser has implemented policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent its traders from considering sales of Fund shares as a factor in the selection of broker-dealers to execute portfolio transactions for the Fund. In addition, the Adviser and/or its affiliates will not use Fund brokerage to pay for their obligation to provide additional compensation to financial advisers as described above.

FUND SERVICE PROVIDERS

The Bank of New York Mellon, 240 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10286 (“BNYM”), is the administrator, custodian and fund accounting and transfer agent for the Fund.

Dechert LLP, 1095 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10036, serves as legal counsel to the Fund.

Ernst & Young LLP, located at 5 Times Square, New York, New York 10036, serves as the Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm. The independent registered public accounting firm is responsible for auditing the annual financial statements of the Fund.

INDEX PROVIDER AND LICENSES

S&P Dow Jones Indices (“S&P”) is a leading provider of global indexes and benchmark related products and services to investors worldwide. S&P is not affiliated with the Trust, the Adviser, BNYM, the Distributor or any of their respective affiliates.

The Adviser has entered into a license agreement with the Index Provider to use each Underlying Index. The Adviser has also entered into a license agreement with a broker-dealer for the use of certain customized analytical data. All license fees are paid by the Adviser out of its own resources and not the assets of the Fund.

 

 

Prospectus    April 10, 2019   16   Fund Details


DISCLAIMERS

The “S&P 500 ESG Index” is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC or its affiliates (“SPDJI”) and has been licensed for use by the Fund. Standard & Poor’s® and S&P® are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC (“S&P”) and Dow Jones® is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC (“Dow Jones ”). The trademarks have been licensed to SPDJI and have been sublicensed for use for certain purposes by the Adviser. The Fund is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by SPDJI, Dow Jones, S&P, or any of their respective affiliates (collectively, “S&P Dow Jones Indices”). S&P Dow Jones Indices does not make any representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the Fund or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in the Fund particularly or the ability of the Underlying Index to track general market performance. S&P Dow Jones Indices only relationship to the Adviser with respect to the Underlying Index is the licensing of the Index and certain trademarks, service marks and/or trade names of S&P Dow Jones Indices and/or its licensors. The Underlying Index is determined, composed and calculated by S&P Dow Jones Indices without regard to the Adviser or the Fund. S&P Dow Jones Indices has no obligation to take the needs of the Adviser or the owners of the Fund into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the Underlying Index. S&P Dow Jones Indices is not responsible for and have not participated in the determination of the prices, and amount of the Fund or the timing of the issuance or sale of the Fund or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the Fund is to be converted into cash, surrendered or redeemed, as the case may be. S&P Dow Jones Indices has no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the Fund. There is no assurance that investment products based on the Underlying Index will accurately track index performance or provide positive investment returns. S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC is not an investment advisor. Inclusion of a security within an index is not a recommendation by S&P Dow Jones Indices to buy, sell, or hold such security, nor is it considered to be investment advice.

S&P DOW JONES INDICES DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE ADEQUACY, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF THE UNDERLYING INDEX OR ANY DATA RELATED THERETO OR ANY COMMUNICATION, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ORAL OR WRITTEN COMMUNICATION (INCLUDING ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS) WITH RESPECT THERETO. S&P DOW JONES INDICES SHALL NOT BE SUBJECT TO ANY DAMAGES OR LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR DELAYS THEREIN. S&P DOW

JONES INDICES MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE OR AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY THE ADVISER, OWNERS OF THE FUND , OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE UNDERLYING INDEX OR WITH RESPECT TO ANY DATA RELATED THERETO. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT WHATSOEVER SHALL S&P DOW JONES INDICES BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LOSS OF PROFITS, TRADING LOSSES, LOST TIME OR GOODWILL, EVEN IF THEY HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE. THERE ARE NO THIRD PARTY BENEFICIARIES OF ANY AGREEMENTS OR ARRANGEMENTS BETWEEN S&P DOW JONES INDICES AND THE ADVISER, OTHER THAN THE LICENSORS OF S&P DOW JONES INDICES.

Shares of the Fund are not sponsored, endorsed or promoted by NYSE Arca. NYSE Arca makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the shares of the Fund or any member of the public regarding the ability of the Fund to track the total return performance of their Underlying Index or the ability of the Underlying Index to track stock market performance. NYSE Arca is not responsible for, nor has it participated in, the determination of the compilation or the calculation of the Underlying Index nor in the determination of the timing of, prices of, or quantities of shares of the Fund to be issued, nor in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the shares are redeemable. NYSE Arca has no obligation or liability to owners of the shares of the Fund in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the shares of the Fund.

NYSE Arca does not guarantee the accuracy and/or the completeness of the Underlying Index or any data included therein. NYSE Arca makes no warranty, express or implied, as to results to be obtained by the Trust on behalf of the Fund as licensee, licensee’s customers and counterparties, owners of the shares of the Fund, or any other person or entity from the use of the subject index or any data included therein in connection with the rights licensed as described herein or for any other use. NYSE Arca makes no express or implied warranties and hereby expressly disclaims all warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose with respect to the Underlying Index or any data included therein. Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall NYSE Arca have any liability for any direct, indirect, special, punitive, consequential or any

 

 

Prospectus    April 10, 2019   17   Fund Details


other damages (including lost profits) even if notified of the possibility of such damages.

The Adviser does not guarantee the accuracy or the completeness of the Underlying Index or any data included therein and the Adviser shall have no liability for any errors, omissions or interruptions therein.

The Adviser makes no warranty, express or implied, to the owners of shares of the Fund or to any other person or entity, as to results to be obtained by the Fund from the use of the Underlying Index or any data included therein. The Adviser makes no express or implied warranties and expressly disclaims all warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose or use with respect to the Underlying Index or any data included therein. Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall the Adviser have any liability for any special, punitive, direct, indirect or consequential damages (including lost profits), even if notified of the possibility of such damages.

PREMIUM/DISCOUNT INFORMATION

Information regarding how often shares of the Fund traded on NYSE Arca at a price above (i.e., at a premium) or below (i.e., at a discount) the NAV of the Fund during the past calendar year can be found at www.Xtrackers.com.

 

 

Prospectus    April 10, 2019   18   Fund Details


LOGO

 

Because the Fund has not yet commenced operations, no financial highlights are presented.

 

Prospectus    April 10, 2019   19   Financial Highlights


FOR MORE INFORMATION:

WWW.XTRACKERS.COM

1-855-329-3837 (1-855-DBX-ETFS)

Copies of the Prospectus, SAI and recent shareholder reports, when available, can be found on our website at www.Xtrackers.com. For more information about the Fund, you may request a copy of the SAI. The SAI provides detailed information about the Fund and is incorporated by reference into this Prospectus. This means that the SAI, for legal purposes, is a part of this Prospectus.

If you have any questions about the Trust or shares of the Fund or you wish to obtain the SAI or shareholder report free of charge, please:

 

Call:   1-855-329-3837 or 1-855-DBX-ETFS (toll free) Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. (Eastern Time)
  E-mail:dbxquestions@list.db.com
Write:  

DBX ETF Trust

c/o ALPS Distributors, Inc.

1290 Broadway, Suite 1100

Denver, Colorado 80203

Information about the Fund (including the SAI) can be reviewed and copied at the SEC’s Public Reference Section in Washington, D.C. Reports and other information about the Fund are available on the EDGAR Database on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov, and copies of this information may be obtained, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov.

No person is authorized to give any information or to make any representations about the Fund and their shares not contained in this Prospectus and you should not rely on any other information. Read and keep the Prospectus for future reference.

Investment Company Act File No.: 811-22487

 

 

LOGO

 


 

DBX ETF Trust

Xtrackers S&P 500 ESG ETF (SPYE)

Statement of Additional Information

Dated April 10, 2019

This combined Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) is not a prospectus. It should be read in conjunction with the current prospectus (the “Prospectus”) for the above-referenced fund (the “Fund”) of DBX ETF Trust (the “Trust”), as such Prospectus may be revised or supplemented from time to time. The Fund is listed on NYSE Arca, Inc..

The Prospectus for the Fund included in this SAI is dated April 10, 2019. Capitalized terms used herein that are not defined have the same meaning as in the Prospectus, unless otherwise noted. A copy of the Prospectus may be obtained without charge by writing to the Trust’s distributor, ALPS Distributors, Inc. (the “Distributor”), at 1290 Broadway, Suite 1100, Denver, Colorado 80203, calling 1-855-329-3837 (1-855-DBX-ETFS) or visiting www.Xtrackers.com.


TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

General Description of the Trust and the Fund

     1  
  

Exchange Listing and Trading

     1  
  

Investment Strategies and Risks

     2  
  

General Considerations and Risks

     7  
  

Proxy Voting

     9  
  

Portfolio Holdings Information

     9  
  

Construction and Maintenance of the Underlying Index

     9  
  

Investment Limitations

     11  
  

Management

     12  
  

Control Persons and Principal Holders of Securities

     17  
  

Investment Advisory, Administrative and Distribution Services

     17  
  

Brokerage Transactions

     23  
  

Additional Information Concerning the Trust

     23  
  

Creation and Redemption of Creation Units

     25  
  

Taxes

     31  
  

Miscellaneous Information

     36  
  

Financial Statements

     36  
  

Appendix A - Proxy Voting Policy and Guidelines

     A-1  

 

i


General Description of the Trust and the Fund

The Trust currently consists of 39 operational investment series or portfolios. The Trust was organized as a Delaware statutory trust on October 7, 2010 and is authorized to have multiple series or portfolios. The Trust is an open-end management investment company registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). The offering of the Fund’s shares (the “Shares”) is registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”).

The investment objective of the Fund is to provide investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of the of the S&P 500 ESG Index (the “Underlying Index”). The Fund is managed by DBX Advisors LLC (“DBXA” or the “Adviser”).

The Fund offers and issues Shares at their net asset value (“NAV”) per Share only in aggregations of a specified number of Shares (“Creation Units”), generally in exchange for a basket of securities and other instruments included in its Underlying Index (the “Deposit Securities”), together with the deposit of a specified cash payment (the “Cash Component”). Shares of the Fund are listed for trading on NYSE Arca, Inc.. (the “Exchange”). Shares trade in the secondary market at market prices that may be at, above or below NAV. Shares are redeemable only in Creation Units, and, partially for cash and partially in-kind for securities and other instruments generally included in the Fund’s Underlying Index. A Creation Unit consists of 50,000 Shares thereof.

The Trust reserves the right to offer a “cash” option for creations and redemptions of Shares. Shares may be issued in advance of receipt of Deposit Securities subject to various conditions, including a requirement to maintain with the Trust a cash deposit, equal to at least 115%, which the Adviser may change from time to time, of the market value of the omitted Deposit Securities. See the “Creation and Redemption of Creation Units” section of this SAI. Transaction fees for cash creations and redemptions may be higher than the transaction fees associated with in-kind creations and redemptions.

Exchange Listing and Trading

A discussion of exchange listing and trading matters associated with an investment in the Fund is contained in the “Shareholder Information” section of the Fund’s Prospectus. The discussion below supplements, and should be read in conjunction with, that section of the Prospectus.

Shares of the Fund are listed for trading and will trade throughout the day on the Exchange. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of Shares of the Fund will continue to be met. The Exchange may, but is not required to, remove the Shares of the Fund from listing if (i) following the initial 12-month period beginning upon the commencement of trading of Fund Shares, there are fewer than 50 beneficial owners of Shares of the Fund for 30 or more consecutive trading days, (ii) the value of the Underlying Index on which the Fund is based is no longer calculated or available, (iii) the “indicative optimized portfolio value” (“IOPV”) of the Fund is no longer calculated or available or (iv) any other event shall occur or condition shall exist that, in the opinion of the Exchange, makes further dealings on the Exchange inadvisable. The Exchange will also remove Shares of the Fund from listing and trading upon termination of the Fund.

As in the case of other publicly-traded securities, when you buy or sell Shares through a broker you will incur a brokerage commission determined by that broker.

In order to provide additional information regarding the indicative value of Shares of the Fund, the Exchange or a market data vendor disseminates every 15 seconds through the facilities of the Consolidated Tape Association or other widely disseminated means an updated IOPV for the Fund as calculated by an information provider or market data vendor. The Trust is not involved in or responsible for any aspect of the calculation or dissemination of the IOPVs and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the IOPVs.

An IOPV has a securities component and a cash component. The securities values included in an IOPV are the values of the Deposit Securities for the Fund. While the IOPV reflects the current market value of the Deposit Securities required to be deposited in connection with the purchase of a Creation Unit, it does not necessarily reflect the precise composition of the current portfolio of securities held by the Fund at a particular point in time because the current portfolio of the Fund may include securities that are not a part of the current Deposit Securities. Therefore, the Fund’s IOPV disseminated during the Exchange trading hours should not be viewed as a real-time update of the Fund’s NAV, which is calculated only once a day.

The cash component included in an IOPV consists of estimated accrued interest, dividends and other income, less expenses. If applicable, each IOPV also reflects changes in currency exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and the applicable currency.

 

1


The Trust reserves the right to adjust the Share prices of the Fund in the future to maintain convenient trading ranges for investors. Any adjustments would be accomplished through stock splits or reverse stock splits, which would have no effect on the net assets of the Fund.

Investment Strategies and Risks

Xtrackers S&P 500 ESG ETF will invest at least 80% of its total assets (but typically far more) in instruments that comprise its Underlying Index.

The Fund operates as an index fund and will not be actively managed. Adverse performance of a security in the Fund’s portfolio may not result in the elimination of the security from the Fund’s portfolio. The Fund expects to use a full replication indexing strategy to seek to track its Underlying Index. As such, the Fund expects to invest directly in 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.

Diversification Status. The Fund is classified as a diversified fund.1 A non-diversified fund is a fund that is not limited by the 1940 Act with regard to the percentage of its assets that may be invested in the securities of a single issuer. The securities of a particular issuer (or securities of issuers in particular industries) may dominate the underlying index of such the fund and, consequently, the fund’s investment portfolio. This may adversely affect the fund’s performance or subject the fund’s shares to greater price volatility than that experienced by more diversified investment companies.

The Fund intends to maintain the required level of diversification and otherwise conduct its operations so as to qualify as a regulated investment company (“RIC”) for purposes of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), and to relieve the Fund of any liability for U.S. federal income tax to the extent that its earnings are distributed to shareholders, provided that the Fund satisfies a minimum distribution requirement. Compliance with the diversification requirements of the Code may limit the investment flexibility of the Fund and may make it less likely that the Fund will meet its investment objective.

Repurchase Agreements. The Fund may enter into repurchase agreements. A repurchase agreement is an instrument under which the purchaser (i.e., the Fund) acquires the security and the seller agrees, at the time of the sale, to repurchase the security at a mutually agreed upon time and price, thereby determining the yield during the purchaser’s holding period. Repurchase agreements may be construed to be collateralized loans by the purchaser to the seller secured by the securities transferred to the purchaser. If a repurchase agreement is construed to be a collateralized loan, the underlying securities will not be considered to be owned by the Fund but only to constitute collateral for the seller’s obligation to pay the repurchase price, and, in the event of a default by the seller, the Fund may suffer time delays and incur costs or losses in connection with the disposition of the collateral.

In any repurchase transaction, collateral for a repurchase agreement may include cash items, obligations issued by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities and any other debt security that the Adviser determines at the time the repurchase agreement is entered into: (i) the issuer of which has an exceptionally strong capacity to meet its financial obligations; and (ii) is sufficiently liquid that it can be sold at approximately its carrying value in the ordinary course of business within seven calendar days. Collateral, however, is not limited to the foregoing and may include for example obligations rated below the highest category by NRSROs. Collateral for a repurchase agreement may also include securities that the Fund could not hold directly without the repurchase obligation.

 

1 

Currently, under the 1940 Act, a “non-diversified” investment company is a fund that is not “diversified,” and for a fund to be classified as a diversified investment company, at least 75% of the value of the fund’s total assets must be represented by cash and cash items (including receivables), government securities, securities of other investment companies, and securities of other issuers, which for the purposes of this calculation are limited in respect of any one issuer to an amount (valued at the time of investment) not greater in value than 5% of the fund’s total assets and to not more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer. Pursuant to certain SEC staff positions, if a non-diversified fund’s investments are in fact “diversified” under the 1940 Act for a period of three years, the fund may be considered “diversified” and may not be able to convert to a non-diversified fund without the approval of shareholders.

 

2


Repurchase agreements pose certain risks for the Fund that utilizes them. Such risks are not unique to the Fund but are inherent in repurchase agreements. The Fund seeks to minimize such risks but such risks cannot be eliminated. Lower quality collateral and collateral with longer maturities may be subject to greater price fluctuations than higher quality collateral and collateral with shorter maturities. If the repurchase agreement counterparty were to default, lower quality collateral may be more difficult to liquidate than higher quality collateral. Should the counterparty default and the amount of collateral not be sufficient to cover the counterparty’s repurchase obligation, the Fund would retain the status of an unsecured creditor of the counterparty (i.e., the position the Fund would normally be in if it were to hold, pursuant to its investment policies, other unsecured debt securities of the defaulting counterparty) with respect to the amount of the shortfall. As an unsecured creditor, the Fund would be at risk of losing some or all of the principal and income involved in the transaction.

Reverse Repurchase Agreements. The Fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements, which involve the sale of securities with an agreement to repurchase the securities at an agreed-upon price, date and interest payment and have the characteristics of borrowing. Generally the effect of such transactions is that the Fund can recover all or most of the cash invested in the portfolio securities involved during the term of the reverse repurchase agreement, while in many cases the Fund is able to keep some of the interest income associated with those securities. Such transactions are advantageous only if the Fund has an opportunity to earn a rate of interest on the cash derived from these transactions that is greater than the interest cost of obtaining the same amount of cash. Opportunities to realize earnings from the use of the proceeds equal to or greater than the interest required to be paid may not always be available and the Fund intends to use the reverse repurchase technique only when the Adviser believes it will be advantageous to the Fund. The use of reverse repurchase agreements may exaggerate any interim increase or decrease in the value of the Fund’s assets. The Fund’s exposure to reverse repurchase agreements will be covered by assets having a value equal to or greater than such commitments. The Fund maintains liquid assets in connection with reverse repurchase agreements. Under the 1940 Act, reverse repurchase agreements are considered borrowings.

Short-Term Instruments and Temporary Investments. The Fund may invest in short-term instruments, including money market instruments, on an ongoing basis to provide liquidity or for other reasons, including to the extent necessary to help the Fund track its Underlying Index, but will not invest in money market instruments or other short-term investments as part of a temporary defensive strategy to protect against potential stock market declines. Money market instruments are generally short-term investments that may include but are not limited to: (i) shares of money market funds (including those advised by the Adviser); (ii) obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities (including government-sponsored enterprises); (iii) negotiable certificates of deposit (“CDs”), bankers’ acceptances, fixed-time deposits and other obligations of U.S. and non-U.S. banks (including non-U.S. branches) and similar institutions; (iv) commercial paper rated, at the date of purchase, “Prime-1” by Moody’s® Investors Service, Inc. or “A-1” by Standard & Poor’s® Financial Services LLC (“S&P”), or if unrated, of comparable quality as determined by the Adviser; (v) non-convertible corporate debt securities (e.g., bonds and debentures) with remaining maturities at the date of purchase of not more than 397 days and that satisfy the credit quality requirements set forth in Rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act; (vi) repurchase agreements; and (vii) short-term U.S. dollar-denominated obligations of non-U.S. banks (including U.S. branches) that, in the opinion of the Adviser, are of comparable quality to obligations of U.S. banks which may be purchased by the Fund. Any of these instruments may be purchased on a current or forward-settled basis. Time deposits are non-negotiable deposits maintained in banking institutions for specified periods of time at stated interest rates. Bankers’ acceptances are time drafts drawn on commercial banks by borrowers, usually in connection with international transactions.

Restricted Securities/Rule 144A Securities. The Fund may invest in securities offered pursuant to Rule 144A under the 1933 Act (“Rule 144A securities”), which are restricted securities. They may be less liquid and more difficult to value than other investments because such securities may not be readily marketable in broad public markets. The Fund may not be able to sell a restricted security promptly or at a reasonable price. Although there is a substantial institutional market for Rule 144A securities, it is not possible to predict exactly how the market for Rule 144A securities will develop. A restricted security that was liquid at the time of purchase may subsequently become illiquid and its value may decline as a result. Restricted securities that are deemed illiquid will count towards the Fund’s 15% limitation on illiquid securities. In addition, transaction costs may be higher for restricted securities than for more liquid securities. The Fund may have to bear the expense of registering Rule 144A securities for resale and the risk of substantial delays in effecting the registration.

 

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Securities of Investment Companies. The Fund may invest in the securities of other investment companies (including money market funds) and real estate investment trusts (“REITs”) to the extent allowed by law. Pursuant to the 1940 Act, the Fund’s investment in investment companies is limited to, subject to certain exceptions: (i) 3% of the total outstanding voting stock of any one investment company; (ii) 5% of the Fund’s total assets with respect to any one investment company; and (iii) 10% of the Fund’s total assets with respect to investment companies in the aggregate. To the extent allowed by law or regulation, the Fund may invest its assets in the securities of investment companies that are money market funds, including those advised by the Adviser or otherwise affiliated with the Adviser, in excess of the limits discussed above. Other investment companies in which the Fund invests can be expected to incur fees and expenses for operations, such as investment advisory and administration fees that would be in addition to those incurred by the Fund.

Illiquid Securities. The Fund may invest up to an aggregate amount of 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities (calculated at the time of investment). Illiquid securities include securities subject to contractual or other restrictions on resale and other instruments that lack readily available markets. The Fund’s investments in restricted and illiquid securities may entail greater risk than investments in other types of securities. These securities may be more difficult to sell, particularly in times of market turmoil. Additionally, the market for certain investments deemed liquid at the time of purchase may become illiquid under adverse market or economic conditions. Illiquid securities may be more difficult to value. If the Fund is forced to sell an illiquid security to fund redemptions or for other cash needs, it may be forced to sell the security at a loss or for less than its fair value.

Futures and Options. The Fund may enter into futures contracts and options. These futures contracts and options will be used to simulate investment in the Underlying Index, facilitate trading or reduce transaction costs. The Fund will enter into futures contracts and options that are traded on a U.S. or non-U.S. exchange. No Fund will use futures or options for speculative purposes. The Fund intends to use futures and options in accordance with Rule 4.5 promulgated under the Commodity Exchange Act (“CEA”). The Adviser, on behalf of the Fund, has claimed an exclusion from the definition of the term “commodity pool operator” in accordance with Rule 4.5 so that the Fund is not subject to registration or regulation as a commodity pool operator under the CEA.

Futures contracts provide for the future sale by one party and purchase by another party of a specified amount of a specific instrument or index at a specified future time and at a specified price. The Fund may enter into futures contracts to purchase the value of one or more securities indexes when the Adviser anticipates purchasing the underlying securities and believe prices will rise before the purchase will be made. To the extent required by law, liquid assets committed to futures contracts will be maintained.

A call option gives a holder the right to purchase a specific security at a specified price (“exercise price”) within a specified period of time. A put option gives a holder the right to sell a specific security at a specified exercise price within a specified period of time. The initial purchaser of a call option pays the “writer” a premium, which is paid at the time of purchase and is retained by the writer whether or not such option is exercised. The Fund may purchase put options to hedge its portfolio against the risk of a decline in the market value of securities held and may purchase call options to hedge against an increase in the price of securities it is committed to purchase. The Fund may write put and call options along with a long position in options to increase its ability to hedge against a change in the market value of the securities it holds or is committed to purchase. Investments in futures contracts and other investments that contain leverage may require the Fund to maintain liquid assets. Generally, the Fund maintains an amount of liquid assets equal to its obligations relative to the position involved, adjusted daily on a marked-to-market basis. With respect to futures contracts that are contractually required to “cash-settle,” the Fund maintains liquid assets in an amount at least equal to the Fund’s daily marked-to-market obligation (i.e., the Fund’s daily net liability, if any), rather than the contracts’ notional value (i.e., the value of the underlying asset). By maintaining assets equal to its net obligation under cash-settled futures contracts, the Fund may employ leverage to a greater extent than if the Fund set aside assets equal to the futures contracts’ full notional value. The Fund bases its asset maintenance policies on methods permitted by the staff of the SEC and may modify these policies in the future to comply with any changes in the guidance articulated from time to time by the SEC or its staff.

 

4


Options on Futures Contracts. An option on a futures contract, as contrasted with the direct investment in such a contract, gives the purchaser the right, in return for the premium paid, to assume a position in the underlying futures contract at a specified exercise price at any time prior to the expiration date of the option. Upon exercise of an option, the delivery of the futures position by the writer of the option to the holder of the option will be accompanied by delivery of the accumulated balance in the writer’s futures margin account that represents the amount by which the market price of the futures contract exceeds (in the case of a call) or is less than (in the case of a put) the exercise price of the option on the futures contract. The potential for loss related to the purchase of an option on a futures contract is limited to the premium paid for the option plus transaction costs. Because the value of the option is fixed at the point of sale, there are no daily cash payments by the purchaser to reflect changes in the value of the underlying contract; however, the value of the option changes daily and that change would be reflected in the NAV of the Fund. The potential for loss related to writing call options is unlimited. The potential for loss related to writing put options is limited to the agreed upon price per Share, also known as the strike price, less the premium received from writing the put.

The Fund may purchase and write put and call options on futures contracts that are traded on an exchange as a hedge against changes in value of its portfolio securities, or in anticipation of the purchase of securities, and may enter into closing transactions with respect to such options to terminate existing positions. There is no guarantee that such closing transactions can be effected.

Upon entering into a futures contract, the Fund will be required to deposit with the broker an amount of cash or cash equivalents known as “initial margin,” which is in the nature of a performance bond or good faith deposit on the contract and is returned to the Fund upon termination of the futures contract, assuming all contractual obligations have been satisfied. Subsequent payments, known as “variation margin,” to and from the broker will be made daily as the price of the index underlying the futures contract fluctuates, making the long and short positions in the futures contract more or less valuable, a process known as “marking-to-market.” At any time prior to the expiration of a futures contract, the Fund may elect to close the position by taking an opposite position, which will operate to terminate the Fund’s existing position in the contract.

Restrictions on the Use of Futures Contracts and Options on Futures Contracts. Pursuant to a claim for exclusion filed with the National Futures Association (“NFA”) on behalf of the Fund, the Trust is not deemed to be a “commodity pool operator” (“CPO”), under the CEA, and it is not subject to registration or regulation as such under the CEA. The Adviser is not deemed to be a “commodity trading advisor” with respect to its services as an investment adviser to the Fund. Under CFTC regulations, the Adviser would need to register with the CFTC as CPO if the Fund is unable to comply with certain trading and marketing limitations on its investments in futures and certain other instruments. With respect to investments in swap transactions, commodity futures, commodity options or certain other derivatives used for purposes other than bona fide hedging purposes, the Trust, on behalf of the Fund must meet one of the following tests under the amended regulations in order to claim an exclusion from the definition of a CPO. First, the aggregate initial margin and premiums required to establish the Fund’s positions in such investments may not exceed five percent of the liquidation value of the Fund’s portfolio (after accounting for unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such investments). Alternatively, the aggregate net notional value of such instruments, determined at the time of the most recent position established, may not exceed one hundred percent (100%) of the liquidation value of the Fund’s portfolio (after accounting for unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such positions). In addition to meeting one of the foregoing trading limitations, the Fund may not market itself as a commodity pool or otherwise as a vehicle for trading in the commodity futures, commodity options or swaps and derivatives markets. In the event that the Adviser is required to register as a CPO with respect to the Fund, the disclosure and operations of the Fund would need to comply with all applicable CFTC regulations. Compliance with these additional registration and regulatory requirements could increase operational expenses. Other potentially adverse regulatory initiatives could also develop.

 

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Swap Agreements. Over-the-counter (“OTC”) swap agreements are contracts between parties in which one party agrees to make periodic payments to the other party based on the change in market value or level of a specified rate, index or asset. In return, the other party agrees to make periodic payments to the first party based on the return of a different specified rate, index or asset. Swap agreements will usually be performed on a net basis, with the Fund receiving or paying only the net amount of the two payments. The net amount of the excess, if any, of the Fund’s obligations over its entitlements with respect to each swap is accrued on a daily basis and an amount of liquid assets having an aggregate value at least equal to the accrued excess will be maintained by the Fund. Cleared swap agreements are transacted through futures commission merchants (“FCMs”) that are members of central clearinghouses with the clearinghouse serving as a central counterparty similar to transactions in futures contracts.

The use of interest-rate and index swaps is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio security transactions. These transactions generally do not involve the delivery of securities or other underlying assets or principal.

Tracking Stocks. A tracking stock is a separate class of common stock whose value is linked to a specific business unit or operating division within a larger company and which is designed to “track” the performance of such business unit or division. The tracking stock may pay dividends to Shareholders independent of the parent company. The parent company, rather than the business unit or division, generally is the issuer of tracking stock. However, holders of the tracking stock may not have the same rights as holders of the company’s common stock.

Lending of Portfolio Securities. To generate additional income, the Fund may lend a percentage of its investment securities to approved institutional borrowers who need to borrow securities in order to complete certain transactions, such as covering short sales, avoiding failures to deliver securities or completing arbitrage operations, in exchange for collateral in the form of cash or US government securities. By lending its investment securities, the Fund attempts to increase its net investment income through the receipt of interest on the loan. Any gain or loss in the market price of the securities loaned that might occur during the term of the loan would belong to the Fund. The Fund may lend its investment securities so long as the terms, structure and the aggregate amount of such loans are not inconsistent with the 1940 Act or the rules and regulations or interpretations of the SEC thereunder, which currently require that (a) the borrower pledge and maintain with the Fund collateral consisting of liquid, unencumbered assets having a value at all times not less than 100% of the value of the securities loaned, (b) the borrower add to such collateral whenever the price of the securities loaned rises or the value of non-cash collateral declines (i.e., the borrower “marks to the market” on a daily basis), (c) the loan be made subject to termination by the Fund at any time, and (d) the Fund receives a reasonable return on the loan (consisting of the return achieved on investment of the cash collateral, less the rebate owed to borrowers, plus distributions on the loaned securities and any increase in their market value). The Fund may pay reasonable fees in connection with loaned securities, pursuant to written contracts, including fees paid to the Fund’s custodian and fees paid to a securities lending agent, including a securities lending agent that is an affiliate of the Adviser. Voting rights may pass with the loaned securities, but if an event occurs that the Adviser determines to be a material event affecting an investment on loan, the loan must be called and the securities voted. Cash collateral received by the Fund may be invested in a money market fund managed by the Adviser (or one of its affiliates).

The Fund is 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. To the extent the value or return of the Fund’s investments of the cash collateral declines below the amount owed to a borrower, the Fund may incur losses that exceed the amount it earned on lending the security. If the borrower defaults on its obligation to return securities lent because of insolvency or other reasons, the Fund could experience delays and costs in recovering the securities lent or gaining access to collateral. 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. However, loans will be made only to borrowers selected by the Fund’s delegate after a commercially reasonable review of relevant facts and circumstances, including the creditworthiness of the borrower.

 

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Regulations adopted by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and other regulators throughout the world, which are scheduled to take effect with respect to the Fund in 2019, will require counterparties that are part of U.S. or foreign global systemically important banking organizations to include contractual restrictions on close-out and cross-default in agreements relating to qualified financial contracts. Securities lending agreements are included in the category of qualified financial contracts (as well as repurchase agreements and agreements relating to swaps, currency forwards and other derivatives). The restrictions prevent the Fund from closing out a qualified financial contract during a specified time period (e.g., two days) if the counterparty is subject to resolution proceedings and prohibit the Fund from exercising default rights during that period due to a receivership or similar proceeding of an affiliate of the counterparty. Implementation of these requirements may increase credit and other risks to the Fund.

In the case of securities lending transactions, payments in lieu of dividends are not qualified dividend income.

Future Developments. The Board may, in the future, authorize the Fund to invest in securities and investments other than those listed in this SAI and in the Fund’s Prospectus, provided they are consistent with the Fund’s investment objective, do not violate any investment restrictions or policies and are otherwise permitted by the 1940 Act and any other applicable law.

General Considerations and Risks

A discussion of some of the risks associated with an investment in the Fund is contained in the Prospectus.

An investment in the Fund should be made with an understanding that the value of the Fund’s portfolio securities may fluctuate in accordance with changes in the financial condition of the issuers of the portfolio securities, the value of stocks in general and other factors that affect the market.

Risks of Equity Securities. An investment in the Fund should be made with an understanding of the risks inherent in an investment in equity securities, including the risk that the financial condition of issuers may become impaired or that the general condition of the stock market may deteriorate (either of which may cause a decrease in the value of the portfolio securities and thus in the value of Shares of the Fund). Common stocks are susceptible to general stock market fluctuations and to volatile increases and decreases in value as market confidence and perceptions of their issuers change. These investor perceptions are based on various and unpredictable factors, including expectations regarding government, economic, monetary and fiscal policies, inflation and interest rates, economic expansion or contraction, and global or regional political, economic or banking crises. Holders of common stocks incur more risks than holders of preferred stocks and debt obligations because common stockholders generally have rights to receive payments from stock issuers inferior to the rights of creditors, or holders of debt obligations or preferred stocks. Further, unlike debt securities, which typically have a stated principal amount payable at maturity (the value of which, however, is subject to market fluctuations prior to maturity), or preferred stocks, which typically have a liquidation preference and which may have stated optional or mandatory redemption provisions, common stocks have neither a fixed principal amount nor a maturity.

Although most of the securities in each Underlying Index are listed on a national securities exchange, the principal trading market for some may be in the over-the-counter market. The existence of a liquid trading market for certain securities may depend on whether dealers will make a market in such securities. There can be no assurance that a market will be made or maintained or that any such market will be or remain liquid. The price at which securities may be sold and the value of the Fund’s Shares will be adversely affected if trading markets for the Fund’s portfolio securities are limited or absent, or if bid/ask spreads are wide.

Risks of Derivatives. A derivative is a financial contract, the value of which depends on, or is derived from, the value of an underlying asset such as a security or an index. The Fund may invest in stock index futures contracts and other derivatives. Compared to conventional securities, derivatives can be more sensitive to changes in interest rates or to sudden fluctuations in market prices and thus the Fund’s losses may be greater if it invests in derivatives than if it invests only in conventional securities.

 

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Risks of Futures and Options Transactions. There are several risks accompanying the utilization of futures contracts and options on futures contracts. First, a position in futures contracts and options on futures contracts may be closed only on the exchange on which the contract was made (or a linked exchange). While the Fund plans to utilize futures contracts only if an active market exists for such contracts, there is no guarantee that a liquid market will exist for the contract at a specified time. Furthermore, because, by definition, futures contracts project price levels in the future and not current levels of valuation, market circumstances may result in a discrepancy between the price of the stock index future and the movement in the Underlying Index. In the event of adverse price movements, the Fund would continue to be required to make daily cash payments to maintain its required margin. In such situations, if the Fund has insufficient cash, it may have to sell portfolio securities to meet daily margin requirements at a time when it may be disadvantageous to do so. In addition, the Fund may be required to deliver the instruments underlying the futures contracts it has sold.

The risk of loss in trading futures contracts or uncovered call options in some strategies (e.g., selling uncovered stock index futures contracts) is potentially unlimited. The Fund does not plan to use futures and options contracts in this way. The risk of a futures position may still be large as traditionally measured due to the low margin deposits required. In many cases, a relatively small price movement in a futures contract may result in immediate and substantial loss or gain to the investor relative to the size of a required margin deposit. The Fund, however, intend to utilize futures and options contracts in a manner designed to limit their risk exposure to levels comparable to a direct investment in the types of stocks in which they invest.

Utilization of futures and options on futures by the Fund involves the risk of imperfect or even negative correlation to the Underlying Index if the index underlying the futures contract differs from the Underlying Index. There is also the risk of loss by the Fund of margin deposits in the event of bankruptcy of a broker with whom the Fund has an open position in the futures contract or option. The purchase of put or call options will be based upon predictions by the Adviser as to anticipated trends, which predictions could prove to be incorrect.

Because the futures market generally imposes less burdensome margin requirements than the securities market, an increased amount of participation by speculators in the futures market could result in price fluctuations. Certain financial futures exchanges limit the amount of fluctuation permitted in futures contract prices during a single trading day. The daily limit establishes the maximum amount by which the price of a futures contract may vary either up or down from the previous day’s settlement price at the end of a trading session. Once the daily limit has been reached in a particular type of contract, no trades may be made on that day at a price beyond that limit. It is possible that futures contract prices could move to the daily limit for several consecutive trading days with little or no trading, thereby preventing prompt liquidation of futures positions and subjecting the Fund to substantial losses. In the event of adverse price movements, the Fund would be required to make daily cash payments of variation margin.

Risks of Swap Agreements. The risk of loss with respect to OTC swaps generally is limited to the net amount of payments that the Fund is contractually obligated to make. Swap agreements are subject to the risk that the swap counterparty will default on its obligations. If such a default occurs, the Fund will have contractual remedies pursuant to the agreements related to the transaction. However, such remedies may be subject to bankruptcy and insolvency laws which could affect such Fund’s rights as a creditor (e.g., the Fund may not receive the net amount of payments that it contractually is entitled to receive). Central clearing is expected to decrease counterparty risk and increase liquidity compared to un-cleared swaps because central clearing interposes the central clearinghouse as the counterpart to each participant’s swap. However, central clearing does not eliminate counterparty risk or illiquidity risk entirely. In addition depending on the size of a fund and other factors, the margin required under the rules of a clearinghouse and by a clearing member FCM may be in excess of the collateral required to be posted by a fund to support its obligations under a similar un-cleared swap. It is expected, however, that regulators will adopt rules imposing certain margin requirements, including minimums, on un-cleared swaps in the near future, which could reduce the distinction.

Dividend Risk. There is no guarantee that the issuer of the stocks held by the Fund will declare dividends in the future or that if declared, they will either remain at current levels or increase over time.

 

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Cyber Security Risk. With the increased use of technology and dependence on computer systems to perform necessary business functions, the Fund and its service providers (including the Fund’s Adviser, administrator, transfer agent, distributor, custodian, financial intermediaries and, if applicable, a sub-adviser) may be exposed to operational and information security risks resulting from cyber-attacks. Cyber-attacks include, but are not limited to, infection by computer viruses or other malicious software code, unauthorized access to the service providers’ digital systems through hacking, physically accessing systems or data storage facilities, or other means for the purpose of misappropriating assets or sensitive information, corrupting data, or causing operational disruption. Cyber-attacks may also be carried out in a manner that does not require gaining unauthorized access to service providers’ digital systems, such as causing denial-of-service attacks on the service providers’ systems or web-sites that render them unavailable. In addition, authorized persons could inadvertently or intentionally release confidential or proprietary information stored on the service providers’ systems.

Cyber-attacks have the potential to interfere with the processing of Authorized Participant (“AP”) transactions and shareholder transactions on the Exchange, impact the Fund’s ability to calculate its NAV, cause the release of private shareholder information or confidential Fund information, impede trading, cause reputational damage, and subject the Fund or its service providers to regulatory fines, penalties or financial losses, reimbursement or other compensation costs, litigation costs, and/or additional compliance costs. The Fund and its service providers may also incur substantial costs for cyber security risk management in order to prevent future cyber security incidents. The Fund and its shareholders could be negatively impacted as a result of the costs. Similar types of cyber security risks exist for issuers of securities or other instruments in which the Fund invests. Cyber-attacks could result in material adverse consequences for such issuers, and may cause the Fund’s investments therein to lose value.

Proxy Voting

The Fund has delegated proxy voting to the Adviser with the direction that proxies should be voted consistent with the Fund’s best economic interests. The Adviser has adopted its own Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures (Policies) and Proxy Voting Guidelines (Guidelines) for this purpose. The Policies address, among other things, conflicts of interest that may arise between the interests of the Fund, and the interests of the Adviser and its affiliates. The Policies and Guidelines are included in Appendix A.

You may obtain information about how the Fund voted proxies related to its portfolio securities during the 12-month period ended June 30 by visiting the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov or by visiting our website at www.Xtrackers.com (click on “proxy voting” at the bottom of the page).

Portfolio Holdings Information

The Trust has adopted a policy regarding the disclosure of information about the Trust’s portfolio holdings. The Board must approve all material amendments to this policy.

The Fund’s portfolio holdings are publicly disseminated each day the Fund are open for business through financial reporting and news services, including publicly accessible Internet web sites. In addition, a basket composition file, which includes the security names and share quantities to deliver in exchange for Fund Shares, together with estimates and actual cash components, is publicly disseminated daily prior to the opening of the Exchanges via the National Securities Clearing Corporation (“NSCC”). The basket represents one Creation Unit of the Fund. The Trust, the Adviser and the Administrator will not disseminate non-public information concerning the Trust.

Construction and Maintenance of the Underlying Index

Additional Information about the Fund’s Underlying Index’s construction is set forth below.

The S&P 500 ESG Index is calculated and maintained by S&P Dow Jones Indices (“Index Provider” or “S&P”). The Underlying Index is a is a broad-based, market capitalization weighted index that provides exposure to companies with high environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) performance relative to their sector peers, while maintaining similar overall industry group weights as the S&P 500 Index.

The Underlying Index generally selects its components from amongst all constituents of the S&P 500 Index, but excludes companies engaged in specific business activities, and/or companies with disqualifying United Nations Global Compact (“UNGC”) scores as described below:

 

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Tobacco. Using data provided by Sustainalytics, a global leader in sustainability research and analysis, S&P omits from the Underlying Index companies that either:

 

   

Produce tobacco;

 

   

Have tobacco sales accounting for greater than 10% of their revenue; or

 

   

Have tobacco-related products and services accounting for greater than 10% of their revenue.

Sustainalytics data is also used to identify companies that own 25% or more of another company involved with tobacco production.

Controversial Weapons. Sustainalytics data is used to identify companies involved in the business of controversial weapons, which are defined to include:

 

   

Cluster weapons;

 

   

Landmines (anti-personnel mines)

 

   

Biological or chemical weapons;

 

   

Depleted uranium weapons;

 

   

White phosphorus weapons; or

 

   

Nuclear weapons.

Sustainalytics data is also used to identify companies that own 25% or more of another company involved in the business of controversial weapons.

Low UNGC Score. Using a data tool provided by Arabesque, a global asset management firm, which implements quantitative models and data to assign a company a UNGC score based on the normative principles of the United Nations Global Compact (human rights, labor rights, the environment, and anti-corruption), the Underlying Index excludes companies scoring at or below the bottom 5% of the UNGC score universe.

Low ESG Score. Companies with an ESG score that falls within the worst 25% of ESG scores from each Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS®) Industry Group are excluded from the Underlying Index. The Underlying Index uses ESG scores calculated by RobecoSAM, an international investment company focusing on sustainability investments.

Defining the Equity Universe. The Underlying Index selects companies from its selection universe, which consists of the constituents of the S&P 500 Index. The Underlying Index uses company ratings and research provided by RobecoSAM to determine eligibility for inclusion in the Underlying Index. After companies in the S&P 500 Index that engage in the businesses, or have the low UNGC or RobecoSAM ESG scores, as described above are excluded, the selection of index constituents for the Underlying Index is done as follows:

 

  1.

For each GICS Industry Group, companies are selected in decreasing order of ESG Score, until 65% of the Universe float-adjusted market capitalization (“FMC”) is reached.

 

  2.

For each GICS Industry Group, existing companies ranked between 65% and 85% are selected to get as close as possible to the target 75% of FMC.

 

  3.

If the combined FMC of selected companies is not above the 75% FMC target, companies not already selected from the Eligible Universe may be added in decreasing order of ESG Score to get as close as possible to the 75% FMC target. This process will stop when the addition of the next eligible company would result in the total FMC of the relevant GICS Industry Group moving further away from the 75% FMC target %.

Maintaining the Underlying Index. The Underlying Index is rebalanced annually, effective after the close of the last business day of April. The constituents of the Underlying Index are drawn from the S&P 500 Index. Specific changes to constituents of the Underlying Index, such as share changes, dividend distributions and price adjustments, follow the policies of the S&P 500 Index.

 

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The Underlying Index is reviewed on an ongoing basis to account for corporate events such as mergers, takeovers, delistings, suspensions, spin-offs/demergers or bankruptcies. Changes to index composition and related weight adjustments are made as soon as they are effective. Generally, no stocks are added to the Underlying Index between rebalancings. If a stock is dropped from the S&P 500 Index, it is also removed from the Underlying Index simultaneously. Between rebalancings, a stock may be deleted from the Underlying Index due to corporate events such as mergers, takeovers, delistings, suspensions, spin-offs/demergers or bankruptcies.

The Underlying Index consists of large- and medium-capitalization companies in the U.S. market. Currently, there are approximately 329 components in the Underlying Index.

Investment Limitations

The Board has adopted as non-fundamental policies the investment objectives of the Fund discussed in this SAI. Therefore, the Fund may change its investment objective and its Underlying Index without a Shareholder vote.

Fundamental Policies

The Board has adopted as fundamental policies for the Fund, the investment restrictions numbered 1 through 6 below. The restrictions for the Fund cannot be changed without the approval of the holders of a majority of that Fund’s outstanding voting securities. A vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities is defined in the 1940 Act as the lesser of (a) 67% or more of the voting securities present at a fund meeting, if the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities are present or represented by proxy; and (b) more than 50% of outstanding voting securities.

The Fund will not:

1. Concentrate its investments (i.e., invest 25% or more of its total assets in the securities of a particular industry or group of industries), except that the Fund will concentrate to the extent that its underlying index concentrates in the securities of such particular industry or group of industries. For purposes of this limitation, securities of the U.S. government (including its agencies and instrumentalities), repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. government securities, and securities of state or municipal governments and their political sub-divisions are not considered to be issued by members of any industry;

2. Borrow money, except that (i) the Fund may borrow from banks for temporary or emergency (not leveraging) purposes, including the meeting of redemption requests which might otherwise require the untimely disposition of securities, and (ii) the Fund may, to the extent consistent with its investment policies, enter into repurchase agreements, reverse repurchase agreements, forward roll transactions and similar investment strategies and techniques; to the extent that it engages in transactions described in (i) and (ii), the Fund will be limited so that no more than 33 1/3% of the value of its total assets (including the amount borrowed) is derived from such transactions. Any borrowings which come to exceed this amount will be reduced in accordance with applicable law;

3. Issue any senior security, except as permitted under the 1940 Act, as amended, and as interpreted, modified or otherwise permitted by regulatory authority having jurisdiction, from time to time;

4. Make loans, except as permitted under the 1940 Act, as interpreted, modified or otherwise permitted by regulatory authority having jurisdiction, from time to time;

5. Purchase or sell real estate unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other investments (but this restriction shall not prevent the Fund from investing in securities of companies engaged in the real estate business or securities or other instruments backed by real estate or mortgages), or commodities or commodity contracts (but this restriction shall not prevent the Fund from trading in futures contracts and options on futures contracts, including options on currencies to the extent consistent with the Fund’s investment objectives and policies); or

6. Engage in the business of underwriting securities issued by other persons, except to the extent that the Fund may technically be deemed to be an underwriter under the 1933 Act, the disposing of portfolio securities.

For purposes of the concentration policy in investment limitation (1), municipal securities with payments of principal or interest backed by the revenue of a specific project are considered to be issued by a member of the industry which includes such specific project.

 

11


Senior securities may include any obligation or instrument issued by an investment company evidencing indebtedness. The 1940 Act generally prohibits a fund from issuing senior securities, although it provides allowances for certain borrowings and certain other investments, such as short sales, reverse repurchase agreements, and firm commitment agreements, when such investments are “covered” or with appropriate earmarking or segregation of assets to cover such obligations.

Under the 1940 Act, an investment company may only make loans if expressly permitted by its investment policies.

Non-Fundamental Policies

In addition to the investment limitations adopted as fundamental as set forth above, the Fund observes the following restrictions, which may be changed by the Board without a Shareholder vote. The Fund will not:

1. Sell securities short, unless the Fund owns or has the right to obtain securities equivalent in-kind and amount to the securities sold short at no added cost, and provided that transactions in options, futures contracts, options on futures contracts or other derivative instruments are not deemed to constitute selling securities short;

2. Purchase securities on margin, except that the Fund may obtain such short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of transactions; and provided that margin deposits in connection with futures contracts, options on futures contracts or other derivative instruments shall not constitute purchasing securities on margin;

3. Purchase securities of open-end or closed-end investment companies except in compliance with the 1940 Act;

4. Invest in direct interests in oil, gas or other mineral exploration programs or leases; however, the Fund may invest in the securities of issuers that engage in these activities); and

5. Invest in illiquid securities if, as a result of such investment, more than 15% of the Fund’s net assets would be invested in illiquid securities.

If any percentage restriction described above is complied with at the time of investment, a later increase or decrease in percentage resulting from any change in value or total or net assets will not constitute in a violation of such restriction, except that fundamental limitation (2) will be observed continuously in accordance with applicable law.

The Fund will invest at least 80% of its total assets (but typically far more) in instruments that comprise its Underlying Index.

The Fund has adopted a non-fundamental investment policy such that the Fund may invest in shares of other open-end management investment companies or unit investment trusts subject to the limitations of Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act, including the rules, regulations and exemptive orders obtained thereunder; provided, however, that if the Fund has knowledge that its Shares are purchased by another investment company investor in reliance on the provisions of subparagraphs (F) or (G) of Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act, the Fund will not acquire any securities of other open-end management investment companies or unit investment trusts in reliance on the provisions of subparagraphs (F) or (G) of Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act.

Management

Trustees and Officers. The Board has responsibility for the overall management and operations of the Fund, including general supervision of the duties performed by the Adviser and other service providers. Each Trustee serves until his or her successor is duly elected or appointed and qualified. Each officer serves until he or she resigns, is removed, dies, retires or becomes disqualified.

The Trust currently has four Trustees. Three Trustees have no affiliation or business connection with the Adviser or any of its affiliated persons and do not own any stock or other securities issued by the Adviser. These are the “non-interested” or “independent” Trustees (the “Independent Trustees”). The other Trustee (the “Interested Trustee”) is affiliated with the Adviser.

The Independent Trustees of the Trust, their term of office and length of time served, their principal business occupations during the past five years, the number of portfolios in the Fund Complex (defined below) overseen by each Independent Trustee, and other directorships, if any, held by the Trustee are shown below. The Fund Complex includes all open- and closed-end funds (including all of their portfolios) advised by the Adviser and any funds that have an investment adviser that is an affiliated person of the Adviser. As of the date of this SAI, the Fund Complex consists of the Trust’s 39 operational funds, as well as the mutual funds advised by affiliates of the Adviser.

 

12


Independent Trustees

 

Name, Year of Birth

and Address

  

Position(s)

Held with

Fund

  

Terms of

Office and

Length of

Time Served

  

Principal Occupation(s)

  During Past 5 Years  

  

  Number of
Portfolios in
Fund Complex
Overseen by
Trustee

  

Other Directorships

held by Trustee

Stephen R. Byers

(1953)

345 Park Avenue

New York,

New York

10154

   Trustee, Chairman of the Board and Member of the Audit and Nominating Committees; formerly, Lead Independent Trustee   

Trustee since

2011 (Chairman of the Board since 2016; formerly, Lead Independent Trustee, 2015-2016)

   Independent Director (2011-present); Independent Consultant (2014-present); formerly, Director of Investment Management, the Dreyfus Corporation (2000-2006) and Vice Chairman and Chief Investment Officer (2002-2006).    39    The Arbitrage Funds; Sierra Income Corporation; Mutual Fund Directors Forum.
              

George O. Elston

(1964)

345 Park Avenue

New York,

New York

10154

   Trustee, Chairman of the Audit Committee and Member of the Nominating Committee   

Trustee since

2011 (Chairman of the Audit Committee since 2015)

   Chief Financial Officer, Enzyvant (2018-present); Chief Executive Officer, 2X Oncology, Inc. (2017-2018); Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Juniper Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (2014-2016); Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, KBI BioPharma Inc. (2013-2014); Managing Partner, Chatham Street Partners (2010-2013).    39   
              

J. David Officer

(1948)

345 Park Avenue

New York,

New York

10154

   Trustee, Chairman of the Nominating Committee and Member of the Audit Committee   

Trustee since

2011 (Chairman of the Nominating Committee since 2015)

   Independent Director (2010-present); formerly, Vice Chairman, the Dreyfus Corporation (2006-2009); President, The Dreyfus Family of Funds, Inc. (2006-2009).    39    Ilex Partners (Asia), LLC; Old Westbury Funds.
Interested Trustee               

Name, Year of Birth

and Address

  

Position(s)

Held with

Fund

  

Terms of

Office and

Length of

Time Served

  

Principal Occupation(s)

During Past 5 Years

  

Number of
Portfolios in

Fund Complex
Overseen by

Trustee

  

Other Directorships

held by Trustee

Michael Gilligan

(1966)

345 Park Avenue

New York,

New York

10154

  

Trustee

Treasurer, Chief Financial Officer and Controller

  

Trustee since

2016; Treasurer, Chief Financial Officer and Controller since 2010

   Director in the Finance Division at DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. (2008-Present); Manager, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of the Adviser (2010-present); Chief Financial Officer of Global Passive Asset Management Platform (2012-present); Chief Financial Officer of RREEF America LLC (2018-present).    39    The Adviser, DBX Strategic Advisors LLC and DB Commodity Services LLC

 

13


Officers

 

Name, Year of Birth

and Address

  

Position(s)

Held with

Fund

   Terms of
Office and
Length of
Time Served
  

Principal Occupation(s)

During Past 5 Years

Freddi Klassen

(1975)

345 Park Avenue

New York,

New York

10154

   President and Chief Executive Officer    Since

2016

   Director in DWS and Chief of Staff Office in the Americas for the Traditional Asset Classes Department (2014–present); Manager and Chief Operating Officer of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. (2018–present), the Adviser and DBX Strategic Advisors LLC and DB Commodity Services LLC (2016–present); Global Chief Operating Officer for Equities Technology in the Investment Bank Division at Deutsche Bank AG (2013-2014); Chief Operating Officer for Exchange Traded Funds and Systematic Funds in Europe (2008-2013).
        

Fiona Bassett

(1974)

345 Park Avenue

New York,

New York

10154

  

Chief

Operating

Officer

   Since

2014

   Managing Director in DWS and Head of Passive Americas Asset Management Platform (2014-present); Manager and Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of the Adviser (2014-present); Managing Director, COO Global Key Projects and Integration at Deutsche Asset Management (2012-2014); Managing Director at Deutsche Bank AG (2004-2012).
        

Frank Gecsedi

(1967)

345 Park Avenue

New York,

New York

10154

  

Chief

Compliance

Officer

   Since

2010

   Director in the DWS Compliance Department (2016-present), Vice President in the Deutsche Asset Management Compliance Department at Deutsche Bank AG (2013-2016) and Chief Compliance Officer of the Adviser (2010-present); Vice President in Deutsche Bank’s Global Markets Legal, Risk and Capital Division (2010-2012).
        

Bryan Richards

(1978)

345 Park Avenue

New York

New York

10154

   Vice President    Since

2016

   Managing Director in DWS (2018-present); Director in DWS (2014-2018); Portfolio Manager in the Passive Asset Management Department at Deutsche Bank AG (2011-present); Primary Portfolio Manager for the PowerShares DB Commodity ETFs (2011- 2015).
        

Leslie Lowenbraun

(1953)

345 Park Avenue

New York,

New York

10154

   Secretary    Since

2016

   Director in U.S. Retail Passive Legal of DWS (2018-present) and Chief Legal Officer of the Adviser (2017-present);Vice President in U.S. Retail Passive Legal of DWS (2014-2018) ; Counsel at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP (2005-2014).
        

Amy McDonald

(1978)

One International Place

Boston,

Massachusetts

02110

   Assistant Secretary    Since
2018
   Vice President in U.S. Retail Passive Legal of DWS (2018-present); Vice President, Fidelity Investments Asset Management Compliance (2016-2017); Legal Counsel and Senior Legal Counsel, Fidelity Investments (2010-2016).
        

Kevin Teevan

(1973)

345 Park Avenue

New York,

New York

10154

   Assistant Treasurer    Since
2018
   Vice President in Finance for U.S. Traditional Asset Classes of DWS (2018-present); Vice President in Chief Operating Office for Global Transaction Banking at Deutsche Bank AG (2014-2017); Vice President in Finance for U.S. Passive Asset Management Platform at Deutsche Bank AG (2011-2014).
        

Christina A. Morse

(1964)

BNY Mellon Asset Servicing,

Atlantic Terminal Office Tower,

2 Hanson Place

Brooklyn, NY 11217

   Assistant Secretary    Since
2017
   Vice President at BNY Mellon-Asset Servicing (2014-present); Vice President and Counsel at Lord Abbett & Co. LLC (2013- 2014).

 

14


Board Leadership, Structure and Oversight Responsibilities.

Board Structure. As noted above, the Board is responsible for oversight of the Fund, including oversight of the duties performed by the Adviser for the Fund under the investment advisory agreement (the “Investment Advisory Agreement”). The Board generally meets in regularly scheduled meetings four times a year and may meet more often as required.

Mr. Byers serves as Chairman of the Board. The Board is comprised of a super-majority (75 percent) of Independent Trustees. The Independent Trustees are advised by independent legal counsel and are represented by such independent legal counsel at Board and committee meetings. The chairmen of the Audit Committee and Nominating Committee (each of which consists solely of Independent Trustees) serve as liaisons between the Adviser and other service providers and the other Independent Trustees. Each such chairman is an Independent Trustee.

The Board regularly reviews its Committee structure and membership and believes that its current structure is appropriate based on the fact that the Independent Trustees constitute a super-majority of the Board, the role of the Committee chairmen (who are Independent Trustees), the assets and number of Funds overseen by the Trustees, as well as the nature of the Fund’s business as an ETF, which is managed to track the performance of a specified index.

Risk Oversight. The Fund is subject to a number of risks, including operational, investment and compliance risks. The Board, directly and through its Committees, as part of its oversight responsibilities, oversees the services provided by the Adviser and the Trust’s other service providers in connection with the management and operations of the Fund, as well as their associated risks. Under the oversight of the Board, the Trust, the Adviser and other service providers have adopted policies, procedures and controls to address these risks. The Board, directly and through its Committees, receives and reviews information from the Adviser, other service providers, the Trust’s independent registered public accounting firm and Trust counsel to assist it in its oversight responsibilities. This information includes, but is not limited to, reports regarding the Fund’s investments, including Fund performance and investment practices, valuation of Fund portfolio securities, and compliance. The Board also reviews, and must approve any proposed changes to, the Fund’s investment objectives, policies and restrictions, and reviews any areas of non-compliance with the Fund’s investment policies and restrictions. The Audit Committee monitors the Trust’s accounting policies, financial reporting and internal control system and reviews any internal audit reports impacting the Trust. As part of its compliance oversight, the Board reviews the annual compliance report issued by the Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer on the policies and procedures of the Trust and its service providers, proposed changes to the policies and procedures and quarterly reports on any material compliance issues that arose during the period.

Experience, Qualifications and Attributes. The Board has concluded, based on each Trustee’s experience, qualifications and attributes, that each Board member should serve as a Trustee. Following is a brief summary of the information that led to this conclusion.

Mr. Stephen Byers. Mr. Byers gained extensive experience with a variety of financial, accounting, management, regulatory and operational issues facing funds through his more than 30 years of experience on the boards and/or in senior management of such companies as The Arbitrage Funds, Sierra Income Corporation, Mutual Fund Directors Forum, College of William and Mary, Graduate School of Business, Lighthouse Growth Advisors LLC, Founders Asset Management, LLC, The Dreyfus Corporation, Gruntal & Co., LLC, Painewebber, Citibank/Citicorp and American Airlines. Mr. Byers possesses a strong understanding of the regulatory framework under which registered investment companies must operate and can provide management input and investment guidance to the Board.

Mr. George Elston. Through his prior positions on the boards and in senior management of such companies as Juniper Pharmaceuticals, Inc., KBI BioPharma, Inc., Celldex Therapeutics, Inc., Optherion, Inc. and Elusys Therapeutics, Mr. Elston has experience with a variety of financial, management, regulatory and operational issues as well as experience with marketing and distribution. Mr. Elston also has experience as a managing partner of Chatham Partners LLC, as the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Juniper Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and as the Chief Executive Officer at 2X Oncology, Inc. and Chief Financial Officer of Enzyvant.

Mr. David Officer. Mr. Officer has over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry and related fields, including his positions on the boards and/or in senior management of such companies as Ilex Partners (Asia), LLC, Old Westbury Funds, MAN Long/Short Fund, GLG Investment Series Trust, The Bank of New York Mellon, The Dreyfus Corporation, Laurel Capital Advisors and Bank of New England. In addition to his experience with financial, investment and regulatory matters, Mr. Officer has extensive accounting knowledge through his education and experience as a principal financial officer, principal accounting officer, controller, public accountant or auditor at his previous positions.

 

15


Mr. Michael Gilligan. In addition to his tenure as Director in the Finance Division at Deutsche Bank AG, Mr. Gilligan serves as the Manager, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of the Adviser and as the Chief Financial Officer of the Global Passive Asset Management Platform. Therefore, Mr. Gilligan has extensive knowledge of the financial and regulatory framework under which investment companies operate, including with respect to exchange-traded funds.

Committees of the Board of Trustees. The Board has two standing committees, the Audit Committee and the Nominating Committee, and has delegated certain responsibilities to those Committees.

Messrs. Byers, Elston and Officer currently serve as members of the Audit Committee. Mr. Elston currently serves as the Chairman of the Audit Committee. The Audit Committee has the responsibility, among other things, to: (i) approve the selection, retention, termination and compensation of the Trust’s independent registered public accounting firm; (ii) review the scope of the independent registered public accounting firm’s audit activity; (iii) review the audited financial statements; and (iv) review with such independent registered public accounting firm the adequacy and the effectiveness of the Trust’s internal controls. The Audit Committee met four times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2018.

Messrs. Byers, Elston and Officer currently serve as members of the Nominating Committee. Mr. Officer currently serves as the Chairman of the Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee has the responsibility, among other things, to identify and recommend individuals for Board membership, and evaluate candidates for Board membership. The Board will consider recommendations for trustees from Shareholders. Nominations from Shareholders should be in writing and sent to the Board, to the attention of the Chairman of the Nominating Committee, as described below under the caption “Shareholder Communications to the Board.” During the fiscal year ended August 31, 2018, the Nominating Committee did not meet.

Shareholder Communications to the Board. Shareholders may send communications to the Trust’s Board by addressing the communications directly to the Board (or individual Board members) and/or otherwise clearly indicating in the salutation that the communication is for the Board (or individual Board members). The shareholder may send the communication to either the Trust’s office or directly to such Board members at the address specified for each Trustee. Other shareholder communications received by the Trust not directly addressed and sent to the Board will be reviewed and generally responded to by management. Such communications will be forwarded to the Board at management’s discretion based on the matters contained therein.

The table below sets forth the compensation paid to each Trustee during calendar year 2018:

 

Name of

Trustee

   Aggregate
Compensation from

the Trust
    

Pension or

Retirement

Benefits Accrued As

Part of Trust

Expenses

  

Estimated Annual

Benefits Upon

Retirement

   Total
Compensation
From the Fund and
Fund Complex
 

Stephen R. Byers*(1)

   $ 169,500      Not Applicable    Not Applicable    $ 169,500  

George O. Elston*(2)

   $ 154,500      Not Applicable    Not Applicable    $ 154,500  

J. David Officer*

   $ 144,500      Not Applicable    Not Applicable    $ 144,500  

Michael Gilligan

     None      Not Applicable    Not Applicable      None  

 

1

Includes compensation as Independent Chairman of the Board.

2

Includes compensation as Chairman of the Audit Committee.

*

Includes compensation as a member of the Audit Committee.

Trustee Ownership of Fund Shares. The following table shows the dollar range of Fund shares beneficially owned by each Trustee as of December 31, 2018.

 

NAME OF TRUSTEE

   DOLLAR RANGE OF EQUITY
SECURITIES FOR THE FUND
     AGGREGATE DOLLAR
RANGE OF EQUITY
SECURITIES IN ALL
FUNDS OVERSEEN BY
TRUSTEE IN FAMILY
OF INVESTMENT
COMPANIES
 

Stephen R. Byers

     None        Over $100,000  

George O. Elston

     None        None  

J. David Officer

     None        None  

Michael Gilligan

     None        None  

 

16


Control Persons and Principal Holders of Securities.

As of April 10, 2019, the officers and Trustees, as a group owned beneficially less than 1% of the Shares of the Fund.

As of April 10, 2019, no person of record owned 5% or more of any Fund’s outstanding Shares.

Investment Advisory, Administrative and Distribution Services

Investment Adviser. DBX Advisors LLC serves as investment adviser to the Fund pursuant to an Investment Advisory Agreement between the Trust and the Adviser. The Adviser is a Delaware limited liability company and was registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, in August 2010. DBX Advisors LLC was formed in June 2010 and is an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of DWS Group GmbH & Co. KGaA (“DWS Group”).

Under the Investment Advisory Agreement, the Adviser, subject to the supervision of the Board and in conformity with the stated investment policies of the Fund, manages and administers the Trust. The Adviser manages the investment and reinvestment of the Fund’s assets.

Effective as of April 10, 2019, for its investment advisory services to the Fund, the Adviser is entitled to receive a unitary management fee from the Fund based on the Fund’s average daily net assets at an annual rate of:

 

Fund

   Fee  

Xtrackers S&P 500 ESG ETF

     0.11

Under the Investment Advisory Agreement, the Adviser is responsible for substantially all expenses of the Fund (including the cost of transfer agency, custody, fund administration, compensation paid to the Independent Trustees in respect of the Independent Trustees’ service to the Fund (“Independent Trustee Fees”), legal, audit and other services) except for the fee payments under the Investment Advisory Agreement, interest expense, taxes, brokerage expenses, future distribution fees or expenses, litigation expenses and other extraordinary expenses.

The Investment Advisory Agreement with respect to the Fund continues in effect for two years from its effective date, and thereafter is subject to annual approval by (i) the Board or (ii) the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the applicable Fund, provided that in either event such continuance also is approved by a majority of the Board who are not interested persons (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the applicable Fund, by a vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.

The Investment Advisory Agreement with respect to the Fund is terminable without penalty, on 60 days’ notice, by the Board or by a vote of the holders of a majority of the applicable Fund’s outstanding voting securities (as defined in the 1940 Act). The Investment Advisory Agreement is also terminable upon 60 days’ notice by the Adviser and will terminate automatically in the event of its assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act).

Manager of Managers Structure. The Adviser and the Trust may rely on an exemptive order (the “Order”) from the SEC that permits the Adviser to enter into investment sub-advisory agreements with unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval. The Adviser, subject to the review and approval of the Board, selects sub-advisers for the Fund and supervises, monitors and evaluates the performance of each sub-adviser.

The Order also permits the Adviser, subject to the approval of the Board, to replace sub-advisers and amend investment sub-advisory agreements, including fees, without shareholder approval whenever the Adviser and the Board believe such action will benefit the Fund and its shareholders. The Adviser thus has the ultimate responsibility (subject to the ultimate oversight of the Board) to recommend the hiring and replacement of sub-advisers as well as the discretion to terminate any sub-adviser and reallocate the Fund’s assets for management among any other sub-adviser(s) and itself. This means that the Adviser is able to reduce the sub-advisory fees and retain a larger portion of the management fee, or increase the sub-advisory fees and retain a smaller portion of the management fee. Pursuant to the Order, the Adviser is not required to disclose its contractual fee arrangements with any sub-adviser. The Adviser compensates each sub-adviser out of its management fee.

 

17


Potential Conflicts of Interest. The Adviser is owned by DWS Group, a multinational global financial services firm that is a majority-owned subsidiary of Deutsche Bank AG. Therefore, the Adviser is affiliated with a variety of entities that provide, and/or engage in commercial banking, insurance, brokerage, investment banking, financial advisory, broker-dealer activities (including sales and trading), hedge funds, real estate and private equity investing, in addition to the provision of investment management services to institutional and individual investors. Since Deutsche Bank AG, its affiliates, directors, officers and employees (the “Firm”) are engaged in businesses and have interests in addition to managing asset management accounts, such wide-ranging activities involve real, potential or apparent conflicts of interest. These interests and activities include potential advisory, transactional and financial activities and other interests in securities and companies that may be directly or indirectly purchased or sold by the Firm for its clients’ advisory accounts.

The Adviser may take investment positions in securities in which other clients or related persons within the Firm have different investment positions. There may be instances in which the Adviser is purchasing or selling for its client accounts, or pursuing an outcome in the context of a workout or restructuring with respect to, securities in which the Firm is undertaking the same or differing strategy in other businesses or other client accounts. These are considerations of which advisory clients should be aware and which may cause conflicts that could be to the disadvantage of the Adviser’s advisory clients, including the Fund. The Adviser has instituted business and compliance policies, procedures and disclosures that are designed to identify, monitor and mitigate conflicts of interest and, as appropriate, to report them to the Fund’s Board.

Portfolio Managers. Set forth below is additional information regarding the individuals identified in the Prospectus as primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund (“Portfolio Managers”).

Mr. Richards is a Managing Director with DWS and has served as a Portfolio Manager in the Passive Asset Management business since 2011. Prior to his current role, Mr. Richards served as an equity analyst for Fairhaven Capital LLC, a long/short equity fund, and at XShares Advisors, on behalf of an ETF issuer based in New York. At Deutsche Bank, Mr. Richards served as the primary portfolio manager for the PowerShares DB Commodity ETFs until their sale in 2015. He is currently responsible for the DBXA-managed ETFs as well as oversight of DBXA-sub-advised funds. Mr. Richards earned a BS in Finance from Boston College and is a CFA Charterholder.

Mr. Dwyer is a Director with DWS and has served as a Portfolio Manager in the Passive Asset Management business since 2016. Prior to his current role, Mr. Dwyer was the head of Northern Trust’s International Equity Index ETF and Overlay portfolio management team in Chicago, managing portfolios for North American based clients. His time at Northern Trust included working in New York, Chicago, and in Hong Kong building a portfolio management desk. Mr. Dwyer has a broad range of experience managing developed, emerging, and frontier index mandates, and currency and future overlay portfolios. Prior to joining Northern Trust in 2003, Mr. Dwyer participated in the DWS (formerly, Deutsche Asset Management) graduate training program. He rotated through the domestic fixed income and US structured equity fund management groups. Mr. Dwyer received a BS in Finance from Rutgers University in 2001.

Mr. Sohrabi is a Vice President with DWS and has served as a Portfolio Manager and quantitative multi-asset strategist in the Passive Asset Management business since 2015. Prior to his current role, Mr. Sohrabi served as a derivatives trader for several institutional asset managers and commodity trading advisors where he developed and managed systematic risk and trading strategies in equities, options, fx and futures. Mr. Sohrabi earned a BA in neurobiology from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Masters of Financial Engineering from the Anderson School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles and is a CFA charterholder.

Mr. Bassous is a Vice President with DWS and has served as a Portfolio Manager in the Passive Asset Management business since 2017. Prior to his current role, Mr. Bassous served as Portfolio Manager at Northern Trust Asset Management where he managed equity portfolios across a variety of global benchmarks. While at Northern Trust, he spent several years in Chicago, London and Hong Kong where he managed portfolios on behalf of institutional clients in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Before joining Northern Trust in 2007, he worked at The Bank of New York Mellon and Morgan Stanley in a variety of roles supporting equity trading and portfolio management. Mr. Bassous received a BS in Finance from Yeshiva University in 2004.

Ms. Cipolletti is an Associate with DWS. She joined Deutsche Bank through Deutsche Bank’s graduate program and has served as a Junior Portfolio Manager in the Passive Asset Management business since 2015. Prior to her current role, she served internships at DWS (formerly, Deutsche Asset Management), Deutsche Wealth Management, Private Banking and National Financial Partners. Ms. Cipolletti earned a BA in sustainable development with a focus in economics from Columbia University.

 

18


Certain Portfolio Manager Information

The tables below show the number of other accounts managed by each Portfolio Manager and the total assets in these accounts, as of August 31, 2018, in each of the following categories: other registered investment companies, other pooled investment vehicles and other accounts. For each category, the table also shows the number of accounts and the total assets in the accounts with respect to which the advisory fee is based on account performance.

The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Richards:

 

     Other Registered
Investment
Companies
     Other Pooled
Investment
Companies
     Other
Accounts
 

Number of Accounts Managed

     33        0        13  

Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Fees

     0        0        0  

Assets Managed (assets in millions)

   $ 11,972      $ 0      $ 950  

Assets Managed with Performance-Based Fees

   $ 0      $ 0      $ 0  

The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Dwyer:

 

     Other Registered
Investment
Companies
     Other Pooled
Investment
Companies
     Other
Accounts
 

Number of Accounts Managed

     23        0        8  

Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Fees

     0        0        0  

Assets Managed (assets in millions)

   $  9,751      $ 0      $ 609  

Assets Managed with Performance-Based Fees

   $ 0      $ 0      $ 0  

The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Sohrabi:

 

     Other Registered
Investment
Companies
     Other Pooled
Investment
Companies
     Other
Accounts
 

Number of Accounts Managed

     23        0        8  

Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Fees

     0        0        0  

Assets Managed (assets in millions)

   $  9,751      $ 0      $ 609  

Assets Managed with Performance-Based Fees

   $ 0      $ 0      $ 0  

The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Bassous:

 

     Other Registered
Investment
Companies
     Other Pooled
Investment
Companies
     Other
Accounts
 

Number of Accounts Managed

     23        0        8  

Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Fees

     0        0        0  

Assets Managed (assets in millions)

   $  9,751      $ 0      $ 609  

Assets Managed with Performance-Based Fees

   $ 0      $ 0      $ 0  

The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Ms. Cipolletti:

 

     Other Registered
Investment
Companies
     Other Pooled
Investment
Companies
     Other
Accounts
 

Number of Accounts Managed

     23        0        8  

Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Fees

     0        0        0  

Assets Managed (assets in millions)

   $  9,751      $ 0      $ 609  

Assets Managed with Performance-Based Fees

   $ 0      $ 0      $ 0  

Portfolio Manager Ownership of Fund Shares

As of April 10, 2019, none of the Portfolio Managers beneficially owned any Shares of the Fund.

 

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Portfolio Manager Compensation

The Adviser and its affiliates are part of DWS Group. The brand DWS represents DWS Group and any of the subsidiaries such as the Adviser, that offer advisory services. As employees of DWS, portfolio managers are paid on a total compensation basis, which includes fixed pay (base salary) and variable compensation (“VC”), as follows:

 

   

Fixed Pay (FP) is the key and primary element of compensation and reflects the value of the individual’s role and function within the organization. It rewards factors that an employee brings to the organization such as skills and experience, while reflecting regional and divisional (i.e., DWS) specifics. FP levels play a significant role in ensuring competitiveness of the Adviser and its affiliates in the labor market, thus benchmarking provides a valuable input when determining FP levels.

 

   

Variable Compensation (VC) is a discretionary compensation element that enables the Adviser and its affiliates to provide additional reward to employees for their performance and behaviors, while reflecting DWS Group’s affordability and the financial situation of Deutsche Bank AG (the “Bank”) and DWS. VC aims to:

 

   

Recognize that every employee contributes to the DWS Group’s success through the Bank component of VC (Group Component);

 

   

Reflect individual performance through discretionary individual VC (Individual Component); and

 

   

Reward outstanding contributions at the junior levels through the discretionary recognition award.

Employee seniority as well as divisional and regional specifics determine which VC elements are applicable for a given employee and the conditions under which they apply. Both group and individual components may be awarded in shares or share-based instruments and under deferral arrangements.

To evaluate its investment professionals in light of and consistent with the compensation principles set forth above, the Adviser and its affiliates review investment performance for all accounts managed in relation to the Fund’s Underlying Index. When determining total compensation, the Adviser and its affiliates consider a number of quantitative, qualitative and other factors:

 

   

Quantitative measures (e.g., tracking error, tracking difference and tax efficiency) are utilized to measure performance.

 

   

Qualitative measures (e.g., adherence to, as well as contributions to, the enhancement of the investment process) are included in the performance review.

 

   

Other factors (e.g., non-investment related performance, teamwork, adherence to compliance rules, risk management and “living the values” of the Adviser and its affiliates) are included as part of a discretionary component of the review process, giving management the ability to consider additional markers of performance on a subjective basis.

DWS Group is currently evaluating its compensation policies and procedures following the recent restructuring of the Bank’s asset management division.

 

20


Potential Conflicts of Interest

Because the Portfolio Managers manage multiple portfolios for multiple clients, the potential for conflicts of interest exists. The Portfolio Managers may manage other portfolios, such as separately-managed accounts, that have a similar investment style as the Fund. However, the portfolios managed by a Portfolio Manager may not have portfolio compositions identical to those of the Fund managed by the Portfolio Manager due, for example, to specific investment limitations or guidelines present in some portfolios or accounts, but not others. The Portfolio Managers may purchase securities for one portfolio and not another portfolio, and the performance of securities purchased for one portfolio may vary from the performance of securities purchased for other portfolios. A Portfolio Manager may place transactions on behalf of other accounts that are directly or indirectly contrary to investment decisions made on behalf of the Fund, or make investment decisions that are similar to those made for the Fund, both of which have the potential to adversely impact the Fund depending on market conditions. For example, a Portfolio Manager may purchase a security in one portfolio while appropriately selling that same security in another portfolio. In addition, some of these portfolios have fee structures that are or have the potential to be higher than the advisory fees paid by the Fund, which can cause potential conflicts in the allocation of investment opportunities between the Fund and the other accounts. However, the compensation structure for Portfolio Managers does not generally provide incentive to favor one account over another because that part of a manager’s bonus based on performance is not based on the performance of one account to the exclusion of others. There are many other factors considered in determining the Portfolio Manager’s bonus and there is no formula that is applied to weight the factors listed (see “Certain Portfolio Manager Information” and “Portfolio Manager Compensation”). Portfolios’ rebalancing dates also generally vary between fund families. Program trades created from the portfolio rebalance are executed at market on close. For additional information regarding potential conflicts of interest faced by the Adviser, see “Investment Advisory, Administrative and Distribution Services – Potential Conflicts of Interest.”

Codes of Ethics. The Trust, the Adviser and the Distributor have adopted Codes of Ethics pursuant to Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act. The Codes of Ethics permit personnel subject to the Codes of Ethics to invest in securities, subject to certain limitations, including securities that may be purchased or held by the Fund. The Codes of Ethics are on public file with, and are available from, the SEC.

Anti-Money Laundering Requirements. The Fund is subject to the USA PATRIOT Act (the “Patriot Act”). The Patriot Act is intended to prevent the use of the U.S. financial system in furtherance of money laundering, terrorism or other illicit activities. Pursuant to requirements under the Patriot Act, the Fund may request information from APs to enable it to form a reasonable belief that it knows the true identity of its APs. This information will be used to verify the identity of APs or, in some cases, the status of financial professionals; it will be used only for compliance with the requirements of the Patriot Act. The Fund reserves the right to reject purchase orders from persons who have not submitted information sufficient to allow the Fund to verify their identity. The Fund also reserves the right to redeem any amounts in the Fund from persons whose identity it is unable to verify on a timely basis. It is the Fund’s policy to cooperate fully with appropriate regulators in any investigations conducted with respect to potential money laundering, terrorism or other illicit activities.

Administrator, Custodian and Transfer Agent. BNYM serves as administrator, custodian and transfer agent for the Fund. BNYM’s principal address is 240 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10286. Pursuant to the Fund Administration and Accounting Agreement and a Corporate Services Agreement with the Trust, BNYM provides necessary administrative, tax and accounting and financial reporting services for the maintenance and operations of the Trust and the Fund (the “Administrator”). In addition, BNYM makes available the office space, equipment, personnel and facilities required to provide such services. Pursuant to a Custody Agreement with the Trust, BNYM maintains in separate accounts cash, securities and other assets of the Trust and the Fund, keeps all necessary accounts and records and provides other services (the “Custodian”). BNYM is required, upon the order of the Trust, to deliver securities held by BNYM and to make payments for securities purchased by the Trust for the Fund. Also, pursuant to the Custody Agreement, BNYM is authorized to appoint certain foreign custodians or foreign custody managers for Fund investments outside the United States. Pursuant to a Transfer Agency and Service Agreement with the Trust, BNYM acts as a transfer agent (the “Transfer Agent”) for the Fund’s authorized and issued Shares of beneficial interest, and as the dividend disbursing agent of the Trust. As compensation for these services, BNYM receives certain out-of-pocket costs, transaction fees and asset-based fees which are accrued daily and paid monthly the Adviser from its management fee.

 

21


Distributor. The Distributor’s principal address is 1290 Broadway, Suite 1100, Denver, Colorado 80203. The Distributor has entered into a Distribution Agreement with the Trust pursuant to which it distributes Shares of the Fund. The Distribution Agreement continues for two years from its effective date and is renewable annually. Shares are continuously offered for sale by the Fund through the Distributor only in Creation Units, as described in the Prospectus and below in the Creation and Redemption of Creation Units section of this SAI. Shares in less than Creation Units are not distributed by the Distributor. The Distributor will deliver the Prospectus and, upon request, the SAI to APs purchasing Creation Units and will maintain records of both orders placed with it and confirmations of acceptance furnished by it. The Distributor is a broker-dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “1934 Act”), and a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”).

The Distribution Agreement for the Fund provides that it may be terminated at any time, without the payment of any penalty, on at least 60 days’ prior written notice to the other party following (i) the vote of a majority of the Independent Trustees, or (ii) the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund. The Distribution Agreement will terminate automatically in the event of its assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act).

The Distributor may also enter into agreements with securities dealers (“Soliciting Dealers”) who will solicit purchases of Creation Units of Fund Shares. Such Soliciting Dealers must also be APs (as defined below).

The Adviser may, from time to time and from its own resources, pay, defray or absorb costs relating to distribution, including payments out of its own resources to the Distributor, or to otherwise promote the sale of Shares. The Adviser currently pays the Distributor, from the Adviser’s own resources, for such purposes.

The Adviser and/or its subsidiaries or affiliates (“Xtrackers Entities”) may pay certain broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries or solicitors (“Intermediaries”) for certain marketing or referral activities related to the Fund or other funds advised by the Adviser or its affiliates (“Xtrackers Funds”) (with such payments being “Payments”). Any Payments made by Xtrackers Entities will be made from their own assets and not from the assets of the Fund. Although a portion of Xtrackers Entities’ revenue comes directly or indirectly in part from fees paid by the Fund and other Xtrackers Funds, Payments do not increase the price paid by investors for the purchase of shares of, or the cost of owning, shares of the Fund or other Xtrackers Funds. Xtrackers Entities may make Payments for Intermediaries’ participating in activities that are designed to make registered representatives, other professionals and individual investors more knowledgeable about the Fund or for other activities, such as participation in marketing activities and presentations, educational training programs, the support of technology platforms and/or reporting systems (“Education Costs”) or the referral or introduction of investors to Xtrackers Entities. Xtrackers Entities may also make Payments to Intermediaries for certain printing, publishing and mailing costs associated with the Fund or materials relating to other Xtrackers Funds or exchange-traded funds in general (“Publishing Costs”). In addition, Xtrackers Entities may make Payments to Intermediaries that make shares of the Fund and certain other Xtrackers Funds available to their clients or for otherwise promoting the Fund and other Xtrackers Funds. Payments of this type are sometimes referred to as revenue-sharing payments. Payments to an Intermediary may be significant to the Intermediary, and amounts that Intermediaries pay to your salesperson or other investment professional may also be significant for your salesperson or other investment professional. Because an Intermediary may make decisions about which investment options or investment adviser it will recommend or make available to its clients or contacts or what services to provide for various products based on Payments it receives or is eligible to receive, Payments create conflicts of interest between the Intermediary and its clients or contacts and these financial incentives may cause the Intermediary to recommend the Fund and other Xtrackers Funds or their investment adviser over other investments or to refer a contact to the Xtrackers Entities. The same conflict of interest exists with respect to your salesperson or other investment professional if he or she receives similar payments from his or her Intermediary firm. Ask your salesperson or visit your Intermediary’s website for more information.

Xtrackers Entities may determine to make Payments based on any number of metrics. For example, Xtrackers Entities may make Payments at year end or other intervals in a fixed amount, based upon an Intermediary’s services at defined levels or an amount based on the Intermediary’s net sales of one or more Xtrackers Funds in a year or other period, any of which arrangements may include an agreed upon minimum or maximum payment, or any combination of the foregoing. Any Payments made by the Xtrackers Entities to an Intermediary may create the incentive for an Intermediary to encourage customers to buy shares of the Fund or other Xtrackers Funds.

Certain Xtrackers Entities have established a revenue sharing arrangement with Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (“Schwab”). Under this arrangement, Schwab has agreed not to charge its customers any trading commissions when those customers purchase or sell shares of certain Funds online. In addition, Schwab will promote the availability of commission-free ETF trading to its customers.

 

22


Brokerage Transactions

The Adviser assumes general supervision over placing orders on behalf of the Fund for the purchase and sale of portfolio securities. In selecting brokers or dealers for any transaction in portfolio securities, the Adviser’s policy is to make such selection based on factors deemed relevant, including but not limited to, the breadth of the market in the security, the price of the security, the reasonableness of the commission or mark-up or mark-down, if any, execution capability, settlement capability, back office efficiency and the financial condition of the broker or dealer, both for the specific transaction and on a continuing basis. The overall reasonableness of brokerage commissions paid is evaluated by the Adviser based upon its knowledge of available information as to the general level of commissions paid by other institutional investors for comparable services. Brokers may also be selected because of their ability to handle special or difficult executions, such as may be involved in large block trades, less liquid securities, broad distributions, or other circumstances. The Trust has adopted policies and procedures that prohibit the consideration of sales of the Fund’s Shares as a factor in the selection of a broker or a dealer to execute its portfolio transactions.

To the extent applicable and consistent with Section 28(e) of the 1934 Act, as amended, and interpretations thereunder, the Adviser may cause the Fund to pay a higher commission than otherwise obtainable from other brokers or dealers in return for brokerage or research services and products if the Adviser determines in good faith that the commission is reasonable in relation to the services and products utilized. In addition to agency transactions, the Adviser may receive brokerage or research services and products in connection with certain riskless principal transactions, in accordance with applicable SEC and other regulatory guidelines. In both instances, these services and products may include but are not limited to: economic, industry, or company research reports or investment recommendations; subscriptions to certain financial publications; market data such as stock quotes, last sale prices, trading volumes and similar data; databases and software, including, but not limited to, quantitative analytical software; and products and services that assist in effecting transactions and functions incidental thereto, including services of third-party computer systems directly related to brokerage activities and routing settlement instructions. The Adviser may use brokerage or research services and products furnished by brokers, dealers or service providers in servicing all client accounts, and not all services and products may necessarily be used in connection with the account that paid the commissions or spreads to the broker or dealer.

The Fund’s purchase and sale orders for securities may be combined with those of other investment companies, clients or accounts that the Adviser manages or advises and for which they have brokerage placement authority. If purchases or sales of portfolio securities of the Fund and one or more other accounts managed or advised by the Adviser are considered at or about the same time, transactions in such securities are allocated among the Fund and the other accounts in a manner deemed equitable to all by the Adviser. In some cases, this procedure could have a detrimental effect on the price or volume of the security as far as the Fund is concerned. However, in other cases, it is possible that the ability to participate in volume transactions and to negotiate lower transaction costs will be beneficial to the Fund. The Adviser may deal, trade and invest for its own account in the types of securities in which the Fund may invest. The Adviser may, from time to time, effect trades on behalf of and for the account of the Fund with brokers or dealers that are affiliated with the Adviser, in conformity with the 1940 Act and SEC rules and regulations. Under these provisions, any commissions paid to affiliated brokers or dealers must be reasonable and fair compared to the commissions charged by other brokers or dealers in comparable transactions. The Fund will not deal with affiliates in principal transactions unless permitted by applicable SEC rule or regulation or by SEC exemptive order.

Portfolio turnover may vary from year to year as well as within a year. High turnover rates may result in comparatively greater brokerage expenses and higher taxes (if you are investing in a taxable account). The overall reasonableness of brokerage commissions is evaluated by the Adviser based upon its knowledge of available information as to the general level of commissions paid by the other institutional investors for comparable services.

Additional Information Concerning the Trust

Shares. The Trust currently is comprised of 39 operational separate investment series or portfolios called funds. Each series issues Shares of common stock, no par value. The Trust issues Shares of beneficial interest in the Fund with no par value. The Board may designate additional funds.

 

23


Each Share issued by the Fund has a pro rata interest in the assets of that Fund. Shares have no preemptive, exchange, subscription or conversion rights and are freely transferable. Each Share is entitled to participate equally in dividends and distributions declared by the Board with respect to the Fund, and in the net distributable assets of such Fund on liquidation. Each Share has one vote with respect to matters upon which the Shareholder is entitled to vote. In any matter submitted to Shareholders for a vote, the Fund shall hold a separate vote, provided that Shareholders of all affected Funds will vote together when: (1) required by the 1940 Act; or (2) the Trustees determine that the matter affects the interests of more than one Fund. Under Delaware law, the Trust is not required to hold an annual meeting of Shareholders unless required to do so under the 1940 Act. The policy of the Trust is not to hold an annual meeting of Shareholders unless required to do so under the 1940 Act. All Shares (regardless of the Fund) have noncumulative voting rights in the election of members of the Board. Under Delaware law, Trustees of the Trust may be removed by vote of the Shareholders.

Following the creation of the initial Creation Unit(s) of Shares of the Fund and immediately prior to the commencement of trading in the Fund’s Shares, a holder of Shares may be a “control person” of the Fund, as defined in the 1940 Act. The Fund cannot predict the length of time for which one or more Shareholders may remain a control person of the Fund.

Shareholders may make inquiries by writing to DBX ETF Trust, c/o the Distributor, ALPS Distributors, Inc., 1290 Broadway, Suite 1100, Denver, Colorado 80203, by email by writing to dbxquestions@list.db.com or by telephone by calling 1-855-329-3837 or 1-855-DBX-ETFS (toll free).

Termination of the Trust or the Fund. The Trust or the Fund may be terminated by a majority vote of the Board or the affirmative vote of a supermajority of the holders of the Trust or such Fund entitled to vote on termination. Although the Shares are not automatically redeemable upon the occurrence of any specific event, the Trust’s organizational documents provide that the Board will have the unrestricted power to alter the number of Shares in a Creation Unit. In the event of a termination of the Trust or the Fund, the Board, in its sole discretion, could determine to permit the Shares to be redeemable in aggregations smaller than Creation Units or to be individually redeemable. In such circumstance, the Trust may make redemptions in kind, for cash or for a combination of cash or securities.

DTC as Securities Depository for Shares of the Fund. Shares of the Fund are represented by securities registered in the name of DTC or its nominee and deposited with, or on behalf of, DTC.

DTC, a limited-purpose trust company, was created to hold securities of its participants (“DTC Participants”) and to facilitate the clearance and settlement of securities transactions among the DTC Participants in such securities through electronic book-entry changes in accounts of the DTC Participants, thereby eliminating the need for physical movement of securities’ certificates. DTC Participants include securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and certain other organizations, some of whom (and/or their representatives) own DTC. More specifically, DTC is owned by a number of its DTC Participants and by the NYSE, the NYSE Amex Equities and FINRA. Access to the DTC system is also available to others such as banks, brokers, dealers and trust companies that clear through or maintain a custodial relationship with a DTC Participant, either directly or indirectly (“Indirect Participants”).

Beneficial ownership of Shares is limited to DTC Participants, Indirect Participants and persons holding interests through DTC Participants and Indirect Participants. Ownership of beneficial interests in Shares (owners of such beneficial interests are referred to herein as “Beneficial Owners”) is shown on, and the transfer of ownership is effected only through, records maintained by DTC (with respect to DTC Participants) and on the records of DTC Participants (with respect to Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners that are not DTC Participants). Beneficial Owners will receive from or through the DTC Participant a written confirmation relating to their purchase of Shares. The laws of some jurisdictions may require that certain purchasers of securities take physical delivery of such securities in definitive form. Such laws may impair the ability of certain investors to acquire beneficial interests in Shares.

Conveyance of all notices, statements and other communications to Beneficial Owners is effected as follows. Pursuant to the Depositary Agreement between the Trust and DTC, DTC is required to make available to the Trust upon request and for a fee to be charged to the Trust a listing of the Shares of the Fund held by each DTC Participant. The Trust shall inquire of each such DTC Participant as to the number of Beneficial Owners holding Shares, directly or indirectly, through such DTC Participant. The Trust shall provide each such DTC Participant with copies of such notice, statement or other communication, in such form, number and at such place as such DTC Participant may reasonably request, in order that such notice, statement or communication may be transmitted by such DTC Participant, directly or indirectly, to such Beneficial Owners. In addition, the Trust shall pay to each such DTC Participant a fair and reasonable amount as reimbursement for the expenses attendant to such transmittal, all subject to applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.

 

24


Share distributions shall be made to DTC or its nominee, Cede & Co., as the registered holder of all Shares of the Trust. DTC or its nominee, upon receipt of any such distributions, shall credit immediately DTC Participants’ accounts with payments in amounts proportionate to their respective beneficial interests in Shares of the Fund as shown on the records of DTC or its nominee. Payments by DTC Participants to Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners of Shares held through such DTC Participants will be governed by standing instructions and customary practices, as is now the case with securities held for the accounts of customers in bearer form or registered in a “street name,” and will be the responsibility of such DTC Participants.

The Trust has no responsibility or liability for any aspect of the records relating to or notices to Beneficial Owners, or payments made on account of beneficial ownership interests in such Shares, or for maintaining, supervising or reviewing any records relating to such beneficial ownership interests, or for any other aspect of the relationship between DTC and the DTC Participants or the relationship between such DTC Participants and the Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners owning through such DTC Participants. DTC may decide to discontinue providing its service with respect to Shares of the Trust at any time by giving reasonable notice to the Trust and discharging its responsibilities with respect thereto under applicable law. Under such circumstances, the Trust shall take action to find a replacement for DTC to perform its functions at a comparable cost.

Creation and Redemption of Creation Units

General. The Trust issues and sells Shares of the Fund only in Creation Units on a continuous basis through the Distributor, without a sales load, at the Fund’s NAV next determined after receipt, on any Business Day (as defined herein), of an order in proper form. A Creation Unit for the Fund consists of 50,000 Shares.

The Board reserves the right to declare a split or a consolidation in the number of Shares outstanding of any fund of the Trust, and to make a corresponding change in the number of Shares constituting a Creation Unit, in the event that the per Share price in the secondary market rises (or declines) to an amount that falls outside the range deemed desirable by the Board.

A “Business Day” with respect to the Fund is any day on which the Exchange on which the Fund is listed for trading is open for business. As of the date of this SAI, the Exchange observes the following holidays, as observed: New Year’s Day, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

Fund Deposit. The consideration for purchase of Creation Units of the Fund generally consists of the in-kind deposit of a designated portfolio of securities (i.e., the Deposit Securities), which constitutes an optimized representation of the securities of the Fund’s Underlying Index, and the Cash Component computed as described below. Together, the Deposit Securities and the Cash Component constitute the “Fund Deposit,” which represents the minimum initial and subsequent investment amount for a Creation Unit of any Fund.

The Cash Component is an amount equal to the difference between the NAV of the Shares (per Creation Unit) and the “Deposit Amount,” which is an amount equal to the market value of the Deposit Securities, and serves to compensate for any difference between the NAV per Creation Unit and the Deposit Amount. Payment of any stamp duty or other similar fees and expenses payable upon transfer of beneficial ownership of the Deposit Securities shall be the sole responsibility of the AP purchasing a Creation Unit.

The Adviser makes available through the NSCC on each Business Day, prior to the opening of business on the Exchange, the list of names and the required number of Shares of each Deposit Security to be included in the current Fund Deposit (based on information at the end of the previous Business Day) for the Fund. Such Fund Deposit is applicable, subject to any adjustments as described below, in order to effect purchases of Creation Units of Shares of a given Fund until such time as the next-announced Fund Deposit is made available.

The identity and number of Shares of the Deposit Securities pursuant to changes in composition of the Fund’s portfolio and changes as rebalancing adjustments and corporate action events are reflected from time to time by the Adviser with a view to the investment objective of the Fund. The composition of the Deposit Securities may also change in response to adjustments to the weighting or composition of the component securities constituting the Underlying Index.

 

25


The Trust reserves the right to permit or require the substitution of a “cash in lieu” amount to be added to the Cash Component to replace any Deposit Security that may not be available in sufficient quantity for delivery or that may not be eligible for transfer through the systems of DTC of the Clearing Process (discussed below). The Trust also reserves the right to permit or require a “cash in lieu” amount where the delivery of the Deposit Security by the AP (as described below) would be restricted under applicable securities laws or where the delivery of the Deposit Security to the AP would result in the disposition of the Deposit Security by the AP becoming restricted under applicable securities laws, or in certain other situations. The adjustments described above will reflect changes, known to the Adviser on the date of announcement to be in effect by the time of delivery of the Fund Deposit, in the composition of the subject index being tracked by the Fund, or resulting from stock splits and other corporate actions.

Role of the Authorized Participant. Creation Units may be purchased only by or through a DTC Participant that has entered into an Authorized Participant Agreement with the Distributor (an AP), which agreement has also been accepted by the Transfer Agent. Such AP will agree, pursuant to the terms of such Authorized Participant Agreement and on behalf of itself or any investor on whose behalf it will act, to certain conditions, including that such AP will make available in advance of each purchase of Shares an amount of cash sufficient to pay the Cash Component, once the NAV of a Creation Unit is next determined after receipt of the purchase order in proper form, together with the transaction fee described below. The AP may require the investor to enter into an agreement with such AP with respect to certain matters, including payment of the Cash Component. Investors who are not APs must make appropriate arrangements with an AP. Investors should be aware that their particular broker may not be a DTC Participant or may not have executed an Authorized Participant Agreement and that orders to purchase Creation Units may have to be placed by the investor’s broker through an AP. As a result, purchase orders placed through an AP may result in additional charges to such investor. The Trust does not expect the Distributor to enter into an Authorized Participant Agreement with more than a small number of DTC Participants. A list of current APs may be obtained from the Distributor.

Purchase Order. To initiate an order for a Creation Unit, an AP must submit an irrevocable order to purchase Shares of the Fund in accordance with the Authorized Participant Agreement. If accepted by the Distributor, the Transfer Agent will notify the Adviser and the Custodian of such order. If applicable, the Custodian will then provide such information to the appropriate sub-custodian. For the Fund, the Custodian shall cause the applicable sub-custodian to maintain an account into which the AP shall deliver, on behalf of itself or the party on whose behalf it is acting, the applicable securities included in the designated Fund Deposit (or the cash value of all or a part of such securities, in the case of a permitted or required cash purchase or “cash in lieu” amount), with any appropriate adjustments as advised by the Trust. Deposit Securities located outside the United States must be delivered to an account maintained at the applicable local sub-custodian. Those placing orders to purchase Creation Units through an AP should allow sufficient time to permit proper submission of the purchase order to the Distributor by the cut-off time on such Business Day.

The AP must also make available on or before the contractual settlement date, by means satisfactory to the Trust, immediately available or same day funds estimated by the Trust to be sufficient to pay the Cash Component next determined after acceptance of the purchase order, together with the applicable purchase transaction fee. Any excess funds will be returned following settlement of the issue of the Creation Unit. Those placing orders should ascertain the applicable deadline for cash transfers by contacting the operations department of the broker or depositary institution effectuating the transfer of the Cash Component. This deadline is likely to be significantly earlier than the closing time of the regular trading session on the Exchange.

Investors should be aware that an AP may require orders for purchases of Shares placed with it to be in the particular form required by the individual AP.

 

26


Timing of Submission of Purchase Orders. An AP must submit an irrevocable purchase order before 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time on any Business Day in order to receive that day’s NAV. In the case of custom orders, the order must be received by the Distributor no later than 3:00 p.m., Eastern Time on the trade date. With respect to in-kind creations, a custom order may be placed by an AP where cash replaces any Deposit Security which may not be available in sufficient quantity for delivery or which may not be eligible for trading by such AP or the investor for which it is acting or other relevant reason. Orders to create Shares of the Fund that are submitted on the Business Day immediately preceding a holiday or day (other than a weekend) when the markets in the relevant foreign market are closed may not be accepted. The Distributor in its discretion may permit the submission of such orders and requests by or through an AP at any time (including on days on which the Exchange is not open for business) via communication through the facilities of the Transfer Agent’s proprietary website maintained for this purpose, provided such submission is permissible pursuant to the terms of the applicable Authorized Participant Agreement. Purchase orders and redemption requests, if accepted by the Trust, will be processed based on the NAV next determined after such acceptance in accordance with the Trust’s standard cut-off times as provided in the Authorized Participant Agreement and disclosed in this SAI.

Acceptance of Orders for Creation Unit. Subject to the conditions that (i) an irrevocable purchase order has been submitted by the AP (either on its own or another investor’s behalf) and (ii) arrangements satisfactory to the Trust are in place for payment of the Cash Component and any other cash amounts which may be due, the Trust will accept the order, subject to its right (and the right of the Distributor and the Adviser) to reject any order until acceptance.

Once the Trust has accepted an order, upon next determination of the NAV of the Shares, the Trust will confirm the issuance of a Creation Unit, against receipt of payment, at such NAV. The Distributor will then transmit a confirmation of acceptance to the AP that placed the order.

The Trust reserves the absolute right to reject or revoke a creation order transmitted to it by the Distributor in respect of any Fund if (i) the order is not in proper form; (ii) the investor(s) upon obtaining the Shares ordered, would own 80% or more of the currently outstanding Shares of any Fund; (iii) the Deposit Securities delivered do not conform to the identity and number of Shares specified by the Adviser, as described above; (iv) acceptance of the Deposit Securities would have certain adverse tax consequences to the Fund; (v) acceptance of the Fund Deposit would, in the opinion of counsel, be unlawful; (vi) acceptance of the Fund Deposit would, in the discretion of the Trust or the Adviser, have an adverse effect on the Trust or the rights of beneficial owners; or (vii) circumstances outside the control of the Trust, the Distributor and the Adviser make it impracticable to process purchase orders. The Trust shall notify a prospective purchaser of a Creation Unit and/or the AP acting on behalf of such purchaser of its rejection of such order. The Trust, the Custodian, the sub-custodian and the Distributor are under no duty, however, to give notification of any defects or irregularities in the delivery of Fund Deposits nor shall any of them incur any liability for failure to give such notification.

Issuance of a Creation Unit. Except as provided herein, a Creation Unit will not be issued until the transfer of good title to the Trust of the Deposit Securities and the payment of the Cash Component have been completed. When (if applicable) the sub-custodian has confirmed to the Custodian that the securities included in the Fund Deposit (or the cash value thereof) have been delivered to the account of the relevant sub-custodian or sub-custodians, the Distributor and the Adviser shall be notified of such delivery and the Trust will issue and cause the delivery of the Creation Unit. Creation Units typically are issued on a “T+2 basis” (i.e., two Business Days after trade date).

To the extent contemplated by an AP’s agreement with the Distributor, the Trust will issue Creation Units to such AP notwithstanding the fact that the corresponding Fund Deposits have not been received in part or in whole, in reliance on the undertaking of the AP to deliver the missing Deposit Securities as soon as possible, which undertaking shall be secured by such AP’s delivery and maintenance of collateral having a value at least equal to 115%, which the Adviser may change from time to time, of the value of the missing Deposit Securities in accordance with the Trust’s then-effective procedures. The only collateral that is acceptable to the Trust is cash in U.S. dollars or an irrevocable letter of credit in form, and drawn on a bank, that is satisfactory to the Trust. The cash collateral posted by the AP may be invested at the risk of the AP, and income, if any, on invested cash collateral will be paid to that AP. Information concerning the Trust’s current procedures for collateralization of missing Deposit Securities is available from the Transfer Agent. The Authorized Participant Agreement will permit the Trust to buy the missing Deposit Securities at any time and will subject the AP to liability for any shortfall between the cost to the Trust of purchasing such securities and the cash collateral or the amount that may be drawn under any letter of credit.

 

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In certain cases, APs may create and redeem Creation Units on the same trade date and in these instances, the Trust reserves the right to settle these transactions on a net basis or require a representation from the APs that the creation and redemption transactions are for separate beneficial owners. All questions as to the number of Shares of each security in the Deposit Securities and the validity, form, eligibility and acceptance for deposit of any securities to be delivered shall be determined by the Trust and the Trust’s determination shall be final and binding.

Cash Purchase Method. In the case of a cash purchase, the investor must pay the cash equivalent of the Deposit Securities it would otherwise be required to provide through an in-kind purchase, plus the same Cash Component required to be paid by an in-kind purchaser. In addition, to offset the Trust’s brokerage and other transaction costs associated with using the cash to purchase the requisite Deposit Securities, the investor will be required to pay a fixed purchase transaction fee, plus an additional variable charge for cash purchases, which is expressed as a percentage of the value of the Deposit Securities.

Creation Transaction Fee. A standard creation transaction fee is imposed to offset the transfer and other transaction costs associated with the issuance of Creation Units. The standard creation transaction fee will be the same regardless of the number of Creation Units purchased by a purchaser on the same day. The AP may also be required to cover certain brokerage, tax, foreign exchange, execution, price movement and other costs and expenses related to the execution of trades resulting from such transactions (including when the Trust permits an AP to substitute cash for some or all of the Deposit Securities). APs will also bear the costs of transferring the Deposit Securities to the Trust. Investors who use the services of a broker or other such intermediary may be charged a fee for such services. Certain fees or costs associated with creation transactions may be waived in certain circumstances.

The following table sets forth the Fund’s standard creation transaction fee:

 

Fund

   Standard Creation
Transaction Fee
 

Xtrackers S&P 500 ESG ETF

   $ 800  

Redemption of Creation Units. Shares of the Fund may be redeemed only in Creation Units at their NAV next determined after receipt of a redemption request in proper form and only on a Business Day. The Trust will not redeem Shares in amounts less than Creation Units. Beneficial owners also may sell Shares in the secondary market but must accumulate enough Shares to constitute a Creation Unit in order to have such Shares redeemed by the Trust. There can be no assurance, however, that there will be sufficient liquidity in the public trading market at any time to permit assembly of a Creation Unit. Investors should expect to incur brokerage and other costs in connection with assembling a sufficient number of Shares to constitute a redeemable Creation Unit.

Redemptions are effected primarily in-kind. In the case of in-kind redemptions, the Adviser makes available through the NSCC, prior to the opening of business on the Exchange on each Business Day, the identity and number of the Fund’s portfolio securities that will be applicable (subject to possible amendment or correction) to redemption requests received in proper form (as defined below) on that day (“Fund Securities”). Fund Securities received on redemption may not be identical to Deposit Securities that are applicable to creations of Creation Units.

Unless cash redemptions are available or specified for the Fund, the redemption proceeds for a Creation Unit generally consist of Fund Securities plus cash in an amount equal to the difference between the NAV of the Shares being redeemed, as next determined after a receipt of a request in proper form, and the value of the Fund Securities, less the redemption transaction fee described below.

Redemption Transaction Fee. A standard redemption transaction fee is imposed to offset transfer and other transaction costs that may be incurred by the Fund. The standard redemption transaction fee will be the same regardless of the number of Creation Units redeemed by an investor on the same day. The AP may also be required to cover certain brokerage, tax, foreign exchange, execution, price movement and other costs and expenses related to the execution of trades resulting from such transactions (including when the Trust substitutes cash for some or all of the Fund Securities), up to a maximum of 2% of the amount redeemed (including the standard redemption fee set forth below). The standard redemption transaction fees are set forth below. APs will also bear the costs of transferring the Fund Securities from the Trust to their account or on their order. Investors who use the services of a broker or other such intermediary may be charged a fee for such services. Certain fees or costs associated with redemption transactions may be waived in certain circumstances.

 

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The following table sets forth the Fund’s standard redemption transaction fee:

 

Fund

   Standard Redemption
Transaction Fee
 

Xtrackers S&P 500 ESG ETF

   $ 800  

The maximum redemption fee, as a percentage of the amount redeemed, is 2%. Redemption requests for Creation Units of any Fund must be submitted by or through an AP. An AP must submit an irrevocable redemption request before 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time on any Business Day in order to receive that day’s NAV. In the case of custom redemptions, the order must be received no later than 3:00 p.m., Eastern Time. Investors other than through APs are responsible for making arrangements for a redemption request to be made through an AP. The Distributor will provide a list of current APs upon request.

Cash transactions may have to be carried out over several days if the securities market is relatively illiquid and may involve considerable brokerage fees and taxes. These brokerage fees and taxes, which will be higher than if the Fund sold and redeemed its shares principally in-kind, will generally be passed on to purchasers and redeemers of Creation Units in the form of creation and redemption transaction fees. However, the Fund caps the total fees that may be charged in connection with the redemption of Creation Units at 2% of the value of the Creation Units redeemed. To the extent transaction and other costs associated with a redemption exceed that cap, those transaction costs will be borne by the Fund’s remaining shareholders.

The AP must transmit the request for redemption in the form required by the Trust or the Transfer Agent in accordance with procedures set forth in the Authorized Participant Agreement. Investors should be aware that their particular broker may not have executed an Authorized Participant Agreement and that, therefore, requests to redeem Creation Units may have to be placed by the investor’s broker through an AP who has executed an Authorized Participant Agreement in effect. At any time, there may be only a limited number of broker-dealers that have an Authorized Participant Agreement. Investors making a redemption request should be aware that such request must be in the form specified by such AP. Investors making a request to redeem Creation Units should allow sufficient time to permit proper submission of the request by an AP and transfer of the Shares to the Trust’s Transfer Agent; such investors should allow for the additional time that may be required to effect redemptions through their banks, brokers or other financial intermediaries if such intermediaries are not APs.

A redemption request is considered to be in “proper form” if (i) an AP has transferred or caused to be transferred to the Trust’s Transfer Agent the Creation Unit being redeemed through the book-entry system of DTC so as to be effective by the Exchange closing time on any Business Day; (ii) a request in form satisfactory to the Trust is received from the AP on behalf of itself or another redeeming investor within the time periods specified above; and (iii) all other procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement are properly followed. If the Transfer Agent does not receive the investor’s Shares through DTC’s facilities by 10:00 a.m., Eastern Time, on the Business Day next following the day that the redemption request is received, the redemption request shall be rejected. Investors should be aware that the deadline for such transfers of Shares through the DTC system may be significantly earlier than the close of business on the Exchange. Those making redemption requests should ascertain the deadline applicable to transfers of Shares through the DTC system by contacting the operations department of the broker or depositary institution effecting the transfer of the Shares.

Upon receiving a redemption request, the Transfer Agent shall notify the Trust of such redemption request. The tender of an investor’s Shares for redemption and the distribution of the cash redemption payment in respect of Creation Units redeemed will be made through DTC and the relevant AP to the beneficial owner thereof as recorded on the book-entry system of DTC or the DTC Participant through which such investor holds, as the case may be, or by such other means specified by the AP submitting the redemption request.

A redeeming Beneficial Owner or AP acting on behalf of such Beneficial Owner must maintain appropriate security arrangements with a qualified broker-dealer, bank or other custody providers in each jurisdiction in which any of the portfolio securities are customarily traded, to which account such portfolio securities will be delivered.

 

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If neither the redeeming Beneficial Owner nor the AP acting on behalf of such redeeming Beneficial Owner has appropriate arrangements to take delivery of Fund Securities in the applicable non-U.S. jurisdiction and it is not possible to make other such arrangements, or if it is not possible to effect deliveries of Fund Securities in such jurisdiction, the Trust may in its discretion exercise its option to redeem such Shares in cash, and the redeeming Beneficial Owner will be required to receive its redemption proceeds in cash. In such case, the investor will receive a cash payment equal to the NAV of its Shares based on the NAV of Shares of the Fund next determined after the redemption request is received in proper form (minus a redemption transaction fee and additional variable charge for cash redemptions specified above, to offset the Trust’s brokerage and other transaction costs associated with the disposition of portfolio securities of the Fund). Redemptions of Shares for Fund Securities will be subject to compliance with applicable U.S. federal and state securities laws and the Fund (whether or not it otherwise permits cash redemptions) reserves the right to redeem Creation Units for cash to the extent that the Fund could not lawfully deliver specific Fund Securities upon redemptions or could not do so without first registering the Fund Securities under such laws.

In the case of cash redemptions, proceeds will be paid to the AP redeeming Shares on behalf of the redeeming investor as soon as practicable after the date of redemption (within seven calendar days thereafter).

The right of redemption may be suspended or the date of payment postponed with respect to any Fund (i) for any period during which the NYSE is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings); (ii) for any period during which trading on the NYSE is suspended or restricted; (iii) for any period during which an emergency exists as a result of which disposal of the Shares of the Fund’s portfolio securities or determination of its NAV is not reasonably practicable; or (iv) in such other circumstance as is permitted by the SEC.

An AP submitting a redemption request is deemed to represent to the Trust that it is in compliance with the requirements set forth in the Authorized Participant Agreement. The Trust reserves the right to verify this representation at its discretion, but will typically require verification with respect to a redemption request from the Fund in connection with higher levels of redemption activity and/or short interest in the Fund. If the AP, upon receipt of a verification request, does not provide sufficient verification of its representations as determined by the Trust, the redemption request will not be considered to have been received in proper form and may be rejected by the Trust.

Taxation on Creation and Redemptions of Creation Units. An AP generally will recognize either gain or loss upon the exchange of Deposit Securities for Creation Units. This gain or loss is calculated by taking the market value of the Creation Units purchased over the AP’s aggregate basis in the Deposit Securities exchanged therefor. However, the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) may apply the wash sales rules to determine that any loss realized upon the exchange of Deposit Securities for Creation Units is not currently deductible. APs should consult their own tax advisors.

Current federal tax laws dictate that capital gain or loss realized from the redemption of Creation Units will generally create long-term capital gain or loss if the AP holds the Creation Units for more than one year, or short-term capital gain or loss if the Creation Units were held for one year or less.

 

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Taxes

Regulated Investment Company Qualifications. The Fund intends to qualify for treatment as a separate RIC under Subchapter M of the Code. To qualify for treatment as a RIC, the Fund must annually distribute at least 90% of its investment company taxable income (which includes dividends, interest and net short-term capital gains) and meet several other requirements. Among such other requirements are the following: (i) at least 90% of the Fund’s annual gross income must be derived from dividends, interest, payments with respect to securities loans, gains from the sale or other disposition of stock or securities or non-U.S. currencies, other income (including, but not limited to, gains from options, futures or forward contracts) derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock, securities or currencies, and net income derived from interests in qualified publicly-traded partnerships (i.e., partnerships that are traded on an established securities market or tradable on a secondary market, other than partnerships that derive 90% of their income from interest, dividends, capital gains and other traditionally permitted mutual fund income); and (ii) at the close of each quarter of the Fund’s taxable year, (a) at least 50% of the market value of the Fund’s total assets must be represented by cash and cash items, U.S. government securities, securities of other RICs and other securities, with such other securities limited for purposes of this calculation in respect of any one issuer to an amount not greater than 5% of the value of the Fund’s assets and not greater than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer; and (b) not more than 25% of the value of the Fund’s total assets may be invested in the securities (other than U.S. government securities or the securities of other RICs) of any one issuer, or two or more issuers of which 20% or more of the voting stock is held by the Fund and that are engaged in the same or similar trades or businesses or related trades or businesses, or the securities of one or more qualified publicly-traded partnerships. The Treasury Department is authorized to promulgate regulations under which gains from foreign currencies (and options, futures, and forward contracts on foreign currency) would constitute qualifying income for purposes of the test described in (i) above only if such gains are directly related to investing in securities. To date, such regulations have not been issued.

Although in general the passive loss rules of the Code do not apply to RICs, such rules do apply to a RIC with respect to items attributable to an interest in a qualified publicly-traded partnership. The Fund’s investments in partnerships, including in qualified publicly-traded partnerships, may result in the Fund being subject to state, local, or non-U.S. income, franchise or withholding tax liabilities.

Taxation of Regulated Investment Companies. As a RIC, the Fund will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the portion of its taxable investment income and capital gains that it distributes to its Shareholders, provided that it satisfies a minimum distribution requirement. To satisfy the minimum distribution requirement, the Fund must distribute to its Shareholders an amount at least equal to the sum of (i) 90% of its “investment company taxable income” (i.e., taxable income other than its net realized long-term capital gain over its net realized short-term capital loss), plus or minus certain adjustments, and (ii) 90% of its net tax-exempt income for the taxable year. The Fund will be subject to income tax at regular corporation rates on any taxable income or gains that it does not distribute to its Shareholders. If the Fund fails to qualify for any taxable year as a RIC or fails to meet the distribution requirement, all of its taxable income will be subject to tax at regular corporate income tax rates without any deduction for distributions to Shareholders, and such distributions generally will be taxable to Shareholders as ordinary dividends to the extent of the Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits. In such event, distributions to individuals should be eligible to be treated as qualified dividend income and distributions to corporate Shareholders generally should be eligible for the dividends received deduction. Although the Fund intends to distribute substantially all of its net investment income and its capital gains for each taxable year, the Fund will be subject to U.S. federal income taxation to the extent any such income or gains are not distributed. If the Fund fails to qualify as a RIC in any year, it must pay out its earnings and profits accumulated in that year in order to qualify again as a RIC. If the Fund fails to qualify as a RIC for a period greater than two taxable years, the Fund may be required to recognize any net built-in gains with respect to certain of its assets (i.e., the excess of the aggregate gains, including items of income, over aggregate losses that would have been realized with respect to such assets if the Fund had been liquidated) if it qualifies as a RIC in a subsequent year.

Excise Tax. The Fund will be subject to a 4% excise tax on certain undistributed income if it does not generally distribute to its Shareholders in each calendar year an amount at least equal to the sum of (i) 98% of its ordinary income for the calendar year (taking into account certain deferrals and elections) plus (ii) 98.2% of its capital gain net income (reduced by certain ordinary losses) for the 12 months ended October 31 of such year. For this purpose, however, any ordinary income or capital gain net income retained by the Fund that is subject to corporate income tax in the taxable year ending within the relevant calendar year will be considered to have been distributed. In addition, the minimum amounts that must be distributed in any year to avoid the excise tax will be increased or decreased to reflect any under-distribution or over-distribution, as the case may be, from the previous year. The Fund intends to declare and distribute dividends and distributions in the amounts and at the times necessary to avoid the application of this 4% excise tax.

 

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Net Capital Loss Carryforwards. Net capital loss carryforwards may be applied against any net realized capital gains in each succeeding year.

Taxation of U.S. Shareholders. Dividends and other distributions by the Fund are generally treated under the Code as received by the Shareholders at the time the dividend or distribution is made. However, any dividend or distribution declared by the Fund in October, November or December of any calendar year and payable to Shareholders of record on a specified date in such a month shall be deemed to have been received by each Shareholder on December 31 of such calendar year and to have been paid by the Fund not later than such December 31, provided such dividend is actually paid by the Fund during January of the following calendar year.

The Fund intends to distribute annually to its Shareholders substantially all of its investment company taxable income and any net realized long-term capital gains in excess of net realized short-term capital losses (including any capital loss carryovers). However, if the Fund retains for investment an amount equal to all or a portion of its net long-term capital gains in excess of its net short-term capital losses (including any capital loss carryovers), it will be subject to a corporate tax (currently at a maximum rate of 21%) on the amount retained. In that event, the Fund may designate such retained amounts as undistributed capital gains in a notice to its Shareholders who (a) will be required to include in income for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as long-term capital gains, their proportionate Shares of the undistributed amount, (b) will be entitled to credit their proportionate Shares of the tax paid by the Fund on the undistributed amount against their U.S. federal income tax liabilities, if any, and to claim refunds to the extent their credits exceed their liabilities, if any, and (c) will be entitled to increase their tax basis, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, in their Shares by an amount equal to 79% of the amount of undistributed capital gains included in the Shareholder’s income. Organizations or persons not subject to U.S. federal income tax on such capital gains will be entitled to a refund of their pro rata Share of such taxes paid by the Fund upon filing appropriate returns or claims for refund with the IRS.

Distributions of net realized long-term capital gains, if any, that the Fund reports as capital gains dividends are taxable as long-term capital gains, whether paid in cash or in Shares and regardless of how long a Shareholder has held Shares of the Fund. All other dividends of the Fund (including dividends from short-term capital gains) from its current and accumulated earnings and profits (“regular dividends”) are generally subject to tax as ordinary income, subject to the discussion of qualified dividend income below.

If an individual receives a regular dividend qualifying for the long-term capital gains rates and such dividend constitutes an “extraordinary dividend,” and the individual subsequently recognizes a loss on the sale or exchange of stock in respect of which the extraordinary dividend was paid, then the loss will be long-term capital loss to the extent of such extraordinary dividend. An “extraordinary dividend” on common stock for this purpose is generally a dividend (i) in an amount greater than or equal to 10% of the taxpayer’s tax basis (or trading value) in a Share of stock, aggregating dividends with ex-dividend dates within an 85-day period or (ii) in an amount greater than 20% of the taxpayer’s tax basis (or trading value) in a Share of stock, aggregating dividends with ex-dividend dates within a 365-day period.

Distributions in excess of the Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits will, as to each Shareholder, be treated as a tax-free return of capital to the extent of a Shareholder’s basis in Shares of the Fund, and as a capital gain thereafter (if the Shareholder holds Shares of the Fund as capital assets). Shareholders receiving dividends or distributions in the form of additional Shares should be generally treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as receiving a distribution in an amount equal to the amount of money that the Shareholders receiving cash dividends or distributions will receive and should generally have a cost basis in the Shares received equal to such amount.

Investors considering buying Shares just prior to a dividend or capital gain distribution should be aware that, although the price of Shares purchased at that time may reflect the amount of the forthcoming distribution, such dividend or distribution may nevertheless be taxable to them. If the Fund is the holder of record of any security on the record date for any dividends payable with respect to such security, such dividends will be included in the Fund’s gross income not as of the date received but as of the later of (a) the date such security became ex-dividend with respect to such dividends (i.e., the date on which a buyer of the security would not be entitled to receive the declared, but unpaid, dividends); or (b) the date the Fund acquired such security. Accordingly, in order to satisfy its income distribution requirements, the Fund may be required to pay dividends based on anticipated earnings, and Shareholders may receive dividends in an earlier year than would otherwise be the case.

 

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In certain situations, the Fund may, for a taxable year, defer all or a portion of its capital losses, currency losses and certain other ordinary losses until the next taxable year in computing its investment company taxable income and net capital gain, which will defer the recognition of such realized losses. Such deferrals and other rules regarding gains and losses may affect the tax character of Shareholder distributions.

An additional 3.8% Medicare tax is imposed on certain net investment income (including ordinary dividends and capital gain distributions received from the Fund and net gains from redemptions or other taxable dispositions of Fund Shares) of U.S. individuals, estates and trusts to the extent that such person’s “modified adjusted gross income” (in the case of an individual) or “adjusted gross income” (in the case of an estate or trust) exceeds certain threshold amounts.

Sales of Shares. Upon the sale or exchange of Shares of the Fund, a Shareholder will realize a taxable gain or loss equal to the difference between the amount realized and the Shareholder’s basis in Shares of the Fund. A redemption of Shares by the Fund will be treated as a sale for this purpose. Such gain or loss will be treated as capital gain or loss if the Shares are capital assets in the Shareholder’s hands and will be long-term capital gain or loss if the Shares are held for more than one year and short-term capital gain or loss if the Shares are held for one year or less. Any loss realized on a sale or exchange will be disallowed to the extent the Shares disposed of are replaced, including replacement through the reinvesting of dividends and capital gains distributions in the Fund, within a 61-day period beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the disposition of the Shares. In such a case, the basis of the Shares acquired will be increased to reflect the disallowed loss. Any loss realized by a Shareholder on the sale of the Fund Share held by the Shareholder for six months or less will be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a long-term capital loss to the extent of any distributions or deemed distributions of long-term capital gains received by the Shareholder with respect to such Share.

If a Shareholder incurs a sales charge in acquiring Shares of the Fund, disposes of those Shares within 90 days and then acquires, prior to February 1 of the following calendar year, shares in a mutual fund for which the otherwise applicable sales charge is reduced by reason of a reinvestment right (e.g., an exchange privilege), the original sales charge will not be taken into account in computing gain/loss on the original Shares to the extent the subsequent sales charge is reduced. Instead, the disregarded portion of the original sales charge will be added to the tax basis of the newly acquired Shares. Furthermore, the same rule also applies to a disposition of the newly acquired Shares made within 90 days of the second acquisition. This provision prevents Shareholders from immediately deducting the sales charge by shifting their investments within a family of mutual funds.

Legislation requires reporting of adjusted cost basis information for covered securities, which generally include shares of a RIC acquired after January 1, 2012, to the Internal Revenue Service and to taxpayers. Shareholders should contact their financial intermediaries with respect to reporting of cost basis and available elections for their accounts.

Back-Up Withholding. In certain cases, withholding will be required at the applicable withholding rate (currently 24%), from any distributions paid to a Shareholder who: (i) has failed to provide a correct taxpayer identification number; (ii) is subject to back-up withholding by the IRS; (iii) has failed to certify that such Shareholder is not subject to back-up withholding; or (iv) has not certified that such Shareholder is a U.S. person (including a U.S. resident alien). Back-up withholding is not an additional tax and any amount withheld may be credited against a Shareholder’s U.S. federal income tax liability.

Sections 351 and 362. The Trust, on behalf of the Fund, has the right to reject an order for a purchase of Shares of the Fund if the purchaser (or group of purchasers) would, upon obtaining the Shares so ordered, own 80% or more of the outstanding Shares of a given Fund and if, pursuant to Sections 351 and 362 of the Code, that Fund would have a basis in the securities different from the market value of such securities on the date of deposit. If the Fund’s basis in such securities on the date of deposit was less than market value on such date, the Fund, upon disposition of the securities, would recognize more taxable gain or less taxable loss than if its basis in the securities had been equal to market value. It is not anticipated that the Trust will exercise the right of rejection except in a case where the Trust determines that accepting the order could result in material adverse tax consequences to the Fund or its Shareholders. The Trust also has the right to require information necessary to determine beneficial Share ownership for purposes of the 80% determination.

 

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Taxation of Certain Derivatives. The Fund’s transactions in zero coupon securities, non-U.S. currencies, forward contracts, options and futures contracts (including options, futures contracts and forward contracts on non-U.S. currencies), to the extent permitted, will be subject to special provisions of the Code (including provisions relating to “hedging transactions” and “straddles”) that, among other things, may affect the character of gains and losses realized by the Fund (i.e., may affect whether gains or losses are ordinary or capital), accelerate recognition of income to the Fund and defer Fund losses. These rules could therefore affect the character, amount and timing of distributions to Shareholders. These provisions also (a) will require the Fund to mark-to-market certain types of the positions in its portfolio (i.e., treat them as if they were closed out at the end of each year) and (b) may cause the Fund to recognize income without receiving cash with which to pay dividends or make distributions in amounts necessary to satisfy the distribution requirements for avoiding income and excise taxes. The Fund will monitor its transactions, will make the appropriate tax elections and will make the appropriate entries in its books and records when it acquires any zero coupon security, non-U.S. currency, forward contract, option, futures contract or hedged investment in order to mitigate the effect of these rules and prevent disqualification of the Fund as a RIC.

The Fund’s investment in so-called “Section 1256 contracts,” such as regulated futures contracts, most non-U.S. currency forward contracts traded in the interbank market and options on most security indexes, are subject to special tax rules. All Section 1256 contracts held by the Fund at the end of its taxable year are required to be marked to their market value, and any unrealized gain or loss on those positions will be included in the Fund’s income as if each position had been sold for its fair market value at the end of the taxable year. The resulting gain or loss will be combined with any gain or loss realized by the Fund from positions in Section 1256 contracts closed during the taxable year. Provided such positions were held as capital assets and were not part of a “hedging transaction” nor part of a “straddle,” 60% of the resulting net gain or loss will be treated as long-term capital gain or loss, and 40% of such net gain or loss will be treated as short-term capital gain or loss, regardless of the period of time the positions were actually held by the Fund.

As a result of entering into swap contracts, the Fund may make or receive periodic net payments. The Fund may also make or receive a payment when a swap is terminated prior to maturity through an assignment of the swap or other closing transaction. Periodic net payments will generally constitute ordinary income or deductions, while termination of a swap will generally result in capital gain or loss (which will be a long-term capital gain or loss if the Fund has been a party to the swap for more than one year). With respect to certain types of swaps, the Fund may be required to currently recognize income or loss with respect to future payments on such swaps or may elect under certain circumstances to mark such swaps to market annually for tax purposes as ordinary income or loss. The tax treatment of many types of credit default swaps is uncertain.

Qualified Dividend Income. Distributions by the Fund of investment company taxable income (including any short-term capital gains), whether received in cash or Shares, will be taxable either as ordinary income or as qualified dividend income, eligible for the reduced maximum rate to individuals of either 15% or 20% (depending on whether the individual’s income exceeds certain threshold amounts) to the extent the Fund receives qualified dividend income on the securities it holds and the Fund reports the distribution as qualified dividend income. Distributions by the Fund of its net short-term capital gains will be taxable as ordinary income. Capital gain distributions consisting of the Fund’s net capital gains will be taxable as long-term capital gains. Qualified dividend income is, in general, dividend income from taxable U.S. corporations (but generally not from U.S. REITs) and certain non-U.S. corporations (e.g., non-U.S. corporations that are not “passive foreign investment companies” and which are incorporated in a possession of the U.S. or in certain countries with a comprehensive tax treaty with the U.S., or the stock of which is readily tradable on an established securities market in the U.S.). Under current IRS guidance, the United States has appropriate comprehensive income tax treaties with the following countries: Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, China (but not with Hong Kong, which is treated as a separate jurisdiction for U.S. tax purposes), Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Morocco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and Venezuela.

A dividend from the Fund will not be treated as qualified dividend income to the extent that (i) the Shareholder has not held the Shares on which the dividend was paid for 61 days during the 121-day period that begins on the date that is 60 days before the date on which the Shares become ex-dividend with respect to such dividend or the Fund fails to satisfy those holding period requirements with respect to the securities it holds that paid the dividends distributed to the Shareholder (or, in the case of certain preferred stocks, the holding requirement of 91 days during the 181-day period beginning on the date that is 90 days before the date on which the stock becomes ex-dividend with respect to such dividend); (ii) the Fund or the Shareholder is under an obligation (whether pursuant to a short sale or otherwise) to make related payments with respect to substantially similar or related property; or (iii) the Shareholder elects to treat such dividend as investment income under Section 163(d)(4)(B) of the Code. Dividends received by the Fund from a REIT or another RIC may be treated as qualified dividend income only to the extent the dividend distributions are attributable to qualified dividend income received by such REIT or other RIC.

 

34


If you lend your Fund Shares pursuant to securities lending arrangements you may lose the ability to use non-U.S. tax credits passed through by the Fund or to treat Fund dividends (paid while the Shares are held by the borrower) as qualified dividends. Consult your financial intermediary or tax advisor. If you enter into a short sale with respect to Shares of the Fund, substitute payments made to the lender of such Shares may not be deductible. Consult your financial intermediary or tax advisor.

Corporate Dividends Received Deduction. Distributions reported to shareholders as derived from the Fund’s dividend income, if any, that would be eligible for the dividends received deduction if the Fund were not a regulated investment company may be eligible for the dividends received deduction for corporate shareholders. The dividends received deduction, if available, is reduced to the extent the shares with respect to which the dividends are received are treated as debt-financed under federal income tax law and is eliminated if the shares are deemed to have been held for less than a minimum period, generally 46 days. The dividends received deduction also may be reduced as a result of the Fund’s securities lending activities, hedging activities or a high portfolio turnover rate or as a result of certain derivative transactions entered into by the Fund.

Excess Inclusion Income. Under current law, the Fund serve to block unrelated business taxable income from being realized by their tax-exempt Shareholders. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a tax-exempt Shareholder could realize unrelated business taxable income by virtue of its investment in the Fund if Shares in the Fund constitute debt-financed property in the hands of the tax-exempt Shareholder within the meaning of Code Section 514(b). Certain types of income received by the Fund from REITs, real estate mortgage investment conduits, taxable mortgage pools or other investments may cause the Fund to designate some or all of its distributions as “excess inclusion income.” To Fund Shareholders, such excess inclusion income may (i) constitute taxable income, as “unrelated business taxable income” for those Shareholders who would otherwise be tax-exempt such as individual retirement accounts, 401(k) accounts, Keogh plans, pension plans and certain charitable entities; (ii) not be offset by otherwise allowable deductions for tax purposes; (iii) not be eligible for reduced U.S. withholding for non-U.S. Shareholders even from tax treaty countries; and (iv) cause the Fund to be subject to tax if certain “disqualified organizations” as defined by the Code are Fund Shareholders. If a charitable remainder annuity trust or a charitable remainder unitrust (each as defined in Code Section 664) has UBTI for a taxable year, a 100% excise tax on the UBTI is imposed on the trust.

Reporting. If a Shareholder recognizes a loss with respect to the Fund’s Shares of $2 million or more for an individual Shareholder or $10 million or more for a corporate Shareholder, the Shareholder must file with the IRS a disclosure statement on Form 8886. Direct Shareholders of portfolio securities are in many cases exempted from this reporting requirement, but under current guidance, Shareholders of a RIC are not exempted. The fact that a loss is reportable under these regulations does not affect the legal determination of whether the taxpayer’s treatment of the loss is proper. Shareholders should consult their tax advisors to determine the applicability of these regulations in light of their individual circumstances.

Other Taxes. Dividends, distributions and redemption proceeds may also be subject to additional state, local and non-U.S. taxes depending on each Shareholder’s particular situation.

Taxation of Non-U.S. Shareholders. Dividends paid by the Fund to non-U.S. Shareholders are generally subject to withholding tax at a 30% rate or a reduced rate specified by an applicable income tax treaty to the extent derived from investment income and short-term capital gains. Non-U.S. investors considering buying Shares just prior to a distribution should be aware that, although the price of Shares purchased at that time may reflect the amount of the forthcoming distribution, such distribution may nevertheless be subject to U.S. withholding tax. In order to obtain a reduced rate of withholding, a non-U.S. Shareholder will be required to provide an applicable IRS Form W-8 certifying its entitlement to benefits under a treaty. The withholding tax does not apply to regular dividends paid to a non-U.S. Shareholder who provides a Form W-8ECI, certifying that the dividends are effectively connected with the non-U.S. Shareholder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States. Instead, the effectively connected dividends will be subject to regular U.S. income tax as if the non-U.S. Shareholder were a U.S. Shareholder. A non-U.S. corporation receiving effectively connected dividends may also be subject to additional “branch profits tax” imposed at a rate of 30% (or lower treaty rate). A non-U.S. Shareholder who fails to provide an applicable IRS Form W-8 or other applicable form may be subject to back-up withholding at the appropriate rate.

 

35


In general, U.S. federal withholding tax will not apply to any gain or income realized by a non-U.S. Shareholder in respect of any distributions of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital losses or upon the sale or other disposition of Shares of the Fund. Properly reported dividends received by a nonresident alien or foreign entity are generally exempt from U.S. federal withholding tax when they (a) are paid in respect of the Fund’s “qualified net interest income” (generally, the Fund’s U.S. source interest income, reduced by expenses that are allocable to such income), or (b) are paid in connection with the Fund’s “qualified short-term capital gains” (generally, the excess of the Fund’s net short-term capital gain over the Fund’s long-term capital loss for such taxable year). However, depending on the circumstances, the Fund may report all, some or none of the Fund’s potentially eligible dividends as such qualified net interest income or as qualified short-term capital gains, and a portion of the Fund’s distributions (e.g. interest from non U.S. sources or any foreign currency gains) would be ineligible for this potential exemption from withholding. In case of shares held through an intermediary, the intermediary may withhold on a payment even if the fund reports the payment as eligible for the exemption from withholding. In order to qualify for this exemption from withholding, a non-U.S. shareholder must have provided appropriate withholding certificates (e.g., an executed W-8BEN, etc.) certifying foreign status.

Shares of the Fund held by a non-U.S. Shareholder at death will be considered situated within the United States and generally will be subject to the U.S. estate tax.

Withholding of U.S. tax (at a 30% rate) is required with respect to payments of taxable dividends paid to certain non-U.S. entities that fail to comply (or be deemed compliant) with extensive new reporting and withholding requirements designed to inform the U.S. Department of the Treasury of U.S.-owned foreign investment accounts. Shareholders may be requested to provide additional information to enable the applicable withholding agent to determine whether withholding is required.

The foregoing discussion is a summary of certain material U.S. federal income tax considerations only and is not intended as a substitute for careful tax planning. Purchasers of Shares should consult their own tax advisers as to the tax consequences of investing in such Shares, including under state, local and non-U.S tax laws. Finally, the foregoing discussion is based on applicable provisions of the Code, regulations, judicial authority and administrative interpretations in effect on the date of this SAI. Changes in applicable authority could materially affect the conclusions discussed above, and such changes often occur.

Miscellaneous Information

Counsel. Dechert LLP, located at 1095 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10036, is counsel to the Trust.

Independent Trustee Legal Counsel. K&L Gates LLP, located at 1601 K Street, NW, Washington, DC 20006, is counsel to the Independent Trustees.

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. Ernst & Young LLP, located at 5 Times Square, New York, New York 10036, serves as the Trust’s independent registered public accounting firm, audits the Fund’s financial statements and may perform other services.

Financial Statements

Because the Fund has not commenced operations as of the date of this SAI, financial statements are not provided for the Fund.

 

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APPENDIX A

PROXY VOTING POLICY AND GUIDELINES – DWS

 

1.

SCOPE

DWS has adopted and implemented the following Policies and Guidelines, which it believes are reasonably designed to ensure that proxies are voted in the best economic interest of clients and in accordance with its fiduciary duties and local regulation. This Proxy Voting Policy and Guidelines – DWS (“Policy and Guidelines”) shall apply to all accounts managed by US domiciled advisers and to all US client accounts managed by non-US regional offices. Non-US regional offices are required to maintain procedures and to vote proxies as may be required by law on behalf of their non-US clients. In addition, DWS’s proxy policies reflect the fiduciary standards and responsibilities for ERISA accounts.

The attached guidelines represent a set of global recommendations that were determined by the Global Proxy Voting Sub-Committee (“the GPVSC”). These guidelines were developed to provide DWS with a comprehensive list of recommendations that represent how DWS will generally vote proxies for its clients. The recommendations derived from the application of these guidelines are not intended to influence the various DWS legal entities either directly or indirectly by parent or affiliated companies. In addition, the organizational structures and documents of the various DWS legal entities allows, where necessary or appropriate, the execution by individual AM subsidiaries of the proxy voting rights independently of any DB parent or affiliated company. This applies in particular to non US fund management companies. The individuals that make proxy voting decisions are also free to act independently, subject to the normal and customary supervision by the Management/Boards of these DWS legal entities.

 

2.

DWS’S PROXY VOTING RESPONSIBILITIES

Proxy votes are the property of DWS’s advisory clients. As such, DWS’s authority and responsibility to vote such proxies depend upon its contractual relationships with its clients or other delegated authority. DWS has delegated responsibility for effecting its advisory clients’ proxy votes to Institutional Shareholder Services (“ISS”), an independent third-party proxy voting specialist. ISS votes DWS’s advisory clients’ proxies in accordance with DWS’s proxy guidelines or DWS’s specific instructions. Where a client has given specific instructions as to how a proxy should be voted, DWS will notify ISS to carry out those instructions. Where no specific instruction exists, DWS will follow the procedures in voting the proxies set forth in this document. Certain Taft-Hartley clients may direct DWS to have ISS vote their proxies in accordance with Taft-Hartley Voting Guidelines.

Clients may in certain instances contract with their custodial agent and notify DWS that they wish to engage in securities lending transactions. In such cases, it is the responsibility of the custodian to deduct the number of shares that are on loan so that they do not get voted twice. To the extent a security is out on loan and DWS determines that a proxy vote (or other shareholder action) is materially important to the client’s account, DWS may request, on a best efforts basis, that the agent recall the security prior to the record date to allow DWS to vote the securities.

 

3.

POLICIES

 

3.1.

Proxy Voting Activities are Conducted in the Best Economic Interest of Clients

DWS has adopted the following Policies and Guidelines to ensure that proxies are voted in accordance with the best economic interest of its clients, as determined by DWS in good faith after appropriate review.

 

3.2.

The Global Proxy Voting Sub-Committee

The Global Proxy Voting Sub-Committee is an internal working group established by the applicable DWS’s Investment Risk Oversight Committee pursuant to a written charter. The GPVSC is responsible for overseeing DWS’s proxy voting activities, including:

 

   

Adopting, monitoring and updating guidelines, attached as Attachment A (the “Guidelines”), that provide how DWS will generally vote proxies pertaining to a comprehensive list of common proxy voting matters;

 

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Voting proxies where: (i) the issues are not covered by specific client instruction or the Guidelines; (ii) the Guidelines specify that the issues are to be determined on a case-by-case basis; or (iii) where an exception to the Guidelines may be in the best economic interest of DWS’s clients; and

 

   

Monitoring Proxy Vendor Oversight’s proxy voting activities (see below).

DWS’s Proxy Vendor Oversight, a function of DWS’s Operations Group, is responsible for coordinating with ISS to administer DWS’s proxy voting process and for voting proxies in accordance with any specific client instructions or, if there are none, the Guidelines, and overseeing ISS’ proxy responsibilities in this regard.

 

3.3.

Availability of Proxy Voting Policies and Proxy Voting Record

Copies of this Policy, as it may be updated from time to time, is made available to clients as required by law and otherwise at DWS’s discretion. Clients may also obtain information on how their proxies were voted by DWS as required by law and otherwise at DWS’s discretion. Note, however, that DWS must not selectively disclose its investment company clients’ proxy voting records. Proxy Vendor Oversight will make proxy voting reports available to advisory clients upon request. The investment companies’ proxy voting records will be disclosed to shareholders by means of publicly-available annual filings of each company’s proxy voting record for the 12-month periods ending June 30 (see Section 6 below), if so required by relevant law.

 

4.

PROCEDURES

The key aspects of DWS’s proxy voting process are delineated below.

 

4.1.

The GPVSC’s Proxy Voting Guidelines

The Guidelines set forth the GPVSC’s standard voting positions on a comprehensive list of common proxy voting matters. The GPVSC has developed and continues to update the Guidelines based on consideration of current corporate governance principles, industry standards, client feedback, and the impact of the matter on issuers and the value of the investments.

The GPVSC will review the Guidelines as necessary to support the best economic interests of DWS’s clients and, in any event, at least annually. The GPVSC will make changes to the Guidelines, whether as a result of the annual review or otherwise, taking solely into account the best economic interests of clients. Before changing the Guidelines, the GPVSC will thoroughly review and evaluate the proposed change and the reasons therefore, and the GPVSC Chair will ask GPVSC members whether anyone outside of the DWS organization (but within Deutsche Bank and its affiliates) or any entity that identifies itself as an DWS advisory client has requested or attempted to influence the proposed change and whether any member has a conflict of interest with respect to the proposed change. If any such matter is reported to the GPVSC Chair, the Chair will promptly notify the Conflicts of Interest Management Sub-Committee (see Section 5.4) and will defer the approval, if possible. Lastly, the GPVSC will fully document its rationale for approving any change to the Guidelines.

The Guidelines may reflect a voting position that differs from the actual practices of the public company(ies) within the Deutsche Bank organization or of the investment companies for which DWS or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or sponsor. Investment companies, particularly closed-end investment companies, are different from traditional operating companies. These differences may call for differences in voting positions on the same matter. Further, the manner in which DWS votes investment company proxies may differ from proposals for which a DWS-advised or sponsored investment company solicits proxies from its shareholders. As reflected in the Guidelines, proxies solicited by closed-end (and open-end) investment companies are generally voted in accordance with the pre-determined guidelines of ISS.

 

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Funds (“Underlying Funds”) in which Topiary Fund Management Fund of Funds (each, a “Fund”) invest may from time to time seek to revise their investment terms (i.e. liquidity, fees, etc.) or investment structure. In such event, the Underlying Funds may require approval/consent from its investors to effect the relevant changes. Topiary Fund Management has adopted Proxy Voting Procedures which outline the process for these approvals.

 

4.2.

Specific Proxy Voting Decisions Made by the GPVSC

Proxy Vendor Oversight will refer to the GPVSC all proxy proposals: (i) that are not covered by specific client instructions or the Guidelines; or (ii) that, according to the Guidelines, should be evaluated and voted on a case-by-case basis.

Additionally, if Proxy Vendor Oversight, the GPVSC Chair or any member of the GPVSC, a Portfolio Manager, a Research Analyst or a sub-adviser believes that voting a particular proxy in accordance with the Guidelines may not be in the best economic interests of clients, that individual may bring the matter to the attention of the GPVSC Chair and/or Proxy Vendor Oversight.

If Proxy Vendor Oversight refers a proxy proposal to the GPVSC or the GPVSC determines that voting a particular proxy in accordance with the Guidelines is not in the best economic interests of clients, the GPVSC will evaluate and vote the proxy, subject to the procedures below regarding conflicts.

The GPVSC endeavours to hold meetings to decide how to vote particular proxies sufficiently before the voting deadline so that the procedures below regarding conflicts can be completed before the GPVSC’s voting determination.

 

4.3.

The GPVSC’s Proxy Voting Guidelines

In some cases, the GPVSC may determine that it is in the best economic interests of its clients not to vote certain proxies, or that it may not be feasible to vote certain proxies. If the conditions below are met with regard to a proxy proposal, DWS will abstain from voting:

 

 

Neither the Guidelines nor specific client instructions cover an issue;

 

 

ISS does not make a recommendation on the issue; and

 

 

The GPVSC cannot convene on the proxy proposal at issue to make a determination as to what would be in the client’s best interest. (This could happen, for example, if the Conflicts of Interest Management Sub-Committee found that there was a material conflict or if despite all best efforts being made, the GPVSC quorum requirement could not be met).

In addition, it is DWS’s policy not to vote proxies of issuers subject to laws of those jurisdictions that impose restrictions upon selling shares after proxies are voted, in order to preserve liquidity. In other cases, it may not be possible to vote certain proxies, despite good faith efforts to do so. For example, some jurisdictions do not provide adequate notice to shareholders so that proxies may be voted on a timely basis. Voting rights on securities that have been loaned to third-parties transfer to those third-parties, with loan termination often being the only way to attempt to vote proxies on the loaned securities. Lastly, the GPVSC may determine that the costs to the client(s) associated with voting a particular proxy or group of proxies outweighs the economic benefits expected from voting the proxy or group of proxies.

Proxy Vendor Oversight will coordinate with the GPVSC Chair regarding any specific proxies and any categories of proxies that will not or cannot be voted. The reasons for not voting any proxy shall be documented.

 

4.4.

Conflict of Interest Procedures

 

4.4.1.

Procedures to Address Conflicts of Interest and Improper Influence

Overriding Principle. In the limited circumstances where the GPVSC votes proxies, the GPVSC will vote those proxies in accordance with what it, in good faith, determines to be the best economic interests of DWS’s clients.

 

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Independence of the GPVSC. As a matter of Compliance policy, the GPVSC and Proxy Vendor Oversight are structured to be independent from other parts of Deutsche Bank. Members of the GPVSC and the employee responsible for Proxy Vendor Oversight are employees of DWS. As such, they may not be subject to the supervision or control of any employees of Deutsche Bank Corporate and Investment Banking division (“CIB”). Their compensation cannot be based upon their contribution to any business activity outside of DWS without prior approval of Legal and Compliance. They can have no contact with employees of Deutsche Bank outside of the Private Client and Asset Management division (“PCAM”) regarding specific clients, business matters, or initiatives without the prior approval of Legal and Compliance. They furthermore may not discuss proxy votes with any person outside of DWS (and within DWS only on a need to know basis).

Conflict Review Procedures. The “Conflicts of Interest Management Sub-Committee within DWS monitors for potential material conflicts of interest in connection with proxy proposals that are to be evaluated by the GPVSC. Promptly upon a determination that a proxy vote shall be presented to the GPVSC, the GPVSC Chair shall notify the Conflicts of Interest Management Sub-Committee. The Conflicts of Interest Management Sub-Committee shall promptly collect and review any information deemed reasonably appropriate to evaluate, in its reasonable judgment, if DWS or any person participating in the proxy voting process has, or has the appearance of, a material conflict of interest. For the purposes of this policy, a conflict of interest shall be considered “material” to the extent that a reasonable person could expect the conflict to influence, or appear to influence, the GPVSC’s decision on the particular vote at issue. GPVSC should provide the Conflicts of Interest Management Sub-Committee a reasonable amount of time (no less than 24 hours) to perform all necessary and appropriate reviews. To the extent that a conflicts review cannot be sufficiently completed by the Conflicts of Interest Management Sub-Committee the proxies will be voted in accordance with the standard Guidelines.

The information considered by the Conflicts of Interest Management Sub-Committee may include without limitation information regarding: (i) DWS client relationships; (ii) any relevant personal conflict known by the Conflicts of Interest Management Sub-Committee or brought to the attention of that sub-committee; and (iii) any communications with members of the GPVSC (or anyone participating or providing information to the GPVSC) and any person outside of the DWS organization (but within Deutsche Bank and its affiliates) or any entity that identifies itself as an DWS advisory client regarding the vote at issue. In the context of any determination, the Conflicts of Interest Management Sub-Committee may consult with and shall be entitled to rely upon all applicable outside experts, including legal counsel.

Upon completion of the investigation, the Conflicts of Interest Management Sub-Committee will document its findings and conclusions. If the Conflicts of Interest Management Sub-Committee determines that: (i) DWS has a material conflict of interest that would prevent it from deciding how to vote the proxies concerned without further client consent; or (ii) certain individuals should be recused from participating in the proxy vote at issue, the Conflicts of Interest Management Sub-Committee will so inform the GPVSC Chair.

If notified that DWS has a material conflict of interest as described above, the GPVSC chair will obtain instructions as to how the proxies should be voted either from: (i) if time permits, the affected clients; or (ii) in accordance with the standard Guidelines. If notified that certain individuals should be recused from the proxy vote at issue, the GPVSC Chair shall do so in accordance with the procedures set forth below.

Note: Any DWS employee who becomes aware of a potential, material conflict of interest in respect of any proxy vote to be made on behalf of clients shall notify Compliance. Compliance shall call a meeting of the Conflict Review Committee to evaluate such conflict and determine a recommended course of action.

Procedures to be followed by the GPVSC. At the beginning of any discussion regarding how to vote any proxy, the GPVSC Chair (or his or her delegate) will inquire as to whether any GPVSC member (whether voting or ex officio) or any person participating in the proxy voting process has a personal conflict of interest or has actual knowledge of an actual or apparent conflict that has not been reported to the Conflicts of Interest Management Sub-Committee.

The GPVSC Chair also will inquire of these same parties whether they have actual knowledge regarding whether any Director, officer, or employee outside of the DWS organization (but within Deutsche Bank and its affiliates) or any entity that identifies itself as an DWS advisory client, has: (i) requested that DWS, Proxy Vendor Oversight (or any member thereof), or a GPVSC member vote a particular proxy in a certain manner; (ii) attempted to influence DWS, Proxy Vendor Oversight (or any member thereof), a GPVSC

 

A-4


member or any other person in connection with proxy voting activities; or (iii) otherwise communicated with a GPVSC member, or any other person participating or providing information to the GPVSC regarding the particular proxy vote at issue and which incident has not yet been reported to the Conflicts of Interest Management Sub-Committee.

If any such incidents are reported to the GPVSC Chair, the Chair will promptly notify the Conflicts of Interest Management Sub-Committee and, if possible, will delay the vote until the Conflicts of Interest Management Sub-Committee can complete the conflicts report. If a delay is not possible, the Conflicts of Interest Management Sub-Committee will instruct the GPVSC” (i) whether anyone should be recused from the proxy voting process or (ii) whether DWS should vote the proxy in accordance with the standard guidelines, seek instructions as to how to vote the proxy at issue from ISS or, if time permits, the affected clients. These inquiries and discussions will be properly reflected in the GPVSC’s minutes.

Duty to Report. Any DWS employee, including any GPVSC member (whether voting or ex officio), that is aware of any actual or apparent conflict of interest relevant to, or any attempt by any person outside of the DWS organization (but within Deutsche Bank and its affiliates) or any entity that identifies itself as an DWS advisory client to influence how DWS votes its proxies has a duty to disclose the existence of the situation to the GPVSC Chair (or his or her designee) and the details of the matter to the Conflicts of Interest Management Sub-Committee. In the case of any person participating in the deliberations on a specific vote, such disclosure should be made before engaging in any activities or participating in any discussion pertaining to that vote.

Recusal of Members. The GPVSC will recuse from participating in a specific proxy vote any GPVSC members (whether voting or ex officio) and/or any other person who: (i) are personally involved in a material conflict of interest; or (ii) who, as determined by the Conflicts of Interest Management Sub-Committee, have actual knowledge of a circumstance or fact that could affect their independent judgment, in respect of such vote. The GPVSC will also exclude from consideration the views of any person (whether requested or volunteered) if the GPVSC or any member thereof knows, or if the Conflicts of Interest Management Sub-Committee has determined, that such other person has a material conflict of interest with respect to the particular proxy or has attempted to influence the vote in any manner prohibited by these policies.

If, after excluding all relevant GPVSC voting members pursuant to the paragraph above, there are three or more GPVSC voting members remaining, those remaining GPVSC members will determine how to vote the proxy in accordance with these Policies and Guidelines. If there are fewer than three GPVSC voting members remaining, the GPVSC Chair will vote the proxy in accordance with the standard Guidelines or will obtain instructions as to how to have the proxy voted from, if time permits, the affected clients and otherwise from ISS.

 

4.4.2.

Investment Companies and Affiliated Public Companies

Investment Companies. As reflected in the Guidelines, all proxies solicited by open-end and closed-end investment companies are voted in accordance with the pre-determined guidelines of ISS, unless the investment company client directs DWS to vote differently on a specific proxy or specific categories of proxies. However, regarding investment companies for which DWS or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or principal underwriter, such proxies are voted in the same proportion as the vote of all other shareholders (i.e., “mirror” or “echo” voting). Master Fund proxies solicited from feeder Funds are voted in accordance with applicable provisions of Section 12 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (“Investment Company Act”).

Subject to participation agreements with certain Exchange Traded Funds (“ETF”) issuers that have received exemptive orders from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) allowing investing DWS Funds to exceed the limits set forth in Section 12(d)(1)(A) and (B) of the Investment Company Act, DWS will echo vote proxies for ETFs in which Deutsche Bank holds more than 25% of outstanding voting shares globally when required to do so by participation agreements and SEC orders.

Affiliated Public Companies. For proxies solicited by non-investment company issuers of or within the Deutsche Bank organization (e.g., Deutsche Bank itself), these proxies will be voted in the same proportion as the vote of other shareholders (i.e., “mirror” or “echo” voting).

Note: With respect to the DWS Central Cash Management Government Fund (registered under the Investment Company Act), the Fund is not required to engage in echo voting and the investment adviser will use these Guidelines and may determine, with respect to the DWS Central Cash Management Government Fund, to vote contrary to the positions in the Guidelines, consistent with the Fund’s best interest.

 

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4.4.3.

Other Procedures that Limit Conflicts of Interest

DWS and other entities in the Deutsche Bank organization have adopted a number of policies, procedures, and internal controls that are designed to avoid various conflicts of interest, including those that may arise in connection with proxy voting, including but not limited to:

 

 

Code of Business Conduct and Ethics – DB Group;

 

 

Conflicts of Interest Policy – DB Group;

 

 

Information Sharing Procedures –AM, GTB & CB&S;

 

 

Code of Ethics – AM US;

 

 

Code of Ethics – DWS ex US

 

 

Code of Professional Conduct – US.

The GPVSC expects that these policies, procedures, and internal controls will greatly reduce the chance that the GPVSC (or its members) would be involved in, aware of, or influenced by an actual or apparent conflict of interest.

All impacted business units are required to adopt, implement, and maintain procedures to ensure compliance with this Section. At a minimum, such procedures must: (i) assign roles and responsibilities for carrying out the procedures, including responsibility for periodically updating the procedures; (ii) identify clear escalation paths for identified breaches of the procedures; and (iii) contain a legend or table mapping the procedures to this Section (e.g., cross-referencing Section or page numbers).

 

5.

RECORDKEEPING

At a minimum, the following records must be properly maintained and readily accessible in order to evidence compliance with this Policy.

 

 

DWS will maintain a record of each proxy vote cast by DWS that includes among other things, company name, meeting date, proposals presented, vote cast, and shares voted.

 

 

Proxy Vendor Oversight maintains records for each of the proxy ballots it votes. Specifically, the records include, but are not limited to:

 

   

The proxy statement (and any additional solicitation materials) and relevant portions of annual statements;

 

   

Any additional information considered in the voting process that may be obtained from an issuing company, its agents, or proxy research firms;

 

   

Analyst worksheets created for stock option plan and share increase analyses; and

 

   

Proxy Edge print-screen of actual vote election.

 

 

DWS will: (i) retain this Policy and the Guidelines; (ii) will maintain records of client requests for proxy voting information; and (iii) will retain any documents Proxy Vendor Oversight or the GPVSC prepared that were material to making a voting decision or that memorialized the basis for a proxy voting decision.

 

 

The GPVSC also will create and maintain appropriate records documenting its compliance with this Policy, including records of its deliberations and decisions regarding conflicts of interest and their resolution.

 

A-6


 

With respect to DWS’s investment company clients, ISS will create and maintain records of each company’s proxy voting record for the 12-month periods ending June 30. DWS will compile the following information for each matter relating to a portfolio security considered at any shareholder meeting held during the period covered by the report (and with respect to which the company was entitled to vote):

 

 

The name of the issuer of the portfolio security;

 

 

The exchange ticker symbol of the portfolio security (if symbol is available through reasonably practicable means);

 

 

The Council on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures (“CUSIP”) number for the portfolio security (if the number is available through reasonably practicable means);

 

 

The shareholder meeting date;

 

 

A brief identification of the matter voted on;

 

 

Whether the matter was proposed by the issuer or by a security holder;

 

 

Whether the company cast its vote on the matter;

 

 

How the company cast its vote (e.g., for or against proposal, or abstain; for or withhold regarding election of Directors); and

 

 

Whether the company cast its vote for or against Management.

Note: This list is intended to provide guidance only in terms of the records that must be maintained in accordance with this policy. In addition, please note that records must be maintained in accordance with the Enterprise Archive Policy – Deutsche Bank Group, Records Management Policy – Deutsche Bank Group, Records Management Principles – DB Group, and applicable policies and procedures thereunder.

With respect to electronically stored records, “properly maintained” is defined as complete, authentic (unalterable), usable and backed-up. At a minimum, records should be retained for a period of not less than six years (or longer, if necessary to comply with applicable regulatory requirements), the first three years in an appropriate DWS office.

 

6.

THE GPVSC’S OVERSIGHT ROLE

In addition to adopting the Guidelines and making proxy voting decisions on matters referred to it as set forth above, the GPVSC monitors the proxy voting process by reviewing summary proxy information presented by ISS. The GPVSC uses this review process to determine, among other things, whether any changes should be made to the Guidelines. This review will take place at least quarterly and is documented in the GPVSC’s minutes

 

7.

GLOSSARY

 

Term    Definition

CIB

   Corporate and Investment Banking

CUSIP

   Council on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures

ETF

   Exchange Traded Funds

 

A-7


Term    Definition

GPVSC

   Global Proxy voting Sub-Committee

Investment

Company Act

   Investment Company Act of 1940

ISS

   Institutional Shareholder Services

PCAM

   Private Client and Asset Management

SEC

   Securities and Exchange Commission

 

8.

LIST OF ANNEXES AND ATTACHMENTS

Attachment A – DWS Proxy Voting Guidelines

 

A-8


 

Attachment A – Global Proxy Voting Guidelines

DWS

Proxy Voting Guidelines

Effective January 1, 2019

[GRAPHIC OMITTED]

 

A-9


These Guidelines may reflect a voting position that differs from the actual practices of the public company(ies) within the Deutsche Bank organization or of the investment companies for which DWS or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or sponsor.

NOTE: Because of the unique structure and regulatory scheme applicable to closed-end and open-end investment companies (except Real Estate Investment Trusts), the voting guidelines (particularly those related to governance issues) generally will be inapplicable to holdings of closed-end and open-end investment companies, especially for directors of fund-complexes.

 

I.

Board of Directors and Executives

 

  A.

Election of Directors

Routine: DWS’s Policy is to vote “For” the uncontested election of Directors. Votes for a Director in an uncontested election will be withheld in cases where a Director has shown an inability to perform his/her duties in the best interests of the shareholders, taking into account the following additional factors:

 

  -

Accountability to shareholders and transparency of governance practices

  -

Responsiveness to investor input and shareholder vote

  -

Composition of the board with Directors adding value through skills, expertise and time commitment

  -

Independence from management

Where it deems necessary, DWS will also take into account the following additional factors:

 

  Ø

A combined CEO/Chairman role without a lead Independent Director in place would trigger a vote “Against” the CEO/Chairman.

It is essential that the board have a lead independent director, who should have approval over information flow to the board, meeting agendas and meeting schedules to ensure a structure that provides an appropriate balance between the powers of the CEO and those of the independent directors.

 

  Ø

Attendance at Board meetings not disclosed on an individual basis in the annual report or on the company’s website and neither is the reported overall attendance above 90 %. An individual candidate has attended fewer than 75 % of the board and audit / risk committee meetings in a given year without a satisfactory explanation for his / her absence disclosed in a clear and comprehensible form in the relevant proxy filings. Satisfactory explanation will be understood as any health issues or family incidents. These would trigger a vote “Against” the election of the corresponding directors

 

  Ø

A former executive director who is nominated for a membership on the non-executive board when two or more former executive directors already serve on the same board would result in a vote “Against” the former executive, as the board cannot be regarded as independent anymore.

 

  Ø

Relevant committees in place and their majority independent. If the main committees are not majority independent, this could trigger a vote “Abstain” on the Chairman of the board and if the Chairman is not up for election, “Abstain” on the non-independent committee members.

 

  Ø

The management of Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) controversies around company will be analysed on a case-by-case basis based on relevant internationally recognized E, S or G principles (e.g. the UN Global Compact Principles and OECD Guidelines for Multinationals). Under extraordinary circumstances, DWS will vote against the election of directors or the entire board if there were material failures of governance, stewardship, risk oversight, or fiduciary responsibilities identified as a result of the controversies around the company.

 

  Ø

When the director election lengthens the term of office, DWS will consider voting “Against” this election.*

 

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In the absence of an annual election, we are generally supportive of staggered boards as the perpetual renewal of an appropriate proportion of the board members secures an active succession planning. In cases where the annual (re-)election is established, DWS would oppose proposals that would lengthen the term of office (i.e. from annual election to terms of two/three years or more).

*Note – This guideline does not pertain to closed-end or open-end funds.

Regarding independence: Vote against or withhold from non-independent Directors when:

 

  Ø

The board consists of 50% or less independent Directors;

 

  Ø

The non-independent Director is part of the audit, compensation or nominating committee;

 

  Ø

The company has not appointed an audit, compensation or nominating committee.

DWS will classify Directors as non-independent when:

 

  1.

For executive Directors:

 

  Ø

Current employee of the company or one of its affiliates.

 

  2.

For non-executive Directors:

 

  Ø

Significant ownership (beneficial owner of more than 50% of the company’s voting power)

 

  Ø

Former CEO of the company or of an acquired company within the past five years.

 

  Ø

Former officer of the company, an affiliate or an acquired firm within the past five years.

 

  Ø

Immediate family member of a current or former officer of the company or its affiliates within the last five years

 

  Ø

Currently provides (or an immediate family member provides) professional services to the company, to an affiliate of the company or an individual officer of the company or one of its affiliates in excess of $10,000 per year.

Proxy contest: In a proxy contest involving election of Directors, a case-by-case voting decision will be made based upon analysis of the issues involved and the merits of the incumbent and dissident slates of Directors. Where applicable, DWS will consider the recommendations of ISS along with various factors, including the following:

 

  Ø

Long-term financial performance of the company relative to its industry;

 

  Ø

Management’s track record;

 

  Ø

Background to the contested election;

 

  Ø

Nominee qualifications and any compensatory arrangements;

 

  Ø

Strategic plan of dissident slate and quality of the critique against management;

 

  Ø

Likelihood that the proposed goals and objectives can be achieved (both slates); and

 

  Ø

Stock ownership positions.

In the case of candidates nominated pursuant to proxy access, DWS’s policy is to vote case-by-case considering any applicable factors listed above, including additional factors and any recommendations of a third party proxy research vendor, currently ISS, which may be relevant, including those that are specific to the company, to the nominee(s) and/or to the nature of the election (such as whether or not there are more candidates than board seats).

Rationale: The large majority of corporate Directors fulfill their fiduciary obligation and in most cases support for Management’s nominees is warranted. As the issues relevant to a contested election differ in each instance, those cases must be addressed as they arise.

 

A-11


  B.

Classified Boards of Directors

DWS’s policy is to vote against proposals to classify the Board and for proposals to repeal classified Boards and elect Directors annually.

Rationale: Directors should be held accountable on an annual basis. By entrenching the incumbent Board, a classified Board may be used as an anti-takeover device to the detriment of the shareholders in a hostile take-over situation.

 

  C.

Board and Committee Independence

DWS’s policy is to vote:

 

  1.

“For” proposals that require that a certain percentage (majority up to 66 2/3%) of members of a Board of Directors be comprised of independent or unaffiliated Directors.

 

  2.

“For” proposals that require all members of a company’s compensation, audit, nominating, or other similar committees be comprised of independent or unaffiliated Directors.

 

  3.

“Against” shareholder proposals to require the addition of special interest, or constituency, representatives to Boards of Directors.

 

  4.

“For” separation of the Chairman and CEO positions.

 

  5.

Generally “For” proposals that require a company to appoint a Chairman who is an independent Director, taking into account the following factors:

 

  Ø

Whether the proposal is binding and whether it requires an immediate change.

 

  Ø

Whether the current board has an existing executive or non-independent chair or there was a recent combination of the CEO and chair roles.

 

  Ø

Whether the governance structure ensures a sufficient board and committee independence, a balance of board and CEO tenure.

 

  Ø

Whether the company has poor governance practices (such as compensation, poor risk oversight, or any actions which harmed or have the potential to harm the interests of the shareholders).

 

  Ø

Whether the company is demonstrating poor performance (as per the assessment and recommendation of ISS).

Rationale: Board independence is a cornerstone of effective governance and accountability. A Board that is sufficiently independent from Management assures that shareholders’ interests are adequately represented.

No Director qualifies as “independent” unless the Board of Directors affirmatively determines that the Director has no material relationship with the listed company (either directly or as a partner, shareholder, or officer of an organization that has a relationship with the company).

Whether a Director is in fact not “independent” will depend on the laws and regulations of the primary market for the security and the exchanges, if any, on which the security trades.

 

  D.

Liability and Indemnification of Directors

DWS’s policy is to vote on a case-by-case basis on Management proposals to limit Directors’ liability and to broaden the indemnification of Directors, unless broader indemnification or limitations on Directors’ liability would affect shareholders’ interests in pending litigation, in which case, DWS would vote “Against”.

Rationale: While shareholders want Directors and officers to be responsible for their actions, it may not be in the best interests of the shareholders for them to be to risk averse. If the risk of personal liability is too great, companies may not be able to find capable Directors willing to serve. We support expanding coverage only for actions taken in good faith and not for serious violations of fiduciary obligation or negligence.

 

A-12


  E.

Qualification of Directors

DWS’s policy is to follow Management’s recommended vote on either Management or shareholder proposals that set retirement ages for Directors or require specific levels of stock ownership by Directors.

Rationale: As a general rule, the Board of Directors, and not the shareholders, is most qualified to establish qualification policies.

 

  F.

Removal of Directors and Filling of Vacancies

DWS’s policy is to vote “Against” proposals that include provisions that Directors may be removed only for cause or proposals that include provisions that only continuing Directors may fill Board vacancies.

Rationale: Differing state statutes permit removal of Directors with or without cause. Removal of Directors for cause usually requires proof of self-dealing, fraud, or misappropriation of corporate assets, limiting shareholders’ ability to remove Directors except under extreme circumstances. Removal without cause requires no such showing.

Allowing only incumbent Directors to fill vacancies can serve as an anti-takeover device, precluding shareholders from filling the Board until the next regular election.

 

  G.

Proposals to Fix the Size of the Board

DWS’s policy is to vote:

 

  1.

“For” proposals to fix the size of the Board unless: (a) no specific reason for the proposed change is given; or (b) the proposal is part of a package of takeover defences.

 

  2.

“Against” proposals allowing Management to fix the size of the Board without shareholder approval.

Rationale: Absent danger of anti-takeover use, companies should be granted a reasonable amount of flexibility in fixing the size of its Board.

 

  H.

Proposals to Restrict Chief Executive Officer’s Service on Multiple Boards

DWS’s policy is to vote “For” proposals to restrict a Chief Executive Officer from serving on more than two outside Boards of Directors.

Rationale: Chief Executive Officer must have sufficient time to ensure that shareholders’ interests are represented adequately.

Note: A Director’s service on multiple closed-end fund Boards within a fund complex are treated as service on a single Board for the purpose of the proxy voting guidelines.

 

  I.

Proposals to Establish Audit Committees

DWS’s policy is to vote “For” proposals that require the establishment of Audit Committees.

Rationale: The Audit Committee should deal with accounting and risk management related questions, verifies the independence of the auditor with due regard to possible conflicts of interest. It also should determine the procedure of the audit process.

 

A-13


II.

Capital Structure

 

  A.

Authorization of Additional Shares

DWS’s policy is to vote “For” proposals to increase the authorization of existing classes of stock that do not exceed a 3:1 ratio of shares authorized to shares outstanding for a large cap company and do not exceed a 4:1 ratio of shares authorized to shares outstanding for a small-midcap company (companies having a market capitalization under one billion US dollars).

Rationale: While companies need an adequate number of shares in order to carry on business, increases requested for general financial flexibility must be limited to protect shareholders from their potential use as an anti-takeover device. Requested increases for specifically designated, reasonable business purposes (stock split, merger, etc.) will be considered in light of those purposes and the number of shares required.

 

  B.

Authorization of “Blank Check” Preferred Stock

DWS’s policy is to vote:

  1.

“Against” proposals to create blank check preferred stock or to increase the number of authorized shares of blank check preferred stock unless the company expressly states that the stock will not be used for anti-takeover purposes and will not be issued without shareholder approval.

 

  2.

“For” proposals mandating shareholder approval of blank check stock placement.

Rationale: Shareholders should be permitted to monitor the issuance of classes of preferred stock in which the Board of Directors is given unfettered discretion to set voting, dividend, conversion, and other rights for the shares issued.

 

  C.

Stock Splits/Reverse Stock Splits

DWS’s policy is to vote “For” stock splits if a legitimate business purpose is set forth and the split is in the shareholders’ best interests. A vote is cast “For” a reverse stock split only if the number of shares authorized is reduced in the same proportion as the reverse split or if the effective increase in authorized shares (relative to outstanding shares) complies with the proxy guidelines for common stock increases.

Rationale: Generally, stock splits do not detrimentally affect shareholders. Reverse stock splits, however, may have the same result as an increase in authorized shares and should be analyzed accordingly.

 

  D.

Dual Class/Supervoting Stock

DWS’s policy is to vote “Against” proposals to create or authorize additional shares of super-voting stock or stock with unequal voting rights.

Rationale: The “one share, one vote” principal ensures that no shareholder maintains a voting interest exceeding their equity interest in the company.

 

  E.

Large Block Issuance

DWS’s policy is to address large block issuances of stock on a case-by-case basis based on the nature of the issuance, considering various factors including recommendation of ISS subject to review by the GPVSC as set forth in the guidelines.

 

A-14


For general Issuances, in general DWS’s policy is to:

 

  i.

vote for issuance authorities with pre-emptive rights to a maximum of 100 percent over currently issued capital and as long as the share issuance authorities’ periods are clearly disclosed (or implied by the application of a legal maximum duration) and in line with market-specific practices and/or recommended guidelines (e.g. issuance periods limited to 18 months for the Netherlands); and

 

  ii.

vote for issuance authorities without pre-emptive rights to a maximum of 20 percent (or a lower limit if local market best practice recommendations provide) of currently issued capital as long as the share issuance authorities’ periods are clearly disclosed (or implied by the application of a legal maximum duration) and in line with market-specific practices and/or recommended guidelines (e.g. issuance periods limited to 18 months for the Netherlands).

For French companies, DWS’s policy is to:

 

  Ø

Vote for general issuance requests with pre-emptive rights, or without pre-emptive rights but with a binding “priority right,” for a maximum of 50 percent over currently issued capital.

 

  Ø

Generally vote for general authorities to issue shares without pre-emptive rights up to a maximum of 10 percent of share capital. When companies are listed on a regulated market, the maximum discount on share issuance price proposed in the resolution must, in addition, comply with the legal discount (i.e., a maximum of 5 percent discount to the share listing price) for a vote for to be warranted.

Where it deems necessary, DWS will also consider voting “Against”, taking into account the following additional factors:

 

  Ø

The combined equity issuance of all equity instruments with pre-emptive rights exceeds 50 percent of the outstanding share capital or the prevailing maximum threshold as stipulated by best practice rules for corporate governance in the respective country. Exceeding either of the two thresholds will be judged on a CASE-BY- CASE basis, provided that the subscription rights are actively tradable in the market.

 

  Ø

The cumulative equity issuances without subscription rights (historical and across instruments) exceed the maximum level specified in a respective country’s best practices for corporate governance or 30 percent% of the company’s nominal capital.

For specific issuances, in general DWS’s policy is to:

Vote on a case-by-case basis on all requests, with or without pre-emptive rights, incorporating where applicable the recommendation of ISS.

Additionally, DWS supports proposals requiring shareholder approval of large block issuances.

Rationale: Stock issuances must be reviewed in light of the business circumstances leading to the request and the potential impact on shareholder value.

 

  F.

Recapitalization into a Single Class of Stock

DWS’s policy is to vote “For” recapitalization plans to provide for a single class of common stock, provided the terms are fair, with no class of stock being unduly disadvantaged.

Rationale: Consolidation of multiple classes of stock is a business decision that may be left to the Board and/or Management if there is no adverse effect on shareholders.

 

  G.

Share Repurchases

DWS’s policy is to vote “For” share repurchase plans provided all shareholders are able to participate on equal terms. Where it deems necessary, DWS will also analyse on a CASE-BY-CASE basis, if the maximum offer/price premium exceeds 10 percent and if the share repurchase program exceeds a maximum of 10 percent of issued share capital.

 

A-15


Rationale: Buybacks are generally considered beneficial to shareholders because they tend to increase returns to the remaining shareholders. However, if the maximum offer premium exceeds 10 percent and the program itself exceeds 10 percent of issued capital, this could indicate potential risks for the shareholders in the longer term.

 

  H.

Reductions in Par Value

DWS’s policy is to vote “For” proposals to reduce par value, provided a legitimate business purpose is stated (e.g., the reduction of corporate tax responsibility.)

Rationale: Usually, adjustments to par value are a routine financial decision with no substantial impact on shareholders.

 

III.

Corporate Governance Issues

 

  A.

Confidential Voting

DWS’s policy is to vote “For” proposals to provide for confidential voting and independent tabulation of voting results and to vote “Against” proposals to repeal such provisions.

Rationale: Confidential voting protects the privacy rights of all shareholders. This is particularly important for employee-shareholders or shareholders with business or other affiliations with the company, who may be vulnerable to coercion or retaliation when opposing Management. Confidential voting does not interfere with the ability of corporations to communicate with all shareholders, nor does it prohibit shareholders from making their views known directly to Management.

 

  B.

Cumulative Voting

DWS’s policy is to vote “Against” shareholder proposals requesting cumulative voting and “For” Management proposals to eliminate it. The protections afforded shareholders by cumulative voting are not necessary when a company has a history of good performance and does not have a concentrated ownership interest. Accordingly, a vote is cast “Against” cumulative voting and “For” proposals to eliminate it if:

 

  a)

The company has a five year return on investment greater than the relevant industry index;

 

  b)

All Directors and executive officers as a group beneficially own less than 10% of the outstanding stock; and

 

  c)

No shareholder (or voting block) beneficially owns 15% or more of the company.

Thus, failure of any one of the three criteria results in a vote for cumulative voting in accordance with the general policy.

Rationale: Cumulative voting is a tool that should be used to ensure that holders of a significant number of shares may have Board representation; however, the presence of other safeguards may make their use unnecessary.

 

  C.

Supermajority Voting Requirements

DWS’s policy is to vote “Against” Management proposals to require a supermajority vote to amend the charter or bylaws and to vote “For” shareholder proposals to modify or rescind existing supermajority requirements.

*Exception made when company holds a controlling position and seeks to lower threshold to maintain control and/or make changes to corporate by-laws.

Rationale: Supermajority voting provisions violate the democratic principle that a simple majority should carry the vote. Setting supermajority requirements may make it difficult or impossible for shareholders to remove egregious by-law or charter provisions.

 

A-16


Occasionally, a company with a significant insider held position might attempt to lower a supermajority threshold to make it easier for Management to approve provisions that may be detrimental to shareholders. In that case, it may not be in the shareholders’ interests to lower the supermajority provision.

 

  D.

Shareholder Right to Vote

DWS’s policy is to vote “Against” proposals that restrict the right of shareholders to call special meetings, amend the bylaws, or act by written consent. DWS’s policy is to vote “For” proposals that remove such restrictions.

Rationale: Any reasonable means whereby shareholders can make their views known to Management or affect the governance process should be supported.

 

  E.

Amendments of the Articles

Where it deems necessary, DWS will consider to generally vote “Against” if the vote is an article amendment that would lengthen the term of office for directors over 3 years.

 

  F.

Related Party Transactions

DWS will analyse related party transactions on a CASE-BY-CASE basis and will additionally consider ISS recommendations.

 

IV.

Compensation

Annual Incentive Plans or Bonus Plans are often submitted to shareholders for approval. These plans typically award cash to executives based on company performance. Deutsche Bank believes that the responsibility for executive compensation decisions rest with the Board of Directors and/or the compensation committee, and its policy is not to second-guess the Board’s award of cash compensation amounts to executives unless a particular award or series of awards is deemed excessive. If stock options are awarded as part of these bonus or incentive plans, the provisions must meet Deutsche Bank’s criteria regarding stock option plans or similar stock-based incentive compensation schemes, as set forth below.

 

  A.

Executive and Director Stock Option Plans

DWS’s policy is to vote “For” stock option plans that meet the following criteria:

 

  1.

The resulting dilution of existing shares is less than: (a) 15% of outstanding shares for large capital corporations; or (b) 20% of outstanding shares for small-mid capital companies (companies having a market capitalization under one billion US dollars).

 

  2.

The transfer of equity resulting from granting options at less than fair market value (“FMV”) is no greater than 3% of the over-all market capitalization of large capital corporations or 5% of market cap for small-mid capital companies.

 

  3.

The plan does not contain express repricing provisions and, in the absence of an express statement that options will not be repriced, the company does not have a history of repricing options.

 

  4.

The plan does not grant options on super-voting stock.

DWS will support performance-based option proposals as long as: (a) they do not mandate that all options granted by the company must be performance based; and (b) only certain high-level executives are subject to receive the performance based options.

DWS will support proposals to eliminate the payment of outside Director Pensions.

 

A-17


Rationale: Determining the cost to the company and to shareholders of stock-based incentive plans raises significant issues not encountered with cash-based compensation plans. These include the potential dilution of existing shareholders’ voting power, the transfer of equity out of the company resulting from the grant and execution of options at less than FMV and the authority to reprice or replace underwater options. Our stock option plan analysis model seeks to allow reasonable levels of flexibility for a company yet still protect shareholders from the negative impact of excessive stock compensation. Acknowledging that small mid-capital corporations often rely more heavily on stock option plans as their main source of executive compensation and may not be able to compete with their large capital competitors with cash compensation, we provide slightly more flexibility for those companies.

 

  B.

Employee Stock Option / Purchase Plans

DWS’s policy is to vote “For” employee stock purchase plans (“ESPPs”) when the plan complies with Internal Revenue Code Section 423, allowing non-Management employees to purchase stock at 85% of FMV.

DWS’s policy is to vote “For” employee stock option plans (“ESOPs”) provided they meet the standards for stock option plans in general. However, when computing dilution and transfer of equity, ESOPs are considered independently from executive and Director Option plans.

Rationale: ESOPs and ESPPs encourage rank-and-file employees to acquire an ownership stake in the companies they work for and have been shown to promote employee loyalty and improve productivity.

 

  C.

Golden Parachutes

DWS’s policy is to vote “For” proposals to require shareholder approval of golden parachutes and for proposals that would limit golden parachutes to no more than three times base compensation. DWS’s policy is to vote on a case-by-case basis regarding more restrictive shareholder proposals to limit golden parachutes.

Rationale: In setting a reasonable limitation, DWS considers that an effective parachute should be less attractive than continued employment and that the IRS has opined that amounts greater than three times annual salary, are excessive.

 

  D.

Proposals to Limit Benefits or Executive Compensation

DWS’s policy is to vote “Against”:

 

  1.

Proposals to limit benefits, pensions or compensation; and

 

  2.

Proposals that request or require disclosure of executive compensation greater than the disclosure required by Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) regulations.

Rationale: Levels of compensation and benefits are generally considered to be day-to-day operations of the company, and are best left unrestricted by arbitrary limitations proposed by shareholders.

 

  E.

Shareholder Proposals Concerning “Pay for Superior Performance”

DWS’s policy is to address pay for superior performance proposals on a case-by-case basis, subject to review by the GPVSC as set forth in DWS’s Proxy Voting Policy and Guidelines, based on recommendation by ISS and in consideration of the following factors:

 

  Ø

What aspects of the company’s annual and long-term equity incentive programs are performance driven?

 

  Ø

If the annual and long-term equity incentive programs are performance driven, are the performance criteria and hurdle rates disclosed to shareholders or are they benchmarked against a disclosed peer group?

 

  Ø

Can shareholders assess the correlation between pay and performance based on the current disclosure?

 

  Ø

What type of industry and stage of business cycle does the company belong to?

 

A-18


These proposals generally include the following principles:

 

  Ø

Set compensation targets for the plan’s annual and long-term incentive pay components at or below the peer group median;

 

  Ø

Deliver a majority of the plan’s target long-term compensation through performance-vested, not simply time-vested, equity awards;

 

  Ø

Provide the strategic rationale and relative weightings of the financial and non-financial performance metrics or criteria used in the annual and performance-vested long-term incentive components of the plan;

 

  Ø

Establish performance targets for each plan financial metric relative to the performance of the company’s peer companies;

 

  Ø

Limit payment under the annual and performance-vested long-term incentive components of the plan to when the company’s performance on its selected financial performance metrics exceeds peer group median performance.

Rationale: While DWS agrees that compensation issues are better left to the discretion of Management, there remains the need to monitor for excessive and problematic compensation practices on a case-by-case basis. If, after a review of the ISS metrics, DWS is comfortable with ISS’s applying this calculation DWS will vote according to ISS recommendation.

 

  F.

Executive Compensation Advisory

DWS’s policy is to support management or shareholder proposals to propose an advisory resolution seeking to ratify the compensation of the company’s named executive officers (“NEOs”) on an annual basis “say on pay”).

Rationale: DWS believes that controls exist within senior Management and corporate compensation committees, ensuring fair compensation to executives. However, an annual advisory vote represents a good opportunity for shareholders to have a transparent and clear exchange of views with the company of the executive compensation structures.

 

  G.

Advisory Votes on Executive Compensation

DWS’s policy is to vote on a case-by-case basis on ballot items related to executive pay and practices, as well as certain aspects of outside director compensation, including recommendations by ISS where applicable, subject to review by the GPVSC as set forth in DWS’s Proxy Voting Policy and Guidelines.

DWS’s policy is to vote against Advisory Votes on Executive Compensation (Management Say-on-Pay—MSOP) if:

 

  Ø

There is a significant misalignment between CEO pay and company performance (pay for performance);

 

  Ø

The company maintains significant problematic pay practices;

 

  Ø

The board exhibits a significant level of poor communication and responsiveness to shareholders.

Primary Evaluation Factors for Executive Pay

Pay-for-Performance Evaluation

DWS will consider the pay-for-performance analysis conducted annually by an independent third party, currently ISS, to identify strong or satisfactory alignment between pay and performance over a sustained period. With respect to companies in the Russell 3000 or Russell 3000E Indices, DWS considers the following based on ISS’ analysis:

 

  1.

Peer Group Alignment:

 

  Ø

The degree of alignment between the company’s annualized TSR rank and the CEO’s annualized total pay rank within a peer group, each measured over a three-year period.

 

  Ø

The multiple of the CEO’s total pay relative to the peer group median.

 

  2.

Absolute Alignment – the absolute alignment between the trend in CEO pay and company TSR over the prior five fiscal years – i.e., the difference between the trend in annual pay changes and the trend in annualized TSR during the period.

 

A-19


If the above analysis demonstrates significant unsatisfactory long-term pay-for-performance alignment or, in the case of companies outside the Russell indices, misaligned pay and performance are otherwise suggested, DWS may consider any of the following qualitative factors as relevant to evaluating how various pay elements may work to encourage or to undermine long-term value creation and alignment with shareholder interests:

 

  Ø

The ratio of performance- to time-based equity awards;

 

  Ø

The overall ratio of performance-based compensation;

 

  Ø

The completeness of disclosure and rigor of performance goals;

 

  Ø

The company’s peer group benchmarking practices;

 

  Ø

Actual results of financial/operational metrics, such as growth in revenue, profit, cash flow, etc., both absolute and relative to peers;

 

  Ø

Special circumstances related to, for example, a new CEO in the prior FY or anomalous equity grant practices (e.g., bi-annual awards);

 

  Ø

Realizable pay compared to grant pay; and

 

  Ø

Any other factors deemed relevant.

Where it deems necessary, DWS will also take into account the following additional factors:

 

  Ø

Systems that entitle the company to recover any sums already paid where necessary (e.g. claw-back system). Deviations are possible wherever the company provides a reasonable explanation why a claw-back was not implemented.

Problematic Pay Practices

DWS’s policy is to defer to ISS’ recommendation regarding executive compensation practices that contravene the global pay principles considered by ISS in evaluating executive pay and practices, including:

 

  Ø

Problematic practices related to non-performance-based compensation elements;

 

  Ø

Incentives that may motivate excessive risk-taking; and

 

  Ø

Options Backdating.

Problematic Pay Practices related to Non-Performance-Based Compensation Elements

DWS’s policy is, in general, to evaluate pay elements that are not directly based on performance on a case-by-case considering the context of a company’s overall pay program and demonstrated pay-for-performance philosophy. DWS will defer to ISS’ analysis of specific pay practices that have been identified as potentially problematic and may lead to negative recommendations if they are deemed to be inappropriate or unjustified relative to executive pay best practices. The list below highlights the problematic practices that carry significant weight in DWS’s overall consideration and may result in adverse vote recommendations:

 

  Ø

Repricing or replacing of underwater stock options/SARS without prior shareholder approval (including cash buyouts and voluntary surrender of underwater options);

 

  Ø

Excessive perquisites or tax gross-ups, including any gross-up related to a secular trust or restricted stock vesting;

 

  Ø

New or extended agreements that provide for:

 

   

CIC payments exceeding 3 times base salary and average/target/most recent bonus;

 

   

CIC severance payments without involuntary job loss or substantial diminution of duties (“single” or “modified single” triggers);

 

   

CIC payments with excise tax gross-ups (including “modified” gross-ups);

 

  Ø

Insufficient executive compensation disclosure by externally- managed issuers (EMIs) such that a reasonable assessment of pay programs and practices applicable to the EMI’s executives is not possible.

Incentives that may Motivate Excessive Risk-Taking

 

A-20


  Ø

Multi-year guaranteed bonuses;

 

  Ø

A single or common performance metric used for short- and long-term plans;

 

  Ø

Lucrative severance packages;

 

  Ø

High pay opportunities relative to industry peers;

 

  Ø

Disproportionate supplemental pensions; or

 

  Ø

Mega annual equity grants that provide unlimited upside with no downside risk.

Factors that potentially mitigate the impact of risky incentives include rigorous claw-back provisions and robust stock ownership/holding guidelines.

Options Backdating

DWS’s policy is to examine the following factors case-by-case to allow for distinctions to be made between “sloppy” plan administration versus deliberate action or fraud:

 

  Ø

Reason and motive for the options backdating issue, such as inadvertent vs. deliberate grant date changes;

 

  Ø

Duration of options backdating;

 

  Ø

Size of restatement due to options backdating;

 

  Ø

Corrective actions taken by the board or compensation committee, such as cancelling or re-pricing backdated options, the recouping of option gains on backdated grants; and

 

  Ø

Adoption of a grant policy that prohibits backdating, and creates a fixed grant schedule or window period for equity grants in the future.

DWS may rely on ISS’s analysis of the foregoing and may defer to ISS’s recommendation subject to review by the GPVSC.

Rationale: While DWS agrees that compensation issues are better left to the discretion of Management, there remains a need to take action on this nonbinding proposal if excessive or problematic compensation practices exist.

 

  H.

Frequency of Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation

DWS’s policy is to vote “For” annual advisory votes on compensation, which provide the most consistent and clear communication channel for shareholder concerns about companies’ executive pay programs.

Rationale: DWS believes that annual advisory vote gives shareholders the opportunity to express any compensation concerns to the Executive Compensation proposal which is an advisory voting.

 

V.

Anti-Takeover Related Issues

 

  A.

Shareholder Rights Plans (“Poison Pills”)

DWS’s policy is to vote “For” proposals to require shareholder ratification of poison pills or that request Boards to redeem poison pills, and to vote “Against” the adoption of poison pills if they are submitted for shareholder ratification.

Rationale: Poison pills are the most prevalent form of corporate takeover defenses and can be (and usually are) adopted without shareholder review or consent. The potential cost of poison pills to shareholders during an attempted takeover outweighs the benefits.

 

  B.

Reincorporation

DWS’s policy is to examine reincorporation proposals on a case-by-case basis. The voting decision is based on:

 

  1.

Differences in state law between the existing state of incorporation and the proposed state of incorporation; and

 

A-21


  2.

Differences between the existing and the proposed charter / bylaws / articles of incorporation and their effect on shareholder rights.

If changes resulting from the proposed reincorporation violate the corporate governance principles set forth in these guidelines, the reincorporation will be deemed contrary to shareholder’s interests and a vote cast “against.”

Rationale: Reincorporations can be properly analyzed only by looking at the advantages and disadvantages to their shareholders. Care must be taken that anti-takeover protection is not the sole or primary result of a proposed change.

 

  C.

Fair-Price Proposals

DWS’s policy is to vote “For” Management fair-price proposals, provided that:

 

  1.

The proposal applies only to two-tier offers;

 

  2.

The proposal sets an objective fair-price test based on the highest price that the acquirer has paid for a company’s shares;

 

  3.

The supermajority requirement for bids that fail the fair-price test is no higher than two-thirds of the outstanding shares; and

 

  4.

The proposal contains no other anti-takeover provisions or provisions that restrict shareholders rights.

A vote is cast “For” shareholder proposals that would modify or repeal existing fair-price requirements that do not meet these standards.

Rationale: While fair price provisions may be used as anti-takeover devices, if adequate provisions are included, they provide some protection to shareholders who have some say in their application and the ability to reject those protections if desired.

 

  D.

Exemption from State Takeover Laws

DWS’s policy is to vote “For” shareholder proposals to opt out of state takeover laws and to vote “Against” Management proposals requesting to opt out of state takeover laws.

Rationale: Control share statutes, enacted at the state level, may harm long-term share value by entrenching Management. They also unfairly deny certain shares their inherent voting rights.

 

  E.

Non-Financial Effects of Takeover Bids

Policy is to vote “Against” shareholder proposals to require consideration of non-financial effects of merger or acquisition proposals.

Rationale: Non-financial effects may often be subjective and are secondary to DWS’s stated purpose of acting in its client’s best economic interest.

 

VI.

Mergers & Acquisitions

Evaluation of mergers, acquisitions and other special corporate transactions (i.e., takeovers, spin-offs, sales of assets, reorganizations, restructurings, and recapitalizations) are performed on a case-by-case basis, including consideration of ISS’s analysis and recommendations where applicable, subject to review by the GPVSC. AM’s policy is to review and evaluate the merits and drawbacks of the proposed transaction, balancing various and sometimes countervailing factors including:

 

  Ø

Valuation - Is the value to be received by the target shareholders (or paid by the acquirer) reasonable? While the fairness opinion may provide an initial starting point for assessing valuation reasonableness, emphasis is placed on the offer premium, market reaction and strategic rationale.

 

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  Ø

Market reaction - How has the market responded to the proposed deal? A negative market reaction should cause closer scrutiny of a deal.

 

  Ø

Strategic rationale - Does the deal make sense strategically? From where is the value derived? Cost and revenue synergies should not be overly aggressive or optimistic, but reasonably achievable. Management should also have a favorable track record of successful integration of historical acquisitions.

 

  Ø

Negotiations and process - Were the terms of the transaction negotiated at arm’s-length? Was the process fair and equitable? A fair process helps to ensure the best price for shareholders. Significant negotiation “wins” can also signify the deal makers’ competency. The comprehensiveness of the sales process (e.g., full auction, partial auction, no auction) can also affect shareholder value.

 

  Ø

Conflicts of interest - Are insiders benefiting from the transaction disproportionately and inappropriately as compared to non-insider shareholders? As the result of potential conflicts, the directors and officers of the company may be more likely to vote to approve a merger than if they did not hold these interests. Consider whether these interests may have influenced these directors and officers to support or recommend the merger. The CIC figure presented in the “ISS Transaction Summary” section of this report is an aggregate figure that can in certain cases be a misleading indicator of the true value transfer from shareholders to insiders. Where such figure appears to be excessive, analyze the underlying assumptions to determine whether a potential conflict exists.

 

  Ø

Governance - Will the combined company have a better or worse governance profile than the current governance profiles of the respective parties to the transaction? If the governance profile is to change for the worse, the burden is on the company to prove that other issues (such as valuation) outweigh any deterioration in governance.

Additional resources including portfolio management and research analysts may be considered as set forth in DWS’s policies and procedures.

 

VII.

Environmental, Social, and Governance Issues

Environmental, social, and governance issues (“ESG”) are becoming increasingly important to corporate success. We incorporate ESG considerations into both our investment decisions and our proxy voting decisions – particularly if the financial performance of the company could be impacted. Companies or states that seriously contravene internationally accepted ethical principles will be subject to heightened scrutiny.

 

  A.

Principles for Responsible Investment

DWS policy is to actively engage with companies on ESG issues and participate in ESG initiatives. In this context, DWS: (a) votes “For” increased disclosure on ESG issues; (b) is willing to participate in the development of policy, regulation, and standard setting (such as promoting and protecting shareholder rights); (c) could support shareholder initiatives and also file shareholder resolutions with long term ESG considerations and improved ESG disclosure, when applicable; (d) could support standardized ESG reporting and issues to be integrated within annual financial reports; and (e) on a case-by-case basis, on other votes related to ESG issues.

Rationale: ESG issues can affect the performance of investment portfolios (to varying degrees across companies, sectors, regions, asset classes, and through time).

 

  B.

ESG Issues

DWS’s policy will also consider the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies (“CERES”) recommendation on Environmental matters contained in the CERES Principles and the recommendations on social and sustainability issues not specifically addressed elsewhere in these Guidelines. DWS may consider ISS to identify shareholder proposals addressing CERES Principles and may have proxies voted in accordance with ISS’ predetermined voting guidelines on CERES Principles. DWS’s policy is to generally vote for social and environmental shareholder proposals that promote good corporate citizens while enhancing long-term shareholder and stakeholder value. DWS’s policy is to vote for disclosure reports that seek additional information particularly when it appears companies have not adequately addressed shareholders’ social, workforce, and environmental concerns. In determining vote recommendations on shareholder social, workforce, and environmental proposals, DWS will consider the recommendation of ISS along with various other factors including:

 

  Ø

Whether the proposal itself is well framed and reasonable;

 

A-23


  Ø

Whether adoption of the proposal would have either a positive or negative impact on the company’s short-term or long-term share value;

 

  Ø

Whether the company’s analysis and voting recommendation to shareholders is persuasive;

 

  Ø

The degree to which the company’s stated position on the issues could affect its reputation or sales, or leave it vulnerable to boycott or selective purchasing;

 

  Ø

Whether the subject of the proposal is best left to the discretion of the board;

 

  Ø

Whether the issues presented in the proposal are best dealt with through legislation, government regulation, or company-specific action;

 

  Ø

The company’s approach compared with its peers or any industry standard practices for addressing the issue(s) raised by the proposal;

 

  Ø

Whether the company has already responded in an appropriate or sufficient manner to the issue(s) raised in the proposal;

 

  Ø

If the proposal requests increased disclosure or greater transparency, whether or not sufficient information is publically available to shareholders and whether it would be unduly burdensome for the company to compile and avail the requested information to shareholders in a more comprehensive or amalgamated fashion;

 

  Ø

Whether implementation of the proposal would achieve the objectives sought in the proposal.

In general, DWS’s policy supports proposals that request the company to furnish information helpful to shareholders in evaluating the company’s operations, based on ISS’ analysis and recommendation. In order to be able to intelligently monitor their investments shareholders often need information best provided by the company in which they have invested. Requests to report such information will merit support. Requests to establish special committees of the board to address broad corporate policy and provide forums for ongoing dialogue on issues including, but not limited to shareholder relations, the environment, human rights, occupational health and safety, and executive compensation, will generally be supported, particularly when they appear to offer a potentially effective method for enhancing shareholder value. DWS’s policy is to closely evaluate proposals that ask the company to cease certain actions that the proponent believes are harmful to society or some segment of society with special attention to the company’s legal and ethical obligations, its ability to remain profitable, and potential negative publicity if the company fails to honor the request. DWS’s policy supports shareholder proposals that improve the company’s public image, and reduce exposure to liabilities.

Rationale: DWS supports CERES and as such generally considers the CERES recommendation, but will vote on a case-by-case basis.

 

VIII.

Miscellaneous Items

 

  A.

Ratification of Auditors

DWS’s policy is to vote “For”: (a) the Management recommended selection of auditors; and (b) proposals to require shareholder approval of auditors.

Rationale: Absent evidence that auditors have not performed their duties adequately, support for Management’s nomination is warranted.

 

  B.

Limitation of Non-Audit Services Provided by Independent Auditor

DWS’s policy is to support proposals limiting non-audit fees to 50% of the aggregate annual fees earned by the firm retained as a company’s independent auditor.

Rationale: In the wake of financial reporting problems and alleged audit failures at a number of companies, DWS supports the general principle that companies should retain separate firms for audit and consulting services to avoid potential conflicts of interest. However, given the protections afforded by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (which requires Audit Committee pre-approval for non-audit services and prohibits auditors from providing specific types of services), and the fact that some non-audit services are legitimate audit-related services, complete separation of audit and consulting fees may not be warranted. A reasonable limitation is appropriate to help ensure auditor independence and it is reasonable to expect that audit fees exceed non-audit fees.

 

A-24


  C.

Audit Firm Rotation

DWS’s policy is to vote against proposals seeking audit firm rotation, unless there are relevant audit-related issues.

Rationale: Because the Sarbanes-Oxley Act mandates that the lead audit partner be switched every five years, DWS believes that rotation of the actual audit firm would be costly and disruptive, unless DWS believes there are significant audit-related issues.

Where it deems necessary, on audit-related agenda items, DWS will also consider voting “Against”, taking into account the following additional factors:

 

  1.

The name of the audit firm is not disclosed.

 

  2.

No breakdown of audit/non-audit fees is provided.

 

  3.

Non-audit fees exceed standard audit and audit-related fees, unless ISS highlights a special justification such as IPOs, M&A or restructuring (this guideline applies only to companies on the country’s main index).

 

  4.

Auditors are changed without explanation.

 

  D.

Transaction of Other Business

DWS’s policy is to vote “Against” transaction of other business proposals.

Rationale: This is a routine item to allow shareholders to raise other issues and discuss them at the meeting. As the nature of these issues may not be disclosed prior to the meeting, we recommend a vote against these proposals. This protects shareholders voting by proxy (and not physically present at a meeting) from having action taken at the meeting that they did not receive proper notification of or sufficient opportunity to consider.

 

  E.

Motions to Adjourn the Meeting

DWS’s Policy is to vote “Against” proposals to adjourn the meeting.

Rationale: Management may seek authority to adjourn the meeting if a favorable outcome is not secured. Shareholders should already have had enough information to make a decision. Once votes have been cast, there is no justification for Management to continue spending time and money to press shareholders for support.

 

  F.

Bundled Proposals

DWS’s policy is to vote against bundled proposals if any bundled issue would require a vote against it if proposed individually.

Rationale: Shareholders should not be forced to “take the good with the bad” in cases where the proposals could reasonably have been submitted separately.

 

  G.

Change of Company Name

DWS’s policy is to support Management on proposals to change the company name.

Rationale: This is generally considered a business decision for a company.

 

A-25


  H.

Proposals Related to the Annual Meeting

DWS’s Policy is to vote “For” Management for proposals related to the conduct of the annual meeting (meeting time, place, etc.)

Rationale: These are considered routine administrative proposals.

 

  I.

Reimbursement of Expenses Incurred from Candidate Nomination

DWS’s policy is to follow Management’s recommended vote on shareholder proposals related to the amending of company bylaws to provide for the reimbursement of reasonable expenses incurred in connection with nominating one or more candidates in a contested election of Directors to the corporation’s Board of Directors.

Rationale: Corporations should not be liable for costs associated with shareholder proposals for Directors.

 

  J.

Investment Company Proxies

Proxies solicited by investment companies are voted in accordance with the recommendations of an independent third party, currently ISS. However, regarding investment companies for which DWS or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or principal underwriter, such proxies are voted in the same proportion as the vote of all other shareholders. Proxies solicited by master funds from feeder funds will be voted in accordance with applicable provisions of Section 12 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (“Investment Company Act”).

Investment companies, particularly closed-end investment companies, are different from traditional operating companies. These differences may call for differences in voting positions on the same matter. For example, DWS could vote “For” staggered Boards of closed-end investment companies, although DWS generally votes “Against” staggered Boards for operating companies. Further, the manner in which DWS votes investment company proxies may differ from proposals for which a DWS-advised investment company solicits proxies from its shareholders. As reflected in the Guidelines, proxies solicited by closed-end (and open-end) investment companies are voted in accordance with the pre-determined guidelines of an independent third-party.

Subject to participation agreements with certain Exchange Traded Funds (“ETF”) issuers that have received exemptive orders from the US Securities and Exchange Commission allowing investing DWS Funds to exceed the limits set forth in Section 12(d)(1)(A) and (B) of the Investment Company Act, DWS will echo vote proxies for ETFs in which Deutsche Bank holds more than 25% of outstanding voting shares globally when required to do so by participation agreements and SEC orders.

Note: With respect to the DWS Central Cash Management Government Fund (registered under the Investment Company Act), the Fund is not required to engage in echo voting and the investment adviser will use these Guidelines, and may determine, with respect to the DWS Central Cash Management Government Fund, to vote contrary to the positions in the Guidelines, consistent with the Fund’s best interest.

The above guidelines pertain to issuers organized in the United States and Canada. Proxies solicited by other issuers are voted in accordance with international guidelines or the recommendation of ISS and in accordance with applicable law and regulation.

 

IX.

International Proxy Voting Guidelines With Application For Holdings Incorporated Outside the United States and Canada

 

  A.

Election of Directors

Where it deems necessary, DWS will also take into account the following additional factors:

 

  Ø

A combined CEO/Chairman role without a lead Independent Director in place would trigger a vote “Against” the CEO/Chairman.

 

A-26


It is essential that the board have a lead independent director, who should have approval over information flow to the board, meeting agendas and meeting schedules to ensure a structure that provides an appropriate balance between the powers of the CEO and those of the independent directors.

 

  Ø

Attendance at Board meetings not disclosed on an individual basis in the annual report or on the company’s website and neither is the reported overall attendance above 90 %. An individual candidate has attended fewer than 75 % of the board and audit / risk committee meetings in a given year without a satisfactory explanation for his / her absence disclosed in a clear and comprehensible form in the relevant proxy filings. Satisfactory explanation will be understood as any health issues or family incidents. These would trigger a vote “Against” the election of the corresponding directors.

 

  Ø

DWS will vote with an “Against” if the election of a candidate results in a direct transition from executive (incl. the CEO) to non-executive directorship (i.e. without a cooling off of minimum two years). In especially warranted cases, executive directors with a long and proven track record can become non-executive directors if this change is in line with the national best practice for corporate governance.

 

  Ø

A former executive director who is nominated for a membership on the non-executive board when two or more former executive directors already serve on the same board would result in a vote “Against” the former executive, as the board cannot be regarded as independent anymore.

 

  Ø

Relevant committees in place and their majority independent. If the main committees are not majority independent, this could trigger a vote “Abstain” on the Chairman of the board and if the Chairman is not up for election, “Abstain” on the non-independent committee members.

 

  Ø

The management of Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) controversies around company will be analysed on a case-by-case basis based on relevant internationally recognized E, S or G principles (e.g. the UN Global Compact Principles and OECD Guidelines for Multinationals). Under extraordinary circumstances, DWS will vote against the election of directors or the entire board if there were material failures of governance, stewardship, risk oversight, or fiduciary responsibilities identified as a result of the controversies around the company.

 

  Ø

When the director election lengthens the term of office, DWS will consider voting “Against” this election.*

In the absence of an annual election, we are generally supportive of staggered boards as the perpetual renewal of an appropriate proportion of the board members secures an active succession planning. In cases where the annual (re-)election is established, DWS would oppose proposals that would lengthen the term of office (i.e. from annual election to terms of two/three years or more).

*Note – This guideline would not pertain to closed-end or open-end funds.

 

  B.

Remuneration (Variable Pay)

Executive remuneration for Management Board

Where it deems necessary, DWS will also take into account the following additional factors:

 

  Ø

Systems that entitle the company to recover any sums already paid (e.g. claw-back-system). Deviations are possible wherever the company provides a reasonable explanation why a claw-back was not implemented.

DWS’s policy is to vote “For” Management Board remuneration that is transparent and linked to results.

Rationale: Executive compensation should motivate Management and align the interests of Management with the shareholders. The focus should be on criteria that prevent excessive remuneration; but enable the company to hire and retain first-class professionals.

 

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Shareholder interests are normally best served when Management is remunerated to optimise long-term returns. Criteria should include suitable measurements like return on capital employed or economic value added.

Interests should generally also be correctly aligned when Management own shares in the company – even more so if these shares represent a substantial portion of their own wealth.

Its disclosure shall differentiate between fixed pay, variable (performance related) pay, and long-term incentives, including stock option plans with valuation ranges as well as pension and any other significant arrangements.

Executive remuneration for Supervisory Board

DWS’s policy is to vote “For” remuneration for Supervisory Board that is at least 50% in fixed form.

Rationale: It would normally be preferable if performance linked compensation were not based on dividend payments, but linked to suitable result based parameters. Consulting and procurement services should also be published in the company report.

 

  C.

Long-Term Incentive Plans

DWS’s policy is to vote “For” long-term incentive plans for members of a Management Board that reward for above average company performance.

Rationale: Incentive plans will normally be supported if they:

 

  1.

Directly align the interests of members of Management Boards with those of shareholders;

 

  2.

Establish challenging performance criteria to reward only above average performance;

 

  3.

Measure performance by total shareholder return in relation to the market or a range of comparable companies;

 

  4.

Are long-term in nature and encourage long-term ownership of the shares once exercised through minimum holding periods; and

 

  5.

Do not allow a repricing of the exercise price in stock option plans.

 

  D.

Proposals to Restrict Supervisory Board Members Service on Multiple Boards

DWS’s policy is to vote “For” proposals to restrict a Supervisory Board Member from serving on more than five Supervisory Boards.

Rationale: We consider a strong, independent, and knowledgeable Supervisory Board as important counter-balance to executive Management to ensure that the interests of shareholders are fully reflected by the company.

Full information should be disclosed in the annual reports and accounts to allow all shareholders to judge the success of the Supervisory Board controlling their company.

Supervisory Board Members must have sufficient time to ensure that shareholders’ interests are represented adequately.

Note: A Director’s service on multiple closed-end fund Boards within a fund complex are treated as service on a single Board for the purpose of the proxy voting guidelines.

 

  E.

Establishment of a Remuneration Committee

DWS’s policy is to vote “For” proposals that require the establishment of a Remuneration Committee.

 

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Rationale: Corporations should disclose in each annual report or proxy statement their policies on remuneration. Essential details regarding executive remuneration including share options, long-term incentive plans and bonuses, should be disclosed in the annual report, so that investors can judge whether corporate pay policies and practices meet the standard.

The Remuneration Committee shall not comprise any Board members and should be sensitive to the wider scene on executive pay. It should ensure that performance-based elements of executive pay are designed to align the interests of shareholders.

 

  F.

Management Board Election and Motion

DWS’s policy is to vote “Against”:

 

  1.

The election of Board members with positions on either Remuneration or Audit Committees;

 

  2.

The election of Supervisory Board members with too many Supervisory Board mandates; and

 

  3.

“Automatic” election of former Board members into the Supervisory Board.

Rationale: Management as an entity, and each of its members, are responsible for all actions of the company, and are – subject to applicable laws and regulations – accountable to the shareholders as a whole for their actions.

Sufficient information should be disclosed in the annual company report and account to allow shareholders to judge the success of the company.

 

  G.

Large Block Issuance

For the UK market the following applies:

Generally vote for a resolution to authorise the issuance of equity, unless:

 

  Ø

The issuance authority exceeds 33 percent of the issued share capital. Assuming it is no more than 33 percent, a further 33 percent of the issued share capital may also be applied to a fully pre-emptive rights issue taking the acceptable aggregate authority to 66 percent

Where it deems necessary, DWS will also consider voting “Against”, taking into account the following additional factors:

 

  Ø

The combined equity issuance of all equity instruments with pre-emptive rights exceeds 50 percent of the outstanding share capital or the prevailing maximum threshold as stipulated by best practice rules for corporate governance in the respective country. Exceeding either of the two thresholds will be judged on a CASE-BY- CASE basis, provided that the subscription rights are actively tradable in the market.

 

  Ø

The cumulative equity issuances without subscription rights (historical and across instruments) exceed the maximum level specified in a respective country’s best practices for corporate governance or 30 percent% of the company’s nominal capital.

 

  H.

Share Repurchases

Where it deems necessary, DWS will also analyse on a CASE-BY-CASE basis, if the maximum offer/price premium exceeds 10 percent and if the share repurchase program exceeds a maximum of 10 percent of issued share capital.

 

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Rationale: Buybacks are generally considered beneficial to shareholders because they tend to increase returns to the remaining shareholders. However, if the maximum offer premium exceeds 10 percent and the program itself exceeds 10 percent of issued capital, this could indicate potential risks for the shareholders in the longer term.

 

  I.

Use of Net Profits

Where it deems necessary, DWS will also consider voting “Against”, taking into account the following factors:

 

  1.

The dividend payout ratio has been below 20% for two consecutive years despite a limited availability of profitable growth opportunities, and management has not given/provided adequate reasons for this decision.

 

  2.

The payout ratio exceeds 100 % of the distributable profits without appropriate reason (the company pays a dividend which affects its book value).

 

  J.

Amendments of the Articles

Where it deems necessary, DWS will consider to generally to vote “Against” if the vote is an article amendment that would lengthen the term of office for directors over 3 years.

 

  K.

Related Party Transactions

DWS will analyse related party transactions on a CASE-BY-CASE basis and will additionally consider ISS recommendations.

 

  L.

Auditor

Where it deems necessary, on audit-related agenda items, DWS will also consider voting “Against”, taking into account the following additional factors:

 

  1.

The name of the audit firm is not disclosed.

 

  2.

No breakdown of audit/non-audit fees is provided.

 

  3.

Non-audit fees exceed standard audit and audit-related- fees, unless ISS highlights a special justification such as IPOs, M&A or restructuring (this guideline applies only to companies on the country`s main index).

 

  4.

Auditors are changed without explanation.

 

  5.

The same lead audit partner has been appointed for more than five years.

 

  6.

Consequently, when the company does not publish the name of its lead auditor and the duration for which she / he has been previously appointed. (Markets in which the regulatory requirement for lead partner rotation is maximum five years are exempt from this guideline).

 

X.

Proxy Voting Guidelines With Application For Holdings Incorporated In Japan

With reference to our policy on board composition in Japan, we expect companies, which define the role of the board to have a supervisory function instead of an executive function, to have at least two outside directors and strongly encourage them to ensure that at least 1/3 of the members in their boards are considered independent.

 

A-30


With reference to our policy of defining independence, outlined earlier in this document, in Japan as significant shareholders we will consider those who are in the top ten shareholders, even if their holding represents a share of less than 10%, mainly due to the market practice in Japan for business partners to own a certain percentage of each other’s shares as cross shareholders. With reference to our policy on the separation of the CEO and chairman roles and responsibilities, we strongly encourage our Japanese investees to disclose the member, who chairs the board as well as the member, who is considered to chair the company, the so called “Kaicho”, if these roles are separated. We also expect and foster our investees in Japan to establish the relevant formal committees- nomination, remuneration and audit.

Rationale: We acknowledge what has been achieved in the last couple of years in the corporate governance developments in Japan and support the progress, which has been made in that regard, in particular with the introduction of the Corporate Governance and Stewardship codes. We aspire to be in a constructive dialogue with our investees and to act as their steering partner to drive further developments in the corporate governance area. However, we foster our investees in Japan to strive to have more independent boards generally, as we believe board independence is crucial for the further development of corporate governance in Japan.

 

A-31


DBX ETF TRUST (THE “REGISTRANT”)

PART C – OTHER INFORMATION

Item 28. Exhibits.

 

(a)(1)  

Certificate of Trust of DBX ETF Trust (the “Registrant” or the “Trust”) dated October 7, 2010, incorporated by reference to the Trust’s Registration Statement, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on October 25, 2010.

(a)(2)  

Agreement and Declaration of Trust, incorporated by reference to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the Trust’s Registration Statement, filed with the SEC on February 9, 2011.

(b)  

Bylaws of the Trust, dated October 7, 2010, as amended February 25, 2016 and November 14, 2017, incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 397, filed with the SEC on December 21, 2017.

(c)  

Not applicable.

(d)(1)  

Investment Advisory Agreement between the Trust and DBX Advisors LLC, incorporated by reference to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 2, filed with the SEC on May 11, 2011.

(d)(2)  

Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement between DBX Advisors LLC and TDAM USA Inc., incorporated by reference to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 2, filed with the SEC on May 11, 2011.

(d)(3)  

Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement between DBX Advisors LLC and Deutsche Investment Management Americas Inc., incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 12, filed with the SEC on May 21, 2013.

(d)(4)  

Form of Investment Advisory Agreement, dated August 15, 2013 between the Trust and DBX Advisors LLC, incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 23, filed with the SEC on August 29, 2013.

(d)(5)  

Form of Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated August 15, 2013 between DBX Advisors, LLC and Harvest Global Investments Limited, incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 23, filed with the SEC on August 29, 2013.

(d)(6)  

Form of Amended Schedules A and B, dated July 25, 2013 to the Investment Advisory Agreement, dated January 31, 2011 between the Trust and DBX Advisors LLC, incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 29, filed with the SEC on September 30, 2013.

(d)(7)  

Form of Amended Schedules A and B, dated November 18, 2013 to the Investment Advisory Agreement, dated January 31, 2011 between the Trust and DBX Advisors LLC, incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 46, filed with the SEC on January 3, 2014.

 

1


(d)(8)  

Form of Amended Sub-Advisory Agreement dated August 15, 2013, as amended March 28, 2014, between DBX Advisors, LLC and Harvest Global Investments Limited, incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 79, filed with the SEC on April 7, 2014.

(d)(9)  

Form of Amended Schedules A and B, dated November 3, 2014 to the Investment Advisory Agreement, dated January 31, 2011 between the Trust and DBX Advisors LLC, incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 151, filed with the SEC on November 12, 2014.

(d)(10)  

Form of Amended Schedules A and B, dated February 19, 2015 to the Investment Advisory Agreement, dated January 31, 2011 between the Trust and DBX Advisors LLC, incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 203, filed with the SEC on March 13, 2015.

(d)(11)  

Form of Amended Schedule A, dated May 21, 2015 to the Investment Advisory Agreement, dated January 31, 2011 between the Trust and DBX Advisors LLC, incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 267, filed with the SEC on July 17, 2015.

(d)(12)  

Form of Amended Schedule A, dated July 23, 2015 to the Investment Advisory Agreement, dated January 31, 2011 between the Trust and DBX Advisors LLC, incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 279, filed with the SEC on July 31, 2015.

 

2


(d)(13)  

Form of Amended Schedule A, dated November 4, 2015 to the Investment Advisory Agreement, dated January 31, 2011 between the Trust and DBX Advisors LLC, incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 315, filed with the SEC on November 6, 2015.

(d)(14)  

Form of Amended Schedule A, dated May 18, 2016 to the Investment Advisory Agreement, dated January 31, 2011 between the Trust and DBX Advisors LLC, incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 347, filed with the SEC on May 20, 2016.

(d)(15)  

Form of Investment Advisory Agreement, dated January 31, 2011, as amended September 21, 2016, between the Trust and DBX Advisors LLC, incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 367, filed with the SEC on September 23, 2016.

(d)(16)  

Form of Amended Schedule A, dated July 25, 2017 to the Investment Advisory Agreement, dated January 31, 2011 between the Trust and DBX Advisors LLC, incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 381, filed with the SEC on August 16, 2017.

(d)(17)  

Form of Investment Advisory Agreement, dated January 31, 2011, as amended May 24, 2017, between the Trust and DBX Advisors LLC, incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 386, filed with the SEC on September 27, 2017.

(d)(18)  

Form of Amended Schedule A, dated November 14, 2017 to the Investment Advisory Agreement, dated January 31, 2011 between the Trust and DBX Advisors LLC, incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 397, filed with the SEC on December 21, 2017.

(d)(19)  

Form of Amended Schedule A, dated February 13, 2018 to the Investment Advisory Agreement, dated January 31, 2011 between the Trust and DBX Advisors LLC, incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 405, filed with the SEC on February 13, 2018.

(d)(20)  

Form of Amended Schedule A, dated May 16, 2018 to the Investment Advisory Agreement, dated January 31, 2011 between the Trust and DBX Advisors LLC, incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 419, filed with the SEC on May 31, 2018.

(d)(21)  

Form of Amended Schedule A, dated July 17, 2018 to the Investment Advisory Agreement, dated January 31, 2011 between the Trust and DBX Advisors LLC, incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 426, filed with the SEC on August 8, 2018.

(d)(22)  

Form of Amended Schedule A, dated February 12, 2019 to the Investment Advisory Agreement, dated January 31, 2011 between the Trust and DBX Advisors LLC, filed herewith.

(e)(1)  

Distribution Agreement between the Registrant and ALPS Distributors, Inc. dated November 1, 2011, incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 2, filed with the SEC on September 28, 2012.

(e)(2)  

Form of Amendment No. 3, dated August 15, 2013 to the Distribution Agreement dated November 1, 2011 between the Registrant and ALPS Distributors, Inc., incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 23, filed with the SEC on August 29, 2013.

(e)(3)  

Form of Revised Distribution Agreement between the Registrant and ALPS Distributors, Inc., incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 131, filed with the SEC on September 26, 2014.

(e)(4)  

Amendment No. 15, dated September 21, 2016, to the Distribution Agreement between the Registrant and ALPS Distributors, Inc., incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 376, filed with the SEC on December 21, 2016.

(e)(5)  

Form of Amendment No. 17, dated July 25, 2017, to the Distribution Agreement between the Registrant and ALPS Distributors, Inc., incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 386, filed with the SEC on September 27, 2017.

(e)(6)  

Form of Amendment No. 18, dated November 14, 2017, to the Distribution Agreement between the Registrant and ALPS Distributors, Inc., incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 397, filed with the SEC on December 21, 2017.

(e)(7)  

Distribution Agreement between the Registrant and ALPS Distributors, Inc., dated April 16, 2018, incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 430, filed with the SEC on September 25, 2018.

(e)(8)  

Amendment No. 1, dated June 22, 2018, to the Distribution Agreement between the Registrant and ALPS Distributors, Inc., incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 430, filed with the SEC on September 25, 2018.

(e)(9)  

Amendment No. 2, dated July 17, 2018, to the Distribution Agreement between the Registrant and ALPS Distributors, Inc., incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 440, filed with the SEC on December 21, 2018.

(e)(10)  

Form of Amendment No. 3, dated February 12, 2019, to the Distribution Agreement between the Registrant and ALPS Distributors, Inc., filed herewith.

(f)  

Not applicable.

(g)(1)  

Custody Agreement between the Registrant and The Bank of New York Mellon, incorporated by reference to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 2, filed with the SEC on May 11, 2011.

(g)(2)  

Foreign Custody Manager Agreement between the Registrant and The Bank of New York Mellon, incorporated by reference to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 2, filed with the SEC on May 11, 2011.

(g)(3)  

Foreign Custody Manager Agreement, dated January 31, 2011 between the Registrant and The Bank of New York Mellon, incorporated by reference to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 2, as filed with the SEC on May 11, 2011.

 

3


(g)(4)  

Form of Annex I, as revised August 15, 2013, to the Foreign Custody Agreement, dated January 31, 2011 between the Registrant and The Bank of New York Mellon, incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 23, filed with the SEC on August 29, 2013.

(h)(1)  

Fund Administration and Accounting Agreement between the Registrant and The Bank of New York Mellon, incorporated by reference to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 2, filed with the SEC on May 11, 2011.

(h)(2)  

Transfer Agency and Service Agreement between the Registrant and The Bank of New York Mellon, incorporated by reference to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 2, filed with the SEC on May 11, 2011.

(h)(3)  

Form of Participation Agreement, incorporated by reference to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 2, filed with the SEC on May 11, 2011.

(h)(4)  

Form of Sublicense Agreement between the Registrant and DBX Advisors LLC, incorporated by reference to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 2, filed with the SEC on May 11, 2011.

(h)(5)  

Expense Limitation Agreement, incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 2, filed with the SEC on September 28, 2012.

(h)(6)  

Expense Limitation Agreement, effective as of September 28, 2012, incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 2, filed with the SEC on September 28, 2012.

(h)(7)  

Expense Limitation Agreement (with respect to Deutsche X-trackers CSI 300 China A-Shares Hedged Equity ETF and Deutsche X-trackers JPX-Nikkei 400 Hedged Equity ETF), effective as of July 23, 2015, incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 296, filed with the SEC on September 4, 2015.

(h)(8)  

Expense Limitation Agreement (with respect to Deutsche X-trackers MSCI All China Equity ETF), effective as of July 23, 2015, incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 306, filed with the SEC on September 28, 2015.

(h)(9)  

Expense Limitation Agreement (with respect to Xtrackers USD High Yield Corporate Bond – Interest Rate Hedged ETF), effective as of November 14, 2017, incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 430, filed with the SEC on September 25, 2018.

(h)(10)  

Form of Credit Agreement by and among DBX ETF Trust, The Bank of New York Mellon, The Bank of Nova Scotia, HSBC Bank USA and State Street Corporation, incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 419, filed with the SEC on May 31, 2018.

(h)(11)  

Expense Limitation Agreement, effective as of November 14, 2018, incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 443, filed with the SEC on January 25, 2019.

(i)(1)  

Opinion of Dechert LLP, incorporated by reference to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 2, filed on May 11, 2011.

(i)(2)  

Opinion and Consent of Counsel, Dechert LLP, filed herewith.

(i)(3)  

Opinion of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, relating to shares of the Deutsche X-trackers Harvest CSI 300 China A-Shares ETF (formerly, db X-trackers Harvest China Fund), incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 23, filed with the SEC on August 29, 2013.

(i)(4)  

Opinion of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, relating to shares of the Deutsche X-trackers Harvest CSI 500 China A-Shares Small Cap ETF (formerly, db X-trackers Harvest China A-Shares Small Cap Fund), incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 79, filed with the SEC on April 7, 2014.

 

4


(i)(5)  

Opinion of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, relating to shares of the Deutsche X-trackers MSCI All China Equity ETF (formerly, db X-trackers Harvest MSCI All-China Equity Fund), incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 82, filed with the SEC on April 22, 2014.

(j)  

Not applicable.

(k)  

Not applicable.

(l)  

Initial Share Purchase Agreement between Registrant and DBX Advisors LLC, incorporated by reference to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 2, filed with the SEC on May 11, 2011.

(m)  

Not applicable.

(n)  

Not applicable.

(o)  

Not applicable.

(p)(1)  

Code of Ethics of the Registrant, incorporated by reference to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 2, filed with the SEC on May 11, 2011.

(p)(2)  

Code of Ethics of DBX Advisors LLC, incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 2, filed with the SEC on September 28, 2012.

(p)(3)  

Code of Ethics of Harvest Global Investments Limited, incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 23, filed with the SEC on August 29, 2013.

(q)(1)  

Powers of Attorney of Trustees of the Registrant, incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 2, filed with the SEC on September 28, 2012.

(q)(2)  

Powers of Attorney of Independent Trustees of the Registrant, incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 376, filed with the SEC on December 21, 2016.

Item 29. Persons controlled by or Under Common Control with the Fund.

Not applicable.

Item 30. Indemnification.

(a) Pursuant to Article IX of the Registrant’s Agreement and Declaration of Trust, the Trust has agreed that no person who is or has been a Trustee, officer, or employee of the Trust shall be subject to any personal liability whatsoever to any person, other than the Trust or its Shareholders, in connection with the affairs of the Trust; and all persons shall look solely to the Trust property or property of a Series for satisfaction of claims of any nature arising in connection with the affairs of the Trust or such Series.

Every note, bond, contract, instrument, certificate, Share or undertaking and every other act or thing whatsoever executed or done by or on behalf of the Trust or the Trustees or any of them in connection with the Trust shall be conclusively deemed to have been executed or done only in or with respect to their or his capacity as Trustees or Trustee and neither such Trustees or Trustee nor the Shareholders shall be personally liable thereon.

All Persons extending credit to, contracting with or having any claim against the Trust or a Series shall look only to the assets of the Trust property or the Trust property of such Series for payment under such credit, contract or claim; and neither the Trustees, nor any of the Trust’s officers, employees or agents, whether past, present or future, shall be personally liable therefor.

 

 

5


No person who is or has been a Trustee, officer or employee of the Trust shall be liable to the Trust or to any Shareholder for any action or failure to act except for his or her own bad faith, willful misfeasance, gross negligence or reckless disregard of his or her duties involved in the conduct of the individual’s office, and for nothing else, and shall not be liable for errors of judgment or mistakes of fact or law.

Without limiting the foregoing limitations of liability, a Trustee shall not be responsible for or liable in any event for any neglect or wrongdoing of any officer, employee, investment adviser, sub-adviser, principal underwriter, custodian or other agent of the Trust, nor shall any Trustee be responsible or liable for the act or omission of any other Trustee (or for the failure to compel in any way any former or acting Trustee to redress any breach of trust), except in the case of such Trustee’s own willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of his or her office.

(b) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, the Registrant has been informed that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is therefore unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in connection with the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding or payment pursuant to any insurance policy) is asserted against the Registrant by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act of 1933 and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

Item 31. Business and Other Connections of Investment Manager.

With respect to each of DBX Advisors LLC and Deutsche Investment Management Americas Inc. (collectively, the “Advisers”), the response to this Item will be incorporated by reference to the Advisers’ Uniform Applications for Investment Adviser Registration (“Form ADV”) on file with the SEC. Each Adviser’s Form ADV may be obtained, free of charge, at the SEC’s website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov.

Item 32. Principal Underwriters.

(a) ALPS Distributors, Inc. acts as the distributor for the Registrant and the following investment companies: 1290 Funds, Aberdeen Standard Investments ETFs, Acacia Trust, ALPS Series Trust, The Arbitrage Funds, AQR Funds, Barings Funds Trust, BBH Trust, Brandes Investment Trust, Broadstone Real Estate Access Fund, Broadview Funds Trust, Brown Capital Management Mutual Funds, Centre Funds, CION Ares Diversified Credit Fund, Columbia ETF Trust, Columbia ETF Trust I, Columbia ETF Trust II, Cortina Funds, Inc., CRM Mutual Fund Trust, CSOP ETF Trust, Cullen Funds Trust, DBX ETF Trust, Flat Rock Opportunity Fund, Financial Investors Trust, Firsthand Funds, FS Credit Income Fund, FS Energy Total Return Fund, FS Series Trust, Goehring & Rozencwajg Investment Funds, Goldman Sachs ETF Trust, Griffin Institutional Access Credit Fund, Griffin Institutional Access Real Estate Fund, Hartford Funds Exchange-Traded Trust, Hartford Funds NextShares Trust, Harvest Volatility Edge Trust, Heartland Group, Inc., Henssler Funds, Inc., Holland Series Fund, Inc., Index Funds, IndexIQ Active ETF Trust, Index IQ ETF Trust, IVY NextShares Trust, James Advantage Funds, Janus Detroit Street Trust, Lattice Strategies Trust, Litman Gregory Funds Trust, Longleaf Partners Funds Trust, M3Sixty Funds Trust, Mairs & Power Funds Trust, Meridian Fund, Inc., Natixis ETF Trust, Northern Lights Fund Trust (on behalf of the 13D Activist Fund), NorthStar Real Estate Capital Income Fund, NorthStar Real Estate Capital Income Fund-ADV, NorthStar Real Estate Capital Income Fund-C, NorthStar Real Estate Capital Income Fund-T, NorthStar/Townsend Institutional Real Estate Fund, Pax World Series Trust I, Pax World Funds Trust III, Principal Exchange-Traded Funds, Reality Shares ETF Trust, Resource Credit Income Fund, Resource Real Estate Diversified Income Fund, RiverNorth Funds, Segall Bryant & Hamill Trust, Sierra Total Return Fund, Smead Funds Trust, SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust, SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, SPDR S&P MidCap 400 ETF Trust, Stadion Investment Trust, Stone Harbor Investment Funds, Stone Ridge Trust, Stone Ridge Trust II, Stone Ridge Trust III, Stone Ridge Trust IV, Stone Ridge Trust V, Total Income + Real Estate Fund, USCF ETF Trust, USCF Mutual Funds Trust, Wasatch Funds, WesMark Funds, and Wilmington Funds.

 

6


(b) To the best of Registrant’s knowledge, the directors and executive officers of ALPS Distributors, Inc., are as follows:

 

     
Name*    Position with Underwriter    Positions with Fund
     

Edmund J. Burke

   Director    None
     

Jeremy O. May

   President, Director    None
     

Bradley J. Swenson

   Senior Vice President, Chief Operating Officer    None
     

Robert J. Szydlowski

   Senior Vice President, Chief Technology Officer    None
     

Eric T. Parsons

   Vice President, Controller and Assistant Treasurer    None
     

Joseph J. Frank**

   Secretary    None
     

Patrick J. Pedonti **

   Vice President, Treasurer and Assistant Secretary    None
     

Douglas W. Fleming**

   Assistant Treasurer    None
     

Richard C. Noyes

   Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Assistant Secretary    None
     

Steven Price

   Senior Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer    None
     

Liza Orr

   Vice President, Senior Counsel    None
     

Jed Stahl

   Vice President, Senior Counsel    None
     

Josh Eihausen

   Vice President, Associate Senior Counsel    None
     

James Stegall

   Vice President    None
     

Gary Ross

   Senior Vice President    None
     

Kevin Ireland

   Senior Vice President    None
     

Mark Kiniry

   Senior Vice President    None
     

Tison Cory

   Vice President, Intermediary Operations    None
     

Stephen J. Kyllo

   Vice President, Deputy Chief Compliance Officer    None
     

Hilary Quinn

   Vice President    None
     

Jennifer Craig

   Assistant Vice President    None

* Except as otherwise noted, the principal business address for each of the above directors and executive officers is 1290 Broadway, Suite 1100, Denver, Colorado 80203.

** The principal business address for Messrs. Pedonti, Frank and Fleming is 333 W. 11th Street, 5th Floor, Kansas City, Missouri 64105.

Item 33. Location of Accounts and Records.

(a) The Registrant maintains accounts, books and other documents required by Section 31(a) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules thereunder (collectively, “Records”) at its offices at 345 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10154.

(b) DBX Advisors LLC maintains all Records relating to its services as investment adviser to the Registrant at 345 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10154.

(c) Harvest Global Investments Limited maintains all Records relating to its services as sub-adviser to the Registrant at 31/F, One Exchange Square, 8 Connaught Place, Central, Hong Kong.

 

 

7


(d) ALPS Distributors, Inc. maintains all Records relating to its services as Distributor of the Registrant at 1290 Broadway, Suite 1100, Denver, Colorado 80203.

(e) The Bank of New York Mellon maintains all Records relating to its services as administrator, transfer agent and custodian of the Registrant at 240 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10286. In addition, BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. maintains all Records relating to its function as regulatory administrator of the Registrant at 201 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02108.

Item 34. Management Services.

There are no management related service contracts not discussed in Part A or Part B.

Item 35. Undertakings.

None.

 

8


SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Registrant certifies that it meets all of the requirements for effectiveness of this Registration Statement pursuant to Rule 485(b) under the Securities Act of 1933 and has duly caused this amendment to its Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereto duly authorized, in the City of New York and the State of New York on the 10th day of April, 2019.

 

DBX ETF TRUST

 

By:

 

/s/ Freddi Klassen

 

Freddi Klassen

 

President and Chief Executive Officer

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Post-Effective Amendment to its Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated:

 

SIGNATURE       TITLE   DATE          

/s/ Stephen R. Byers*

     
Stephen R. Byers     Trustee and Chairman  

April 10, 2019

/s/ George O. Elston*

     
George O. Elston     Trustee  

April 10, 2019

/s/ Michael Gilligan

     
Michael Gilligan     Trustee, Treasurer, Chief Financial Officer and Controller  

April 10, 2019

/s/ Freddi Klassen

     
Freddi Klassen     President and Chief Executive Officer   April 10, 2019

/s/ J. David Officer*

     
J. David Officer     Trustee  

April 10, 2019

*By: /s/ Freddi Klassen

     

April 10, 2019

         Freddi Klassen (attorney-in-fact)**      

 

**

Attorney-in-fact pursuant to the powers of attorney that are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 376, as filed on December 21, 2016 to the Registration Statement.


EXHIBIT INDEX

 

  Ex. Number  

  

Description

EX 99.D22    Form of Amended Schedule A, dated February 12, 2019 to the Investment Advisory Agreement.
EX 99.E10    Form of Amendment No. 3, dated February 12, 2019, to the Distribution Agreement between the Registrant and ALPS Distributors, Inc.
EX 99.I2    Opinion and Consent of Counsel, Dechert LLP.