XML 28 R99.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v3.20.1
Label Element Value
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Registrant Name dei_EntityRegistrantName DEUTSCHE DWS VARIABLE SERIES II
Prospectus Date rr_ProspectusDate May 01, 2020
Class B | DWS High Income VIP  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk/Return [Heading] rr_RiskReturnHeading DWS High Income VIP
Objective [Heading] rr_ObjectiveHeading Investment Objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block] rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock

The fund seeks to provide a high level of current income.
Expense [Heading] rr_ExpenseHeading Fees and Expenses
Expense Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund. This information does not reflect fees associated with the separate account that invests in the fund or any variable life insurance policy or variable annuity contract for which the fund is an investment option. These fees will increase expenses.
Shareholder Fees Caption [Text] rr_ShareholderFeesCaption SHAREHOLDER FEES (paid directly from your investment)
Operating Expenses Caption [Text] rr_OperatingExpensesCaption ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES (expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination April 30, 2021
Portfolio Turnover [Heading] rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading PORTFOLIO TURNOVER
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block] rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the expense example, and can affect the fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the fund's portfolio turnover rate was 82% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate 82.00%
Expense Footnotes [Text Block] rr_ExpenseFootnotesTextBlock

The Advisor has contractually agreed through April 30, 2021 to waive its fees and/or reimburse certain operating expenses of the fund to the extent necessary to maintain the fund's total annual operating expenses (excluding certain expenses such as extraordinary expenses, taxes, brokerage and interest expenses and acquired funds fees and expenses) at a ratio no higher than 1.10% for Class B shares. The agreement may only be terminated with the consent of the fund's Board.
Expense Example [Heading] rr_ExpenseExampleHeading EXAMPLE
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock

This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the fund's operating expenses (including one year of capped expenses in each period) remain the same. This example does not reflect any fees or sales charges imposed by a variable contract for which the fund is an investment option. If they were included, your costs would be higher.

Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
Strategy [Heading] rr_StrategyHeading Principal Investment Strategies
Strategy Narrative [Text Block] rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock

Main investments. Under normal circumstances, the fund generally invests at least 65% of net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in junk bonds, which are those rated below the fourth highest credit rating category (that is, grade BB/Ba and below) or, if unrated, determined by the Advisor to be of similar quality. Compared to investment-grade debt securities, junk bonds generally pay higher yields, have higher volatility and higher risk of default on payments of interest and principal. The fund may invest up to 50% of total assets in bonds denominated in US dollars or foreign currencies from foreign issuers, including issuers in emerging markets. The fund invests in securities of varying maturities and intends to maintain a dollar-weighted effective average portfolio maturity that will not exceed ten years. Subject to its portfolio maturity policy, the fund may purchase individual securities with any stated maturity. Because the fund may invest in fixed income securities of varying maturities, the fund's dollar-weighted average effective portfolio maturity will vary. As of December 31, 2019, the fund had a dollar-weighted average effective portfolio maturity of 3.63 years.

Management process. Portfolio management focuses on cash flow and total return analysis, and broad diversification among countries, sectors, industries and individual issuers and maturities. Portfolio management uses an active process that emphasizes relative value in a global environment, managing on a total return basis, and using intensive research to identify stable to improving credit situations that may provide yield compensation for the risk of investing in junk bonds.

The investment process involves a bottom-up approach, where relative value and fundamental analysis are used to select the best securities within each industry, and a top-down approach to assess the overall risk and return in the market and which considers macro trends in the economy. To select securities or investments, portfolio management:

  • analyzes economic conditions for improving or undervalued sectors and industries;
  • uses independent credit research to evaluate individual issuers' debt service, growth rate, and both downgrade and upgrade potential;
  • assesses new offerings versus secondary market opportunities; and
  • seeks issuers within attractive industry sectors and with strong long-term fundamentals and improving credits.

Portfolio management may consider information about Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues in its fundamental research process and when making investment decisions.

Derivatives. Portfolio management generally may use credit default swaps, which are a type of derivative (a contract whose value is based on, for example, indices, currencies or securities) to seek to increase the fund's income, to gain exposure to a bond issuer's credit quality characteristics without directly investing in the bond, or to hedge the risk of default on bonds held in the fund's portfolio. In addition, portfolio management generally may use forward currency contracts to hedge exposure to changes in foreign currency exchange rates on foreign currency denominated portfolio holdings or to facilitate transactions in foreign currency denominated securities.

The fund may also use other types of derivatives (i) for hedging purposes; (ii) for risk management; (iii) for non-hedging purposes to seek to enhance potential gains; or (iv) as a substitute for direct investment in a particular asset class or to keep cash on hand to meet shareholder redemptions.

Securities lending. The fund may lend securities (up to one-third of total assets) to approved institutions, such as registered broker-dealers, banks and pooled investment vehicles.

Risk [Heading] rr_RiskHeading Main Risks
Risk Narrative [Text Block] rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock

There are several risk factors that could hurt the fund's performance, cause you to lose money or cause the fund's performance to trail that of other investments. The fund may not achieve its investment objective, and is not intended to be a complete investment program. An investment in the fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency.

Market risk. The market value of the securities in which the fund invests may be impacted by the prospects of individual issuers, particular sectors or governments and/or general economic conditions throughout the world due to increasingly interconnected global economies and financial markets.

Market disruption risk. Geopolitical and other events, including war, terrorism, economic uncertainty, trade disputes, public health crises and related geopolitical events have led, and in the future may lead, to disruptions in the US and world economies and markets, which may increase financial market volatility and have significant adverse direct or indirect effects on the fund and its investments. Market disruptions could cause the fund to lose money, experience significant redemptions, and encounter operational difficulties. Although multiple asset classes may be affected by a market disruption, the duration and effects may not be the same for all types of assets.

Recent market disruption events include the pandemic spread of the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19, and the significant uncertainty, market volatility, decreased economic and other activity and increased government activity that it has caused. Specifically, COVID-19 has led to significant death and morbidity, and concerns about its further spread have resulted in the closing of schools and non-essential businesses, cancellations, shelter-in-place orders, lower consumer spending in certain sectors, social distancing, bans on large social gatherings and travel, quarantines, government economic stimulus measures, reduced productivity, rapid increases in unemployment, increased demand for and strain on government and medical resources, border closings and global trade and supply chain interruptions, among others. The full effects, duration and costs of the COVID-19 pandemic are impossible to predict, and the circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to evolve. The pandemic may affect certain countries, industries, economic sectors, companies and investment products more than others, may exacerbate existing economic, political, or social tensions and may increase the probability of an economic recession or depression. The fund and its investments may be adversely affected by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and a prolonged pandemic may result in the fund and its service providers experiencing operational difficulties in coordinating a remote workforce and implementing their business continuity plans, among others.

Credit risk. The fund's performance could be hurt if an issuer of a debt security suffers an adverse change in financial condition that results in the issuer not making timely payments of interest or principal, a security downgrade or an inability to meet a financial obligation. Credit risk is greater for lower-rated securities.

Because the issuers of high yield debt securities, or junk bonds (debt securities rated below the fourth highest credit rating category), may be in uncertain financial health, the prices of their debt securities can be more vulnerable to bad economic news, or even the expectation of bad news, than investment-grade debt securities. Credit risk for high yield securities is greater than for higher-rated securities.

Because securities in default generally have missed one or more payments of interest and/or principal, an investment in such securities has an increased risk of loss. Issuers of securities in default have an increased likelihood of entering bankruptcy or beginning liquidation procedures which could impact the fund's ability to recoup its investment. Securities in default may be illiquid or trade in low volumes and thus may be difficult to value.

High yield debt securities risk. High yield debt securities, or junk bonds, are generally regarded as speculative with respect to the issuer's continuing ability to meet principal and interest payments. High yield debt securities' total return and yield may generally be expected to fluctuate more than the total return and yield of investment-grade debt securities. A real or perceived economic downturn or an increase in market interest rates could cause a decline in the value of high yield debt securities, result in increased redemptions and/or result in increased portfolio turnover, which could result in a decline in net asset value of the fund, reduce liquidity for certain investments and/or increase costs. High yield debt securities are often thinly traded and can be more difficult to sell and value accurately than investment-grade debt securities as there may be no established secondary market. Investments in high yield debt securities could increase liquidity risk for the fund. In addition, the market for high yield debt securities can experience sudden and sharp volatility which is generally associated more with investments in stocks.

Interest rate risk. When interest rates rise, prices of debt securities generally decline. The longer the duration of the fund's debt securities, the more sensitive the fund will be to interest rate changes. (As a general rule, a 1% rise in interest rates means a 1% fall in value for every year of duration.) Recent and potential future changes in monetary policy made by central banks or governments are likely to affect the level of interest rates. Rising interest rates may prompt redemptions from the fund, which may force the fund to sell investments at a time when it is not advantageous to do so, which could result in losses. The fund may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates due to the current period of historically low rates.

Prepayment and extension risk. When interest rates fall, issuers of high interest debt obligations may pay off the debts earlier than expected (prepayment risk), and the fund may have to reinvest the proceeds at lower yields. When interest rates rise, issuers of lower interest debt obligations may pay off the debts later than expected (extension risk), thus keeping the fund's assets tied up in lower interest debt obligations. Ultimately, any unexpected behavior in interest rates could increase the volatility of the fund's share price and yield and could hurt fund performance.

Foreign investment risk. The fund faces the risks inherent in foreign investing. Adverse political, economic or social developments, as well as US and foreign government actions such as the imposition of tariffs, economic and trade sanctions or embargoes, could undermine the value of the fund's investments, prevent the fund from realizing the full value of its investments or prevent the fund from selling securities it holds. In June 2016, citizens of the United Kingdom approved a referendum to leave the European Union (EU) and in March 2017, the United Kingdom initiated the formal process of withdrawing from the EU. On January 31, 2020, the United Kingdom officially withdrew from the EU pursuant to a withdrawal agreement, providing for a transition period, initially through December 31, 2020, in which the United Kingdom will seek to negotiate and finalize a trade deal with the EU, but that may be extended for up to two years. During this transition period, the United Kingdom will effectively remain in the EU from an economic perspective but will no longer have any political representation on the EU parliament. Significant uncertainty exists regarding the outcome of these negotiations and any adverse economic and political effects it may have on the United Kingdom, other EU countries and the global economy.

Financial reporting standards for companies based in foreign markets differ from those in the US. Additionally, foreign securities markets generally are smaller and less liquid than US markets. To the extent that the fund invests in non-US dollar denominated foreign securities, changes in currency exchange rates may affect the US dollar value of foreign securities or the income or gain received on these securities.

Emerging markets risk. Foreign investment risks are greater in emerging markets than in developed markets. Investments in emerging markets are often considered speculative.

Security selection risk. The securities in the fund's portfolio may decline in value. Portfolio management could be wrong in its analysis of industries, companies, economic trends, the relative attractiveness of different securities or other matters.

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

Derivatives risk. Risks associated with derivatives may include the risk that the derivative is not well correlated with the security, index or currency to which it relates; the risk that derivatives may result in losses or missed opportunities; the risk that the fund will be unable to sell the derivative because of an illiquid secondary market; the risk that a counterparty is unwilling or unable to meet its obligation; and the risk that the derivative transaction could expose the fund to the effects of leverage, which could increase the fund's exposure to the market and magnify potential losses.

Counterparty risk. A financial institution or other counterparty with whom the fund does business, or that underwrites, distributes or guarantees any investments or contracts that the fund owns or is otherwise exposed to, may decline in financial health and become unable to honor its commitments. This could cause losses for the fund or could delay the return or delivery of collateral or other assets to the fund.

Liquidity risk. In certain situations, it may be difficult or impossible to sell an investment and/or the fund may sell certain investments at a price or time that is not advantageous in order to meet redemption requests or other cash needs. Unusual market conditions, such as an unusually high volume of redemptions or other similar conditions could increase liquidity risk for the fund, and in extreme conditions, the fund could have difficulty meeting redemption requests.

Pricing risk. If market conditions make it difficult to value some investments, the fund may value these investments using more subjective methods, such as fair value pricing. In such cases, the value determined for an investment could be different from the value realized upon such investment's sale. As a result, you could pay more than the market value when buying fund shares or receive less than the market value when selling fund shares.

Securities lending risk. Any decline in the value of a portfolio security that occurs while the security is out on loan is borne by the fund and will adversely affect performance. Also, there may be delays in recovery of securities loaned or even a loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially while holding the security.

ESG investing risk. When portfolio management considers ESG factors in its fundamental research process and when making investment decisions, there is a risk that the fund may forgo otherwise attractive investment opportunities or increase or decrease its exposure to certain types of issuers and, therefore, may underperform funds that do not consider ESG factors.

Operational and technology risk. Cyber-attacks, disruptions or failures that affect the fund's service providers or counterparties, issuers of securities held by the fund, or other market participants may adversely affect the fund and its shareholders, including by causing losses for the fund or impairing fund operations. For example, the fund's or its service providers' assets or sensitive or confidential information may be misappropriated, data may be corrupted and operations may be disrupted (e.g., cyber-attacks, operational failures or broader disruptions may cause the release of private shareholder information or confidential fund information, interfere with the processing of shareholder transactions, impact the ability to calculate the fund's net asset value and impede trading). Market events and disruptions also may trigger a volume of transactions that overloads current information technology and communication systems and processes, impacting the ability to conduct the fund's operations.

While the fund and its service providers may establish business continuity and other plans and processes that seek to address the possibility of and fallout from cyber-attacks, disruptions or failures, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems, including that they do not apply to third parties, such as fund counterparties, issuers of securities held by the fund or other market participants, as well as the possibility that certain risks have not been identified or that unknown threats may emerge in the future and there is no assurance that such plans and processes will be effective. Among other situations, disruptions (for example, pandemics or health crises) that cause prolonged periods of remote work or significant employee absences at the fund's service providers could impact the ability to conduct the fund's operations. In addition, the fund cannot directly control any cybersecurity plans and systems put in place by its service providers, fund counterparties, issuers of securities held by the fund or other market participants.
Risk Lose Money [Text] rr_RiskLoseMoney There are several risk factors that could hurt the fund's performance, cause you to lose money or cause the fund's performance to trail that of other investments.
Risk Not Insured Depository Institution [Text] rr_RiskNotInsuredDepositoryInstitution An investment in the fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading] rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading Past Performance
Performance Narrative [Text Block] rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock

How a fund's returns vary from year to year can give an idea of its risk; so can comparing fund performance to overall market performance (as measured by an appropriate market index). Past performance may not indicate future results. All performance figures below assume that dividends and distributions were reinvested. For more recent performance figures, go to dws.com (the Web site does not form a part of this prospectus) or call the telephone number included in this prospectus. This information does not reflect fees associated with the separate account that invests in the fund or any variable life insurance policy or variable annuity contract for which the fund is an investment option. These fees will reduce returns.
Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text] rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns How a fund's returns vary from year to year can give an idea of its risk; so can comparing fund performance to overall market performance (as measured by an appropriate market index).
Performance Availability Website Address [Text] rr_PerformanceAvailabilityWebSiteAddress dws.com
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text] rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture Past performance may not indicate future results.
Bar Chart [Heading] rr_BarChartHeading CALENDAR YEAR TOTAL RETURNS (%) (Class B)
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block] rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock
Returns Period ending
Best Quarter 7.50% March 31, 2019
Worst Quarter -6.66% September 30, 2011
Year-to-Date -11.52% March 31, 2020

Performance Table Heading rr_PerformanceTableHeading Average Annual Total Returns(For periods ended 12/31/2019 expressed as a %)
Class B | DWS High Income VIP | Class B  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
(paid directly from your investment) rr_ShareholderFeeOther none
Management fee rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.50%
Distribution/service (12b-1) fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets 0.25%
Other expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.65%
Total annual fund operating expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 1.40%
Fee waiver/expense reimbursement rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets 0.30%
Total annual fund operating expenses after fee waiver/expense reimbursement rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 1.10%
1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 $ 112
3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 414
5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 737
10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 $ 1,654
2010 rr_AnnualReturn2010 13.64%
2011 rr_AnnualReturn2011 3.57%
2012 rr_AnnualReturn2012 14.70%
2013 rr_AnnualReturn2013 7.44%
2014 rr_AnnualReturn2014 1.22%
2015 rr_AnnualReturn2015 (4.95%)
2016 rr_AnnualReturn2016 12.67%
2017 rr_AnnualReturn2017 7.21%
2018 rr_AnnualReturn2018 (2.76%)
2019 rr_AnnualReturn2019 15.33%
Year to Date Return, Label rr_YearToDateReturnLabel Year-to-Date
Bar Chart, Year to Date Return, Date rr_BarChartYearToDateReturnDate Mar. 31, 2020
Bar Chart, Year to Date Return rr_BarChartYearToDateReturn (11.52%)
Highest Quarterly Return, Label rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel Best Quarter
Highest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate Mar. 31, 2019
Highest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn 7.50%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel Worst Quarter
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate Sep. 30, 2011
Lowest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn (6.66%)
Class B | DWS High Income VIP | before tax | Class B  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 15.33%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 5.19%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 6.57%
Class Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Jul. 01, 2002
Class B | DWS High Income VIP | ICE BofA Merrill Lynch US High Yield Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 14.41%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 6.14%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 7.48%