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DWS Gov and Agcy Money Fund | DWS Government and Agency Securities Portfolio

DWS Government & Agency Securities Portfolio

(formerly Deutsche Government & Agency Securities Portfolio)

Investment Objective

The fund seeks to provide maximum current income consistent with stability of capital.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

These are the fees and expenses you may pay when you buy and hold shares.

SHAREHOLDER FEES (paid directly from your investment)
Shareholder Fees
DWS Gov and Agcy Money Fund
DWS Government and Agency Securities Portfolio
DWS Government and Agency Money Fund
USD ($)
Account Maintenance Fee (annually, for fund account balances below $10,000 and subject to certain exceptions) $ 20
ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES
(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
DWS Gov and Agcy Money Fund
DWS Government and Agency Securities Portfolio
DWS Government and Agency Money Fund
Management fee 0.05%
Distribution/service (12b-1) fees none
Other expenses 0.25%
Total annual fund operating expenses 0.30%
EXAMPLE
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 $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
Expense Example
1 Year
3 Years
5 Years
10 Years
DWS Gov and Agcy Money Fund | DWS Government and Agency Securities Portfolio | DWS Government and Agency Money Fund | USD ($) 31 97 169 381

Principal Investment Strategy

Main investments. The fund is a money market fund that is managed in accordance with federal regulations which govern the quality, maturity, diversity and liquidity of instruments in which a money market fund may invest.

The fund operates as a "government money market fund," as such term is defined under federal regulations. As a government money market fund, the fund is required to invest at least 99.5% of its total assets at the time of investment in cash, US government securities, and/or repurchase agreements that are collateralized by these instruments.

The fund follows policies designed to maintain a stable $1.00 share price.

The fund pursues its objective by investing exclusively in the following types of investments:

  • US Treasury bills, notes, bonds and other obligations issued or guaranteed by the US government, its agencies or instrumentalities.
  • Repurchase agreements backed by these instruments. In a repurchase agreement, the fund buys securities at one price with a simultaneous agreement to sell back the securities at a future date at an agreed-upon price.

The fund may invest in floating and variable rate instruments (obligations that do not bear interest at fixed rates).

Management process. Working in consultation with portfolio management, a credit team screens potential securities and develops a list of those that the fund may buy. Portfolio management, looking for attractive yield and weighing considerations such as credit quality, economic outlooks and possible interest rate movements, then decides which securities on this list to buy.

Main Risks

There are several risk factors that could reduce the yield you get from the fund, cause the fund's performance to trail that of other investments, or cause you to lose money.

Money market fund risk. You could lose money by investing in the fund. Although the fund seeks to preserve the value of your investment at $1.00 per share, it cannot guarantee it will do so. An investment in the fund is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The Advisor has no legal obligation to provide financial support to the fund, and you should not expect that the Advisor will provide financial support to the fund at any time.

Interest rate risk. Rising interest rates could cause the value of the fund's investments — and therefore its share price as well — to decline. Conversely, any decline in interest rates is likely to cause the fund's yield to decline, and during periods of unusually low interest rates, the fund's yield may approach zero. A low interest rate environment may prevent the fund from providing a positive yield or paying fund expenses out of current income and, at times, could impair the fund's ability to maintain a stable $1.00 share price. Over time, the total return of a money market fund may not keep pace with inflation, which could result in a net loss of purchasing power for long-term investors. Recent and potential future changes in monetary policy made by central banks and/or their governments are likely to affect the level of interest rates. Money market funds try to minimize this risk by purchasing short-term securities.

If there is an insufficient supply of US government securities to meet investor demand, it could result in lower yields on such securities and increase interest rate risk for the fund.

Security selection risk. Although short-term securities are relatively stable investments, it is possible that the securities in which the fund invests will not perform as expected. This could cause the fund's returns to lag behind those of similar money market funds and could result in a decline in share price.

Repurchase agreement risk. If the party that sells the securities to the fund defaults on its obligation to repurchase them at the agreed-upon time and price, the fund could lose money.

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.

Credit risk. The fund's performance could be hurt and the fund's share price could fall below $1.00 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.

Some securities issued by US government agencies or instrumentalities are backed by the full faith and credit of the US government. Other securities that are supported only by the credit of the issuing agency or instrumentality are subject to greater credit risk than securities backed by the full faith and credit of the US government. This is because the US government might provide financial support, but has no obligation to do so, if there is a potential or actual loss of principal or failure to make interest payments.

Because of the rising US government debt burden, it is possible that the US government may not be able to meet its financial obligations or that securities issued by the US government may experience credit downgrades. Such a credit event may also adversely impact the financial markets and the fund.

Liquidity and transaction risk. The liquidity of portfolio securities can deteriorate rapidly due to credit events affecting issuers or guarantors or due to general market conditions and a lack of willing buyers. When there are no willing buyers and an instrument cannot be readily sold at a desired time or price, the fund may have to accept a lower price or may not be able to sell the instrument at all. If dealer capacity in debt instruments is insufficient for market conditions, it may further inhibit liquidity and increase volatility in the debt markets. Additionally, market participants other than the fund may attempt to sell debt holdings at the same time as the fund, which could cause downward pricing pressure and contribute to illiquidity. An inability to sell one or more portfolio securities can adversely affect the fund's ability to maintain a $1.00 share price or prevent the fund from being able to take advantage of other investment opportunities.

Unusual market conditions, an unusually high volume of redemption requests or other similar conditions could cause the fund to be unable to pay redemption proceeds within a short period of time. If the fund is forced to sell securities at an unfavorable time and/or under unfavorable conditions, such sales may adversely affect the fund's ability to maintain a $1.00 share price.

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 yield and could hurt fund performance. Prepayments could also create capital gains tax liability in some instances.

Risks of holding cash. The fund will at times hold cash positions, which may hurt the fund's performance. Cash positions may also subject the fund to additional risks and costs, including any fees imposed by the fund's custodian for large cash balances.

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.

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.

Past Performance

How a fund's returns vary from year to year can give an idea of its risk. Past performance may not indicate future results. All performance figures below assume that dividends were reinvested. The 7-day yield, which is often referred to as the "current yield," is the income generated by the fund over a seven-day period. This amount is then annualized, which means that we assume the fund generates the same income every week for a year. For more recent performance figures and the current yield, go to dws.com (the Web site does not form a part of this prospectus) or call the telephone number included in this prospectus.

CALENDAR YEAR TOTAL RETURNS (%) (DWS Government & Agency Money Fund)
Returns for other classes were different and are not shown here.
Bar Chart
Returns Period ending
Best Quarter 0.88% March 31, 2008
Worst Quarter 0.00% March 31, 2013
Year-to-Date 0.71% June 30, 2018

Average Annual Total Returns
(For periods ended 12/31/2017 expressed as a %) (DWS Government & Agency Money Fund)

Average Annual Total Returns
Class Inception
1 Year
5 Years
10 Years
DWS Gov and Agcy Money Fund | DWS Government and Agency Securities Portfolio | DWS Government and Agency Money Fund Mar. 19, 2007 0.75% 0.19% 0.35%

Total returns would have been lower if operating expenses had not been reduced.

For more recent performance information, contact the financial services firm from which you obtained this prospectus.