DWS Floating Rate Fund

The fund seeks to provide high current income.

These are the fees and expenses you may pay when you buy, hold and sell shares. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your immediate family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $100,000 in DWS funds. More information about these and other discounts and waivers is available from your financial representative and in Choosing a Share Class (p. 16), Sales Charge Waivers and Discounts Available Through Intermediaries (Appendix B, p. 43) and Purchase and Redemption of Shares in the fund's Statement of Additional Information (SAI) (p. II-15).

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

EXAMPLE

You would pay the following expenses if you did not redeem your shares:

The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover may indicate higher transaction costs and may mean higher taxes if you are investing in a taxable account. These costs are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the expense example, and can affect the fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the fund's portfolio turnover rate was 44% of the average value of its portfolio.

Main investments. Under normal market conditions, the fund invests at least 80% of its total assets in adjustable rate loans that have a senior right to payment ("senior loans") and other floating rate debt securities. The fund may also borrow money in an amount up to 33⅓% of the fund's total assets for a range of purposes, including to create investment leverage.

Senior loans typically are of below investment-grade quality and, compared to investment grade loans, may pay higher yields and have higher volatility and higher risk of default on payments of interest or principal. The fund invests in senior loans that may not be rated by a rating agency, registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission or any state securities commission or listed on any national exchange.

In addition, the fund may invest a portion of its assets in senior loans that are not secured by collateral. Such unsecured loans involve a greater risk of loss.

In addition to investments in US-dollar denominated loans of US companies, investments may include US-dollar denominated loans of non-US companies and non-US dollar denominated loans of both US and non-US companies. The fund may acquire senior loans of borrowers engaged in any industry, but will invest no more than 25% of its total assets in senior loans of borrowers and securities of issuers in any one industry. The fund does not have a targeted maturity range for its portfolio.

Under normal market conditions, up to 20% of the fund's total assets may be held in cash and other investments, including, but not limited to, fixed-rate debt obligations, short- to medium-term notes, high-yield securities, which are those rated below the fourth highest credit rating category (that is, grade BB/Ba and below, commonly referred to as junk bonds), equity securities, hybrid and synthetic loans, collateralized loan obligations, and asset-backed securities.

Management process. Portfolio management focuses on cash flow and total return analysis, and diversification among sectors, industries and individual issuers. Portfolio management uses an active process, which emphasizes relative value and total return, using intensive research to seek to identify stable to improving credit situations that may provide yield compensation for the risk of owning below investment-grade, floating rate and other investments.

The investment process involves a bottom-up approach using relative value and fundamental analysis to seek to select the best investments 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.

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

Derivatives. Portfolio management generally may use interest rate swaps or futures contracts, which are types of derivatives (a contract whose value is based on, for example, indices, currencies or securities) for duration management (i.e., reducing or increasing the sensitivity of the fund's portfolio to interest rate changes).

Portfolio management generally may also use (i) credit default swaps to seek to increase the fund's income, to gain exposure to a debt security issuer's credit quality characteristics without directing investing in the debt security, or to hedge the risk of default on debt securities held in the fund's portfolio; (ii) options on interest rate futures to hedge interest rate movements of portfolio assets; and (iii) total return swaps to seek to enhance potential gains.

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.

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. Deteriorating market conditions might cause a general weakness in the market that reduces the overall level of securities prices in that market. In addition, an increase in demand for floating rate loans may adversely affect the rate of interest payable on loans acquired by the fund, thus reducing fund returns. During periods of limited supply of senior loans, the fund's yield may be lower. Because the fund may invest heavily in one category of loans, market risk may be more pronounced for the fund than for funds that invest in a more diverse set of securities.

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.

When purchasing senior loans, the fund faces the risk that the creditworthiness of the borrower may decline, causing the value of the fund's interest in a loan to decline. In addition, a borrower may not be able to make timely payments on the interest and principal on the debt obligations it has outstanding. In the event of bankruptcy of a borrower, the fund could experience delays or limitations with respect to its ability to realize the benefits of the collateral securing a senior loan. Senior loans and other floating rate debt securities that are rated below investment grade are considered speculative because of the credit risk of the borrowers. Such borrowers may be more likely to default on payments of interest and principal in response to changes in economic conditions or circumstances. The value of senior loans made to such borrowers is likely to be more sensitive to adverse news about the borrower, markets or economy.

Any non-payment of principal or interest could result in a reduction of income to the fund, a reduction in the value of the fund's interest in the senior loan and a reduction in the fund's net asset value. There can be no assurance that the liquidation of any collateral securing a senior loan would satisfy the borrower's obligation in the event of non-payment of scheduled interest or principal payments or that such collateral could be readily liquidated.

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.

Interest rate risk. When interest rates rise, prices of debt securities generally decline. The longer the effective 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. Senior loans typically have adjustable interest rates. However, because floating rates on senior loans only reset periodically, changes in prevailing interest rates may cause a fluctuation in the fund's value. In addition, extreme increases in prevailing interest rates may cause an increase in senior loan defaults, which may cause a further decline in the fund's value. The fund may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates due to the current period of historically low rates. Finally, a decrease in interest rates could adversely affect the income earned by the fund from its senior loans.

London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), the benchmark rate for certain floating rate securities, is expected to be phased out by the end of 2021. The fund or the instruments in which the fund invests may be adversely affected by the phase out by, among other things, increased volatility or illiquidity. There remains uncertainty regarding the future use of LIBOR and the nature of any replacement reference rate and, accordingly, it is difficult to predict the impact to the fund of the transition away from LIBOR.

Senior loans risk. The fund invests in senior loans that may not be rated by a rating agency, registered with the SEC or any state securities commission or listed on any national securities exchange. Therefore, there may be less publicly available information about them than for registered or exchange-listed securities. The Advisor relies on its own evaluation of the creditworthiness of borrowers, but will consider, and may rely in part on, analyses performed by others. As a result, the fund is particularly dependent on the analytical abilities of the Advisor.

Senior loans may not be considered "securities," and purchasers, such as the fund, therefore may not be entitled to rely on the anti-fraud and misrepresentation protections of the federal securities laws. Senior loans involve other risks, including credit risk, interest rate risk, liquidity risk, and prepayment and extension risk.

Because affiliates of the Advisor may participate in the primary and secondary market for senior loans, limitations under applicable law may restrict the fund's ability to participate in a restructuring of a senior loan or to acquire some senior loans, or affect the timing or price of such acquisition. The fund also may be in possession of material non-public information about a borrower as a result of its ownership of a senior loan. Because of prohibitions on trading in securities of issuers while in possession of such information, the fund might be unable to enter into a transaction in a publicly-traded security of that borrower when it would otherwise be advantageous to do so. If the Advisor wishes to invest in the publicly traded securities of a borrower, it may not have access to material non-public information regarding the borrower to which other lenders have access.

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.

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 in which the United Kingdom will seek to negotiate and finalize a trade deal with the EU. The transition period will end on December 31, 2020 and can no longer be extended under the terms of the withdrawal agreement. During this transition period, the United Kingdom effectively remains in the EU from an economic perspective but no longer has 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. In addition, because non-US markets may be open on days when the fund does not price its shares, the value of the securities in the fund's portfolio may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the fund's shares.

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. Prepayments could also create capital gains tax liability in some instances.

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.

Borrowing risk. Borrowing creates leverage. It also adds to fund expenses and at times could effectively force the fund to sell securities when it otherwise might not want to.

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.

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.

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.

These year-by-year returns do not include sales charges, if any, and would be lower if they did. Returns for other classes were different and are not shown here.

Average Annual Total Returns(For periods ended 12/31/2019 expressed as a %)