EDGAR HTML
Prospectus
December 17, 2021
Xtrackers S&P 500 ESG ETF
NYSE Arca, Inc.: SNPE
 

Xtrackers S&P MidCap 400 ESG ETF
NYSE Arca, Inc.: MIDE
 

Xtrackers S&P SmallCap 600 ESG ETF
NYSE Arca, Inc.: SMLE
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.

Table of Contents
 
1
1
1
3
6
6
7
7
7
 
8
8
8
10
13
13
13
14
14
 
15
15
15
17
20
20
20
20
21
Your investment in a 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.


Xtrackers S&P 500 ESG ETF
Ticker: SNPE
Stock Exchange: NYSE Arca, Inc.
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, hold and sell shares. You may also pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries on the purchase and sale of shares of the fund, which are not reflected in the table and example below.
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
Fee waiver/expense reimbursement
0.01
Total annual fund operating expenses
0.10
The Advisor has contractually agreed through December 16, 2022 to waive a portion of its management fees to the extent necessary to prevent the operating expenses of the fund (excluding interest expense, taxes, brokerage expenses, distribution fees or expenses, litigation expenses and other extraordinary expenses) from exceeding 0.10% of the fund’s average daily net assets. This agreement may only be terminated by the fund’s Board (and may not be terminated by the Advisor) prior to that time.
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 (including one year
of capped expenses in each period) remain the same. The Example does not take into account brokerage commissions that you may pay on your purchases and sales of shares of the fund. It also does not include the transaction fees on purchases and redemptions of Creation Units (defined herein), because those fees will not be imposed on retail investors. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
 
1 Year
3 Years
5 Years
10 Years
 
$ 10
$ 34
$ 61
$ 140
PORTFOLIO TURNOVER 
The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover may indicate higher transaction costs and may mean higher taxes if you are investing in a taxable account. These costs are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the expense example, and can affect the fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 13% of the average value of its portfolio.
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. Under normal
Prospectus December 17, 2021 1 Xtrackers S&P 500 ESG ETF

circumstances, the Underlying Index is rebalanced annually, effective after the close of the last business day of April. The fund rebalances its portfolio in accordance with the Underlying Index, and, therefore, any changes to the Underlying Index’s rebalance schedule will result in corresponding changes to the fund’s rebalance schedule.
All constituents of the S&P 500 Index are eligible for selection by the Underlying Index, with the exception of companies that:
■ Engage in the production of tobacco, have tobacco sales accounting for greater than 10% of their revenue, derive more than 10% of their revenue from tobacco-related products and services, or hold more than a 25% stake in a company involved in these activities.
■ Engage in the business of controversial weapons (cluster weapons, landmines (anti-personnel mines), biological or chemical weapons, depleted uranium weapons, white phosphorous weapons, nuclear weapons), or hold more than a 25% stake in a company involved in these activities.
■ Extract or generate electricity from thermal coal accounting for greater than 5% of their revenue.
■ 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 analyze news reports and other publicly available information 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 SAM, an international investment company focusing on sustainability investments. SAM uses a Corporate Sustainability Assessment (“CSA”), a rules-based questionnaire, to comply and analyze information relating to companies’ use of ESG factors. SAM also assigns companies to industries defined by SAM and the assessment is largely specific to each industry. SAM 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. To the extent that the fund tracks the Underlying Index, the fund’s investment in certain sectors may change over time.
As of October 31, 2021, the Underlying Index consisted of 312 securities, with an average market capitalization of approximately $100.52 billion and a minimum market capitalization of approximately $3.96 billion. The fund will concentrate its investments (i.e., hold 25% or more of its total assets) in a particular industry or group of industries to the extent that its Underlying Index is concentrated. As of October 31, 2021, a significant percentage of the Underlying Index was comprised of issuers in the information technology (30.7%) and consumer discretionary (14.7%) sectors. 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. The consumer discretionary sector includes durable goods, apparel, entertainment and leisure, and automobiles.
While the fund is currently classified as “non-diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, it may operate as or become classified as “diversified” over time. The fund could again become non-diversified solely as a result of a change in relative market capitalization or index weighting of one or more constituents of the index that the fund is designed to track. Shareholder approval will not be sought when the fund crosses from diversified to non-diversified status under such circumstances.
Prospectus December 17, 2021
2
Xtrackers S&P 500 ESG ETF

Xtrackers ETFs are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC, Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC, their respective affiliates or SAM, and none of such parties make any representation regarding the advisability of investing in such ETFs, nor do they have any liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions of the S&P 500 ESG Index.
Securities lending. The fund may lend its portfolio securities to brokers, dealers and other financial institutions desiring to borrow securities to complete transactions and for other purposes. In connection with such loans, the fund receives liquid collateral equal to at least 102% of the value of the portfolio securities being lent. This collateral is marked to market on a daily basis. The fund may lend its portfolio securities in an amount up to 33 1/3% of its total assets.
Main Risks
As with any investment, you could lose all or part of your investment in the fund, and the fund’s performance could trail that of other investments. The fund is subject to the main risks noted below, any of which may adversely affect the fund’s net asset value (“NAV”), trading price, yield, total return and ability to meet its investment objective, as well as numerous other risks that are described in greater detail in the section of this Prospectus entitled “Additional Information About Fund Strategies, Underlying Index Information and Risks” and in the Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”).
ESG investment strategy risk. The Underlying Index’s ESG methodology, and thus the fund’s investment strategy, limits the types and number of investment opportunities available to the fund and, as a result, the fund may underperform other funds that do not have an ESG focus. The Underlying Index’s ESG methodology may result in the fund investing in securities or industry sectors that underperform the market as a whole or underperform other funds screened for ESG standards. The ESG scores used in the Underlying Index’s ESG methodology are based on information that is publicly available and/or provided by the companies themselves or by third parties and such information may be unavailable or unreliable. Additionally, investors may differ in their interpretations of what constitutes positive or negative ESG characteristics of a company. For those reasons, the index provider may be unsuccessful in creating an index composed of companies that exhibit positive ESG characteristics. Regulatory changes or interpretations regarding the definitions and/or use of ESG criteria could have a material adverse effect on the fund’s ability to invest in accordance with its investment policies and/or achieve its investment objective, as well as the ability of certain classes of investors to invest in funds following an ESG strategy such as the fund.
Stock market risk. When stock prices fall, you should expect the value of your investment to fall as well. Stock prices can be hurt by poor management on the part of the stock’s issuer, shrinking product demand and other business risks. These may affect single companies as well as groups of companies. The market as a whole may not favor the types of investments the fund makes, which could adversely affect a stock’s price, regardless of how well the company performs, or the fund’s ability to sell a stock at an attractive price. There is a chance that stock prices overall will decline because stock markets tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising and falling prices. Events in the US and global financial markets, including actions taken by the US Federal Reserve or foreign central banks to stimulate or stabilize economic growth, may at times result in unusually high market volatility which could negatively affect performance. To the extent that the fund invests in a particular geographic region, capitalization or sector, the fund’s performance may be affected by the general performance of that region, capitalization or sector.
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, increased government activity, including economic stimulus measures, and supply chain disruptions that it has caused. 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, including the risk of future increased rates of infection due to low vaccination rates and/or the lack of effectiveness of current vaccines against new variants. The pandemic has affected and may continue to 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 the 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.
Prospectus December 17, 2021
3
Xtrackers S&P 500 ESG ETF

The disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic may magnify the impact of each of the other risks described in this “MAIN RISKS” section and may increase volatility in one or more markets in which the fund invests leading to the potential for greater losses for the fund.
Medium-sized company risk. Medium-sized company stocks tend to be more volatile than large company stocks. Because stock analysts are less likely to follow medium-sized companies, less information about them is available to investors. Industry-wide reversals may have a greater impact on medium-sized companies, since they lack the financial resources of larger companies. Medium-sized company stocks are typically less liquid than large company stocks.
Focus risk. To the extent that the fund focuses its investments in particular industries, asset classes or sectors of the economy, any market price movements, regulatory or technological changes, or economic conditions affecting companies in those industries, asset classes or sectors may have a significant impact on the fund’s performance.
Information technology sector risk. To the extent that the fund invests significantly in the information technology sector, the fund will be sensitive to changes in, and the fund’s performance may depend to a greater extent on, the overall condition of the information technology sector. Information technology companies are particularly vulnerable to government regulation and competition, both domestically and internationally, including competition from foreign competitors with lower production costs. Information technology companies also face competition for services of qualified personnel. Additionally, the products of information technology companies may face obsolescence due to rapid technological development and frequent new product introduction by competitors. Finally, information technology companies are heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights, the loss or impairment of which may adversely affect profitability.
Consumer discretionary sector risk. To the extent that the fund invests significantly in the consumer discretionary sector, the fund will be sensitive to changes in, and the fund’s performance may depend to a greater extent on, the overall condition of the consumer discretionary sector. Companies engaged in the consumer discretionary sector are subject to fluctuations in supply and demand. These companies may also be adversely affected by changes in consumer spending as a result of world events, political and economic conditions, commodity price volatility, changes in exchange rates, imposition of import controls, increased competition, depletion of resources and labor relations.
Liquidity risk. In certain situations, it may be difficult or impossible to sell an investment at an acceptable price. This risk can be ongoing for any security that does not trade actively or in large volumes, for any security that trades primarily on smaller markets, and for investments that typically trade only among a limited number of large
investors (such as certain types of derivatives or restricted securities). In unusual market conditions, even normally liquid securities may be affected by a degree of liquidity risk. This may affect only certain securities or an overall securities market.
Although the fund primarily seeks to redeem shares of the fund on an in-kind basis, if the fund is forced to sell underlying investments at reduced prices or under unfavorable conditions to meet redemption requests or other cash needs, the fund may suffer a loss. This may be magnified in circumstances where redemptions from the fund may be higher than normal.
Passive investing risk. Unlike a fund that is actively managed, in which portfolio management buys and sells securities based on research and analysis, the fund invests in securities included in, or representative of, the Underlying Index, regardless of their investment merits. Because the fund is designed to maintain a high level of exposure to the Underlying Index at all times, portfolio management generally will not buy or sell a security unless the security is added or removed, respectively, from the Underlying Index, and will not take any steps to invest defensively or otherwise reduce the risk of loss during market downturns.
Index-related risk. The fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of the Underlying Index as published by the index provider. There is no assurance that the Underlying Index provider will compile the Underlying Index accurately, or that the Underlying Index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. Market disruptions could cause delays in the Underlying Index’s rebalancing schedule. During any such delay, it is possible that the Underlying Index and, in turn, the fund will deviate from the Underlying Index’s stated methodology and therefore experience returns different than those that would have been achieved under a normal rebalancing schedule. Generally, the index provider does not provide any warranty, or accept any liability, with respect to the quality, accuracy or completeness of the Underlying Index or its related data, and does not guarantee that the Underlying Index will be in line with its stated methodology. Errors in the Underlying Index data, the Underlying Index computations and/or the construction of the Underlying Index in accordance with its stated 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. The Advisor and its affiliates do not provide any warranty or guarantee against such errors. Therefore, the gains, losses or costs associated with the index provider’s errors will generally be borne by the fund and its shareholders.
Tracking error risk. The fund may be subject to tracking error, which is the divergence of the fund’s performance from that of the Underlying Index. The performance of the fund may diverge from that of the Underlying Index for a
Prospectus December 17, 2021
4
Xtrackers S&P 500 ESG ETF

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 in order to track the Underlying Index. To the extent that portfolio management uses a representative sampling approach (investing in a representative selection of securities included in the Underlying Index rather than all securities in the Underlying Index), such approach may cause the fund’s return to not be as well correlated with the return of the Underlying Index as would be the case if the fund purchased all of the securities in the Underlying Index in the proportions represented in the Underlying Index. 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 government imposed legal restrictions or limitations, a lack of liquidity in the markets in which such securities trade, potential adverse tax consequences or other reasons. To the extent the fund calculates its net asset value based on fair value prices and the value of the Underlying Index is based on market 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. Tracking error risk may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market conditions. For tax efficiency purposes, the fund may sell certain securities, and such sale may cause the fund to realize a loss and deviate from the performance of the Underlying Index. In light of the factors discussed above, the fund’s return may deviate significantly from the return of the Underlying Index.
Market price risk. Fund shares are listed for trading on an exchange and are bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The market prices of shares will fluctuate, in some cases materially, in response to changes in the NAV and supply and demand for shares. As a result, the trading prices of shares may deviate significantly from the NAV during periods of market volatility. The Advisor cannot predict whether shares will trade above, below or at their NAV. Given the fact that shares can be created and redeemed in Creation Units (defined below), the Advisor believes that large discounts or premiums to the NAV of shares should not be sustained in the long-term. If market makers exit the business or are unable to continue making markets in fund shares, shares may trade at a discount to NAV like closed-end fund shares and may even face delisting (that is, investors would no longer be able to trade
shares in the secondary market). Further, while the creation/redemption feature is designed to make it likely that shares normally will trade close to the value of the fund’s holdings, disruptions to creations and redemptions, including disruptions at market makers, APs or market participants, or during periods of significant market volatility, may result in market prices that differ significantly from the value of the fund’s holdings. Although market makers will generally take advantage of differences between the NAV and the market price of fund shares through arbitrage opportunities, there is no guarantee that they will do so. Secondary markets may be subject to irregular trading activity, wide bid-ask spreads and extended trade settlement periods, which could cause a material decline in the fund’s NAV. The fund’s investment results are measured based upon the daily NAV of the fund. Investors purchasing and selling shares in the secondary market may not experience investment results consistent with those experienced by those APs creating and redeeming shares directly with the fund.
Operational 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.
Prospectus December 17, 2021
5
Xtrackers S&P 500 ESG ETF

Authorized Participant concentration risk. The fund may have a limited number of financial institutions that may act as APs. Only APs who have entered into agreements with the fund’s distributor may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the fund (as described in the section of this Prospectus entitled “Buying and Selling Shares”). If those APs exit the business or are unable to process creation and/or redemption orders, (including in situations where APs have limited or diminished access to capital required to post collateral) and no other AP is able to step forward to create and redeem in either of these cases, shares may trade at a discount to NAV like closed-end fund shares and may even face delisting (that is, investors would no longer be able to trade shares in the secondary market).
Non-diversification risk. The fund is classified as non-diversified under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. This means that the fund may invest in securities of relatively few issuers. Thus, the performance of one or a small number of portfolio holdings can affect overall performance.
If the fund becomes classified as “diversified” over time and again becomes non-diversified as a result of a change in relative market capitalization or index weighting of one or more constituents of the index that the fund is designed to track, non-diversification risk would apply.
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.
Securities lending risk. Securities lending involves the risk that the fund may lose money because the borrower of the loaned securities fails to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. The fund could also lose money in the event of a decline in the value of the collateral provided for the loaned securities, or a decline in the value of any investments made with cash collateral or even a loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially while holding the securities.
Past Performance
The bar chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the fund by showing changes in the fund’s performance from year to year and by showing how the fund’s average annual returns compare with those of the Underlying Index and a broad measure of market performance.The fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available on the fund’s website at Xtrackers.com (the website does not form a part of this prospectus).
CALENDAR YEAR TOTAL RETURNS(%)
 
Returns
Period ending
Best Quarter
21.12%
June 30, 2020
Worst Quarter
-18.60%
March 31, 2020
Year-to-Date
16.67%
September 30, 2021
Average Annual Total Returns
(For periods ended 12/31/2020 expressed as a %)
All after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of any state or local tax. Your own actual after-tax returns will depend on your tax situation and may differ from what is shown here. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold shares of the fund in tax-deferred accounts such as individual retirement accounts (“IRAs”) or employee-sponsored retirement plans.
 
Inception Date
1
Year
Since
Inception
Returns before tax
6/26/2019
19.62
22.02
After tax on distribu-
tions
 
18.74
21.19
After tax on distribu-
tions and sale of fund
shares
 
11.50
16.61
S&P 500 ESG Index
 
19.79
22.14
S&P 500 Index
 
18.40
20.30
Management
Investment Advisor
DBX Advisors LLC
Portfolio Managers
Bryan Richards, CFA, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC and Head of Portfolio Engineering, Systematic Investment Solutions, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2019.
Patrick Dwyer, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC and Senior Portfolio Engineer, Systematic Investment Solutions, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2019.
Prospectus December 17, 2021
6
Xtrackers S&P 500 ESG ETF

Shlomo Bassous, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC and Senior Portfolio Engineer, Systematic Investment Solutions, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2019.
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 ALPS Distributors, Inc., the fund’s distributor. You may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the fund (ask) when buying or selling shares (the “bid-ask spread”). Information on the fund’s net asset value, market price, premiums and discounts and bid-ask spreads may be found at Xtrackers.com.
Tax Information
The fund's distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income or capital gains, except when your investment is in an IRA, 401(k), or other tax-advantaged investment plan. Any withdrawals you make from such tax- advantaged investment plans, however, may be taxable to you.
Payments 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 Advisor 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 December 17, 2021
7
Xtrackers S&P 500 ESG ETF


Xtrackers S&P MidCap 400 ESG ETF
Ticker: MIDE
Stock Exchange: NYSE Arca, Inc.
Investment Objective
Xtrackers S&P MidCap 400 ESG ETF (the “fund”), seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of the S&P MidCap 400 ESG Index (the “Underlying Index”).
Fees and Expenses
These are the fees and expenses that you will pay when you buy, hold and sell shares. You may also pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries on the purchase and sale of shares of the fund, which are not reflected in the table and example below.
ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES
(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
Management fee
0.15%
Other Expenses 1
None
Total annual fund operating expenses
0.15%
1Because 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 (including one year of capped expenses in each period) remain the same. The Example does not take into account brokerage commissions that you may pay on your purchases and sales of shares of the fund. It also does not include the transaction fees on purchases and redemptions of Creation Units (defined herein), because those fees will not be imposed
on retail investors. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
 
1 Year
3 Years
 
$15
$48
PORTFOLIO TURNOVER 
The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover may indicate higher transaction costs and may mean higher taxes if you are investing in a taxable account. These costs are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the expense example, and can affect the fund's performance.
Portfolio turnover rate for the fund, for the period from February 24, 2021 (commencement of operations) through the most recent fiscal year, was 27%.
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 MidCap 400 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 MidCap 400 Index, using an ESG score as the defining characteristic.
All constituents of the S&P MidCap 400 Index are eligible for selection by the Underlying Index, with the exception of companies that:
Prospectus December 17, 2021 8 Xtrackers S&P MidCap 400 ESG ETF

■ Engage in the production of tobacco, have tobacco sales accounting for greater than 10% of their revenue, derive more than 10% of their revenue from tobacco-related products and services, or hold more than a 25% stake in a company involved in these activities.
■ Engage in the business of controversial weapons (cluster weapons, landmines (anti-personnel mines), biological or chemical weapons, depleted uranium weapons, white phosphorous weapons, nuclear weapons, or hold more than a 25% stake in a company involved in these activities).
■ 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 analyze news reports and other publicly available information 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 15% to 25% of ESG scores from each GICS Industry Group. ESG scores are assigned by SAM, an international investment company focusing on sustainability investments. For the purposes of ESG assessment, SAM uses a Corporate Sustainability Assessment (“CSA”), a rules-based questionnaire, to compile and analyze information relating to companies’ use of ESG factors. SAM also assigns companies to industries defined by SAM and the assessment is largely specific to each industry. SAM uses the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS®) as its starting point for determining industry classification.
■ Generate 5% or more of their revenue from thermal coal, specifically thermal coal extraction and power generation.
After excluding such companies, the Underlying Index selects from the remaining companies in the S&P MidCap 400 Index as follows:
1. For each GICS Industry Group, companies are selected in decreasing order of ESG Score, until 75% 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 will invest at least 80% of its total assets (but typically far more) in component securities of the Underlying Index.
As of October 31, 2021, the Underlying Index consisted of 263 securities, with an average market capitalization of approximately $6.54 billion and a minimum market capitalization of approximately $1.72 billion. The fund is classified as non-diversified under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (“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 October 31, 2021, a significant percentage of the Underlying Index was comprised of issuers in the industrials (19.3%), financials (16.5%) and consumer discretionary (15.2%) sectors. The industrials sector includes companies engaged in the manufacture and distribution of capital goods, such as those used in defense, construction and engineering, companies that manufacture and distribute electrical equipment and industrial machinery and those that provide commercial and transportation services and supplies. The financials sector includes companies involved in banking, consumer finance, asset management and custody banks, as well as investment banking and brokerage and insurance. The consumer discretionary sector includes durable goods, apparel, entertainment and leisure, and automobiles. To the extent that the fund tracks the Underlying Index, the fund’s investment in certain sectors may change over time.
Under normal circumstances, the Underlying Index is rebalanced annually, effective after the close of the last business day of April. The fund rebalances its portfolio in accordance with the Underlying Index, and, therefore, any changes to the Underlying Index’s rebalance schedule will result in corresponding changes to the fund’s rebalance schedule.
While the fund is currently classified as “non-diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, it may operate as or become classified as “diversified” over time. The fund could again become non-diversified solely as a result of a change in relative market capitalization or index
Prospectus December 17, 2021
9
Xtrackers S&P MidCap 400 ESG ETF

weighting of one or more constituents of the index that the fund is designed to track. Shareholder approval will not be sought when the fund crosses from diversified to non-diversified status under such circumstances.
Xtrackers ETFs are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC, Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC, their respective affiliates or SAM, and none of such parties make any representation regarding the advisability of investing in such ETFs, nor do they have any liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions of the S&P MidCap 400 ESG Index.
Securities lending. The fund may lend its portfolio securities to brokers, dealers and other financial institutions desiring to borrow securities to complete transactions and for other purposes. In connection with such loans, the fund receives liquid collateral equal to at least 102% of the value of the portfolio securities being lent. This collateral is marked to market on a daily basis. The fund may lend its portfolio securities in an amount up to 33 1/3% of its total assets.
Main Risks
As with any investment, you could lose all or part of your investment in the fund, and the fund’s performance could trail that of other investments. The fund is subject to the main risks noted below, any of which may adversely affect the fund’s net asset value (“NAV”), trading price, yield, total return and ability to meet its investment objective, as well as numerous other risks that are described in greater detail in the section of this Prospectus entitled “Additional Information About Fund Strategies, Underlying Index Information and Risks” and in the Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”).
ESG investment strategy risk. The Underlying Index’s ESG methodology, and thus the fund’s investment strategy, limits the types and number of investment opportunities available to the fund and, as a result, the fund may underperform other funds that do not have an ESG focus. The Underlying Index’s ESG methodology may result in the fund investing in securities or industry sectors that underperform the market as a whole or underperform other funds screened for ESG standards. The ESG scores used in the Underlying Index’s ESG methodology are based on information that is publicly available and/or provided by the companies themselves or by third parties and such information may be unavailable or unreliable. Additionally, investors may differ in their interpretations of what constitutes positive or negative ESG characteristics of a company. For those reasons, the index provider may be unsuccessful in creating an index composed of companies that exhibit positive ESG characteristics. Regulatory changes or interpretations regarding the definitions and/or use of ESG criteria could have a material adverse effect
on the fund’s ability to invest in accordance with its investment policies and/or achieve its investment objective, as well as the ability of certain classes of investors to invest in funds following an ESG strategy such as the fund.
Stock market risk. When stock prices fall, you should expect the value of your investment to fall as well. Stock prices can be hurt by poor management on the part of the stock’s issuer, shrinking product demand and other business risks. These may affect single companies as well as groups of companies. The market as a whole may not favor the types of investments the fund makes, which could adversely affect a stock’s price, regardless of how well the company performs, or the fund’s ability to sell a stock at an attractive price. There is a chance that stock prices overall will decline because stock markets tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising and falling prices. Events in the US and global financial markets, including actions taken by the US Federal Reserve or foreign central banks to stimulate or stabilize economic growth, may at times result in unusually high market volatility which could negatively affect performance. To the extent that the fund invests in a particular geographic region, capitalization or sector, the fund’s performance may be affected by the general performance of that region, capitalization or sector.
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, increased government activity, including economic stimulus measures, and supply chain disruptions that it has caused. 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, including the risk of future increased rates of infection due to low vaccination rates and/or the lack of effectiveness of current vaccines against new variants. The pandemic has affected and may continue to 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 the pandemic may result in
Prospectus December 17, 2021
10
Xtrackers S&P MidCap 400 ESG ETF

the fund and its service providers experiencing operational difficulties in coordinating a remote workforce and implementing their business continuity plans, among others.
The disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic may magnify the impact of each of the other risks described in this “MAIN RISKS” section and may increase volatility in one or more markets in which the fund invests leading to the potential for greater losses for the fund.
Medium-sized company risk. Medium-sized company stocks tend to be more volatile than large company stocks. Because stock analysts are less likely to follow medium-sized companies, less information about them is available to investors. Industry-wide reversals may have a greater impact on medium-sized companies, since they lack the financial resources of larger companies. Medium-sized company stocks are typically less liquid than large company stocks.
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.
Industrials sector risk. To the extent that the fund invests significantly in the industrials sector, the fund will be sensitive to changes in, and the fund’s performance may depend to a greater extent on, the overall condition of the industrials sector. Companies in the industrials sector may be adversely affected by changes in government regulation, world events and economic conditions. In addition, companies in the industrials sector may be adversely affected by environmental damages, product liability claims and exchange rates.
Financials sector risk. To the extent that the fund invests significantly in the financials sector, the fund will be sensitive to changes in, and the fund’s performance may depend to a greater extent on, the overall condition of the financials sector. The financials sector is subject to extensive government regulation, can be subject to relatively rapid change due to increasingly blurred distinctions between service segments, and can be significantly affected by the availability and cost of capital funds, changes in interest rates, the rate of corporate and consumer debt defaults, and price competition.
Consumer discretionary sector risk. To the extent that the fund invests significantly in the consumer discretionary sector, the fund will be sensitive to changes in, and the fund’s performance may depend to a greater extent on, the overall condition of the consumer discretionary sector. Companies engaged in the consumer discretionary sector are subject to fluctuations in supply and demand. These companies may also be adversely affected by changes in consumer spending as a result of world events, political and economic conditions, commodity price volatility,
changes in exchange rates, imposition of import controls, increased competition, depletion of resources and labor relations.
Liquidity risk. In certain situations, it may be difficult or impossible to sell an investment at an acceptable price. This risk can be ongoing for any security that does not trade actively or in large volumes, for any security that trades primarily on smaller markets, and for investments that typically trade only among a limited number of large investors (such as certain types of derivatives or restricted securities). In unusual market conditions, even normally liquid securities may be affected by a degree of liquidity risk. This may affect only certain securities or an overall securities market.
Although the fund primarily seeks to redeem shares of the fund on an in-kind basis, if the fund is forced to sell underlying investments at reduced prices or under unfavorable conditions to meet redemption requests or other cash needs, the fund may suffer a loss. This may be magnified in circumstances where redemptions from the fund may be higher than normal.
Passive investing risk. Unlike a fund that is actively managed, in which portfolio management buys and sells securities based on research and analysis, the fund invests in securities included in, or representative of, the Underlying Index, regardless of their investment merits. Because the fund is designed to maintain a high level of exposure to the Underlying Index at all times, portfolio management generally will not buy or sell a security unless the security is added or removed, respectively, from the Underlying Index, and will not take any steps to invest defensively or otherwise reduce the risk of loss during market downturns.
Index-related risk. The fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of the Underlying Index as published by the index provider. There is no assurance that the Underlying Index provider will compile the Underlying Index accurately, or that the Underlying Index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. Market disruptions could cause delays in the Underlying Index’s rebalancing schedule. During any such delay, it is possible that the Underlying Index and, in turn, the fund will deviate from the Underlying Index’s stated methodology and therefore experience returns different than those that would have been achieved under a normal rebalancing schedule. Generally, the index provider does not provide any warranty, or accept any liability, with respect to the quality, accuracy or completeness of the Underlying Index or its related data, and does not guarantee that the Underlying Index will be in line with its stated methodology. Errors in the Underlying Index data, the Underlying Index computations and/or the construction of the Underlying Index in accordance with its stated 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
Prospectus December 17, 2021
11
Xtrackers S&P MidCap 400 ESG ETF

on the fund and its shareholders. The Advisor and its affiliates do not provide any warranty or guarantee against such errors. Therefore, the gains, losses or costs associated with the index provider’s errors will generally be borne by the fund and its shareholders.
Tracking error risk. The fund may be subject to tracking error, which is the divergence of the fund’s performance from that of the Underlying Index. The performance of the fund may diverge from that of the 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 in order to track the Underlying Index. To the extent that portfolio management uses a representative sampling approach (investing in a representative selection of securities included in the Underlying Index rather than all securities in the Underlying Index), such approach may cause the fund’s return to not be as well correlated with the return of the Underlying Index as would be the case if the fund purchased all of the securities in the Underlying Index in the proportions represented in the Underlying Index. 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 government imposed legal restrictions or limitations, a lack of liquidity in the markets in which such securities trade, potential adverse tax consequences or other reasons. To the extent the fund calculates its net asset value based on fair value prices and the value of the Underlying Index is based on market 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. Tracking error risk may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market conditions. For tax efficiency purposes, the fund may sell certain securities, and such sale may cause the fund to realize a loss and deviate from the performance of the Underlying Index. In light of the factors discussed above, the fund’s return may deviate significantly from the return of the Underlying Index.
Market price risk. Fund shares are listed for trading on an exchange and are bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The market prices of shares will fluctuate, in some cases materially, in response to changes in the NAV and supply and demand for shares. As a result, the trading prices of shares may deviate significantly from the NAV during periods of market volatility. The Advisor
cannot predict whether shares will trade above, below or at their NAV. Given the fact that shares can be created and redeemed in Creation Units (defined below), the Advisor believes that large discounts or premiums to the NAV of shares should not be sustained in the long-term. If market makers exit the business or are unable to continue making markets in fund shares, shares may trade at a discount to NAV like closed-end fund shares and may even face delisting (that is, investors would no longer be able to trade shares in the secondary market). Further, while the creation/redemption feature is designed to make it likely that shares normally will trade close to the value of the fund’s holdings, disruptions to creations and redemptions, including disruptions at market makers, APs or market participants, or during periods of significant market volatility, may result in market prices that differ significantly from the value of the fund’s holdings. Although market makers will generally take advantage of differences between the NAV and the market price of fund shares through arbitrage opportunities, there is no guarantee that they will do so. Secondary markets may be subject to irregular trading activity, wide bid-ask spreads and extended trade settlement periods, which could cause a material decline in the fund’s NAV. The fund’s investment results are measured based upon the daily NAV of the fund. Investors purchasing and selling shares in the secondary market may not experience investment results consistent with those experienced by those APs creating and redeeming shares directly with the fund.
Operational 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
Prospectus December 17, 2021
12
Xtrackers S&P MidCap 400 ESG ETF

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.
Authorized Participant concentration risk. The fund may have a limited number of financial institutions that may act as APs. Only APs who have entered into agreements with the fund’s distributor may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the fund (as described in the section of this Prospectus entitled “Buying and Selling Shares”). If those APs exit the business or are unable to process creation and/or redemption orders, (including in situations where APs have limited or diminished access to capital required to post collateral) and no other AP is able to step forward to create and redeem in either of these cases, shares may trade at a discount to NAV like closed-end fund shares and may even face delisting (that is, investors would no longer be able to trade shares in the secondary market).
Non-diversification risk. The fund is classified as non-diversified under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. This means that the fund may invest in securities of relatively few issuers. Thus, the performance of one or a small number of portfolio holdings can affect overall performance.
If the fund becomes classified as “diversified” over time and again becomes non-diversified as a result of a change in relative market capitalization or index weighting of one or more constituents of the index that the fund is designed to track, non-diversification risk would apply.
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.
Securities lending risk. Securities lending involves the risk that the fund may lose money because the borrower of the loaned securities fails to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. The fund could also lose money in the event of a decline in the value of the collateral provided for the loaned securities, or a decline in the value of any investments made with cash collateral or even a loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially while holding the securities.
Past Performance
Since the fund commenced operations on February 24, 2021, performance information is not available for a full calendar year.
Once available, the fund’s performance information will be accessible on the fund’s website at Xtrackers.com (the website does not form a part of this prospectus) and will provide some indication of the risks of investing in the fund by showing changes in the fund’s performance and by showing how the fund’s returns compare with those of a broad measure of market performance.
Management
Investment Advisor
DBX Advisors LLC
Portfolio Managers
Bryan Richards, CFA, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC and Head of Portfolio Engineering, Systematic Investment Solutions, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2021.
Patrick Dwyer, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC and Senior Portfolio Engineer, Systematic Investment Solutions, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2021.
Shlomo Bassous, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC and Senior Portfolio Engineer, Systematic Investment Solutions, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2021.
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 ALPS Distributors, Inc., the fund’s distributor. You may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the fund (ask) when buying or selling shares (the “bid-ask spread”). Information on the fund’s net asset value, market price, premiums and discounts and bid-ask spreads may be found at Xtrackers.com.
Prospectus December 17, 2021
13
Xtrackers S&P MidCap 400 ESG ETF

Tax Information
The fund's distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income or capital gains, except when your investment is in an IRA, 401(k), or other tax-advantaged investment plan. Any withdrawals you make from such tax- advantaged investment plans, however, may be taxable to you.
Payments 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 Advisor 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 December 17, 2021
14
Xtrackers S&P MidCap 400 ESG ETF


Xtrackers S&P SmallCap 600 ESG ETF
Ticker: SMLE
Stock Exchange: NYSE Arca, Inc.
Investment Objective
Xtrackers S&P SmallCap 600 ESG ETF (the “fund”), seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of the S&P SmallCap 600 ESG Index (the “Underlying Index”).
Fees and Expenses
These are the fees and expenses that you will pay when you buy, hold and sell shares. You may also pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries on the purchase and sale of shares of the fund, which are not reflected in the table and example below.
ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES
(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
Management fee
0.15%
Other Expenses1
None
Total annual fund operating expenses
0.15%
1Because 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 (including one year of capped expenses in each period) remain the same. The Example does not take into account brokerage commissions that you may pay on your purchases and sales of shares of the fund. It also does not include the transaction fees on purchases and redemptions of Creation Units (defined herein), because those fees will not be imposed
on retail investors. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
 
1 Year
3 Years
 
$15
$48
PORTFOLIO TURNOVER 
The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover may indicate higher transaction costs and may mean higher taxes if you are investing in a taxable account. These costs are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the expense example, and can affect the fund's performance.
Portfolio turnover rate for the fund, for the period from February 24, 2021 (commencement of operations) through the most recent fiscal year, was 25%.
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 SmallCap 600 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 SmallCap 600 Index, using an ESG score as the defining characteristic.
All constituents of the S&P SmallCap 600 Index are eligible for selection by the Underlying Index, with the exception of companies that:
Prospectus December 17, 2021 15 Xtrackers S&P SmallCap 600 ESG ETF

■ Engage in the production of tobacco, have tobacco sales accounting for greater than 10% of their revenue, derive more than 10% of their revenue from tobacco-related products and services, or hold more than a 25% stake in a company involved in these activities;
■ Engage in the business of controversial weapons (cluster weapons, landmines (anti-personnel mines), biological or chemical weapons, depleted uranium weapons, white phosphorous weapons, nuclear weapons, or hold more than a 25% stake in a company involved in these activities).
■ 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 analyze news reports and other publicly available information 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 15% to 25% of ESG scores from each GICS Industry Group. ESG scores are assigned by SAM, an international investment company focusing on sustainability investments. For the purposes of ESG assessment, SAM uses a Corporate Sustainability Assessment (“CSA”), a rules-based questionnaire, to compile and analyze information relating to companies’ use of ESG factors. SAM also assigns companies to industries defined by SAM and the assessment is largely specific to each industry. SAM uses the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS®) as its starting point for determining industry classification.
■ Generate 5% or more of their revenue from thermal coal, specifically thermal coal extraction and power generation.
After excluding such companies, the Underlying Index selects from the remaining companies in the S&P SmallCap 600 Index as follows:
1. For each GICS Industry Group, companies are selected in decreasing order of ESG Score, until 75% 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 will invest at least 80% of its total assets (but typically far more) in component securities of the Underlying Index.
As of October 31, 2021, the Underlying Index consisted of 391 securities, with an average market capitalization of approximately $1.98 billion and a minimum market capitalization of approximately $173 million. The fund is classified as non-diversified under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (“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 October 31, 2021, a significant percentage of the Underlying Index was comprised of issuers in the industrials (18.2%) and financials (18.1%) sectors. The industrials sector includes companies engaged in the manufacture and distribution of capital goods, such as those used in defense, construction and engineering, companies that manufacture and distribute electrical equipment and industrial machinery and those that provide commercial and transportation services and supplies. The financials sector includes companies involved in banking, consumer finance, asset management and custody banks, as well as investment banking and brokerage and insurance. To the extent that the fund tracks the Underlying Index, the fund’s investment in certain sectors may change over time.
Under normal circumstances, the Underlying Index is rebalanced annually, effective after the close of the last business day of April. The fund rebalances its portfolio in accordance with the Underlying Index, and, therefore, any changes to the Underlying Index’s rebalance schedule will result in corresponding changes to the fund’s rebalance schedule.
While the fund is currently classified as “non-diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, it may operate as or become classified as “diversified” over time. The fund could again become non-diversified solely as a result of a change in relative market capitalization or index weighting of one or more constituents of the index that
Prospectus December 17, 2021
16
Xtrackers S&P SmallCap 600 ESG ETF

the fund is designed to track. Shareholder approval will not be sought when the fund crosses from diversified to non-diversified status under such circumstances.
Xtrackers ETFs are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC, Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC, their respective affiliates or SAM, and none of such parties make any representation regarding the advisability of investing in such ETFs, nor do they have any liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions of the S&P SmallCap 600 ESG Index.
Securities lending. The fund may lend its portfolio securities to brokers, dealers and other financial institutions desiring to borrow securities to complete transactions and for other purposes. In connection with such loans, the fund receives liquid collateral equal to at least 102% of the value of the portfolio securities being lent. This collateral is marked to market on a daily basis. The fund may lend its portfolio securities in an amount up to 33 1/3% of its total assets.
Main Risks
As with any investment, you could lose all or part of your investment in the fund, and the fund’s performance could trail that of other investments. The fund is subject to the main risks noted below, any of which may adversely affect the fund’s net asset value (“NAV”), trading price, yield, total return and ability to meet its investment objective, as well as numerous other risks that are described in greater detail in the section of this Prospectus entitled “Additional Information About Fund Strategies, Underlying Index Information and Risks” and in the Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”).
ESG investment strategy risk. The Underlying Index’s ESG methodology, and thus the fund’s investment strategy, limits the types and number of investment opportunities available to the fund and, as a result, the fund may underperform other funds that do not have an ESG focus. The Underlying Index’s ESG methodology may result in the fund investing in securities or industry sectors that underperform the market as a whole or underperform other funds screened for ESG standards. The ESG scores used in the Underlying Index’s ESG methodology are based on information that is publicly available and/or provided by the companies themselves or by third parties and such information may be unavailable or unreliable. Additionally, investors may differ in their interpretations of what constitutes positive or negative ESG characteristics of a company. For those reasons, the index provider may be unsuccessful in creating an index composed of companies that exhibit positive ESG characteristics. Regulatory changes or interpretations regarding the definitions and/or use of ESG criteria could have a material adverse effect
on the fund’s ability to invest in accordance with its investment policies and/or achieve its investment objective, as well as the ability of certain classes of investors to invest in funds following an ESG strategy such as the fund.
Stock market risk. When stock prices fall, you should expect the value of your investment to fall as well. Stock prices can be hurt by poor management on the part of the stock’s issuer, shrinking product demand and other business risks. These may affect single companies as well as groups of companies. The market as a whole may not favor the types of investments the fund makes, which could adversely affect a stock’s price, regardless of how well the company performs, or the fund’s ability to sell a stock at an attractive price. There is a chance that stock prices overall will decline because stock markets tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising and falling prices. Events in the US and global financial markets, including actions taken by the US Federal Reserve or foreign central banks to stimulate or stabilize economic growth, may at times result in unusually high market volatility which could negatively affect performance. To the extent that the fund invests in a particular geographic region, capitalization or sector, the fund’s performance may be affected by the general performance of that region, capitalization or sector.
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, increased government activity, including economic stimulus measures, and supply chain disruptions that it has caused. 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, including the risk of future increased rates of infection due to low vaccination rates and/or the lack of effectiveness of current vaccines against new variants. The pandemic has affected and may continue to 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 the pandemic may result in
Prospectus December 17, 2021
17
Xtrackers S&P SmallCap 600 ESG ETF

the fund and its service providers experiencing operational difficulties in coordinating a remote workforce and implementing their business continuity plans, among others.
The disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic may magnify the impact of each of the other risks described in this “MAIN RISKS” section and may increase volatility in one or more markets in which the fund invests leading to the potential for greater losses for the fund.
Small company risk. Small company stocks tend to be more volatile than medium-sized or large company stocks. Because stock analysts are less likely to follow small companies, less information about them is available to investors. Industry-wide reversals may have a greater impact on small companies, since they may lack the financial resources of larger companies. Small company stocks are typically less liquid than large company stocks.
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.
Industrials sector risk. To the extent that the fund invests significantly in the industrials sector, the fund will be sensitive to changes in, and the fund’s performance may depend to a greater extent on, the overall condition of the industrials sector. Companies in the industrials sector may be adversely affected by changes in government regulation, world events and economic conditions. In addition, companies in the industrials sector may be adversely affected by environmental damages, product liability claims and exchange rates.
Financials sector risk. To the extent that the fund invests significantly in the financials sector, the fund will be sensitive to changes in, and the fund’s performance may depend to a greater extent on, the overall condition of the financials sector. The financials sector is subject to extensive government regulation, can be subject to relatively rapid change due to increasingly blurred distinctions between service segments, and can be significantly affected by the availability and cost of capital funds, changes in interest rates, the rate of corporate and consumer debt defaults, and price competition.
Liquidity risk. In certain situations, it may be difficult or impossible to sell an investment at an acceptable price. This risk can be ongoing for any security that does not trade actively or in large volumes, for any security that trades primarily on smaller markets, and for investments that typically trade only among a limited number of large investors (such as certain types of derivatives or restricted securities). In unusual market conditions, even normally liquid securities may be affected by a degree of liquidity risk. This may affect only certain securities or an overall securities market.
Although the fund primarily seeks to redeem shares of the fund on an in-kind basis, if the fund is forced to sell underlying investments at reduced prices or under unfavorable conditions to meet redemption requests or other cash needs, the fund may suffer a loss. This may be magnified in circumstances where redemptions from the fund may be higher than normal.
Passive investing risk. Unlike a fund that is actively managed, in which portfolio management buys and sells securities based on research and analysis, the fund invests in securities included in, or representative of, the Underlying Index, regardless of their investment merits. Because the fund is designed to maintain a high level of exposure to the Underlying Index at all times, portfolio management generally will not buy or sell a security unless the security is added or removed, respectively, from the Underlying Index, and will not take any steps to invest defensively or otherwise reduce the risk of loss during market downturns.
Index-related risk. The fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of the Underlying Index as published by the index provider. There is no assurance that the Underlying Index provider will compile the Underlying Index accurately, or that the Underlying Index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. Market disruptions could cause delays in the Underlying Index’s rebalancing schedule. During any such delay, it is possible that the Underlying Index and, in turn, the fund will deviate from the Underlying Index’s stated methodology and therefore experience returns different than those that would have been achieved under a normal rebalancing schedule. Generally, the index provider does not provide any warranty, or accept any liability, with respect to the quality, accuracy or completeness of the Underlying Index or its related data, and does not guarantee that the Underlying Index will be in line with its stated methodology. Errors in the Underlying Index data, the Underlying Index computations and/or the construction of the Underlying Index in accordance with its stated 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. The Advisor and its affiliates do not provide any warranty or guarantee against such errors. Therefore, the gains, losses or costs associated with the index provider’s errors will generally be borne by the fund and its shareholders.
Tracking error risk. The fund may be subject to tracking error, which is the divergence of the fund’s performance from that of the Underlying Index. The performance of the fund may diverge from that of the 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
Prospectus December 17, 2021
18
Xtrackers S&P SmallCap 600 ESG ETF

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 in order to track the Underlying Index. To the extent that portfolio management uses a representative sampling approach (investing in a representative selection of securities included in the Underlying Index rather than all securities in the Underlying Index), such approach may cause the fund’s return to not be as well correlated with the return of the Underlying Index as would be the case if the fund purchased all of the securities in the Underlying Index in the proportions represented in the Underlying Index. 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 government imposed legal restrictions or limitations, a lack of liquidity in the markets in which such securities trade, potential adverse tax consequences or other reasons. To the extent the fund calculates its net asset value based on fair value prices and the value of the Underlying Index is based on market 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. Tracking error risk may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market conditions. For tax efficiency purposes, the fund may sell certain securities, and such sale may cause the fund to realize a loss and deviate from the performance of the Underlying Index. In light of the factors discussed above, the fund’s return may deviate significantly from the return of the Underlying Index.
Market price risk. Fund shares are listed for trading on an exchange and are bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The market prices of shares will fluctuate, in some cases materially, in response to changes in the NAV and supply and demand for shares. As a result, the trading prices of shares may deviate significantly from the NAV during periods of market volatility. The Advisor cannot predict whether shares will trade above, below or at their NAV. Given the fact that shares can be created and redeemed in Creation Units (defined below), the Advisor believes that large discounts or premiums to the NAV of shares should not be sustained in the long-term. If market makers exit the business or are unable to continue making markets in fund shares, shares may trade at a discount to NAV like closed-end fund shares and may even face delisting (that is, investors would no longer be able to trade shares in the secondary market). Further, while the creation/redemption feature is designed to make it likely that shares normally will trade close to the value of the fund’s holdings, disruptions to creations and redemptions, including disruptions at market makers, APs or market
participants, or during periods of significant market volatility, may result in market prices that differ significantly from the value of the fund’s holdings. Although market makers will generally take advantage of differences between the NAV and the market price of fund shares through arbitrage opportunities, there is no guarantee that they will do so. In addition, the securities held by the fund may be traded in markets that close at a different time than the exchange on which the fund’s shares trade. Liquidity in those securities may be reduced after the applicable closing times. Accordingly, during the time when the exchange is open but after the applicable market closing, fixing or settlement times, bid-ask spreads and the resulting premium or discount to the shares’ NAV is likely to widen. 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 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
Prospectus December 17, 2021
19
Xtrackers S&P SmallCap 600 ESG ETF

cybersecurity plans and systems put in place by its service providers, fund counterparties, issuers of securities held by the fund or other market participants.
Authorized Participant concentration risk. The fund may have a limited number of financial institutions that may act as APs. Only APs who have entered into agreements with the fund’s distributor may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the fund (as described in the section of this Prospectus entitled “Buying and Selling Shares”). If those APs exit the business or are unable to process creation and/or redemption orders, (including in situations where APs have limited or diminished access to capital required to post collateral) and no other AP is able to step forward to create and redeem in either of these cases, shares may trade at a discount to NAV like closed-end fund shares and may even face delisting (that is, investors would no longer be able to trade shares in the secondary market).
Non-diversification risk. The fund is classified as non-diversified under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. This means that the fund may invest in securities of relatively few issuers. Thus, the performance of one or a small number of portfolio holdings can affect overall performance.
If the fund becomes classified as “diversified” over time and again becomes non-diversified as a result of a change in relative market capitalization or index weighting of one or more constituents of the index that the fund is designed to track, non-diversification risk would apply.
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.
Securities lending risk. Securities lending involves the risk that the fund may lose money because the borrower of the loaned securities fails to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. The fund could also lose money in the event of a decline in the value of the collateral provided for the loaned securities, or a decline in the value of any investments made with cash collateral or even a loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially while holding the securities.
Past Performance
Since the fund commenced operations on February 24, 2021, performance information is not available for a full calendar year.
Once available, the fund’s performance information will be accessible on the fund’s website at Xtrackers.com (the website does not form a part of this prospectus) and will provide some indication of the risks of investing in the fund
by showing changes in the fund’s performance and by showing how the fund’s returns compare with those of a broad measure of market performance.
Management
Investment Advisor
DBX Advisors LLC
Portfolio Managers
Bryan Richards, CFA, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC and Head of Portfolio Engineering, Systematic Investment Solutions, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2021.
Patrick Dwyer, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC and Senior Portfolio Engineer, Systematic Investment Solutions, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2021.
Shlomo Bassous, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC and Senior Portfolio Engineer, Systematic Investment Solutions, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2021.
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 ALPS Distributors, Inc., the fund’s distributor. You may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the fund (ask) when buying or selling shares (the “bid-ask spread”). Information on the fund’s net asset value, market price, premiums and discounts and bid-ask spreads may be found at Xtrackers.com.
Tax Information
The fund's distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income or capital gains, except when your investment is in an IRA, 401(k), or other tax-advantaged investment plan. Any withdrawals you make from such tax- advantaged investment plans, however, may be taxable to you.
Prospectus December 17, 2021
20
Xtrackers S&P SmallCap 600 ESG ETF

Payments 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 Advisor 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 December 17, 2021
21
Xtrackers S&P SmallCap 600 ESG ETF

Fund Details
Additional Information About Fund Strategies, Underlying Index Information and Risks
Xtrackers S&P 500 ESG ETF
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”).
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. Under normal circumstances, the Underlying Index is rebalanced annually, effective after the close of the last business day of April. The fund rebalances its portfolio in accordance with the Underlying Index, and, therefore, any changes to the Underlying Index’s rebalance schedule will result in corresponding changes to the fund’s rebalance schedule.
All constituents of the S&P 500 Index are eligible for selection by the Underlying Index, with the exception of companies that:
■ Engage in the production of tobacco, have tobacco sales accounting for greater than 10% of their revenue, derive more than 10% of their revenue from tobacco-related products and services, or hold more than a 25% stake in a company involved in these activities.
■ Engage in the business of controversial weapons (cluster weapons, landmines (anti-personnel mines), biological or chemical weapons, depleted uranium weapons, white phosphorous weapons, nuclear weapons), or hold more than a 25% stake in a company involved in these activities.
■ Extract or generate electricity from thermal coal accounting for greater than 5% of their revenue.
■ 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 analyze news reports and other publicly available information 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 SAM, an international investment company focusing on sustainability investments. SAM uses a Corporate Sustainability Assessment (“CSA”), a rules-based questionnaire, to comply and analyze information relating to companies’ use of ESG factors. SAM also assigns companies to industries defined by SAM and the assessment is largely specific to each industry. SAM 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
Prospectus December 17, 2021 22 Fund Details

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. To the extent that the fund tracks the Underlying Index, the fund’s investment in certain sectors may change over time.
As of October 31, 2021, the Underlying Index consisted of 312 securities, with an average market capitalization of approximately $100.52 billion and a minimum market capitalization of approximately $3.96 billion. The fund will concentrate its investments (i.e., hold 25% or more of its total assets) in a particular industry or group of industries to the extent that its Underlying Index is concentrated. As of October 31, 2021, a significant percentage of the Underlying Index was comprised of issuers in the information technology (30.7%) and consumer discretionary (14.7%) sectors. 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. The consumer discretionary sector includes durable goods, apparel, entertainment and leisure, and automobiles.
While the fund is currently classified as “non-diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, it may operate as or become classified as “diversified” over time. The fund could again become non-diversified solely as a result of a change in relative market capitalization or index weighting of one or more constituents of the index that the fund is designed to track. Shareholder approval will not be sought when the fund crosses from diversified to non-diversified status under such circumstances.
The fund 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 the Advisor or its affiliates) subject to applicable limitations under 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 will not use futures or options for speculative purposes.
The fund expects to use futures contracts to a limited extent in seeking performance that corresponds to its Underlying Index.
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 DBX Advisors. S&P® and S&P 500® are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC (“S&P”); Dow Jones® is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC (“Dow Jones”); and these trademarks have been licensed for use by SPDJI and sublicensed for certain purposes by DBX Advisors. The ESG Scores used in the Index are calculated by SAM. DBX Advisors Xtrackers ETFs are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by SPDJI, Dow Jones, S&P, their respective affiliates or SAM, and none of such parties make any representation regarding the advisability of investing in such ETFs, nor do they have any liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions of the S&P 500 ESG Index.
Securities lending. The fund may lend its portfolio securities to brokers, dealers and other financial institutions desiring to borrow securities to complete transactions and for other purposes. In connection with such loans, the fund receives liquid collateral equal to at least 102% of the value of the portfolio securities being lent. This collateral is marked to market on a daily basis. The fund may lend its portfolio securities in an amount up to 33 1/3% of its total assets.
Underlying Index Information
S&P 500 ESG Index
Index Description. The S&P 500 ESG Index 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 S&P 500 ESG Index is calculated and maintained by S&P Dow Jones Indices (“Index Provider” or “S&P”). The Underlying Index generally selects its components from amongst all constituents of the S&P 500 Index, but
Prospectus December 17, 2021
23
Fund Details

excludes companies engaged in specific business activities, and/or companies with disqualifying United Nations Global Compact (“UNGC”) or SAM ESG scores as described below:
Thermal Coal. Using data provided by Sustainalytics, a global leader in sustainability research and analysis, S&P excludes from the Underlying Index companies that either:
Extracts thermal coal for greater than 5% of their revenue; or
Generates electricity from thermal coal for greater than 5% of their revenue.
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 analyze published reports, news sources and campaigns by non-governmental organizations. Arabesque analyzes these information sources 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 SAM, 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 SAM to determine eligibility for inclusion in the Underlying Index. SAM uses a CSA, a rules-based questionnaire, to comply and analyze information relating to companies’ use of ESG factors. SAM uses publicly available information to complete the CSA with respect to companies that do not complete it themselves. After companies in the S&P 500 Index that engage in the businesses, or have the low UNGC or SAM 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. During extraordinary market conditions, the Index Provider my delay any reconstitution and rebalancing of the Underlying Index. During any such delay it is possible that the Underlying Index will deviate from the Underlying Index’s stated methodology.
The Underlying Index consists of large- and medium capitalization companies in the US market. Currently, there are approximately 297 components in the Underlying Index.
Prospectus December 17, 2021
24
Fund Details

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.
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. The ESG scores used in the Underlying Index’s ESG methodology are based on information that is publicly available and/or provided by the companies themselves or by third parties and such information may be unavailable or unreliable. Additionally, investors may differ in their interpretations of what constitutes positive or negative ESG characteristics of a company. For those reasons, the index provider may be unsuccessful in creating an index composed of companies that exhibit positive ESG characteristics. Regulatory changes or interpretations regarding the definitions and/or use of ESG criteria could have a material adverse effect on the fund’s ability to invest in accordance with its investment policies and/or achieve its investment objective, as well as the ability of certain classes of investors to invest in funds following an ESG strategy such as the fund.
Stock market risk. When stock prices fall, you should expect the value of your investment to fall as well. Stock prices can be hurt by poor management on the part of the stock’s issuer, shrinking product demand and other business risks. These may affect single companies as well as groups of companies. The market as a whole may not favor the types of investments the fund makes, which could adversely affect a stock’s price, regardless of how well the company performs, or the fund’s ability to sell a stock at an attractive price. There is a chance that stock prices overall will decline because stock markets tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising and falling prices. Events in the US and global financial markets, including actions taken by the US Federal Reserve or foreign central banks to stimulate or stabilize economic growth, may at times result in unusually high market volatility which could negatively affect performance. To the extent that the fund invests in a particular geographic region, capitalization or sector, the fund’s performance may be affected by the general performance of that region, capitalization or sector.
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, increased government activity, including economic stimulus measures, and supply chain disruptions that it has caused. 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, including the risk of future increased rates of infection due to low vaccination rates and/or the lack of effectiveness of current vaccines against new variants. The pandemic has affected and may continue to 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 the 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.
The disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic may magnify the impact of each of the other risks described in this “MAIN RISKS” section and may increase volatility in one or more markets in which the fund invests leading to the potential for greater losses for the fund.
Medium-sized company risk. Medium-sized company stocks tend to be more volatile than large company stocks. Because stock analysts are less likely to follow medium-sized companies, less information about them is available to investors. Industry-wide reversals may have a greater impact on medium-sized companies, since they lack the financial resources of larger companies. Medium-sized company stocks are typically less liquid than large company stocks.
Focus risk. To the extent that the fund focuses its investments in particular industries, asset classes or sectors of the economy, any market price movements, regulatory or technological changes, or economic conditions affecting companies in those industries, asset classes or sectors may have a significant impact on the fund’s performance.
Information technology sector risk. To the extent that the fund invests significantly in the information technology sector, the fund will be sensitive to changes in, and the fund’s performance may depend to a greater extent on, the overall condition of the information technology sector. Information technology companies are particularly vulnerable to
Prospectus December 17, 2021
25
Fund Details

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.
Consumer discretionary sector risk. To the extent that the fund invests significantly in the consumer discretionary sector, the fund will be sensitive to changes in, and the fund’s performance may depend to a greater extent on, the overall condition of the consumer discretionary sector. Companies engaged in the consumer discretionary sector are subject to fluctuations in supply and demand. These companies may also be adversely affected by changes in consumer spending as a result of world events, political and economic conditions, commodity price volatility, changes in exchange rates, imposition of import controls, increased competition, depletion of resources and labor relations.
Liquidity risk. In certain situations, it may be difficult or impossible to sell an investment at an acceptable price. This risk can be ongoing for any security that does not trade actively or in large volumes, for any security that trades primarily on smaller markets, and for investments that typically trade only among a limited number of large investors (such as certain types of derivatives or restricted securities). In unusual market conditions, even normally liquid securities may be affected by a degree of liquidity risk. This may affect only certain securities or an overall securities market.
Although the fund primarily seeks to redeem shares of the fund on an in-kind basis, if the fund is forced to sell underlying investments at reduced prices or under unfavorable conditions to meet redemption requests or other cash needs, the fund may suffer a loss. This may be magnified in circumstances where redemptions from the fund may be higher than normal.
Passive investing risk. Unlike a fund that is actively managed, in which portfolio management buys and sells securities based on research and analysis, the fund invests in securities included in, or representative of, the Underlying Index, regardless of their investment merits. Because the fund is designed to maintain a high level of exposure to the Underlying Index at all times, portfolio management generally will not buy or sell a security unless the security is added or removed, respectively, from the Underlying Index, and will not take any steps to invest defensively or otherwise reduce the risk of loss during market downturns.
Index-related risk. The fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of the Underlying Index as published by the index provider. There is no assurance that the Underlying Index provider will compile the Underlying Index accurately, or that the Underlying Index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. Market disruptions could cause delays in the Underlying Index’s rebalancing schedule. During any such delay, it is possible that the Underlying Index and, in turn, the fund will deviate from the Underlying Index’s stated methodology and therefore experience returns different than those that would have been achieved under a normal rebalancing schedule. Generally, the index provider does not provide any warranty, or accept any liability, with respect to the quality, accuracy or completeness of the Underlying Index or its related data, and does not guarantee that the Underlying Index will be in line with its stated methodology. Errors in the Underlying Index data, the Underlying Index computations and/or the construction of the Underlying Index in accordance with its stated 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. The Advisor and its affiliates do not provide any warranty or guarantee against such errors. Therefore, the gains, losses or costs associated with the index provider’s errors will generally be borne by the fund and its shareholders.
Tracking error risk. The fund may be subject to tracking error, which is the divergence of the fund’s performance from that of the Underlying Index. The performance of the fund may diverge from that of the 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 in order to track the Underlying Index. To the extent that portfolio management uses a representative sampling approach (investing in a representative selection of securities included in the Underlying Index rather than all securities in the Underlying Index), such approach may cause the fund’s return to not be as well correlated with the return of the Underlying Index as would be the case if the fund purchased all of the securities in the Underlying Index in the proportions represented in the Underlying Index. 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
Prospectus December 17, 2021
26
Fund Details

represented in the Underlying Index, due to government imposed legal restrictions or limitations, a lack of liquidity in the markets in which such securities trade, potential adverse tax consequences or other reasons. To the extent the fund calculates its net asset value based on fair value prices and the value of the Underlying Index is based on market 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. Tracking error risk may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market conditions. For tax efficiency purposes, the fund may sell certain securities, and such sale may cause the fund to realize a loss and deviate from the performance of the Underlying Index. In light of the factors discussed above, the fund’s return may deviate significantly from the return of the Underlying Index.
The need to comply with the tax diversification and other requirements of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, may also impact the fund’s ability to replicate the performance of the Underlying Index. In addition, if the fund utilizes derivative instruments or holds other instruments that are not included in the Underlying Index, the fund’s return may not correlate as well with the returns of the Underlying Index as would be the case if the fund purchased all the securities in the Underlying Index directly. Actions taken in response to proposed corporate actions could result in increased tracking error.
Market price risk. Fund shares are listed for trading on an exchange and are bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The market prices of shares will fluctuate, in some cases materially, in response to changes in the NAV and supply and demand for shares. As a result, the trading prices of shares may deviate significantly from 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 Advisor cannot predict whether shares will trade above, below or at their NAV. Given the fact that shares can be created and redeemed in Creation Units, the Advisor 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’s 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). 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 funds and various orders that may be placed. Investors should consult their financial intermediary before purchasing or selling shares of the fund.
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 an exchange and may, therefore, have a material effect on the market price of the fund’s shares.
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
Prospectus December 17, 2021
27
Fund Details

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.
Cyber-attacks may include unauthorized attempts by third parties to improperly access, modify, disrupt the operations of, or prevent access to the systems of the fund’s service providers or counterparties, issuers of securities held by the fund or other market participants or data within them. In addition, power or communications outages, acts of god, information technology equipment malfunctions, operational errors, and inaccuracies within software or data processing systems may also disrupt business operations or impact critical data.
Cyber-attacks, disruptions, or failures may adversely affect the fund and its shareholders or cause reputational damage and subject the fund to regulatory fines, litigation costs, penalties or financial losses, reimbursement or other compensation costs, and/or additional compliance costs. In addition, cyber-attacks, disruptions, or failures involving a fund counterparty could affect such counterparty’s ability to meet its obligations to the fund, which may result in losses to the fund and its shareholders. Similar types of operational and technology risks are also present for issuers of securities held by the fund, which could have material adverse consequences for such issuers, and may cause the fund’s investments to lose value. Furthermore, as a result of cyber-attacks, disruptions, or failures, an exchange or market may close or issue trading halts on specific securities or the entire market, which may result in the fund being, among other things, unable to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments or unable to accurately price its investments.
For example, the fund relies on various sources to calculate its NAV. 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.
Authorized Participant concentration risk. The fund may have a limited number of financial institutions that may act as APs. Only APs who have entered into agreements with the fund’s distributor may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the fund (as described in the section of this Prospectus entitled “Buying and Selling Shares”). If those APs exit the business or are unable to process creation and/or redemption orders, (including in situations where APs have limited or diminished access to capital required to post collateral) and no other AP is able to step forward to create and redeem in either of these cases, shares may trade at a discount to NAV like closed-end fund shares and may even face delisting (that is, investors would no longer be able to trade shares in the secondary market).
Non-diversification risk. The fund is classified as non-diversified under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. This means that the fund may invest in securities of relatively few issuers. Thus, the performance of one or a small number of portfolio holdings can affect overall performance.
If the fund becomes classified as “diversified” over time and again becomes non-diversified as a result of a change in relative market capitalization or index weighting of one or more constituents of the index that the fund is designed to track, non-diversification risk would apply.
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.
Securities lending risk. Securities lending involves the risk that the fund may lose money because the borrower of the loaned securities fails to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. The fund could also lose money in the event of a decline in the value of the collateral provided for the loaned securities, or a decline in the value of any investments made with cash collateral or even a loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially while holding the securities.
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
Prospectus December 17, 2021
28
Fund Details

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” (i.e., 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 risk. 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.
Xtrackers S&P MidCap 400 ESG ETF
Investment Objective
Xtrackers S&P MidCap 400 ESG ETF (the “fund”), seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of the S&P MidCap 400 ESG Index (the “Underlying Index”).
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 MidCap 400 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 MidCap 400 Index, using an ESG score as the defining characteristic.
All constituents of the S&P MidCap 400 Index are eligible for selection by the Underlying Index, with the exception of companies that:
■ Engage in the production of tobacco, have tobacco sales accounting for greater than 10% of their revenue, derive more than 10% of their revenue from tobacco-related products and services, or hold more than a 25% stake in a company involved in these activities.
■ Engage in the business of controversial weapons (cluster weapons, landmines (anti-personnel mines), biological or chemical weapons, depleted uranium weapons, white phosphorous weapons, nuclear weapons, or hold more than a 25% stake in a company involved in these activities).
■ 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 analyze news reports and other publicly available information 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 15% to 25% of ESG scores from each GICS Industry Group. ESG scores are assigned by SAM, an international investment company focusing on sustainability investments. For the purposes of ESG assessment, SAM uses a Corporate Sustainability Assessment (“CSA”), a rules-based questionnaire, to compile and analyze information relating to companies’ use of ESG factors. SAM also assigns companies to industries defined by SAM and the assessment is largely specific to each industry. SAM uses the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS®) as its starting point for determining industry classification.
■ Generate 5% or more of their revenue from thermal coal, specifically thermal coal extraction and power generation.
After excluding such companies, the Underlying Index selects from the remaining companies in the S&P MidCap 400 Index as follows:
1. For each GICS Industry Group, companies are selected in decreasing order of ESG Score, until 75% 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
Prospectus December 17, 2021
29
Fund Details

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 will invest at least 80% of its total assets (but typically far more) in component securities of the Underlying Index.
As of October 31, 2021, the Underlying Index consisted of 263 securities, with an average market capitalization of approximately $6.54 billion and a minimum market capitalization of approximately $1.72 billion. The fund is classified as non-diversified under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (“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 October 31, 2021, a significant percentage of the Underlying Index was comprised of issuers in the industrials (19.3%), financials (16.5%) and consumer discretionary (15.2%) sectors. The industrials sector includes companies engaged in the manufacture and distribution of capital goods, such as those used in defense, construction and engineering, companies that manufacture and distribute electrical equipment and industrial machinery and those that provide commercial and transportation services and supplies. The financials sector includes companies involved in banking, consumer finance, asset management and custody banks, as well as investment banking and brokerage and insurance. The consumer discretionary sector includes durable goods, apparel, entertainment and leisure, and automobiles. To the extent that the fund tracks the Underlying Index, the fund’s investment in certain sectors may change over time.
Under normal circumstances, the Underlying Index is rebalanced annually, effective after the close of the last business day of April. The fund rebalances its portfolio in accordance with the Underlying Index, and, therefore, any
changes to the Underlying Index’s rebalance schedule will result in corresponding changes to the fund’s rebalance schedule.
While the fund is currently classified as “non-diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, it may operate as or become classified as “diversified” over time. The fund could again become non-diversified solely as a result of a change in relative market capitalization or index weighting of one or more constituents of the index that the fund is designed to track. Shareholder approval will not be sought when the fund crosses from diversified to non-diversified status under such circumstances.
The fund 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 the Advisor or its affiliates) subject to applicable limitations under 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 will not use futures or options for speculative purposes.
The fund expects to use futures contracts to a limited extent in seeking performance that corresponds to its Underlying Index.
S&P MidCap 400 ESG Index is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC or its affiliates (“SPDJI”), and has been licensed for use by DBX Advisors. S&P® and S&P 400® are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC (“S&P”); Dow Jones® is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC (“Dow Jones”); and these trademarks have been licensed for use by SPDJI and sublicensed for certain purposes by DBX Advisors. The ESG Scores used in the S&P MidCap 400 ESG Index are calculated by SAM. DBX Advisors Xtrackers ETFs are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by SPDJI, Dow Jones, S&P, their respective affiliates or SAM, and none of such parties make any representation regarding the advisability of investing in such ETFs, nor do they have any liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions of the S&P MidCap 400 ESG Index.
Securities lending. The fund may lend its portfolio securities to brokers, dealers and other financial institutions desiring to borrow securities to complete transactions and for other purposes. In connection with such loans, the fund receives liquid collateral equal to at least 102% of the value of the portfolio securities being lent. This collateral is marked to market on a daily basis. The fund may lend its portfolio securities in an amount up to 33 1/3% of its total assets.
Prospectus December 17, 2021
30
Fund Details

Underlying Index Information
S&P MidCap 400 ESG Index
Index Description. S&P MidCap 400 ESG Index 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 MidCap 400 Index.
S&P MidCap 400 ESG Index is calculated and maintained by S&P Dow Jones Indices (“Index Provider” or “S&P”). The Underlying Index generally selects its components from amongst all constituents of the S&P MidCap 400 Index, but excludes companies engaged in specific business activities, and/or companies with disqualifying United Nations Global Compact (“UNGC”) or SAM 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.
Sustainalytics data is also used to identify companies that generate 5% or more of their revenue from thermal coal, specifically thermal coal extraction and power generation.
Low UNGC Score. Using a data tool provided by Arabesque, a global asset management firm, which implements quantitative models and data to analyze published reports, news sources and campaigns conducted by non-governmental organizations. Arabesque analyzes the information sources 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 SAM, 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 MidCap 400 Index. The Underlying Index uses company ratings and research provided by SAM to determine eligibility for inclusion in the Underlying Index. SAM uses a Corporate Sustainability Assessment (“CSA”), a rules-based questionnaire, to compile and analyze information relating to companies’ use of ESG factors. SAM uses publicly available information to complete the CSA with respect to companies that do not complete it themselves. SAM customizes the CSA for each GICS Industry Group. After companies in the S&P MidCap 400 Index that engage in the businesses, or have the low UNGC or SAM 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 75% 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 MidCap 400 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 MidCap 400 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 MidCap 400 Index, it is also removed from the Underlying Index simultaneously. Between rebalancings, a stock may be
Prospectus December 17, 2021
31
Fund Details

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 medium capitalization companies in the US market. As of October 31, 2021, there were approximately 263 components in the Underlying Index.
Under normal circumstances, the Underlying Index is rebalanced annually, effective after the close of the last business day of April. The fund rebalances its portfolio in accordance with the Underlying Index, and, therefore, any changes to the Underlying Index’s rebalance schedule will result in corresponding changes to the fund’s rebalance schedule.
During extraordinary market conditions, the Index Provider may delay any scheduled rebalancing of the Underlying Index. During any such delay it is possible that the Underlying Index will deviate from the Underlying Index’s stated methodology.
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.
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. The ESG scores used in the Underlying Index’s ESG methodology are based on information that is publicly available and/or provided by the companies themselves or by third parties and such information may be unavailable or unreliable. Additionally, investors may differ in their interpretations of what constitutes positive or negative ESG characteristics of a company. For those reasons, the index provider may be unsuccessful in creating an index composed of companies that exhibit positive ESG characteristics. Regulatory changes or interpretations regarding the definitions and/or use of ESG criteria could have a material adverse effect on the fund’s ability to invest in accordance with its investment policies and/or achieve its investment objective, as well as the ability of certain classes of investors to invest in funds following an ESG strategy such as the fund.
Stock market risk. When stock prices fall, you should expect the value of your investment to fall as well. Stock prices can be hurt by poor management on the part of the
stock’s issuer, shrinking product demand and other business risks. These may affect single companies as well as groups of companies. The market as a whole may not favor the types of investments the fund makes, which could adversely affect a stock’s price, regardless of how well the company performs, or the fund’s ability to sell a stock at an attractive price. There is a chance that stock prices overall will decline because stock markets tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising and falling prices. Events in the US and global financial markets, including actions taken by the US Federal Reserve or foreign central banks to stimulate or stabilize economic growth, may at times result in unusually high market volatility which could negatively affect performance. To the extent that the fund invests in a particular geographic region, capitalization or sector, the fund’s performance may be affected by the general performance of that region, capitalization or sector.
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, increased government activity, including economic stimulus measures, and supply chain disruptions that it has caused. 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, including the risk of future increased rates of infection due to low vaccination rates and/or the lack of effectiveness of current vaccines against new variants. The pandemic has affected and may continue to 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 the 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.
The disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic may magnify the impact of each of the other risks described in this “MAIN RISKS” section and may increase volatility in one or more markets in which the fund invests leading to the potential for greater losses for the fund.
Prospectus December 17, 2021
32
Fund Details

Medium-sized company risk. Medium-sized company stocks tend to be more volatile than large company stocks. Because stock analysts are less likely to follow medium-sized companies, less information about them is available to investors. Industry-wide reversals may have a greater impact on medium-sized companies, since they lack the financial resources of larger companies. Medium-sized company stocks are typically less liquid than large company stocks.
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.
Industrials sector risk. To the extent that the fund invests significantly in the industrials sector, the fund will be sensitive to changes in, and the fund’s performance may depend to a greater extent on, the overall condition of the industrials sector. Companies in the industrials sector may be adversely affected by changes in government regulation, world events and economic conditions. In addition, companies in the industrials sector may be adversely affected by environmental damages, product liability claims and exchange rates.
Financials sector risk. To the extent that the fund invests significantly in the financials sector, the fund will be sensitive to changes in, and the fund’s performance may depend to a greater extent on, the overall condition of the financials sector. The financials sector is subject to extensive government regulation, can be subject to relatively rapid change due to increasingly blurred distinctions between service segments, and can be significantly affected by the availability and cost of capital funds, changes in interest rates, the rate of corporate and consumer debt defaults, and price competition.
Certain events in the financials sector may cause an unusually high degree of volatility in the financial markets, and cause certain financials sector companies to incur large losses. Securities of financials sector companies may experience a decline in value when such companies experience substantial declines in the valuations of their assets, take action to raise capital (such as the issuance of debt or equity securities), or cease operations. Credit losses resulting from financial difficulties of borrowers and financial losses associated with investment activities can negatively impact the financials sector. Issuers that have exposure to the real estate, mortgage and credit markets can be particularly affected by market turmoil.
Consumer discretionary sector risk. To the extent that the fund invests significantly in the consumer discretionary sector, the fund will be sensitive to changes in, and the fund’s performance may depend to a greater extent on, the overall condition of the consumer discretionary sector. Companies engaged in the consumer discretionary sector are subject to fluctuations in supply and demand. These
companies may also be adversely affected by changes in consumer spending as a result of world events, political and economic conditions, commodity price volatility, changes in exchange rates, imposition of import controls, increased competition, depletion of resources and labor relations.
Liquidity risk. In certain situations, it may be difficult or impossible to sell an investment at an acceptable price. This risk can be ongoing for any security that does not trade actively or in large volumes, for any security that trades primarily on smaller markets, and for investments that typically trade only among a limited number of large investors (such as certain types of derivatives or restricted securities). In unusual market conditions, even normally liquid securities may be affected by a degree of liquidity risk. This may affect only certain securities or an overall securities market.
Although the fund primarily seeks to redeem shares of the fund on an in-kind basis, if the fund is forced to sell underlying investments at reduced prices or under unfavorable conditions to meet redemption requests or other cash needs, the fund may suffer a loss. This may be magnified in circumstances where redemptions from the fund may be higher than normal.
Passive investing risk. Unlike a fund that is actively managed, in which portfolio management buys and sells securities based on research and analysis, the fund invests in securities included in, or representative of, the Underlying Index, regardless of their investment merits. Because the fund is designed to maintain a high level of exposure to the Underlying Index at all times, portfolio management generally will not buy or sell a security unless the security is added or removed, respectively, from the Underlying Index, and will not take any steps to invest defensively or otherwise reduce the risk of loss during market downturns.
Index-related risk. The fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of the Underlying Index as published by the index provider. There is no assurance that the Underlying Index provider will compile the Underlying Index accurately, or that the Underlying Index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. Market disruptions could cause delays in the Underlying Index’s rebalancing schedule. During any such delay, it is possible that the Underlying Index and, in turn, the fund will deviate from the Underlying Index’s stated methodology and therefore experience returns different than those that would have been achieved under a normal rebalancing schedule. Generally, the index provider does not provide any warranty, or accept any liability, with respect to the quality, accuracy or completeness of the Underlying Index or its related data, and does not guarantee that the Underlying Index will be in line with its stated methodology. Errors in the Underlying Index data, the Underlying Index computations and/or the construction of the Underlying Index in accordance with its
Prospectus December 17, 2021
33
Fund Details

stated 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. The Advisor and its affiliates do not provide any warranty or guarantee against such errors. Therefore, the gains, losses or costs associated with the index provider’s errors will generally be borne by the fund and its shareholders.
Tracking error risk. The fund may be subject to tracking error, which is the divergence of the fund’s performance from that of the Underlying Index. The performance of the fund may diverge from that of the 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 in order to track the Underlying Index. To the extent that portfolio management uses a representative sampling approach (investing in a representative selection of securities included in the Underlying Index rather than all securities in the Underlying Index), such approach may cause the fund’s return to not be as well correlated with the return of the Underlying Index as would be the case if the fund purchased all of the securities in the Underlying Index in the proportions represented in the Underlying Index. 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 government imposed legal restrictions or limitations, a lack of liquidity in the markets in which such securities trade, potential adverse tax consequences or other reasons. To the extent the fund calculates its net asset value based on fair value prices and the value of the Underlying Index is based on market 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. Tracking error risk may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market conditions. For tax efficiency purposes, the fund may sell certain securities, and such sale may cause the fund to realize a loss and deviate from the performance of the Underlying Index. In light of the factors discussed above, the fund’s return may deviate significantly from the return of the Underlying Index.
The need to comply with the tax diversification and other requirements of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, may also impact the fund’s ability to replicate the performance of the Underlying Index. In addition, if the
fund utilizes derivative instruments or holds other instruments that are not included in the Underlying Index, the fund’s return may not correlate as well with the returns of the Underlying Index as would be the case if the fund purchased all the securities in the Underlying Index directly. Actions taken in response to proposed corporate actions could result in increased tracking error.
Market price risk. Fund shares are listed for trading on an exchange and are bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The market prices of shares will fluctuate, in some cases materially, in response to changes in the NAV and supply and demand for shares. As a result, the trading prices of shares may deviate significantly from 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 Advisor cannot predict whether shares will trade above, below or at their NAV. Given the fact that shares can be created and redeemed in Creation Units, the Advisor 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’s 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). 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
Prospectus December 17, 2021
34
Fund Details

purchase and sell shares of the funds and various orders that may be placed. Investors should consult their financial intermediary before purchasing or selling shares of the fund.
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 an exchange and may, therefore, have a material effect on the market price of the fund’s shares.
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.
Cyber-attacks may include unauthorized attempts by third parties to improperly access, modify, disrupt the operations of, or prevent access to the systems of the fund’s service providers or counterparties, issuers of securities held by the fund or other market participants or data within them. In addition, power or communications outages, acts of god, information technology equipment malfunctions, operational errors, and inaccuracies within software or data processing systems may also disrupt business operations or impact critical data.
Cyber-attacks, disruptions, or failures may adversely affect the fund and its shareholders or cause reputational damage and subject the fund to regulatory fines, litigation costs, penalties or financial losses, reimbursement or other compensation costs, and/or additional compliance costs. In addition, cyber-attacks, disruptions, or failures involving a fund counterparty could affect such counterparty’s ability to meet its obligations to the fund, which may result in losses to the fund and its shareholders. Similar types of operational and technology risks are also present for issuers of securities held by the fund, which could have material adverse consequences for such issuers, and may cause the fund’s investments to lose value. Furthermore, as a result of cyber-attacks, disruptions, or failures, an exchange or market may close or issue trading halts on specific securities or the entire market, which may result in the fund being, among other things, unable to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments or unable to accurately price its investments.
For example, the fund relies on various sources to calculate its NAV. 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.
Authorized Participant concentration risk. The fund may have a limited number of financial institutions that may act as APs. Only APs who have entered into agreements with the fund’s distributor may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the fund (as described in the section of this Prospectus entitled “Buying and Selling Shares”). If those APs exit the business or are unable to process creation and/or redemption orders, (including in situations where APs have limited or diminished access to capital required to post collateral)
Prospectus December 17, 2021
35
Fund Details

and no other AP is able to step forward to create and redeem in either of these cases, shares may trade at a discount to NAV like closed-end fund shares and may even face delisting (that is, investors would no longer be able to trade shares in the secondary market).
Non-diversification risk. The fund is classified as non-diversified under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. This means that the fund may invest in securities of relatively few issuers. Thus, the performance of one or a small number of portfolio holdings can affect overall performance.
If the fund becomes classified as “diversified” over time and again becomes non-diversified as a result of a change in relative market capitalization or index weighting of one or more constituents of the index that the fund is designed to track, non-diversification risk would apply.
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.
Securities lending risk. Securities lending involves the risk that the fund may lose money because the borrower of the loaned securities fails to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. The fund could also lose money in the event of a decline in the value of the collateral provided for the loaned securities, or a decline in the value of any investments made with cash collateral or even a loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially while holding the securities.
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” (i.e., 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 risk. 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.
Xtrackers S&P SmallCap 600 ESG ETF
Investment Objective
Xtrackers S&P SmallCap 600 ESG ETF (the “fund”), seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of the S&P SmallCap 600 ESG Index (the “Underlying Index”).
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 SmallCap 600 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 SmallCap 600 Index, using an ESG score as the defining characteristic.
All constituents of the S&P SmallCap 600 Index are eligible for selection by the Underlying Index, with the exception of companies that:
■ Engage in the production of tobacco, have tobacco sales accounting for greater than 10% of their revenue, derive more than 10% of their revenue from tobacco-related products and services, or hold more than a 25% stake in a company involved in these activities;
■ Engage in the business of controversial weapons (cluster weapons, landmines (anti-personnel mines), biological or chemical weapons, depleted uranium weapons, white
Prospectus December 17, 2021
36
Fund Details

phosphorous weapons, nuclear weapons, or hold more than a 25% stake in a company involved in these activities).
■ 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 analyze news reports and other publicly available information 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 15% to 25% of ESG scores from each GICS Industry Group. ESG scores are assigned by SAM, an international investment company focusing on sustainability investments. For the purposes of ESG assessment, SAM uses a Corporate Sustainability Assessment (“CSA”), a rules-based questionnaire, to compile and analyze information relating to companies’ use of ESG factors. SAM also assigns companies to industries defined by SAM and the assessment is largely specific to each industry. SAM uses the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS®) as its starting point for determining industry classification.
■ Generate 5% or more of their revenue from thermal coal, specifically thermal coal extraction and power generation.
After excluding such companies, the Underlying Index selects from the remaining companies in the S&P SmallCap 600 Index as follows:
1. For each GICS Industry Group, companies are selected in decreasing order of ESG Score, until 75% 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 will invest at least 80% of its total assets (but typically far more) in component securities of the Underlying Index.
As of October 31, 2021, the Underlying Index consisted of 391 securities, with an average market capitalization of approximately $1.98 billion and a minimum market capitalization of approximately $173 million. The fund is classified as non-diversified under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (“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 October 31, 2021, a significant percentage of the Underlying Index was comprised of issuers in the industrials (18.2%) and financials (18.1%) sectors. The industrials sector includes companies engaged in the manufacture and distribution of capital goods, such as those used in defense, construction and engineering, companies that manufacture and distribute electrical equipment and industrial machinery and those that provide commercial and transportation services and supplies. The financials sector includes companies involved in banking, consumer finance, asset management and custody banks, as well as investment banking and brokerage and insurance. To the extent that the fund tracks the Underlying Index, the fund’s investment in certain sectors may change over time.
Under normal circumstances, the Underlying Index is rebalanced annually, effective after the close of the last business day of April. The fund rebalances its portfolio in accordance with the Underlying Index, and, therefore, any changes to the Underlying Index’s rebalance schedule will result in corresponding changes to the fund’s rebalance schedule.
While the fund is currently classified as “non-diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, it may operate as or become classified as “diversified” over time. The fund could again become non-diversified solely as a result of a change in relative market capitalization or index weighting of one or more constituents of the index that the fund is designed to track. Shareholder approval will not be sought when the fund crosses from diversified to non-diversified status under such circumstances.
The fund 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 the Advisor or its affiliates) subject to applicable limitations under the 1940 Act, or exemptions therefrom, convertible securities, structured notes (notes on which the amount of principal
Prospectus December 17, 2021
37
Fund Details

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 will not use futures or options for speculative purposes.
The fund expects to use futures contracts to a limited extent in seeking performance that corresponds to its Underlying Index.
S&P SmallCap 600 ESG Index is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC or its affiliates (“SPDJI”), and has been licensed for use by DBX Advisors. S&P® and S&P 600® are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC (“S&P”); Dow Jones® is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC (“Dow Jones”); and these trademarks have been licensed for use by SPDJI and sublicensed for certain purposes by DBX Advisors. The ESG Scores used in the S&P SmallCap 600 ESG Index are calculated by SAM. DBX Advisors Xtrackers ETFs are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by SPDJI, Dow Jones, S&P, their respective affiliates or SAM, and none of such parties make any representation regarding the advisability of investing in such ETFs, nor do they have any liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions of the S&P SmallCap 600 ESG Index.
Securities lending. The fund may lend its portfolio securities to brokers, dealers and other financial institutions desiring to borrow securities to complete transactions and for other purposes. In connection with such loans, the fund receives liquid collateral equal to at least 102% of the value of the portfolio securities being lent. This collateral is marked to market on a daily basis. The fund may lend its portfolio securities in an amount up to 33 1/3% of its total assets.
Underlying Index Information
S&P SmallCap 600 ESG Index
Index Description. S&P SmallCap 600 ESG Index 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 SmallCap 600 Index.
S&P SmallCap 600 ESG Index is calculated and maintained by S&P Dow Jones Indices (“Index Provider” or “S&P”). The Underlying Index generally selects its components from amongst all constituents of the S&P SmallCap 600 Index, but excludes companies engaged in specific business activities, and/or companies with disqualifying United Nations Global Compact (“UNGC”) or SAM 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.
Sustainalytics data is also used to identify companies that generate 5% or more of their revenue from thermal coal, specifically thermal coal extraction and power generation.
Low UNGC Score. Using a data tool provided by Arabesque, a global asset management firm, which implements quantitative models and data to analyze published reports, news sources and campaigns conducted by non-governmental organiations. Arabesque analyzes the information sources 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 SAM, 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 SmallCap 600 Index. The Underlying Index uses company ratings and research provided by SAM to determine eligibility for inclusion in the Underlying Index. SAM uses a Corporate Sustainability Assessment (“CSA”), a rules-based questionnaire, to compile and analyze information relating to companies’ use of ESG factors. SAM uses publicly available information to complete the CSA with respect to companies that do not complete it themselves. SAM customizes the CSA for each GICS Industry Group. After companies in the S&P SmallCap 600 Index that engage in the businesses, or have the low UNGC or SAM ESG
Prospectus December 17, 2021
38
Fund Details

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 75% 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 SmallCap 600 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 SmallCap 600 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 SmallCap 600 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 small capitalization companies in the US market. As of October 31, 2021, there were approximately 391 components in the Underlying Index.
Under normal circumstances, the Underlying Index is rebalanced annually, effective after the close of the last business day of April. The fund rebalances its portfolio in accordance with the Underlying Index, and, therefore, any changes to the Underlying Index’s rebalance schedule will result in corresponding changes to the fund’s rebalance schedule.
During extraordinary market conditions, the Index Provider may delay any scheduled rebalancing of the Underlying Index. During any such delay it is possible that the Underlying Index will deviate from the Underlying Index’s stated methodology.
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.
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. The ESG scores used in the Underlying Index’s ESG methodology are based on information that is publicly available and/or provided by the companies themselves or by third parties and such information may be unavailable or unreliable. Additionally, investors may differ in their interpretations of what constitutes positive or negative ESG characteristics of a company. For those reasons, the index provider may be unsuccessful in creating an index composed of companies that exhibit positive ESG characteristics. Regulatory changes or interpretations regarding the definitions and/or use of ESG criteria could have a material adverse effect on the fund’s ability to invest in accordance with its investment policies and/or achieve its investment objective, as well as the ability of certain classes of investors to invest in funds following an ESG strategy such as the fund.
Stock market risk. When stock prices fall, you should expect the value of your investment to fall as well. Stock prices can be hurt by poor management on the part of the stock’s issuer, shrinking product demand and other business risks. These may affect single companies as well as groups of companies. The market as a whole may not favor the types of investments the fund makes, which could adversely affect a stock’s price, regardless of how well the company performs, or the fund’s ability to sell a stock at an attractive price. There is a chance that stock prices overall will decline because stock markets tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising and falling prices. Events in the US and global financial markets, including actions taken by the US Federal Reserve or foreign central banks to stimulate or stabilize economic growth, may at times result in unusually high market volatility which could negatively affect performance. To the extent that the fund invests in a particular geographic region, capitalization or sector, the fund’s performance may be affected by the general performance of that region, capitalization or sector.
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
Prospectus December 17, 2021
39
Fund Details

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, increased government activity, including economic stimulus measures, and supply chain disruptions that it has caused. 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, including the risk of future increased rates of infection due to low vaccination rates and/or the lack of effectiveness of current vaccines against new variants. The pandemic has affected and may continue to 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 the 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.
The disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic may magnify the impact of each of the other risks described in this “MAIN RISKS” section and may increase volatility in one or more markets in which the fund invests leading to the potential for greater losses for the fund.
Small company risk. Small company stocks tend to be more volatile than medium-sized or large company stocks. Because stock analysts are less likely to follow small companies, less information about them is available to investors. Industry-wide reversals may have a greater impact on small companies, since they may lack the financial resources of larger companies. Small company stocks are typically less liquid than large company stocks.
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.
Industrials sector risk. To the extent that the fund invests significantly in the industrials sector, the fund will be sensitive to changes in, and the fund’s performance may depend to a greater extent on, the overall condition of the industrials sector. Companies in the industrials sector may be adversely affected by changes in government regulation, world events and economic conditions. In addition,
companies in the industrials sector may be adversely affected by environmental damages, product liability claims and exchange rates.
Financials sector risk. To the extent that the fund invests significantly in the financials sector, the fund will be sensitive to changes in, and the fund’s performance may depend to a greater extent on, the overall condition of the financials sector. The financials sector is subject to extensive government regulation, can be subject to relatively rapid change due to increasingly blurred distinctions between service segments, and can be significantly affected by the availability and cost of capital funds, changes in interest rates, the rate of corporate and consumer debt defaults, and price competition.
Certain events in the financials sector may cause an unusually high degree of volatility in the financial markets, and cause certain financials sector companies to incur large losses. Securities of financials sector companies may experience a decline in value when such companies experience substantial declines in the valuations of their assets, take action to raise capital (such as the issuance of debt or equity securities), or cease operations. Credit losses resulting from financial difficulties of borrowers and financial losses associated with investment activities can negatively impact the financials sector. Issuers that have exposure to the real estate, mortgage and credit markets can be particularly affected by market turmoil.
Liquidity risk. In certain situations, it may be difficult or impossible to sell an investment at an acceptable price. This risk can be ongoing for any security that does not trade actively or in large volumes, for any security that trades primarily on smaller markets, and for investments that typically trade only among a limited number of large investors (such as certain types of derivatives or restricted securities). In unusual market conditions, even normally liquid securities may be affected by a degree of liquidity risk. This may affect only certain securities or an overall securities market.
Although the fund primarily seeks to redeem shares of the fund on an in-kind basis, if the fund is forced to sell underlying investments at reduced prices or under unfavorable conditions to meet redemption requests or other cash needs, the fund may suffer a loss. This may be magnified in circumstances where redemptions from the fund may be higher than normal.
Passive investing risk. Unlike a fund that is actively managed, in which portfolio management buys and sells securities based on research and analysis, the fund invests in securities included in, or representative of, the Underlying Index, regardless of their investment merits. Because the fund is designed to maintain a high level of exposure to the Underlying Index at all times, portfolio management generally will not buy or sell a security unless the security is added or removed, respectively, from the Underlying
Prospectus December 17, 2021
40
Fund Details

Index, and will not take any steps to invest defensively or otherwise reduce the risk of loss during market downturns.
Index-related risk. The fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of the Underlying Index as published by the index provider. There is no assurance that the Underlying Index provider will compile the Underlying Index accurately, or that the Underlying Index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. Market disruptions could cause delays in the Underlying Index’s rebalancing schedule. During any such delay, it is possible that the Underlying Index and, in turn, the fund will deviate from the Underlying Index’s stated methodology and therefore experience returns different than those that would have been achieved under a normal rebalancing schedule. Generally, the index provider does not provide any warranty, or accept any liability, with respect to the quality, accuracy or completeness of the Underlying Index or its related data, and does not guarantee that the Underlying Index will be in line with its stated methodology. Errors in the Underlying Index data, the Underlying Index computations and/or the construction of the Underlying Index in accordance with its stated 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. The Advisor and its affiliates do not provide any warranty or guarantee against such errors. Therefore, the gains, losses or costs associated with the index provider’s errors will generally be borne by the fund and its shareholders.
Tracking error risk. The fund may be subject to tracking error, which is the divergence of the fund’s performance from that of the Underlying Index. The performance of the fund may diverge from that of the 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 in order to track the Underlying Index. To the extent that portfolio management uses a representative sampling approach (investing in a representative selection of securities included in the Underlying Index rather than all securities in the Underlying Index), such approach may cause the fund’s return to not be as well correlated with the return of the Underlying Index as would be the case if the fund purchased all of the securities in the Underlying Index in the proportions represented in the Underlying
Index. 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 government imposed legal restrictions or limitations, a lack of liquidity in the markets in which such securities trade, potential adverse tax consequences or other reasons. To the extent the fund calculates its net asset value based on fair value prices and the value of the Underlying Index is based on market 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. Tracking error risk may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market conditions. For tax efficiency purposes, the fund may sell certain securities, and such sale may cause the fund to realize a loss and deviate from the performance of the Underlying Index. In light of the factors discussed above, the fund’s return may deviate significantly from the return of the Underlying Index.
The need to comply with the tax diversification and other requirements of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, may also impact the fund’s ability to replicate the performance of the Underlying Index. In addition, if the fund utilizes derivative instruments or holds other instruments that are not included in the Underlying Index, the fund’s return may not correlate as well with the returns of the Underlying Index as would be the case if the fund purchased all the securities in the Underlying Index directly. Actions taken in response to proposed corporate actions could result in increased tracking error.
Market price risk. Fund shares are listed for trading on an exchange and are bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The market prices of shares will fluctuate, in some cases materially, in response to changes in the NAV and supply and demand for shares. As a result, the trading prices of shares may deviate significantly from 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 Advisor cannot predict whether shares will trade above, below or at their NAV. Given the fact that shares can be created and redeemed in Creation Units, the Advisor 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
Prospectus December 17, 2021
41
Fund Details

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’s 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). 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 funds and various orders that may be placed. Investors should consult their financial intermediary before purchasing or selling shares of the fund.
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 an exchange and may, therefore, have a material effect on the market price of the fund’s shares.
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.
Cyber-attacks may include unauthorized attempts by third parties to improperly access, modify, disrupt the operations of, or prevent access to the systems of the fund’s service providers or counterparties, issuers of securities held by the fund or other market participants or data within them. In addition, power or communications outages, acts of god, information technology equipment malfunctions, operational errors, and inaccuracies within software or data processing systems may also disrupt business operations or impact critical data.
Cyber-attacks, disruptions, or failures may adversely affect the fund and its shareholders or cause reputational damage and subject the fund to regulatory fines, litigation costs, penalties or financial losses, reimbursement or other compensation costs, and/or additional compliance costs. In addition, cyber-attacks, disruptions, or failures involving a fund counterparty could affect such counterparty’s ability to meet its obligations to the fund, which may result in losses to the fund and its shareholders. Similar types of operational and technology risks are also present for issuers of securities held by the fund, which could have material adverse consequences for such issuers, and may cause the fund’s investments to lose value. Furthermore, as a result of cyber-attacks, disruptions, or failures, an exchange or market may close or issue trading halts on specific securities or the entire market, which may result in the fund being, among other things, unable to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments or unable to accurately price its investments.
Prospectus December 17, 2021
42
Fund Details

For example, the fund relies on various sources to calculate its NAV. 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.
Authorized Participant concentration risk. The fund may have a limited number of financial institutions that may act as APs. Only APs who have entered into agreements with the fund’s distributor may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the fund (as described in the section of this Prospectus entitled “Buying and Selling Shares”). If those APs exit the business or are unable to process creation and/or redemption orders, (including in situations where APs have limited or diminished access to capital required to post collateral) and no other AP is able to step forward to create and redeem in either of these cases, shares may trade at a discount to NAV like closed-end fund shares and may even face delisting (that is, investors would no longer be able to trade shares in the secondary market).
Non-diversification risk. The fund is classified as non-diversified under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. This means that the fund may invest in securities of relatively few issuers. Thus, the performance of one or a small number of portfolio holdings can affect overall performance.
If the fund becomes classified as “diversified” over time and again becomes non-diversified as a result of a change in relative market capitalization or index weighting of one or more constituents of the index that the fund is designed to track, non-diversification risk would apply.
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.
Securities lending risk. Securities lending involves the risk that the fund may lose money because the borrower of the loaned securities fails to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. The fund could also lose money in the event of a decline in the value of the collateral provided for the loaned securities, or a decline in the value of any investments made with cash collateral or even a loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially while holding the securities.
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” (i.e., 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 risk. 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.
Other Policies and Risks
While the previous pages describe the main points of each fund’s strategy and risks, there are a few other matters to know about:
Each of the policies described herein, including the investment objective and 80% investment policies of each fund, constitutes a non-fundamental policy that may be changed by the Board without shareholder approval. Each fund’s 80% investment policy requires 60 days’ prior written notice to shareholders before they can be changed. Certain fundamental policies of each fund which can only be changed with shareholder approval are set forth in the SAI.
Prospectus December 17, 2021
43
Fund Details

Because each fund seeks to track its Underlying Index, no fund invests defensively and each fund will not invest in money market instruments or other short-term investments as part of a temporary defensive strategy to protect against potential market declines.
Each 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.
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 each 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.
From time to time a third party, the Advisor and/or its affiliates may invest in a fund and hold its investment for a specific period of time in order for a 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 a fund would be maintained at such levels. In order to comply with applicable law, it is possible that the Advisor or its affiliates, to the extent they are invested in a fund, may be required to redeem some or all of their ownership interests in a fund prematurely or at an inopportune time.
From time to time, a fund may have a concentration of shareholder accounts holding a significant percentage of shares outstanding. Investment activities of these shareholders could have a material impact on a fund. For example, a fund may be used as an underlying investment for other registered investment companies.
Portfolio Holdings Information
A description of DBX ETF Trust’s (“Trust”) policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of each fund’s portfolio securities is available in each fund’s SAI. The top holdings of each fund can be found at Xtrackers.com. Fund fact sheets provide information regarding each fund’s top holdings and may be requested by calling 1-855-329-3837 (1-855-DBX-ETFS).
Who Manages and Oversees the Funds
The Investment Advisor
DBX Advisors LLC (“Advisor”), with headquarters at 875 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10022, is the investment advisor for the fund. Under the oversight of the Board,
the Advisor makes the investment decisions, buys and sells securities for the fund and conducts research that leads to these purchase and sale decisions.
The Advisor is an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of DWS Group GmbH & Co. KGaA (“DWS Group”), a separate, publicly-listed financial services firm that is an indirect, majority-owned subsidiary of Deutsche Bank AG. Founded in 2010, the Advisor managed approximately $23 billion in 35 operational exchange-traded funds, as of November 30, 2021.
DWS represents the asset management activities conducted by DWS Group or any of its subsidiaries, including the Advisor 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 Advisor may utilize the resources of its global investment platform to provide investment management services through branch offices or affiliates located outside the US. In some cases, the Advisor may also utilize its branch offices or affiliates located in the US or outside the US 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 US, such activity may be subject to both US and foreign regulation. It is possible that the jurisdiction in which the Advisor 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 US.
Management Fee. Under the Investment Advisory Agreement, the Advisor is responsible for substantially all expenses of each fund, including the cost of transfer agency, custody, fund administration, compensation paid to the Independent Board Members, legal, audit and other services, except for the fee payments to the Advisor under the Investment Advisory Agreement (also known as a “unitary advisory fee”), interest expense, acquired fund fees and expenses, taxes, brokerage expenses, distribution fees or expenses (if any), litigation expenses and other extraordinary expenses.
Prospectus December 17, 2021
44
Fund Details

For its services to each fund, during the most recent fiscal year, the Advisor received aggregate unitary advisory fees at the following annual rates as a percentage of each fund’s average daily net assets.
Fund Name
Fee Paid
Xtrackers S&P 500 ESG ETF
0.10% *
Xtrackers S&P MidCap
400 ESG ETF
0.15%
Xtrackers S&P SmallCap
600 ESG ETF
0.15%
*
Reflecting the effect of expense limitations and/or fee waivers then in effect.
The following waiver is currently in effect:
For Xtrackers S&P 500 ESG ETF, the Advisor has contractually agreed through December 16, 2022 to waive a portion of its management fees to the extent necessary to prevent the operating expenses of the fund (excluding interest expense, taxes, brokerage expenses, distribution fees or expenses, litigation expenses and other extraordinary expenses) from exceeding 0.10% of the fund’s average daily net assets. This agreement may only be terminated by the fund’s Board (and may not be terminated by the Advisor) prior to that time.
A discussion regarding the basis for the Board's approval of each fund’s Investment Advisory Agreement is contained in the most recent semi-annual report for the semi-annual period ended February 28. For information on how to obtain shareholder reports, see the back cover.
Multi-Manager Structure. The Advisor and the Trust may rely on an exemptive order (the “Order”) from the SEC that permits the Advisor to enter into investment sub-advisory agreements with unaffiliated and affiliated subadvisors without obtaining shareholder approval. The Advisor, subject to the review and approval of the Board, selects subadvisors for each fund and supervises, monitors and evaluates the performance of the subadvisor.
The Order also permits the Advisor, subject to the approval of the Board, to replace subadvisors and amend investment subadvisory agreements, including fees, without shareholder approval whenever the Advisor and the Board believe such action will benefit a fund and its shareholders. The Advisor thus has the ultimate responsibility (subject to the ultimate oversight of the Board) to recommend the hiring and replacement of subadvisors as well as the discretion to terminate any subadvisor and reallocate a fund’s assets for management among any other subadvisor(s) and itself. This means that the Advisor is able to reduce the subadvisory fees and retain a larger portion of the management fee, or increase the subadvisory fees and retain a smaller portion of the management fee. Pursuant to the Order, the Advisor is not required to disclose its contractual fee arrangements with any subadvisor. The Advisor compensates a subadvisor out of its management fee.
Management
Xtrackers S&P 500 ESG ETF
The following Portfolio Managers are primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the fund. Each Portfolio Manager functions as a member of a portfolio management team.
Bryan Richards, CFA, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC and Head of Portfolio Engineering, Systematic Investment Solutions, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2019.
Joined DWS in 2011 with 11 years of industry experience. Prior to joining DWS, he worked in ETF management at XShares Advisors, an ETF issuer based in New York, and before that he served as an equity analyst for Fairhaven Capital LLC, a long/short equity fund.
Head of Passive Portfolio Management, Americas: New York.
BS in Finance, Boston College.
Patrick Dwyer, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC and Senior Portfolio Engineer, Systematic Investment Solutions, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2019.
Joined DWS in 2016 with 16 years of industry experience. Prior to joining DWS, he was the head of Northern Trust’s 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. Prior to joining Northern Trust in 2003, he participated in the Deutsche Asset Management graduate training program. He rotated through the domestic fixed income and US structured equity fund management groups.
Lead Equity Portfolio Manager, US Passive Equities: New York.
BS in Finance, Rutgers University.
Shlomo Bassous, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC and Senior Portfolio Engineer, Systematic Investment Solutions, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2019.
Joined DWS in 2017 with 13 years of industry experience. Prior to joining DWS, Mr. Bassous worked at Northern Trust where he filled a variety of operational functions supporting portfolio management. In 2010 he began managing equity portfolios on behalf of institutional clients across a variety of global benchmarks. 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.
Equity Portfolio Manager, US Passive Equities: New York.
Prospectus December 17, 2021
45
Fund Details

BS in Finance, Yeshiva University.
Xtrackers S&P MidCap 400 ESG ETF
The following Portfolio Managers are primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the fund. Each Portfolio Manager functions as a member of a portfolio management team.
Bryan Richards, CFA, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC and Head of Portfolio Engineering, Systematic Investment Solutions, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2021.
Joined DWS in 2011 with 11 years of industry experience. Prior to joining DWS, he worked in ETF management at XShares Advisors, an ETF issuer based in New York, and before that he served as an equity analyst for Fairhaven Capital LLC, a long/short equity fund.
Head of Passive Portfolio Management, Americas: New York.
BS in Finance, Boston College.
Patrick Dwyer, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC and Senior Portfolio Engineer, Systematic Investment Solutions, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2021.
Joined DWS in 2016 with 16 years of industry experience. Prior to joining DWS, he was the head of Northern Trust’s 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. Prior to joining Northern Trust in 2003, he participated in the Deutsche Asset Management graduate training program. He rotated through the domestic fixed income and US structured equity fund management groups.
Lead Equity Portfolio Manager, US Passive Equities: New York.
BS in Finance, Rutgers University.
Shlomo Bassous, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC and Senior Portfolio Engineer, Systematic Investment Solutions, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2021.
Joined DWS in 2017, with twelve years of industry experience. Prior to joining DWS, 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.
Portfolio Manager for Equities, Passive Asset Management: New York.
BS in Finance from Sy Syms School of Business, Yeshiva University.
Xtrackers S&P SmallCap 600 ESG ETF
The following Portfolio Managers are primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the fund. Each Portfolio Manager functions as a member of a portfolio management team.
Bryan Richards, CFA, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC and Head of Portfolio Engineering, Systematic Investment Solutions, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2021.
Joined DWS in 2011 with 11 years of industry experience. Prior to joining DWS, he worked in ETF management at XShares Advisors, an ETF issuer based in New York, and before that he served as an equity analyst for Fairhaven Capital LLC, a long/short equity fund.
Head of Passive Portfolio Management, Americas: New York.
BS in Finance, Boston College.
Patrick Dwyer, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC and Senior Portfolio Engineer, Systematic Investment Solutions, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2021.
Joined DWS in 2016 with 16 years of industry experience. Prior to joining DWS, he was the head of Northern Trust’s 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. Prior to joining Northern Trust in 2003, he participated in the Deutsche Asset Management graduate training program. He rotated through the domestic fixed income and US structured equity fund management groups.
Lead Equity Portfolio Manager, US Passive Equities: New York.
BS in Finance, Rutgers University.
Prospectus December 17, 2021
46
Fund Details

Shlomo Bassous, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC and Senior Portfolio Engineer, Systematic Investment Solutions, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2021.
Joined DWS in 2017, with twelve years of industry experience. Prior to joining DWS, 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.
Portfolio Manager for Equities, Passive Asset Management: New York.
BS in Finance from Sy Syms School of Business, Yeshiva University.
Each fund’s Statement of Additional Information provides additional information about a portfolio manager’s investments in each fund, a description of the portfolio management compensation structure and information regarding other accounts managed.
Prospectus December 17, 2021
47
Fund Details

Investing in the Funds
Additional shareholder information, including how to buy and sell shares of a fund, is available free of charge by calling toll-free: 1-855-329-3837 (1-855-DBX-ETFS) or visiting our website at Xtrackers.com.
Buying and Selling Shares
Shares of a fund are 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 shares of a 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 a 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 a fund based on its trading volume and market liquidity, and is generally lower if a fund has a lot of trading volume and market liquidity and higher if a fund has little trading volume and market liquidity.
Shares of a fund may be acquired or redeemed directly from a 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 a fund. Once created, shares of a 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 a fund’s shareholders. The Board noted that shares of a fund can only be purchased and redeemed directly from the fund in Creation Units by APs and that the vast majority of trading in a fund’s shares occurs on the secondary market. Because the secondary market trades do not involve a 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 a fund’s trading costs and the realization of capital gains. With regard to the purchase or redemption of Creation Units directly with a fund, 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 a fund and increased transaction costs, which could negatively impact a fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective. However, the Board noted that direct trading by APs is critical to ensuring that a fund’s shares trade at or close to NAV. In addition, a fund imposes both fixed and variable transaction fees on purchases and redemptions of fund shares to cover the custodial and other costs incurred by a fund in effecting trades. These fees increase if an investor substitutes cash in part or in whole for securities, reflecting the fact that a fund’s trading costs increase in those circumstances. Given this structure, the Board determined that with respect to a fund it is not necessary to adopt policies and procedures to detect and deter market timing of a fund’s shares.
Investments in a fund by other registered investment companies are subject to certain limitations imposed by the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). Until January 19, 2022, such registered investment companies may invest in a fund beyond the applicable limitations imposed by the 1940 Act pursuant to the terms and conditions of an SEC exemptive order issued to the Trust, which includes a requirement that such registered investment companies enter into an agreement with the Trust. Effective January 19, 2022, the Trust's SEC exemptive order will be rescinded by SEC action and an investment in a fund by a registered investment company beyond the applicable limitations imposed by the 1940 Act must comply with the requirements of a new rule enacted by the SEC.
Shares of a fund trade on the exchange and under the ticker symbol as shown in the table below.
Fund name
Ticker Symbol
Stock Exchange
Xtrackers S&P 500 ESG
ETF
SNPE
NYSE Arca, Inc.
Xtrackers S&P MidCap
400 ESG ETF
MIDE
NYSE Arca, Inc.
Xtrackers S&P
SmallCap 600 ESG ETF
SMLE
NYSE Arca, Inc.
Prospectus December 17, 2021 48 Investing in the Funds

Book Entry
Shares of a 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 a fund and is recognized as the owner of all shares for all purposes.
Investors owning shares of a fund are beneficial owners as shown on the records of DTC or its participants. DTC serves as the securities depository for shares of a 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 a fund’s shares in the secondary market generally differ from a 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 a 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 a fund’s shares are listed or by market data vendors or other information providers. The 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 a 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 a fund. The quotations of certain fund holdings may not be updated during US trading hours if such holdings do not trade in the US. Each fund is not involved in, or responsible for, the calculation or dissemination of the IOPV and makes no representation or warranty as to its accuracy.
Determination of Net Asset Value
The NAV of each 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 US dollar are translated into US 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) US 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 each 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 each fund’s debt securities to determine the market price. For example, the prices of securities with characteristics similar to those held by each 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 each 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 Advisor believes will better reflect fair value in accordance with the Trust’s valuation policies and procedures approved by the Board. Each fund may use fair value pricing in a variety of circumstances, including but not limited to, situations when the value of a security in each 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
Prospectus December 17, 2021
49
Investing in the Funds

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 each fund’s NAV and the prices used by each fund’s Underlying Index. This may adversely affect each fund’s ability to track its Underlying Index.
Creations and Redemptions
Prior to trading in the secondary market, shares of the funds are “created” at NAV by market makers, large investors and institutions only in block-size Creation Units of 50,000 shares or multiples thereof (“Creation Units”). The size of a Creation Unit will be subject to change. Each “creator” or AP (which must be a DTC participant) enters into an authorized participant agreement (“Authorized Participant Agreement”) with the fund’s distributor, ALPS Distributors, Inc. (the “Distributor”), subject to acceptance by the 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 a fund and a designated amount of cash. Each 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.
Additional 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.
Each fund intends to comply with the US 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 (“1933 Act”). Further, an AP that is not a “qualified institutional buyer,” as such term is defined under Rule 144A under 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 a 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 a fund and the Advisor may purchase and resell fund shares 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 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 each fund is set forth in the table below. The maximum redemption fee, as a percentage of the amount redeemed, is 2%.
Fund Name
Fee Paid
Xtrackers S&P 500 ESG ETF(1)
$0
Xtrackers S&P MidCap
400 ESG ETF
$325
Xtrackers S&P SmallCap
600 ESG ETF
$450
(1) Effective August 30, 2019, the standard and maximum transaction fees for the creation or redemption of a Creation Unit of Xtrackers S&P 500 ESG ETF are paid by the fund’s Advisor. As such, the standard and maximum transaction fees for the creation or redemption of a Creation Unit of the fund are reduced from $800 to $0. The Advisor reserves the right to amend or discontinue this subsidy upon supplement to the fund’s prospectus.
Dividends and Distributions
General Policies. Dividends from net investment income, if any, are generally declared and paid quarterly by each 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 a fund. The Trust reserves the right to declare special distributions if, in its reasonable discretion, such action is necessary or advisable to preserve a fund’s status as a regulated investment company (“RIC”) or to avoid imposition of income or excise taxes on undistributed income or realized gains.
Prospectus December 17, 2021
50
Investing in the Funds

Dividends and other distributions on shares of a 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 as of the record date with proceeds received from a 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 a 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 a fund purchased in the secondary market.
Taxes
As with any investment, you should consider how your investment in shares of a fund will be taxed. The US federal income 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 a fund.
Unless your investment in fund shares is made through a tax-exempt entity or tax-advantaged retirement account, such as an IRA, you need to be aware of the possible tax consequences when a fund makes distributions or you sell fund shares.
US Federal Income Tax on Distributions
Distributions from a fund’s net investment income (other than qualified dividend income), including distributions of income from securities lending and distributions out of a fund’s net short-term capital gains, if any, are taxable to you as ordinary income for US federal income tax purposes. Distributions by a fund of net long-term capital gains in excess of net short-term capital losses (capital gain dividends) are taxable for US federal income tax purposes to non-corporate shareholders as long-term capital gains, regardless of how long the shareholders have held such fund’s shares. Distributions by a fund that qualify as qualified dividend income are taxable to non-corporate shareholders at long-term capital gain rates. The maximum individual US federal income tax 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. As discussed below, an additional 3.8% Medicare tax may also apply to certain non-corporate shareholders distributions from a fund.
A non-corporate shareholder may be eligible to treat qualified dividend income received by a fund as qualified dividend income when distributed to the non-corporate
shareholder if the shareholder satisfies certain holding period and other requirements. Generally, qualified dividend income includes dividend income from taxable US corporations and qualified non-US corporations, provided that a 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-US corporation means any non-US 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 a fund, and to a share of a fund held without being hedged by the shareholder receiving the dividend, 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 US 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.
Distributions in excess of a fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits will, as to each shareholder, be treated for US federal income tax purposes as a tax-free return of capital to the extent of the shareholder’s basis in his, her or its shares of the fund, and generally as a capital gain thereafter. Because a return of capital distribution will reduce the shareholder’s cost basis in his, her or its shares, a return of capital distribution may 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-US entity, a fund’s ordinary income dividends (which include distributions of net short term capital gains) will generally be subject to a 30% US withholding tax, unless a lower treaty rate applies or unless such income is effectively connected with a US trade or business, provided that withholding tax will generally not apply to any gain or income realized by a non-US shareholder in respect of any distributions of long-term capital gains or upon the sale or other disposition of shares of a 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 or if you are otherwise subject to back-up withholding.
Prospectus December 17, 2021
51
Investing in the Funds

US Federal Income Tax 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. Your ability to deduct capital losses may be limited.
Medicare Tax
An additional 3.8% Medicare tax is imposed on certain net investment income (including ordinary dividends and capital gain distributions received from a fund and net gains from redemptions or other taxable dispositions of fund shares) of US 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 US federal income tax law of an investment in a 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 a fund under all applicable tax laws.
Distribution
The Distributor distributes Creation Units for each fund on an agency basis. The Distributor does not maintain a secondary market in shares of a fund. The Distributor has no role in determining the policies of a fund or the securities that are purchased or sold by a fund. The Distributor’s principal address is 1290 Broadway, Suite 1000, Denver, Colorado 80203.
The Advisor and/or its affiliates may pay additional compensation, out of their own assets and not as an additional charge to a fund, to selected affiliated and unaffiliated brokers, dealers, participating insurance companies or other financial intermediaries (“financial representatives”) 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 Advisor and/or its affiliates may compensate financial representatives for providing a fund with “shelf space” or access to a third party platform or fund offering list or other marketing programs, including, without limitation, inclusion of a fund on preferred or recommended sales lists, fund “supermarket” platforms and other formal sales programs; granting the Advisor and/ or its affiliates access to the financial representative’s sales force; granting the
Advisor and/or its affiliates access to the financial representative’s conferences and meetings; assistance in training and educating the financial representative’s personnel; and obtaining other forms of marketing support.
The level of revenue sharing payments made to financial representatives 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 a fund attributable to the financial representative, the particular fund or fund type or other measures as agreed to by the Advisor and/or its affiliates and the financial representatives or any combination thereof. The amount of these revenue sharing payments is determined at the discretion of the Advisor and/or its affiliates from time to time, may be substantial, and may be different for different financial representatives based on, for example, the nature of the services provided by the financial representative.
Receipt of, or the prospect of receiving, additional compensation may influence your financial representative’s recommendation of a fund. You should review your financial representative’s compensation disclosure and/or talk to your financial representative to obtain more information on how this compensation may have influenced your financial representative’s recommendation of the fund. Additional information regarding these revenue sharing payments is included in a 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 a fund will also sell shares of a fund to their customers. However, the Advisor will not consider the sale of fund shares as a factor in the selection of broker-dealers to execute portfolio transactions for a fund. Accordingly, the Advisor 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 a fund. In addition, the Advisor and/or its affiliates will not use fund brokerage to pay for their obligation to provide additional compensation to financial representatives as described above.
Premium/Discount Information
Information regarding how often shares of each fund traded on NYSE Arca at a price above (i.e., at a premium) or below (i.e., at a discount) the NAV of each fund during the past calendar year can be found at Xtrackers.com.
Prospectus December 17, 2021
52
Investing in the Funds

Financial Highlights
The financial highlights are designed to help you understand recent financial performance. The figures in the first part of each table are for a single share. The total return figures represent the percentage that an investor in a fund would have earned (or lost), assuming all dividends and distributions were reinvested. This information has been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with each fund’s financial statements, is included in each fund’s Annual Report (see “For More Information” on the back cover).
Xtrackers S&P 500 ESG ETF
 
Years Ended
August 31,
Period Ended
 
2021
2020
8/31/2019a
Selected Per Share Data
Net Asset Value, beginning of period
$31.08
$25.30
$25.00
Income (loss) from investment operations:
 
 
 
Net investment income (loss)b
0.49
0.50
0.10
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)
8.79
5.85
0.20
Total from investment operations
9.28
6.35
0.30
Less distributions from:
 
 
 
Net investment income
(0.43)
(0.57)
Total distributions
(0.43)
(0.57)
Net Asset Value, end of period
$39.93
$31.08
$25.30
Total Return (%)c
30.16
25.71
1.20**
Ratios to Average Net Assets and Supplemental Data
Net Assets, end of period ($ millions)
745
270
11
Ratio of expenses before fee waiver (%)
0.11
0.11
0.11*
Ratio of expenses after fee waiver (%)
0.10
0.11
0.11*
Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%)
1.41
1.86
2.08*
Portfolio turnover rate (%)d
13
11
0**
a
For the period June 26, 2019 (commencement of operations) through August 31, 2019.
b
Based on average shares outstanding during the period.
c
Total Return would have been lower if certain expenses had not been reimbursed by the Advisor.
d
Portfolio turnover rate does not include securities received or delivered from processing creations or redemptions.
*
Annualized.
**
Not Annualized.
Prospectus December 17, 2021 53 Financial Highlights

Xtrackers S&P MidCap 400 ESG ETF
 
Period Ended
 
8/31/2021a
Selected Per Share Data
Net Asset Value, beginning of period
$25.00
Income (loss) from investment operations:
 
Net investment income (loss)b
0.14
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)
2.33
Total from investment operations
2.47
Less distributions from:
 
Net investment income
(0.08)
Total distributions
(0.08)
Net Asset Value, end of period
$27.39
Total Return (%)c
9.92**
Ratios to Average Net Assets and Supplemental Data
Net Assets, end of period ($ millions)
11
Ratio of expenses before fee waiver (%)
0.15*
Ratio of expenses after fee waiver (%)
0.15*
Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%)
1.00*
Portfolio turnover rate (%)d
27**
a
For the period February 24, 2021 (commencement of operations) through August 31, 2021.
b
Based on average shares outstanding during the period.
c
Total Return would have been lower if certain expenses had not been reimbursed by the Advisor.
d
Portfolio turnover rate does not include securities received or delivered from processing creations or redemptions.
*
Annualized.
**
Not Annualized.
Prospectus December 17, 2021 54 Financial Highlights

Xtrackers S&P SmallCap 600 ESG ETF
 
Period Ended
 
8/31/2021a
Selected Per Share Data
Net Asset Value, beginning of period
$25.00
Income (loss) from investment operations:
 
Net investment income (loss)b
0.16
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)
1.59
Total from investment operations
1.75
Less distributions from:
 
Net investment income
(0.07)
Total distributions
(0.07)
Net Asset Value, end of period
$26.68
Total Return (%)c
7.01**
Ratios to Average Net Assets and Supplemental Data
Net Assets, end of period ($ millions)
11
Ratio of expenses before fee waiver (%)
0.15*
Ratio of expenses after fee waiver (%)
0.15*
Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%)
1.19*
Portfolio turnover rate (%)d
25**
a
For the period February 24, 2021 (commencement of operations) through August 31, 2021.
b
Based on average shares outstanding during the period.
c
Total Return would have been lower if certain expenses had not been reimbursed by the Advisor.
d
Portfolio turnover rate does not include securities received or delivered from processing creations or redemptions.
*
Annualized.
**
Not Annualized.
Prospectus December 17, 2021 55 Financial Highlights

Appendix
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 Advisor, The Bank of New York Mellon, the Distributor or any of their respective affiliates.
The Advisor has entered into a license agreement with the Index Provider to use the Underlying Index. All license fees are paid by the Advisor out of its own resources and not the assets of the funds.
Disclaimers
The S&P 500 ESG Index, S&P MidCap 400 ESG Index and S&P SmallCap 600 ESG Index are each a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC or its affiliates (“SPDJI”) and has been licensed for use by the funds. 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 Advisor. The funds are 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 funds or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in the funds particularly or the ability of the Underlying Index to track general market performance. S&P Dow Jones Indices only relationship to the Advisor 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 Advisor or the funds. S&P Dow Jones Indices has no obligation to take the needs of the Advisor or the owners of the funds 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 funds or the timing of the issuance or sale of the funds or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the funds are 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 funds. 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 ADVISOR, OWNERS OF THE FUNDS, 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 ADVISOR, OTHER THAN THE LICENSORS OF S&P DOW JONES INDICES.
Prospectus December 17, 2021 56 Appendix

Shares of the funds 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 funds or any member of the public regarding the ability of the funds to track the total return performance of the Underlying Indexes or the ability of the Underlying Indexes 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 Indexes, nor in the determination of the timing of, prices of, or quantities of shares of the funds 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 funds in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the shares of the funds.
NYSE Arca does not guarantee the accuracy and/or the completeness of the Underlying Indexes 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 funds as licensee, licensee’s customers and counterparties, owners of the shares of the funds, 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 Indexes 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 other damages (including lost profits) even if notified of the possibility of such damages.
The Advisor does not guarantee the accuracy or the completeness of the Underlying Indexes or any data included therein and the Advisor shall have no liability for any errors, omissions or interruptions therein.
The Advisor makes no warranty, express or implied, to the owners of shares of the funds or to any other person or entity, as to results to be obtained by the funds from the use of the Underlying Indexes or any data included therein. The Advisor 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 Indexes or any data included therein. Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall the Advisor have any liability for any special, punitive, direct, indirect or consequential damages (including lost profits), even if notified of the possibility of such damages.
Prospectus December 17, 2021 57 Appendix

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
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 Xtrackers.com. For more information about a fund, you may request a copy of the SAI. The SAI provides detailed information about a 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 a 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)
Write:
DBX ETF Trust
c/o ALPS Distributors, Inc.
1290 Broadway, Suite 1000
Denver, Colorado 80203
Information about a fund (including the SAI), reports and other information about a fund are available on the EDGAR Database on the SEC’s website at sec.gov, and copies of
this information may be obtained, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following e-mail address: [email protected].
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.
No person is authorized to give any information or to make any representations about a 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
(12/17/21) SNPE-MIDE-SMLE-1