EDGAR HTML
 
Prospectus
October 1, 2024
 
Xtrackers MSCI Emerging Markets Hedged Equity ETF
NYSE Arca, Inc.: DBEM
 
 
 
 
Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF
NYSE Arca, Inc.: DBEF
 
 
 
 
Xtrackers MSCI Japan Hedged Equity ETF
NYSE Arca, Inc.: DBJP
 
 
 
 
Xtrackers MSCI Europe Hedged Equity ETF
NYSE Arca, Inc.: DBEU
 
 
 
 
Xtrackers MSCI All World ex US Hedged Equity ETF
NYSE Arca, Inc.: DBAW
 
 
 
 
Xtrackers MSCI EAFE High Dividend Yield Equity ETF
NYSE Arca, Inc.: HDEF
 
 
 
 
Xtrackers MSCI Eurozone Hedged Equity ETF
NYSE Arca, Inc.: DBEZ
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
2
7
7
8
8
8
 
9
9
9
10
15
16
16
16
16
 
17
17
17
18
23
24
24
24
24
 
25
25
25
26
31
32
32
32
32
 
33
33
33
34
39
40
40
40
40
 
41
41
41
42
47
48
48
48
48
 
50
50
50
51
56
57
57
57
57
 
58
58
70
79
87
97
106
115
124
124
125
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 MSCI Emerging Markets Hedged Equity ETF
 
Ticker: DBEM
Stock Exchange: NYSE Arca, Inc.
Investment Objective
The fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI EM US Dollar Hedged 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
0.65
Other Expenses1
0.02
Total annual fund operating expenses
0.67
(1)Other Expenses include interest expense of 0.02%.
EXAMPLE
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the fund's operating expenses remain the same. 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
 
$68
$214
$373
$835
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 17% 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 MSCI Emerging Markets (EM) US Dollar Hedged Index (the “Underlying Index”), which is designed to track emerging market performance while mitigating exposure to fluctuations between the value of the US dollar and the currencies of the countries included in the Underlying Index. 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
Prospectus October 1, 2024 1 Xtrackers MSCI Emerging Markets Hedged Equity ETF
80% of its total assets (but typically far more) in component securities (including depositary receipts in respect of such securities) of the Underlying Index.
As of July 31, 2024, the Underlying Index consisted of 1,382 securities, with an average market capitalization of approximately $1.73 billion and a minimum market capitalization of approximately $780 million, from issuers in the following countries (may reflect depository receipts or country of domicile): Australia, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Czechia, Egypt, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and the United States. Under normal circumstances, the Underlying Index is rebalanced monthly. The fund changes 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 schedule of portfolio changes.
The fund will normally invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in the equity securities of issuers from emerging markets countries and in instruments designed to hedge against the fund’s exposure to non-US currencies.
Emerging market countries are countries that are generally considered to be less economically mature than developed nations. As of July 31, 2024, a significant percentage of the Underlying Index was comprised of securities of issuers from China.
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 July 31, 2024, a significant percentage of the Underlying Index was comprised of issuers in the financials and information technology sectors. The fund’s exposure to particular sectors or countries may change over time to correspond to changes in the Underlying Index.
The fund may become “non-diversified,” as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, 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 or securities referred to herein are not sponsored, endorsed, issued, sold or promoted by MSCI (the “Index Provider”), and MSCI bears no liability with respect to the fund or securities or any index on which the fund or securities are based.
Derivatives. The fund may invest in derivatives, which are financial instruments whose performance is derived, at least in part, from the performance of an underlying asset,
security or index. In particular, portfolio management may use deliverable or non-deliverable forward (“NDF”) currency to hedge the fund’s currency exposure.
Portfolio management may also use futures contracts, options on futures contracts and other types of derivatives in seeking performance that corresponds to its Underlying Index and will not use such instruments for speculative purposes. The amount of forward contracts in the fund is based on the aggregate exposure of the fund and Underlying Index to each non-US currency based on currency weights as of the beginning of each month.
Securities lending. The fund may lend securities (up to one-third of total assets) to approved institutions, such as registered broker-dealers, pooled investment vehicles, banks and other financial institutions. In connection with such loans, the fund receives liquid collateral in an amount that is based on the type and value of the securities being lent, with riskier securities generally requiring higher levels of collateral.
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”). An investment in the fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency.
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. High market volatility may also result from significant shifts in momentum of one or more specific stocks due to unusual increases or decreases in trading activity. Momentum can change quickly, and securities subject to shifts in momentum may be more volatile
Prospectus October 1, 2024
2
Xtrackers MSCI Emerging Markets Hedged Equity ETF
than the market as a whole and returns on such securities may drop precipitously. 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. Economies and financial markets throughout the world have become increasingly interconnected, which has increased the likelihood that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other countries or regions. This includes reliance on global supply chains that are susceptible to disruptions resulting from, among other things, war and other armed conflicts, extreme weather events, and natural disasters. Such supply chain disruptions can lead to, and have led to, economic and market disruptions that have far-reaching effects on financial markets worldwide. The value of the fund’s investments may be negatively affected by adverse changes in overall economic or market conditions, such as the level of economic activity and productivity, unemployment and labor force participation rates, inflation or deflation (and expectations for inflation or deflation), interest rates, demand and supply for particular products or resources including labor, and debt levels and credit ratings, among other factors. Such adverse conditions may contribute to an overall economic contraction across entire economies or markets, which may negatively impact the profitability of issuers operating in those economies or markets. In addition, geopolitical and other globally interconnected occurrences, including war, terrorism, economic uncertainty or financial crises, contagion, trade disputes, government debt crises (including defaults or downgrades) or uncertainty about government debt payments, government shutdowns, public health crises, natural disasters, supply chain disruptions, climate change and related events or conditions, 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. Adverse market conditions or disruptions could cause the fund to lose money, experience significant redemptions, and encounter operational difficulties. Although multiple asset classes may be affected by adverse market conditions or a particular market disruption, the duration and effects may not be the same for all types of assets.
Current military and other armed conflicts in various geographic regions, including those in Europe and the Middle East, can lead to, and have led to, economic and market disruptions, which may not be limited to the geographic region in which the conflict is occurring. Such conflicts can also result, and have resulted in some cases, in sanctions being levied by the United States, the European Union and/or other countries against countries or other actors involved in the conflict. In addition, such conflicts and related sanctions can adversely affect regional and global energy, commodities, financial and other markets and thus could affect the value of the fund's
investments. The extent and duration of any military conflict, related sanctions and resulting economic and market disruptions are impossible to predict, but could be substantial.
Other market disruption events include pandemic spread of viruses, such as the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19, which have caused significant uncertainty, market volatility, decreased economic and other activity, increased government activity, including economic stimulus measures, and supply chain disruptions. While COVID-19 is no longer considered to be a public health emergency, the fund and its investments may be adversely affected by lingering effects of this virus or future pandemic spread of viruses.
In addition, markets are becoming increasingly susceptible to disruption events resulting from the use of new and emerging technologies to engage in cyber-attacks or to take over the websites and/or social media accounts of companies, governmental entities or public officials, or to otherwise pose as or impersonate such, which then may be used to disseminate false or misleading information that can cause volatility in financial markets or for the stock of a particular company, group of companies, industry or other class of assets.
Adverse market conditions or particular market disruptions, such as those discussed above, 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.
Foreign investment risk. The fund faces the risks inherent in foreign investing. Adverse political, economic or social developments could undermine the value of the fund's foreign investments, prevent the fund from realizing the full value of its foreign investments or prevent the fund from selling foreign securities it holds. Financial reporting standards for companies based in foreign markets differ from those in the US. Additionally, foreign securities markets generally are smaller and less liquid than US markets. To the extent that the fund invests in non-US dollar denominated foreign securities, changes in currency exchange rates may affect the US dollar value of foreign securities or the income or gain received on these securities.
Foreign governments may restrict investment by foreigners, limit withdrawal of trading profit or currency from the country, restrict currency exchange or seize foreign investments. In addition, the fund may be limited in its ability to exercise its legal rights or enforce a counterparty's legal obligations in certain jurisdictions outside of the US. The foreign investments of the fund may also be subject to foreign withholding taxes. Foreign brokerage commissions and other fees are generally higher than those for US investments, and the transactions and custody of foreign assets may involve delays in payment, delivery or recovery of money or investments.
Prospectus October 1, 2024
3
Xtrackers MSCI Emerging Markets Hedged Equity ETF
Foreign markets can have liquidity risks beyond those typical of US markets. Because foreign exchanges generally are smaller and less liquid than US exchanges, buying and selling foreign investments can be more difficult and costly. Relatively small transactions can sometimes materially affect the price and availability of securities. In certain situations, it may become virtually impossible to sell an investment at a price that approaches portfolio management’s estimate of its value. For the same reason, it may at times be difficult to value the fund’s foreign investments. In addition, because non-US markets may be open on days when the fund does not price its shares, the value of the foreign securities in the fund’s portfolio may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the fund’s shares.
Depositary receipt risk. Depositary receipts involve similar risks to those associated with investments in securities of non-US issuers. Depositary receipts also may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market.
Emerging market securities risk. The securities of issuers located in emerging markets tend to be more volatile and less liquid than securities of issuers located in more mature economies, and emerging markets generally have less diverse and less mature economic structures and less stable political systems than those of developed countries. The securities of issuers located or doing substantial business in emerging markets are often subject to rapid and large changes in price.
Small and medium-sized company risk. Small and 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 small and medium-sized companies, since they lack the financial resources of larger companies. Small and 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. The fund may become more focused in particular industries, asset classes or sectors of the economy as a result of changes in the valuation of the fund’s investments or fluctuations in the fund’s assets, and the fund is not required to reduce such exposures under these circumstances.
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.
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.
Derivatives risk. Derivatives involve risks different from, and possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other more traditional investments. Risks associated with derivatives may include the risk that the derivative is not well correlated with the underlying asset, security, index or currency to which it relates; the risk that derivatives may result in losses or missed opportunities; the risk that the fund will be unable to sell the derivative because of an illiquid secondary market; the risk that a counterparty is unwilling or unable to meet its obligation, which risk may be heightened in derivative transactions entered into “over-the-counter” (i.e., not on an exchange or contract market); and the risk that the derivative transaction could expose the fund to the effects of leverage, which could increase the fund’s exposure to the market and magnify potential losses.
Forward currency contract risk. The fund’s forward currency contracts may not be successful in minimizing the impact of changes in the value of the non-US currencies against the US dollar. To the extent the fund’s forward currency contracts are not successful, the US dollar value of your investment in the fund may go down. Furthermore, because no changes in the currency weights in the Underlying Index are made during the month to account for changes in the Underlying Index due to price movement of securities, corporate events, additions, deletions or any other changes, changes in the value of non-US currencies against the US dollar during the month may affect the value of the fund’s investment. Currency exchange rates can be very volatile and can change quickly and unpredictably. Therefore, the value of an investment in the fund may also go up or down quickly and unpredictably and investors
Prospectus October 1, 2024
4
Xtrackers MSCI Emerging Markets Hedged Equity ETF
may lose money. NDFs may be less liquid than deliverable forward currency contracts. A lack of liquidity in NDFs of the hedged currency could adversely affect the fund’s ability to hedge against currency fluctuations and properly track the Underlying Index.
Futures risk. The value of a futures contract tends to increase and decrease in tandem with the value of the underlying instrument. 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.
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.
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 Index Provider will compile the Underlying Index accurately, or that the Underlying Index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. The Index Provider may cease publication of the Underlying Index or may terminate the license agreement allowing the fund to use the Underlying Index, either of which could have a material adverse effect on the fund. Market disruptions could cause delays in the Underlying Index’s reconstitution and 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 reconstitution and 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 may have limited ability to detect such errors and neither the Advisor nor its affiliates 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.
Index-related risk may be higher for a fund that tracks an index comprised of, or an index that includes, foreign securities, and in particular emerging markets securities, because regulatory and reporting requirements may differ from those in the US, resulting in a heightened risk of errors in the index data, index computation and/or index construction due to unreliable, out-dated or unavailable information.
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 reconstituting or 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. Moreover, the use of a representative sampling investment approach (i.e., investing in a representative selection of securities included in the Underlying Index rather than all securities in the Underlying Index) 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
Prospectus October 1, 2024
5
Xtrackers MSCI Emerging Markets Hedged Equity ETF
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 purposes, the fund may sell certain securities, and such sale may cause the fund to recognize a taxable gain or 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.
Tracking error risk may be higher for funds that track indices with significant weight in foreign issuers, and in particular emerging markets issuers, than funds that do not track such indices.
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. If the markets for the fund’s portfolio securities experience decreased liquidity, the trading markets for the fund’s shares may also become less liquid with corresponding widening in the bid-ask spreads and differences between the market price and NAV of the fund’s shares. 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.
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 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 or recognize a gain that may be distributed to shareholders as a taxable distribution. This may be magnified in circumstances where redemptions from the fund may be higher than normal.
Geographic focus risk. Focusing investments in a single country or few countries, or regions, involves increased political, regulatory and other risks. Market swings in such a targeted country, countries or regions are likely to have a greater effect on fund performance than they would in a more geographically diversified 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
Prospectus October 1, 2024
6
Xtrackers MSCI Emerging Markets Hedged Equity ETF
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.
Authorized Participant concentration risk. The fund may have a limited number of financial institutions that may act as Authorized Participants (“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. At any given time, due to the composition of the Underlying Index, the fund may be 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.
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. A delay in the recovery of loaned securities could interfere with the fund’s ability to vote proxies or settle transactions. Delayed settlement may limit the ability of the fund to reinvest the proceeds of a sale of securities or prevent the fund from selling securities at times that may be appropriate to track the Underlying Index. 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-based securities
market index.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
16.52%
June 30, 2020
Worst Quarter
-18.72%
March 31, 2020
Year-to-Date
10.14%
June 30, 2024
Average Annual Total Returns
(For periods ended 12/31/2023 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
5
Years
10
Years
Returns before tax
6/9/2011
9.11
4.22
2.97
After tax on distribu-
tions
 
7.96
3.69
2.45
After tax on distribu-
tions and sale of fund
shares
 
5.37
3.31
2.31
MSCI EM US Dollar
Hedged Index (reflects
no deductions for fees,
expenses or taxes)
 
10.07
5.06
4.04
MSCI EM Index (reflects
no deductions for fees,
expenses or taxes)
 
9.83
3.68
2.66
Management
Investment Advisor
DBX Advisors LLC
Prospectus October 1, 2024
7
Xtrackers MSCI Emerging Markets Hedged Equity ETF
Portfolio Managers
Patrick Dwyer, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC, Director and Senior Portfolio Engineer & Team Lead, Xtrackers, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2016.
Shlomo Bassous, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC, Director and Senior Portfolio Engineer, Xtrackers, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2017.
Ashif Shaikh, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC, Vice President and Portfolio Engineer, Xtrackers, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2022.
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 (the website does not form a part of this prospectus).
Tax Information
The fund's distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income or capital gains, except when you are tax-exempt or 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 October 1, 2024
8
Xtrackers MSCI Emerging Markets Hedged Equity ETF
 
 
 
Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF
 
Ticker: DBEF
Stock Exchange: NYSE Arca, Inc.
Investment Objective
The fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI EAFE US Dollar Hedged 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
0.35
Other Expenses
None
Total annual fund operating expenses
0.35
EXAMPLE
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the fund's operating expenses remain the same. 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
 
$36
$113
$197
$443
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 11% 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 MSCI EAFE US Dollar Hedged Index (the “Underlying Index”), which is designed to track developed market performance while mitigating exposure to fluctuations between the value of the US dollar and the currencies of the countries included in the Underlying Index. 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
Prospectus October 1, 2024 9 Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF
typically far more) in component securities (including depositary receipts in respect of such securities) of the Underlying Index.
As of July 31, 2024, the Underlying Index consisted of 767 securities, with an average market capitalization of approximately $29.78 billion and a minimum market capitalization of approximately $3.39 billion, from issuers in the following countries (may reflect depository receipts or country of domicile): Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Luxembourg, Macau, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the United States. Under normal circumstances, the Underlying Index is rebalanced monthly. The fund changes 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 schedule of portfolio changes.
The fund will normally invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in the equity securities of issuers from Europe, Australia and the Far East and in instruments designed to hedge against the fund’s exposure to non-US currencies. As of July 31, 2024, a significant percentage of the Underlying Index was comprised of securities of issuers from Japan.
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 July 31, 2024, a significant percentage of the Underlying Index was comprised of issuers in the financials and industrials sectors. The fund’s exposure to particular sectors or countries may change over time to correspond to changes in the Underlying Index.
The fund may become “non-diversified,” as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, 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 or securities referred to herein are not sponsored, endorsed, issued, sold or promoted by MSCI (the “Index Provider”), and MSCI bears no liability with respect to the fund or securities or any index on which the fund or securities are based.
Derivatives. The fund may invest in derivatives, which are financial instruments whose performance is derived, at least in part, from the performance of an underlying asset, security or index. In particular, portfolio management may use deliverable or non-deliverable forward (“NDF”) currency to hedge the fund’s currency exposure.
Portfolio management may also use futures contracts, options on futures contracts and other types of derivatives in seeking performance that corresponds to its Underlying Index and will not use such instruments for speculative purposes. The amount of forward contracts in the fund is based on the aggregate exposure of the fund and Underlying Index to each non-US currency based on currency weights as of the beginning of each month.
Securities lending. The fund may lend securities (up to one-third of total assets) to approved institutions, such as registered broker-dealers, pooled investment vehicles, banks and other financial institutions. In connection with such loans, the fund receives liquid collateral in an amount that is based on the type and value of the securities being lent, with riskier securities generally requiring higher levels of collateral.
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”). An investment in the fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency.
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. High market volatility may also result from significant shifts in momentum of one or more specific stocks due to unusual increases or decreases in trading activity. Momentum can change quickly, and securities subject to shifts in momentum may be more volatile than the market as a whole and returns on such securities may drop precipitously. To the extent that the fund invests
Prospectus October 1, 2024
10
Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF
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. Economies and financial markets throughout the world have become increasingly interconnected, which has increased the likelihood that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other countries or regions. This includes reliance on global supply chains that are susceptible to disruptions resulting from, among other things, war and other armed conflicts, extreme weather events, and natural disasters. Such supply chain disruptions can lead to, and have led to, economic and market disruptions that have far-reaching effects on financial markets worldwide. The value of the fund’s investments may be negatively affected by adverse changes in overall economic or market conditions, such as the level of economic activity and productivity, unemployment and labor force participation rates, inflation or deflation (and expectations for inflation or deflation), interest rates, demand and supply for particular products or resources including labor, and debt levels and credit ratings, among other factors. Such adverse conditions may contribute to an overall economic contraction across entire economies or markets, which may negatively impact the profitability of issuers operating in those economies or markets. In addition, geopolitical and other globally interconnected occurrences, including war, terrorism, economic uncertainty or financial crises, contagion, trade disputes, government debt crises (including defaults or downgrades) or uncertainty about government debt payments, government shutdowns, public health crises, natural disasters, supply chain disruptions, climate change and related events or conditions, 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. Adverse market conditions or disruptions could cause the fund to lose money, experience significant redemptions, and encounter operational difficulties. Although multiple asset classes may be affected by adverse market conditions or a particular market disruption, the duration and effects may not be the same for all types of assets.
Current military and other armed conflicts in various geographic regions, including those in Europe and the Middle East, can lead to, and have led to, economic and market disruptions, which may not be limited to the geographic region in which the conflict is occurring. Such conflicts can also result, and have resulted in some cases, in sanctions being levied by the United States, the European Union and/or other countries against countries or other actors involved in the conflict. In addition, such conflicts and related sanctions can adversely affect regional and global energy, commodities, financial and other markets and thus could affect the value of the fund's investments. The extent and duration of any military
conflict, related sanctions and resulting economic and market disruptions are impossible to predict, but could be substantial.
Other market disruption events include pandemic spread of viruses, such as the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19, which have caused significant uncertainty, market volatility, decreased economic and other activity, increased government activity, including economic stimulus measures, and supply chain disruptions. While COVID-19 is no longer considered to be a public health emergency, the fund and its investments may be adversely affected by lingering effects of this virus or future pandemic spread of viruses.
In addition, markets are becoming increasingly susceptible to disruption events resulting from the use of new and emerging technologies to engage in cyber-attacks or to take over the websites and/or social media accounts of companies, governmental entities or public officials, or to otherwise pose as or impersonate such, which then may be used to disseminate false or misleading information that can cause volatility in financial markets or for the stock of a particular company, group of companies, industry or other class of assets.
Adverse market conditions or particular market disruptions, such as those discussed above, 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.
Foreign investment risk. The fund faces the risks inherent in foreign investing. Adverse political, economic or social developments could undermine the value of the fund's foreign investments, prevent the fund from realizing the full value of its foreign investments or prevent the fund from selling foreign securities it holds. Financial reporting standards for companies based in foreign markets differ from those in the US. Additionally, foreign securities markets generally are smaller and less liquid than US markets. To the extent that the fund invests in non-US dollar denominated foreign securities, changes in currency exchange rates may affect the US dollar value of foreign securities or the income or gain received on these securities.
Foreign governments may restrict investment by foreigners, limit withdrawal of trading profit or currency from the country, restrict currency exchange or seize foreign investments. In addition, the fund may be limited in its ability to exercise its legal rights or enforce a counterparty's legal obligations in certain jurisdictions outside of the US. The foreign investments of the fund may also be subject to foreign withholding taxes. Foreign brokerage commissions and other fees are generally higher than those for US investments, and the transactions and custody of foreign assets may involve delays in payment, delivery or recovery of money or investments.
Prospectus October 1, 2024
11
Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF
Foreign markets can have liquidity risks beyond those typical of US markets. Because foreign exchanges generally are smaller and less liquid than US exchanges, buying and selling foreign investments can be more difficult and costly. Relatively small transactions can sometimes materially affect the price and availability of securities. In certain situations, it may become virtually impossible to sell an investment at a price that approaches portfolio management’s estimate of its value. For the same reason, it may at times be difficult to value the fund’s foreign investments. In addition, because non-US markets may be open on days when the fund does not price its shares, the value of the foreign securities in the fund’s portfolio may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the fund’s shares.
Depositary receipt risk. Depositary receipts involve similar risks to those associated with investments in securities of non-US issuers. Depositary receipts also may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market.
European investment risk. European financial markets have experienced volatility in recent years and have been adversely affected by concerns about economic downturns, credit rating downgrades, rising government debt level and possible default on or restructuring of government debt in several European countries. A default or debt restructuring by any European country would adversely impact holders of that country’s debt, and sellers of credit default swaps linked to that country’s creditworthiness. Most countries in Western Europe are members of the European Union (EU), which faces major issues involving its membership, structure, procedures and policies.
European countries are also significantly affected by fiscal and monetary controls implemented by the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), and it is possible that the timing and substance of these controls may not address the needs of all EMU member countries. Investing in euro-denominated securities also risks exposure to a currency that may not fully reflect the strengths and weaknesses of the disparate economies that comprise Europe. There is continued concern over member state-level support for the euro, which could lead to certain countries leaving the EMU, the implementation of currency controls, or potentially the dissolution of the euro. The dissolution of the euro could have significant negative effects on European financial markets.
Small and medium-sized company risk. Small and 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 small and medium-sized companies, since they lack the financial resources of larger companies. Small and 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. The fund may become more focused in particular industries, asset classes or sectors of the economy as a result of changes in the valuation of the fund’s investments or fluctuations in the fund’s assets, and the fund is not required to reduce such exposures under these circumstances.
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.
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.
Derivatives risk. Derivatives involve risks different from, and possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other more traditional investments. Risks associated with derivatives may include the risk that the derivative is not well correlated with the underlying asset, security, index or currency to which it relates; the risk that derivatives may result in losses or missed opportunities; the risk that the fund will be unable to sell the derivative because of an illiquid secondary market; the risk that a counterparty is unwilling or unable to meet its obligation, which risk may be heightened in derivative transactions entered into “over-the-counter” (i.e., not on an exchange or contract market); and the risk that the derivative transaction could expose the fund to the effects of leverage, which could increase the fund’s exposure to the market and magnify potential losses.
Forward currency contract risk. The fund’s forward currency contracts may not be successful in minimizing the impact of changes in the value of the non-US currencies against the US dollar. To the extent the fund’s forward currency contracts are not successful, the US dollar value of your investment in the fund may go down. Furthermore,
Prospectus October 1, 2024
12
Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF
because no changes in the currency weights in the Underlying Index are made during the month to account for changes in the Underlying Index due to price movement of securities, corporate events, additions, deletions or any other changes, changes in the value of non-US currencies against the US dollar during the month may affect the value of the fund’s investment. Currency exchange rates can be very volatile and can change quickly and unpredictably. Therefore, the value of an investment in the fund may also go up or down quickly and unpredictably and investors may lose money. NDFs may be less liquid than deliverable forward currency contracts. A lack of liquidity in NDFs of the hedged currency could adversely affect the fund’s ability to hedge against currency fluctuations and properly track the Underlying Index.
Futures risk. The value of a futures contract tends to increase and decrease in tandem with the value of the underlying instrument. 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.
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.
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 Index Provider will compile the Underlying Index accurately, or that the Underlying Index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. The Index Provider may cease publication of the Underlying Index or may terminate the license agreement allowing the fund to use the Underlying Index, either of which could have a material adverse effect
on the fund. Market disruptions could cause delays in the Underlying Index’s reconstitution and 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 reconstitution and 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 may have limited ability to detect such errors and neither the Advisor nor its affiliates 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.
Index-related risk may be higher for a fund that tracks an index comprised of, or an index that includes, foreign securities, and in particular emerging markets securities, because regulatory and reporting requirements may differ from those in the US, resulting in a heightened risk of errors in the index data, index computation and/or index construction due to unreliable, out-dated or unavailable information.
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 reconstituting or 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. Moreover, the use of a representative sampling investment approach (i.e., investing in a representative selection of securities included in the Underlying Index rather than all securities in the Underlying Index) 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
Prospectus October 1, 2024
13
Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF
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 purposes, the fund may sell certain securities, and such sale may cause the fund to recognize a taxable gain or 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.
Tracking error risk may be higher for funds that track indices with significant weight in foreign issuers than funds that do not track such indices.
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. The bid-ask spread of the fund may be wider in comparison to the bid-ask spread of other ETFs, given the liquidity of the fund’s assets and the Underlying Index’s (and thus the fund’s) hedging strategy. If the markets for the fund’s portfolio securities experience decreased liquidity, the trading markets for the fund’s shares may also become less liquid with corresponding widening in the bid-ask spreads and differences between the market price and NAV of the fund’s shares. 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.
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 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 or recognize a gain that may be distributed to shareholders as a taxable distribution. This may be magnified in circumstances where redemptions from the fund may be higher than normal.
Geographic focus risk. Focusing investments in a single country or few countries, or regions, involves increased political, regulatory and other risks. Market swings in such a targeted country, countries or regions are likely to have a greater effect on fund performance than they would in a more geographically diversified 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
Prospectus October 1, 2024
14
Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF
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.
Authorized Participant concentration risk. The fund may have a limited number of financial institutions that may act as Authorized Participants (“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. At any given time, due to the composition of the Underlying Index, the fund may be 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.
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. A delay in the recovery of loaned securities could interfere with the fund’s ability to vote proxies or settle transactions. Delayed settlement may limit the ability of the fund to reinvest the proceeds of a sale of securities or prevent the fund from selling securities at times that may be appropriate to track the
Underlying Index. 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-based securities market index.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
12.95%
June 30, 2020
Worst Quarter
-19.97%
March 31, 2020
Year-to-Date
12.35%
June 30, 2024
Average Annual Total Returns
(For periods ended 12/31/2023 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. 
Prospectus October 1, 2024
15
Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF
 
Inception Date
1
Year
5
Years
10
Years
Returns before tax
6/9/2011
19.69
11.60
7.85
After tax on distribu-
tions
 
17.46
9.91
6.52
After tax on distribu-
tions and sale of fund
shares
 
11.57
8.75
5.91
MSCI EAFE US Dollar
Hedged Index (reflects
no deductions for fees,
expenses or taxes)
 
19.95
11.79
8.14
MSCI EAFE Index
(reflects no deductions
for fees, expenses or
taxes)
 
18.24
8.16
4.28
Management
Investment Advisor
DBX Advisors LLC
Portfolio Managers
Patrick Dwyer, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC, Director and Senior Portfolio Engineer & Team Lead, Xtrackers, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2016.
Shlomo Bassous, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC, Director and Senior Portfolio Engineer, Xtrackers, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2017.
Ashif Shaikh, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC, Vice President and Portfolio Engineer, Xtrackers, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2022.
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 200,000 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 (the website does not form a part of this prospectus).
Tax Information
The fund's distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income or capital gains, except when you are tax-exempt or 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 October 1, 2024
16
Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF
 
 
 
Xtrackers MSCI Japan Hedged Equity ETF
 
Ticker: DBJP
Stock Exchange: NYSE Arca, Inc.
Investment Objective
The fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI Japan US Dollar Hedged 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
0.45
Other Expenses
None
Total annual fund operating expenses
0.45
EXAMPLE
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the fund's operating expenses remain the same. 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
 
$46
$144
$252
$567
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 15% 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 MSCI Japan US Dollar Hedged Index (the “Underlying Index”), which is designed to track the performance of the Japanese equity market while mitigating exposure to fluctuations between the value of the US dollar and the Japanese yen. 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
Prospectus October 1, 2024 17 Xtrackers MSCI Japan Hedged Equity ETF
assets (but typically far more) in component securities (including depositary receipts in respect of such securities) of the Underlying Index.
As of July 31, 2024, the Underlying Index consisted of 205 securities, with an average market capitalization of approximately $24.42 billion and a minimum market capitalization of approximately $4.31 billion. Under normal circumstances, the Underlying Index is rebalanced monthly. The fund changes 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 schedule of portfolio changes.
The fund will normally invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in the equity securities of Japanese issuers and in instruments designed to hedge against the fund’s exposure to the Japanese yen. As of July 31, 2024, the Underlying Index was solely comprised of securities of issuers from Japan.
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 July 31, 2024, a significant percentage of the Underlying Index was comprised of issuers in the industrials, consumer discretionary and financials sectors. The fund’s exposure to particular sectors may change over time to correspond to changes in the Underlying Index.
The fund may become “non-diversified,” as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, 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 or securities referred to herein are not sponsored, endorsed, issued, sold or promoted by MSCI (the “Index Provider”), and MSCI bears no liability with respect to the fund or securities or any index on which the fund or securities are based.
Derivatives. The fund may invest in derivatives, which are financial instruments whose performance is derived, at least in part, from the performance of an underlying asset, security or index. In particular, portfolio management may use deliverable or non-deliverable forward (“NDF”) currency to hedge the fund’s currency exposure.
Portfolio management may also use futures contracts, options on futures contracts and other types of derivatives in seeking performance that corresponds to its Underlying Index and will not use such instruments for speculative purposes. The amount of forward contracts in the fund is based on the aggregate exposure of the fund and Underlying Index to the Japanese yen based on currency weights as of the beginning of each month.
Securities lending. The fund may lend securities (up to one-third of total assets) to approved institutions, such as registered broker-dealers, pooled investment vehicles, banks and other financial institutions. In connection with such loans, the fund receives liquid collateral in an amount that is based on the type and value of the securities being lent, with riskier securities generally requiring higher levels of collateral.
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”). An investment in the fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency.
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. High market volatility may also result from significant shifts in momentum of one or more specific stocks due to unusual increases or decreases in trading activity. Momentum can change quickly, and securities subject to shifts in momentum may be more volatile than the market as a whole and returns on such securities may drop precipitously. 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. Economies and financial markets throughout the world have become increasingly interconnected, which has increased the likelihood that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other countries or regions. This
Prospectus October 1, 2024
18
Xtrackers MSCI Japan Hedged Equity ETF
includes reliance on global supply chains that are susceptible to disruptions resulting from, among other things, war and other armed conflicts, extreme weather events, and natural disasters. Such supply chain disruptions can lead to, and have led to, economic and market disruptions that have far-reaching effects on financial markets worldwide. The value of the fund’s investments may be negatively affected by adverse changes in overall economic or market conditions, such as the level of economic activity and productivity, unemployment and labor force participation rates, inflation or deflation (and expectations for inflation or deflation), interest rates, demand and supply for particular products or resources including labor, and debt levels and credit ratings, among other factors. Such adverse conditions may contribute to an overall economic contraction across entire economies or markets, which may negatively impact the profitability of issuers operating in those economies or markets. In addition, geopolitical and other globally interconnected occurrences, including war, terrorism, economic uncertainty or financial crises, contagion, trade disputes, government debt crises (including defaults or downgrades) or uncertainty about government debt payments, government shutdowns, public health crises, natural disasters, supply chain disruptions, climate change and related events or conditions, 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. Adverse market conditions or disruptions could cause the fund to lose money, experience significant redemptions, and encounter operational difficulties. Although multiple asset classes may be affected by adverse market conditions or a particular market disruption, the duration and effects may not be the same for all types of assets.
Current military and other armed conflicts in various geographic regions, including those in Europe and the Middle East, can lead to, and have led to, economic and market disruptions, which may not be limited to the geographic region in which the conflict is occurring. Such conflicts can also result, and have resulted in some cases, in sanctions being levied by the United States, the European Union and/or other countries against countries or other actors involved in the conflict. In addition, such conflicts and related sanctions can adversely affect regional and global energy, commodities, financial and other markets and thus could affect the value of the fund's investments. The extent and duration of any military conflict, related sanctions and resulting economic and market disruptions are impossible to predict, but could be substantial.
Other market disruption events include pandemic spread of viruses, such as the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19, which have caused significant uncertainty, market volatility, decreased economic and other activity, increased government activity, including economic stimulus measures, and supply chain disruptions. While
COVID-19 is no longer considered to be a public health emergency, the fund and its investments may be adversely affected by lingering effects of this virus or future pandemic spread of viruses.
In addition, markets are becoming increasingly susceptible to disruption events resulting from the use of new and emerging technologies to engage in cyber-attacks or to take over the websites and/or social media accounts of companies, governmental entities or public officials, or to otherwise pose as or impersonate such, which then may be used to disseminate false or misleading information that can cause volatility in financial markets or for the stock of a particular company, group of companies, industry or other class of assets.
Adverse market conditions or particular market disruptions, such as those discussed above, 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.
Foreign investment risk. The fund faces the risks inherent in foreign investing. Adverse political, economic or social developments could undermine the value of the fund's foreign investments, prevent the fund from realizing the full value of its foreign investments or prevent the fund from selling foreign securities it holds. Financial reporting standards for companies based in foreign markets differ from those in the US. Additionally, foreign securities markets generally are smaller and less liquid than US markets. To the extent that the fund invests in non-US dollar denominated foreign securities, changes in currency exchange rates may affect the US dollar value of foreign securities or the income or gain received on these securities.
Foreign governments may restrict investment by foreigners, limit withdrawal of trading profit or currency from the country, restrict currency exchange or seize foreign investments. In addition, the fund may be limited in its ability to exercise its legal rights or enforce a counterparty's legal obligations in certain jurisdictions outside of the US. The foreign investments of the fund may also be subject to foreign withholding taxes. Foreign brokerage commissions and other fees are generally higher than those for US investments, and the transactions and custody of foreign assets may involve delays in payment, delivery or recovery of money or investments.
Foreign markets can have liquidity risks beyond those typical of US markets. Because foreign exchanges generally are smaller and less liquid than US exchanges, buying and selling foreign investments can be more difficult and costly. Relatively small transactions can sometimes materially affect the price and availability of securities. In certain situations, it may become virtually impossible to sell an investment at a price that approaches portfolio management’s estimate of its value. For the same reason, it may
Prospectus October 1, 2024
19
Xtrackers MSCI Japan Hedged Equity ETF
at times be difficult to value the fund’s foreign investments. In addition, because non-US markets may be open on days when the fund does not price its shares, the value of the foreign securities in the fund’s portfolio may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the fund’s shares.
Depositary receipt risk. Depositary receipts involve similar risks to those associated with investments in securities of non-US issuers. Depositary receipts also may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market.
Risks related to investing in Japan. The growth of Japan’s economy has historically lagged behind that of its Asian neighbors and other major developed economies. The Japanese economy is heavily dependent on international trade and has been adversely affected by trade tariffs, other protectionist measures, competition from emerging economies and the economic conditions of its trading partners. Japan’s relations with its neighbors, particularly China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, have at times been strained due to territorial disputes, historical animosities and defense concerns. Most recently, the Japanese government has shown concern over the increased nuclear and military activity by North Korea. Strained relations may cause uncertainty in the Japanese markets and adversely affect the overall Japanese economy in times of crisis. China has become an important trading partner with Japan, yet the countries’ political relationship has become strained. Should political tension increase, it could adversely affect the economy, especially the export sector, and destabilize the region as a whole. Japan is located in a part of the world that has historically been prone to natural disasters such as earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis and is economically sensitive to environmental events. Any such event, such as the major earthquake and tsunami which struck Japan in March 2011, could result in a significant adverse impact on the Japanese economy. Japan also remains heavily dependent on oil imports, and higher commodity prices could therefore have a negative impact on the economy. Furthermore, Japanese corporations often engage in high levels of corporate leveraging, extensive cross-purchases of the securities of other corporations and are subject to a changing corporate governance structure. Japan may be subject to risks relating to political, economic and labor risks. Any of these risks, individually or in the aggregate, could adversely affect investments in the fund.
Small and medium-sized company risk. Small and 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 small and medium-sized companies, since they lack the financial resources of larger companies. Small and 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. The fund may become more focused in particular industries, asset classes or sectors of the economy as a result of changes in the valuation of the fund’s investments or fluctuations in the fund’s assets, and the fund is not required to reduce such exposures under these circumstances.
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.
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.
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.
Derivatives risk. Derivatives involve risks different from, and possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other more traditional investments. Risks associated with derivatives may include the risk that the derivative is not well correlated with the underlying asset, security, index or currency to which it relates; the risk that derivatives may result in losses or missed opportunities; the risk that the fund will be unable to sell the derivative because of an illiquid secondary market; the risk that a counterparty is unwilling
Prospectus October 1, 2024
20
Xtrackers MSCI Japan Hedged Equity ETF
or unable to meet its obligation, which risk may be heightened in derivative transactions entered into “over-the-counter” (i.e., not on an exchange or contract market); and the risk that the derivative transaction could expose the fund to the effects of leverage, which could increase the fund’s exposure to the market and magnify potential losses.
Forward currency contract risk. The fund’s forward currency contracts may not be successful in minimizing the impact of changes in the value of the non-US currencies against the US dollar. To the extent the fund’s forward currency contracts are not successful, the US dollar value of your investment in the fund may go down. Furthermore, because no changes in the currency weights in the Underlying Index are made during the month to account for changes in the Underlying Index due to price movement of securities, corporate events, additions, deletions or any other changes, changes in the value of non-US currencies against the US dollar during the month may affect the value of the fund’s investment. Currency exchange rates can be very volatile and can change quickly and unpredictably. Therefore, the value of an investment in the fund may also go up or down quickly and unpredictably and investors may lose money. NDFs may be less liquid than deliverable forward currency contracts. A lack of liquidity in NDFs of the hedged currency could adversely affect the fund’s ability to hedge against currency fluctuations and properly track the Underlying Index.
Futures risk. The value of a futures contract tends to increase and decrease in tandem with the value of the underlying instrument. 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.
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.
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 Index Provider will compile the Underlying Index accurately, or that the Underlying Index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. The Index Provider may cease publication of the Underlying Index or may terminate the license agreement allowing the fund to use the Underlying Index, either of which could have a material adverse effect on the fund. Market disruptions could cause delays in the Underlying Index’s reconstitution and 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 reconstitution and 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 may have limited ability to detect such errors and neither the Advisor nor its affiliates 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.
Index-related risk may be higher for a fund that tracks an index comprised of, or an index that includes, foreign securities because regulatory and reporting requirements may differ from those in the US, resulting in a heightened risk of errors in the index data, index computation and/or index construction due to unreliable, outdated or unavailable information.
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 reconstituting or 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
Prospectus October 1, 2024
21
Xtrackers MSCI Japan Hedged Equity ETF
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. Moreover, the use of a representative sampling investment approach (i.e., investing in a representative selection of securities included in the Underlying Index rather than all securities in the Underlying Index) 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 purposes, the fund may sell certain securities, and such sale may cause the fund to recognize a taxable gain or 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.
Tracking error risk may be higher for funds that track indices with significant weight in foreign issuers than funds that do not track such indices.
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. The bid-ask spread of the fund may be wider in comparison to the bid-ask spread of other ETFs, given the liquidity of the fund’s assets and the Underlying Index’s (and thus the fund’s) hedging strategy. If the markets for the fund’s portfolio securities experience decreased liquidity, the trading markets for the fund’s shares may also become less liquid with corresponding widening in the bid-ask spreads and differences between the market price and NAV of the fund’s shares. 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.
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 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 or recognize a gain that may be distributed to shareholders as a taxable distribution. This may be magnified in circumstances where redemptions from the fund may be higher than normal.
Country concentration risk. To the extent that the fund invests significantly in a single country, it is more likely to be impacted by events or conditions affecting that country. For example, political and economic conditions and changes in regulatory, tax or economic policy in a country
Prospectus October 1, 2024
22
Xtrackers MSCI Japan Hedged Equity ETF
could significantly affect the market in that country and in surrounding or related countries and have a negative impact on the fund’s performance.
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.
Authorized Participant concentration risk. The fund may have a limited number of financial institutions that may act as Authorized Participants (“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. At any given time, due to the composition of the Underlying Index, the fund may be 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.
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. A delay in the recovery of loaned securities could interfere with the fund’s ability to vote proxies or settle transactions. Delayed settlement may limit the ability of the fund to reinvest the proceeds of a sale of securities or prevent the fund from selling securities at times that may be appropriate to track the Underlying Index. 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-based securities market index.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
16.56%
June 30, 2023
Worst Quarter
-17.02%
March 31, 2020
Year-to-Date
23.85%
June 30, 2024
Average Annual Total Returns
(For periods ended 12/31/2023 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
Prospectus October 1, 2024
23
Xtrackers MSCI Japan Hedged Equity ETF
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. 
 
Class
Inception
1
Year
5
Years
10
Years
Returns before tax
6/9/2011
34.97
14.45
8.92
After tax on distribu-
tions
 
32.05
13.62
7.76
After tax on distribu-
tions and sale of fund
shares
 
20.58
11.39
6.76
MSCI Japan US Dollar
Hedged Index (reflects
no deductions for fees,
expenses or taxes)
 
35.73
15.01
9.52
MSCI Japan Index
(reflects no deductions
for fees, expenses ot
taxes)
 
20.32
6.91
4.97
Management
Investment Advisor
DBX Advisors LLC
Portfolio Managers
Patrick Dwyer, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC, Director and Senior Portfolio Engineer & Team Lead, Xtrackers, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2016.
Shlomo Bassous, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC, Director and Senior Portfolio Engineer, Xtrackers, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2017.
Ashif Shaikh, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC, Vice President and Portfolio Engineer, Xtrackers, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2022.
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 (the website does not form a part of this prospectus).
Tax Information
The fund's distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income or capital gains, except when you are tax-exempt or 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 October 1, 2024
24
Xtrackers MSCI Japan Hedged Equity ETF
 
 
 
Xtrackers MSCI Europe Hedged Equity ETF
 
Ticker: DBEU
Stock Exchange: NYSE Arca, Inc.
Investment Objective
The fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI Europe US Dollar Hedged 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
0.45
Other Expenses
None
Total annual fund operating expenses
0.45
EXAMPLE
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the fund's operating expenses remain the same. 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
 
$46
$144
$252
$567
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 12% 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 MSCI Europe US Dollar Hedged Index (the “Underlying Index”), which is designed to track the performance of the developed markets in Europe, while mitigating exposure to fluctuations between the value of the US dollar and the currencies of the countries included in the Underlying Index. 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
Prospectus October 1, 2024 25 Xtrackers MSCI Europe Hedged Equity ETF
80% of its total assets (but typically far more) in component securities (including depositary receipts in respect of such securities) of the Underlying Index.
As of July 31, 2024, the Underlying Index consisted of 430 securities, with an average market capitalization of approximately $35.10 billion and a minimum market capitalization of approximately $3.38 billion, from issuers in the following countries (may reflect country of domicile): Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Under normal circumstances, the Underlying Index is rebalanced monthly. The fund changes 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 schedule of portfolio changes.
The fund will normally invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in the equity securities of issuers from Europe and in instruments designed to hedge against the fund’s exposure to non-US currencies. As of July 31, 2024, a significant percentage of the Underlying Index was comprised of securities of issuers from the United Kingdom, France and Switzerland.
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 July 31, 2024, a significant percentage of the Underlying Index was comprised of issuers in the financials, industrials and health care sectors. The fund’s exposure to particular sectors or countries may change over time to correspond to changes in the Underlying Index.
The fund may become “non-diversified,” as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, 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 or securities referred to herein are not sponsored, endorsed, issued, sold or promoted by MSCI (the “Index Provider”), and MSCI bears no liability with respect to the fund or securities or any index on which the fund or securities are based.
Derivatives. The fund may invest in derivatives, which are financial instruments whose performance is derived, at least in part, from the performance of an underlying asset, security or index. In particular, portfolio management may use deliverable or non-deliverable forward (“NDF”) currency to hedge the fund’s currency exposure.
Portfolio management may also use futures contracts, options on futures contracts and other types of derivatives in seeking performance that corresponds to its Underlying Index and will not use such instruments for speculative purposes. The amount of forward contracts in the fund is based on the aggregate exposure of the fund and Underlying Index to each non-US currency based on currency weights as of the beginning of each month.
Securities lending. The fund may lend securities (up to one-third of total assets) to approved institutions, such as registered broker-dealers, pooled investment vehicles, banks and other financial institutions. In connection with such loans, the fund receives liquid collateral in an amount that is based on the type and value of the securities being lent, with riskier securities generally requiring higher levels of collateral.
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”). An investment in the fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency.
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. High market volatility may also result from significant shifts in momentum of one or more specific stocks due to unusual increases or decreases in trading activity. Momentum can change quickly, and securities subject to shifts in momentum may be more volatile than the market as a whole and returns on such securities may drop precipitously. To the extent that the fund invests
Prospectus October 1, 2024
26
Xtrackers MSCI Europe Hedged Equity ETF
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. Economies and financial markets throughout the world have become increasingly interconnected, which has increased the likelihood that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other countries or regions. This includes reliance on global supply chains that are susceptible to disruptions resulting from, among other things, war and other armed conflicts, extreme weather events, and natural disasters. Such supply chain disruptions can lead to, and have led to, economic and market disruptions that have far-reaching effects on financial markets worldwide. The value of the fund’s investments may be negatively affected by adverse changes in overall economic or market conditions, such as the level of economic activity and productivity, unemployment and labor force participation rates, inflation or deflation (and expectations for inflation or deflation), interest rates, demand and supply for particular products or resources including labor, and debt levels and credit ratings, among other factors. Such adverse conditions may contribute to an overall economic contraction across entire economies or markets, which may negatively impact the profitability of issuers operating in those economies or markets. In addition, geopolitical and other globally interconnected occurrences, including war, terrorism, economic uncertainty or financial crises, contagion, trade disputes, government debt crises (including defaults or downgrades) or uncertainty about government debt payments, government shutdowns, public health crises, natural disasters, supply chain disruptions, climate change and related events or conditions, 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. Adverse market conditions or disruptions could cause the fund to lose money, experience significant redemptions, and encounter operational difficulties. Although multiple asset classes may be affected by adverse market conditions or a particular market disruption, the duration and effects may not be the same for all types of assets.
Current military and other armed conflicts in various geographic regions, including those in Europe and the Middle East, can lead to, and have led to, economic and market disruptions, which may not be limited to the geographic region in which the conflict is occurring. Such conflicts can also result, and have resulted in some cases, in sanctions being levied by the United States, the European Union and/or other countries against countries or other actors involved in the conflict. In addition, such conflicts and related sanctions can adversely affect regional and global energy, commodities, financial and other markets and thus could affect the value of the fund's investments. The extent and duration of any military
conflict, related sanctions and resulting economic and market disruptions are impossible to predict, but could be substantial.
Other market disruption events include pandemic spread of viruses, such as the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19, which have caused significant uncertainty, market volatility, decreased economic and other activity, increased government activity, including economic stimulus measures, and supply chain disruptions. While COVID-19 is no longer considered to be a public health emergency, the fund and its investments may be adversely affected by lingering effects of this virus or future pandemic spread of viruses.
In addition, markets are becoming increasingly susceptible to disruption events resulting from the use of new and emerging technologies to engage in cyber-attacks or to take over the websites and/or social media accounts of companies, governmental entities or public officials, or to otherwise pose as or impersonate such, which then may be used to disseminate false or misleading information that can cause volatility in financial markets or for the stock of a particular company, group of companies, industry or other class of assets.
Adverse market conditions or particular market disruptions, such as those discussed above, 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.
Foreign investment risk. The fund faces the risks inherent in foreign investing. Adverse political, economic or social developments could undermine the value of the fund's foreign investments, prevent the fund from realizing the full value of its foreign investments or prevent the fund from selling foreign securities it holds. Financial reporting standards for companies based in foreign markets differ from those in the US. Additionally, foreign securities markets generally are smaller and less liquid than US markets. To the extent that the fund invests in non-US dollar denominated foreign securities, changes in currency exchange rates may affect the US dollar value of foreign securities or the income or gain received on these securities.
Foreign governments may restrict investment by foreigners, limit withdrawal of trading profit or currency from the country, restrict currency exchange or seize foreign investments. In addition, the fund may be limited in its ability to exercise its legal rights or enforce a counterparty's legal obligations in certain jurisdictions outside of the US. The foreign investments of the fund may also be subject to foreign withholding taxes. Foreign brokerage commissions and other fees are generally higher than those for US investments, and the transactions and custody of foreign assets may involve delays in payment, delivery or recovery of money or investments.
Prospectus October 1, 2024
27
Xtrackers MSCI Europe Hedged Equity ETF
Foreign markets can have liquidity risks beyond those typical of US markets. Because foreign exchanges generally are smaller and less liquid than US exchanges, buying and selling foreign investments can be more difficult and costly. Relatively small transactions can sometimes materially affect the price and availability of securities. In certain situations, it may become virtually impossible to sell an investment at a price that approaches portfolio management’s estimate of its value. For the same reason, it may at times be difficult to value the fund’s foreign investments. In addition, because non-US markets may be open on days when the fund does not price its shares, the value of the foreign securities in the fund’s portfolio may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the fund’s shares.
Depositary receipt risk. Depositary receipts involve similar risks to those associated with investments in securities of non-US issuers. Depositary receipts also may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market.
European investment risk. European financial markets have experienced volatility in recent years and have been adversely affected by concerns about economic downturns, credit rating downgrades, rising government debt level and possible default on or restructuring of government debt in several European countries. A default or debt restructuring by any European country would adversely impact holders of that country’s debt, and sellers of credit default swaps linked to that country’s creditworthiness. Most countries in Western Europe are members of the European Union (EU), which faces major issues involving its membership, structure, procedures and policies.
European countries are also significantly affected by fiscal and monetary controls implemented by the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), and it is possible that the timing and substance of these controls may not address the needs of all EMU member countries. Investing in euro-denominated securities also risks exposure to a currency that may not fully reflect the strengths and weaknesses of the disparate economies that comprise Europe. There is continued concern over member state-level support for the euro, which could lead to certain countries leaving the EMU, the implementation of currency controls, or potentially the dissolution of the euro. The dissolution of the euro could have significant negative effects on European financial markets.
Small and medium-sized company risk. Small and 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 small and medium-sized companies, since they lack the financial resources of larger companies. Small and 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. The fund may become more focused in particular industries, asset classes or sectors of the economy as a result of changes in the valuation of the fund’s investments or fluctuations in the fund’s assets, and the fund is not required to reduce such exposures under these circumstances.
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.
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.
Health care sector risk. To the extent that the fund invests significantly in the health care 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 health care sector. The health care sector may be affected by government regulations and government health care programs, increases or decreases in the cost of medical products and services and product liability claims, among other factors. Many health care companies are heavily dependent on patent protection, and the expiration of a company’s patent may adversely affect that company’s profitability. Health care companies are subject to competitive forces that may result in price discounting, and may be thinly capitalized and susceptible to product obsolescence.
Derivatives risk. Derivatives involve risks different from, and possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other more traditional investments. Risks associated with derivatives may include the risk that the derivative is not well correlated with the underlying asset, security, index or currency to which it relates; the risk that derivatives may result in losses or missed opportunities; the risk that the fund will
Prospectus October 1, 2024
28
Xtrackers MSCI Europe Hedged Equity ETF
be unable to sell the derivative because of an illiquid secondary market; the risk that a counterparty is unwilling or unable to meet its obligation, which risk may be heightened in derivative transactions entered into “over-the-counter” (i.e., not on an exchange or contract market); and the risk that the derivative transaction could expose the fund to the effects of leverage, which could increase the fund’s exposure to the market and magnify potential losses.
Forward currency contract risk. The fund’s forward currency contracts may not be successful in minimizing the impact of changes in the value of the non-US currencies against the US dollar. To the extent the fund’s forward currency contracts are not successful, the US dollar value of your investment in the fund may go down. Furthermore, because no changes in the currency weights in the Underlying Index are made during the month to account for changes in the Underlying Index due to price movement of securities, corporate events, additions, deletions or any other changes, changes in the value of non-US currencies against the US dollar during the month may affect the value of the fund’s investment. Currency exchange rates can be very volatile and can change quickly and unpredictably. Therefore, the value of an investment in the fund may also go up or down quickly and unpredictably and investors may lose money. NDFs may be less liquid than deliverable forward currency contracts. A lack of liquidity in NDFs of the hedged currency could adversely affect the fund’s ability to hedge against currency fluctuations and properly track the Underlying Index.
Futures risk. The value of a futures contract tends to increase and decrease in tandem with the value of the underlying instrument. 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.
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.
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 Index Provider will compile the Underlying Index accurately, or that the Underlying Index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. The Index Provider may cease publication of the Underlying Index or may terminate the license agreement allowing the fund to use the Underlying Index, either of which could have a material adverse effect on the fund. Market disruptions could cause delays in the Underlying Index’s reconstitution and 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 reconstitution and 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 may have limited ability to detect such errors and neither the Advisor nor its affiliates 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.
Index-related risk may be higher for a fund that tracks an index comprised of, or an index that includes, foreign securities because regulatory and reporting requirements may differ from those in the US, resulting in a heightened risk of errors in the index data, index computation and/or index construction due to unreliable, outdated or unavailable information.
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 reconstituting or rebalancing the fund’s securities
Prospectus October 1, 2024
29
Xtrackers MSCI Europe Hedged Equity ETF
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. Moreover, the use of a representative sampling investment approach (i.e., investing in a representative selection of securities included in the Underlying Index rather than all securities in the Underlying Index) 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 purposes, the fund may sell certain securities, and such sale may cause the fund to recognize a taxable gain or 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.
Tracking error risk may be higher for funds that track indices with significant weight in foreign issuers than funds that do not track such indices.
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. The bid-ask spread of the fund may be wider in comparison to the bid-ask spread of other ETFs, given the liquidity of the fund’s assets and the Underlying Index’s (and thus the fund’s) hedging strategy. If the markets for the fund’s portfolio securities experience decreased liquidity, the trading markets for the fund’s shares may also become less liquid with corresponding widening in the bid-ask spreads and differences between the market price and NAV of the fund’s shares. 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.
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 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 or recognize a gain that may be distributed to shareholders as a taxable distribution. This may be magnified in circumstances where redemptions from the fund may be higher than normal.
Geographic focus risk. Focusing investments in a single country or few countries, or regions, involves increased political, regulatory and other risks. Market swings in such
Prospectus October 1, 2024
30
Xtrackers MSCI Europe Hedged Equity ETF
a targeted country, countries or regions are likely to have a greater effect on fund performance than they would in a more geographically diversified 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.
Authorized Participant concentration risk. The fund may have a limited number of financial institutions that may act as Authorized Participants (“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. At any given time, due to the composition of the Underlying Index, the fund may be 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.
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. A delay in the recovery of loaned securities could interfere with the fund’s ability to vote proxies or settle transactions. Delayed settlement may limit the ability of the fund to reinvest the proceeds of a sale of securities or prevent the fund from selling securities at times that may be appropriate to track the Underlying Index. 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-based securities market index.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
13.50%
June 30, 2020
Worst Quarter
-21.20%
March 31, 2020
Year-to-Date
10.05%
June 30, 2024
Average Annual Total Returns
(For periods ended 12/31/2023 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
Prospectus October 1, 2024
31
Xtrackers MSCI Europe Hedged Equity ETF
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
5
Years
10
Years
Returns before tax
10/1/2013
16.95
11.29
7.74
After tax on distribu-
tions
 
15.17
10.52
6.57
After tax on distribu-
tions and sale of fund
shares
 
9.97
8.81
5.80
MSCI Europe US Dollar
Hedged Index (reflects
no deductions for fees,
expenses or taxes)
 
17.30
11.46
8.01
MSCI Europe Index
(reflects no deductions
for fees, expenses or
taxes)
 
19.89
9.09
4.13
Management
Investment Advisor
DBX Advisors LLC
Portfolio Managers
Patrick Dwyer, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC, Director and Senior Portfolio Engineer & Team Lead, Xtrackers, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2016.
Shlomo Bassous, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC, Director and Senior Portfolio Engineer, Xtrackers, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2017.
Ashif Shaikh, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC, Vice President and Portfolio Engineer, Xtrackers, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2022.
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 (the website does not form a part of this prospectus).
Tax Information
The fund's distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income or capital gains, except when you are tax-exempt or 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 October 1, 2024
32
Xtrackers MSCI Europe Hedged Equity ETF
 
 
 
Xtrackers MSCI All World ex US Hedged Equity ETF
 
Ticker: DBAW
Stock Exchange: NYSE Arca, Inc.
Investment Objective
The fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI ACWI ex USA US Dollar Hedged 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
0.40
Other Expenses
None
Total annual fund operating expenses
0.40
EXAMPLE
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the fund's operating expenses remain the same. 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
 
$41
$128
$224
$505
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 9% 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 MSCI ACWI ex USA US Dollar Hedged Index (the “Underlying Index”), which is designed to track the performance of equity securities in developed and emerging stock markets (excluding the United States), while mitigating exposure to fluctuations between the value of the US dollar and the currencies of the countries included in the Underlying Index. 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
Prospectus October 1, 2024 33 Xtrackers MSCI All World ex US Hedged Equity ETF
strategy. The fund will invest at least 80% of its total assets (but typically far more) in component securities (including depositary receipts in respect of such securities) of the Underlying Index.
As of July 31, 2024, the Underlying Index consisted of 2,235 securities, with an average market capitalization of approximately $22.63 billion and a minimum market capitalization of approximately $374 million, from issuers in the following countries (may reflect depository receipts or country of domicile): Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Colombia, Czechia, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Macau, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States and Zambia. Under normal circumstances, the Underlying Index is rebalanced monthly. The fund changes 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 schedule of portfolio changes.
The fund will normally invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in the equity securities of issuers from countries other than the United States and in instruments designed to hedge against the fund’s exposure to non-US currencies. As of July 31, 2024, a significant percentage of the Underlying Index was comprised of securities of issuers from Japan.
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 July 31, 2024, a significant percentage of the Underlying Index was comprised of issuers in the financials, industrials and information technology sectors. The fund’s exposure to particular sectors or countries may change over time to correspond to changes in the Underlying Index.
The fund may become “non-diversified,” as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, 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 or securities referred to herein are not sponsored, endorsed, issued, sold or promoted by MSCI (the “Index Provider”), and MSCI bears no liability with respect to the fund or securities or any index on which the fund or securities are based.
Derivatives. The fund may invest in derivatives, which are financial instruments whose performance is derived, at least in part, from the performance of an underlying asset, security or index. In particular, portfolio management may use deliverable or non-deliverable forward (“NDF”) currency to hedge the fund’s currency exposure.
Portfolio management may also use futures contracts, options on futures contracts and other types of derivatives in seeking performance that corresponds to its Underlying Index and will not use such instruments for speculative purposes. The amount of forward contracts in the fund is based on the aggregate exposure of the fund and Underlying Index to each non-US currency based on currency weights as of the beginning of each month.
Securities lending. The fund may lend securities (up to one-third of total assets) to approved institutions, such as registered broker-dealers, pooled investment vehicles, banks and other financial institutions. In connection with such loans, the fund receives liquid collateral in an amount that is based on the type and value of the securities being lent, with riskier securities generally requiring higher levels of collateral.
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”). An investment in the fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency.
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. High market volatility may also result from significant shifts in momentum of one or more
Prospectus October 1, 2024
34
Xtrackers MSCI All World ex US Hedged Equity ETF
specific stocks due to unusual increases or decreases in trading activity. Momentum can change quickly, and securities subject to shifts in momentum may be more volatile than the market as a whole and returns on such securities may drop precipitously. 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. Economies and financial markets throughout the world have become increasingly interconnected, which has increased the likelihood that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other countries or regions. This includes reliance on global supply chains that are susceptible to disruptions resulting from, among other things, war and other armed conflicts, extreme weather events, and natural disasters. Such supply chain disruptions can lead to, and have led to, economic and market disruptions that have far-reaching effects on financial markets worldwide. The value of the fund’s investments may be negatively affected by adverse changes in overall economic or market conditions, such as the level of economic activity and productivity, unemployment and labor force participation rates, inflation or deflation (and expectations for inflation or deflation), interest rates, demand and supply for particular products or resources including labor, and debt levels and credit ratings, among other factors. Such adverse conditions may contribute to an overall economic contraction across entire economies or markets, which may negatively impact the profitability of issuers operating in those economies or markets. In addition, geopolitical and other globally interconnected occurrences, including war, terrorism, economic uncertainty or financial crises, contagion, trade disputes, government debt crises (including defaults or downgrades) or uncertainty about government debt payments, government shutdowns, public health crises, natural disasters, supply chain disruptions, climate change and related events or conditions, 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. Adverse market conditions or disruptions could cause the fund to lose money, experience significant redemptions, and encounter operational difficulties. Although multiple asset classes may be affected by adverse market conditions or a particular market disruption, the duration and effects may not be the same for all types of assets.
Current military and other armed conflicts in various geographic regions, including those in Europe and the Middle East, can lead to, and have led to, economic and market disruptions, which may not be limited to the geographic region in which the conflict is occurring. Such conflicts can also result, and have resulted in some cases, in sanctions being levied by the United States, the European Union and/or other countries against countries or other actors involved in the conflict. In addition, such
conflicts and related sanctions can adversely affect regional and global energy, commodities, financial and other markets and thus could affect the value of the fund's investments. The extent and duration of any military conflict, related sanctions and resulting economic and market disruptions are impossible to predict, but could be substantial.
Other market disruption events include pandemic spread of viruses, such as the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19, which have caused significant uncertainty, market volatility, decreased economic and other activity, increased government activity, including economic stimulus measures, and supply chain disruptions. While COVID-19 is no longer considered to be a public health emergency, the fund and its investments may be adversely affected by lingering effects of this virus or future pandemic spread of viruses.
In addition, markets are becoming increasingly susceptible to disruption events resulting from the use of new and emerging technologies to engage in cyber-attacks or to take over the websites and/or social media accounts of companies, governmental entities or public officials, or to otherwise pose as or impersonate such, which then may be used to disseminate false or misleading information that can cause volatility in financial markets or for the stock of a particular company, group of companies, industry or other class of assets.
Adverse market conditions or particular market disruptions, such as those discussed above, 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.
Foreign investment risk. The fund faces the risks inherent in foreign investing. Adverse political, economic or social developments could undermine the value of the fund's foreign investments, prevent the fund from realizing the full value of its foreign investments or prevent the fund from selling foreign securities it holds. Financial reporting standards for companies based in foreign markets differ from those in the US. Additionally, foreign securities markets generally are smaller and less liquid than US markets. To the extent that the fund invests in non-US dollar denominated foreign securities, changes in currency exchange rates may affect the US dollar value of foreign securities or the income or gain received on these securities.
Foreign governments may restrict investment by foreigners, limit withdrawal of trading profit or currency from the country, restrict currency exchange or seize foreign investments. In addition, the fund may be limited in its ability to exercise its legal rights or enforce a counterparty's legal obligations in certain jurisdictions outside of the US. The foreign investments of the fund may also be subject to foreign withholding taxes. Foreign brokerage commissions and other fees are generally
Prospectus October 1, 2024
35
Xtrackers MSCI All World ex US Hedged Equity ETF
higher than those for US investments, and the transactions and custody of foreign assets may involve delays in payment, delivery or recovery of money or investments.
Foreign markets can have liquidity risks beyond those typical of US markets. Because foreign exchanges generally are smaller and less liquid than US exchanges, buying and selling foreign investments can be more difficult and costly. Relatively small transactions can sometimes materially affect the price and availability of securities. In certain situations, it may become virtually impossible to sell an investment at a price that approaches portfolio management’s estimate of its value. For the same reason, it may at times be difficult to value the fund’s foreign investments. In addition, because non-US markets may be open on days when the fund does not price its shares, the value of the foreign securities in the fund’s portfolio may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the fund’s shares.
Depositary receipt risk. Depositary receipts involve similar risks to those associated with investments in securities of non-US issuers. Depositary receipts also may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market.
Emerging market securities risk. The securities of issuers located in emerging markets tend to be more volatile and less liquid than securities of issuers located in more mature economies, and emerging markets generally have less diverse and less mature economic structures and less stable political systems than those of developed countries. The securities of issuers located or doing substantial business in emerging markets are often subject to rapid and large changes in price.
Small and medium-sized company risk. Small and 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 small and medium-sized companies, since they lack the financial resources of larger companies. Small and 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. The fund may become more focused in particular industries, asset classes or sectors of the economy as a result of changes in the valuation of the fund’s investments or fluctuations in the fund’s assets, and the fund is not required to reduce such exposures under these circumstances.
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.
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.
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.
Derivatives risk. Derivatives involve risks different from, and possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other more traditional investments. Risks associated with derivatives may include the risk that the derivative is not well correlated with the underlying asset, security, index or currency to which it relates; the risk that derivatives may result in losses or missed opportunities; the risk that the fund will be unable to sell the derivative because of an illiquid secondary market; the risk that a counterparty is unwilling or unable to meet its obligation, which risk may be heightened in derivative transactions entered into “over-the-counter” (i.e., not on an exchange or contract market); and the risk that the derivative transaction could expose the fund to the effects of leverage, which could increase the fund’s exposure to the market and magnify potential losses.
Prospectus October 1, 2024
36
Xtrackers MSCI All World ex US Hedged Equity ETF
Forward currency contract risk. The fund’s forward currency contracts may not be successful in minimizing the impact of changes in the value of the non-US currencies against the US dollar. To the extent the fund’s forward currency contracts are not successful, the US dollar value of your investment in the fund may go down. Furthermore, because no changes in the currency weights in the Underlying Index are made during the month to account for changes in the Underlying Index due to price movement of securities, corporate events, additions, deletions or any other changes, changes in the value of non-US currencies against the US dollar during the month may affect the value of the fund’s investment. Currency exchange rates can be very volatile and can change quickly and unpredictably. Therefore, the value of an investment in the fund may also go up or down quickly and unpredictably and investors may lose money. NDFs may be less liquid than deliverable forward currency contracts. A lack of liquidity in NDFs of the hedged currency could adversely affect the fund’s ability to hedge against currency fluctuations and properly track the Underlying Index.
Futures risk. The value of a futures contract tends to increase and decrease in tandem with the value of the underlying instrument. 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.
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.
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 Index
Provider will compile the Underlying Index accurately, or that the Underlying Index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. The Index Provider may cease publication of the Underlying Index or may terminate the license agreement allowing the fund to use the Underlying Index, either of which could have a material adverse effect on the fund. Market disruptions could cause delays in the Underlying Index’s reconstitution and 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 reconstitution and 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 may have limited ability to detect such errors and neither the Advisor nor its affiliates 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.
Index-related risk may be higher for a fund that tracks an index comprised of, or an index that includes, foreign securities because regulatory and reporting requirements may differ from those in the US, resulting in a heightened risk of errors in the index data, index computation and/or index construction due to unreliable, outdated or unavailable information.
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 reconstituting or 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. Moreover, the use of a representative
Prospectus October 1, 2024
37
Xtrackers MSCI All World ex US Hedged Equity ETF
sampling investment approach (i.e., investing in a representative selection of securities included in the Underlying Index rather than all securities in the Underlying Index) 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 purposes, the fund may sell certain securities, and such sale may cause the fund to recognize a taxable gain or 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.
Tracking error risk may be higher for funds that track indices with significant weight in foreign issuers, and in particular emerging markets issuers, than funds that do not track such indices.
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. The bid-ask spread of the fund may be wider in comparison to the bid-ask spread of other ETFs, given the liquidity of the fund’s assets and the Underlying Index’s (and thus the fund’s) hedging strategy. If the markets for the fund’s portfolio securities experience decreased liquidity, the trading markets for the fund’s shares may also become less liquid with corresponding widening in the bid-ask spreads and differences between the market price and NAV of the fund’s shares. 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.
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 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 or recognize a gain that may be distributed to shareholders as a taxable distribution. This may be magnified in circumstances where redemptions from the fund may be higher than normal.
Geographic focus risk. Focusing investments in a single country or few countries, or regions, involves increased political, regulatory and other risks. Market swings in such a targeted country, countries or regions are likely to have a greater effect on fund performance than they would in a more geographically diversified 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
Prospectus October 1, 2024
38
Xtrackers MSCI All World ex US Hedged Equity ETF
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.
Authorized Participant concentration risk. The fund may have a limited number of financial institutions that may act as Authorized Participants (“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. At any given time, due to the composition of the Underlying Index, the fund may be 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.
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. A delay in the recovery of loaned securities could interfere with the fund’s ability to vote proxies or settle transactions. Delayed settlement may limit the ability of the fund to reinvest the proceeds of a sale of securities or prevent the fund from selling securities at times that may be appropriate to track the Underlying Index. 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-based securities market index.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
14.06%
June 30, 2020
Worst Quarter
-19.63%
March 31, 2020
Year-to-Date
11.25%
June 30, 2024
Average Annual Total Returns
(For periods ended 12/31/2023 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. 
Prospectus October 1, 2024
39
Xtrackers MSCI All World ex US Hedged Equity ETF
 
Inception Date
1
Year
5
Years
Since
Inception
Returns before tax
1/23/2014
16.16
9.39
6.51
After tax on distribu-
tions
 
14.48
7.96
5.19
After tax on distribu-
tions and sale of fund
shares
 
9.51
7.05
4.78
MSCI ACWI ex USA US
Dollar Hedged Index
(reflects no deductions
for fees, expenses or
taxes)
 
16.65
9.81
6.95
MSCI ACWI ex USA
Index (reflects no deduc-
tions for fees, expenses
or taxes)
 
15.62
7.08
3.88
Management
Investment Advisor
DBX Advisors LLC
Portfolio Managers
Patrick Dwyer, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC, Director and Senior Portfolio Engineer & Team Lead, Xtrackers, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2016.
Shlomo Bassous, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC, Director and Senior Portfolio Engineer, Xtrackers, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2017.
Ashif Shaikh, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC, Vice President and Portfolio Engineer, Xtrackers, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2022.
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 (the website does not form a part of this prospectus).
Tax Information
The fund's distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income or capital gains, except when you are tax-exempt or 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 October 1, 2024
40
Xtrackers MSCI All World ex US Hedged Equity ETF
 
 
 
Xtrackers MSCI EAFE High Dividend Yield Equity ETF
 
Ticker: HDEF
Stock Exchange: NYSE Arca, Inc.
Investment Objective
The fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI EAFE High Dividend Yield 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 fee1
0.09
Other Expenses
None
Total annual fund operating expenses
0.09
1“Management fee” is restated to reflect the fund’s new management fee rate effective August 13, 2024.
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
 
$9
$29
$51
$115
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 26% 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 MSCI EAFE High Dividend Yield Index (the “Underlying Index”), which is designed to track developed market performance.
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
Prospectus October 1, 2024 41 Xtrackers MSCI EAFE High Dividend Yield Equity ETF
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 Underlying Index is designed to reflect the performance of equities (excluding REITs) in its parent index, the MSCI EAFE Index, with higher dividend income and quality characteristics than average dividend yields of equities in the parent index, where such higher dividend income and quality characteristics are both sustainable and persistent. The fund will invest at least 80% of its total assets (but typically far more) in component securities (including depositary receipts in respect of such securities) of the Underlying Index.
The Underlying Index is a free float adjusted market capitalization weighted index. As of July 31, 2024, the Underlying Index consisted of 117 securities, with an average market capitalization of approximately $33.71 billion and a minimum market capitalization of approximately $3.38 billion from issuers in the following countries (may reflect country of domicile): Australia, Austria, Belgium, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Under normal circumstances. the Underlying Index is rebalanced semi-annually in May and November. The fund changes 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 schedule of portfolio changes.
The fund will normally invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in equity securities located in developed countries in Europe, Australasia and the Far East. As of July 31, 2024, a significant percentage of the Underlying Index was comprised of securities of issuers from Switzerland, France and the United Kingdom. The fund will not enter into transactions to hedge against declines in the value of the fund’s assets that are denominated in foreign currency.
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 July 31, 2024, a significant percentage of the Underlying Index was comprised of issuers in the financials, health care and consumer staples sectors. The fund’s exposure to particular sectors or countries may change over time to correspond to changes in the Underlying Index.
The fund or securities referred to herein are not sponsored, endorsed, issued, sold or promoted by MSCI (the “Index Provider”), and MSCI bears no liability with respect to the fund or securities or any index on which the fund or securities are based.
The fund may become “non-diversified,” as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, 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.
Derivatives. The fund may invest in derivatives, which are financial instruments whose performance is derived, at least in part, from the performance of an underlying asset, security or index. In particular, portfolio management may use futures contracts, stock index futures, options on futures, swap contracts and other types of derivatives in seeking performance that corresponds to its Underlying Index and will not use such instruments for speculative purposes.
Securities lending. The fund may lend securities (up to one-third of total assets) to approved institutions, such as registered broker-dealers, pooled investment vehicles, banks and other financial institutions. In connection with such loans, the fund receives liquid collateral in an amount that is based on the type and value of the securities being lent, with riskier securities generally requiring higher levels of collateral.
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”). An investment in the fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency.
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
Prospectus October 1, 2024
42
Xtrackers MSCI EAFE High Dividend Yield Equity ETF
result in unusually high market volatility which could negatively affect performance. High market volatility may also result from significant shifts in momentum of one or more specific stocks due to unusual increases or decreases in trading activity. Momentum can change quickly, and securities subject to shifts in momentum may be more volatile than the market as a whole and returns on such securities may drop precipitously. 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. Economies and financial markets throughout the world have become increasingly interconnected, which has increased the likelihood that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other countries or regions. This includes reliance on global supply chains that are susceptible to disruptions resulting from, among other things, war and other armed conflicts, extreme weather events, and natural disasters. Such supply chain disruptions can lead to, and have led to, economic and market disruptions that have far-reaching effects on financial markets worldwide. The value of the fund’s investments may be negatively affected by adverse changes in overall economic or market conditions, such as the level of economic activity and productivity, unemployment and labor force participation rates, inflation or deflation (and expectations for inflation or deflation), interest rates, demand and supply for particular products or resources including labor, and debt levels and credit ratings, among other factors. Such adverse conditions may contribute to an overall economic contraction across entire economies or markets, which may negatively impact the profitability of issuers operating in those economies or markets. In addition, geopolitical and other globally interconnected occurrences, including war, terrorism, economic uncertainty or financial crises, contagion, trade disputes, government debt crises (including defaults or downgrades) or uncertainty about government debt payments, government shutdowns, public health crises, natural disasters, supply chain disruptions, climate change and related events or conditions, 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. Adverse market conditions or disruptions could cause the fund to lose money, experience significant redemptions, and encounter operational difficulties. Although multiple asset classes may be affected by adverse market conditions or a particular market disruption, the duration and effects may not be the same for all types of assets.
Current military and other armed conflicts in various geographic regions, including those in Europe and the Middle East, can lead to, and have led to, economic and market disruptions, which may not be limited to the geographic region in which the conflict is occurring. Such conflicts can also result, and have resulted in some cases,
in sanctions being levied by the United States, the European Union and/or other countries against countries or other actors involved in the conflict. In addition, such conflicts and related sanctions can adversely affect regional and global energy, commodities, financial and other markets and thus could affect the value of the fund's investments. The extent and duration of any military conflict, related sanctions and resulting economic and market disruptions are impossible to predict, but could be substantial.
Other market disruption events include pandemic spread of viruses, such as the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19, which have caused significant uncertainty, market volatility, decreased economic and other activity, increased government activity, including economic stimulus measures, and supply chain disruptions. While COVID-19 is no longer considered to be a public health emergency, the fund and its investments may be adversely affected by lingering effects of this virus or future pandemic spread of viruses.
In addition, markets are becoming increasingly susceptible to disruption events resulting from the use of new and emerging technologies to engage in cyber-attacks or to take over the websites and/or social media accounts of companies, governmental entities or public officials, or to otherwise pose as or impersonate such, which then may be used to disseminate false or misleading information that can cause volatility in financial markets or for the stock of a particular company, group of companies, industry or other class of assets.
Adverse market conditions or particular market disruptions, such as those discussed above, 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.
Dividend-paying stock risk. As a category, dividend-paying stocks may underperform non-dividend paying stocks (and the stock market as a whole) over any period of time. In addition, issuers of dividend-paying stocks may have discretion to defer or stop paying dividends for a stated period of time, or the anticipated acceleration of dividends may not occur as a result of, among other things, a sharp rise in interest rates or an economic downturn. If the dividend-paying stocks held by the fund reduce or stop paying dividends, the fund’s ability to generate income may be adversely affected.
Foreign investment risk. The fund faces the risks inherent in foreign investing. Adverse political, economic or social developments could undermine the value of the fund's foreign investments, prevent the fund from realizing the full value of its foreign investments or prevent the fund from selling foreign securities it holds. Financial reporting standards for companies based in foreign markets differ from those in the US. Additionally, foreign securities markets generally are smaller and less liquid than US
Prospectus October 1, 2024
43
Xtrackers MSCI EAFE High Dividend Yield Equity ETF
markets. To the extent that the fund invests in non-US dollar denominated foreign securities, changes in currency exchange rates may affect the US dollar value of foreign securities or the income or gain received on these securities.
Foreign governments may restrict investment by foreigners, limit withdrawal of trading profit or currency from the country, restrict currency exchange or seize foreign investments. In addition, the fund may be limited in its ability to exercise its legal rights or enforce a counterparty's legal obligations in certain jurisdictions outside of the US. The foreign investments of the fund may also be subject to foreign withholding taxes. Foreign brokerage commissions and other fees are generally higher than those for US investments, and the transactions and custody of foreign assets may involve delays in payment, delivery or recovery of money or investments.
Foreign markets can have liquidity risks beyond those typical of US markets. Because foreign exchanges generally are smaller and less liquid than US exchanges, buying and selling foreign investments can be more difficult and costly. Relatively small transactions can sometimes materially affect the price and availability of securities. In certain situations, it may become virtually impossible to sell an investment at a price that approaches portfolio management’s estimate of its value. For the same reason, it may at times be difficult to value the fund’s foreign investments. In addition, because non-US markets may be open on days when the fund does not price its shares, the value of the foreign securities in the fund’s portfolio may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the fund’s shares.
Depositary receipt risk. Depositary receipts involve similar risks to those associated with investments in securities of non-US issuers. Depositary receipts also may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market.
European investment risk. European financial markets have experienced volatility in recent years and have been adversely affected by concerns about economic downturns, credit rating downgrades, rising government debt level and possible default on or restructuring of government debt in several European countries. A default or debt restructuring by any European country would adversely impact holders of that country’s debt, and sellers of credit default swaps linked to that country’s creditworthiness. Most countries in Western Europe are members of the European Union (EU), which faces major issues involving its membership, structure, procedures and policies.
European countries are also significantly affected by fiscal and monetary controls implemented by the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), and it is possible that the timing and substance of these controls may not address the needs of all EMU member countries. Investing in euro-denominated securities also risks exposure to a
currency that may not fully reflect the strengths and weaknesses of the disparate economies that comprise Europe. There is continued concern over member state-level support for the euro, which could lead to certain countries leaving the EMU, the implementation of currency controls, or potentially the dissolution of the euro. The dissolution of the euro could have significant negative effects on European financial markets.
Small and medium-sized company risk. Small and 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 small and medium-sized companies, since they lack the financial resources of larger companies. Small and 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. The fund may become more focused in particular industries, asset classes or sectors of the economy as a result of changes in the valuation of the fund’s investments or fluctuations in the fund’s assets, and the fund is not required to reduce such exposures under these circumstances.
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.
Health care sector risk. To the extent that the fund invests significantly in the health care 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 health care sector. The health care sector may be affected by government regulations and government health care programs, increases or decreases in the cost of medical products and services and product liability claims, among other factors. Many health care companies are heavily dependent on patent protection, and the expiration of a company’s patent may adversely affect that company’s profitability. Health care companies are subject to competitive forces that may result in price discounting, and may be thinly capitalized and susceptible to product obsolescence.
Prospectus October 1, 2024
44
Xtrackers MSCI EAFE High Dividend Yield Equity ETF
Consumer staples sector risk. To the extent that the fund invests significantly in the consumer staples 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 staples sector. Companies in the consumer staples sector may be adversely affected by changes in the global economy, consumer spending, competition, demographics and consumer preferences, and production spending. Companies in the consumer staples sector are also affected by changes in government regulation, global economic, environmental and political events, economic conditions and the depletion of resources. In addition, companies in the consumer staples sector may be subject to risks pertaining to the supply of, demand for and prices of raw materials. The prices of raw materials fluctuate in response to a number of factors, including, without limitation, changes in government agricultural support programs, exchange rates, import and export controls, changes in international agricultural and trading policies, and seasonal and weather conditions.
Currency risk. Changes in currency exchange rates may affect the value of the fund’s investments and the fund’s share price. Because the fund does not attempt to hedge against changes in the value of non-US currencies, the fund’s US dollar share price may go down if the value of the local currency of the non−US markets in which the fund invests depreciates against the US dollar. This is true even if the local currency value of securities in the fund’s holdings goes up. The value of the US dollar measured against other currencies is influenced by a variety of factors. These factors include: interest rates, national debt levels and trade deficits, changes in balances of payments and trade, domestic and foreign interest and inflation rates, global or regional political, economic or financial events, monetary policies of governments, actual or potential government intervention, global energy prices, political instability and government monetary policies and the buying or selling of currency by a country’s government. Currency exchange rates can be volatile and can change quickly and unpredictably, thereby impacting the value of the fund’s investments.
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 Index Provider will compile the Underlying Index accurately, or that the Underlying Index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. The Index Provider may cease publication of the Underlying Index or may terminate the license agreement allowing the fund to use the Underlying Index, either of which could have a material adverse effect on the fund. Market disruptions could cause delays in the Underlying Index’s reconstitution and 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 reconstitution and 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 may have limited ability to detect such errors and neither the Advisor nor its affiliates 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.
Index-related risk may be higher for a fund that tracks an index comprised of, or an index that includes, foreign securities because regulatory and reporting requirements may differ from those in the US, resulting in a heightened risk of errors in the index data, index computation and/or index construction due to unreliable, outdated or unavailable information.
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 reconstituting or 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. Moreover, the use of a representative
Prospectus October 1, 2024
45
Xtrackers MSCI EAFE High Dividend Yield Equity ETF
sampling investment approach (i.e., investing in a representative selection of securities included in the Underlying Index rather than all securities in the Underlying Index) 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 purposes, the fund may sell certain securities, and such sale may cause the fund to recognize a taxable gain or 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.
Tracking error risk may be higher for funds that track indices with significant weight in foreign issuers than funds that do not track such indices.
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. If the markets for the fund’s portfolio securities experience decreased liquidity, the trading markets for the fund’s shares may also become less liquid with corresponding widening in the bid-ask spreads and differences between the market price and NAV of the fund’s shares. 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.
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 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 or recognize a gain that may be distributed to shareholders as a taxable distribution. This may be magnified in circumstances where redemptions from the fund may be higher than normal.
Geographic focus risk. Focusing investments in a single country or few countries, or regions, involves increased political, regulatory and other risks. Market swings in such a targeted country, countries or regions are likely to have a greater effect on fund performance than they would in a more geographically diversified 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
Prospectus October 1, 2024
46
Xtrackers MSCI EAFE High Dividend Yield Equity ETF
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.
Authorized Participant concentration risk. The fund may have a limited number of financial institutions that may act as Authorized Participants (“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. At any given time, due to the composition of the Underlying Index, the fund may be 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.
Derivatives risk. Derivatives involve risks different from, and possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other more traditional investments. Risks associated with derivatives may include the risk that the derivative is not well correlated with the underlying asset, security, index or currency to which it relates; the risk that derivatives may result in
losses or missed opportunities; the risk that the fund will be unable to sell the derivative because of an illiquid secondary market; the risk that a counterparty is unwilling or unable to meet its obligation, which risk may be heightened in derivative transactions entered into “over-the-counter” (i.e., not on an exchange or contract market); and the risk that the derivative transaction could expose the fund to the effects of leverage, which could increase the fund’s exposure to the market and magnify potential losses.
Futures risk. The value of a futures contract tends to increase and decrease in tandem with the value of the underlying instrument. 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.
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. A delay in the recovery of loaned securities could interfere with the fund’s ability to vote proxies or settle transactions. Delayed settlement may limit the ability of the fund to reinvest the proceeds of a sale of securities or prevent the fund from selling securities at times that may be appropriate to track the Underlying Index. 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-based securities market index.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).
Prospectus October 1, 2024
47
Xtrackers MSCI EAFE High Dividend Yield Equity ETF
Prior to February 13, 2018, the fund operated with a different investment strategy. Performance would have been different if the fund’s current investment strategy had been in effect. Fund returns prior to February 13, 2018 reflect those of the fund when it was tracking the prior underlying index.
CALENDAR YEAR TOTAL RETURNS(%)
  
 
Returns
Period ending
Best Quarter
20.05%
December 31, 2022
Worst Quarter
-24.53%
March 31, 2020
Year-to-Date
1.89%
June 30, 2024
Average Annual Total Returns
(For periods ended 12/31/2023 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
5
Years
Since
Inception
Returns before tax
8/12/2015
18.65
8.59
4.95
After tax on distribu-
tions
 
16.42
7.23
3.64
After tax on distribu-
tions and sale of fund
shares
 
10.93
6.44
3.60
MSCI EAFE High Divi-
dend Yield Index
(reflects no deductions
for fees, expenses or
taxes)
 
18.56
8.54
5.05
MSCI EAFE Index
(reflects no deductions
for fees, expenses or
taxes)
 
18.24
8.16
4.90
Effective February 13, 2018, the fund changed its underlying index to the MSCI EAFE High Dividend Yield Index from the MSCI EAFE High Dividend Yield Hedged Equity Index. Returns shown above for the MSCI EAFE High Dividend Yield Index prior to February 13, 2018 reflect the performance of the MSCI EAFE High Dividend Yield Hedged Equity Index.
Management
Investment Advisor
DBX Advisors LLC
Portfolio Managers
Patrick Dwyer, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC, Director and Senior Portfolio Engineer & Team Lead, Xtrackers, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2016.
Shlomo Bassous, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC, Director and Senior Portfolio Engineer, Xtrackers, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2017.
Ashif Shaikh, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC, Vice President and Portfolio Engineer, Xtrackers, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2022.
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 (the website does not form a part of this prospectus).
Tax Information
The fund's distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income or capital gains, except when you are tax-exempt or 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
Prospectus October 1, 2024
48
Xtrackers MSCI EAFE High Dividend Yield Equity ETF
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 October 1, 2024
49
Xtrackers MSCI EAFE High Dividend Yield Equity ETF
 
 
 
Xtrackers MSCI Eurozone Hedged Equity ETF
 
Ticker: DBEZ
Stock Exchange: NYSE Arca, Inc.
Investment Objective
The fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI EMU IMI US Dollar Hedged 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
0.45
Other Expenses
None
Total annual fund operating expenses
0.45
EXAMPLE
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the fund's operating expenses remain the same. 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
 
$46
$144
$252
$567
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 14% 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 MSCI EMU IMI US Dollar Hedged Index (the “Underlying Index”), which is designed to track the performance of equity securities based in the countries in the European Monetary Union (the “EMU”), while seeking to mitigate exposure to fluctuations between the value of the US dollar and the euro. 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 Underlying Index is composed of equities
Prospectus October 1, 2024 50 Xtrackers MSCI Eurozone Hedged Equity ETF
from countries in the EMU, or the “Eurozone,” that have adopted the euro as their common currency and sole legal tender. The fund will invest at least 80% of its total assets (but typically far more) in component securities (including depositary receipts in respect of such securities) of the Underlying Index.
As of July 31, 2024, the Underlying Index consisted of 614 securities with an average market capitalization of approximately $14.23 billion and a minimum market capitalization of approximately $292 million from issuers in the following countries (may reflect country of domicile): Austria, Belgium, China, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Under normal circumstances, the Underlying Index is rebalanced monthly. The fund changes 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 schedule of portfolio changes.
The fund will normally invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in equity securities from issuers in the Eurozone. As of July 31, 2024, a significant percentage of the Underlying Index was comprised of securities of issuers from France and Germany.
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 July 31, 2024, a significant percentage of the Underlying Index was comprised of issuers in the financials and industrials sectors. The fund’s exposure to particular sectors or countries may change over time to correspond to changes in the Underlying Index.
The fund may become “non-diversified,” as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, 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 or securities referred to herein are not sponsored, endorsed, issued, sold or promoted by MSCI (the “Index Provider”), and MSCI bears no liability with respect to the fund or securities or any index on which the fund or securities are based.
Derivatives. The fund may invest in derivatives, which are financial instruments whose performance is derived, at least in part, from the performance of an underlying asset, security or index. In particular, portfolio management may use deliverable or non-deliverable forward (“NDF”) currency to hedge the fund’s currency exposure.
Portfolio management may also use futures contracts, options on futures contracts and other types of derivatives in seeking performance that corresponds to its Underlying
Index and will not use such instruments for speculative purposes. The amount of forward contracts in the fund is based on the aggregate exposure of the fund and Underlying Index to the euro based on currency weights as of the beginning of each month.
Securities lending. The fund may lend securities (up to one-third of total assets) to approved institutions, such as registered broker-dealers, pooled investment vehicles, banks and other financial institutions. In connection with such loans, the fund receives liquid collateral in an amount that is based on the type and value of the securities being lent, with riskier securities generally requiring higher levels of collateral.
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”). An investment in the fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency.
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. High market volatility may also result from significant shifts in momentum of one or more specific stocks due to unusual increases or decreases in trading activity. Momentum can change quickly, and securities subject to shifts in momentum may be more volatile than the market as a whole and returns on such securities may drop precipitously. 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.
Prospectus October 1, 2024
51
Xtrackers MSCI Eurozone Hedged Equity ETF
Market disruption risk. Economies and financial markets throughout the world have become increasingly interconnected, which has increased the likelihood that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other countries or regions. This includes reliance on global supply chains that are susceptible to disruptions resulting from, among other things, war and other armed conflicts, extreme weather events, and natural disasters. Such supply chain disruptions can lead to, and have led to, economic and market disruptions that have far-reaching effects on financial markets worldwide. The value of the fund’s investments may be negatively affected by adverse changes in overall economic or market conditions, such as the level of economic activity and productivity, unemployment and labor force participation rates, inflation or deflation (and expectations for inflation or deflation), interest rates, demand and supply for particular products or resources including labor, and debt levels and credit ratings, among other factors. Such adverse conditions may contribute to an overall economic contraction across entire economies or markets, which may negatively impact the profitability of issuers operating in those economies or markets. In addition, geopolitical and other globally interconnected occurrences, including war, terrorism, economic uncertainty or financial crises, contagion, trade disputes, government debt crises (including defaults or downgrades) or uncertainty about government debt payments, government shutdowns, public health crises, natural disasters, supply chain disruptions, climate change and related events or conditions, 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. Adverse market conditions or disruptions could cause the fund to lose money, experience significant redemptions, and encounter operational difficulties. Although multiple asset classes may be affected by adverse market conditions or a particular market disruption, the duration and effects may not be the same for all types of assets.
Current military and other armed conflicts in various geographic regions, including those in Europe and the Middle East, can lead to, and have led to, economic and market disruptions, which may not be limited to the geographic region in which the conflict is occurring. Such conflicts can also result, and have resulted in some cases, in sanctions being levied by the United States, the European Union and/or other countries against countries or other actors involved in the conflict. In addition, such conflicts and related sanctions can adversely affect regional and global energy, commodities, financial and other markets and thus could affect the value of the fund's investments. The extent and duration of any military conflict, related sanctions and resulting economic and market disruptions are impossible to predict, but could be substantial.
Other market disruption events include pandemic spread of viruses, such as the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19, which have caused significant uncertainty, market volatility, decreased economic and other activity, increased government activity, including economic stimulus measures, and supply chain disruptions. While COVID-19 is no longer considered to be a public health emergency, the fund and its investments may be adversely affected by lingering effects of this virus or future pandemic spread of viruses.
In addition, markets are becoming increasingly susceptible to disruption events resulting from the use of new and emerging technologies to engage in cyber-attacks or to take over the websites and/or social media accounts of companies, governmental entities or public officials, or to otherwise pose as or impersonate such, which then may be used to disseminate false or misleading information that can cause volatility in financial markets or for the stock of a particular company, group of companies, industry or other class of assets.
Adverse market conditions or particular market disruptions, such as those discussed above, 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.
Foreign investment risk. The fund faces the risks inherent in foreign investing. Adverse political, economic or social developments could undermine the value of the fund's foreign investments, prevent the fund from realizing the full value of its foreign investments or prevent the fund from selling foreign securities it holds. Financial reporting standards for companies based in foreign markets differ from those in the US. Additionally, foreign securities markets generally are smaller and less liquid than US markets. To the extent that the fund invests in non-US dollar denominated foreign securities, changes in currency exchange rates may affect the US dollar value of foreign securities or the income or gain received on these securities.
Foreign governments may restrict investment by foreigners, limit withdrawal of trading profit or currency from the country, restrict currency exchange or seize foreign investments. In addition, the fund may be limited in its ability to exercise its legal rights or enforce a counterparty's legal obligations in certain jurisdictions outside of the US. The foreign investments of the fund may also be subject to foreign withholding taxes. Foreign brokerage commissions and other fees are generally higher than those for US investments, and the transactions and custody of foreign assets may involve delays in payment, delivery or recovery of money or investments.
Foreign markets can have liquidity risks beyond those typical of US markets. Because foreign exchanges generally are smaller and less liquid than US exchanges, buying and selling foreign investments can be more difficult and
Prospectus October 1, 2024
52
Xtrackers MSCI Eurozone Hedged Equity ETF
costly. Relatively small transactions can sometimes materially affect the price and availability of securities. In certain situations, it may become virtually impossible to sell an investment at a price that approaches portfolio management’s estimate of its value. For the same reason, it may at times be difficult to value the fund’s foreign investments. In addition, because non-US markets may be open on days when the fund does not price its shares, the value of the foreign securities in the fund’s portfolio may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the fund’s shares.
Depositary receipt risk. Depositary receipts involve similar risks to those associated with investments in securities of non-US issuers. Depositary receipts also may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market.
European investment risk. European financial markets have experienced volatility in recent years and have been adversely affected by concerns about economic downturns, credit rating downgrades, rising government debt level and possible default on or restructuring of government debt in several European countries. A default or debt restructuring by any European country would adversely impact holders of that country’s debt, and sellers of credit default swaps linked to that country’s creditworthiness. Most countries in Western Europe are members of the European Union (EU), which faces major issues involving its membership, structure, procedures and policies.
European countries are also significantly affected by fiscal and monetary controls implemented by the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), and it is possible that the timing and substance of these controls may not address the needs of all EMU member countries. Investing in euro-denominated securities also risks exposure to a currency that may not fully reflect the strengths and weaknesses of the disparate economies that comprise Europe. There is continued concern over member state-level support for the euro, which could lead to certain countries leaving the EMU, the implementation of currency controls, or potentially the dissolution of the euro. The dissolution of the euro could have significant negative effects on European financial markets.
Small and medium-sized company risk. Small and 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 small and medium-sized companies, since they lack the financial resources of larger companies. Small and 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. The fund may become more focused in particular industries, asset classes or sectors of the economy as a result of changes in the valuation of the fund’s investments or fluctuations in the fund’s assets, and the fund is not required to reduce such exposures under these circumstances.
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.
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.
Derivatives risk. Derivatives involve risks different from, and possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other more traditional investments. Risks associated with derivatives may include the risk that the derivative is not well correlated with the underlying asset, security, index or currency to which it relates; the risk that derivatives may result in losses or missed opportunities; the risk that the fund will be unable to sell the derivative because of an illiquid secondary market; the risk that a counterparty is unwilling or unable to meet its obligation, which risk may be heightened in derivative transactions entered into “over-the-counter” (i.e., not on an exchange or contract market); and the risk that the derivative transaction could expose the fund to the effects of leverage, which could increase the fund’s exposure to the market and magnify potential losses.
Forward currency contract risk. The fund’s forward currency contracts may not be successful in minimizing the impact of changes in the value of the non-US currencies against the US dollar. To the extent the fund’s forward currency contracts are not successful, the US dollar value of your investment in the fund may go down. Furthermore, because no changes in the currency weights in the Underlying Index are made during the month to account for changes in the Underlying Index due to price movement of securities, corporate events, additions, deletions or any other changes, changes in the value of non-US currencies
Prospectus October 1, 2024
53
Xtrackers MSCI Eurozone Hedged Equity ETF
against the US dollar during the month may affect the value of the fund’s investment. Currency exchange rates can be very volatile and can change quickly and unpredictably. Therefore, the value of an investment in the fund may also go up or down quickly and unpredictably and investors may lose money. NDFs may be less liquid than deliverable forward currency contracts. A lack of liquidity in NDFs of the hedged currency could adversely affect the fund’s ability to hedge against currency fluctuations and properly track the Underlying Index.
Futures risk. The value of a futures contract tends to increase and decrease in tandem with the value of the underlying instrument. 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.
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.
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 Index Provider will compile the Underlying Index accurately, or that the Underlying Index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. The Index Provider may cease publication of the Underlying Index or may terminate the license agreement allowing the fund to use the Underlying Index, either of which could have a material adverse effect on the fund. Market disruptions could cause delays in the Underlying Index’s reconstitution and 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 reconstitution and 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 may have limited ability to detect such errors and neither the Advisor nor its affiliates 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.
Index-related risk may be higher for a fund that tracks an index comprised of, or an index that includes, foreign securities because regulatory and reporting requirements may differ from those in the US, resulting in a heightened risk of errors in the index data, index computation and/or index construction due to unreliable, outdated or unavailable information.
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 reconstituting or 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. Moreover, the use of a representative sampling investment approach (i.e., investing in a representative selection of securities included in the Underlying Index rather than all securities in the Underlying Index) 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
Prospectus October 1, 2024
54
Xtrackers MSCI Eurozone Hedged Equity ETF
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 purposes, the fund may sell certain securities, and such sale may cause the fund to recognize a taxable gain or 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.
Tracking error risk may be higher for funds that track indices with significant weight in foreign issuers than funds that do not track such indices.
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. The bid-ask spread of the fund may be wider in comparison to the bid-ask spread of other ETFs, given the liquidity of the fund’s assets and the Underlying Index’s (and thus the fund’s) hedging strategy. If the
markets for the fund’s portfolio securities experience decreased liquidity, the trading markets for the fund’s shares may also become less liquid with corresponding widening in the bid-ask spreads and differences between the market price and NAV of the fund’s shares. 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.
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 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 or recognize a gain that may be distributed to shareholders as a taxable distribution. This may be magnified in circumstances where redemptions from the fund may be higher than normal.
Geographic focus risk. Focusing investments in a single country or few countries, or regions, involves increased political, regulatory and other risks. Market swings in such a targeted country, countries or regions are likely to have a greater effect on fund performance than they would in a more geographically diversified 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.
Prospectus October 1, 2024
55
Xtrackers MSCI Eurozone Hedged Equity ETF
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.
Authorized Participant concentration risk. The fund may have a limited number of financial institutions that may act as Authorized Participants (“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. At any given time, due to the composition of the Underlying Index, the fund may be 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.
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. A delay in the recovery of loaned securities could interfere with the fund’s ability to vote proxies or settle transactions. Delayed settlement may limit the ability of the fund to reinvest the proceeds of a sale of securities or prevent the fund from selling securities at times that may be appropriate to track the Underlying Index. 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-based securities market index.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
17.99%
March 31, 2015
Worst Quarter
-24.86%
March 31, 2020
Year-to-Date
8.57%
June 30, 2024
Average Annual Total Returns
(For periods ended 12/31/2023 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
5
Years
Since
Inception
Returns before tax
12/10/2014
21.33
11.91
8.60
After tax on distribu-
tions
 
20.38
11.46
7.94
After tax on distribu-
tions and sale of fund
shares
 
12.59
9.52
6.82
MSCI EMU IMI US
Dollar Hedged Index
(reflects no deductions
for fees, expenses or
taxes)
 
21.61
12.10
8.79
MSCI EMU IMI Index
(reflects no deductions
for fees, expenses or
taxes)
 
22.48
8.80
5.36
Prospectus October 1, 2024
56
Xtrackers MSCI Eurozone Hedged Equity ETF
Management
Investment Advisor
DBX Advisors LLC
Portfolio Managers
Patrick Dwyer, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC, Director and Senior Portfolio Engineer & Team Lead, Xtrackers, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2016.
Shlomo Bassous, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC, Director and Senior Portfolio Engineer, Xtrackers, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2017.
Ashif Shaikh, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC, Vice President and Portfolio Engineer, Xtrackers, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2022.
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 (the website does not form a part of this prospectus).
Tax Information
The fund's distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income or capital gains, except when you are tax-exempt or 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 October 1, 2024
57
Xtrackers MSCI Eurozone Hedged Equity ETF
 
Fund Details
Additional Information About Fund Strategies, Underlying Index Information and Risks
Xtrackers MSCI Emerging Markets Hedged Equity ETF
Investment Objective
The fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI EM US Dollar Hedged 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 MSCI Emerging Markets (EM) US Dollar Hedged Index (the “Underlying Index”), which is designed to track emerging market performance while mitigating exposure to fluctuations between the value of the US dollar and the currencies of the countries included in the Underlying Index. 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 (including depositary receipts in respect of such securities) of the Underlying Index.
As of July 31, 2024, the Underlying Index consisted of 1,382 securities, with an average market capitalization of approximately $1.73 billion and a minimum market capitalization of approximately $780 million, from issuers in the following countries (may reflect depository receipts or country of domicile): Australia, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Czechia, Egypt, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and the United States. Under normal circumstances, the Underlying Index is rebalanced monthly. The fund changes 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 schedule of portfolio changes.
The fund will normally invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in the equity securities of issuers from emerging markets countries and in instruments designed to hedge against the fund’s exposure to non-US currencies.
Emerging market countries are countries that are generally considered to be less economically mature than developed nations. As of July 31, 2024, a significant percentage of the Underlying Index was comprised of securities of issuers from China.
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 July 31, 2024, a significant percentage of the Underlying Index was comprised of issuers in the financials and information technology sectors. The fund’s exposure to particular sectors or countries may change over time to correspond to changes in the Underlying Index.
The fund may also invest in depositary receipts in respect of equity securities that comprise its Underlying Index to seek performance that corresponds to the fund’s respective Underlying Index. Investments in such depositary receipts will count towards the fund’s 80% investment policy discussed above with respect to instruments that comprise the applicable Underlying Index. The fund will not
Prospectus October 1, 2024 58 Fund Details
invest in any unlisted depositary receipt or any depositary receipt that the Advisor deems illiquid at the time of purchase or for which pricing information is not readily available.
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 Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), or exemptions therefrom), convertible securities, structured notes (notes on which the amount of principal repayment and interest payments are based on the movement of one or more specified factors, such as the movement of a particular stock or stock index) and in certain types of derivatives instruments (see “Derivatives” subsection).
The fund may become “non-diversified,” as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, 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 or securities referred to herein are not sponsored, endorsed, issued, sold or promoted by MSCI, and MSCI bears no liability with respect to the fund or securities or any index on which the fund or securities are based. The Prospectus contains a more detailed description of the limited relationship MSCI has with DBX Advisors LLC and any related funds.
Derivatives. The fund may invest in derivatives, which are financial instruments whose performance is derived, at least in part, from the performance of an underlying asset, security or index. In particular, portfolio management may use deliverable or non-deliverable forward (“NDF”) currency contracts to hedge the fund’s currency exposure. The fund hedges each foreign currency in the portfolio to US dollars by selling the applicable foreign currency forward at the one-month forward rate published by WM/Reuters.
The amount of forward contracts in the fund is based on the aggregate exposure of the fund and Underlying Index to each non-US currency based on currency weights as of the beginning of each month. While this approach is designed to minimize the impact of currency fluctuations on fund returns, this does not necessarily eliminate exposure to all currency fluctuations. The return of the forward currency contracts may not perfectly offset the actual fluctuations of non-US currencies relative to the US dollar. The fund may use NDF contracts to execute its hedging transactions. An NDF is a contract where there is no physical settlement of two currencies at maturity (as opposed to deliverable forward contracts, which per their terms are settled by physical delivery of the currencies).
Rather, based on the movement of the currencies and the contractually agreed upon exchange rate, a net cash settlement is made by one party to the other in US dollars.
Portfolio management may also use futures contracts, options on futures contracts and other types of derivatives in seeking performance that corresponds to its Underlying Index and will not use such instruments for speculative purposes. The fund expects to use futures contracts to a limited extent in seeking performance that corresponds to its Underlying Index. A futures contract is a standardized exchange traded agreement to buy or sell a specific quantity of an underlying instrument at a specific price at a specific future time.
In addition, the fund may invest in 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).
Securities lending. The fund may lend securities (up to one-third of total assets) to approved institutions, such as registered broker-dealers, pooled investment vehicles, banks and other financial institutions. In connection with such loans, the fund receives liquid collateral in an amount that is based on the type and value of the securities being lent, with riskier securities generally requiring higher levels of collateral.
Underlying Index Information
MSCI EM US Dollar Hedged Index
The MSCI Emerging Markets (EM) US Dollar Hedged Index is designed to represent a close estimation of the performance that can be achieved by hedging the currency exposures of its parent index, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, to the US dollar, the “home” currency for the hedged index. The index is 100% hedged to the US dollar by selling each foreign currency forward at the one-month forward rate. The parent index is composed of large and mid cap stocks across emerging markets countries, as defined by the Index Provider. See the Appendix for additional information on MSCI's Global Investable Markets Indexes 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. An investment in the fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency.
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
Prospectus October 1, 2024
59
Fund Details
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. High market volatility may also result from significant shifts in momentum of one or more specific stocks due to unusual increases or decreases in trading activity. Momentum can change quickly, and securities subject to shifts in momentum may be more volatile than the market as a whole and returns on such securities may drop precipitously. 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. Economies and financial markets throughout the world have become increasingly interconnected, which has increased the likelihood that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other countries or regions. This includes reliance on global supply chains that are susceptible to disruptions resulting from, among other things, war and other armed conflicts, extreme weather events, and natural disasters. Such supply chain disruptions can lead to, and have led to, economic and market disruptions that have far-reaching effects on financial markets worldwide. The value of the fund’s investments may be negatively affected by adverse changes in overall economic or market conditions, such as the level of economic activity and productivity, unemployment and labor force participation rates, inflation or deflation (and expectations for inflation or deflation), interest rates, demand and supply for particular products or resources including labor, and debt levels and credit ratings, among other factors. Such adverse conditions may contribute to an overall economic contraction across entire economies or markets, which may negatively impact the profitability of issuers operating in those economies or markets. In addition, geopolitical and other globally interconnected occurrences, including war, terrorism, economic uncertainty or financial crises, contagion, trade disputes, government debt crises (including defaults or downgrades) or uncertainty about government debt payments, government shutdowns, public health crises, natural disasters, supply chain disruptions, climate change and related events or conditions, 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. Adverse market
conditions or disruptions could cause the fund to lose money, experience significant redemptions, and encounter operational difficulties. Although multiple asset classes may be affected by adverse market conditions or a particular market disruption, the duration and effects may not be the same for all types of assets.
Current military and other armed conflicts in various geographic regions, including those in Europe and the Middle East, can lead to, and have led to, economic and market disruptions, which may not be limited to the geographic region in which the conflict is occurring. Such conflicts can also result, and have resulted in some cases, in sanctions being levied by the United States, the European Union and/or other countries against countries or other actors involved in the conflict. In addition, such conflicts and related sanctions can adversely affect regional and global energy, commodities, financial and other markets and thus could affect the value of the fund's investments. The extent and duration of any military conflict, related sanctions and resulting economic and market disruptions are impossible to predict, but could be substantial.
Other market disruption events include pandemic spread of viruses, such as the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19, which have caused significant uncertainty, market volatility, decreased economic and other activity, increased government activity, including economic stimulus measures, and supply chain disruptions. While COVID-19 is no longer considered to be a public health emergency, the fund and its investments may be adversely affected by lingering effects of this virus or future pandemic spread of viruses.
In addition, markets are becoming increasingly susceptible to disruption events resulting from the use of new and emerging technologies to engage in cyber-attacks or to take over the websites and/or social media accounts of companies, governmental entities or public officials, or to otherwise pose as or impersonate such, which then may be used to disseminate false or misleading information that can cause volatility in financial markets or for the stock of a particular company, group of companies, industry or other class of assets.
Adverse market conditions or particular market disruptions, such as those discussed above, 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.
Foreign investment risk. The fund faces the risks inherent in foreign investing. Adverse political, economic or social developments could undermine the value of the fund's foreign investments, prevent the fund from realizing the full value of its foreign investments or prevent the fund from selling foreign securities it holds. Financial reporting standards for companies based in foreign markets differ from those in the US. Additionally, foreign securities
Prospectus October 1, 2024
60
Fund Details
markets generally are smaller and less liquid than US markets. To the extent that the fund invests in non-US dollar denominated foreign securities, changes in currency exchange rates may affect the US dollar value of foreign securities or the income or gain received on these securities.
Foreign governments may restrict investment by foreigners, limit withdrawal of trading profit or currency from the country, restrict currency exchange or seize foreign investments. In addition, the fund may be limited in its ability to exercise its legal rights or enforce a counterparty's legal obligations in certain jurisdictions outside of the US. The foreign investments of the fund may also be subject to foreign withholding taxes. Foreign brokerage commissions and other fees are generally higher than those for US investments, and the transactions and custody of foreign assets may involve delays in payment, delivery or recovery of money or investments.
Foreign markets can have liquidity risks beyond those typical of US markets. Because foreign exchanges generally are smaller and less liquid than US exchanges, buying and selling foreign investments can be more difficult and costly. Relatively small transactions can sometimes materially affect the price and availability of securities. In certain situations, it may become virtually impossible to sell an investment at a price that approaches portfolio management’s estimate of its value. For the same reason, it may at times be difficult to value the fund’s foreign investments. In addition, because non-US markets may be open on days when the fund does not price its shares, the value of the foreign securities in the fund’s portfolio may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the fund’s shares.
Depositary receipt risk. Foreign investments in American Depositary Receipts and other depositary receipts may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market. Certain of the depositary receipts in which the fund invests may be unsponsored depositary receipts. Unsponsored depositary receipts may not provide as much information about the underlying issuer and may not carry the same voting privileges as sponsored depositary receipts. Unsponsored depositary receipts are issued by one or more depositaries in response to market demand, but without a formal agreement with the company that issues the underlying securities.
Emerging market securities risk. Investment in emerging markets subjects the fund to a greater risk of loss than investments in a developed market. This is due to, among other things, (i) greater market volatility, (ii) lower trading volume, (iii) political and economic instability, (iv) high levels of inflation, deflation or currency devaluation, (v) greater risk of market shut down, (vi) more governmental limitations on foreign investments and limitations on repatriation of invested capital than those typically found in a developed market, and (vii) the risk that companies may be
held to lower disclosure, corporate governance, auditing and financial reporting standards than companies in more developed markets.
The financial stability of issuers (including governments) in emerging market countries may be more precarious than in other countries. As a result, there will tend to be an increased risk of price volatility in the fund’s investments in emerging market countries, which may be magnified by currency fluctuations relative to the US dollar.
Settlement practices for transactions in foreign markets, particularly in emerging markets, may differ from those in US markets. Such differences include delays beyond periods customary in the US and practices, such as delivery of securities prior to receipt of payment, which increase the likelihood of a “failed settlement.” Failed settlements can result in losses to the fund. Low trading volumes and volatile prices in less developed markets make trades harder to complete and settle, and governments or trade groups may compel local agents to hold securities in designated depositories that are not subject to independent evaluation. Local agents are held only to the standards of care of their local markets.
Small and medium-sized company risk. Small and 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 small and medium-sized companies, since they lack the financial resources of larger companies. Small and 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. The fund may become more focused in particular industries, asset classes or sectors of the economy as a result of changes in the valuation of the fund’s investments or fluctuations in the fund’s assets, and the fund is not required to reduce such exposures under these circumstances.
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.
Prospectus October 1, 2024
61
Fund Details
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.
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.
Derivatives risk. Derivatives involve risks different from, and possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other more traditional investments. Risks associated with derivatives may include the risk that the derivative is not well correlated with the underlying asset, security, index or currency to which it relates; the risk that derivatives may result in losses or missed opportunities; the risk that the fund will be unable to sell the derivative because of an illiquid secondary market; the risk that a counterparty is unwilling or unable to meet its obligation, which risk may be heightened in derivative transactions entered into “over-the-counter” (i.e., not on an exchange or contract market); and the risk that the derivative transaction could expose the fund to the effects of leverage, which could increase the fund’s exposure to the market and magnify potential losses.
There is no guarantee that derivatives, to the extent employed, will have the intended effect, and their use could cause lower returns or even losses to the fund. The use of derivatives by the fund to hedge risk may reduce the opportunity for gain by offsetting the positive effect of favorable price movements.
Forward currency contract risk. The fund invests in forward currency contracts to attempt to minimize the impact of changes in the value of the non-US currencies included in its Underlying Index against the US dollar.
These contracts may not be successful. To the extent the fund’s forward currency contracts are not successful in hedging against such changes, the US dollar value of your investment in the fund may go down if the value of the local currency of the non-US markets in which the fund invests depreciates against the US dollar. This is true even if the local currency value of securities in the fund’s holdings goes up. In order to minimize transaction costs or for other reasons, the fund’s exposure to the currencies included in the Underlying Index may not be fully hedged at all times. For example, the fund may not hedge against exposure to currencies that represent a relatively smaller portion of the Underlying Index. Furthermore, because no changes in the currency weights in each fund’s Underlying Index are made during the month to account for changes in each fund’s Underlying Index due to price movement of securities, corporate events, additions, deletions or any other changes, changes in the value of the non-US currencies included in the fund’s Underlying Index against the US dollar during the month may affect the value of the fund’s investment. Non-deliverable forward (“NDF”) contracts may be less liquid than deliverable forward currency contracts. A lack of liquidity in NDFs of the hedged currency could adversely affect the fund’s ability to hedge against currency fluctuations and properly track the Underlying Index.
A forward currency contract is a negotiated agreement between two parties to exchange specified amounts of two or more currencies at a specified future time at a specified rate. The rate specified by the forward currency contract can be higher or lower than the spot rate between the currencies that are the subject of the contract. Settlement of a forward currency contract for the purchase of most currencies typically must occur at a bank based in the issuing nation. By entering into a forward currency contract for the purchase or sale, for a fixed amount of dollars or other currency, of the amount of foreign currency involved in the underlying security transactions, the fund may be able to protect itself against a possible loss resulting from an adverse change in the relationship between the US dollar or other currency which is being used for the security purchase and the foreign currency in which the security is denominated during the period between the date on which the security is purchased or sold and the date on which payment is made or received. Furthermore, such transactions reduce or preclude the opportunity for gain if the value of the currency should move in the direction opposite to the position taken. There is an additional risk to the extent that forward currency contracts create exposure to currencies in which the fund’s securities are not denominated. Unanticipated changes in currency prices may result in poorer overall performance for the fund than if it had not entered into such contracts.
Prospectus October 1, 2024
62
Fund Details
Forward currency contracts may limit gains on portfolio securities that could otherwise be realized had they not been utilized and could result in losses. The contracts also may increase the fund’s volatility and may involve a significant amount of risk relative to the investment of cash.
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.
Counterparty risk. The foreign currency markets in which the fund effects its transactions are over-the-counter or “interdealer” markets. The counterparty to an over-the counter spot contract is generally a single bank or other financial institution rather than a clearing organization backed by a group of financial institutions. Participants in over-the-counter markets are typically not subject to the same credit evaluation and regulatory oversight as members of exchange-based” markets. Because the funds execute over-the-counter transactions, the fund constantly takes credit risk with regard to parties with which it trades and may also bear the risk of settlement default. These risks may differ materially from those involved in exchange-traded transactions which generally are characterized by clearing organization guaranties, daily marking-to-market and settlement, and segregation and minimum capital requirements applicable to intermediaries. Transactions entered into directly between two counterparties generally do not benefit from these protections and the fund is subject to the risk that a counterparty will not settle a transaction in accordance with agreed terms and conditions.
Further, if a counterparty becomes bankrupt or otherwise fails to perform its obligations due to financial difficulties, the fund may experience significant delays in obtaining any recovery in a bankruptcy or other reorganization proceeding. The fund may obtain only limited recovery or may obtain no recovery in such circumstances. In addition, the fund may enter into agreements with a limited number of counterparties which may increase that fund’s exposure to counterparty credit risk.
Because a contract’s terms may provide for collateral to cover the variation margin exposure arising under the contract only if a minimum transfer amount is triggered, the fund may have an uncollateralized risk exposure to a counterparty.
The use of spot foreign exchange contracts may also expose the fund to legal risk, which is the risk of loss due to the unexpected application of a law or regulation, or because contracts are not legally enforceable.
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 Index Provider will compile the Underlying Index accurately, or that the Underlying Index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. The Index Provider may cease publication of the Underlying Index or may terminate the license agreement allowing the fund to use the Underlying Index, either of which could have a material adverse effect on the fund. Market disruptions could cause delays in the Underlying Index’s reconstitution and 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 reconstitution and 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 may have limited ability to detect such errors and neither the Advisor nor its affiliates 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.
Index-related risk may be higher for a fund that tracks an index comprised of, or an index that includes, foreign securities, and in particular emerging markets securities, because regulatory and reporting requirements may differ from those in the US, resulting in a heightened risk of
Prospectus October 1, 2024
63
Fund Details
errors in the index data, index computation and/or index construction due to unreliable, out-dated or unavailable information.
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 reconstituting or 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. Moreover, the use of a representative sampling investment approach (i.e., investing in a representative selection of securities included in the Underlying Index rather than all securities in the Underlying Index) 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 purposes, the fund may sell certain securities, and such sale may cause the fund to recognize a taxable gain or 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, relating to regulated investment companies, may also impact the fund’s ability to replicate the performance of the Underlying Index. In addition, if the fund 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.
Tracking error risk may be higher for funds that track indices with significant weight in foreign issuers, and in particular emerging markets issuers, than funds that do not track such indices.
For purposes of calculating the fund’s net asset value, the value of assets denominated in non-US currencies is converted into US dollars using prevailing market rates on the date of valuation as quoted by one or more data service providers. This conversion may result in a difference between the prices used to calculate the fund’s net asset value and the prices used by the Underlying Index, which, in turn, could result in a difference between the fund’s performance and the performance 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. 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”
Prospectus October 1, 2024
64
Fund Details
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.
In addition, the securities held by the fund may be traded in markets that close at a different time than an exchange. Liquidity in those securities may be reduced after the applicable closing times. Accordingly, during the time when an 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. More generally, secondary markets may be subject to irregular trading activity, wide bid-ask spreads and extended trade settlement periods, which could cause a material decline in the fund’s NAV. The bid-ask spread varies over time for shares of the fund based on the fund’s trading volume and market liquidity, and is generally lower if the fund has substantial trading volume and market liquidity, and higher if the fund has little trading volume and market liquidity (which is often the case for funds that are newly launched or small in size). The fund’s bid-ask spread may also be impacted by the liquidity of the underlying securities held by the fund, particularly for newly launched or smaller funds or in instances of significant volatility of the underlying securities. If the markets for the fund’s portfolio securities experience decreased liquidity, the trading markets for the fund’s shares may also become less liquid with corresponding widening in the bid-ask spreads and differences between the market price and NAV of the fund’s shares. 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.
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 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 or recognize a gain that may be distributed to shareholders as a taxable distribution. This may be magnified in circumstances where redemptions from the fund may be higher than normal.
Geographic focus risk. Focusing investments in a single country or few countries, or regions, involves increased political, regulatory and other risks. Market swings in such a targeted country, countries or regions are likely to have a greater effect on fund performance than they would in a more geographically diversified 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.
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
Prospectus October 1, 2024
65
Fund Details
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 Authorized Participants (“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. At any given time, due to the composition of the Underlying Index, the fund may be classified as “non-diversified” and may invest a larger percentage of its assets in securities of a few issuers or a single issuer than that of a diversified fund. As a result, the fund may be more susceptible to the risks associated with these particular issuers, or to a single economic,
political or regulatory occurrence affecting these issuers. This may increase the fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively smaller number of issuers to have a greater impact on the fund’s performance.
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. A delay in the recovery of loaned securities could interfere with the fund’s ability to vote proxies or settle transactions. Delayed settlement may limit the ability of the fund to reinvest the proceeds of a sale of securities or prevent the fund from selling securities at times that may be appropriate to track the Underlying Index. 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.
Risk of investing in China. Investments in China involve certain risks and special considerations, including the following:
Political and economic risk. The economy of China, which has been in a state of transition from a planned economy to a more market oriented economy, differs from the economies of most developed countries in many respects, including the level of government involvement, its state of development, its growth rate, control of foreign exchange, and allocation of resources. Although the majority of productive assets in China are still owned by the PRC government at various levels, in recent years, the PRC government has implemented economic reform measures emphasizing utilization of market forces in the development of the economy of China and a high level of management autonomy. The economy of China has experienced significant growth in recent decades, but growth has been uneven both geographically and among various sectors of the economy. Economic growth has also been accompanied by periods of high inflation. The PRC government has implemented various measures from time to time to control inflation and restrain the rate of economic growth. More recently, the Chinese economy has experienced a significant slowdown in growth, including declines in property values and increased defaults, weak consumer demand, increased youth unemployment and declines in exports and manufacturing. The Chinese government has implemented policies attempting to increase growth but it is unclear whether those efforts will be successful. In recent years, Chinese entities have incurred significant levels of debt and Chinese financial institutions currently hold relatively large amounts of non-performing debt. Thus, there exists a possibility that widespread defaults could occur, which could trigger a financial crisis, freeze Chinese debt and finance markets and make Chinese securities illiquid.
Prospectus October 1, 2024
66
Fund Details
For several decades, the PRC government has carried out economic reforms to achieve decentralization and utilization of market forces to develop the economy of the PRC. These reforms have resulted in significant economic growth and social progress. However, there can be no assurance that the PRC government will continue to pursue such economic policies or that such policies, if pursued, will be successful. Any adjustment and modification of those economic policies may have an adverse impact on the securities markets in the PRC as well as the constituent securities of the Underlying Index. Further, the PRC government may from time to time adopt corrective measures to control the growth of the PRC economy which may also have an adverse impact on the capital growth and performance of the fund. Further, there is no assurance that the Chinese government will not revert to the economic policy of central planning that it implemented prior to 1978 or that such growth will be sustained in the future. An economic downturn in China would adversely impact the fund’s investments.
Political changes, social instability and adverse diplomatic developments in the PRC could result in the imposition of additional government restrictions including expropriation of assets, confiscatory taxes or nationalization of some or all of the property held by the issuers of the A-Shares in the fund’s Underlying Index. The laws, regulations, including the investment regulations, government policies and political and economic climate in China may change with little or no advance notice. Any such change could adversely affect market conditions and the performance of the Chinese economy and, thus, the value of securities in the fund’s portfolio.
The Chinese government continues to be an active participant in many economic sectors through ownership positions and regulations. The allocation of resources in China is subject to a high level of government control. The Chinese government strictly regulates the payment of foreign currency denominated obligations and sets monetary policy. Through its policies, the government may provide preferential treatment to particular industries or companies. Recently, the Chinese government has become more aggressive about regulating the operations of particular companies or sectors, including large companies which are indirectly listed in the US. These regulations may substantially limit or prohibit the operations of such companies and cause investors to lose some or all of the value of their investment. The policies set by the government could have a substantial effect on the Chinese economy and the fund’s investments.
Trade risk. The Chinese economy is export-driven and highly reliant on trade. The performance of the Chinese economy may differ favorably or unfavorably from the US economy in such respects as growth of gross domestic product, rate of inflation, currency depreciation, capital reinvestment, resource self-sufficiency and balance of payments position. The domestic consumer class in China
is still emergent, while the economy's dependence on exports may not be sustainable. Adverse changes to the economic conditions of its primary trading partners, such as the European Union, the US, Hong Kong, the Association of South East Asian Nations, and Japan, would adversely affect the Chinese economy and the fund’s investments.
In addition, as much of China’s growth over recent decades has been a result of significant investment in substantial export trade, international trade tensions may arise from time to time which can result in trade tariffs, embargoes, trade limitations, trade wars and other negative consequences. The current political climate has intensified concerns about trade tariffs and a potential trade war between China and the US. These consequences may trigger a significant reduction in international trade, the oversupply of certain manufactured goods, substantial price reductions of goods and possible failure of individual companies and/or large segments of China’s export industry with a potentially severe negative impact to the fund. In addition, it is possible that the continuation or worsening of the current political climate could result in regulatory restrictions being contemplated or imposed in the US or in China that 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. In recent years, the US government has proposed or adopted numerous measures aimed at restricting trade with China:
■
In July 2020, the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets (“PWG”) proposed a number of regulatory changes aimed at addressing potential risks to US investors from investments in issuers that provide limited access to their financial statements, including Chinese companies. The PWG’s proposals included having the SEC consider encouraging or requiring US registered funds to conduct additional due diligence on an index’s exposure to such issuers and how the index provider addresses concerns arising from limited availability of such issuers’ financial information. If the SEC adopts these proposals, they could have a material adverse effect on the fund’s ability to continue tracking the Underlying Index.
■
In June 2021, the President of the United States issued an executive order (“CMIC Order”) prohibiting US persons, including the fund, from purchasing or selling publicly traded securities (including publicly traded securities that are derivative of, or are designed to provide exposure to, such securities) of any Chinese company identified as a Chinese Military Industrial Complex Company (“CMIC”). This prohibition, effective August 2, 2021, expands on similar sanctions imposed by the prior administration on certain designated Chinese military companies (“CCMCs”) that took effect in January 2021. To the extent that any company in the Underlying Index is identified as a CMIC at any time (or was previously designated as a CCMC), it may have a material adverse effect on the fund’s ability to track its Underlying Index.
Prospectus October 1, 2024
67
Fund Details
■
In December 2020, the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (“HFCAA”) was signed into law. Since the HFCAA was signed, the SEC has placed many Chinese companies listed on a US stock exchange on a watchlist, indicating that securities of foreign issuers (including China) will be de-listed from US stock exchanges if those companies do not permit US oversight of the auditing of their financial information. On December 15, 2022, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”) announced that it had secured complete access to inspect and investigate accounting firms located in China. The ultimate impact of the HFCAA is unclear at this time, but to the extent that the fund currently transacts in securities of a foreign company in the Underlying Index on a US exchange but is unable to do so in the future, the fund will have to seek other markets in which to transact in such securities or obtain exposure to such securities through alternative means (such as derivatives), either of which could increase the fund’s costs and have a material adverse effect on the fund’s ability to continue tracking the Underlying Index.
■
The Chair of the SEC announced in July 2021 that the SEC would be requiring additional disclosures about the corporate structure of Chinese companies listing in the US (pursuant to which US investors own shares in an offshore shell company rather than the Chinese company itself) and the risks to US investors, including the risks of such companies being delisted from the US exchange under the HFCAA.
■
Finally, in August 2023, the President of the United States issued an executive order (the “Critical Technologies Order”) directing the US Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) to promulgate regulations requiring disclosure of or restricting investments in China in the following technologies: semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information, and certain artificial intelligence technologies. Concurrent with the Critical Technologies Order, Treasury issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking which contemplates the possibility that the regulations adopted pursuant to the Critical Technologies Order would not apply to investments made by collectively offered funds such as the fund. The regulations have not yet been proposed or adopted by Treasury and their scope and impact therefore are unclear, but if adopted in a way that applies to the fund, the regulations could adversely affect the fund’s ability to track the Underlying Index. Events such as these are difficult to predict and may or may not occur in the future.
From time to time, most recently with the coronavirus known as COVID-19, China has experienced outbreaks of infectious illnesses, and the country may be subject to other infectious illnesses, diseases or other public health emergencies in the future. Any public health emergency could reduce consumer demand or economic output, result in market closures, travel restrictions or quarantines,
and generally have a significant impact on the Chinese economy, which in turn could adversely affect the fund’s investments. These risks may be heightened to the extent China pursues a “zero COVID” or similar strategy that attempts to eradicate the incidence of a disease for extended periods, thus leading to shutdowns or other interventions which affect the Chinese and/or global economy for periods beyond that which might be caused by the public health policies of other countries.
Inflation. Economic growth in China has historically been accompanied by periods of high inflation. Beginning in 2004, the Chinese government commenced the implementation of various measures to control inflation, which included the tightening of the money supply, the raising of interest rates and more stringent control over certain industries. If these measures are not successful, and if inflation were to steadily increase, the performance of the Chinese economy and the fund’s investments could be adversely affected.
Nationalization and expropriation. After the formation of the Chinese socialist state in 1949, the Chinese government renounced various debt obligations and nationalized private assets without providing any form of compensation. There can be no assurance that the Chinese government will not take similar actions in the future. Accordingly, an investment in the fund involves a risk of a total loss.
Hong Kong policy. As part of Hong Kong’s transition from British to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, China agreed to allow Hong Kong to maintain a high degree of autonomy with regard to its political, legal and economic systems for a period of at least 50 years. China controls matters that relate to defense and foreign affairs. Under the agreement, China does not tax Hong Kong, does not limit the exchange of the Hong Kong dollar for foreign currencies and does not place restrictions on free trade in Hong Kong. However, there is no guarantee that China will continue to honor the agreement, and China may change its policies regarding Hong Kong at any time. As of July 2020, the Chinese Standing Committee of the National People's Congress enacted the Law of the PRC on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, (the “Hong Kong Law”), which imposed substantial limits on Hong Kong’s political and legal autonomy in a manner widely considered within Hong Kong and by other countries as a violation of China’s agreement in 1997. Hong Kong has experienced wide protests and extensive turmoil before and after the enactment of this law. Also as of July 2020, Hong Kong is no longer afforded preferential economic treatment by the United States under US law, and there is uncertainty as to how the economy of Hong Kong will be affected. Any further changes in China's policies could adversely affect market conditions and the performance of the Chinese economy and, thus, the value of securities in the fund’s portfolio.
Prospectus October 1, 2024
68
Fund Details
Chinese securities markets. The securities markets in China have a limited operating history and are not as developed as those in the US. The markets tend to be smaller in size, have less liquidity and historically have had greater volatility than markets in the US and some other countries. In addition, under normal market conditions, there is less regulation and monitoring of Chinese securities markets and the activities of investors, brokers and other participants than in the US. Accordingly, issuers of securities in China are not subject to the same degree of regulation as are US issuers with respect to such matters as insider trading rules, tender offer regulation, stockholder proxy requirements and the requirements mandating timely disclosure of information. During periods of significant market volatility, the Chinese government has, from time to time, intervened in its domestic securities markets to a greater degree than would be typical in more developed markets, including both direct and indirect market stabilization efforts, which may affect valuations of Chinese issuers. Stock markets in China are in the process of change and further development. This may lead to trading volatility, difficulty in the settlement and recording of transactions and difficulty in interpreting and applying the relevant regulations.
Available disclosure about Chinese companies. Chinese companies are required to follow Chinese accounting standards and practices, which only follow international accounting standards to a certain extent. However, the accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards and practices applicable to People’s Republic of China (“China” or the “PRC”) companies, including those listed on US exchanges, may be less rigorous, and there may be significant differences between financial statements prepared in accordance with Chinese accounting standards and practice and those prepared in accordance with international accounting standards. In particular, the assets and profits appearing on the financial statements of a Chinese issuer may not reflect its financial position or results of operations in the way they would be reflected had such financial statements been prepared in accordance with US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. The quality of audits in China may be unreliable, which may require enhanced procedures. Consequently, the fund may not be provided the same degree of protection or information as would generally apply in developed countries and the fund may be exposed to significant losses. There is also substantially less publicly available information about Chinese issuers than there is about US issuers. Therefore, disclosure of certain material information may not be made, and less information may be available to the fund and other investors than would be the case if the fund’s investments were restricted to securities of US issuers. Under the HFCAA, Chinese companies with securities listed in the US may be delisted if they do not meet US accounting and auditor oversight requirements, which could cause the fund to seek other markets in which to transact in such securities or obtain exposure to such securities through alternative
means (such as derivatives), either of which could increase the fund's costs and have a material adverse effect on the fund's ability to continue tracking the Underlying Index.
Chinese corporate and securities law. Legal principles relating to corporate affairs and the validity of corporate procedures, directors’ fiduciary duties and liabilities and stockholders’ rights often differ from those that may apply in the US and other countries. Chinese laws providing protection to investors, such as laws regarding the fiduciary duties of officers and directors, are undeveloped and will not provide investors, such as the fund, with protection in all situations where protection would be provided by comparable laws in the US.
China lacks a national set of laws that address all issues that may arise with regard to a foreign investor such as the fund. It may therefore be difficult for the fund to enforce its rights as an investor under Chinese corporate and securities laws, and it may be difficult or impossible for the fund to obtain a judgment in court. Moreover, as Chinese corporate and securities laws continue to develop, these developments may adversely affect foreign investors, such as the fund.
Due to restrictions on foreign ownership of Chinese companies imposed under Chinese law, Chinese companies that are listed in the US typically do not offer common stock in the company itself to US investors. Rather, Chinese companies typically offer shares of an offshore shell company (typically referred to as a “variable interest entity” or “VIE”) that has entered into service and other contracts with the Chinese company. Accordingly, US investors in Chinese companies listed on a US stock exchange do not actually own shares of the Chinese company itself. The US-listed shell company does not control the Chinese company and must rely on the Chinese company to perform its contractual obligations (which, as noted above, are governed by Chinese corporate and securities laws that are less protective of shareholders than US laws). Moreover, the Chinese government may at any time invalidate or limit the contracts between a Chinese company and the offshore shell company which is offering shares in the US, which may result in the partial or total loss of the value of a US investor's shares in the offshore shell company even if a direct investment in the Chinese company would retain value.
Other sanctions and embargoes. From time to time, certain of the companies in which the fund expects to invest may operate in, or have dealings with, countries subject to sanctions or embargoes imposed by the US government and the United Nations and/or countries identified by the US government as state sponsors of terrorism. A company may suffer damage to its reputation if it is identified as a company which operates in, or has dealings with, countries subject to sanctions or embargoes imposed by the US government and the United Nations
Prospectus October 1, 2024
69
Fund Details
and/or countries identified by the US government as state sponsors of terrorism. As an investor in such companies, the fund will be indirectly subject to those risks.
Cash redemption risk. Because the fund invests a portion of its assets in forward currency contracts, the fund may pay out a portion of its redemption proceeds in cash rather than through the in-kind delivery of portfolio securities. In addition, the fund may be required to unwind such contracts or sell portfolio securities in order to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the fund to recognize income that it might not have incurred if it had made a redemption in-kind. As a result the fund may pay out more taxable distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used. Only APs who have entered into an agreement with the fund’s distributor may redeem shares from the fund directly; all other investors buy and sell shares at market prices on an exchange.
Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF
Investment Objective
The fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI EAFE US Dollar Hedged 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 MSCI EAFE US Dollar Hedged Index (the “Underlying Index”), which is designed to track developed market performance while mitigating exposure to fluctuations between the value of the US dollar and the currencies of the countries included in the Underlying Index. 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 (including depositary receipts in respect of such securities) of the Underlying Index.
As of July 31, 2024, the Underlying Index consisted of 767 securities, with an average market capitalization of approximately $29.78 billion and a minimum market capitalization of approximately $3.39 billion, from issuers in the following countries (may reflect depository receipts or country of domicile): Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Luxembourg, Macau, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the United States. Under normal circumstances, the Underlying Index is rebalanced monthly. The fund changes 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 schedule of portfolio changes.
The fund will normally invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in the equity securities of issuers from Europe, Australia and the Far East and in instruments designed to hedge against the fund’s exposure to non-US currencies. As of July 31, 2024, a significant percentage of the Underlying Index was comprised of securities of issuers from Japan.
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 July 31, 2024, a significant percentage of the Underlying Index was comprised of issuers in the financials and industrials sectors. The fund’s exposure to particular sectors or countries may change over time to correspond to changes in the Underlying Index.
The fund may also invest in depositary receipts in respect of equity securities that comprise its Underlying Index to seek performance that corresponds to the fund’s respective Underlying Index. Investments in such depositary receipts will count towards the fund’s 80% investment policy discussed above with respect to instruments that comprise the applicable Underlying Index. The fund will not invest in any unlisted depositary receipt or any depositary receipt that the Advisor deems illiquid at the time of purchase or for which pricing information is not readily available.
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 Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), or exemptions therefrom), convertible securities, structured notes (notes on which the amount of
Prospectus October 1, 2024
70
Fund Details
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 certain types of derivatives instruments (see “Derivatives” subsection).
The fund may become “non-diversified,” as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, 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 or securities referred to herein are not sponsored, endorsed, issued, sold or promoted by MSCI, and MSCI bears no liability with respect to the fund or securities or any index on which the fund or securities are based. The Prospectus contains a more detailed description of the limited relationship MSCI has with DBX Advisors LLC and any related funds.
Derivatives. The fund may invest in derivatives, which are financial instruments whose performance is derived, at least in part, from the performance of an underlying asset, security or index. In particular, portfolio management may use deliverable or non-deliverable forward (“NDF”) currency contracts to hedge the fund’s currency exposure. The fund hedges each foreign currency in the portfolio to US dollars by selling the applicable foreign currency forward at the one-month forward rate published by WM/Reuters.
The amount of forward contracts in the fund is based on the aggregate exposure of the fund and Underlying Index to each non-US currency based on currency weights as of the beginning of each month. While this approach is designed to minimize the impact of currency fluctuations on fund returns, this does not necessarily eliminate exposure to all currency fluctuations. The return of the forward currency contracts may not perfectly offset the actual fluctuations of non-US currencies relative to the US dollar. The fund may use NDF contracts to execute its hedging transactions. An NDF is a contract where there is no physical settlement of two currencies at maturity (as opposed to deliverable forward contracts, which per their terms are settled by physical delivery of the currencies). Rather, based on the movement of the currencies and the contractually agreed upon exchange rate, a net cash settlement is made by one party to the other in US dollars.
Portfolio management may also use futures contracts, options on futures contracts and other types of derivatives in seeking performance that corresponds to its Underlying Index and will not use such instruments for speculative purposes. The fund expects to use futures contracts to a limited extent in seeking performance that corresponds to its Underlying Index. A futures contract is a standardized exchange traded agreement to buy or sell a specific quantity of an underlying instrument at a specific price at a specific future time.
In addition, the fund may invest in 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).
Securities lending. The fund may lend securities (up to one-third of total assets) to approved institutions, such as registered broker-dealers, pooled investment vehicles, banks and other financial institutions. In connection with such loans, the fund receives liquid collateral in an amount that is based on the type and value of the securities being lent, with riskier securities generally requiring higher levels of collateral.
Underlying Index Information
MSCI EAFE US Dollar Hedged Index
The MSCI EAFE 100% Hedged to USD Index is designed to represent a close estimation of the performance that can be achieved by hedging the currency exposures of its parent index, the MSCI EAFE Index, to the US dollar, the “home” currency for the hedged index. The index is 100% hedged to the US dollar by selling each foreign currency forward at the one-month forward rate. The parent index is composed of large and mid cap stocks across developed markets countries (as defined by the Index Provider) excluding the United States and Canada. See the Appendix for additional information on MSCI's Global Investable Markets Indexes 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. An investment in the fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency.
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. High market volatility may also
Prospectus October 1, 2024
71
Fund Details
result from significant shifts in momentum of one or more specific stocks due to unusual increases or decreases in trading activity. Momentum can change quickly, and securities subject to shifts in momentum may be more volatile than the market as a whole and returns on such securities may drop precipitously. 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. Economies and financial markets throughout the world have become increasingly interconnected, which has increased the likelihood that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other countries or regions. This includes reliance on global supply chains that are susceptible to disruptions resulting from, among other things, war and other armed conflicts, extreme weather events, and natural disasters. Such supply chain disruptions can lead to, and have led to, economic and market disruptions that have far-reaching effects on financial markets worldwide. The value of the fund’s investments may be negatively affected by adverse changes in overall economic or market conditions, such as the level of economic activity and productivity, unemployment and labor force participation rates, inflation or deflation (and expectations for inflation or deflation), interest rates, demand and supply for particular products or resources including labor, and debt levels and credit ratings, among other factors. Such adverse conditions may contribute to an overall economic contraction across entire economies or markets, which may negatively impact the profitability of issuers operating in those economies or markets. In addition, geopolitical and other globally interconnected occurrences, including war, terrorism, economic uncertainty or financial crises, contagion, trade disputes, government debt crises (including defaults or downgrades) or uncertainty about government debt payments, government shutdowns, public health crises, natural disasters, supply chain disruptions, climate change and related events or conditions, 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. Adverse market conditions or disruptions could cause the fund to lose money, experience significant redemptions, and encounter operational difficulties. Although multiple asset classes may be affected by adverse market conditions or a particular market disruption, the duration and effects may not be the same for all types of assets.
Current military and other armed conflicts in various geographic regions, including those in Europe and the Middle East, can lead to, and have led to, economic and market disruptions, which may not be limited to the geographic region in which the conflict is occurring. Such conflicts can also result, and have resulted in some cases, in sanctions being levied by the United States, the European Union and/or other countries against countries or
other actors involved in the conflict. In addition, such conflicts and related sanctions can adversely affect regional and global energy, commodities, financial and other markets and thus could affect the value of the fund's investments. The extent and duration of any military conflict, related sanctions and resulting economic and market disruptions are impossible to predict, but could be substantial.
Other market disruption events include pandemic spread of viruses, such as the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19, which have caused significant uncertainty, market volatility, decreased economic and other activity, increased government activity, including economic stimulus measures, and supply chain disruptions. While COVID-19 is no longer considered to be a public health emergency, the fund and its investments may be adversely affected by lingering effects of this virus or future pandemic spread of viruses.
In addition, markets are becoming increasingly susceptible to disruption events resulting from the use of new and emerging technologies to engage in cyber-attacks or to take over the websites and/or social media accounts of companies, governmental entities or public officials, or to otherwise pose as or impersonate such, which then may be used to disseminate false or misleading information that can cause volatility in financial markets or for the stock of a particular company, group of companies, industry or other class of assets.
Adverse market conditions or particular market disruptions, such as those discussed above, 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.
Foreign investment risk. The fund faces the risks inherent in foreign investing. Adverse political, economic or social developments could undermine the value of the fund's foreign investments, prevent the fund from realizing the full value of its foreign investments or prevent the fund from selling foreign securities it holds. Financial reporting standards for companies based in foreign markets differ from those in the US. Additionally, foreign securities markets generally are smaller and less liquid than US markets. To the extent that the fund invests in non-US dollar denominated foreign securities, changes in currency exchange rates may affect the US dollar value of foreign securities or the income or gain received on these securities.
Foreign governments may restrict investment by foreigners, limit withdrawal of trading profit or currency from the country, restrict currency exchange or seize foreign investments. In addition, the fund may be limited in its ability to exercise its legal rights or enforce a counterparty's legal obligations in certain jurisdictions outside of the US. The foreign investments of the fund may also be subject to foreign withholding taxes. Foreign
Prospectus October 1, 2024
72
Fund Details
brokerage commissions and other fees are generally higher than those for US investments, and the transactions and custody of foreign assets may involve delays in payment, delivery or recovery of money or investments.
Foreign markets can have liquidity risks beyond those typical of US markets. Because foreign exchanges generally are smaller and less liquid than US exchanges, buying and selling foreign investments can be more difficult and costly. Relatively small transactions can sometimes materially affect the price and availability of securities. In certain situations, it may become virtually impossible to sell an investment at a price that approaches portfolio management’s estimate of its value. For the same reason, it may at times be difficult to value the fund’s foreign investments. In addition, because non-US markets may be open on days when the fund does not price its shares, the value of the foreign securities in the fund’s portfolio may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the fund’s shares.
Depositary receipt risk. Foreign investments in American Depositary Receipts and other depositary receipts may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market. Certain of the depositary receipts in which the fund invests may be unsponsored depositary receipts. Unsponsored depositary receipts may not provide as much information about the underlying issuer and may not carry the same voting privileges as sponsored depositary receipts. Unsponsored depositary receipts are issued by one or more depositaries in response to market demand, but without a formal agreement with the company that issues the underlying securities.
European investment risk. European financial markets have experienced volatility in recent years and have been adversely affected by concerns about economic downturns, credit rating downgrades, rising government debt level and possible default on or restructuring of government debt in several European countries. A default or debt restructuring by any European country would adversely impact holders of that country’s debt, and sellers of credit default swaps linked to that country’s creditworthiness. Most countries in Western Europe are members of the European Union (EU), which faces major issues involving its membership, structure, procedures and policies.
European countries are also significantly affected by fiscal and monetary controls implemented by the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), and it is possible that the timing and substance of these controls may not address the needs of all EMU member countries. Investing in euro-denominated securities also risks exposure to a currency that may not fully reflect the strengths and weaknesses of the disparate economies that comprise Europe. There is continued concern over member state-level support for the euro, which could lead to certain countries leaving the EMU, the implementation of currency controls,
or potentially the dissolution of the euro. The dissolution of the euro could have significant negative effects on European financial markets.
Small and medium-sized company risk. Small and 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 small and medium-sized companies, since they lack the financial resources of larger companies. Small and 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. The fund may become more focused in particular industries, asset classes or sectors of the economy as a result of changes in the valuation of the fund’s investments or fluctuations in the fund’s assets, and the fund is not required to reduce such exposures under these circumstances.
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.
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,
Prospectus October 1, 2024
73
Fund Details
companies in the industrials sector may be adversely affected by environmental damages, product liability claims and exchange rates.
Derivatives risk. Derivatives involve risks different from, and possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other more traditional investments. Risks associated with derivatives may include the risk that the derivative is not well correlated with the underlying asset, security, index or currency to which it relates; the risk that derivatives may result in losses or missed opportunities; the risk that the fund will be unable to sell the derivative because of an illiquid secondary market; the risk that a counterparty is unwilling or unable to meet its obligation, which risk may be heightened in derivative transactions entered into “over-the-counter” (i.e., not on an exchange or contract market); and the risk that the derivative transaction could expose the fund to the effects of leverage, which could increase the fund’s exposure to the market and magnify potential losses.
There is no guarantee that derivatives, to the extent employed, will have the intended effect, and their use could cause lower returns or even losses to the fund. The use of derivatives by the fund to hedge risk may reduce the opportunity for gain by offsetting the positive effect of favorable price movements.
Forward currency contract risk. The fund invests in forward currency contracts to attempt to minimize the impact of changes in the value of the non-US currencies included in its Underlying Index against the US dollar.
These contracts may not be successful. To the extent the fund’s forward currency contracts are not successful in hedging against such changes, the US dollar value of your investment in the fund may go down if the value of the local currency of the non-US markets in which the fund invests depreciates against the US dollar. This is true even if the local currency value of securities in the fund’s holdings goes up. In order to minimize transaction costs or for other reasons, the fund’s exposure to the currencies included in the Underlying Index may not be fully hedged at all times. For example, the fund may not hedge against exposure to currencies that represent a relatively smaller portion of the Underlying Index. Furthermore, because no changes in the currency weights in each fund’s Underlying Index are made during the month to account for changes in each fund’s Underlying Index due to price movement of securities, corporate events, additions, deletions or any other changes, changes in the value of the non-US currencies included in the fund’s Underlying Index against the US dollar during the month may affect the value of the fund’s investment. Non-deliverable forward (“NDF”) contracts may be less liquid than deliverable forward currency contracts. A lack of liquidity in NDFs of the hedged currency could adversely affect the fund’s ability to hedge against currency fluctuations and properly track the Underlying Index.
A forward currency contract is a negotiated agreement between two parties to exchange specified amounts of two or more currencies at a specified future time at a specified rate. The rate specified by the forward currency contract can be higher or lower than the spot rate between the currencies that are the subject of the contract. Settlement of a forward currency contract for the purchase of most currencies typically must occur at a bank based in the issuing nation. By entering into a forward currency contract for the purchase or sale, for a fixed amount of dollars or other currency, of the amount of foreign currency involved in the underlying security transactions, the fund may be able to protect itself against a possible loss resulting from an adverse change in the relationship between the US dollar or other currency which is being used for the security purchase and the foreign currency in which the security is denominated during the period between the date on which the security is purchased or sold and the date on which payment is made or received. Furthermore, such transactions reduce or preclude the opportunity for gain if the value of the currency should move in the direction opposite to the position taken. There is an additional risk to the extent that forward currency contracts create exposure to currencies in which the fund’s securities are not denominated. Unanticipated changes in currency prices may result in poorer overall performance for the fund than if it had not entered into such contracts. Forward currency contracts may limit gains on portfolio securities that could otherwise be realized had they not been utilized and could result in losses. The contracts also may increase the fund’s volatility and may involve a significant amount of risk relative to the investment of cash.
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.
Counterparty risk. The foreign currency markets in which the fund effects its transactions are over-the-counter or “interdealer” markets. The counterparty to an over-the counter spot contract is generally a single bank or other financial institution rather than a clearing organization backed by a group of financial institutions. Participants in over-the-counter markets are typically not subject to the same credit evaluation and regulatory oversight as members of exchange-based” markets. Because the funds execute over-the-counter transactions, the fund constantly
Prospectus October 1, 2024
74
Fund Details
takes credit risk with regard to parties with which it trades and may also bear the risk of settlement default. These risks may differ materially from those involved in exchange-traded transactions which generally are characterized by clearing organization guaranties, daily marking-to-market and settlement, and segregation and minimum capital requirements applicable to intermediaries. Transactions entered into directly between two counterparties generally do not benefit from these protections and the fund is subject to the risk that a counterparty will not settle a transaction in accordance with agreed terms and conditions.
Further, if a counterparty becomes bankrupt or otherwise fails to perform its obligations due to financial difficulties, the fund may experience significant delays in obtaining any recovery in a bankruptcy or other reorganization proceeding. The fund may obtain only limited recovery or may obtain no recovery in such circumstances. In addition, the fund may enter into agreements with a limited number of counterparties which may increase that fund’s exposure to counterparty credit risk.
Because a contract’s terms may provide for collateral to cover the variation margin exposure arising under the contract only if a minimum transfer amount is triggered, the fund may have an uncollateralized risk exposure to a counterparty.
The use of spot foreign exchange contracts may also expose the fund to legal risk, which is the risk of loss due to the unexpected application of a law or regulation, or because contracts are not legally enforceable.
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 Index Provider will compile the Underlying Index accurately, or that the Underlying Index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. The Index Provider may cease publication of the Underlying Index or may terminate the license agreement allowing the fund to use the Underlying Index, either of which could have a material adverse effect on the fund. Market disruptions could cause delays in the Underlying Index’s reconstitution and 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 reconstitution and 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 may have limited ability to detect such errors and neither the Advisor nor its affiliates 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.
Index-related risk may be higher for a fund that tracks an index comprised of, or an index that includes, foreign securities because regulatory and reporting requirements may differ from those in the US, resulting in a heightened risk of errors in the index data, index computation and/or index construction due to unreliable, outdated or unavailable information.
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 reconstituting or 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. Moreover, the use of a representative sampling investment approach (i.e., investing in a representative selection of securities included in the Underlying Index rather than all securities in the Underlying Index) 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
Prospectus October 1, 2024
75
Fund Details
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 purposes, the fund may sell certain securities, and such sale may cause the fund to recognize a taxable gain or 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, relating to regulated investment companies, may also impact the fund’s ability to replicate the performance of the Underlying Index. In addition, if the fund 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.
Tracking error risk may be higher for funds that track indices with significant weight in foreign issuers than funds that do not track such indices.
For purposes of calculating the fund’s net asset value, the value of assets denominated in non-US currencies is converted into US dollars using prevailing market rates on the date of valuation as quoted by one or more data service providers. This conversion may result in a difference between the prices used to calculate the fund’s net asset value and the prices used by the Underlying Index, which, in turn, could result in a difference between the fund’s performance and the performance 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. 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.
In addition, the securities held by the fund may be traded in markets that close at a different time than an exchange. Liquidity in those securities may be reduced after the applicable closing times. Accordingly, during the time when an 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. More generally, secondary markets may be subject to irregular trading activity, wide bid-ask spreads and extended trade settlement periods, which could cause a material decline in the fund’s NAV. The bid-ask spread varies over time for shares of the fund based on the fund’s trading volume and market liquidity, and is generally lower if the fund has substantial trading volume and market liquidity, and higher if the fund has little trading volume and market liquidity (which is often the case for funds that are newly launched or small in size). The fund’s bid-ask spread may also be impacted by the liquidity of the underlying securities held by the fund, particularly for newly launched or smaller funds or in instances of significant volatility of the underlying securities. If the markets for the fund’s portfolio securities experience decreased liquidity, the trading
Prospectus October 1, 2024
76
Fund Details
markets for the fund’s shares may also become less liquid with corresponding widening in the bid-ask spreads and differences between the market price and NAV of the fund’s shares. 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.
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 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 or recognize a gain that may be distributed to shareholders as a taxable distribution. This may be magnified in circumstances where redemptions from the fund may be higher than normal.
Geographic focus risk. Focusing investments in a single country or few countries, or regions, involves increased political, regulatory and other risks. Market swings in such a targeted country, countries or regions are likely to have a greater effect on fund performance than they would in a more geographically diversified 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.
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
Prospectus October 1, 2024
77
Fund Details
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 Authorized Participants (“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. At any given time, due to the composition of the Underlying Index, the fund may be classified as “non-diversified” and may invest a larger percentage of its assets in securities of a few issuers or a single issuer than that of a diversified fund. As a result, the fund may be more susceptible to the risks associated with these particular issuers, or to a single economic, political or regulatory occurrence affecting these issuers. This may increase the fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively smaller number of issuers to have a greater impact on the fund’s performance.
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. A delay in the recovery of loaned securities could interfere with the fund’s ability to vote proxies or settle transactions. Delayed settlement may limit the ability of the fund to reinvest the proceeds of a sale of securities or prevent the fund from selling securities at times that may be appropriate to track the Underlying Index. 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.
Risks related to investing in Japan. The growth of Japan’s economy has historically lagged behind that of its Asian neighbors and other major developed economies. The Japanese economy is heavily dependent on international trade and has been adversely affected by trade tariffs, other protectionist measures, competition from emerging economies and the economic conditions of its trading partners. Japan’s relations with its neighbors, particularly China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, have at times been strained due to territorial disputes, historical animosities and defense concerns. Most recently, the Japanese government has shown concern
over the increased nuclear and military activity by North Korea. Strained relations may cause uncertainty in the Japanese markets and adversely affect the overall Japanese economy in times of crisis. China has become an important trading partner with Japan, yet the countries’ political relationship has become strained. Should political tension increase, it could adversely affect the economy, especially the export sector, and destabilize the region as a whole. Japan is located in a part of the world that has historically been prone to natural disasters such as earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis and is economically sensitive to environmental events. Any such event, such as the major earthquake and tsunami which struck Japan in March 2011, could result in a significant adverse impact on the Japanese economy. Japan also remains heavily dependent on oil imports, and higher commodity prices could therefore have a negative impact on the economy. Furthermore, Japanese corporations often engage in high levels of corporate leveraging, extensive cross-purchases of the securities of other corporations and are subject to a changing corporate governance structure. Japan may be subject to risks relating to political, economic and labor risks. Any of these risks, individually or in the aggregate, could adversely affect investments in the fund.
Historically, Japan has been subject to unpredictable national politics and may experience frequent political turnover. Future political developments may lead to changes in policy that might adversely affect the fund’s investments. In addition, the Japanese economy faces several concerns, including a financial system with large levels of nonperforming loans, over-leveraged corporate balance sheets, extensive cross- ownership by major corporations, a changing corporate governance structure, and large government deficits. The Japanese yen has fluctuated widely at times and any increase in its value may cause a decline in exports that could weaken the economy. Furthermore, Japan has an aging workforce. It is a labor market undergoing fundamental structural changes, as traditional lifetime employment clashes with the need for increased labor mobility, which may adversely affect Japan’s economic competitiveness.
Cash redemption risk. Because the fund invests a portion of its assets in forward currency contracts, the fund may pay out a portion of its redemption proceeds in cash rather than through the in-kind delivery of portfolio securities. In addition, the fund may be required to unwind such contracts or sell portfolio securities in order to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the fund to recognize income that it might not have incurred if it had made a redemption in-kind. As a result the fund may pay out more taxable distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used. Only APs who have entered into an agreement with the fund’s distributor may redeem shares from the fund directly; all other investors buy and sell shares at market prices on an exchange.
Prospectus October 1, 2024
78
Fund Details
Xtrackers MSCI Japan Hedged Equity ETF
Investment Objective
The fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI Japan US Dollar Hedged 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 MSCI Japan US Dollar Hedged Index (the “Underlying Index”), which is designed to track the performance of the Japanese equity market while mitigating exposure to fluctuations between the value of the US dollar and the Japanese yen. 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 (including depositary receipts in respect of such securities) of the Underlying Index.
As of July 31, 2024, the Underlying Index consisted of 205 securities, with an average market capitalization of approximately $24.42 billion and a minimum market capitalization of approximately $4.31 billion. Under normal circumstances, the Underlying Index is rebalanced monthly. The fund changes 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 schedule of portfolio changes.
The fund will normally invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in the equity securities of Japanese issuers and
in instruments designed to hedge against the fund’s exposure to the Japanese yen. As of July 31, 2024, the Underlying Index was solely comprised of securities of issuers from Japan.
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 July 31, 2024, a significant percentage of the Underlying Index was comprised of issuers in the industrials, consumer discretionary and financials sectors. The fund’s exposure to particular sectors may change over time to correspond to changes in the Underlying Index.
The fund may also invest in depositary receipts in respect of equity securities that comprise its Underlying Index to seek performance that corresponds to the fund’s respective Underlying Index. Investments in such depositary receipts will count towards the fund’s 80% investment policy discussed above with respect to instruments that comprise the applicable Underlying Index. The fund will not invest in any unlisted depositary receipt or any depositary receipt that the Advisor deems illiquid at the time of purchase or for which pricing information is not readily available.
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 Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), or exemptions therefrom), convertible securities, structured notes (notes on which the amount of principal repayment and interest payments are based on the movement of one or more specified factors, such as the movement of a particular stock or stock index) and in certain types of derivatives instruments (see “Derivatives” subsection).
The fund may become “non-diversified,” as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, 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 or securities referred to herein are not sponsored, endorsed, issued, sold or promoted by MSCI, and MSCI bears no liability with respect to the fund or securities or any index on which the fund or securities are based. The Prospectus contains a more detailed description of the limited relationship MSCI has with DBX Advisors LLC and any related funds.
Derivatives. The fund may invest in derivatives, which are financial instruments whose performance is derived, at least in part, from the performance of an underlying asset, security or index. In particular, portfolio management may
Prospectus October 1, 2024
79
Fund Details
use deliverable or non-deliverable forward (“NDF”) currency contracts to hedge the fund’s currency exposure. The fund enters into forward currency contracts designed to offset the fund’s exposure to the Japanese yen. The fund hedges the Japanese yen to the US dollar by selling Japanese yen currency forwards at the one-month forward rate published by WM/Reuters.
The amount of forward contracts in the fund is based on the aggregate exposure of the fund and Underlying Index to the Japanese yen based on currency weights as of the beginning of each month. While this approach is designed to minimize the impact of currency fluctuations on fund returns, this does not necessarily eliminate exposure to all currency fluctuations. The return of the forward currency contracts may not perfectly offset the actual fluctuations of the Japanese yen relative to the US dollar. The fund may use NDF contracts to execute its hedging transactions. An NDF is a contract where there is no physical settlement of two currencies at maturity (as opposed to deliverable forward contracts, which per their terms are settled by physical delivery of the currencies). Rather, based on the movement of the currencies and the contractually agreed upon exchange rate, a net cash settlement is made by one party to the other in US dollars.
Portfolio management may also use futures contracts, options on futures contracts and other types of derivatives in seeking performance that corresponds to its Underlying Index and will not use such instruments for speculative purposes. The fund expects to use futures contracts to a limited extent in seeking performance that corresponds to its Underlying Index. A futures contract is a standardized exchange traded agreement to buy or sell a specific quantity of an underlying instrument at a specific price at a specific future time.
In addition, the fund may invest in 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).
Securities lending. The fund may lend securities (up to one-third of total assets) to approved institutions, such as registered broker-dealers, pooled investment vehicles, banks and other financial institutions. In connection with such loans, the fund receives liquid collateral in an amount that is based on the type and value of the securities being lent, with riskier securities generally requiring higher levels of collateral.
Underlying Index Information
MSCI Japan US Dollar Hedged Index
The MSCI Japan US Dollar Hedged Index is designed to represent a close estimation of the performance that can be achieved by hedging the currency exposures of its parent index, the MSCI Japan Index, to the US dollar, the “home” currency for the hedged index. The index is 100% hedged to the US dollar by selling the Japanese Yen
forward at the one-month Forward rate. The parent index is composed of Japanese large and mid cap stocks. See the Appendix for additional information on MSCI's Global Investable Markets Indexes 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. An investment in the fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency.
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. High market volatility may also result from significant shifts in momentum of one or more specific stocks due to unusual increases or decreases in trading activity. Momentum can change quickly, and securities subject to shifts in momentum may be more volatile than the market as a whole and returns on such securities may drop precipitously. 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. Economies and financial markets throughout the world have become increasingly interconnected, which has increased the likelihood that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other countries or regions. This includes reliance on global supply chains that are susceptible to disruptions resulting from, among other things, war and other armed conflicts, extreme weather events, and natural disasters. Such supply chain disruptions can lead to, and have led to, economic and market disruptions that have far-reaching effects on financial markets worldwide. The value of the fund’s investments may be negatively affected by adverse changes in overall economic or market conditions, such as the level of economic activity and productivity, unemployment and labor force participation
Prospectus October 1, 2024
80
Fund Details
rates, inflation or deflation (and expectations for inflation or deflation), interest rates, demand and supply for particular products or resources including labor, and debt levels and credit ratings, among other factors. Such adverse conditions may contribute to an overall economic contraction across entire economies or markets, which may negatively impact the profitability of issuers operating in those economies or markets. In addition, geopolitical and other globally interconnected occurrences, including war, terrorism, economic uncertainty or financial crises, contagion, trade disputes, government debt crises (including defaults or downgrades) or uncertainty about government debt payments, government shutdowns, public health crises, natural disasters, supply chain disruptions, climate change and related events or conditions, 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. Adverse market conditions or disruptions could cause the fund to lose money, experience significant redemptions, and encounter operational difficulties. Although multiple asset classes may be affected by adverse market conditions or a particular market disruption, the duration and effects may not be the same for all types of assets.
Current military and other armed conflicts in various geographic regions, including those in Europe and the Middle East, can lead to, and have led to, economic and market disruptions, which may not be limited to the geographic region in which the conflict is occurring. Such conflicts can also result, and have resulted in some cases, in sanctions being levied by the United States, the European Union and/or other countries against countries or other actors involved in the conflict. In addition, such conflicts and related sanctions can adversely affect regional and global energy, commodities, financial and other markets and thus could affect the value of the fund's investments. The extent and duration of any military conflict, related sanctions and resulting economic and market disruptions are impossible to predict, but could be substantial.
Other market disruption events include pandemic spread of viruses, such as the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19, which have caused significant uncertainty, market volatility, decreased economic and other activity, increased government activity, including economic stimulus measures, and supply chain disruptions. While COVID-19 is no longer considered to be a public health emergency, the fund and its investments may be adversely affected by lingering effects of this virus or future pandemic spread of viruses.
In addition, markets are becoming increasingly susceptible to disruption events resulting from the use of new and emerging technologies to engage in cyber-attacks or to take over the websites and/or social media accounts of companies, governmental entities or public officials, or to
otherwise pose as or impersonate such, which then may be used to disseminate false or misleading information that can cause volatility in financial markets or for the stock of a particular company, group of companies, industry or other class of assets.
Adverse market conditions or particular market disruptions, such as those discussed above, 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.
Foreign investment risk. The fund faces the risks inherent in foreign investing. Adverse political, economic or social developments could undermine the value of the fund's foreign investments, prevent the fund from realizing the full value of its foreign investments or prevent the fund from selling foreign securities it holds. Financial reporting standards for companies based in foreign markets differ from those in the US. Additionally, foreign securities markets generally are smaller and less liquid than US markets. To the extent that the fund invests in non-US dollar denominated foreign securities, changes in currency exchange rates may affect the US dollar value of foreign securities or the income or gain received on these securities.
Foreign governments may restrict investment by foreigners, limit withdrawal of trading profit or currency from the country, restrict currency exchange or seize foreign investments. In addition, the fund may be limited in its ability to exercise its legal rights or enforce a counterparty's legal obligations in certain jurisdictions outside of the US. The foreign investments of the fund may also be subject to foreign withholding taxes. Foreign brokerage commissions and other fees are generally higher than those for US investments, and the transactions and custody of foreign assets may involve delays in payment, delivery or recovery of money or investments.
Foreign markets can have liquidity risks beyond those typical of US markets. Because foreign exchanges generally are smaller and less liquid than US exchanges, buying and selling foreign investments can be more difficult and costly. Relatively small transactions can sometimes materially affect the price and availability of securities. In certain situations, it may become virtually impossible to sell an investment at a price that approaches portfolio management’s estimate of its value. For the same reason, it may at times be difficult to value the fund’s foreign investments. In addition, because non-US markets may be open on days when the fund does not price its shares, the value of the foreign securities in the fund’s portfolio may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the fund’s shares.
Depositary receipt risk. Foreign investments in American Depositary Receipts and other depositary receipts may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market. Certain of the depositary receipts in which
Prospectus October 1, 2024
81
Fund Details
the fund invests may be unsponsored depositary receipts. Unsponsored depositary receipts may not provide as much information about the underlying issuer and may not carry the same voting privileges as sponsored depositary receipts. Unsponsored depositary receipts are issued by one or more depositaries in response to market demand, but without a formal agreement with the company that issues the underlying securities.
Risks related to investing in Japan. The growth of Japan’s economy has historically lagged behind that of its Asian neighbors and other major developed economies. The Japanese economy is heavily dependent on international trade and has been adversely affected by trade tariffs, other protectionist measures, competition from emerging economies and the economic conditions of its trading partners. Japan’s relations with its neighbors, particularly China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, have at times been strained due to territorial disputes, historical animosities and defense concerns. Most recently, the Japanese government has shown concern over the increased nuclear and military activity by North Korea. Strained relations may cause uncertainty in the Japanese markets and adversely affect the overall Japanese economy in times of crisis. China has become an important trading partner with Japan, yet the countries’ political relationship has become strained. Should political tension increase, it could adversely affect the economy, especially the export sector, and destabilize the region as a whole. Japan is located in a part of the world that has historically been prone to natural disasters such as earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis and is economically sensitive to environmental events. Any such event, such as the major earthquake and tsunami which struck Japan in March 2011, could result in a significant adverse impact on the Japanese economy. Japan also remains heavily dependent on oil imports, and higher commodity prices could therefore have a negative impact on the economy. Furthermore, Japanese corporations often engage in high levels of corporate leveraging, extensive cross-purchases of the securities of other corporations and are subject to a changing corporate governance structure. Japan may be subject to risks relating to political, economic and labor risks. Any of these risks, individually or in the aggregate, could adversely affect investments in the fund.
Historically, Japan has been subject to unpredictable national politics and may experience frequent political turnover. Future political developments may lead to changes in policy that might adversely affect the fund’s investments. In addition, the Japanese economy faces several concerns, including a financial system with large levels of nonperforming loans, over-leveraged corporate balance sheets, extensive cross- ownership by major corporations, a changing corporate governance structure, and large government deficits. The Japanese yen has fluctuated widely at times and any increase in its value may cause a decline in exports that could weaken the economy. Furthermore, Japan has an aging workforce. It is a labor market
undergoing fundamental structural changes, as traditional lifetime employment clashes with the need for increased labor mobility, which may adversely affect Japan’s economic competitiveness.
Small and medium-sized company risk. Small and 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 small and medium-sized companies, since they lack the financial resources of larger companies. Small and 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. The fund may become more focused in particular industries, asset classes or sectors of the economy as a result of changes in the valuation of the fund’s investments or fluctuations in the fund’s assets, and the fund is not required to reduce such exposures under these circumstances.
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.
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.
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
Prospectus October 1, 2024
82
Fund Details
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.
Derivatives risk. Derivatives involve risks different from, and possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other more traditional investments. Risks associated with derivatives may include the risk that the derivative is not well correlated with the underlying asset, security, index or currency to which it relates; the risk that derivatives may result in losses or missed opportunities; the risk that the fund will be unable to sell the derivative because of an illiquid secondary market; the risk that a counterparty is unwilling or unable to meet its obligation, which risk may be heightened in derivative transactions entered into “over-the-counter” (i.e., not on an exchange or contract market); and the risk that the derivative transaction could expose the fund to the effects of leverage, which could increase the fund’s exposure to the market and magnify potential losses.
There is no guarantee that derivatives, to the extent employed, will have the intended effect, and their use could cause lower returns or even losses to the fund. The use of derivatives by the fund to hedge risk may reduce the opportunity for gain by offsetting the positive effect of favorable price movements.
Forward currency contract risk. The fund invests in forward currency contracts to attempt to minimize the impact of changes in the value of the non-US currencies included in its Underlying Index against the US dollar.
These contracts may not be successful. To the extent the fund’s forward currency contracts are not successful in hedging against such changes, the US dollar value of your investment in the fund may go down if the value of the local currency of the non-US markets in which the fund invests depreciates against the US dollar. This is true even if the local currency value of securities in the fund’s holdings goes up. In order to minimize transaction costs or for other reasons, the fund’s exposure to the currencies included in the Underlying Index may not be fully hedged at all times. For example, the fund may not hedge against exposure to currencies that represent a relatively smaller portion of the Underlying Index. Furthermore, because no
changes in the currency weights in each fund’s Underlying Index are made during the month to account for changes in each fund’s Underlying Index due to price movement of securities, corporate events, additions, deletions or any other changes, changes in the value of the non-US currencies included in the fund’s Underlying Index against the US dollar during the month may affect the value of the fund’s investment. Non-deliverable forward (“NDF”) contracts may be less liquid than deliverable forward currency contracts. A lack of liquidity in NDFs of the hedged currency could adversely affect the fund’s ability to hedge against currency fluctuations and properly track the Underlying Index.
A forward currency contract is a negotiated agreement between two parties to exchange specified amounts of two or more currencies at a specified future time at a specified rate. The rate specified by the forward currency contract can be higher or lower than the spot rate between the currencies that are the subject of the contract. Settlement of a forward currency contract for the purchase of most currencies typically must occur at a bank based in the issuing nation. By entering into a forward currency contract for the purchase or sale, for a fixed amount of dollars or other currency, of the amount of foreign currency involved in the underlying security transactions, the fund may be able to protect itself against a possible loss resulting from an adverse change in the relationship between the US dollar or other currency which is being used for the security purchase and the foreign currency in which the security is denominated during the period between the date on which the security is purchased or sold and the date on which payment is made or received. Furthermore, such transactions reduce or preclude the opportunity for gain if the value of the currency should move in the direction opposite to the position taken. There is an additional risk to the extent that forward currency contracts create exposure to currencies in which the fund’s securities are not denominated. Unanticipated changes in currency prices may result in poorer overall performance for the fund than if it had not entered into such contracts. Forward currency contracts may limit gains on portfolio securities that could otherwise be realized had they not been utilized and could result in losses. The contracts also may increase the fund’s volatility and may involve a significant amount of risk relative to the investment of cash.
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
Prospectus October 1, 2024
83
Fund Details
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.
Counterparty risk. The foreign currency markets in which the fund effects its transactions are over-the-counter or “interdealer” markets. The counterparty to an over-the counter spot contract is generally a single bank or other financial institution rather than a clearing organization backed by a group of financial institutions. Participants in over-the-counter markets are typically not subject to the same credit evaluation and regulatory oversight as members of exchange-based” markets. Because the funds execute over-the-counter transactions, the fund constantly takes credit risk with regard to parties with which it trades and may also bear the risk of settlement default. These risks may differ materially from those involved in exchange-traded transactions which generally are characterized by clearing organization guaranties, daily marking-to-market and settlement, and segregation and minimum capital requirements applicable to intermediaries. Transactions entered into directly between two counterparties generally do not benefit from these protections and the fund is subject to the risk that a counterparty will not settle a transaction in accordance with agreed terms and conditions.
Further, if a counterparty becomes bankrupt or otherwise fails to perform its obligations due to financial difficulties, the fund may experience significant delays in obtaining any recovery in a bankruptcy or other reorganization proceeding. The fund may obtain only limited recovery or may obtain no recovery in such circumstances. In addition, the fund may enter into agreements with a limited number of counterparties which may increase that fund’s exposure to counterparty credit risk.
Because a contract’s terms may provide for collateral to cover the variation margin exposure arising under the contract only if a minimum transfer amount is triggered, the fund may have an uncollateralized risk exposure to a counterparty.
The use of spot foreign exchange contracts may also expose the fund to legal risk, which is the risk of loss due to the unexpected application of a law or regulation, or because contracts are not legally enforceable.
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 Index Provider will compile the Underlying Index accurately, or that the Underlying Index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. The Index Provider may cease publication of the Underlying Index or may terminate the license agreement allowing the fund to use the Underlying Index, either of which could have a material adverse effect on the fund. Market disruptions could cause delays in the Underlying Index’s reconstitution and 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 reconstitution and 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 may have limited ability to detect such errors and neither the Advisor nor its affiliates 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.
Index-related risk may be higher for a fund that tracks an index comprised of, or an index that includes, foreign securities because regulatory and reporting requirements may differ from those in the US, resulting in a heightened risk of errors in the index data, index computation and/or index construction due to unreliable, outdated or unavailable information.
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 reconstituting or 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
Prospectus October 1, 2024
84
Fund Details
restrictions could have an adverse effect on the fund’s ability to adjust its exposure in order to track the Underlying Index. Moreover, the use of a representative sampling investment approach (i.e., investing in a representative selection of securities included in the Underlying Index rather than all securities in the Underlying Index) 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 purposes, the fund may sell certain securities, and such sale may cause the fund to recognize a taxable gain or 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, relating to regulated investment companies, may also impact the fund’s ability to replicate the performance of the Underlying Index. In addition, if the fund 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.
Tracking error risk may be higher for funds that track indices with significant weight in foreign issuers than funds that do not track such indices.
For purposes of calculating the fund’s net asset value, the value of assets denominated in non-US currencies is converted into US dollars using prevailing market rates on the date of valuation as quoted by one or more data service providers. This conversion may result in a difference between the prices used to calculate the fund’s net asset value and the prices used by the Underlying Index, which, in turn, could result in a difference between the fund’s performance and the performance 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. 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.
In addition, the securities held by the fund may be traded in markets that close at a different time than an exchange. Liquidity in those securities may be reduced after the applicable closing times. Accordingly, during the time when an exchange is open but after the applicable market closing, fixing or settlement times, bid-ask spreads and the
Prospectus October 1, 2024
85
Fund Details
resulting premium or discount to the shares’ NAV is likely to widen. More generally, secondary markets may be subject to irregular trading activity, wide bid-ask spreads and extended trade settlement periods, which could cause a material decline in the fund’s NAV. The bid-ask spread varies over time for shares of the fund based on the fund’s trading volume and market liquidity, and is generally lower if the fund has substantial trading volume and market liquidity, and higher if the fund has little trading volume and market liquidity (which is often the case for funds that are newly launched or small in size). The fund’s bid-ask spread may also be impacted by the liquidity of the underlying securities held by the fund, particularly for newly launched or smaller funds or in instances of significant volatility of the underlying securities. If the markets for the fund’s portfolio securities experience decreased liquidity, the trading markets for the fund’s shares may also become less liquid with corresponding widening in the bid-ask spreads and differences between the market price and NAV of the fund’s shares. 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.
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 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 or recognize a gain that may be distributed to shareholders as a taxable distribution. This may be magnified in circumstances where redemptions from the fund may be higher than normal.
Country concentration risk. To the extent that the fund invests significantly in a single country, it is more likely to be impacted by events or conditions affecting that country. For example, political and economic conditions and changes in regulatory, tax or economic policy in a country could significantly affect the market in that country and in surrounding or related countries and have a negative impact on the fund’s performance.
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,
Prospectus October 1, 2024
86
Fund Details
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 Authorized Participants (“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. At any given time, due to the composition of the Underlying Index, the fund may be classified as “non-diversified” and may invest a larger percentage of its assets in securities of a few issuers or a single issuer than that of a diversified fund. As a result, the fund may be more susceptible to the risks associated with these particular issuers, or to a single economic, political or regulatory occurrence affecting these issuers. This may increase the fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively smaller number of issuers to have a greater impact on the fund’s performance.
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. A delay in the recovery of loaned securities could interfere with the fund’s ability to vote proxies or settle transactions. Delayed settlement may limit the ability of the fund to reinvest the proceeds of a sale of securities or prevent the fund from selling securities at times that may be appropriate to track the
Underlying Index. 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.
Cash redemption risk. Because the fund invests a portion of its assets in forward currency contracts, the fund may pay out a portion of its redemption proceeds in cash rather than through the in-kind delivery of portfolio securities. In addition, the fund may be required to unwind such contracts or sell portfolio securities in order to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the fund to recognize income that it might not have incurred if it had made a redemption in-kind. As a result the fund may pay out more taxable distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used. Only APs who have entered into an agreement with the fund’s distributor may redeem shares from the fund directly; all other investors buy and sell shares at market prices on an exchange.
Xtrackers MSCI Europe Hedged Equity ETF
Investment Objective
The fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI Europe US Dollar Hedged 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 MSCI Europe US Dollar Hedged Index (the “Underlying Index”), which is designed to track the performance of the developed markets in Europe, while mitigating exposure to fluctuations between the value of the US dollar and the currencies of the countries included in the Underlying Index. 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
Prospectus October 1, 2024
87
Fund Details
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 (including depositary receipts in respect of such securities) of the Underlying Index.
As of July 31, 2024, the Underlying Index consisted of 430 securities, with an average market capitalization of approximately $35.10 billion and a minimum market capitalization of approximately $3.38 billion, from issuers in the following countries (may reflect country of domicile): Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Under normal circumstances, the Underlying Index is rebalanced monthly. The fund changes 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 schedule of portfolio changes.
The fund will normally invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in the equity securities of issuers from Europe and in instruments designed to hedge against the fund’s exposure to non-US currencies. As of July 31, 2024, a significant percentage of the Underlying Index was comprised of securities of issuers from the United Kingdom, France and Switzerland.
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 July 31, 2024, a significant percentage of the Underlying Index was comprised of issuers in the financials, industrials and health care sectors. The fund’s exposure to particular sectors or countries may change over time to correspond to changes in the Underlying Index.
The fund may also invest in depositary receipts in respect of equity securities that comprise its Underlying Index to seek performance that corresponds to the fund’s respective Underlying Index. Investments in such depositary receipts will count towards the fund’s 80% investment policy discussed above with respect to instruments that comprise the applicable Underlying Index. The fund will not invest in any unlisted depositary receipt or any depositary receipt that the Advisor deems illiquid at the time of purchase or for which pricing information is not readily available.
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 Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the
“1940 Act”), or exemptions therefrom), convertible securities, structured notes (notes on which the amount of principal repayment and interest payments are based on the movement of one or more specified factors, such as the movement of a particular stock or stock index) and in certain types of derivatives instruments (see “Derivatives” subsection).
The fund may become “non-diversified,” as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, 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 or securities referred to herein are not sponsored, endorsed, issued, sold or promoted by MSCI, and MSCI bears no liability with respect to the fund or securities or any index on which the fund or securities are based. The Prospectus contains a more detailed description of the limited relationship MSCI has with DBX Advisors LLC and any related funds.
Derivatives. The fund may invest in derivatives, which are financial instruments whose performance is derived, at least in part, from the performance of an underlying asset, security or index. In particular, portfolio management may use deliverable or non-deliverable forward (“NDF”) currency contracts to hedge the fund’s currency exposure. The fund hedges each foreign currency in the portfolio to US dollars by selling the applicable foreign currency forward at the one-month forward rate published by WM/Reuters.
The amount of forward contracts in the fund is based on the aggregate exposure of the fund and Underlying Index to each non-US currency based on currency weights as of the beginning of each month. While this approach is designed to minimize the impact of currency fluctuations on fund returns, this does not necessarily eliminate exposure to all currency fluctuations. The return of the forward currency contracts may not perfectly offset the actual fluctuations of non-US currencies relative to the US dollar. The fund may use NDF contracts to execute its hedging transactions. An NDF is a contract where there is no physical settlement of two currencies at maturity (as opposed to deliverable forward contracts, which per their terms are settled by physical delivery of the currencies). Rather, based on the movement of the currencies and the contractually agreed upon exchange rate, a net cash settlement is made by one party to the other in US dollars.
Portfolio management may also use futures contracts, options on futures contracts and other types of derivatives in seeking performance that corresponds to its Underlying Index and will not use such instruments for speculative purposes. The fund expects to use futures contracts to a limited extent in seeking performance that corresponds to its Underlying Index. A futures contract is a standardized
Prospectus October 1, 2024
88
Fund Details
exchange traded agreement to buy or sell a specific quantity of an underlying instrument at a specific price at a specific future time.
In addition, the fund may invest in 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).
Securities lending. The fund may lend securities (up to one-third of total assets) to approved institutions, such as registered broker-dealers, pooled investment vehicles, banks and other financial institutions. In connection with such loans, the fund receives liquid collateral in an amount that is based on the type and value of the securities being lent, with riskier securities generally requiring higher levels of collateral.
Underlying Index Information
MSCI Europe US Dollar Hedged Index
MSCI Europe US Dollar Hedged Index is designed to represent a close estimation of the performance that can be achieved by hedging the currency exposures of its parent index, the MSCI Europe Index, to the US dollar, the “home” currency for the hedged index. The index is 100% hedged to the US dollar by selling each foreign currency forward at the one-month Forward rate. The parent index is composed of large and mid cap stocks across developed markets countries, as defined by the Index Provider. See the Appendix for additional information on MSCI's Global Investable Markets Indexes 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. An investment in the fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency.
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. High market volatility may also result from significant shifts in momentum of one or more specific stocks due to unusual increases or decreases in trading activity. Momentum can change quickly, and securities subject to shifts in momentum may be more volatile than the market as a whole and returns on such securities may drop precipitously. 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. Economies and financial markets throughout the world have become increasingly interconnected, which has increased the likelihood that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other countries or regions. This includes reliance on global supply chains that are susceptible to disruptions resulting from, among other things, war and other armed conflicts, extreme weather events, and natural disasters. Such supply chain disruptions can lead to, and have led to, economic and market disruptions that have far-reaching effects on financial markets worldwide. The value of the fund’s investments may be negatively affected by adverse changes in overall economic or market conditions, such as the level of economic activity and productivity, unemployment and labor force participation rates, inflation or deflation (and expectations for inflation or deflation), interest rates, demand and supply for particular products or resources including labor, and debt levels and credit ratings, among other factors. Such adverse conditions may contribute to an overall economic contraction across entire economies or markets, which may negatively impact the profitability of issuers operating in those economies or markets. In addition, geopolitical and other globally interconnected occurrences, including war, terrorism, economic uncertainty or financial crises, contagion, trade disputes, government debt crises (including defaults or downgrades) or uncertainty about government debt payments, government shutdowns, public health crises, natural disasters, supply chain disruptions, climate change and related events or conditions, 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. Adverse market conditions or disruptions could cause the fund to lose money, experience significant redemptions, and encounter operational difficulties. Although multiple asset classes may be affected by adverse market conditions or a particular market disruption, the duration and effects may not be the same for all types of assets.
Current military and other armed conflicts in various geographic regions, including those in Europe and the Middle East, can lead to, and have led to, economic and market disruptions, which may not be limited to the geographic region in which the conflict is occurring. Such conflicts can also result, and have resulted in some cases,
Prospectus October 1, 2024
89
Fund Details
in sanctions being levied by the United States, the European Union and/or other countries against countries or other actors involved in the conflict. In addition, such conflicts and related sanctions can adversely affect regional and global energy, commodities, financial and other markets and thus could affect the value of the fund's investments. The extent and duration of any military conflict, related sanctions and resulting economic and market disruptions are impossible to predict, but could be substantial.
Other market disruption events include pandemic spread of viruses, such as the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19, which have caused significant uncertainty, market volatility, decreased economic and other activity, increased government activity, including economic stimulus measures, and supply chain disruptions. While COVID-19 is no longer considered to be a public health emergency, the fund and its investments may be adversely affected by lingering effects of this virus or future pandemic spread of viruses.
In addition, markets are becoming increasingly susceptible to disruption events resulting from the use of new and emerging technologies to engage in cyber-attacks or to take over the websites and/or social media accounts of companies, governmental entities or public officials, or to otherwise pose as or impersonate such, which then may be used to disseminate false or misleading information that can cause volatility in financial markets or for the stock of a particular company, group of companies, industry or other class of assets.
Adverse market conditions or particular market disruptions, such as those discussed above, 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.
Foreign investment risk. The fund faces the risks inherent in foreign investing. Adverse political, economic or social developments could undermine the value of the fund's foreign investments, prevent the fund from realizing the full value of its foreign investments or prevent the fund from selling foreign securities it holds. Financial reporting standards for companies based in foreign markets differ from those in the US. Additionally, foreign securities markets generally are smaller and less liquid than US markets. To the extent that the fund invests in non-US dollar denominated foreign securities, changes in currency exchange rates may affect the US dollar value of foreign securities or the income or gain received on these securities.
Foreign governments may restrict investment by foreigners, limit withdrawal of trading profit or currency from the country, restrict currency exchange or seize foreign investments. In addition, the fund may be limited in its ability to exercise its legal rights or enforce a counterparty's legal obligations in certain jurisdictions
outside of the US. The foreign investments of the fund may also be subject to foreign withholding taxes. Foreign brokerage commissions and other fees are generally higher than those for US investments, and the transactions and custody of foreign assets may involve delays in payment, delivery or recovery of money or investments.
Foreign markets can have liquidity risks beyond those typical of US markets. Because foreign exchanges generally are smaller and less liquid than US exchanges, buying and selling foreign investments can be more difficult and costly. Relatively small transactions can sometimes materially affect the price and availability of securities. In certain situations, it may become virtually impossible to sell an investment at a price that approaches portfolio management’s estimate of its value. For the same reason, it may at times be difficult to value the fund’s foreign investments. In addition, because non-US markets may be open on days when the fund does not price its shares, the value of the foreign securities in the fund’s portfolio may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the fund’s shares.
Depositary receipt risk. Foreign investments in American Depositary Receipts and other depositary receipts may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market. Certain of the depositary receipts in which the fund invests may be unsponsored depositary receipts. Unsponsored depositary receipts may not provide as much information about the underlying issuer and may not carry the same voting privileges as sponsored depositary receipts. Unsponsored depositary receipts are issued by one or more depositaries in response to market demand, but without a formal agreement with the company that issues the underlying securities.
European investment risk. European financial markets have experienced volatility in recent years and have been adversely affected by concerns about economic downturns, credit rating downgrades, rising government debt level and possible default on or restructuring of government debt in several European countries. A default or debt restructuring by any European country would adversely impact holders of that country’s debt, and sellers of credit default swaps linked to that country’s creditworthiness. Most countries in Western Europe are members of the European Union (EU), which faces major issues involving its membership, structure, procedures and policies.
European countries are also significantly affected by fiscal and monetary controls implemented by the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), and it is possible that the timing and substance of these controls may not address the needs of all EMU member countries. Investing in euro-denominated securities also risks exposure to a currency that may not fully reflect the strengths and weaknesses of the disparate economies that comprise Europe. There is continued concern over member state-level support for the euro, which could lead to certain countries leaving the EMU, the implementation of currency controls,
Prospectus October 1, 2024
90
Fund Details
or potentially the dissolution of the euro. The dissolution of the euro could have significant negative effects on European financial markets.
Small and medium-sized company risk. Small and 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 small and medium-sized companies, since they lack the financial resources of larger companies. Small and 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. The fund may become more focused in particular industries, asset classes or sectors of the economy as a result of changes in the valuation of the fund’s investments or fluctuations in the fund’s assets, and the fund is not required to reduce such exposures under these circumstances.
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.
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.
Health care sector risk. To the extent that the fund invests significantly in the health care 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 health care sector. The health care sector may be affected by government regulations and government health care programs, increases or decreases in the cost of medical products and services and product liability claims, among other factors. Many health care companies are heavily dependent on patent protection, and the expiration of a company’s patent may adversely affect that company’s profitability. Health care companies are subject to competitive forces that may result in price discounting, and may be thinly capitalized and susceptible to product obsolescence.
Derivatives risk. Derivatives involve risks different from, and possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other more traditional investments. Risks associated with derivatives may include the risk that the derivative is not well correlated with the underlying asset, security, index or currency to which it relates; the risk that derivatives may result in losses or missed opportunities; the risk that the fund will be unable to sell the derivative because of an illiquid secondary market; the risk that a counterparty is unwilling or unable to meet its obligation, which risk may be heightened in derivative transactions entered into “over-the-counter” (i.e., not on an exchange or contract market); and the risk that the derivative transaction could expose the fund to the effects of leverage, which could increase the fund’s exposure to the market and magnify potential losses.
There is no guarantee that derivatives, to the extent employed, will have the intended effect, and their use could cause lower returns or even losses to the fund. The use of derivatives by the fund to hedge risk may reduce the opportunity for gain by offsetting the positive effect of favorable price movements.
Forward currency contract risk. The fund invests in forward currency contracts to attempt to minimize the impact of changes in the value of the non-US currencies included in its Underlying Index against the US dollar.
These contracts may not be successful. To the extent the fund’s forward currency contracts are not successful in hedging against such changes, the US dollar value of your investment in the fund may go down if the value of the local currency of the non-US markets in which the fund invests depreciates against the US dollar. This is true even if the local currency value of securities in the fund’s holdings goes up. In order to minimize transaction costs or for other reasons, the fund’s exposure to the currencies included in the Underlying Index may not be fully hedged at all times. For example, the fund may not hedge against
Prospectus October 1, 2024
91
Fund Details
exposure to currencies that represent a relatively smaller portion of the Underlying Index. Furthermore, because no changes in the currency weights in each fund’s Underlying Index are made during the month to account for changes in each fund’s Underlying Index due to price movement of securities, corporate events, additions, deletions or any other changes, changes in the value of the non-US currencies included in the fund’s Underlying Index against the US dollar during the month may affect the value of the fund’s investment. Non-deliverable forward (“NDF”) contracts may be less liquid than deliverable forward currency contracts. A lack of liquidity in NDFs of the hedged currency could adversely affect the fund’s ability to hedge against currency fluctuations and properly track the Underlying Index.
A forward currency contract is a negotiated agreement between two parties to exchange specified amounts of two or more currencies at a specified future time at a specified rate. The rate specified by the forward currency contract can be higher or lower than the spot rate between the currencies that are the subject of the contract. Settlement of a forward currency contract for the purchase of most currencies typically must occur at a bank based in the issuing nation. By entering into a forward currency contract for the purchase or sale, for a fixed amount of dollars or other currency, of the amount of foreign currency involved in the underlying security transactions, the fund may be able to protect itself against a possible loss resulting from an adverse change in the relationship between the US dollar or other currency which is being used for the security purchase and the foreign currency in which the security is denominated during the period between the date on which the security is purchased or sold and the date on which payment is made or received. Furthermore, such transactions reduce or preclude the opportunity for gain if the value of the currency should move in the direction opposite to the position taken. There is an additional risk to the extent that forward currency contracts create exposure to currencies in which the fund’s securities are not denominated. Unanticipated changes in currency prices may result in poorer overall performance for the fund than if it had not entered into such contracts. Forward currency contracts may limit gains on portfolio securities that could otherwise be realized had they not been utilized and could result in losses. The contracts also may increase the fund’s volatility and may involve a significant amount of risk relative to the investment of cash.
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.
Counterparty risk. The foreign currency markets in which the fund effects its transactions are over-the-counter or “interdealer” markets. The counterparty to an over-the counter spot contract is generally a single bank or other financial institution rather than a clearing organization backed by a group of financial institutions. Participants in over-the-counter markets are typically not subject to the same credit evaluation and regulatory oversight as members of exchange-based” markets. Because the funds execute over-the-counter transactions, the fund constantly takes credit risk with regard to parties with which it trades and may also bear the risk of settlement default. These risks may differ materially from those involved in exchange-traded transactions which generally are characterized by clearing organization guaranties, daily marking-to-market and settlement, and segregation and minimum capital requirements applicable to intermediaries. Transactions entered into directly between two counterparties generally do not benefit from these protections and the fund is subject to the risk that a counterparty will not settle a transaction in accordance with agreed terms and conditions.
Further, if a counterparty becomes bankrupt or otherwise fails to perform its obligations due to financial difficulties, the fund may experience significant delays in obtaining any recovery in a bankruptcy or other reorganization proceeding. The fund may obtain only limited recovery or may obtain no recovery in such circumstances. In addition, the fund may enter into agreements with a limited number of counterparties which may increase that fund’s exposure to counterparty credit risk.
Because a contract’s terms may provide for collateral to cover the variation margin exposure arising under the contract only if a minimum transfer amount is triggered, the fund may have an uncollateralized risk exposure to a counterparty.
The use of spot foreign exchange contracts may also expose the fund to legal risk, which is the risk of loss due to the unexpected application of a law or regulation, or because contracts are not legally enforceable.
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 October 1, 2024
92
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 Index Provider will compile the Underlying Index accurately, or that the Underlying Index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. The Index Provider may cease publication of the Underlying Index or may terminate the license agreement allowing the fund to use the Underlying Index, either of which could have a material adverse effect on the fund. Market disruptions could cause delays in the Underlying Index’s reconstitution and 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 reconstitution and 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 may have limited ability to detect such errors and neither the Advisor nor its affiliates 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.
Index-related risk may be higher for a fund that tracks an index comprised of, or an index that includes, foreign securities because regulatory and reporting requirements may differ from those in the US, resulting in a heightened risk of errors in the index data, index computation and/or index construction due to unreliable, outdated or unavailable information.
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 reconstituting or 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. Moreover, the use of a representative sampling investment approach (i.e., investing in a representative selection of securities included in the Underlying Index rather than all securities in the Underlying Index) 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 purposes, the fund may sell certain securities, and such sale may cause the fund to recognize a taxable gain or 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, relating to regulated investment companies, may also impact the fund’s ability to replicate the performance of the Underlying Index. In addition, if the fund 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.
Tracking error risk may be higher for funds that track indices with significant weight in foreign issuers than funds that do not track such indices.
For purposes of calculating the fund’s net asset value, the value of assets denominated in non-US currencies is converted into US dollars using prevailing market rates on the date of valuation as quoted by one or more data service providers. This conversion may result in a difference between the prices used to calculate the fund’s net
Prospectus October 1, 2024
93
Fund Details
asset value and the prices used by the Underlying Index, which, in turn, could result in a difference between the fund’s performance and the performance 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. 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.
In addition, the securities held by the fund may be traded in markets that close at a different time than an exchange. Liquidity in those securities may be reduced after the applicable closing times. Accordingly, during the time when an 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. More generally, secondary markets may be subject to irregular trading activity, wide bid-ask spreads and extended trade settlement periods, which could cause a material decline in the fund’s NAV. The bid-ask spread varies over time for shares of the fund based on the fund’s trading volume and market liquidity, and is generally lower if the fund has substantial trading volume and market liquidity, and higher if the fund has little trading volume and market liquidity (which is often the case for funds that are newly launched or small in size). The fund’s bid-ask spread may also be impacted by the liquidity of the underlying securities held by the fund, particularly for newly launched or smaller funds or in instances of significant volatility of the underlying securities. If the markets for the fund’s portfolio securities experience decreased liquidity, the trading markets for the fund’s shares may also become less liquid with corresponding widening in the bid-ask spreads and differences between the market price and NAV of the fund’s shares. 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.
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 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 or recognize a gain that may be distributed to shareholders as a taxable distribution. This may be magnified in circumstances where redemptions from the fund may be higher than normal.
Geographic focus risk. Focusing investments in a single country or few countries, or regions, involves increased political, regulatory and other risks. Market swings in such
Prospectus October 1, 2024
94
Fund Details
a targeted country, countries or regions are likely to have a greater effect on fund performance than they would in a more geographically diversified 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.
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 Authorized Participants (“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. At any given time, due to the composition of the Underlying Index, the fund may be classified as “non-diversified” and may invest a larger percentage of its assets in securities of a few issuers or a single issuer than that of a diversified fund. As a result, the fund may be more susceptible to the risks associated with these particular issuers, or to a single economic, political or regulatory occurrence affecting these issuers. This may increase the fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively smaller number of issuers to have a greater impact on the fund’s performance.
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. A delay in the recovery of loaned securities could interfere with the fund’s ability to vote proxies or settle transactions. Delayed settlement may limit the ability of the fund to reinvest the proceeds of a
Prospectus October 1, 2024
95
Fund Details
sale of securities or prevent the fund from selling securities at times that may be appropriate to track the Underlying Index. 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.
Risks related to investing in the United Kingdom. Investment in British issuers may subject the fund to regulatory, political, currency, security, and economic risks specific to the United Kingdom. The British economy relies heavily on export of financial services to the US and other European countries. A prolonged slowdown in the financial services sector may have a negative impact on the British economy. In the past, the United Kingdom has been a target of terrorism. Acts of terrorism in the United Kingdom or against British interests abroad may cause uncertainty in the British financial markets and adversely affect the performance of the issuers to which the fund has exposure. The British economy, along with the US and certain other EU economies, experienced a significant economic slowdown during the financial crisis.
In a referendum held on June 23, 2016, citizens of the United Kingdom voted to leave the EU, creating economic, political and legal uncertainty in its wake. Consequently, the United Kingdom government, pursuant to the Treaty of Lisbon (the “Treaty”), officially withdrew from the EU on January 31, 2020. The United Kingdom and European Union negotiated a new Trade and Cooperation Agreement (the Trade Agreement) which took effect on May 1, 2021. The United Kingdom is no longer part of the EU customs union and single market, nor is it subject to EU policies and international agreements. Among other things, the Trade Agreement provides for zero tariffs and zero quotas on all goods that comply with appropriate rules of origin and establishes the treatment and level of access the United Kingdom and EU have agreed to grant each other’s service suppliers and investors. In addition to trade in goods and services and investment, the Trade Agreement also covers digital trade, intellectual property, public procurement, aviation and road transport, energy, fisheries, social security coordination, law enforcement and judicial cooperation in criminal matters, thematic cooperation and participation in EU programs. Even with the Trade Agreement in place, the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU may create new barriers to trade in goods and services and to cross-border mobility and exchanges, including with respect to trade in financial services which is not comprehensively addressed in the Trade Agreement and remains subject to negotiation between the United Kingdom and the EU. The long-term impact of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU is still unknown and could have adverse economic and political effects on the United Kingdom, the EU and its member countries, and the global economy, including financial markets and asset valuations.
The United Kingdom has one of the largest economies in Europe, and member countries of the EU are substantial trading partners of the United Kingdom. The City of London’s economy is dominated by financial services, some of which may have to move outside of the United Kingdom post-withdrawal (e.g., currency trading, international settlement). With the United Kingdom’s exit from the EU, banks may be forced to move staff and comply with two separate sets of rules or lose business to banks in Europe. Furthermore, the withdrawal creates the potential for decreased trade, the possibility of capital outflows, devaluation of the pound sterling, the cost of higher corporate bond spreads due to uncertainty, and the risk that all the above could damage business and consumer spending as well as foreign direct investment. As a result of the withdrawal, the British economy and its currency may be negatively impacted by changes to its economic and political relations with the EU.
The impact of the withdrawal in the near- and long-term is still unknown and could have additional adverse effects on economies, financial markets and asset valuations around the world.
Risks related to investing in France. Investment in French issuers may subject the fund to legal, regulatory, political, currency, security, and economic risk specific to France. During the most recent financial crisis, the French economy, along with certain other EU economies, experienced a significant economic slowdown. Recently, new concerns emerged in relation to the economic health of the EU. These concerns have led to tremendous downward pressure on certain EU member states, including France. Interest rates on France’s debt may rise to levels that make it difficult for it to service high debt levels without significant financial help from, among others, the European Central Bank and could potentially lead to default. In addition, the French economy is dependent to a significant extent on the economies of certain key trading partners, including Germany and other Western European countries. Reduction in spending on French products and services, or changes in any of the economies may cause an adverse impact on the French economy. France may be subject to acts of terrorism. The French economy is dependent on exports from the agricultural sector. Leading agricultural exports include dairy products, meat, wine, fruit and vegetables, and fish. As a result, the French economy is susceptible to fluctuations in demand for agricultural products.
Risks related to investing in Switzerland. Investment in Swiss issuers may subject the fund to legal, regulatory, political, currency, security, and economic risk specific to Switzerland. International trade is a significant factor of the Swiss economy and the country depends upon exports to produce economic growth. Switzerland’s economic growth generally reflects economic trends in other countries, including the US and certain Western European countries.
Prospectus October 1, 2024
96
Fund Details
Cash redemption risk. Because the fund invests a portion of its assets in forward currency contracts, the fund may pay out a portion of its redemption proceeds in cash rather than through the in-kind delivery of portfolio securities. In addition, the fund may be required to unwind such contracts or sell portfolio securities in order to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the fund to recognize income that it might not have incurred if it had made a redemption in-kind. As a result the fund may pay out more taxable distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used. Only APs who have entered into an agreement with the fund’s distributor may redeem shares from the fund directly; all other investors buy and sell shares at market prices on an exchange.
Xtrackers MSCI All World ex US Hedged Equity ETF
Investment Objective
The fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI ACWI ex USA US Dollar Hedged 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 MSCI ACWI ex USA US Dollar Hedged Index (the “Underlying Index”), which is designed to track the performance of equity securities in developed and emerging stock markets (excluding the United States), while mitigating exposure to fluctuations between the value of the US dollar and the currencies of the countries included in the Underlying Index. 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 (including depositary receipts in respect of such securities) of the Underlying Index.
As of July 31, 2024, the Underlying Index consisted of 2,235 securities, with an average market capitalization of approximately $22.63 billion and a minimum market capitalization of approximately $374 million, from issuers in the following countries (may reflect depository receipts or country of domicile): Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Colombia, Czechia, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Macau, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States and Zambia. Under normal circumstances, the Underlying Index is rebalanced monthly. The fund changes 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 schedule of portfolio changes.
The fund will normally invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in the equity securities of issuers from countries other than the United States and in instruments designed to hedge against the fund’s exposure to non-US currencies. As of July 31, 2024, a significant percentage of the Underlying Index was comprised of securities of issuers from Japan.
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 July 31, 2024, a significant percentage of the Underlying Index was comprised of issuers in the financials, industrials and information technology sectors. The fund’s exposure to particular sectors or countries may change over time to correspond to changes in the Underlying Index.
The fund may also invest in depositary receipts in respect of equity securities that comprise its Underlying Index to seek performance that corresponds to the fund’s respective Underlying Index. Investments in such depositary receipts will count towards the fund’s 80% investment policy discussed above with respect to instruments that comprise the applicable Underlying Index. The fund will not invest in any unlisted depositary receipt or any depositary receipt that the Advisor deems illiquid at the time of purchase or for which pricing information is not readily available.
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 Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the
Prospectus October 1, 2024
97
Fund Details
“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 certain types of derivatives instruments (see “Derivatives” subsection).
The fund may become “non-diversified,” as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, 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 or securities referred to herein are not sponsored, endorsed, issued, sold or promoted by MSCI, and MSCI bears no liability with respect to the fund or securities or any index on which the fund or securities are based. The Prospectus contains a more detailed description of the limited relationship MSCI has with DBX Advisors LLC and any related funds.
Derivatives. The fund may invest in derivatives, which are financial instruments whose performance is derived, at least in part, from the performance of an underlying asset, security or index. In particular, portfolio management may use deliverable or non-deliverable forward (“NDF”) currency contracts to hedge the fund’s currency exposure. The fund hedges each foreign currency in the portfolio to US dollars by selling the applicable foreign currency forward at the one-month forward rate published by WM/Reuters.
The amount of forward contracts in the fund is based on the aggregate exposure of the fund and Underlying Index to each non-US currency based on currency weights as of the beginning of each month. While this approach is designed to minimize the impact of currency fluctuations on fund returns, this does not necessarily eliminate exposure to all currency fluctuations. The return of the forward currency contracts may not perfectly offset the actual fluctuations of non-US currencies relative to the US dollar. The fund may use NDF contracts to execute its hedging transactions. An NDF is a contract where there is no physical settlement of two currencies at maturity (as opposed to deliverable forward contracts, which per their terms are settled by physical delivery of the currencies). Rather, based on the movement of the currencies and the contractually agreed upon exchange rate, a net cash settlement is made by one party to the other in US dollars.
Portfolio management may also use futures contracts, options on futures contracts and other types of derivatives in seeking performance that corresponds to its Underlying Index and will not use such instruments for speculative purposes. The fund expects to use futures contracts to a limited extent in seeking performance that corresponds to its Underlying Index. A futures contract is a standardized
exchange traded agreement to buy or sell a specific quantity of an underlying instrument at a specific price at a specific future time.
In addition, the fund may invest in 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).
Securities lending. The fund may lend securities (up to one-third of total assets) to approved institutions, such as registered broker-dealers, pooled investment vehicles, banks and other financial institutions. In connection with such loans, the fund receives liquid collateral in an amount that is based on the type and value of the securities being lent, with riskier securities generally requiring higher levels of collateral.
Underlying Index Information
MSCI ACWI ex USA US Dollar Hedged Index
The MSCI ACWI ex USA US Dollar Hedged Index is designed to represent a close estimation of the performance that can be achieved by hedging the currency exposures of its parent index, the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index, to the US dollar, the “home” currency for the hedged index. The index is 100% hedged to the US dollar by selling each foreign currency forward at the one-month forward rate. The parent index is composed of large and mid cap stocks across developed markets countries and emerging markets countries, each as defined by the Index Provider. See the Appendix for additional information on MSCI's Global Investable Markets Indexes 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. An investment in the fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency.
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
Prospectus October 1, 2024
98
Fund Details
to stimulate or stabilize economic growth, may at times result in unusually high market volatility which could negatively affect performance. High market volatility may also result from significant shifts in momentum of one or more specific stocks due to unusual increases or decreases in trading activity. Momentum can change quickly, and securities subject to shifts in momentum may be more volatile than the market as a whole and returns on such securities may drop precipitously. 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. Economies and financial markets throughout the world have become increasingly interconnected, which has increased the likelihood that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other countries or regions. This includes reliance on global supply chains that are susceptible to disruptions resulting from, among other things, war and other armed conflicts, extreme weather events, and natural disasters. Such supply chain disruptions can lead to, and have led to, economic and market disruptions that have far-reaching effects on financial markets worldwide. The value of the fund’s investments may be negatively affected by adverse changes in overall economic or market conditions, such as the level of economic activity and productivity, unemployment and labor force participation rates, inflation or deflation (and expectations for inflation or deflation), interest rates, demand and supply for particular products or resources including labor, and debt levels and credit ratings, among other factors. Such adverse conditions may contribute to an overall economic contraction across entire economies or markets, which may negatively impact the profitability of issuers operating in those economies or markets. In addition, geopolitical and other globally interconnected occurrences, including war, terrorism, economic uncertainty or financial crises, contagion, trade disputes, government debt crises (including defaults or downgrades) or uncertainty about government debt payments, government shutdowns, public health crises, natural disasters, supply chain disruptions, climate change and related events or conditions, 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. Adverse market conditions or disruptions could cause the fund to lose money, experience significant redemptions, and encounter operational difficulties. Although multiple asset classes may be affected by adverse market conditions or a particular market disruption, the duration and effects may not be the same for all types of assets.
Current military and other armed conflicts in various geographic regions, including those in Europe and the Middle East, can lead to, and have led to, economic and market disruptions, which may not be limited to the geographic region in which the conflict is occurring. Such
conflicts can also result, and have resulted in some cases, in sanctions being levied by the United States, the European Union and/or other countries against countries or other actors involved in the conflict. In addition, such conflicts and related sanctions can adversely affect regional and global energy, commodities, financial and other markets and thus could affect the value of the fund's investments. The extent and duration of any military conflict, related sanctions and resulting economic and market disruptions are impossible to predict, but could be substantial.
Other market disruption events include pandemic spread of viruses, such as the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19, which have caused significant uncertainty, market volatility, decreased economic and other activity, increased government activity, including economic stimulus measures, and supply chain disruptions. While COVID-19 is no longer considered to be a public health emergency, the fund and its investments may be adversely affected by lingering effects of this virus or future pandemic spread of viruses.
In addition, markets are becoming increasingly susceptible to disruption events resulting from the use of new and emerging technologies to engage in cyber-attacks or to take over the websites and/or social media accounts of companies, governmental entities or public officials, or to otherwise pose as or impersonate such, which then may be used to disseminate false or misleading information that can cause volatility in financial markets or for the stock of a particular company, group of companies, industry or other class of assets.
Adverse market conditions or particular market disruptions, such as those discussed above, 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.
Foreign investment risk. The fund faces the risks inherent in foreign investing. Adverse political, economic or social developments could undermine the value of the fund's foreign investments, prevent the fund from realizing the full value of its foreign investments or prevent the fund from selling foreign securities it holds. Financial reporting standards for companies based in foreign markets differ from those in the US. Additionally, foreign securities markets generally are smaller and less liquid than US markets. To the extent that the fund invests in non-US dollar denominated foreign securities, changes in currency exchange rates may affect the US dollar value of foreign securities or the income or gain received on these securities.
Foreign governments may restrict investment by foreigners, limit withdrawal of trading profit or currency from the country, restrict currency exchange or seize foreign investments. In addition, the fund may be limited in its ability to exercise its legal rights or enforce a
Prospectus October 1, 2024
99
Fund Details
counterparty's legal obligations in certain jurisdictions outside of the US. The foreign investments of the fund may also be subject to foreign withholding taxes. Foreign brokerage commissions and other fees are generally higher than those for US investments, and the transactions and custody of foreign assets may involve delays in payment, delivery or recovery of money or investments.
Foreign markets can have liquidity risks beyond those typical of US markets. Because foreign exchanges generally are smaller and less liquid than US exchanges, buying and selling foreign investments can be more difficult and costly. Relatively small transactions can sometimes materially affect the price and availability of securities. In certain situations, it may become virtually impossible to sell an investment at a price that approaches portfolio management’s estimate of its value. For the same reason, it may at times be difficult to value the fund’s foreign investments. In addition, because non-US markets may be open on days when the fund does not price its shares, the value of the foreign securities in the fund’s portfolio may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the fund’s shares.
Depositary receipt risk. Foreign investments in American Depositary Receipts and other depositary receipts may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market. Certain of the depositary receipts in which the fund invests may be unsponsored depositary receipts. Unsponsored depositary receipts may not provide as much information about the underlying issuer and may not carry the same voting privileges as sponsored depositary receipts. Unsponsored depositary receipts are issued by one or more depositaries in response to market demand, but without a formal agreement with the company that issues the underlying securities.
Emerging market securities risk. Investment in emerging markets subjects the fund to a greater risk of loss than investments in a developed market. This is due to, among other things, (i) greater market volatility, (ii) lower trading volume, (iii) political and economic instability, (iv) high levels of inflation, deflation or currency devaluation, (v) greater risk of market shut down, (vi) more governmental limitations on foreign investments and limitations on repatriation of invested capital than those typically found in a developed market, and (vii) the risk that companies may be held to lower disclosure, corporate governance, auditing and financial reporting standards than companies in more developed markets.
The financial stability of issuers (including governments) in emerging market countries may be more precarious than in other countries. As a result, there will tend to be an increased risk of price volatility in the fund’s investments in emerging market countries, which may be magnified by currency fluctuations relative to the US dollar.
Settlement practices for transactions in foreign markets, particularly in emerging markets, may differ from those in US markets. Such differences include delays beyond
periods customary in the US and practices, such as delivery of securities prior to receipt of payment, which increase the likelihood of a “failed settlement.” Failed settlements can result in losses to the fund. Low trading volumes and volatile prices in less developed markets make trades harder to complete and settle, and governments or trade groups may compel local agents to hold securities in designated depositories that are not subject to independent evaluation. Local agents are held only to the standards of care of their local markets.
Small and medium-sized company risk. Small and 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 small and medium-sized companies, since they lack the financial resources of larger companies. Small and 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. The fund may become more focused in particular industries, asset classes or sectors of the economy as a result of changes in the valuation of the fund’s investments or fluctuations in the fund’s assets, and the fund is not required to reduce such exposures under these circumstances.
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.
Prospectus October 1, 2024
100
Fund Details
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.
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.
Derivatives risk. Derivatives involve risks different from, and possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other more traditional investments. Risks associated with derivatives may include the risk that the derivative is not well correlated with the underlying asset, security, index or currency to which it relates; the risk that derivatives may result in losses or missed opportunities; the risk that the fund will be unable to sell the derivative because of an illiquid secondary market; the risk that a counterparty is unwilling or unable to meet its obligation, which risk may be heightened in derivative transactions entered into “over-the-counter” (i.e., not on an exchange or contract market); and the risk that the derivative transaction could expose the fund to the effects of leverage, which could increase the fund’s exposure to the market and magnify potential losses.
There is no guarantee that derivatives, to the extent employed, will have the intended effect, and their use could cause lower returns or even losses to the fund. The use of derivatives by the fund to hedge risk may reduce the opportunity for gain by offsetting the positive effect of favorable price movements.
Forward currency contract risk. The fund invests in forward currency contracts to attempt to minimize the impact of changes in the value of the non-US currencies included in its Underlying Index against the US dollar.
These contracts may not be successful. To the extent the fund’s forward currency contracts are not successful in hedging against such changes, the US dollar value of your investment in the fund may go down if the value of the local currency of the non-US markets in which the fund invests depreciates against the US dollar. This is true even if the local currency value of securities in the fund’s holdings goes up. In order to minimize transaction costs or for other reasons, the fund’s exposure to the currencies included in the Underlying Index may not be fully hedged at all times. For example, the fund may not hedge against exposure to currencies that represent a relatively smaller portion of the Underlying Index. Furthermore, because no changes in the currency weights in each fund’s Underlying Index are made during the month to account for changes in each fund’s Underlying Index due to price movement of securities, corporate events, additions, deletions or any other changes, changes in the value of the non-US currencies included in the fund’s Underlying Index against the US dollar during the month may affect the value of the fund’s investment. Non-deliverable forward (“NDF”) contracts may be less liquid than deliverable forward currency contracts. A lack of liquidity in NDFs of the hedged currency could adversely affect the fund’s ability to hedge against currency fluctuations and properly track the Underlying Index.
A forward currency contract is a negotiated agreement between two parties to exchange specified amounts of two or more currencies at a specified future time at a specified rate. The rate specified by the forward currency contract can be higher or lower than the spot rate between the currencies that are the subject of the contract. Settlement of a forward currency contract for the purchase of most currencies typically must occur at a bank based in the issuing nation. By entering into a forward currency contract for the purchase or sale, for a fixed amount of dollars or other currency, of the amount of foreign currency involved in the underlying security transactions, the fund may be able to protect itself against a possible loss resulting from an adverse change in the relationship between the US dollar or other currency which is being used for the security purchase and the foreign currency in which the security is denominated during the period between the date on which the security is purchased or sold and the date on which payment is made or received. Furthermore, such transactions reduce or preclude the opportunity for gain if the value of the currency should move in the direction opposite to the position taken. There is an additional risk to the extent that forward currency contracts create exposure to currencies in which the fund’s securities are not denominated. Unanticipated changes in currency prices may result in poorer overall performance for the fund than if it had not entered into such contracts. Forward currency contracts may limit gains on portfolio securities that could otherwise be realized had they not
Prospectus October 1, 2024
101
Fund Details
been utilized and could result in losses. The contracts also may increase the fund’s volatility and may involve a significant amount of risk relative to the investment of cash.
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.
Counterparty risk. The foreign currency markets in which the fund effects its transactions are over-the-counter or “interdealer” markets. The counterparty to an over-the counter spot contract is generally a single bank or other financial institution rather than a clearing organization backed by a group of financial institutions. Participants in over-the-counter markets are typically not subject to the same credit evaluation and regulatory oversight as members of exchange-based” markets. Because the funds execute over-the-counter transactions, the fund constantly takes credit risk with regard to parties with which it trades and may also bear the risk of settlement default. These risks may differ materially from those involved in exchange-traded transactions which generally are characterized by clearing organization guaranties, daily marking-to-market and settlement, and segregation and minimum capital requirements applicable to intermediaries. Transactions entered into directly between two counterparties generally do not benefit from these protections and the fund is subject to the risk that a counterparty will not settle a transaction in accordance with agreed terms and conditions.
Further, if a counterparty becomes bankrupt or otherwise fails to perform its obligations due to financial difficulties, the fund may experience significant delays in obtaining any recovery in a bankruptcy or other reorganization proceeding. The fund may obtain only limited recovery or may obtain no recovery in such circumstances. In addition, the fund may enter into agreements with a limited number of counterparties which may increase that fund’s exposure to counterparty credit risk.
Because a contract’s terms may provide for collateral to cover the variation margin exposure arising under the contract only if a minimum transfer amount is triggered, the fund may have an uncollateralized risk exposure to a counterparty.
The use of spot foreign exchange contracts may also expose the fund to legal risk, which is the risk of loss due to the unexpected application of a law or regulation, or because contracts are not legally enforceable.
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 Index Provider will compile the Underlying Index accurately, or that the Underlying Index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. The Index Provider may cease publication of the Underlying Index or may terminate the license agreement allowing the fund to use the Underlying Index, either of which could have a material adverse effect on the fund. Market disruptions could cause delays in the Underlying Index’s reconstitution and 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 reconstitution and 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 may have limited ability to detect such errors and neither the Advisor nor its affiliates 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.
Index-related risk may be higher for a fund that tracks an index comprised of, or an index that includes, foreign securities, and in particular emerging markets securities, because regulatory and reporting requirements may differ from those in the US, resulting in a heightened risk of
Prospectus October 1, 2024
102
Fund Details
errors in the index data, index computation and/or index construction due to unreliable, out-dated or unavailable information.
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 reconstituting or 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. Moreover, the use of a representative sampling investment approach (i.e., investing in a representative selection of securities included in the Underlying Index rather than all securities in the Underlying Index) 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 purposes, the fund may sell certain securities, and such sale may cause the fund to recognize a taxable gain or 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, relating to regulated investment companies, may also impact the fund’s ability to replicate the performance of the Underlying Index. In addition, if the fund 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.
Tracking error risk may be higher for funds that track indices with significant weight in foreign issuers, and in particular emerging markets issuers, than funds that do not track such indices.
For purposes of calculating the fund’s net asset value, the value of assets denominated in non-US currencies is converted into US dollars using prevailing market rates on the date of valuation as quoted by one or more data service providers. This conversion may result in a difference between the prices used to calculate the fund’s net asset value and the prices used by the Underlying Index, which, in turn, could result in a difference between the fund’s performance and the performance 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. 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”
Prospectus October 1, 2024
103
Fund Details
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.
In addition, the securities held by the fund may be traded in markets that close at a different time than an exchange. Liquidity in those securities may be reduced after the applicable closing times. Accordingly, during the time when an 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. More generally, secondary markets may be subject to irregular trading activity, wide bid-ask spreads and extended trade settlement periods, which could cause a material decline in the fund’s NAV. The bid-ask spread varies over time for shares of the fund based on the fund’s trading volume and market liquidity, and is generally lower if the fund has substantial trading volume and market liquidity, and higher if the fund has little trading volume and market liquidity (which is often the case for funds that are newly launched or small in size). The fund’s bid-ask spread may also be impacted by the liquidity of the underlying securities held by the fund, particularly for newly launched or smaller funds or in instances of significant volatility of the underlying securities. If the markets for the fund’s portfolio securities experience decreased liquidity, the trading markets for the fund’s shares may also become less liquid with corresponding widening in the bid-ask spreads and differences between the market price and NAV of the fund’s shares. 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.
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 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 or recognize a gain that may be distributed to shareholders as a taxable distribution. This may be magnified in circumstances where redemptions from the fund may be higher than normal.
Geographic focus risk. Focusing investments in a single country or few countries, or regions, involves increased political, regulatory and other risks. Market swings in such a targeted country, countries or regions are likely to have a greater effect on fund performance than they would in a more geographically diversified 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.
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
Prospectus October 1, 2024
104
Fund Details
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 Authorized Participants (“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. At any given time, due to the composition of the Underlying Index, the fund may be classified as “non-diversified” and may invest a larger percentage of its assets in securities of a few issuers or a single issuer than that of a diversified fund. As a result, the fund may be more susceptible to the risks associated with these particular issuers, or to a single economic,
political or regulatory occurrence affecting these issuers. This may increase the fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively smaller number of issuers to have a greater impact on the fund’s performance.
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. A delay in the recovery of loaned securities could interfere with the fund’s ability to vote proxies or settle transactions. Delayed settlement may limit the ability of the fund to reinvest the proceeds of a sale of securities or prevent the fund from selling securities at times that may be appropriate to track the Underlying Index. 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.
Risks related to investing in Japan. The growth of Japan’s economy has historically lagged behind that of its Asian neighbors and other major developed economies. The Japanese economy is heavily dependent on international trade and has been adversely affected by trade tariffs, other protectionist measures, competition from emerging economies and the economic conditions of its trading partners. Japan’s relations with its neighbors, particularly China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, have at times been strained due to territorial disputes, historical animosities and defense concerns. Most recently, the Japanese government has shown concern over the increased nuclear and military activity by North Korea. Strained relations may cause uncertainty in the Japanese markets and adversely affect the overall Japanese economy in times of crisis. China has become an important trading partner with Japan, yet the countries’ political relationship has become strained. Should political tension increase, it could adversely affect the economy, especially the export sector, and destabilize the region as a whole. Japan is located in a part of the world that has historically been prone to natural disasters such as earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis and is economically sensitive to environmental events. Any such event, such as the major earthquake and tsunami which struck Japan in March 2011, could result in a significant adverse impact on the Japanese economy. Japan also remains heavily dependent on oil imports, and higher commodity prices could therefore have a negative impact on the economy. Furthermore, Japanese corporations often engage in high levels of corporate leveraging, extensive cross-purchases of the securities of other corporations and are subject to a changing corporate governance structure. Japan may be subject to risks relating to political, economic and labor risks. Any of these risks, individually or in the aggregate, could adversely affect investments in the fund.
Prospectus October 1, 2024
105
Fund Details
Historically, Japan has been subject to unpredictable national politics and may experience frequent political turnover. Future political developments may lead to changes in policy that might adversely affect the fund’s investments. In addition, the Japanese economy faces several concerns, including a financial system with large levels of nonperforming loans, over-leveraged corporate balance sheets, extensive cross- ownership by major corporations, a changing corporate governance structure, and large government deficits. The Japanese yen has fluctuated widely at times and any increase in its value may cause a decline in exports that could weaken the economy. Furthermore, Japan has an aging workforce. It is a labor market undergoing fundamental structural changes, as traditional lifetime employment clashes with the need for increased labor mobility, which may adversely affect Japan’s economic competitiveness.
Cash redemption risk. Because the fund invests a portion of its assets in forward currency contracts, the fund may pay out a portion of its redemption proceeds in cash rather than through the in-kind delivery of portfolio securities. In addition, the fund may be required to unwind such contracts or sell portfolio securities in order to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the fund to recognize income that it might not have incurred if it had made a redemption in-kind. As a result the fund may pay out more taxable distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used. Only APs who have entered into an agreement with the fund’s distributor may redeem shares from the fund directly; all other investors buy and sell shares at market prices on an exchange.
Xtrackers MSCI EAFE High Dividend Yield Equity ETF
Investment Objective
The fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI EAFE High Dividend Yield 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 MSCI EAFE High Dividend Yield Index (the “Underlying Index”), which is designed to track developed market performance.
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 Underlying Index is designed to reflect the performance of equities (excluding REITs) in its parent index, the MSCI EAFE Index, with higher dividend income and quality characteristics than average dividend yields of equities in the parent index, where such higher dividend income and quality characteristics are both sustainable and persistent. The fund will invest at least 80% of its total assets (but typically far more) in component securities (including depositary receipts in respect of such securities) of the Underlying Index.
The Underlying Index is a free float adjusted market capitalization weighted index. As of July 31, 2024, the Underlying Index consisted of 117 securities, with an average market capitalization of approximately $33.71 billion and a minimum market capitalization of approximately $3.38 billion from issuers in the following countries (may reflect country of domicile): Australia, Austria, Belgium, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Under normal circumstances. the Underlying Index is rebalanced semi-annually in May and November. The fund changes 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 schedule of portfolio changes.
The fund will normally invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in equity securities located in developed countries in Europe, Australasia and the Far East. As of July 31, 2024, a significant percentage of the Underlying Index was comprised of securities of issuers from Switzerland, France and the United Kingdom. The fund will not enter into transactions to hedge against declines in the value of the fund’s assets that are denominated in foreign currency.
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 July 31, 2024, a significant percentage of the Underlying Index was comprised of issuers in the financials, health care and consumer staples sectors. The fund’s exposure to particular sectors or countries may change over time to correspond to changes in the Underlying Index.
Prospectus October 1, 2024
106
Fund Details
The fund may also invest in depositary receipts in respect of equity securities that comprise its Underlying Index to seek performance that corresponds to the fund’s respective Underlying Index. Investments in such depositary receipts will count towards the fund’s 80% investment policy discussed above with respect to instruments that comprise the applicable Underlying Index. The fund will not invest in any unlisted depositary receipt or any depositary receipt that the Advisor deems illiquid at the time of purchase or for which pricing information is not readily available.
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 Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), or exemptions therefrom), convertible securities, structured notes (notes on which the amount of principal repayment and interest payments are based on the movement of one or more specified factors, such as the movement of a particular stock or stock index) and in certain types of derivatives instruments (see “Derivatives” subsection).
The fund expects to use futures contracts to a limited extent in seeking performance that corresponds to its Underlying Index. A futures contract is a standardized exchange traded agreement to buy or sell a specific quantity of an underlying instrument at a specific price at a specific future time. The fund will not invest in forward currency contracts to hedge against changes in the value of the US dollar against specified foreign currencies.
The fund may become “non-diversified,” as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, 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 or securities referred to herein are not sponsored, endorsed, issued, sold or promoted by MSCI, and MSCI bears no liability with respect to the fund or securities or any index on which the fund or securities are based. The Prospectus contains a more detailed description of the limited relationship MSCI has with DBX Advisors LLC and any related funds.
Derivatives. The fund may invest in derivatives, which are financial instruments whose performance is derived, at least in part, from the performance of an underlying asset, security or index. In particular, portfolio management generally may use futures contracts, stock index futures, options on futures, swap contracts and other types of derivatives in seeking performance that corresponds to its Underlying Index and will not use such instruments for speculative purposes. The fund also may invest in these derivative
instruments to the extent that the Advisor believes will help the fund to achieve its investment objective. A futures contract is a standardized exchange-traded agreement to buy or sell a specific quantity of an underlying instrument at a specific price at a specific future time.
Securities lending. The fund may lend securities (up to one-third of total assets) to approved institutions, such as registered broker-dealers, pooled investment vehicles, banks and other financial institutions. In connection with such loans, the fund receives liquid collateral in an amount that is based on the type and value of the securities being lent, with riskier securities generally requiring higher levels of collateral.
Underlying Index Information
MSCI EAFE High Dividend Yield Index
The MSCI EAFE High Dividend Yield Index is based on MSCI EAFE, its parent index, and includes large and mid cap representation across developed markets countries around the world (as defined by the Index Provider), excluding the US and Canada. The index is designed to reflect the performance of equities in the parent index (excluding REITs) with higher dividend income and quality characteristics than average dividend yields that are both sustainable and persistent. The index also applies quality screens and reviews 12-month past performance to omit stocks with potentially deteriorating fundamentals that could force them to cut or reduce dividends. See the Appendix for additional information on MSCI's Global Investable Markets Indexes and High Dividend Yield Indexes 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. An investment in the fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency.
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
Prospectus October 1, 2024
107
Fund Details
to stimulate or stabilize economic growth, may at times result in unusually high market volatility which could negatively affect performance. High market volatility may also result from significant shifts in momentum of one or more specific stocks due to unusual increases or decreases in trading activity. Momentum can change quickly, and securities subject to shifts in momentum may be more volatile than the market as a whole and returns on such securities may drop precipitously. 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. Economies and financial markets throughout the world have become increasingly interconnected, which has increased the likelihood that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other countries or regions. This includes reliance on global supply chains that are susceptible to disruptions resulting from, among other things, war and other armed conflicts, extreme weather events, and natural disasters. Such supply chain disruptions can lead to, and have led to, economic and market disruptions that have far-reaching effects on financial markets worldwide. The value of the fund’s investments may be negatively affected by adverse changes in overall economic or market conditions, such as the level of economic activity and productivity, unemployment and labor force participation rates, inflation or deflation (and expectations for inflation or deflation), interest rates, demand and supply for particular products or resources including labor, and debt levels and credit ratings, among other factors. Such adverse conditions may contribute to an overall economic contraction across entire economies or markets, which may negatively impact the profitability of issuers operating in those economies or markets. In addition, geopolitical and other globally interconnected occurrences, including war, terrorism, economic uncertainty or financial crises, contagion, trade disputes, government debt crises (including defaults or downgrades) or uncertainty about government debt payments, government shutdowns, public health crises, natural disasters, supply chain disruptions, climate change and related events or conditions, 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. Adverse market conditions or disruptions could cause the fund to lose money, experience significant redemptions, and encounter operational difficulties. Although multiple asset classes may be affected by adverse market conditions or a particular market disruption, the duration and effects may not be the same for all types of assets.
Current military and other armed conflicts in various geographic regions, including those in Europe and the Middle East, can lead to, and have led to, economic and market disruptions, which may not be limited to the geographic region in which the conflict is occurring. Such
conflicts can also result, and have resulted in some cases, in sanctions being levied by the United States, the European Union and/or other countries against countries or other actors involved in the conflict. In addition, such conflicts and related sanctions can adversely affect regional and global energy, commodities, financial and other markets and thus could affect the value of the fund's investments. The extent and duration of any military conflict, related sanctions and resulting economic and market disruptions are impossible to predict, but could be substantial.
Other market disruption events include pandemic spread of viruses, such as the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19, which have caused significant uncertainty, market volatility, decreased economic and other activity, increased government activity, including economic stimulus measures, and supply chain disruptions. While COVID-19 is no longer considered to be a public health emergency, the fund and its investments may be adversely affected by lingering effects of this virus or future pandemic spread of viruses.
In addition, markets are becoming increasingly susceptible to disruption events resulting from the use of new and emerging technologies to engage in cyber-attacks or to take over the websites and/or social media accounts of companies, governmental entities or public officials, or to otherwise pose as or impersonate such, which then may be used to disseminate false or misleading information that can cause volatility in financial markets or for the stock of a particular company, group of companies, industry or other class of assets.
Adverse market conditions or particular market disruptions, such as those discussed above, 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.
Dividend-paying stock risk. As a category, dividend-paying stocks may underperform non-dividend paying stocks (and the stock market as a whole) over any period of time. In addition, issuers of dividend-paying stocks may have discretion to defer or stop paying dividends for a stated period of time, or the anticipated acceleration of dividends may not occur as a result of, among other things, a sharp rise in interest rates or an economic downturn. If the dividend-paying stocks held by the fund reduce or stop paying dividends, the fund’s ability to generate income may be adversely affected.
Changes in the dividend policies of companies in the fund’s portfolio and capital resources available for these companies’ dividend payments may adversely affect the fund. Depending upon market conditions, dividend-paying stocks that meet the fund’s investment criteria may not be widely available and/or may be highly concentrated in only a few market sectors.
Prospectus October 1, 2024
108
Fund Details
Foreign investment risk. The fund faces the risks inherent in foreign investing. Adverse political, economic or social developments could undermine the value of the fund's foreign investments, prevent the fund from realizing the full value of its foreign investments or prevent the fund from selling foreign securities it holds. Financial reporting standards for companies based in foreign markets differ from those in the US. Additionally, foreign securities markets generally are smaller and less liquid than US markets. To the extent that the fund invests in non-US dollar denominated foreign securities, changes in currency exchange rates may affect the US dollar value of foreign securities or the income or gain received on these securities.
Foreign governments may restrict investment by foreigners, limit withdrawal of trading profit or currency from the country, restrict currency exchange or seize foreign investments. In addition, the fund may be limited in its ability to exercise its legal rights or enforce a counterparty's legal obligations in certain jurisdictions outside of the US. The foreign investments of the fund may also be subject to foreign withholding taxes. Foreign brokerage commissions and other fees are generally higher than those for US investments, and the transactions and custody of foreign assets may involve delays in payment, delivery or recovery of money or investments.
Foreign markets can have liquidity risks beyond those typical of US markets. Because foreign exchanges generally are smaller and less liquid than US exchanges, buying and selling foreign investments can be more difficult and costly. Relatively small transactions can sometimes materially affect the price and availability of securities. In certain situations, it may become virtually impossible to sell an investment at a price that approaches portfolio management’s estimate of its value. For the same reason, it may at times be difficult to value the fund’s foreign investments. In addition, because non-US markets may be open on days when the fund does not price its shares, the value of the foreign securities in the fund’s portfolio may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the fund’s shares.
Depositary receipt risk. Foreign investments in American Depositary Receipts and other depositary receipts may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market. Certain of the depositary receipts in which the fund invests may be unsponsored depositary receipts. Unsponsored depositary receipts may not provide as much information about the underlying issuer and may not carry the same voting privileges as sponsored depositary receipts. Unsponsored depositary receipts are issued by one or more depositaries in response to market demand, but without a formal agreement with the company that issues the underlying securities.
European investment risk. European financial markets have experienced volatility in recent years and have been adversely affected by concerns about economic downturns, credit rating downgrades, rising government debt level and possible default on or restructuring of government debt in several European countries. A default or debt restructuring by any European country would adversely impact holders of that country’s debt, and sellers of credit default swaps linked to that country’s creditworthiness. Most countries in Western Europe are members of the European Union (EU), which faces major issues involving its membership, structure, procedures and policies.
European countries are also significantly affected by fiscal and monetary controls implemented by the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), and it is possible that the timing and substance of these controls may not address the needs of all EMU member countries. Investing in euro-denominated securities also risks exposure to a currency that may not fully reflect the strengths and weaknesses of the disparate economies that comprise Europe. There is continued concern over member state-level support for the euro, which could lead to certain countries leaving the EMU, the implementation of currency controls, or potentially the dissolution of the euro. The dissolution of the euro could have significant negative effects on European financial markets.
Small and medium-sized company risk. Small and 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 small and medium-sized companies, since they lack the financial resources of larger companies. Small and 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. The fund may become more focused in particular industries, asset classes or sectors of the economy as a result of changes in the valuation of the fund’s investments or fluctuations in the fund’s assets, and the fund is not required to reduce such exposures under these circumstances.
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
Prospectus October 1, 2024
109
Fund Details
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.
Health care sector risk. To the extent that the fund invests significantly in the health care 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 health care sector. The health care sector may be affected by government regulations and government health care programs, increases or decreases in the cost of medical products and services and product liability claims, among other factors. Many health care companies are heavily dependent on patent protection, and the expiration of a company’s patent may adversely affect that company’s profitability. Health care companies are subject to competitive forces that may result in price discounting, and may be thinly capitalized and susceptible to product obsolescence.
Consumer staples sector risk. To the extent that the fund invests significantly in the consumer staples 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 staples sector. Companies in the consumer staples sector may be adversely affected by changes in the global economy, consumer spending, competition, demographics and consumer preferences, and production spending. Companies in the consumer staples sector are also affected by changes in government regulation, global economic, environmental and political events, economic conditions and the depletion of resources. In addition, companies in the consumer staples sector may be subject to risks pertaining to the supply of, demand for and prices of raw materials. The prices of raw materials fluctuate in response to a number of factors, including, without limitation, changes in government agricultural support programs, exchange rates, import and export controls, changes in international agricultural and trading policies, and seasonal and weather conditions.
Currency risk. Changes in currency exchange rates may affect the value of the fund’s investments and the fund’s share price. Because the fund does not attempt to hedge against changes in the value of non-US currencies, the fund’s US dollar share price may go down if the value of
the local currency of the non−US markets in which the fund invests depreciates against the US dollar. This is true even if the local currency value of securities in the fund’s holdings goes up. The value of the US dollar measured against other currencies is influenced by a variety of factors. These factors include: interest rates, national debt levels and trade deficits, changes in balances of payments and trade, domestic and foreign interest and inflation rates, global or regional political, economic or financial events, monetary policies of governments, actual or potential government intervention, global energy prices, political instability and government monetary policies and the buying or selling of currency by a country’s government. Currency exchange rates can be volatile and can change quickly and unpredictably, thereby impacting the value of the fund’s investments.
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 Index Provider will compile the Underlying Index accurately, or that the Underlying Index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. The Index Provider may cease publication of the Underlying Index or may terminate the license agreement allowing the fund to use the Underlying Index, either of which could have a material adverse effect on the fund. Market disruptions could cause delays in the Underlying Index’s reconstitution and 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 reconstitution and 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 may have limited ability to
Prospectus October 1, 2024
110
Fund Details
detect such errors and neither the Advisor nor its affiliates 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.
Index-related risk may be higher for a fund that tracks an index comprised of, or an index that includes, foreign securities because regulatory and reporting requirements may differ from those in the US, resulting in a heightened risk of errors in the index data, index computation and/or index construction due to unreliable, outdated or unavailable information.
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 reconstituting or 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. Moreover, the use of a representative sampling investment approach (i.e., investing in a representative selection of securities included in the Underlying Index rather than all securities in the Underlying Index) 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 purposes, the fund may sell certain securities, and such sale may cause the fund to recognize a taxable gain or 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, relating to regulated investment companies, may also impact the fund’s ability to replicate the performance of the Underlying Index. In addition, if the fund 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.
Tracking error risk may be higher for funds that track indices with significant weight in foreign issuers than funds that do not track such indices.
For purposes of calculating the fund’s net asset value, the value of assets denominated in non-US currencies is converted into US dollars using prevailing market rates on the date of valuation as quoted by one or more data service providers. This conversion may result in a difference between the prices used to calculate the fund’s net asset value and the prices used by the Underlying Index, which, in turn, could result in a difference between the fund’s performance and the performance 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. 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
Prospectus October 1, 2024
111
Fund Details
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.
In addition, the securities held by the fund may be traded in markets that close at a different time than an exchange. Liquidity in those securities may be reduced after the applicable closing times. Accordingly, during the time when an 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. More generally, secondary markets may be subject to irregular trading activity, wide bid-ask spreads and extended trade settlement periods, which could cause a material decline in the fund’s NAV. The bid-ask spread varies over time for shares of the fund based on the fund’s trading volume and market liquidity, and is generally lower if the fund has substantial trading volume and market liquidity, and higher if the fund has little trading volume and market liquidity (which is often the case for funds that are newly launched or small in size). The fund’s bid-ask spread may also be impacted by the liquidity of the underlying securities held by the fund, particularly for newly launched or smaller funds or in instances of significant volatility of the underlying securities. If the markets for the fund’s portfolio securities experience decreased liquidity, the trading markets for the fund’s shares may also become less liquid with corresponding widening in the bid-ask spreads and differences between the market price and NAV of the fund’s shares. 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.
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 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 or recognize a gain that may be distributed to shareholders as a taxable distribution. This may be magnified in circumstances where redemptions from the fund may be higher than normal.
Geographic focus risk. Focusing investments in a single country or few countries, or regions, involves increased political, regulatory and other risks. Market swings in such a targeted country, countries or regions are likely to have a greater effect on fund performance than they would in a more geographically diversified 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
Prospectus October 1, 2024
112
Fund Details
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 Authorized Participants (“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. At any given time, due to the composition of the Underlying Index, the fund may be classified as “non-diversified” and may invest a larger percentage of its assets in securities of a few issuers or a single issuer than that of a diversified fund. As a result, the fund may be more susceptible to the risks associated with these particular issuers, or to a single economic, political or regulatory occurrence affecting these issuers. This may increase the fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively smaller number of issuers to have a greater impact on the fund’s performance.
Derivatives risk. Derivatives involve risks different from, and possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other more traditional investments. Risks associated with derivatives may include the risk that the derivative is not well correlated with the underlying asset, security, index or currency to which it relates; the risk that derivatives may result in losses or missed opportunities; the risk that the fund will be unable to sell the derivative because of an illiquid secondary market; the risk that a counterparty is unwilling or unable to meet its obligation, which risk may be heightened in derivative transactions entered into “over-the-counter” (i.e., not on an exchange or contract market); and the risk that the derivative transaction could expose the fund to the effects of leverage, which could increase the fund’s exposure to the market and magnify potential losses.
There is no guarantee that derivatives, to the extent employed, will have the intended effect, and their use could cause lower returns or even losses to the fund. The use of derivatives by the fund to hedge risk may reduce the opportunity for gain by offsetting the positive effect of favorable price movements.
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.
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,
Prospectus October 1, 2024
113
Fund Details
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. A delay in the recovery of loaned securities could interfere with the fund’s ability to vote proxies or settle transactions. Delayed settlement may limit the ability of the fund to reinvest the proceeds of a sale of securities or prevent the fund from selling securities at times that may be appropriate to track the Underlying Index. 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.
Risks related to investing in Switzerland. Investment in Swiss issuers may subject the fund to legal, regulatory, political, currency, security, and economic risk specific to Switzerland. International trade is a significant factor of the Swiss economy and the country depends upon exports to produce economic growth. Switzerland’s economic growth generally reflects economic trends in other countries, including the US and certain Western European countries.
Risks related to investing in France. Investment in French issuers may subject the fund to legal, regulatory, political, currency, security, and economic risk specific to France. During the most recent financial crisis, the French economy, along with certain other EU economies, experienced a significant economic slowdown. Recently, new concerns emerged in relation to the economic health of the EU. These concerns have led to tremendous downward pressure on certain EU member states, including France. Interest rates on France’s debt may rise to levels that make it difficult for it to service high debt levels without significant financial help from, among others, the European Central Bank and could potentially lead to default. In addition, the French economy is dependent to a significant extent on the economies of certain key trading partners, including Germany and other Western European countries. Reduction in spending on French products and services, or changes in any of the economies may cause an adverse impact on the French economy. France may be subject to acts of terrorism. The French economy is dependent on exports from the agricultural sector. Leading agricultural exports include dairy products, meat, wine, fruit and vegetables, and fish. As a result, the French economy is susceptible to fluctuations in demand for agricultural products.
Risks related to investing in the United Kingdom. Investment in British issuers may subject the fund to regulatory, political, currency, security, and economic risks specific
to the United Kingdom. The British economy relies heavily on export of financial services to the US and other European countries. A prolonged slowdown in the financial services sector may have a negative impact on the British economy. In the past, the United Kingdom has been a target of terrorism. Acts of terrorism in the United Kingdom or against British interests abroad may cause uncertainty in the British financial markets and adversely affect the performance of the issuers to which the fund has exposure. The British economy, along with the US and certain other EU economies, experienced a significant economic slowdown during the financial crisis.
In a referendum held on June 23, 2016, citizens of the United Kingdom voted to leave the EU, creating economic, political and legal uncertainty in its wake. Consequently, the United Kingdom government, pursuant to the Treaty of Lisbon (the “Treaty”), officially withdrew from the EU on January 31, 2020. The United Kingdom and European Union negotiated a new Trade and Cooperation Agreement (the Trade Agreement) which took effect on May 1, 2021. The United Kingdom is no longer part of the EU customs union and single market, nor is it subject to EU policies and international agreements. Among other things, the Trade Agreement provides for zero tariffs and zero quotas on all goods that comply with appropriate rules of origin and establishes the treatment and level of access the United Kingdom and EU have agreed to grant each other’s service suppliers and investors. In addition to trade in goods and services and investment, the Trade Agreement also covers digital trade, intellectual property, public procurement, aviation and road transport, energy, fisheries, social security coordination, law enforcement and judicial cooperation in criminal matters, thematic cooperation and participation in EU programs. Even with the Trade Agreement in place, the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU may create new barriers to trade in goods and services and to cross-border mobility and exchanges, including with respect to trade in financial services which is not comprehensively addressed in the Trade Agreement and remains subject to negotiation between the United Kingdom and the EU. The long-term impact of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU is still unknown and could have adverse economic and political effects on the United Kingdom, the EU and its member countries, and the global economy, including financial markets and asset valuations.
The United Kingdom has one of the largest economies in Europe, and member countries of the EU are substantial trading partners of the United Kingdom. The City of London’s economy is dominated by financial services, some of which may have to move outside of the United Kingdom post-withdrawal (e.g., currency trading, international settlement). With the United Kingdom’s exit from the EU, banks may be forced to move staff and comply with two separate sets of rules or lose business to banks in Europe. Furthermore, the withdrawal creates the potential for decreased trade, the possibility of capital outflows,
Prospectus October 1, 2024
114
Fund Details
devaluation of the pound sterling, the cost of higher corporate bond spreads due to uncertainty, and the risk that all the above could damage business and consumer spending as well as foreign direct investment. As a result of the withdrawal, the British economy and its currency may be negatively impacted by changes to its economic and political relations with the EU.
The impact of the withdrawal in the near- and long-term is still unknown and could have additional adverse effects on economies, financial markets and asset valuations around the world.
Xtrackers MSCI Eurozone Hedged Equity ETF
Investment Objective
The fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI EMU IMI US Dollar Hedged 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 MSCI EMU IMI US Dollar Hedged Index (the “Underlying Index”), which is designed to track the performance of equity securities based in the countries in the European Monetary Union (the “EMU”), while seeking to mitigate exposure to fluctuations between the value of the US dollar and the euro. 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 Underlying Index is composed of equities from countries in the EMU, or the “Eurozone,” that have adopted the euro as their common currency and sole legal tender. The fund will invest at least 80% of its total assets (but typically far more) in component securities (including depositary receipts in respect of such securities) of the Underlying Index.
As of July 31, 2024, the Underlying Index consisted of 614 securities with an average market capitalization of approximately $14.23 billion and a minimum market capitalization of approximately $292 million from issuers in the following countries (may reflect country of domicile): Austria, Belgium, China, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Under normal circumstances, the Underlying Index is rebalanced monthly. The fund changes 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 schedule of portfolio changes.
The fund will normally invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in equity securities from issuers in the Eurozone. As of July 31, 2024, a significant percentage of the Underlying Index was comprised of securities of issuers from France and Germany.
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 July 31, 2024, a significant percentage of the Underlying Index was comprised of issuers in the financials and industrials sectors. The fund’s exposure to particular sectors or countries may change over time to correspond to changes in the Underlying Index.
The fund may also invest in depositary receipts in respect of equity securities that comprise its Underlying Index to seek performance that corresponds to the fund’s respective Underlying Index. Investments in such depositary receipts will count towards the fund’s 80% investment policy discussed above with respect to instruments that comprise the applicable Underlying Index. The fund will not invest in any unlisted depositary receipt or any depositary receipt that the Advisor deems illiquid at the time of purchase or for which pricing information is not readily available.
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 Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), or exemptions therefrom), convertible securities, structured notes (notes on which the amount of principal repayment and interest payments are based on the movement of one or more specified factors, such as the movement of a particular stock or stock index) and in certain types of derivatives instruments (see “Derivatives” subsection).
The fund may become “non-diversified,” as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, solely as a result of a change in relative market capitalization or
Prospectus October 1, 2024
115
Fund Details
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 or securities referred to herein are not sponsored, endorsed, issued, sold or promoted by MSCI, and MSCI bears no liability with respect to the fund or securities or any index on which the fund or securities are based. The Prospectus contains a more detailed description of the limited relationship MSCI has with DBX Advisors LLC and any related funds.
Derivatives. The fund may invest in derivatives, which are financial instruments whose performance is derived, at least in part, from the performance of an underlying asset, security or index. In particular, portfolio management may use deliverable or non-deliverable forward (“NDF”) currency contracts to hedge the fund’s currency exposure. The fund enters into forward currency contracts designed to offset the fund’s exposure to the euro. A forward currency contract involves an obligation to purchase or sell a specific currency at a future date, which may be any fixed number of days from the date of the contract agreed upon by the parties, at a price set at the time of the contract. The fund (and the Underlying Index) hedges the euro in the portfolio to US dollars by selling the euro forward at the one-month forward rate published by WM/Reuters.
The amount of forward contracts in the fund is based on the aggregate exposure of the fund and Underlying Index to the euro based on currency weights as of the beginning of each month. While this approach is designed to minimize the impact of currency fluctuations on fund returns, this does not necessarily eliminate exposure to all currency fluctuations. The return of the forward currency contracts may not perfectly offset the actual fluctuations of the euro relative to the US dollar. The fund may use NDF contracts to execute its hedging transactions. An NDF is a contract where there is no physical settlement of two currencies at maturity (as opposed to deliverable forward contracts, which per their terms are settled by physical delivery of the currencies). Rather, based on the movement of the currencies and the contractually agreed upon exchange rate, a net cash settlement is made by one party to the other in US dollars.
Portfolio management may also use futures contracts, options on futures contracts and other types of derivatives in seeking performance that corresponds to its Underlying Index and will not use such instruments for speculative purposes. The fund expects to use futures contracts to a limited extent in seeking performance that corresponds to its Underlying Index. A futures contract is a standardized exchange traded agreement to buy or sell a specific quantity of an underlying instrument at a specific price at a specific future time.
In addition, the fund may invest in 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).
Securities lending. The fund may lend securities (up to one-third of total assets) to approved institutions, such as registered broker-dealers, pooled investment vehicles, banks and other financial institutions. In connection with such loans, the fund receives liquid collateral in an amount that is based on the type and value of the securities being lent, with riskier securities generally requiring higher levels of collateral.
Underlying Index Information
MSCI EMU IMI US Dollar Hedged Index
The MSCI EMU IMI US Dollar Hedged Index is designed to represent a close estimation of the performance that can be achieved by hedging the currency exposure of its parent index, the MSCI EMU IMI, to the US dollar, the “home” currency for the hedged index. The index is 100% hedged to the US dollar by selling the euro forward at the one-month forward rate. The parent index is composed of large, mid and small- cap stocks across developed markets countries (as defined by the Index Provider) in the European Economic and Monetary Union. See the Appendix for additional information on MSCI's Global Investable Markets Indexes 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. An investment in the fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency.
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. High market volatility may also
Prospectus October 1, 2024
116
Fund Details
result from significant shifts in momentum of one or more specific stocks due to unusual increases or decreases in trading activity. Momentum can change quickly, and securities subject to shifts in momentum may be more volatile than the market as a whole and returns on such securities may drop precipitously. 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. Economies and financial markets throughout the world have become increasingly interconnected, which has increased the likelihood that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other countries or regions. This includes reliance on global supply chains that are susceptible to disruptions resulting from, among other things, war and other armed conflicts, extreme weather events, and natural disasters. Such supply chain disruptions can lead to, and have led to, economic and market disruptions that have far-reaching effects on financial markets worldwide. The value of the fund’s investments may be negatively affected by adverse changes in overall economic or market conditions, such as the level of economic activity and productivity, unemployment and labor force participation rates, inflation or deflation (and expectations for inflation or deflation), interest rates, demand and supply for particular products or resources including labor, and debt levels and credit ratings, among other factors. Such adverse conditions may contribute to an overall economic contraction across entire economies or markets, which may negatively impact the profitability of issuers operating in those economies or markets. In addition, geopolitical and other globally interconnected occurrences, including war, terrorism, economic uncertainty or financial crises, contagion, trade disputes, government debt crises (including defaults or downgrades) or uncertainty about government debt payments, government shutdowns, public health crises, natural disasters, supply chain disruptions, climate change and related events or conditions, 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. Adverse market conditions or disruptions could cause the fund to lose money, experience significant redemptions, and encounter operational difficulties. Although multiple asset classes may be affected by adverse market conditions or a particular market disruption, the duration and effects may not be the same for all types of assets.
Current military and other armed conflicts in various geographic regions, including those in Europe and the Middle East, can lead to, and have led to, economic and market disruptions, which may not be limited to the geographic region in which the conflict is occurring. Such conflicts can also result, and have resulted in some cases, in sanctions being levied by the United States, the European Union and/or other countries against countries or
other actors involved in the conflict. In addition, such conflicts and related sanctions can adversely affect regional and global energy, commodities, financial and other markets and thus could affect the value of the fund's investments. The extent and duration of any military conflict, related sanctions and resulting economic and market disruptions are impossible to predict, but could be substantial.
Other market disruption events include pandemic spread of viruses, such as the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19, which have caused significant uncertainty, market volatility, decreased economic and other activity, increased government activity, including economic stimulus measures, and supply chain disruptions. While COVID-19 is no longer considered to be a public health emergency, the fund and its investments may be adversely affected by lingering effects of this virus or future pandemic spread of viruses.
In addition, markets are becoming increasingly susceptible to disruption events resulting from the use of new and emerging technologies to engage in cyber-attacks or to take over the websites and/or social media accounts of companies, governmental entities or public officials, or to otherwise pose as or impersonate such, which then may be used to disseminate false or misleading information that can cause volatility in financial markets or for the stock of a particular company, group of companies, industry or other class of assets.
Adverse market conditions or particular market disruptions, such as those discussed above, 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.
Foreign investment risk. The fund faces the risks inherent in foreign investing. Adverse political, economic or social developments could undermine the value of the fund's foreign investments, prevent the fund from realizing the full value of its foreign investments or prevent the fund from selling foreign securities it holds. Financial reporting standards for companies based in foreign markets differ from those in the US. Additionally, foreign securities markets generally are smaller and less liquid than US markets. To the extent that the fund invests in non-US dollar denominated foreign securities, changes in currency exchange rates may affect the US dollar value of foreign securities or the income or gain received on these securities.
Foreign governments may restrict investment by foreigners, limit withdrawal of trading profit or currency from the country, restrict currency exchange or seize foreign investments. In addition, the fund may be limited in its ability to exercise its legal rights or enforce a counterparty's legal obligations in certain jurisdictions outside of the US. The foreign investments of the fund may also be subject to foreign withholding taxes. Foreign
Prospectus October 1, 2024
117
Fund Details
brokerage commissions and other fees are generally higher than those for US investments, and the transactions and custody of foreign assets may involve delays in payment, delivery or recovery of money or investments.
Foreign markets can have liquidity risks beyond those typical of US markets. Because foreign exchanges generally are smaller and less liquid than US exchanges, buying and selling foreign investments can be more difficult and costly. Relatively small transactions can sometimes materially affect the price and availability of securities. In certain situations, it may become virtually impossible to sell an investment at a price that approaches portfolio management’s estimate of its value. For the same reason, it may at times be difficult to value the fund’s foreign investments. In addition, because non-US markets may be open on days when the fund does not price its shares, the value of the foreign securities in the fund’s portfolio may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the fund’s shares.
Depositary receipt risk. Foreign investments in American Depositary Receipts and other depositary receipts may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market. Certain of the depositary receipts in which the fund invests may be unsponsored depositary receipts. Unsponsored depositary receipts may not provide as much information about the underlying issuer and may not carry the same voting privileges as sponsored depositary receipts. Unsponsored depositary receipts are issued by one or more depositaries in response to market demand, but without a formal agreement with the company that issues the underlying securities.
European investment risk. European financial markets have experienced volatility in recent years and have been adversely affected by concerns about economic downturns, credit rating downgrades, rising government debt level and possible default on or restructuring of government debt in several European countries. A default or debt restructuring by any European country would adversely impact holders of that country’s debt, and sellers of credit default swaps linked to that country’s creditworthiness. Most countries in Western Europe are members of the European Union (EU), which faces major issues involving its membership, structure, procedures and policies.
European countries are also significantly affected by fiscal and monetary controls implemented by the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), and it is possible that the timing and substance of these controls may not address the needs of all EMU member countries. Investing in euro-denominated securities also risks exposure to a currency that may not fully reflect the strengths and weaknesses of the disparate economies that comprise Europe. There is continued concern over member state-level support for the euro, which could lead to certain countries leaving the EMU, the implementation of currency controls,
or potentially the dissolution of the euro. The dissolution of the euro could have significant negative effects on European financial markets.
Small and medium-sized company risk. Small and 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 small and medium-sized companies, since they lack the financial resources of larger companies. Small and 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. The fund may become more focused in particular industries, asset classes or sectors of the economy as a result of changes in the valuation of the fund’s investments or fluctuations in the fund’s assets, and the fund is not required to reduce such exposures under these circumstances.
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.
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,
Prospectus October 1, 2024
118
Fund Details
companies in the industrials sector may be adversely affected by environmental damages, product liability claims and exchange rates.
Derivatives risk. Derivatives involve risks different from, and possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other more traditional investments. Risks associated with derivatives may include the risk that the derivative is not well correlated with the underlying asset, security, index or currency to which it relates; the risk that derivatives may result in losses or missed opportunities; the risk that the fund will be unable to sell the derivative because of an illiquid secondary market; the risk that a counterparty is unwilling or unable to meet its obligation, which risk may be heightened in derivative transactions entered into “over-the-counter” (i.e., not on an exchange or contract market); and the risk that the derivative transaction could expose the fund to the effects of leverage, which could increase the fund’s exposure to the market and magnify potential losses.
There is no guarantee that derivatives, to the extent employed, will have the intended effect, and their use could cause lower returns or even losses to the fund. The use of derivatives by the fund to hedge risk may reduce the opportunity for gain by offsetting the positive effect of favorable price movements.
Forward currency contract risk. The fund invests in forward currency contracts to attempt to minimize the impact of changes in the value of the non-US currencies included in its Underlying Index against the US dollar.
These contracts may not be successful. To the extent the fund’s forward currency contracts are not successful in hedging against such changes, the US dollar value of your investment in the fund may go down if the value of the local currency of the non-US markets in which the fund invests depreciates against the US dollar. This is true even if the local currency value of securities in the fund’s holdings goes up. In order to minimize transaction costs or for other reasons, the fund’s exposure to the currencies included in the Underlying Index may not be fully hedged at all times. For example, the fund may not hedge against exposure to currencies that represent a relatively smaller portion of the Underlying Index. Furthermore, because no changes in the currency weights in each fund’s Underlying Index are made during the month to account for changes in each fund’s Underlying Index due to price movement of securities, corporate events, additions, deletions or any other changes, changes in the value of the non-US currencies included in the fund’s Underlying Index against the US dollar during the month may affect the value of the fund’s investment. Non-deliverable forward (“NDF”) contracts may be less liquid than deliverable forward currency contracts. A lack of liquidity in NDFs of the hedged currency could adversely affect the fund’s ability to hedge against currency fluctuations and properly track the Underlying Index.
A forward currency contract is a negotiated agreement between two parties to exchange specified amounts of two or more currencies at a specified future time at a specified rate. The rate specified by the forward currency contract can be higher or lower than the spot rate between the currencies that are the subject of the contract. Settlement of a forward currency contract for the purchase of most currencies typically must occur at a bank based in the issuing nation. By entering into a forward currency contract for the purchase or sale, for a fixed amount of dollars or other currency, of the amount of foreign currency involved in the underlying security transactions, the fund may be able to protect itself against a possible loss resulting from an adverse change in the relationship between the US dollar or other currency which is being used for the security purchase and the foreign currency in which the security is denominated during the period between the date on which the security is purchased or sold and the date on which payment is made or received. Furthermore, such transactions reduce or preclude the opportunity for gain if the value of the currency should move in the direction opposite to the position taken. There is an additional risk to the extent that forward currency contracts create exposure to currencies in which the fund’s securities are not denominated. Unanticipated changes in currency prices may result in poorer overall performance for the fund than if it had not entered into such contracts. Forward currency contracts may limit gains on portfolio securities that could otherwise be realized had they not been utilized and could result in losses. The contracts also may increase the fund’s volatility and may involve a significant amount of risk relative to the investment of cash.
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.
Counterparty risk. The foreign currency markets in which the fund effects its transactions are over-the-counter or “interdealer” markets. The counterparty to an over-the counter spot contract is generally a single bank or other financial institution rather than a clearing organization backed by a group of financial institutions. Participants in over-the-counter markets are typically not subject to the same credit evaluation and regulatory oversight as members of exchange-based” markets. Because the funds execute over-the-counter transactions, the fund constantly
Prospectus October 1, 2024
119
Fund Details
takes credit risk with regard to parties with which it trades and may also bear the risk of settlement default. These risks may differ materially from those involved in exchange-traded transactions which generally are characterized by clearing organization guaranties, daily marking-to-market and settlement, and segregation and minimum capital requirements applicable to intermediaries. Transactions entered into directly between two counterparties generally do not benefit from these protections and the fund is subject to the risk that a counterparty will not settle a transaction in accordance with agreed terms and conditions.
Further, if a counterparty becomes bankrupt or otherwise fails to perform its obligations due to financial difficulties, the fund may experience significant delays in obtaining any recovery in a bankruptcy or other reorganization proceeding. The fund may obtain only limited recovery or may obtain no recovery in such circumstances. In addition, the fund may enter into agreements with a limited number of counterparties which may increase that fund’s exposure to counterparty credit risk.
Because a contract’s terms may provide for collateral to cover the variation margin exposure arising under the contract only if a minimum transfer amount is triggered, the fund may have an uncollateralized risk exposure to a counterparty.
The use of spot foreign exchange contracts may also expose the fund to legal risk, which is the risk of loss due to the unexpected application of a law or regulation, or because contracts are not legally enforceable.
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 Index Provider will compile the Underlying Index accurately, or that the Underlying Index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. The Index Provider may cease publication of the Underlying Index or may terminate the license agreement allowing the fund to use the Underlying Index, either of which could have a material adverse effect on the fund. Market disruptions could cause delays in the Underlying Index’s reconstitution and 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 reconstitution and 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 may have limited ability to detect such errors and neither the Advisor nor its affiliates 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.
Index-related risk may be higher for a fund that tracks an index comprised of, or an index that includes, foreign securities because regulatory and reporting requirements may differ from those in the US, resulting in a heightened risk of errors in the index data, index computation and/or index construction due to unreliable, outdated or unavailable information.
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 reconstituting or 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. Moreover, the use of a representative sampling investment approach (i.e., investing in a representative selection of securities included in the Underlying Index rather than all securities in the Underlying Index) 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
Prospectus October 1, 2024
120
Fund Details
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 purposes, the fund may sell certain securities, and such sale may cause the fund to recognize a taxable gain or 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, relating to regulated investment companies, may also impact the fund’s ability to replicate the performance of the Underlying Index. In addition, if the fund 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.
Tracking error risk may be higher for funds that track indices with significant weight in foreign issuers than funds that do not track such indices.
For purposes of calculating the fund’s net asset value, the value of assets denominated in non-US currencies is converted into US dollars using prevailing market rates on the date of valuation as quoted by one or more data service providers. This conversion may result in a difference between the prices used to calculate the fund’s net asset value and the prices used by the Underlying Index, which, in turn, could result in a difference between the fund’s performance and the performance 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. 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.
In addition, the securities held by the fund may be traded in markets that close at a different time than an exchange. Liquidity in those securities may be reduced after the applicable closing times. Accordingly, during the time when an 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. More generally, secondary markets may be subject to irregular trading activity, wide bid-ask spreads and extended trade settlement periods, which could cause a material decline in the fund’s NAV. The bid-ask spread varies over time for shares of the fund based on the fund’s trading volume and market liquidity, and is generally lower if the fund has substantial trading volume and market liquidity, and higher if the fund has little trading volume and market liquidity (which is often the case for funds that are newly launched or small in size). The fund’s bid-ask spread may also be impacted by the liquidity of the underlying securities held by the fund, particularly for newly launched or smaller funds or in instances of significant volatility of the underlying securities. If the markets for the fund’s portfolio securities experience decreased liquidity, the trading
Prospectus October 1, 2024
121
Fund Details
markets for the fund’s shares may also become less liquid with corresponding widening in the bid-ask spreads and differences between the market price and NAV of the fund’s shares. 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.
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 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 or recognize a gain that may be distributed to shareholders as a taxable distribution. This may be magnified in circumstances where redemptions from the fund may be higher than normal.
Geographic focus risk. Focusing investments in a single country or few countries, or regions, involves increased political, regulatory and other risks. Market swings in such a targeted country, countries or regions are likely to have a greater effect on fund performance than they would in a more geographically diversified 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.
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
Prospectus October 1, 2024
122
Fund Details
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 Authorized Participants (“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. At any given time, due to the composition of the Underlying Index, the fund may be classified as “non-diversified” and may invest a larger percentage of its assets in securities of a few issuers or a single issuer than that of a diversified fund. As a result, the fund may be more susceptible to the risks associated with these particular issuers, or to a single economic, political or regulatory occurrence affecting these issuers. This may increase the fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively smaller number of issuers to have a greater impact on the fund’s performance.
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. A delay in the recovery of loaned securities could interfere with the fund’s ability to vote proxies or settle transactions. Delayed settlement may limit the ability of the fund to reinvest the proceeds of a sale of securities or prevent the fund from selling securities at times that may be appropriate to track the Underlying Index. 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.
Risks related to investing in France. Investment in French issuers may subject the fund to legal, regulatory, political, currency, security, and economic risk specific to France. During the most recent financial crisis, the French economy, along with certain other EU economies, experienced a significant economic slowdown. Recently, new concerns emerged in relation to the economic health of the EU. These concerns have led to tremendous downward pressure on certain EU member states, including France. Interest rates on France’s debt may rise to levels that make it difficult for it to service high debt levels without significant financial help from, among others, the
European Central Bank and could potentially lead to default. In addition, the French economy is dependent to a significant extent on the economies of certain key trading partners, including Germany and other Western European countries. Reduction in spending on French products and services, or changes in any of the economies may cause an adverse impact on the French economy. France may be subject to acts of terrorism. The French economy is dependent on exports from the agricultural sector. Leading agricultural exports include dairy products, meat, wine, fruit and vegetables, and fish. As a result, the French economy is susceptible to fluctuations in demand for agricultural products.
Risks related to investing in Germany. The German economy is dependent on the other countries in Europe as key trade partners. Exports account for more than one-third of Germany’s output and are a key element in German economic expansion. Reduction in spending by European countries on German products and services or negative changes in any of these countries may cause an adverse impact on the German economy. In addition, the US is a large trade and investment partner of Germany. Decreasing US imports, new trade regulations, changes in the US dollar exchange rates or a recession in the US may also have an adverse impact on the German economy.
During the most recent financial crisis, the German economy, along with certain other EU economies, experienced a significant economic slowdown. Recently, new concerns emerged in relation to the economic health of the EU. These concerns have led to tremendous downward pressure on certain financial institutions, including German financial services companies. During the recent European debt crisis, Germany played a key role in stabilizing the euro. However, such efforts may prove unsuccessful, and any ongoing crisis may continue to significantly affect the economies of every country in Europe, including Germany.
Investing in German issuers involves political, social and regulatory risks. Certain sectors and regions of Germany have experienced high unemployment and social unrest. These issues may have an adverse effect on the German economy or the German industries or sectors in which the fund invests. Heavy regulation of labor and product markets is pervasive in Germany. These regulations may stifle economic growth or result in extended recessionary periods.
Cash redemption risk. Because the fund invests a portion of its assets in forward currency contracts, the fund may pay out a portion of its redemption proceeds in cash rather than through the in-kind delivery of portfolio securities. In addition, the fund may be required to unwind such contracts or sell portfolio securities in order to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the fund to recognize income that it might not have incurred if it had made a redemption in-kind. As a result the fund may pay out more taxable distributions than if the
Prospectus October 1, 2024
123
Fund Details
in-kind redemption process was used. Only APs who have entered into an agreement with the fund’s distributor may redeem shares from the fund directly; all other investors buy and sell shares at market prices on an exchange.
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.
■
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.
■
Xtrackers MSCI All World ex US Hedged Equity ETF and Xtrackers MSCI Emerging Markets Hedged Equity ETF may borrow money under a credit facility to the extent necessary for temporary or emergency purposes, including the funding of shareholder redemption requests, trade settlements, and as necessary to distribute to shareholders any income necessary to maintain a fund’s status as a regulated investment company (“RIC”).
■
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 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 1-844-851-4255.
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 each fund. Under the oversight of the Board, the Advisor makes the investment decisions, buys and sells securities for each 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 $22.2 billion in 39 operational exchange-traded funds, as of August 31, 2024.
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
Prospectus October 1, 2024
124
Fund Details
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.
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 MSCI Emerging
Markets Hedged Equity ETF
0.65
%
Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged
Equity ETF
0.35
%
Xtrackers MSCI Japan
Hedged Equity ETF
0.45
%
Xtrackers MSCI Europe
Hedged Equity ETF
0.45
%
Xtrackers MSCI All World ex
US Hedged Equity ETF
0.40
%
Xtrackers MSCI EAFE High
Dividend Yield Equity ETF
0.12
%*
Xtrackers MSCI Eurozone
Hedged Equity ETF
0.45
%
*
Reflecting the effect of expense limitations and/or fee waivers then in effect.
Effective August 13, 2024, Xtrackers MSCI EAFE High Dividend Yield Equity ETF pays the Advisor a unitary advisory fee, calculated daily and paid monthly, at the annual rate of 0.09% of the fund’s average daily net assets. Prior to August 13, 2024, the fund paid the Advisor a unitary advisory fee, calculated daily and paid monthly, at the annual rate of 0.20% of the fund’s average daily net assets
A discussion regarding the basis for the Board's approval of each fund’s Investment Advisory Agreement is contained in the most recent annual financial statements
and other information report for the annual period ended May 31. For information on how to obtain this report and other fund 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 MSCI Emerging Markets Hedged Equity ETF
The following Portfolio Managers are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the fund. Each Portfolio Manager functions as a member of a portfolio management team.
Patrick Dwyer, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC, Director and Senior Portfolio Engineer & Team Lead, Xtrackers, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2016.
■
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 October 1, 2024
125
Fund Details
Shlomo Bassous, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC, Director and Senior Portfolio Engineer, Xtrackers, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2017.
■
Joined DWS in 2017 with 12 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, Sy Syms School of Business, Yeshiva University.
Ashif Shaikh, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC, Vice President and Portfolio Engineer, Xtrackers, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2022.
■
Joined DWS in 2008 with six years of industry experience. Prior to joining DWS, Mr. Shaikh served in operations and technology roles at UBS and Prudential Financial.
■
Portfolio Engineer, Xtrackers: New York.
■
BS in Management Information Systems, New Jersey Institute of Technology; MBA, Rutgers University.
Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF
The following Portfolio Managers are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the fund. Each Portfolio Manager functions as a member of a portfolio management team.
Patrick Dwyer, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC, Director and Senior Portfolio Engineer & Team Lead, Xtrackers, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2016.
■
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, Director and Senior Portfolio Engineer, Xtrackers, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2017.
■
Joined DWS in 2017 with 12 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, Sy Syms School of Business, Yeshiva University.
Ashif Shaikh, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC, Vice President and Portfolio Engineer, Xtrackers, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2022.
■
Joined DWS in 2008 with six years of industry experience. Prior to joining DWS, Mr. Shaikh served in operations and technology roles at UBS and Prudential Financial.
■
Portfolio Engineer, Xtrackers: New York.
■
BS in Management Information Systems, New Jersey Institute of Technology; MBA, Rutgers University.
Xtrackers MSCI Japan Hedged Equity ETF
The following Portfolio Managers are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the fund. Each Portfolio Manager functions as a member of a portfolio management team.
Patrick Dwyer, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC, Director and Senior Portfolio Engineer & Team Lead, Xtrackers, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2016.
■
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 October 1, 2024
126
Fund Details
Shlomo Bassous, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC, Director and Senior Portfolio Engineer, Xtrackers, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2017.
■
Joined DWS in 2017 with 12 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, Sy Syms School of Business, Yeshiva University.
Ashif Shaikh, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC, Vice President and Portfolio Engineer, Xtrackers, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2022.
■
Joined DWS in 2008 with six years of industry experience. Prior to joining DWS, Mr. Shaikh served in operations and technology roles at UBS and Prudential Financial.
■
Portfolio Engineer, Xtrackers: New York.
■
BS in Management Information Systems, New Jersey Institute of Technology; MBA, Rutgers University.
Xtrackers MSCI Europe Hedged Equity ETF
The following Portfolio Managers are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the fund. Each Portfolio Manager functions as a member of a portfolio management team.
Patrick Dwyer, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC, Director and Senior Portfolio Engineer & Team Lead, Xtrackers, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2016.
■
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, Director and Senior Portfolio Engineer, Xtrackers, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2017.
■
Joined DWS in 2017 with 12 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, Sy Syms School of Business, Yeshiva University.
Ashif Shaikh, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC, Vice President and Portfolio Engineer, Xtrackers, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2022.
■
Joined DWS in 2008 with six years of industry experience. Prior to joining DWS, Mr. Shaikh served in operations and technology roles at UBS and Prudential Financial.
■
Portfolio Engineer, Xtrackers: New York.
■
BS in Management Information Systems, New Jersey Institute of Technology; MBA, Rutgers University.
Xtrackers MSCI All World ex US Hedged Equity ETF
The following Portfolio Managers are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the fund. Each Portfolio Manager functions as a member of a portfolio management team.
Patrick Dwyer, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC, Director and Senior Portfolio Engineer & Team Lead, Xtrackers, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2016.
■
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 October 1, 2024
127
Fund Details
Shlomo Bassous, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC, Director and Senior Portfolio Engineer, Xtrackers, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2017.
■
Joined DWS in 2017 with 12 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, Sy Syms School of Business, Yeshiva University.
Ashif Shaikh, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC, Vice President and Portfolio Engineer, Xtrackers, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2022.
■
Joined DWS in 2008 with six years of industry experience. Prior to joining DWS, Mr. Shaikh served in operations and technology roles at UBS and Prudential Financial.
■
Portfolio Engineer, Xtrackers: New York.
■
BS in Management Information Systems, New Jersey Institute of Technology; MBA, Rutgers University.
Xtrackers MSCI EAFE High Dividend Yield Equity ETF
The following Portfolio Managers are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the fund. Each Portfolio Manager functions as a member of a portfolio management team.
Patrick Dwyer, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC, Director and Senior Portfolio Engineer & Team Lead, Xtrackers, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2016.
■
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, Director and Senior Portfolio Engineer, Xtrackers, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2017.
■
Joined DWS in 2017 with 12 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, Sy Syms School of Business, Yeshiva University.
Ashif Shaikh, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC, Vice President and Portfolio Engineer, Xtrackers, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2022.
■
Joined DWS in 2008 with six years of industry experience. Prior to joining DWS, Mr. Shaikh served in operations and technology roles at UBS and Prudential Financial.
■
Portfolio Engineer, Xtrackers: New York.
■
BS in Management Information Systems, New Jersey Institute of Technology; MBA, Rutgers University.
Xtrackers MSCI Eurozone Hedged Equity ETF
The following Portfolio Managers are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the fund. Each Portfolio Manager functions as a member of a portfolio management team.
Patrick Dwyer, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC, Director and Senior Portfolio Engineer & Team Lead, Xtrackers, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2016.
■
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 October 1, 2024
128
Fund Details
Shlomo Bassous, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC, Director and Senior Portfolio Engineer, Xtrackers, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2017.
■
Joined DWS in 2017 with 12 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, Sy Syms School of Business, Yeshiva University.
Ashif Shaikh, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC, Vice President and Portfolio Engineer, Xtrackers, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2022.
■
Joined DWS in 2008 with six years of industry experience. Prior to joining DWS, Mr. Shaikh served in operations and technology roles at UBS and Prudential Financial.
■
Portfolio Engineer, Xtrackers: New York.
■
BS in Management Information Systems, New Jersey Institute of Technology; MBA, Rutgers 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 October 1, 2024
129
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: 1-844-851-4255 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”). 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 a rule enacted by the SEC, which includes a requirement that such registered investment companies enter into an agreement with the Trust.
Prospectus October 1, 2024 130 Investing in the Funds
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 MSCI
Emerging
Markets Hedged Equity
ETF
DBEM
NYSE Arca, Inc.
Xtrackers MSCI EAFE
Hedged
Equity ETF
DBEF
NYSE Arca, Inc.
Xtrackers MSCI Japan
Hedged
Equity ETF
DBJP
NYSE Arca, Inc.
Xtrackers MSCI Europe
Hedged Equity ETF
DBEU
NYSE Arca, Inc.
Xtrackers MSCI All
World ex
US Hedged Equity ETF
DBAW
NYSE Arca, Inc.
Xtrackers MSCI EAFE
High
Dividend Yield Equity
ETF
HDEF
NYSE Arca, Inc.
Xtrackers MSCI
Eurozone
Hedged Equity ETF
DBEZ
NYSE Arca, Inc.
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 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 the fund’s liabilities from the total value of its assets and dividing the result by the number of shares outstanding, rounding to the nearest cent. All valuations are subject to review by the Trust’s Board or its delegate.
The Trust’s Board has designated the Advisor as the valuation designee for the fund pursuant to Rule 2a-5 under the 1940 Act. The Advisor’s Pricing Committee typically values securities using readily available market quotations or prices supplied by independent pricing services (which are considered fair values under Rule 2a-5).
The Advisor has adopted and the Trust’s Board has approved fair valuation procedures for the funds. Under these fair valuation procedures, the Advisor provides methodologies for fair valuing securities when pricing service prices or market quotations are not readily available, including when a security’s value or a meaningful portion of the value of the fund’s portfolio is believed to have been materially affected by a significant event such as a natural disaster, an economic event like a bankruptcy filing, or a substantial fluctuation in domestic or foreign markets that has occurred between the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded (for example, a foreign exchange or market) and the close of the New York Stock Exchange. In such a case, a fund’s value for a security is likely to be different from the last quoted market price or pricing service prices. Due to the subjective and variable nature of fair value pricing, it is
Prospectus October 1, 2024
131
Investing in the Funds
possible that the value determined for a particular asset may be materially different from the value realized upon such asset’s sale. In addition, fair value pricing could result in a difference between the prices used to calculate a fund’s NAV and the prices used by the fund’s Underlying Index. This may adversely affect the fund’s ability to track its Underlying Index. With respect to securities that are primarily listed on foreign exchanges, the value of a fund’s portfolio securities may change on days when you will not be able to purchase or sell your shares.
As the respective international local markets close, the market value of the deposit securities will continue to be updated for foreign exchange rates for the remainder of the US trading day at the prescribed 15 second intervals. With respect to Xtrackers MSCI EAFE High Dividend Yield Equity ETF (the “Non-Currency Hedged Fund”), foreign currency exchange rates with respect to the fund’s non-US securities are generally determined as of 4:00 p.m., London time. Generally, trading in non-US securities, US government securities, money market instruments and certain fixed-income securities is substantially completed each day at various times prior to the close of business on the NYSE. The values of such securities used in computing the NAV of the Non-Currency Hedged Fund are determined as of such times. The value of each Underlying Index will not be calculated and disseminated intra-day. The value and return of each Underlying Index is calculated once each trading day by the Index Provider based on prices received from the respective international local markets. In addition, with respect to the Non-Currency Hedged Fund, the value of assets or liabilities denominated in non-US currencies will be converted into US dollars using prevailing market rates on the date of the valuation as quoted by one or more data service providers. Use of a rate different from the rate used by the Index Provider (to the extent the Index Provider calculates a US dollar value for the Underlying Index) may adversely affect the 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 (200,000 for Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF) 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. Because certain funds invest a portion of its assets in forward currency contracts, those funds 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 a 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(a)(3)(C) of the 1933 Act, would be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(a)(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
Prospectus October 1, 2024
132
Investing in the Funds
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 MSCI Emerging
Markets Hedged Equity ETF
$6,900
Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged
Equity ETF
$4,650
Xtrackers MSCI Japan
Hedged Equity ETF
$1,800
Xtrackers MSCI Europe
Hedged Equity ETF
$3,600
Xtrackers MSCI All World ex
US Hedged Equity ETF
$10,500
Xtrackers MSCI EAFE High
Dividend Yield Equity ETF(1)
$0
Xtrackers MSCI Eurozone
Hedged Equity ETF
$3,200
(1) Effective January 30, 2019, the standard and maximum transaction fees for the creation or redemption of a Creation Unit of the Xtrackers MSCI EAFE High Dividend Yield Equity ETF will be 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 will be reduced from $900 to $0; however, the Advisor reserves the right to amend or discontinue this subsidy upon supplement to a fund’s prospectus.
Dividends and Distributions
General Policies. Dividends from net investment income, if any, are generally declared and paid semi-annually (quarterly for Xtrackers MSCI EAFE High Dividend Yield Equity ETF) by each fund. Distributions of net 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 RIC or to avoid imposition of income or excise taxes on undistributed income or gains.
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. Taxable dividend distributions will be subject to US federal income tax whether received in cash or reinvested in additional shares.
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 the 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 the fund’s shares. Distributions by a fund of qualified dividend income that it receives 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 20%. 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 and other 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 incorporated in a possession of the United States or 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.
Prospectus October 1, 2024
133
Investing in the Funds
Dividends received by a fund from an entity that qualifies as a real estate investment trust for US federal income tax purposes (“REIT”) or another RIC generally are eligible for qualified dividend income treatment only to the extent the dividend distributions are made out of qualified dividend income received by such REIT or RIC. It is expected that dividends received by a fund from a REIT and distributed to a shareholder generally will be taxable to the shareholder as ordinary income but may be eligible for a 20% qualified business income deduction by non-corporate shareholders if so reported by the fund and certain holding period and other requirements are satisfied.
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 the fund held without being hedged by the shareholder receiving the dividend, for 61 days during the 121-day period beginning on 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.
A fund's use of derivatives, if any, may affect the amount, timing and character of distributions to shareholders and, therefore, may increase the amount of taxes payable by shareholders.
In general, your distributions are treated for US federal income tax purposes as received in the year during which they are paid. Certain distributions actually paid in January, however, may be treated as received and 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.
The previous discussion applies to beneficial owners of shares of a fund that are “United States persons” under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, other than partnerships. 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 recognized 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 unless the non-US shareholder is an individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more during the taxable year.
Dividends and interest received by a fund with respect to non-US securities may give rise to withholding and other taxes imposed by non-US countries. Tax conventions between certain countries and the United States may reduce or eliminate such taxes. If more than 50% of the total value of a fund at the close of a year consists of stocks or securities in non-US corporations, the fund may for US federal income tax purposes “pass through” to you certain non-US income taxes (including withholding taxes) paid by the fund. This means that you would be considered to have received as additional gross income your share of such non-US taxes, but you may, in such case, be entitled to either a corresponding tax deduction or credit in calculating your US federal income tax, subject in both cases to certain limitations.
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.
To the extent a fund does not distribute to shareholders all or substantially all of its investment company taxable income (determined without regard to the deduction for dividends paid) and net capital gain in a given year whether due to Chinese restrictions on repatriations or otherwise, it may lose its status as a RIC or it will be required to pay US federal income tax on the retained income and gains, thereby reducing a fund’s return. A fund may elect to treat any retained net capital gain as having been distributed to shareholders. In that case, shareholders of record on the last day of a fund’s taxable year will be required to include their attributable share of the retained gain in income for the year as a long-term capital gain despite not actually receiving the dividend, and will be entitled to a tax credit or refund for the tax deemed paid on their behalf by a fund as well as an increase in the basis of their shares to reflect the difference between their attributable share of the gain and the related credit or refund.
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 (or treated as paid) with respect to such shares. Your ability to deduct capital losses may be limited.
Prospectus October 1, 2024
134
Investing in the Funds
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, local and foreign 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 (the website does not form a part of this prospectus).
Prospectus October 1, 2024
135
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 derived from the financial statements 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 Financial Statements and Other Information Report (see “For More Information” on the back cover).
Xtrackers MSCI Emerging Markets Hedged Equity ETF 
 
Years Ended May 31,
 
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
Selected Per Share Data
Net Asset Value, beginning of year
$21.92
$23.77
$29.36
$21.03
$21.81
Income (loss) from investment operations:
 
 
 
 
 
Net investment income (loss)(a)
0.52
0.52
0.53
0.39
0.58
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)
2.36
(1.80)
(5.65)
8.42
(0.74)
Total from investment operations
2.88
(1.28)
(5.12)
8.81
(0.16)
Less distributions from:
 
 
 
 
 
Net investment income
(0.59)
(0.57)
(0.47)
(0.48)
(0.62)
Total from distributions
(0.59)
(0.57)
(0.47)
(0.48)
(0.62)
Net Asset Value, end of year
$24.21
$21.92
$23.77
$29.36
$21.03
Total Return (%)(b)
13.39
(5.40)
(17.67)
42.20
(1.01)
Ratios to Average Net Assets and Supplemental Data
Net Assets, end of year ($ millions)
73
89
97
117
89
Ratio of expenses before fee waiver (%)
0.67
0.66
0.65
0.65
0.66
Ratio of expenses after fee waiver (%)
0.67
0.66
0.65
0.65
0.66
Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%)
2.30
2.33
2.00
1.48
2.62
Portfolio turnover rate (%)(c)
17
16
14
13
20
(a)
Based on average shares outstanding during the period.
(b)
Total Return would have been lower if certain expenses had not been reimbursed by the Advisor.
(c)
Portfolio turnover rate does not include securities received or delivered from processing creations or redemptions.
Prospectus October 1, 2024 136 Financial Highlights
Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF 
 
Years Ended May 31,
 
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
Selected Per Share Data
Net Asset Value, beginning of year
$35.47
$37.41
$37.54
$29.75
$30.87
Income (loss) from investment operations:
 
 
 
 
 
Net investment income (loss)(a)
1.08
1.05(b)
1.13
0.78
0.66
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)
6.78
2.12
(0.37)
7.82
(0.76)
Total from investment operations
7.86
3.17
0.76
8.60
(0.10)
Less distributions from:
 
 
 
 
 
Net investment income
(1.65)
(0.64)
(0.89)
(0.81)
(1.02)
Net realized gains
–
(4.47)
–
–
–
Total from distributions
(1.65)
(5.11)
(0.89)
(0.81)
(1.02)
Net Asset Value, end of year
$41.68
$35.47
$37.41
$37.54
$29.75
Total Return (%)(c)
23.12
9.62
2.01
29.41
(0.56)
Ratios to Average Net Assets and Supplemental Data
Net Assets, end of year ($ millions)
5,984
4,049
4,241
3,955
3,831
Ratio of expenses before fee waiver (%)
0.35
0.36
0.35
0.35
0.36
Ratio of expenses after fee waiver (%)
0.35
0.36
0.35
0.35
0.36
Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%)
2.91
2.99(b)
2.97
2.35
2.10
Portfolio turnover rate (%)(d)
11
19
4
8
9
(a)
Based on average shares outstanding during the period.
(b)
Net investment income per share and the ratio of net investment income include non-recurring foreign dividend reclaims and related interest amounting to $0.05 per share. Excluding these non-recurring amounts which are included in Unaffiliated dividend income and Other income,
respectively in the Statement of Operations, the net investment income ratio would have been 2.85%.
(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.
Prospectus October 1, 2024 137 Financial Highlights
Xtrackers MSCI Japan Hedged Equity ETF 
 
Years Ended May 31,
 
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
Selected Per Share Data
Net Asset Value, beginning of year
$57.06
$48.84
$49.08
$39.80
$37.95
Income (loss) from investment operations:
 
 
 
 
 
Net investment income (loss)(a)
1.08
1.00
0.79
0.62
0.67
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)
20.74
7.61
0.13
9.82
2.27
Total from investment operations
21.82
8.61
0.92
10.44
2.94
Less distributions from:
 
 
 
 
 
Net investment income
(3.23)
(0.39)
(1.16)
(1.16)
(1.09)
Total from distributions
(3.23)
(0.39)
(1.16)
(1.16)
(1.09)
Net Asset Value, end of year
$75.65
$57.06
$48.84
$49.08
$39.80
Total Return (%)(b)
40.04
17.78
1.87
26.96
7.88
Ratios to Average Net Assets and Supplemental Data
Net Assets, end of year ($ millions)
431
291
191
199
221
Ratio of expenses before fee waiver (%)
0.45
0.47
0.45
0.45
0.46
Ratio of expenses after fee waiver (%)
0.45
0.46
0.45
0.45
0.46
Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%)
1.66
1.98
1.61
1.41
1.69
Portfolio turnover rate (%)(c)
15
18
6
12
12
(a)
Based on average shares outstanding during the period.
(b)
Total Return would have been lower if certain expenses had not been reimbursed by the Advisor.
(c)
Portfolio turnover rate does not include securities received or delivered from processing creations or redemptions.
Prospectus October 1, 2024 138 Financial Highlights
Xtrackers MSCI Europe Hedged Equity ETF 
 
Years Ended May 31,
 
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
Selected Per Share Data
Net Asset Value, beginning of year
$36.55
$34.31
$34.02
$26.91
$28.31
Income (loss) from investment operations:
 
 
 
 
 
Net investment income (loss)(a)
1.04
1.04(b)
0.97
0.77
0.52
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)
5.85
1.85
(0.00)(c)
7.07
(1.06)
Total from investment operations
6.89
2.89
0.97
7.84
(0.54)
Less distributions from:
 
 
 
 
 
Net investment income
(1.38)
(0.65)
(0.68)
(0.73)
(0.86)
Total from distributions
(1.38)
(0.65)
(0.68)
(0.73)
(0.86)
Net Asset Value, end of year
$42.06
$36.55
$34.31
$34.02
$26.91
Total Return (%)(d)
19.47
8.77
2.85
29.68
(2.16)
Ratios to Average Net Assets and Supplemental Data
Net Assets, end of year ($ millions)
557
459
527
563
487
Ratio of expenses before fee waiver (%)
0.45
0.48
0.45
0.45
0.46
Ratio of expenses after fee waiver (%)
0.45
0.48
0.45
0.45
0.46
Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%)
2.77
3.06(b)
2.77
2.58
1.79
Portfolio turnover rate (%)(e)
12
13
5
9
13
(a)
Based on average shares outstanding during the period.
(b)
Net investment income per share and the ratio of net investment income include non-recurring foreign dividend reclaims and related interest amounting to $0.13 per share. Excluding these non-recurring amounts which are included in Unaffiliated dividend income and Other income,
respectively in the Statement of Operations, the net investment income ratio would have been 2.70%.
(c)
Less than 0.005.
(d)
Total Return would have been lower if certain expenses had not been reimbursed by the Advisor.
(e)
Portfolio turnover rate does not include securities received or delivered from processing creations or redemptions.
Prospectus October 1, 2024 139 Financial Highlights
Xtrackers MSCI All World ex US Hedged Equity ETF 
 
Years Ended May 31,
 
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
Selected Per Share Data
Net Asset Value, beginning of year
$28.89
$31.45
$33.37
$25.63
$26.61
Income (loss) from investment operations:
 
 
 
 
 
Net investment income (loss)(a)
0.80
0.81
0.88
0.64
0.62
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)
4.81
0.25
(2.11)
7.73
(0.76)
Total from investment operations
5.61
1.06
(1.23)
8.37
(0.14)
Less distributions from:
 
 
 
 
 
Net investment income
(1.04)
(0.62)
(0.69)
(0.63)
(0.84)
Net realized gains
–
(3.00)
–
–
–
Total from distributions
(1.04)
(3.62)
(0.69)
(0.63)
(0.84)
Net Asset Value, end of year
$33.46
$28.89
$31.45
$33.37
$25.63
Total Return (%)(b)
20.06
4.02
(3.79)
33.10
(0.78)
Ratios to Average Net Assets and Supplemental Data
Net Assets, end of year ($ millions)
154
133
156
125
99
Ratio of expenses before fee waiver (%)
0.40
0.41
0.40
0.40
0.41
Ratio of expenses after fee waiver (%)
0.40
0.41
0.40
0.40
0.41
Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%)
2.63
2.77
2.69
2.15
2.29
Portfolio turnover rate (%)(c)
9
14
6
14
10
(a)
Based on average shares outstanding during the period.
(b)
Total Return would have been lower if certain expenses had not been reimbursed by the Advisor.
(c)
Portfolio turnover rate does not include securities received or delivered from processing creations or redemptions.
Prospectus October 1, 2024 140 Financial Highlights
Xtrackers MSCI EAFE High Dividend Yield Equity ETF 
 
Years Ended May 31,
 
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
Selected Per Share Data
Net Asset Value, beginning of year
$22.46
$23.47
$25.00
$19.89
$22.00
Income (loss) from investment operations:
 
 
 
 
 
Net investment income (loss)(a)
1.09
1.15
1.17
1.21
0.85
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)
3.20
(1.14)
(1.60)
4.94
(2.00)
Total from investment operations
4.29
0.01
(0.43)
6.15
(1.15)
Less distributions from:
 
 
 
 
 
Net investment income
(1.21)
(1.02)
(1.10)
(1.04)
(0.96)
Total from distributions
(1.21)
(1.02)
(1.10)
(1.04)
(0.96)
Net Asset Value, end of year
$25.54
$22.46
$23.47
$25.00
$19.89
Total Return (%)(b)
19.79
0.46
(1.72)
31.74
(5.58)
Ratios to Average Net Assets and Supplemental Data
Net Assets, end of year ($ millions)
1,566
1,249
955
739
409
Ratio of expenses before fee waiver (%)
0.20
0.20
0.20
0.20
0.20
Ratio of expenses after fee waiver (%)
0.12
0.20
0.20
0.20
0.20
Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%)
4.62
5.32
4.92
5.38
3.86
Portfolio turnover rate (%)(c)
26
29
30
57
57
(a)
Based on average shares outstanding during the period.
(b)
Total Return would have been lower if certain expenses had not been reimbursed by the Advisor.
(c)
Portfolio turnover rate does not include securities received or delivered from processing creations or redemptions.
Prospectus October 1, 2024 141 Financial Highlights
Xtrackers MSCI Eurozone Hedged Equity ETF 
 
Years Ended May 31,
 
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
Selected Per Share Data
Net Asset Value, beginning of year
$39.38
$36.25
$37.92
$28.10
$29.80
Income (loss) from investment operations:
 
 
 
 
 
Net investment income (loss)(a)
1.02
1.35
0.88
0.76
0.40
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)
7.07
2.37
(1.90)
9.71
(1.15)
Total from investment operations
8.09
3.72
(1.02)
10.47
(0.75)
Less distributions from:
 
 
 
 
 
Net investment income
(0.77)
(0.59)
(0.65)
(0.65)
(0.95)
Total from distributions
(0.77)
(0.59)
(0.65)
(0.65)
(0.95)
Net Asset Value, end of year
$46.70
$39.38
$36.25
$37.92
$28.10
Total Return (%)(b)
20.95
10.57
(2.77)
37.79
(2.80)
Ratios to Average Net Assets and Supplemental Data
Net Assets, end of year ($ millions)
40
28
13
15
21
Ratio of expenses before fee waiver (%)
0.45
0.45
0.45
0.45
0.47
Ratio of expenses after fee waiver (%)
0.45
0.45
0.45
0.45
0.46
Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%)
2.46
3.65
2.32
2.37
1.31
Portfolio turnover rate (%)(c)
14
14
7
10
11
(a)
Based on average shares outstanding during the period.
(b)
Total Return would have been lower if certain expenses had not been reimbursed by the Advisor.
(c)
Portfolio turnover rate does not include securities received or delivered from processing creations or redemptions.
Prospectus October 1, 2024 142 Financial Highlights
 
Appendix
Index Providers and Licenses
MSCI, Inc. (“MSCI”) is a leading provider of global indexes and benchmark related products and services to investors worldwide. MSCI 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 each Index Provider to use each Underlying Index. All license fees are paid by the Advisor out of its own resources and not the assets of a fund.
MSCI Indexes
The MSCI Indexes are calculated and maintained by MSCI Inc. (“Index Provider” or “MSCI”) using MSCI's Global Investable Market Indexes (“MSCI GIMI”) Methodology. The MSCI GIMI Methodology provides exhaustive coverage and non-overlapping market segmentation by market capitalization size, sector and by style segments and combinations thereof. The MSCI GIMI intends to target approximately 99% coverage of the free float-adjusted market capitalization in each market of large-, mid- and small-cap securities as follows:
■
MSCI Global Standard Indexes cover all investable large- and mid-cap securities by including approximately 85% of each market’s free float-adjusted market capitalization. MSCI Global Standard Indexes include, among others: the MSCI ACWI Index (designed to track developed and emerging markets), MSCI World Index (designed to track developed markets) and MSCI EAFE Index (designed to track developed markets, excluding the US and Canada).
■
MSCI Global Small Cap Indexes provide coverage to all companies with a market capitalization below that of the companies in the MSCI Global Standard Indexes by including above and beyond the coverage of the MSCI Global Standard Indexes.
Defining the Equity Universe. All listed equity securities and listed securities that exhibit characteristics of equity securities, except mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, equity derivatives, limited partnerships and most investment trusts, are eligible for inclusion in the equity universe. Real estate investment trusts (“REITs”) in some countries and certain income trusts in Canada are also eligible for inclusion. Each company and its securities (i.e., Share classes) are classified in only one country, which allows for a distinctive sorting of each company by its respective country. Within each market MSCI then applies investability screens to determine the investable equity universe. The screens include, minimum size, minimum market capitalization, liquidity, and financial reporting requirements, among others.
MSCI Hedged Indexes
The MSCI Hedged Indexes are currency hedged versions of the MSCI GIMI Indexes. The MSCI Hedged Indexes are maintained with an objective of reflecting the evolution of the underlying currency exposures in the MSCI GIMI Indexes on a timely basis. In particular, index maintenance involves:
■
Resetting the weights of the currencies to be sold in the index; and
■
Rolling the forward contracts over to the next month.
The MSCI Hedged Indexes are rebalanced monthly on the last trading day of the month, when the index will take into account the effect of rolling into new 1-month forward contracts based on the newly determined weights of currency to be sold for the next month’s index calculation. The currency weights are determined as of the close of two business days before the first calendar day of following month and remain constant intra month. This means that no changes in the weights are made during the month to account for changes in the indexes due to price movement of securities, corporate events, additions, deletions or any other changes. The daily calculation of MSCI Hedged Indexes marks to market the one-month forward contracts on a daily basis by using an equal and offsetting forward position.
During extraordinary market conditions, the Index Provider may delay any scheduled rebalancing of an Underlying Index. During any such delay it is possible that the Underlying Index will deviate from the Underlying Index’s stated methodology.
MSCI High Dividend Yield Indexes
Prospectus October 1, 2024 143 Appendix
The MSCI High Dividend Yield Indexes exclude REITs. REITs have structurally very high dividend yield and, if included, would represent a very significant proportion of the MSCI High Dividend Yield Index. Also, typically, regulatory constraints restrict the inclusion of REITs in meaningful proportions in many institutional portfolios.
Each MSCI High Dividend Yield Index targets companies with high dividend income and quality characteristics and includes companies that have higher than average dividend yields that are both sustainable and persistent. Index construction starts with a dividend screening process: only securities with a track record of consistent dividend payments over the previous four years and with the capacity to sustain dividend payouts into the future are eligible index constituents. A determination by MSCI that an issuer has the capacity to sustain dividends into the future is no guarantee that such issuer will continue to distribute dividends. Securities are also screened based on certain “quality” factors such as return on equity, earnings variability, debt to equity, and on recent 12-month price performance. The goal is to exclude stocks with potentially deteriorating fundamentals that could be forced to cut or reduce dividends. From the list of eligible companies, only those with higher than average dividend yields are selected for inclusion in the index. Issuer weights are capped at 5%. Each MSCI High Dividend Yield Index is market cap weighted and rebalanced semi-annually in May and November.
MSCI High Dividend Yield Indexes consider the following:
■
Securities with zero or negative payout ratios are not considered for inclusion in the MSCI High Dividend Yield Indexes as they either do not pay dividends or have negative earnings which may put their future dividend payments at risk. Additionally, securities with an extremely high payout ratio, which occurs when earnings are low relative to dividends and may also indicate that the dividend payment might not be sustainable in the future, are also not considered for inclusion in the MSCI High Dividend Yield Indexes. Under this screen, securities with extremely high payout ratios, defined to be the top 5% of securities by number within the universe of securities with positive payout, are not considered eligible for inclusion in the index. The use of a relative payout ratio screen ensures that the companies at most relative risk of dividend cuts are excluded irrespective of the absolute level of the payout.
■
Securities with a negative five-year dividend per share (“DPS”) growth are also excluded from the MSCI High Dividend Yield Indexes as their dividend growth is shrinking which could be a precursor to lower dividends. In addition, securities ranked in the bottom 5% of the universe of securities with negative one-year price performance are excluded from the MSCI High Dividend Yield Indexes.
Securities that have passed the above two screens are then considered for inclusion in the MSCI High Dividend Yield Indexes. Only securities with a dividend yield greater than or equal to 1.3 times the dividend yield of the Parent Index are included in the MSCI High Dividend Yield Indexes. For example, MSCI compares the yield of a European security to the yield of the MSCI Europe Index to determine if it is eligible for inclusion in the MSCI Europe High Dividend Yield Index. By contrast, MSCI compares the yield of the same security to the yield of the MSCI World Index to determine if it is eligible for inclusion in the MSCI World High Dividend Yield Index.
Each MSCI High Dividend Yield Index is a free float adjusted market capitalization weighted index. The MSCI Hedged Indexes, which are the Funds’ Underlying Indexes, are currency-hedged versions of the respective MSCI High Dividend Yield Indexes.
During extraordinary market conditions, the Index Provider may delay any scheduled rebalancing of an Underlying Index. During any such delay it is possible that the Underlying Index will deviate from the Underlying Index’s stated methodology.
Disclaimers
THE FUNDS ARE NOT SPONSORED, ENDORSED, SOLD OR PROMOTED BY MSCI INC. (“MSCI”), ANY OF ITS AFFILIATES, ANY OF ITS INFORMATION PROVIDERS OR ANY OTHER THIRD PARTY INVOLVED IN, OR RELATED TO, COMPILING, COMPUTING OR CREATING ANY MSCI INDEX (COLLECTIVELY, THE “MSCI PARTIES”). THE MSCI INDEXES ARE THE EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY OF MSCI. MSCI AND THE MSCI INDEX NAMES ARE SERVICE MARK(S) OF MSCI OR ITS AFFILIATES AND HAVE BEEN LICENSED FOR USE FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES BY THE ADVISER. NONE OF THE MSCI PARTIES MAKES ANY REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, TO THE ISSUER OR OWNERS OF THE FUNDS OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY REGARDING THE ADVISABILITY OF INVESTING IN FUNDS GENERALLY OR IN A FUND PARTICULARLY OR THE ABILITY OF ANY MSCI INDEX TO TRACK CORRESPONDING STOCK MARKET PERFORMANCE. MSCI OR ITS AFFILIATES ARE THE LICENSORS OF CERTAIN TRADEMARKS, SERVICE MARKS AND TRADE NAMES AND OF THE MSCI INDEXES WHICH ARE DETERMINED, COMPOSED AND CALCULATED BY MSCI WITHOUT REGARD TO THE FUNDS OR THE ISSUER OR OWNERS OF THE FUNDS OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY. NONE OF THE MSCI PARTIES HAS ANY OBLIGATION TO TAKE THE NEEDS OF THE ISSUER OR OWNERS OF THE FUNDS OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY INTO CONSIDERATION IN DETERMINING, COMPOSING OR CALCULATING THE MSCI INDEXES. NONE OF THE MSCI PARTIES IS RESPONSIBLE FOR OR HAS PARTICIPATED IN THE DETERMINATION OF THE TIMING OF, PRICES AT, OR QUANTITIES OF THE FUNDS
Prospectus October 1, 2024 144 Appendix
TO BE ISSUED OR IN THE DETERMINATION OR CALCULATION OF THE EQUATION BY OR THE CONSIDERATION INTO WHICH THE FUNDS ARE REDEEMABLE. FURTHER, NONE OF THE MSCI PARTIES HAS ANY OBLIGATION OR LIABILITY TO THE ISSUER OR OWNERS OF THE FUNDS OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY IN CONNECTION WITH THE ADMINISTRATION, MARKETING OR OFFERING OF THE FUNDS.
ALTHOUGH MSCI SHALL OBTAIN INFORMATION FOR INCLUSION IN OR FOR USE IN THE CALCULATION OF THE MSCI INDEXES FROM SOURCES THAT MSCI CONSIDERS RELIABLE, NONE OF THE MSCI PARTIES WARRANTS OR GUARANTEES THE ORIGINALITY, ACCURACY AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF ANY MSCI INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. NONE OF THE MSCI PARTIES MAKES ANY WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY THE ISSUER OF THE FUNDS, OWNERS OF THE FUNDS, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY, FROM THE USE OF ANY MSCI INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. NONE OF THE MSCI PARTIES SHALL HAVE ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS OR INTERRUPTIONS OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH ANY MSCI INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. FURTHER, NONE OF THE MSCI PARTIES MAKES ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, AND THE MSCI PARTIES HEREBY EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, WITH RESPECT TO EACH MSCI INDEX AND ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT SHALL ANY OF THE MSCI PARTIES 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.
NO PURCHASER, SELLER OR HOLDER OF THIS SECURITY, PRODUCT OR FUND, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY, SHOULD USE OR REFER TO ANY MSCI TRADE NAME, TRADEMARK OR SERVICE MARK TO SPONSOR, ENDORSE, MARKET OR PROMOTE THIS SECURITY WITHOUT FIRST CONTACTING MSCI TO DETERMINE WHETHER MSCI’S PERMISSION IS REQUIRED. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES MAY ANY PERSON OR ENTITY CLAIM ANY AFFILIATION WITH MSCI WITHOUT THE PRIOR WRITTEN PERMISSION OF MSCI.
Shares of Xtrackers MSCI Emerging Markets Hedged Equity ETF, Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF, Xtrackers MSCI Japan Hedged Equity ETF, Xtrackers MSCI Europe Hedged Equity ETF, Xtrackers MSCI All World ex US Hedged Equity ETF, Xtrackers MSCI EAFE High Dividend Yield Equity ETF and Xtrackers MSCI Eurozone Hedged Equity ETF 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 Underlying Indexes 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 October 1, 2024 145 Appendix
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
XTRACKERS.COM
1-844-851-4255
Additional information about a fund's investments is available in the fund's annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders and in Form N-CSR. In the annual report, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected fund performance during its last fiscal year. In Form N-CSR, you will find a fund's annual and semi-annual financial statements. Copies of the prospectus, SAI and recent shareholder and other fund 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 a shareholder or other fund report free of charge, please: 
Call:
1-844-851-4255 (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 (such as fund financial statements) are available on our website at Xtrackers.com and 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]. A fund's recent shareholder reports and financial statements are also in the fund's annual and semi-annual filings with the SEC on Form N-CSR, which are available on the EDGAR Database on the SEC's website at sec.gov.
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 
 
(10/01/24) EQUITY-1