Prospectus
August 1,
2024
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DWS
Tax-Exempt Portfolio | ||
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CLASS/TICKER |
SERVICE
SHARES |
CHSXX |
As
with all mutual funds, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) does not
approve or disapprove these shares or determine whether the information in this
prospectus is truthful or complete. It is a criminal offense for anyone
to inform you otherwise.
Table of
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Your
investment in the 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.
SHAREHOLDER
FEES
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(paid
directly from your investment) |
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(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
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Management
fee |
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Distribution/service
(12b-1) fees |
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Other
expenses |
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Total
annual fund operating expenses |
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1
Year |
3
Years |
5
Years |
10
Years |
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$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
| Prospectus August 1, 2024 | 1 | DWS Tax-Exempt Portfolio |
Prospectus August 1,
2024
2
DWS Tax-Exempt
Portfolio
Prospectus August 1,
2024
3
DWS Tax-Exempt
Portfolio
Prospectus August 1,
2024
4
DWS Tax-Exempt
Portfolio
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(For periods ended 12/31/2023 expressed as a %) (Service Shares)
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Class
Inception |
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5
Years |
10
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Management
Investment
Advisor
DWS Investment
Management Americas, Inc.
Purchase
and Sale of Fund Shares
Minimum
Initial Investment
The minimum initial
investment is $1,000 and the minimum investment with an automatic investment
plan is $50. The minimum additional investment is $100. However, your financial
representative may set its own minimum investment.
To
Place Orders
The fund is
available only through a financial representative, such as a broker or financial
institution. You should contact your financial representative for instructions
on how to buy or sell fund shares. A financial representative separately may
impose its own policies and procedures for buying and selling fund shares.
However, if your shares
are registered
directly with the fund's transfer agent, you can sell them by sending a written
request (with a signature guarantee) to:
|
Type |
Address |
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Regular
mail |
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All
Requests |
DWS
Attn:
Institutional Trading Desk
P.O.
Box 219151
Kansas
City, MO 64121-9151 |
The fund is
generally open on days when the New York Stock Exchange is open for regular
trading. Initial investments must be sent by mail. You can make additional
investments or sell shares of the fund on any business day by mail or by
telephone.
The
fund’s shares are available for purchase only by natural persons. The fund has
implemented policies and procedures that are reasonably designed to limit
beneficial ownership of the fund’s shares to natural persons.
Any new investors
wishing to purchase shares of the fund may be required to demonstrate
eligibility. If the fund subsequently determines that a beneficial owner of fund
shares is not a natural person, then the fund, upon notice, will involuntarily
redeem all of the shares of such ineligible investor and send the net proceeds
to the investor.
Tax
Information
The fund's
distributions are generally exempt from regular federal income tax. A portion of
the fund's dividends may be subject to federal income tax, including the federal
alternative minimum tax.
Payments
to Broker-Dealers and
Other Financial Intermediaries
Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase
shares of the fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such
as a bank), the fund, the Advisor, and/or the Advisor’s affiliates may pay the
intermediary for the sale of fund shares and related services. 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 Web site for more
information.
Prospectus August 1,
2024
5
DWS Tax-Exempt
Portfolio
Fund
Details
Additional
Information About Fund Strategies and Risks
Investment
Objective
The fund seeks to
provide maximum current income that is exempt from federal income taxes to the
extent consistent with stability of capital.
Principal
Investment Strategies
Main
investments. The fund normally
invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for
investment purposes, in municipal securities, the income from which is free from
regular federal income tax and alternative minimum tax (AMT). This policy is
fundamental and may not be changed without shareholder approval. The fund may
invest in municipal securities of various locales, including any territory or
Commonwealth of the US.
The fund is a money
market fund that is managed in accordance with federal regulations, which govern
the quality, maturity, diversity and liquidity of instruments in which a money
market fund may invest. The fund follows policies designed to seek to maintain a
stable $1.00 share price:
■
Fund securities are
denominated in US dollars and, at the time of purchase, have remaining
maturities of 397 days (about 13 months) or less, or have certain maturity
shortening features (such as interest rate resets and demand features) that have
the effect of reducing their maturities to 397 days or less.
■
The fund maintains a
dollar-weighted average maturity of (i) 60 days or less and (ii) 120 days or
less determined without regard to interest rate resets.
■
The fund maintains
certain minimum liquidity standards such that:
-
the fund may not purchase a security
other than a security offering weekly liquidity if, immediately after purchase,
the fund would have invested less than 50% of its total assets in securities
offering weekly liquidity (includes securities that mature or are subject to
demand within five business days, cash, direct US government obligations and
government agency discount notes with remaining maturities of 60 days or less);
and
-
the fund may not
purchase an illiquid security if, immediately after purchase, the fund would
have invested more than 5% of its total assets in illiquid securities
(securities that cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of
business within seven days at approximately the market value ascribed to them by
the fund).
The fund pursues its
objective by investing in high quality, short-term municipal
obligations.
The fund is designed
for investors in a moderate to high tax bracket who are interested in federal
tax-exempt income along with the liquidity and stability that a money market
fund is designed to offer.
The fund primarily
invests in the following types of investments:
■
Municipal trust
receipts (MTRs), also called municipal asset-backed securities, floating rate
trust certificates, or municipal securities trust receipts. MTRs are trusts that
hold municipal securities and that offer purchasers (such as the fund) a
conditional right to sell their interest in the underlying securities to a
financial institution at par value plus accrued interest. The fund may invest up
to 50% of its net assets in MTRs, as well as an additional 10% of net assets on
a temporary basis to manage inflows into the fund.
■
General obligation
notes and bonds, which an issuer backs with its full faith and credit (taxing
power).
■
Revenue notes and
bonds, which are payable from specific revenue sources. These are often tied to
the public works projects the bonds are financing, but are not generally backed
by the issuer’s taxing power.
■
Tax-exempt
commercial paper, which is tax-exempt debt of borrowers that typically matures
in 270 days or less.
■
Short-term municipal
notes, such as tax anticipation notes, that are issued in anticipation of the
receipt of tax revenues.
■
Municipal
obligations backed by letters of credit (a document issued by a bank
guaranteeing the issuer’s payments for a stated amount), general bank guarantees
or municipal bond insurance.
| Prospectus August 1, 2024 | 6 | Fund Details |
■
Floating rate bonds,
whose interest rates vary with changes in specified market rates or indices. The
fund may invest in high quality floating rate bonds with maturities of one year
or more if it has the right to sell them back at their face value within 397
days of purchase.
■
Tax-exempt private
activity bonds, which are revenue bonds that finance non-governmental
activities, such as private industry construction and which meet certain tax law
requirements.
■
Securities of other
investment companies, including variable rate demand preferred securities of
closed-end investment companies that are eligible for purchase by money market
funds (generally, because such preferred securities are structured as
unconditional demand instruments with a third party demand provider, i.e.,
guarantor).
■
Obligations of the
territories and Commonwealths of the US, such as Puerto Rico, the US Virgin
Islands, Guam and their agencies and authorities.
Management
process. The fund buys
short-term municipal obligations that the Advisor determines present minimal
credit risks.
In considering
whether a security presents minimal credit risks, the Advisor will analyze the
capacity of the security’s issuer or guarantor to meet its financial
obligations, which includes, as appropriate, with respect to the issuer or
guarantor the following factors: (i) financial condition, (ii) sources of
liquidity, (iii) ability to react to future market-wide and issuer specific
events, including ability to repay debt in a highly adverse situation; and (iv)
competitive position within its industry and industry strength within the
economy and relative to economic trends.
Working in
consultation with portfolio management, a credit team screens potential
securities and develops a list of those that the fund may buy. Portfolio
management, looking for attractive yield and weighing considerations such as
credit quality, economic outlooks and possible interest rate movements, then
decides which securities on this list to buy.
Portfolio management
may adjust the fund’s exposure to interest rate risk, typically seeking to take
advantage of possible rises in interest rates and to preserve yield when
interest rates appear likely to fall.
Main
Risks
There are several
risk factors that could reduce the yield you get from the fund, cause the fund’s
performance to trail that of other investments, or cause you to lose
money.
Money market fund
risk. You could lose
money by investing in the fund. Although the fund seeks to preserve
the value of your
investment at $1.00 per share, it cannot guarantee it will do so. The fund may impose a
discre-tionary
liquidity fee (not to exceed 2%) upon redemption of shares if the Advisor
determines a liquidity fee is in the fund's best interests. The Advisor may impose such a fee
in times of market
stress, impaired liquidity of the fund's
investments or in other circumstances. A liquidity fee would reduce the amount a
shareholder receives upon redemption of shares. An investment in the fund is not
insured or guaranteed
by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government
agency.The fund’s
sponsor has no legal
obligation to provide financial support to the fund, and you should not expect
that the sponsor will provide financial support to the fund at any
time.
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
Prospectus August 1,
2024
7
Fund
Details
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.
Interest rate
risk. Rising interest
rates could cause the value of the fund’s investments — and therefore its share
price as well — to decline. A rising interest rate environment may cause
investors to move out of fixed-income securities and related markets on a large
scale, which could adversely affect the price and liquidity of such securities
and could also result in increased redemptions from the fund. Increased
redemptions from the fund may force the fund to sell investments at a time when
it is not advantageous to do so, which could result in losses. Beginning in
2022, the US Federal Reserve (“Fed”) raised interest rates
significantly in response to increased inflation. It is unclear if and when the
Fed may begin to implement interest rate cuts, if rates will remain at current
levels for a prolonged period or, if the Fed deems necessary in response to
certain economic developments such as a turnaround in the decline of
inflation, the Fed may consider additional rate
increases. As a result, fixed-income and related markets may experience
heightened levels of interest rate volatility and liquidity risk, which could impair the fund’s
ability to maintain a stable $1.00 share price. Any decline in interest rates is likely
to cause the fund’s
yield to decline,
and during periods of unusually low or negative interest rates, the fund’s yield
may approach or fall below zero. A low or negative interest rate environment may
prevent the fund from providing a positive yield or paying fund expenses out of
current income and, at times, could impair the fund’s ability to maintain a
stable $1.00 share price. Over time, the total return of a money market fund may
not keep pace with inflation, which could result in a net loss of purchasing
power for long-term investors. Interest rates can change in response to the
supply and demand for credit, government and/or central bank monetary policy and
action, inflation rates, and other factors. Recent and potential future changes
in monetary policy made by central banks or governments are likely to affect the
level of interest rates. Changing interest rates may have unpredictable effects
on markets, may result in heightened market volatility and potential illiquidity
and may detract from fund performance to the extent the fund is exposed to such
interest rates and/or volatility. Money market funds try to minimize interest
rate risk by purchasing short-term securities.
Credit
risk. The fund's
performance could be hurt and the fund's share price could fall below $1.00 if
an issuer of a debt security suffers an adverse change in financial condition
that results in the issuer not making timely payments of interest or principal,
a security downgrade or an inability to meet a financial
obligation.
For securities that
rely on third-party guarantors to support their credit quality, the same risks
may apply if the financial condition of the guarantor deteriorates or the
guarantor ceases to insure securities. Because guarantors may insure many types
of securities, including subprime mortgage bonds and other high-risk bonds,
their financial condition could deteriorate as a result of events that have
little or no connection to securities owned by the fund.
Liquidity
and transaction risk. The liquidity of
portfolio securities can deteriorate rapidly due to credit events affecting
issuers or guarantors or due to general market conditions and a lack of willing
buyers. When there are no willing buyers and an instrument cannot be readily
sold at a desired time or price, the fund may have to accept a lower price or
may not be able to sell the instrument at all. The potential for liquidity risk
may be magnified by a rising interest rate environment or other circumstances
where investor redemptions from money market funds may be higher than normal,
potentially causing increased supply in the market due to selling activity. If
dealer capacity in debt instruments is insufficient for market conditions, it
may further inhibit liquidity and increase volatility in the debt markets.
Additionally, market participants other than the fund may attempt to sell debt
holdings at the same time as the fund, which could cause downward pricing
pressure and contribute to illiquidity. An inability to sell one or more
portfolio securities can adversely affect the fund’s ability
Prospectus August 1,
2024
8
Fund
Details
to maintain a $1.00
share price or prevent the fund from being able to take advantage of other
investment opportunities.
Unusual market
conditions, an unusually high volume of redemption requests or other similar
conditions could cause the fund to be unable to pay redemption proceeds within a
short period of time. If the fund is forced to sell securities at an unfavorable
time and/or under unfavorable conditions, such sales may adversely affect the
fund’s ability to maintain a $1.00 share price.
Municipal
securities risk.
Municipal instruments may be susceptible to periods of economic stress, which
could affect the market values and marketability of many or all municipal
obligations of issuers in a state, US territory, or possession. The fund could
also be impacted by events in the municipal securities market, including the
supply and demand for municipal securities. Negative events, such as severe
fiscal difficulties, bankruptcy of one or more issuers, an economic downturn,
unfavorable legislation, court rulings or political developments, or reduced
monetary support from the federal government could hurt fund performance. The
municipal securities market can be susceptible to increases in volatility and
decreases in liquidity. Liquidity can decline unpredictably in response to
overall economic conditions or credit tightening. Increases in volatility and
decreases in liquidity may be caused by a rise in interest rates (or the
expectation of a rise in interest rates). Municipal securities may include
revenue bonds, which are generally backed by revenue from a specific project or
tax. The issuer of a revenue bond makes interest and principal payments from
revenues generated from a particular source or facility, such as a tax on
particular property or revenues generated from a municipal water or sewer
utility or an airport. Revenue bonds generally are not backed by the full faith
and credit and general taxing power of the issuer. The value of municipal
securities is strongly influenced by the value of tax-exempt income to
investors. Changes in tax and other laws, including changes to individual or
corporate tax rates, could alter the attractiveness and overall demand for
municipal securities. Municipal securities may also have exposure to potential
physical risks resulting from climate change, including extreme weather,
flooding and fires. Climate risks, if they materialize, can adversely impact a
municipal issuer’s financial plans in current or future years or may impair a
facility or other source generating revenues backing a municipal issuer’s
revenue bonds. As a result, the impact of climate risks may adversely impact the
value of the fund’s shares.
Security
selection risk. Although short-term
securities are relatively stable investments, it is possible that the securities
in which the fund invests will not perform as expected. This could cause the
fund's returns to lag behind those of similar money market funds and could
result in a decline in share price.
Municipal
trust receipts risk. The fund’s
investment in MTRs is subject to similar risks as other investments in debt
obligations, including interest rate risk, credit risk and security selection
risk. Additionally, investments in MTRs raise certain tax issues that may not be
presented by direct investments in municipal securities. There is some risk that
certain issues could be resolved in a manner that could adversely impact the
performance of the fund.
Tax
risk.
Any distributions to shareholders that represent income from taxable securities
will generally be taxable as ordinary income at both the state and federal
levels, while other distributions, such as capital gains, are taxable to the
same extent they would be for any mutual fund. New federal or state governmental
action could adversely affect the tax-exempt status of securities held by the
fund, resulting in a higher tax liability for shareholders and potentially
hurting fund performance as well.
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.
US
territory and Commonwealth obligations risk.
Adverse
political and economic conditions and developments affecting any territory or
Commonwealth of the US may, in turn, negatively affect the value of the fund’s
holdings in such obligations.
Prepayment
and extension risk. When interest rates
fall, issuers of high interest debt obligations may pay off the debts earlier
than expected (prepayment risk), and the fund may have to reinvest the proceeds
at lower yields. When interest rates rise, issuers of lower interest debt
obligations may pay off the debts later than expected (extension risk), thus
keeping the fund’s assets tied up in lower interest debt obligations.
Ultimately, any unexpected behavior in interest rates could increase the
volatility of the fund’s yield and could hurt fund performance. Prepayments
could also create capital gains tax liability in some
instances.
Risks
of holding cash. The fund will at
times hold cash positions, which may hurt the fund’s performance. Cash positions
may also subject the fund to additional risks and costs, including any fees
imposed by the fund’s custodian for large cash balances.
Inflation
risk.
Inflation risk is the risk that the real value of certain assets or real income
from investments (the value of such assets or income after accounting for
inflation) will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money.
Inflation, and investors’ expectation of future inflation, can impact the
current value of the fund's portfolio, resulting in lower asset values and
losses to shareholders.
Prospectus August 1,
2024
9
Fund
Details
This risk may be elevated compared
to historical market conditions and could be impacted by monetary policy
measures and the current interest rate environment.
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.
Other
Policies
While the previous
pages describe the main points of the fund’s strategy and risks, there are a few
other matters to know about:
■
Although major
changes tend to be infrequent, the fund's Board could change the fund's
investment objective without shareholder approval.
■
For temporary
defensive purposes, or when acceptable short-term municipal securities are not
available, more than 20% of the fund’s net assets may be held in cash or
invested in short-term taxable instruments, including obligations of the US
government, its agencies or instrumentalities, other short-term high quality
rated debt securities or, if unrated, determined to be of comparable quality in
the opinion of the Advisor, commercial paper, bank obligations, including
negotiable certificates of deposit, time deposits and bankers’ acceptances, and
repurchase agreements. Short-term investments may also include shares of money
market funds. To the extent the fund invests in such instruments, the fund will
not be pursuing its investment objective. However, portfolio management may
choose not to use these strategies for various reasons, even in volatile market
conditions.
■
Purchase and
redemption decisions by institutional investors in money market funds may be
highly sensitive to changes in portfolio yield and, as a result, the fund's
assets may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time in response to
changes in the fund's yield relative to other money market funds. Large
redemptions by these shareholders may impact the fund's ability to maintain a
$1.00 share price.
Prospectus August 1,
2024
10
Fund
Details
■
From time to time,
the 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 the fund.
■
Your fund assets may
be at risk of being transferred to the appropriate state if you fail to maintain
a valid address and/or if certain activity does not occur in your account within
the time specified by state abandoned property law. Contact your financial
representative or the transfer agent for additional
information.
■
Shareholders of the fund (which may
include affiliated and/or non-affiliated registered investment companies that
invest in the fund) may make relatively large redemptions or purchases of fund
shares. These transactions may cause the fund to have to sell securities or
invest additional cash, as the case may be. While it is impossible to predict
the overall impact of these transactions over time, there could be adverse
effects on the fund’s performance to the extent that the fund may be required to
sell securities or invest cash at times when it would not otherwise do so. These
transactions could adversely impact the fund’s liquidity, accelerate the
recognition of taxable income if sales of securities resulted in capital gains
or other income and increase transaction costs, which may adversely affect the
fund’s performance. These transactions could also adversely impact the fund’s
ability to implement its investment strategies and pursue its investment
objective, and, as a result, a larger portion of the fund’s assets may be held
in cash or cash equivalents. In addition, large redemptions could significantly
reduce the fund’s assets, which may result in an increase in the fund’s expense
ratio on account of expenses being spread over a smaller asset base and/or the
loss of fee breakpoints.
Potential
negative interest rates
In the event that the fund has a
negative gross yield as a result of negative interest rates (a “negative
interest rate event”), it may be challenging or impossible to maintain a stable
net asset value (NAV) of $1.00 per share. However, regulations that govern the
operation of money market funds permit the fund, if experiencing a negative
interest rate event, to seek to continue to provide a stable NAV of $1.00 per
share by using a Reverse Distribution Mechanism (RDM) which reduces the number
of shares in proportion to the fund’s negative income. Shares may continue to
have a NAV of $1.00 per share, but each shareholder would have fewer shares. The
fund will use an RDM to cancel shares held by shareholders only if the fund’s
Board determines that using an RDM is in the best interests of the fund and its
shareholders.
If the fund chooses to use an RDM to
cancel fund shares, the fund’s per-share NAV may remain stable, but shareholders
will lose money as a result of the fund’s negative gross yield. In the event
that shares are canceled, tax treatment of distributions and shareholder basis
is uncertain. You should consult with your tax advisor to determine
whether you will experience any
negative tax consequences as a result of the fund’s use of an RDM. Account
statements will include disclosure regarding share cancellations if an RDM is
used.
For
More Information
This prospectus
doesn’t tell you about every policy or risk of investing in the fund. If you
want more information on the fund’s allowable securities and investment
practices and the characteristics and risks of each one, you may want to request
a copy of the Statement of Additional Information (the back cover
tells you how to do this).
Keep in mind that
there is no assurance that the fund will achieve its
objective.
A schedule of the
fund’s portfolio holdings, including information required by applicable
regulations, is posted once each month on dws.com (the Web site does
not form a part of this prospectus). Portfolio holdings as of each month-end are
posted to the Web site within five business days of the date of the applicable
portfolio holdings information. More frequent posting of portfolio holdings
information may be made from time to time on dws.com. The posted
portfolio holdings information is available by fund and generally remains
accessible for a period of not less than six months. The fund also may post on
the Web site, on the same or a more frequent basis, various depictions of
portfolio characteristics such as the allocation of the portfolio across various
security types, market sectors and sub-sectors and maturities, liquidity and
risk characteristics of the portfolio. The fund’s Statement of Additional
Information includes a description of the fund’s policies and procedures with
respect to the disclosure of the fund’s portfolio holdings.
Who
Manages and Oversees the Fund
The
Investment Advisor
DWS Investment Management Americas,
Inc. (“DIMA” or the “Advisor”), with headquarters at 875 Third Avenue, New York,
NY 10022, is the investment advisor for the fund. Under the oversight of the
Board, the Advisor makes investment decisions, buys and sells securities for the
fund and conducts research that leads to these purchase and sale decisions. The
Advisor is an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of DWS Group GmbH & Co. KGaA
(“DWS Group”), a separate, publicly-listed financial services firm that is an
indirect, majority-owned subsidiary of Deutsche Bank AG. The Advisor and its
predecessors have more than 95 years of experience managing mutual funds and
provide a full range of global investment advisory services to institutional and
retail clients.
DWS represents the
asset management activities conducted by DWS Group or any of its subsidiaries,
including DIMA, other affiliated investment advisors and DWS Distributors, Inc.
(“DDI” or the “Distributor”). DWS is a global organization that offers a wide
range of investing expertise and resources, including hundreds of portfolio
Prospectus August 1,
2024
11
Fund
Details
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.
Management
Fee.
The Advisor receives a management fee from the fund. Below is the actual rate
paid by the fund for the most recent fiscal year, as a percentage of the fund’s
average daily net assets.
|
Fund
Name |
Fee
Paid |
|
DWS
Tax-Exempt Portfolio |
0.000
%* |
*
Reflecting the effect
of expense limitations and/or fee waivers then in effect.
The management fee
for the fund is computed based on the combined average daily net assets of DWS
Government & Agency Securities Portfolio and DWS Tax-Exempt Portfolio, each
a series of Cash Account Trust, and is allocated to the fund based upon the
fund's relative net assets.
From time to time,
the Advisor may voluntarily waive a portion of its fees and/or reimburse certain
operating expenses of the fund. These voluntary waivers and/or reimbursements
may be terminated at any time at the option of the Advisor. These voluntary
waivers and/or reimbursements are in addition to any existing contractual
expense limitations.
The Advisor and its
affiliates may voluntarily waive a portion of their fees and/or reimburse
certain expenses to the extent necessary to assist the fund in attempting to
avoid a negative yield. There is no guarantee that the fund will avoid a
negative yield. These voluntary waivers and/or reimbursements may be amended or
terminated at any time at the option of the Advisor. These voluntary waivers
and/or reimbursements are in addition to any existing contractual expense
limitations.
A discussion
regarding the basis for the Board's approval of the fund’s investment management
agreement is contained in the most recent shareholder report for the annual
period ended April 30 and the semi-annual period ended October 31 (see
“Shareholder reports” on the back cover).
Under a separate
administrative services agreement between the fund and the Advisor, the fund
pays the Advisor a fee of 0.097% of the fund’s average daily net assets for
providing most of the fund's administrative services. The administrative
services fee discussed above is included in the fees and expenses table under
“Other expenses.”
Multi-Manager
Structure. The Advisor,
subject to the approval of the Board, has ultimate responsibility to oversee any
subadvisor to the fund and to recommend the hiring, termination and replacement
of subadvisors. The fund and the Advisor have received an order from the SEC
that permits the Advisor to appoint or replace certain subadvisors, to manage
all or a portion of the fund’s assets and enter into, amend or terminate a
subadvisory agreement with certain subadvisors, in each case subject to the
approval of the
fund’s Board but without obtaining shareholder approval (“multi-manager
structure”). The multi-manager structure applies to subadvisors that are not
affiliated with the fund or the Advisor (“nonaffiliated subadvisors”), as well
as subadvisors that are indirect or direct, wholly-owned subsidiaries of the
Advisor or that are indirect or direct, wholly-owned subsidiaries of the same
company that, indirectly or directly, wholly owns the Advisor (“wholly-owned
subadvisors”). Pursuant to the SEC order, the Advisor, with the approval of the
fund’s Board, has the discretion to terminate any subadvisor and allocate and
reallocate the fund’s assets among any other nonaffiliated subadvisors or
wholly-owned subadvisors (including terminating a nonaffiliated subadvisor and
replacing it with a wholly-owned subadvisor). The fund and the Advisor are
subject to the conditions imposed by the SEC order, including the condition that
within 90 days of hiring a new subadvisor pursuant to the multi-manager
structure, the fund will provide shareholders with an information statement
containing information about the new subadvisor. The shareholders of the fund
have approved the multi-manager structure described herein.
Management
A group of
investment professionals is responsible for the day-to-day management of the
fund. These investment professionals have a broad range of experience managing
money market funds.
Prospectus August 1,
2024
12
Fund
Details
Investing in the
Fund
Buying
and Selling Shares
The following pages
describe the main policies associated with buying and selling shares of the
fund. There is also information on dividends and taxes and other matters that
may affect you as the shareholder.
Because the fund is
available only through a financial representative, such as a broker or financial
institution, you should contact your financial representative for instructions
on how to buy or sell fund shares. For an analysis of the fees associated with
an investment in the fund or similar funds, please refer to
tools.finra.org/fund_analyzer/ (this Web site does not form a part of this
prospectus).
Minimum
Initial Investment
The minimum initial
investment is $1,000 and the minimum investment with an automatic investment
plan is $50. The minimum additional investment is $100. However, your financial
representative may set its own minimum investment.
The
fund’s shares are available for purchase only by natural persons. The fund has
implemented policies and procedures that are reasonably designed to limit
beneficial ownership of the fund’s shares to natural persons. Natural persons
may invest in the fund directly or through certain tax-advantaged savings
accounts, trusts and other retirement accounts, which may include participant
directed defined contribution plans, individual retirement accounts, simplified
employee pension arrangements, simple retirement accounts, custodial accounts,
deferred compensation plans, medical savings accounts, college savings plans,
health savings account plans, or certain other accounts where the ultimate
decision maker is an institution (e.g., an investment adviser managing
discretionary investment accounts for natural persons or a plan sponsor of a
retirement account).
Any new investors
wishing to purchase shares of the fund may be required to demonstrate
eligibility. If the fund subsequently determines that a beneficial owner of fund
shares is not a natural person, then the fund, upon notice, will involuntarily
redeem all of the shares of such ineligible investor and send the net proceeds
to the investor.
Rule 12b-1
Plan
Service Shares of
the fund have adopted a plan under Rule 12b-1 that authorizes the payment of an
annual distribution services fee, payable monthly, of 0.60% of the fund's
Service Shares average daily net assets attributable to such shares. Because
12b-1 fees are paid out of the fund's assets attributable to a particular share
class on an ongoing basis, they will, over time, increase the cost of an
investment in that share class and may cost more than paying other types of
sales charges.
Policies
You Should Know About
Along with the
information on the previous pages, the policies below may affect you as a
shareholder. Some of this information, such as the section on distributions and
taxes, applies to all investors, including those investing through a financial
representative.
If you are investing
through a financial representative or through a retirement plan, check the
materials you received from them about how to buy and sell shares because
particular financial representatives or other intermediaries may adopt policies,
procedures or limitations that are separate from those described in this
prospectus. Please note that a financial representative or other intermediary
may charge fees separate from those charged by the fund and may be compensated
by the fund.
Keep in mind that
the information in this prospectus applies only to the shares offered herein.
Other share classes are described in separate prospectuses and have different
fees, requirements and services.
Policies
About Transactions
In accordance with
requirements under anti-money laundering regulations, we may request additional
information and/or documents to verify your identity. This information includes,
but is not limited to, your name, address, date of birth and other identifying
documentation. If after reasonable effort we are unable to obtain this
information to verify your identity, in accordance with federal regulations,
within the time frames established by the fund, we will provide you with written
notification and we may reject your application and
order.
| Prospectus August 1, 2024 | 13 | Investing in the Fund |
All transactions are
processed at the share price next calculated after the order or instruction is
received in “good order.”
Because orders
placed through a financial representative must be forwarded to the transfer
agent, you’ll need to allow extra time for your order to be processed. Your
financial representative should be able to tell you approximately when your
order will be processed. It is the responsibility of your financial
representative to forward your order to the transfer agent in a timely
manner.
In the exercise of its sole
discretion, the fund at any time may, without prior notice, refuse, cancel,
limit or rescind any purchase; cancel or rescind any purchase order placed
through a financial intermediary no later than the business day after the order
is received by the financial intermediary; freeze account activity; suspend
account services; and/or involuntarily redeem and close an existing account.
Specifically, the fund reserves the right to involuntarily redeem an account (i)
in case of actual or suspected fraudulent, illegal or suspicious activity by the
account owner or any other individual associated with the account; or (ii) if
the account owner fails to provide legally required information, including
information and/or documentation related to identity verification, to the fund.
The fund is not required to provide justification to a potential or existing
shareholder for taking any such action. Please be advised that if the fund
involuntarily redeems and closes your account, under tax laws, you may be
required to recognize a gain or a loss or otherwise incur tax
consequences.
With certain limited
exceptions, only US residents may invest in the fund.
Good
order.
We reserve the right to reject any order or instruction that is not in “good
order.” Good order generally means that the order or
instruction:
■
is complete and
accurate (e.g., includes the account number, fund name, and amount of the
transaction);
■
is provided by a
person authorized to act for your account;
■
is accompanied by
any required signatures, including signature guarantees or notarized signatures;
and
■
is accompanied by
any required supporting documentation.
Good order
requirements are established by the fund or the transfer agent, depend on the
type of account or transaction, and may be changed or waived at any time.
Contact DWS if you have any questions.
Transaction
Processing. Orders for the
purchase of shares by wire transfer will normally be effective at the share
price next computed after receipt of the wire transfer of the amount to be
invested. If a wire transfer purchase order is received in good order before
3:00 p.m. Eastern time (or prior to the close of the fund, if the New York Stock
Exchange (the “Exchange”) closes early on such date), it will normally receive
the dividend for that day.
Shareholders known
to the fund may notify the transfer agent in advance of their wire transfer
purchase by calling the transfer agent prior to the 3:00 p.m. Eastern time
cut-off time and providing the amount of the order. Shareholders will receive a
confirmation number for the trade. If the fund receives the wire transfer before
the close of the Federal Funds wire system, the trade will be entitled to that
day's dividend. If the fund does not receive the wire transfer by the close of
the Federal Funds wire system, the trade may not receive the dividend for that
day and, depending upon the circumstances, the trade may receive the dividend
for the following business day or may be canceled or rejected and, in any case,
shareholders may be charged for any losses or fees that result, which may be
paid by deductions from their account or otherwise. The fund's Distributor may
refuse to allow any shareholder to trade with the fund in this manner and may
require that the wire transfer of purchase proceeds be received before the trade
is considered in good order.
Investments by check
will be effective on the business day following receipt and will earn dividends
the following business day.
Please contact your
financial representative for wire instructions and purchase
orders.
Orders processed
through dealers or other financial services firms via Fund/SERV will be effected
at the share price calculated on the trade day (normally the date the order is
received). Purchases processed via Fund/SERV will begin earning dividends on the
day a fund receives the payment (typically the next business day). For
redemptions processed via Fund/SERV, you generally will receive dividends
accrued up to, but not including, the business day that payment for your shares
is made.
When selling shares,
shareholders generally receive dividends up to, but not including, the business
day following the day on which the shares were sold. To sell shares, you must
state whether you would like to receive the proceeds by wire or
check.
In order to receive
proceeds by wire, contact the transfer agent before 3:00 p.m. Eastern time.
After you inform the transfer agent of the amount of your redemption, you will
receive a trade confirmation number. If the fund receives a sell request before
3:00 p.m. Eastern time and the request calls for proceeds to be sent out by
wire, the proceeds will normally be wired on the same day. However, the shares
sold will not earn that day’s dividend.
As noted below,
proceeds of a redemption may be delayed. The ability to receive “same day” wire
redemption proceeds can be affected by a variety of circumstances including the
time that the request is made, the level of redemption requests and purchase
orders and general market conditions. A request for a same day wire redemption
that is received earlier in the day will be given
Prospectus August 1,
2024
14
Investing in the
Fund
priority over a
request received later in the day in the event that it is necessary to limit the
amount of same day wire redemptions.
Special Policies
on Redemptions. The
fund may impose a liquidity fee of up to 2% of the value of the shares
redeemed, if the Advisor, having been
delegated responsibility by the Board, including a majority of board members,
who are not “interested persons” (as defined in the Investment Company Act of
1940, as amended (“Independent Board Members”)), determines that imposing a
liquidity fee is in the fund’s best interest.
After the fund implements a
liquidity fee, the liquidity fee would apply to all redemptions at the first net
asset value calculation on the next business day following notification to
financial intermediaries and shareholders. However, the Advisor, in its
discretion, may elect to impose a liquidity fee on an intra-day basis. A
liquidity fee will be charged on all redemption orders submitted after the
effective time of the imposition of the fee by the Advisor. A liquidity fee
would reduce the amount you receive upon redemption of your
shares.
A
liquidity fee would remain in effect until the Advisor determines that the fee
is no longer in the best interests of the fund. All liquidity fees payable by
shareholders of the fund would be payable to the fund and thereafter would be an asset of the fund and
may be used for various purposes, including to offset any losses realized
by
the fund when
seeking to honor redemption requests during
times of market stress.
Sub-Minimum
Balances. The fund may close
your account and send you the proceeds if your balance falls below $1,000; we
will give you 60 days’ notice so you can either increase your balance or close
your account (this policy doesn't apply to most retirement accounts or if you
have an automatic investment plan).
Checkwriting enables you to sell
shares of the fund by writing a check. Your investment keeps earning dividends
until your check clears. Please note that we will not accept checks for less
than $250. Please note that you should not write checks for more than
$5,000,000. Note as well that we can’t honor any check larger than your balance
at the time the check is presented to us. It is not a good idea to close out an
account using a check because the account balance could change between the time
you write the check and the time it is processed. Please keep in mind that if
you make a purchase by check and that check has not yet cleared, those funds
will not be available for immediate redemption.
The
fund accepts Automated Clearing House (“ACH”) debit entries for
accounts that have elected the checkwriting redemption privilege. Upon receipt
of an ACH debit entry referencing your account number you authorize us to redeem
shares in your account to pay the entry to the third party originating the
debit. Your fund account statement will show all ACH debit entries in your
account.
In
case of errors or questions about your transactions or pre-authorized transfers
please
contact your financial representative as soon as possible if you believe your
statement reflects an improper charge or if you need more information about an
ACH debit entry transaction. Your financial representative must contact the
Shareholder Service Agent within 60 days of the fund sending you the first fund
account statement on which an improper charge appears.
Responsibility
for fraud. The fund and its
service providers, including DWS, shall not be liable for any loss incurred by
reason of the fund accepting unauthorized transaction requests for your account
if the fund reasonably believes the instructions to be genuine. In order to
safeguard your account, you should keep all account information private and
review all confirmation statements and other account-related communications as
soon as you receive them. We will consider all transactions to be properly
processed if discrepancies are not reported promptly. Contact us immediately if
you suspect that someone has gained unauthorized access to your account. The DWS
Account Security Program provides further information on how you can protect
your account. Visit the Investor Resource Center at dws.com for more
information.
The
fund does not issue share certificates. However, if you
currently have shares in certificated form, you must include the share
certificates properly endorsed or accompanied by a duly executed stock power
when exchanging or redeeming shares. You may not exchange or redeem shares in
certificate form by telephone, via the Internet or using the mobile
app.
The
fund accepts payment for shares only in US dollars by a check drawn on
a US bank, a bank or Federal Funds wire transfer or an electronic bank transfer.
The fund does not accept third party checks. A third party check is a check made
payable to one or more parties and offered as payment to one or more other
parties (e.g., a check made payable to you that you offer as payment to someone
else). Checks should be payable to DWS and drawn by you or a financial
institution on your behalf with your name or account number included with the
check. If you pay for shares by check and the check fails to clear, we have the
right to cancel your order, hold you liable or charge you or your account for
any losses or fees the fund or its agents have incurred.
Signature
Guarantee. When you want to
sell more than $100,000 worth of shares or send proceeds to a third party or to
a new address, you’ll usually need to place your order in writing and have your
signature guaranteed. However, if you want money transferred electronically to a
bank account that is already on file with us, you don’t need a signature
guarantee (but other limits may apply). Also, generally you don’t need a
signature guarantee for an exchange, although we may require one in certain
other circumstances.
Prospectus August 1,
2024
15
Investing in the
Fund
A signature
guarantee is a certification of your signature — a valuable safeguard against
fraud. The fund accepts Medallion Signature Guarantees, which can be obtained
from an eligible guarantor. Eligible guarantor institutions include commercial
banks, savings and loans, trust companies, credit unions, member firms of a
national stock exchange or any member or participant of an approved signature
guarantor program. A signature guarantee cannot be provided by a notary
public.
Selling shares of
trust accounts and business or organization accounts may require additional
documentation. Please call DWS (see the telephone number on the back cover) or
contact your financial representative for more information.
Money
from shares you sell is sent out within
one business day of when your order is processed (not when it is received). In
addition, as described above under “Transaction Processing,” requests for
redemptions by wire received before the daily cut-off time will normally result
in proceeds being sent out by wire on the same day. Redemptions could be delayed
for up to seven days. There are circumstances where it could be longer,
including, but not limited to, when you are selling shares you bought recently
by check or ACH (the funds will be placed under a 10 calendar day hold to ensure
good funds) or when unusual circumstances prompt the SEC to allow further
delays. Certain expedited redemption processes (e.g., redemption proceeds by
wire) may also be delayed or unavailable when you are selling shares recently
purchased or in the event of a non-routine closure of the Federal Reserve wire
payment system.
Redemptions will
generally be in the form of cash, though the fund reserves the right to redeem
in kind (as described under “Other Rights We Reserve”). The fund typically
expects to satisfy redemption requests by using available cash or by selling
portfolio securities if available cash is not sufficient to meet redemptions.
The fund may also utilize inter-fund lending, though such use is expected to be
rare. The fund may use any of these methods of satisfying redemption requests
under normal or stressed market conditions.
The fund reserves
the right to suspend or postpone redemptions as permitted pursuant to Section
22(e) of the 1940 Act. Generally, those circumstances are when 1) the Exchange
is closed other than customary weekend or holiday closings; 2) the SEC
determines that trading on the Exchange is restricted; 3) the SEC determines
that an emergency exists which makes the disposal of securities owned by the
fund or the fair determination of the value of the fund’s net assets not
reasonably practicable; or 4) the SEC, by order or rule, permits the
suspension of the right of redemption. Redemption payments by wire may also be
delayed in the event of a non-routine closure of the
Federal Reserve wire payment
system.See “Special Policies on Redemptions,” above. For additional rights
reserved by the fund, please see “Other Rights We Reserve.”
If
your shares are registered directly with the fund’s
transfer agent, you can sell them by sending a written request (with a signature
guarantee) to:
DWS Service
Company
Attn: Institutional Trading Desk
P.O. Box 219151
Kansas City, MO 64121-9151
Attn: Institutional Trading Desk
P.O. Box 219151
Kansas City, MO 64121-9151
Short-Term
Trading. Since money market
funds hold short-term instruments and are intended to provide liquidity to
shareholders, the Advisor does not monitor or limit short-term or excessive
trading activity in the fund and, accordingly, the Board of the fund has not
approved any policies and procedures designed to limit this activity. However,
the fund reserves the right to and may reject or cancel a purchase or exchange
order into the fund for any reason, including if, in the opinion of the Advisor,
there appears to be a pattern of short-term or excessive trading by an investor
in another DWS fund.
How
the Fund Calculates Share Price
To calculate net
asset value, or NAV, each share class uses the following equation:
|
( |
Total
Assets |
− |
Total
Liabilities |
) |
÷ |
Total
Number of
Shares
Outstanding |
= |
NAV |
The price at which
you buy and sell shares is based on the NAV per share next calculated after the
order is received and accepted by the transfer agent.
In
valuing securities, we typically use
amortized cost to account for any premiums or discounts above or below the face
value of any securities the fund buys, and round the per share NAV to the
nearest whole cent.
The
fund is open for business each day the
Exchange is open. Normally, the fund calculates its share price once every
business day as of the close of
regular trading on the Exchange (typically 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, but sometimes
earlier, as in the case of scheduled half-day trading, shortened trading hours
due to emergency circumstances or unscheduled suspensions of trading). In the
event of scheduled partial day trading, shortened trading hours due to emergency
circumstances or unscheduled suspensions of trading on the Exchange, the
calculation of share price shall be as of the close of trading on the Exchange.
In such instances, the latest time for receipt of wire purchase transactions
entitled to receive same day dividend treatment and for receipt of redemption
orders for same day wire transfer of proceeds will be the earlier of: (a) 3:00
p.m. Eastern time or (b) the early closing time of the
Exchange.
The fund may, but is
not required to, accept certain types of purchase, exchange and redemption
orders on days that the Exchange is closed, or beyond an Exchange early
Prospectus August 1,
2024
16
Investing in the
Fund
closing time
(referred to as a ”Limited Trading Period”) if: (a) the Federal Reserve system
is open, (b) the primary trading markets for the fund’s portfolio instruments
are open and (c) the Advisor believes there will be adequate liquidity in the
short-term markets. The calculation of share price will be as set forth in the
prospectus for normal trading days. Orders must be submitted by the cut-off
times for receipt of wire purchases entitled to that day’s dividend and for
receipt of telephone redemption orders for same day wire transfer, which will be
the earlier of: (a) the times set forth in the prospectus for normal trading
days or (b) such earlier times that the fund determines based on the criteria
described above. Please call (877) 237-1131 or visit our Web site at dws.com
(the Web site does not form part of this prospectus) for additional information
about whether the fund will be open for business on a particular day.
Information concerning the intention of the fund to be open for a Limited
Trading Period will be available at least one business day prior to the
applicable day that the Exchange is closed or is closing early in the case of
scheduled closings and as soon as practical in the case of unscheduled
closings.
Other
Rights We Reserve
You should be aware
that we may do any of the following:
■
withdraw or suspend
the offering of shares at any time
■
withhold a portion
of your distributions and redemption proceeds if we have been notified by the
Internal Revenue Service that you are subject to backup withholding, if you fail
to provide us with the correct taxpayer ID number and certain certifications,
including certification that you are not subject to backup withholding, or if
you are otherwise subject to withholding
■
reject an account application if you
don’t provide any required or requested identifying information, or for any
other reason
■
without prior notice, refuse,
cancel, limit or rescind any purchase order; freeze any account (meaning you
will not be able to purchase fund shares in your account); suspend account
services; and/or involuntarily redeem and close your account if we think that
the account is being used for fraudulent or illegal purposes; one or more of
these actions will be taken when, at our sole discretion, they are deemed to be
in the fund’s best interests or when the fund is requested or compelled to do so
by governmental authority or by applicable law
■
close and liquidate
your account if we are unable to verify your identity, or for other reasons; if
we decide to close your account, your fund shares will be redeemed at the net
asset value per share next calculated after we determine to close your account;
you may recognize a gain or loss on the redemption of your fund shares and you
may incur a tax liability
■
pay you for shares
you sell by “redeeming in kind,” that is, by giving you securities (which
typically will involve brokerage costs for you to liquidate) rather than cash,
but which will be taxable to the same extent as a redemption for cash; the fund
generally won’t make a redemption in kind unless your requests over a 90-day
period total more than $250,000 or 1% of the value of the fund’s net assets,
whichever is less
■
change, add or
withdraw various services, fees and account policies (for example, we may adjust
the fund’s investment minimums at any time). All orders to purchase shares of a
fund are subject to acceptance and are not binding until confirmed or accepted
in writing
Financial
Intermediary Support Payments
The Advisor, the Distributor and/or
their affiliates may pay additional compensation, out of their own assets and
not as an additional charge to the 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”). Such revenue sharing payments are in
addition to any distribution or service fees payable under any Rule 12b-1 or
service plan of the fund, any recordkeeping/sub-transfer agency/networking fees
payable by the fund (generally through the Distributor or an affiliate) and/or
the Distributor or Advisor to certain financial representatives for performing
such services and any sales charges, commissions, non-cash compensation
arrangements expressly permitted under applicable rules of the Financial
Industry Regulatory Authority or other concessions described in the fee table or
elsewhere in this prospectus or the Statement of Additional Information as
payable to all financial representatives. For example, the Advisor, the
Distributor and/or their affiliates may, using their legitimate profits,
compensate financial representatives for providing the fund with “shelf space”
or access to a third party platform (including the costs associated with
establishing and maintaining the fund on such platform) or fund offering list or
other marketing programs, including, without limitation, inclusion of the fund
on preferred or recommended sales lists, mutual fund “supermarket” platforms and
other formal sales programs; granting the Distributor access to the financial
representative’s sales force; granting the Distributor 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. In addition, revenue sharing payments may consist of the Distributor’s
and/or its affiliates’ payment or reimbursement of ticket charges that would
otherwise be assessed by a financial representative on an investor’s fund
transactions.
Prospectus August 1,
2024
17
Investing in the
Fund
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 the fund attributable to the financial representative, the
particular fund or fund type or other measures as agreed to by the Advisor, the
Distributor and/or their affiliates and the financial representatives or any
combination thereof. The amount of these payments is determined at the
discretion of the Advisor, the Distributor and/or their 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.
The Advisor, the Distributor and/or
their affiliates currently make revenue sharing payments from their own assets
in connection with the sale and/or distribution of DWS fund shares or the
retention and/or servicing of investors to financial representatives in amounts
that generally range from 0.01% up to 0.52% of assets of the fund serviced and
maintained by the financial representative, 0.05% to 0.25% of sales of the fund
attributable to the financial representative, a flat fee of up to $95,000, or
any combination thereof. These amounts are annual figures typically paid on a
quarterly basis and are subject to change at the discretion of the Advisor, the
Distributor and/or their affiliates. Receipt of, or the prospect of receiving,
this additional compensation may influence your financial representative’s
recommendation of the fund or of any particular share class of the 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 the 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).
The Advisor, the Distributor and/or
their affiliates may also make such revenue sharing payments to financial
representatives under the terms discussed above in connection with the
distribution of both DWS funds and non-DWS funds by financial representatives to
retirement plans that obtain recordkeeping services from ADP, Inc. or to 403(b)
plans that obtain recordkeeping services from Ascensus, Inc. on the DWS-branded
retirement plan platform (the “Platform”). The level of revenue sharing payments
is based upon sales of both the DWS funds and the non-DWS funds by the financial
representative on the Platform or current assets of both the DWS funds and the
non-DWS funds serviced and maintained by the financial representative on the
Platform.
It is likely that broker-dealers
that execute portfolio transactions for the fund will include firms that also
sell shares of the DWS funds to their customers. However, the
Advisor will not consider sales of
DWS fund shares as a factor in the selection of broker-dealers to execute
portfolio transactions for the DWS funds. Accordingly, the Advisor has
implemented policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent its traders
from considering sales of DWS fund shares as a factor in the selection of
broker-dealers to execute portfolio transactions for the fund. In addition, the
Advisor, the Distributor and/or their affiliates will not use fund brokerage to
pay for their obligation to provide additional compensation to financial
representatives as described above.
Understanding
Distributions and Taxes
The fund intends to distribute to
its shareholders virtually all of its net earnings. The fund can earn money in
two ways: by receiving interest, dividends or other income from securities it
holds and by selling securities for more than it paid for them. (The fund’s
earnings are separate from any gains or losses stemming from your own purchase
and sale of shares.) The fund may not always pay a dividend or distribution for
a given period. As with any investment, you should consider how your investment
in shares of the 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 federal income tax and other tax consequences of an
investment in shares of the fund.
The
fund's income dividends are declared daily and paid monthly to
shareholders. The fund may take
into account capital gains and losses (other than net long-term capital gains)
in its daily dividend declarations. The fund may make additional distributions
for tax purposes, if necessary.
In general, your distributions are
subject to US federal income tax for the year when they are paid. Dividends
declared and payable to shareholders of record in the last quarter of a given
calendar year are treated for federal income tax purposes as if they were
received by shareholders and paid by the fund on December 31 of that year, if
such dividends are actually paid in January of the following
year.
You
can choose how to receive your dividends and distributions. You may have them
all automatically reinvested in fund shares (at NAV), all deposited directly to
your bank account or all sent to you by check, by wire, have one type reinvested
and the other sent to you by check or have them invested in a different fund.
Tell us your preference on your application. If you don’t indicate a preference,
your dividends and distributions will all be reinvested. You will receive any
unpaid dividends upon redeeming your entire account, unless you elect to receive
unpaid dividends on the next monthly dividend payment
date.
Prospectus August 1,
2024
18
Investing in the
Fund
Dividends and
distributions are treated the same for federal income tax purposes whether you
receive them in cash or reinvest them in additional shares.
Because the fund
seeks to maintain a stable share price, you are unlikely to have capital gains
or losses when you sell fund shares.
However, there can
be no assurance that the fund will be able to maintain a stable share price. If
the fund is not able to maintain a stable share price or your basis in your fund
shares differs from the amount received for the shares when the shares are sold,
the sale may result in a taxable gain or loss for federal income tax purposes.
Unless you elect the simplified NAV method of accounting (discussed below), you
will generally recognize gain or loss equal to the difference between the amount
realized on the sale and your basis in your shares that were sold. In general,
any gain or loss realized upon a taxable disposition of shares will be treated
for federal income tax purposes as long-term capital gain or loss if the shares
have been held for more than twelve months. Otherwise, the gain or loss on the
taxable disposition of shares of the fund will generally be treated for federal
income tax purposes as short-term capital gain or loss. Corporations are taxed
at the same rates on ordinary income and capital gains.
Capital losses may be subject to limitations on their use by a shareholder. For federal income tax purposes, an exchange is treated the same as a sale.
Capital losses may be subject to limitations on their use by a shareholder. For federal income tax purposes, an exchange is treated the same as a sale.
If you elect to
adopt the simplified NAV method of accounting, rather than computing gain or
loss on every taxable disposition of fund shares as described above, you would
recognize gain or loss based on the aggregate value of your fund shares during
the computation period. Your gain or loss would generally equal (i) the
aggregate fair market value of your shares in the fund at the end of the
computation period, (ii) minus the aggregate fair market value of your shares at
the end of the prior computation period, (iii) minus your “net investment” in
the fund for the computation period. Your net investment is the aggregate cost
of fund shares purchased during the computation period (including reinvested
dividends) minus the aggregate amount received in taxable redemptions of fund
shares during the same period. The computation period may be your taxable year
or a shorter period, as long as all computation periods contain days from only
one taxable year and every day during the taxable year falls within one and only
one computation period. Any capital gain or loss realized under the NAV method
will be a short-term capital gain or loss. Please consult your own tax advisor
to determine if the NAV method is appropriate for your individual
circumstances.
For federal income
tax purposes, distributions of net investment income (other than
“exempt-interest dividends”) are taxable as ordinary income. The fund does not
expect to make distributions that are eligible for taxation as long-term capital
gains or as qualified dividend income.
For most
shareholders, dividends from the fund are generally exempt from federal income
tax. However, there are a few exceptions:
■
A portion of the
fund’s dividends may be taxable if it came from investments in taxable
securities, tax-exempt market discount bonds, or as the result of short or
long-term capital gains.
■
Because the fund can
invest up to 20% of its net assets in securities whose income is subject to the
AMT, you may owe taxes on a portion of your dividends if you are among those
investors who must pay AMT. In addition, if you receive social security or
railroad retirement benefits, you should consult your tax advisor to determine
what effect, if any, an investment in the fund may have on the federal taxation
of your benefits.
Effect of
liquidity fees. A
liquidity fee imposed by the fund will reduce the amount you will receive upon
the redemption of your shares and will decrease the amount of any capital gain
or increase the amount of any capital loss you will recognize from such
redemption. There is some degree of uncertainty with respect to the tax
treatment of liquidity fees received by money market funds. Such tax treatment
may be the subject of future guidance issued by the Internal Revenue Service. If
the fund receives liquidity fees, it will consider the appropriate tax treatment
of such fees to the fund at that time.
Your
fund will send you detailed federal income tax information early each
year.
These statements tell you the amount and the federal income tax classification
of any dividends or distributions you received.
A 3.8% Medicare
contribution tax is imposed on the “net investment income” of individuals,
estates and trusts to the extent their income exceeds certain threshold amounts.
For this purpose, net investment income generally includes dividends that are
taxable for federal income tax purposes and net gains recognized on the sale,
redemption or exchange of fund shares.
If the fund's
distributions exceed its current and accumulated earnings and profits, the
excess will be treated for federal income tax purposes as a return of capital to
the extent of your basis in your shares and thereafter as a capital gain. A
return of capital distribution reduces the basis of your shares. As a result,
even though the fund seeks to maintain a stable share price, you may recognize a
capital gain when you sell your shares if you have received a return of capital
distribution.
Because each
shareholder’s tax situation is unique, ask your tax professional about the tax
consequences of your investment, including any state and local tax
consequences.
The above discussion
summarizes certain federal income tax consequences for shareholders who are US
persons. If you are a non-US person, please consult your own tax
Prospectus August 1,
2024
19
Investing in the
Fund
advisor with respect
to the US and foreign tax consequences to you of an investment in the fund. For
more information, see “Taxes” in the Statement of Additional
Information.
Prospectus August 1,
2024
20
Investing in the
Fund
Financial
Highlights
The financial
highlights are designed to help you understand recent financial performance. The
figures in the first part of the table are for a single share. The total return
figures represent the percentage that an investor in the 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, an independent registered public
accounting firm, whose report, along with the fund’s financial statements, is
included in the fund’s annual report (see “Shareholder reports” on the back
cover).
|
DWS
Tax-Exempt Portfolio — Service Shares | |||||
|
|
Years Ended
April 30, | ||||
|
|
2024 |
2023 |
2022 |
2021 |
2020 |
|
Selected
Per Share Data |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
asset value, beginning of period |
$1.00 |
$1.00 |
$1.00 |
$1.00 |
$1.00 |
|
Income
(loss) from investment operations: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
investment income |
.024 |
.010 |
.000
* |
.000
* |
.005 |
|
Net realized
gain (loss) |
— |
.000
* |
.000
* |
(.000
)* |
.000
* |
|
Total
from investment operations |
.024 |
.010 |
.000
* |
.000
* |
.005 |
|
Less
distributions from: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
investment income |
(.024
) |
(.011
) |
(.000
)* |
(.000
)* |
(.005
) |
|
Net
asset value, end of period |
$1.00 |
$1.00 |
$1.00 |
$1.00 |
$1.00 |
|
Total Return
(%)a |
2.41 |
1.14 |
.01 |
.01 |
.45 |
|
Ratios
to Average Net Assets and Supplemental Data | |||||
|
Net assets,
end of period ($ millions) |
2 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
3 |
|
Ratio of
expenses before expense
reductions (%) |
1.24 |
1.22 |
1.18 |
1.17 |
1.17 |
|
Ratio of
expenses after expense
reductions (%) |
1.04 |
.98 |
.15 |
.18 |
1.03 |
|
Ratio of net
investment income (%) |
2.37 |
1.05 |
.01 |
.01 |
.40 |
|
a |
Total
return would have been lower had certain expenses not been
reduced. |
|
* |
Amount
is less than $.0005. |
| Prospectus August 1, 2024 | 21 | Financial Highlights |
Appendix
Hypothetical
Expense Summary
Using the annual
fund operating expense ratios presented in the fee tables in the fund’s
prospectus, the Hypothetical Expense Summary shows the estimated fees and
expenses, in actual dollars, that would be charged on a hypothetical investment
of $10,000 in the fund held for the next 10 years and the impact of such fees
and expenses on fund returns for each year and cumulatively, assuming a 5%
return for each year. The historical rate of return for the fund may be higher
or lower than 5% and, for money market funds, is typically less than 5%. The
tables also assume that all dividends and distributions are reinvested. The
annual fund expense ratios shown are net of any contractual fee waivers or
expense reimbursements, if
any, for the period
of the contractual commitment. Also, please note that if you are investing
through a third party provider, that provider may have fees and expenses
separate from those of the fund that are not reflected here. Mutual fund fees
and expenses fluctuate over time and actual expenses may be higher or lower than
those shown.
The Hypothetical
Expense Summary should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a
solicitation of an offer to buy or a recommendation or endorsement of any
specific mutual fund. You should carefully review the fund’s prospectus to
consider the investment objective, risks, expenses and charges of the fund prior
to investing.
DWS Tax-Exempt
Portfolio — Service Shares
|
|
Maximum
Sales
Charge:
0.00% |
Initial
Hypothetical
Investment:
$10,000 |
Assumed
Rate
of
Return:
5% | ||
|
Year |
Cumulative
Return
Before
Fees
&
Expenses |
Annual
Fund
Expense
Ratios |
Cumulative
Return
After
Fees
&
Expenses |
Hypothetical
Year-End
Balance
After
Fees
&
Expenses |
Annual
Fees
&
Expenses |
|
1 |
5.00% |
1.24% |
3.76% |
$10,376.00 |
$126.33 |
|
2 |
10.25% |
1.24% |
7.66% |
$10,766.14 |
$131.08 |
|
3 |
15.76% |
1.24% |
11.71% |
$11,170.94 |
$136.01 |
|
4 |
21.55% |
1.24% |
15.91% |
$11,590.97 |
$141.12 |
|
5 |
27.63% |
1.24% |
20.27% |
$12,026.79 |
$146.43 |
|
6 |
34.01% |
1.24% |
24.79% |
$12,479.00 |
$151.94 |
|
7 |
40.71% |
1.24% |
29.48% |
$12,948.21 |
$157.65 |
|
8 |
47.75% |
1.24% |
34.35% |
$13,435.06 |
$163.58 |
|
9 |
55.13% |
1.24% |
39.40% |
$13,940.22 |
$169.73 |
|
10 |
62.89% |
1.24% |
44.64% |
$14,464.37 |
$176.11 |
|
Total |
$1,499.98 | ||||
| Prospectus August 1, 2024 | 22 | Appendix |
To
Get More Information
Shareholder
reports. Additional
information about the fund’s investments is available in the fund’s annual and
semi-annual reports to shareholders. 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.
Statement
of Additional Information (SAI). This tells you more
about the fund’s features and policies, including additional risk information.
The SAI is incorporated by reference into this document (meaning that it’s
legally part of this prospectus).
For a free copy of
any of these documents or to request other information about the fund, contact
DWS at the telephone number or address listed below. SAIs and shareholder
reports are also available through the DWS Web site at dws.com. These documents and
other information about the fund are available from the EDGAR Database on the
SEC’s Internet site at sec.gov. If you like, you may obtain copies of this
information, after paying a duplicating fee, by e-mailing a request to
[email protected].
In order to reduce
the amount of mail you receive and to help reduce expenses, we generally send a
single copy of any shareholder report and prospectus to each household. If you
do not want the mailing of these documents to be combined with those for other
members of your household, please contact your financial representative or call
the telephone number provided.
Contact
Information
|
DWS |
PO
Box 219151
Kansas
City, MO
64121-9151
dws.com |
|
|
(800)
730-1313 |
|
Distributor |
DWS
Distributors, Inc.
222
South Riverside Plaza
Chicago,
IL 60606-5808
(800)
621-1148 |
|
SEC
File Number |
Cash
Account Trust
DWS
Tax-Exempt Portfolio
811-05970 |
(08/01/24)
TEP-1