As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 16, 2021

Securities Act File No. 333-170122

Investment Company File No. 811-22487

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20549
________________

FORM N-1A

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

and/or

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

(Check appropriate box or boxes)
________________

DBX ETF TRUST
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)
________________

875 Third Avenue
New York, New York 10022-6225
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)
Registrant’s Telephone Number, including Area Code: (212) 454-4500

________________

Freddi Klassen

DBX ETF Trust

875 Third Avenue

New York, New York 10022-6225

(Name and Address of Agent for Service)

Copy to: Jeremy Senderowicz, Esq.

Vedder Price P.C.

1633 Broadway, 31^st Floor

New York, New York 10019
________________ 

It is proposed that this filing will become effective: (check appropriate box)

If appropriate, check the following box:

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This Post-Effective Amendment contains the Prospectuses and Statements of Additional Information relating only to the following series of the Registrant:

This Post-Effective Amendment is not intended to update or amend any other Prospectuses or Statements of Additional Information of the Registrant’s other series.

 

Prospectus

December 17, 2021

 

Xtrackers FTSE Developed ex US Multifactor ETF

NYSE Arca, Inc.: DEEF

 

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Xtrackers Russell US Multifactor ETF

NYSE Arca, Inc.: DEUS

 

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Xtrackers Russell 1000 US Quality at a Reasonable Price ETF

NYSE Arca, Inc.: QARP

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.

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Table of Contents

 

Xtrackers FTSE Developed ex US Multifactor ETF
Investment Objective	1
Fees and Expenses	1
Principal Investment Strategies	1
Main Risks	3
Past Performance	8
Management	8
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares	8
Tax Information	9
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries	9
Xtrackers Russell US Multifactor ETF
Investment Objective	10
Fees and Expenses	10
Principal Investment Strategies	10
Main Risks	12
Past Performance	15
Management	16
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares	16
Tax Information	16
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries	16
Xtrackers Russell 1000 US Quality at a Reasonable Price ETF
Investment Objective	17
Fees and Expenses	17
Principal Investment Strategies	17
Main Risks	18
Past Performance	21
Management	22
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares	22
Tax Information	22
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries	22

Fund Details
Additional Information About Fund Strategies, Underlying Index Information and Risks	23
Xtrackers FTSE Developed ex US Multifactor ETF	23
Xtrackers Russell US Multifactor ETF	32
Xtrackers Russell 1000 US Quality at a Reasonable Price ETF	39
Other Policies and Risks	45
Who Manages and Oversees the Funds	45
Management	46
Investing in the Funds
Buying and Selling Shares	49
Creations and Redemptions	51
Dividends and Distributions	52
Taxes	52
Distribution	53
Premium/Discount Information	54
Financial Highlights	55
Appendix	58
Index Providers and Licenses	58
Disclaimers	59

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.

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Xtrackers FTSE Developed ex US Multifactor ETF

 

Ticker: DEEF

Stock Exchange: NYSE Arca, Inc.

Investment Objective

Xtrackers FTSE Developed ex US Multifactor ETF (the “fund”) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of the FTSE Developed ex US Comprehensive Factor Index (the “Underlying Index”).

Fees and Expenses

These are the fees and expenses that you will pay when you buy, hold and sell shares. You may also pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries on the purchase and sale of shares of the fund, which are not reflected in the table and example below.

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

Management fee	0.35
Other Expenses	None
Total annual fund operating expenses	0.35
Fee waiver/expense reimbursement	0.11
Total annual fund operating expenses after fee waiver	0.24

The Advisor has contractually agreed through December 16, 2022 to waive a portion of its management fees to the extent necessary to prevent the operating expenses of the fund (excluding interest expense, taxes, brokerage expenses, distribution fees or expenses, litigation expenses and other extraordinary expenses) from exceeding 0.24% of the fund’s average daily net assets. This agreement may only be terminated by the fund’s Board (and may not be terminated by the Advisor) prior to that time.

EXAMPLE

This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year

and that the fund's operating expenses (including one year of capped expenses in each period) remain the same. The Example does not take into account brokerage commissions that you may pay on your purchases and sales of shares of the fund. It also does not include the transaction fees on purchases and redemptions of Creation Units (defined herein), because those fees will not be imposed on retail investors. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be: 

	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
	$ 25	$ 101	$ 185	$ 432

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 53% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The fund, using a “passive” or indexing investment approach, seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of the Underlying Index, which is designed to track the equity market performance of companies in developed countries (except the United States) selected on the investment style criteria (“factors”) of value, momentum, quality, low volatility and size. The companies eligible for the Underlying Index are derived from its starting universe, the FTSE Developed ex US Index, which is comprised of large- and mid-capitalization equity securities from developed markets (except the United States). The index provider, FTSE International Limited (“Index Provider”), selects companies for the Underlying Index using a proprietary

Prospectus December 17, 2021

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Xtrackers FTSE Developed ex US Multifactor ETF

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timely manner or at all. The fund could also lose money in the event of a decline in the value of the collateral provided for the loaned securities, or a decline in the value of any investments made with cash collateral or even a loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially while holding the securities.

Past Performance

The bar chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the fund by showing changes in the fund’s performance from year to year and by showing how the fund’s average annual returns compare with those of the Underlying Index and a broad measure of market performance.The fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available on the fund’s website at Xtrackers.com (the website does not form a part of this prospectus).

CALENDAR YEAR TOTAL RETURNS(%)

  

	Returns	Period ending
Best Quarter	16.10%	June 30, 2020
Worst Quarter	-23.58%	March 31, 2020
Year-to-Date	7.28%	September 30, 2021

Average Annual Total Returns
(For periods ended 12/31/2020 expressed as a %)

All after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of any state or local tax. Your own actual after-tax returns will depend on your tax situation and may differ from what is shown here. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold shares of the fund in tax-deferred accounts such as individual retirement accounts (“IRAs”) or employee-sponsored retirement plans. 

	Inception Date	1 Year	5 Years	Since Inception
Returns before tax	11/24/2015	8.36	7.49	7.15
After tax on distribu- tions		7.61	6.62	6.30
After tax on distribu- tions and sale of fund shares		5.41	5.73	5.46
FTSE Developed ex US Comprehensive Factor Index		8.62	8.02	7.71
FTSE Developed ex US Net Tax (US RIC) Index		9.95	8.38	7.81

Management

Investment Advisor

DBX Advisors LLC

Portfolio Managers

Bryan Richards, CFA, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC and Head of Portfolio Engineering, Systematic Investment Solutions, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2015.

Patrick Dwyer, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC and Senior Portfolio Engineer, Systematic Investment Solutions, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2016.

Shlomo Bassous, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC and Senior Portfolio Engineer, Systematic Investment Solutions, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2017.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

The fund is an exchange-traded fund (commonly referred to as an “ETF”). Individual fund shares may only be purchased and sold through a brokerage firm. The price of fund shares is based on market price, and because ETF shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (a premium) or less than NAV (a discount). The fund will only issue or redeem shares that have been aggregated into blocks of 50,000 shares or multiples thereof (“Creation Units”) to APs who have entered into agreements with ALPS Distributors, Inc., the fund’s distributor. You may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the fund (ask) when buying or selling shares (the “bid-ask spread”). Information on the fund’s net asset value, market price, premiums and discounts and bid-ask spreads may be found at Xtrackers.com.

Prospectus December 17, 2021

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Xtrackers FTSE Developed ex US Multifactor ETF

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Xtrackers Russell US Multifactor ETF

 

Ticker: DEUS

Stock Exchange: NYSE Arca, Inc.

Investment Objective

Xtrackers Russell US Multifactor ETF (the “fund”) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of the Russell 1000 Comprehensive Factor Index (the “Underlying Index”).

Fees and Expenses

These are the fees and expenses that you will pay when you buy, hold and sell shares. You may also pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries on the purchase and sale of shares of the fund, which are not reflected in the table and example below.

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

Management fee	0.17
Other Expenses	None
Total annual fund operating expenses	0.17

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
	$ 17	$ 55	$ 96	$217

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 39% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The fund, using a “passive” or indexing investment approach, seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of the Underlying Index, which is designed to track the equity market performance of companies in the United States selected on the investment style criteria (“factors”) of value, momentum, quality, low volatility and size. The companies eligible for the Underlying Index are derived from its starting universe, the Russell 1000 Index, which is comprised of large-cap equity securities from issuers in the United States. The index provider, Frank Russell Company (“Index Provider”), selects companies for the Underlying Index using a proprietary rules-based multi-factor selection and weighting process designed to increase the Underlying Index’s exposure, relative to the starting universe, to companies demonstrating the following factors:

■ Value. The value score is calculated based on a company’s valuation ratios (e.g., cash-flow yield, earnings yield and country relative sales to price). Value investing generally refers to a strategy that buys stocks whose price is

Prospectus December 17, 2021

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Xtrackers Russell US Multifactor ETF

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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 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.

Counterparty risk. A financial institution or other counterparty with whom the fund does business, or that underwrites, distributes or guarantees any investments or contracts that the fund owns or is otherwise exposed to, may decline in financial health and become unable to

honor its commitments. This could cause losses for the fund or could delay the return or delivery of collateral or other assets to the fund.

Securities lending risk. Securities lending involves the risk that the fund may lose money because the borrower of the loaned securities fails to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. The fund could also lose money in the event of a decline in the value of the collateral provided for the loaned securities, or a decline in the value of any investments made with cash collateral or even a loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially while holding the securities.

Past Performance

The bar chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the fund by showing changes in the fund’s performance from year to year and by showing how the fund’s average annual returns compare with those of the Underlying Index and a broad measure of market performance.The fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available on the fund’s website at Xtrackers.com (the website does not form a part of this prospectus).

CALENDAR YEAR TOTAL RETURNS(%)

  

	Returns	Period ending
Best Quarter	21.53%	June 30, 2020
Worst Quarter	-26.86%	March 31, 2020
Year-to-Date	14.91%	September 30, 2021

Average Annual Total Returns
(For periods ended 12/31/2020 expressed as a %)

All after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of any state or local tax. Your own actual after-tax returns will depend on your tax situation and may differ from what is shown here. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold shares of the fund in tax-deferred accounts such as individual retirement accounts (“IRAs”) or employee-sponsored retirement plans. 

Prospectus December 17, 2021

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Xtrackers Russell US Multifactor ETF

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Xtrackers Russell 1000 US Quality at a Reasonable Price ETF

 

Ticker: QARP

Stock Exchange: NYSE Arca, Inc.

Investment Objective

Xtrackers Russell 1000 US Quality at a Reasonable Price ETF (the “fund”) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of the Russell 1000 2Qual/Val 5% Capped Factor Index (the “Underlying Index”).

Fees and Expenses

These are the fees and expenses that you will pay when you buy, hold and sell shares. You may also pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries on the purchase and sale of shares of the fund, which are not reflected in the table and example below.

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

Management fee	0.19
Other Expenses	None
Total annual fund operating expenses	0.19

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
	$ 19	$ 61	$ 107	$243

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER 

The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover may indicate higher transaction costs and may mean higher taxes if you are investing in a taxable account. These costs are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the expense example, and can affect the fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 13% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The fund, using a “passive” or indexing investment approach, seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of the Underlying Index, which is designed to track the equity market performance of companies in the United States selected on the investment style criteria (“factors”) of quality and value. The companies eligible for the Underlying Index are derived from its starting universe, the Russell 1000 Index, which is comprised of large-cap equity securities from issuers in the United States. The index provider, Frank Russell Company (“Index Provider”), selects companies for the Underlying Index using a proprietary rules-based multi-factor selection and weighting process designed to increase the Underlying Index’s exposure, relative to the starting universe, to companies demonstrating the following factors:

■ Quality. The quality score is calculated from a company’s leverage and profitability (e.g., return on assets, asset turnover and accruals). The Index Provider’s methodology for measuring the quality factor attempts to identify stocks

Prospectus December 17, 2021

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Xtrackers Russell 1000 US Quality at a Reasonable Price ETF

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of the Underlying Index and a broad measure of market performance.The fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available on the fund’s website at Xtrackers.com (the website does not form a part of this prospectus).

CALENDAR YEAR TOTAL RETURNS(%)

  

	Returns	Period ending
Best Quarter	22.20%	June 30, 2020
Worst Quarter	-22.20%	March 31, 2020
Year-to-Date	18.14%	September 30, 2021

Average Annual Total Returns
(For periods ended 12/31/2020 expressed as a %)

All after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of any state or local tax. Your own actual after-tax returns will depend on your tax situation and may differ from what is shown here. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold shares of the fund in tax-deferred accounts such as individual retirement accounts (“IRAs”) or employee-sponsored retirement plans. 

	Inception Date	1 Year	Since Inception
Returns before tax	4/5/2018	14.73	13.85
After tax on distribu- tions		13.80	13.19
After tax on distribu- tions and sale of fund shares		8.61	10.58
Russell 1000 2Qual/Val 5% Capped Factor Index		14.86	14.10
Russell 1000 Index Total Return		20.96	16.55

Management

Investment Advisor

DBX Advisors LLC

Portfolio Managers

Bryan Richards, CFA, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC and Head of Portfolio Engineering, Systematic Investment Solutions, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2018.

Patrick Dwyer, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC and Senior Portfolio Engineer, Systematic Investment Solutions, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2018.

Shlomo Bassous, Vice President of DBX Advisors LLC and Senior Portfolio Engineer, Systematic Investment Solutions, of DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2018.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

The fund is an exchange-traded fund (commonly referred to as an “ETF”). Individual fund shares may only be purchased and sold through a brokerage firm. The price of fund shares is based on market price, and because ETF shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (a premium) or less than NAV (a discount). The fund will only issue or redeem shares that have been aggregated into blocks of 50,000 shares or multiples thereof (“Creation Units”) to APs who have entered into agreements with ALPS Distributors, Inc., the fund’s distributor. You may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the fund (ask) when buying or selling shares (the “bid-ask spread”). Information on the fund’s net asset value, market price, premiums and discounts and bid-ask spreads may be found at Xtrackers.com.

Tax Information

The fund's distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income or capital gains, except when your investment is in an IRA, 401(k), or other tax-advantaged investment plan. Any withdrawals you make from such tax- advantaged investment plans, however, may be taxable to you.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and
Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Advisor or other related companies may pay the intermediary for marketing activities and presentations, educational training programs, the support of technology platforms and/or reporting systems or other services related to the sale or promotion of the fund. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

Prospectus December 17, 2021

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Xtrackers Russell 1000 US Quality at a Reasonable Price ETF

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Fund Details

Additional Information About Fund Strategies, Underlying Index Information and Risks

Xtrackers FTSE Developed ex US Multifactor ETF

Investment Objective

Xtrackers FTSE Developed ex US Multifactor ETF (the “fund”) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of the FTSE Developed ex US Comprehensive Factor Index (the “Underlying Index”).

Principal Investment Strategies

The fund, using a “passive” or indexing investment approach, seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of the Underlying Index, which is designed to track the equity market performance of companies in developed countries (except the United States) selected on the investment style criteria (“factors”) of value, momentum, quality, low volatility and size. The companies eligible for the Underlying Index are derived from its starting universe, the FTSE Developed ex US Index, which is comprised of large- and mid-capitalization equity securities from developed markets (except the United States). The index provider, FTSE International Limited (“Index Provider”), selects companies for the Underlying Index using a proprietary rules-based multi-factor selection and weighting process designed to increase the Underlying Index’s exposure, relative to the starting universe, to companies demonstrating the following factors:

■ Value. The value score is calculated based on a company’s valuation ratios (e.g., cash-flow yield, earnings yield and country relative sales to price). Value investing generally refers to a strategy that buys stocks whose price is lower than the fundamental value of the stock. The Index Provider’s methodology for measuring the value factor attempts to identify stocks that have low prices relative to their fundamental value and that provide the possibility of excess returns.

■ Momentum. The momentum score is calculated based on each company’s cumulative 11 month return. Momentum investing is a strategy based on the concept

that stock performance tends to persist, either continuing to rise or fall. Momentum style investing emphasizes investing in securities that have had higher recent price performance compared to other securities, with the expectation that this will continue to produce short term excess returns in the future. The Index Provider’s methodology for measuring the momentum factor attempts to identify stocks with stronger past performance over the short term.

■ Quality. The quality score is calculated from a company’s leverage and profitability (e.g., return on assets, asset turnover and accruals). The Index Provider’s methodology for measuring the quality factor attempts to identify stocks that are characterized by low debt, stable earnings growth, and other “quality” metrics, with the expectation that these will provide the possibility of excess returns.

■ Low Volatility. The low volatility score is calculated based on the standard deviation of 5 years of weekly local total returns. Volatility is a statistical measurement of the magnitude of increases or decreases in a stock’s price over time. Low volatility investing is a strategy based on the concept that stocks that exhibit low volatility tend to perform better than stocks with higher volatility. The Index Provider’s methodology for measuring the low volatility factor attempts to identify stocks with a historically lower risk (and higher return) profile relative to higher risk.

■ Size. The size score is calculated based on the full market capitalization of a company. The Index Provider’s methodology for measuring the size factor attempts to identify stocks of smaller companies relative to their larger counterparts, with the expectation that these will provide the possibility of excess returns.

Companies are weighted based on their relative exposure to all five factors. Companies that do not display meaningful multi-factor characteristics are not eligible for inclusion in the Underlying Index. Under normal circumstances, the Underlying Index is rebalanced semi-annually in March and September. The fund rebalances its portfolio in accordance with the Underlying Index, and, therefore, any changes to the Underlying Index's rebalance schedule will result in corresponding changes to the fund's rebalance schedule.

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Fund Details

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Investing in the Funds

Additional shareholder information, including how to buy and sell shares of a fund, is available free of charge by calling toll-free: 1-855-329-3837 (1-855-DBX-ETFS) or visiting our website at Xtrackers.com.

Buying and Selling Shares

Shares of a fund are listed for trading on a national securities exchange during the trading day. Shares can be bought and sold throughout the trading day at market prices like shares of other publicly-traded companies. The Trust does not impose any minimum investment for shares of a fund purchased on an exchange. Buying or selling fund shares involves two types of costs that may apply to all securities transactions. When buying or selling shares of a fund through a broker, you will likely incur a brokerage commission or other charges determined by your broker. In addition, you may incur the cost of the “spread” – that is, any difference between the bid price and the ask price. The commission is frequently a fixed amount and may be a significant proportional cost for investors seeking to buy or sell small amounts of shares. The spread varies over time for shares of a fund based on its trading volume and market liquidity, and is generally lower if a fund has a lot of trading volume and market liquidity and higher if a fund has little trading volume and market liquidity.

Shares of a fund may be acquired or redeemed directly from a fund only in Creation Units or multiples thereof, as discussed in the section of this Prospectus entitled “Creations and Redemptions.” Only an AP may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with a fund. Once created, shares of a fund generally trade in the secondary market in amounts less than a Creation Unit.

The Board has evaluated the risks of market timing activities by a fund’s shareholders. The Board noted that shares of a fund can only be purchased and redeemed directly from the fund in Creation Units by APs and that the vast majority of trading in a fund’s shares occurs on the secondary market. Because the secondary market trades do not involve a fund directly, it is unlikely those trades would cause many of the harmful effects of market timing, including dilution, disruption of portfolio management, increases in a fund’s trading costs and the realization of capital gains. With regard to the purchase or redemption of Creation Units directly with a fund, to the extent effected

in-kind (i.e., for securities), such trades do not cause any of the harmful effects (as previously noted) that may result from frequent cash trades. To the extent trades are effected in whole or in part in cash, the Board noted that such trades could result in dilution to a fund and increased transaction costs, which could negatively impact a fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective. However, the Board noted that direct trading by APs is critical to ensuring that a fund’s shares trade at or close to NAV. In addition, a fund imposes both fixed and variable transaction fees on purchases and redemptions of fund shares to cover the custodial and other costs incurred by a fund in effecting trades. These fees increase if an investor substitutes cash in part or in whole for securities, reflecting the fact that a fund’s trading costs increase in those circumstances. Given this structure, the Board determined that with respect to a fund it is not necessary to adopt policies and procedures to detect and deter market timing of a fund’s shares.

Investments in a fund by other registered investment companies are subject to certain limitations imposed by the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). Until January 19, 2022, such registered investment companies may invest in a fund beyond the applicable limitations imposed by the 1940 Act pursuant to the terms and conditions of an SEC exemptive order issued to the Trust, which includes a requirement that such registered investment companies enter into an agreement with the Trust. Effective January 19, 2022, the Trust's SEC exemptive order will be rescinded by SEC action and an investment in a fund by a registered investment company beyond the applicable limitations imposed by the 1940 Act must comply with the requirements of a new rule enacted by the SEC.

Prospectus December 17, 2021

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Investing in the Funds

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Financial Highlights

The financial highlights are designed to help you understand recent financial performance. The figures in the first part of each table are for a single share. The total return figures represent the percentage that an investor in a fund would have earned (or lost), assuming all dividends and distributions were reinvested. This information has been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with each fund’s financial statements, is included in each fund’s Annual Report (see “For More Information” on the back cover).

Xtrackers FTSE Developed ex US Multifactor ETF  

	Years Ended August 31,
	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017
Selected Per Share Data
Net Asset Value, beginning of year	$27.84	$26.80	$28.84	$28.17	$25.41
Income (loss) from investment operations:
Net investment income (loss)a	0.84	0.62	0.83	0.77	0.54
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)	5.35	1.32	(2.11)	0.72	3.19
Total from investment operations	6.19	1.94	(1.28)	1.49	3.73
Less distributions from:
Net investment income	(1.15)	(0.90)	(0.76)	(0.82)	(0.97)
Total distributions	(1.15)	(0.90)	(0.76)	(0.82)	(0.97)
Net Asset Value, end of year	$32.88	$27.84	$26.80	$28.84	$28.17
Total Return (%)	22.69b	7.49b	(4.51)b	5.32	15.16
Ratios to Average Net Assets and Supplemental Data
Net Assets, end of year ($ millions)	71	72	72	59	15
Ratio of expenses before fee waiver (%)	0.35	0.35	0.35	0.35	0.35
Ratio of expenses after fee waiver (%)	0.24	0.24	0.29	0.35	0.35
Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%)	2.75	2.37	3.05	2.62	2.10
Portfolio turnover rate (%)c	53	43	51	45	45

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 December 17, 2021

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Financial Highlights

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