DWS High Income VIP
Data updated: 2026-08-27
C000017252 — DWS High Income VIP. Short Corporate Bond · $41.47M AUM · 1.10% expense ratio · 9.8% 1-yr return. Holdings, fees, performance and SEC filings.
C000017252 Fund Overview
DWS High Income VIP is a US mutual fund managed by Deutsche Dws Variable Series II, categorised as Short Corporate Bond. ABC INVEST provides holdings, performance, costs, cashflows, risk data, prospectus documents and SEC filings, sourced from SEC filings.
- Type: US mutual fund
- Manager: Deutsche Dws Variable Series II
- Category: Short Corporate Bond
- Assets under management: $41.47M
- 1-year return: 9.8%
- SEC CIK: 0000810573
- SEC series ID: S000006280
- Share class ID: C000017252
C000017252 Investment Objective and Strategy
DWS High Income VIP describes its objective and strategy as follows, from its latest prospectus filed with the SEC by Deutsche Dws Variable Series II.
Investment objective
The fund seeks to provide a high level of current income.
Principal investment strategy
Main investments. Under normal circumstances, the fund generally invests at least 65% of net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in junk bonds, which are those rated below the fourth highest credit rating category (that is, grade BB/Ba and below) or, if unrated, determined by the Advisor to be of similar quality. Compared to investment-grade debt securities, junk bonds generally pay higher yields, have higher volatility and higher risk of default on payments of interest and principal. The fund may invest up to 50% of total assets in bonds denominated in US dollars or foreign currencies from foreign issuers, including issuers in emerging markets. The fund invests in securities of varying maturities and intends to maintain a dollar-weighted effective average portfolio maturity that will not exceed ten years.
Subject to its portfolio maturity policy, the fund may purchase individual securities with any stated maturity. Because the fund may invest in fixed income securities of varying maturities, the fund's dollar-weighted average effective portfolio maturity will vary. As of February 28, 2026, the fund had a dollar-weighted average effective portfolio maturity of 3.53 years. Due to regulatory changes, effective June 11, 2026, the fund will replace the 65% investment policy and related disclosures set forth in this prospectus. Specifically, effective June 11, 2026, under normal circumstances, the fund invests at least 80% of net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in below investment grade debt securities (i.e. junk bonds) (which are those rated below the fourth highest credit rating category or, if unrated, determined by the Advisor to be of similar quality).
Derivative instruments that provide exposure to the investments above or exposure to one or more market risk factors associated with such investments are included in the funds 80% investment policy, consistent with the funds investment policies and limitations with respect to investments in derivatives. Management process. Portfolio management focuses on cash flow and total return analysis, and broad diversification among countries, sectors, industries and individual issuers and maturities. Portfolio management uses an active process that emphasizes relative value, managing on a total return basis, and intensive research to identify stable to improving credit situations that may provide yield compensation for the risk of investing in junk bonds. Portfolio management utilizes primarily a bottom-up approach, where relative value and fundamental analysis are used to select securities within each industry, and a top-down approach to assess the overall risk and return in the market, including macroeconomic trends.
Portfolio management also incorporates other considerations that it believes to be financially material, including environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors, independent credit research, management visits and conference calls, as part of its analysis and research process. Derivatives. The fund may invest in derivatives, which are financial instruments whose performance is derived, at least in part, from the performance of an underlying asset, security or index. In particular, portfolio management may use credit default swaps to seek to increase the funds income, to gain exposure to a bond issuers credit quality characteristics without directly investing in the bond, or to hedge the risk of default on bonds held in the funds portfolio. In addition, portfolio management may use forward currency contracts to hedge exposure to changes in foreign currency exchange rates on foreign currency denominated portfolio holdings or to facilitate transactions in foreign currency denominated securities.
The fund may also use other types of derivatives (i) for hedging purposes; (ii) for risk management; (iii) for non-hedging purposes to seek to enhance potential gains; or (iv) as a substitute for direct investment in a particular asset class or to keep cash on hand to meet shareholder redemptions. Securities lending. The fund may lend securities (up to one-third of total assets) to approved institutions, such as registered broker-dealers, pooled investment vehicles, banks and other financial institutions. In connection with such loans, the fund receives liquid collateral in an amount that is based on the type and value of the securities being lent, with riskier securities generally requiring higher levels of collateral. Active trading. The fund may trade securities actively and this may lead to high portfolio turnover.
C000017252 Holdings
Top 10 holdings of DWS High Income VIP by percentage of net assets, from the fund's latest SEC N-PORT filing.
| Holding | % of net assets |
|---|---|
| Dws | 14.17% |
| State Street SPDR Portfolio High Yield Bond ETF | 2.90% |
| Alpha Generation LLC | 2.03% |
| Post Holdings, Inc. | 1.98% |
| Dws | 1.65% |
| Carnival Corp. Ltd. | 1.52% |
| Charles River Laboratori | 1.37% |
| Cco Hldgs Llc/cap Corp. | 1.29% |
| Carnival Corp. Ltd. | 1.29% |
| Xhr LP | 1.25% |
C000017252 Portfolio Allocation
Asset-class allocation of DWS High Income VIP by percentage of net assets, from the latest SEC N-PORT filing.
| Asset class | Allocation |
|---|---|
| Fixed Income | 91.4% |
| Cash & Equivalents | 15.8% |
| Equity | 4.1% |
| Loans | 2.5% |
C000017252 Performance
Total returns for C000017252 (as of 2026-10-01), from SEC filings.
| Period | Total return |
|---|---|
| 1 year | 9.8% |
| 3 years (annualised) | 1.5% |
C000017252 Risk Information
Risk metrics for C000017252, derived from monthly returns in SEC filings.
- 1-year volatility (annualised): 6.2%
C000017252 Costs and Fees
C000017252 costs about $110 per $10,000 invested per year in fund expenses.
- Net expense ratio: 1.10%
- Gross expense ratio: 1.32%
- Portfolio turnover: 154%
- Brokerage commissions: 0.01 bps of average net assets (SEC N-CEN)
C000017252 Cashflows
Over the 12 months to 2026-06, DWS High Income VIP had net outflows of $1.54M, from monthly SEC N-PORT filings.
| Month | Net flow |
|---|---|
| 2026-06 | −$108.88K |
| 2026-05 | −$506.98K |
| 2026-04 | $2.21M |
| 2026-03 | −$1.22M |
| 2026-02 | −$216.80K |
| 2026-01 | −$591.05K |
C000017252 Debt Constituents
Largest debt holdings of DWS High Income VIP by percentage of net assets, from the latest SEC N-PORT filing.
| Debt holding | % of net assets |
|---|---|
| Alpha Generation LLC | 2.03% |
| Post Holdings, Inc. | 1.98% |
| Carnival Corp. Ltd. | 1.52% |
| Charles River Laboratori | 1.37% |
| Cco Hldgs Llc/cap Corp. | 1.29% |
| Carnival Corp. Ltd. | 1.29% |
| Xhr LP | 1.25% |
| Vodafone Group PLC | 1.23% |
| Insight Enterprs | 1.03% |
| Park Intermed Holdings | 1.03% |
C000017252 Prospectus and SEC Filings
Official DWS High Income VIP filings on SEC EDGAR — prospectus, portfolio holdings and annual reports.
- Prospectus (485BPOS) — filed 2026-04-24
- Prospectus (485BPOS) — filed 2025-04-24
- Prospectus (485BPOS) — filed 2024-04-24
- Portfolio holdings (N-PORT) — filed 2026-08-27
- Portfolio holdings (N-PORT) — filed 2026-05-28
- Portfolio holdings (N-PORT) — filed 2026-02-26
- Annual census (N-CEN) — filed 2026-03-11
- Annual census (N-CEN) — filed 2025-03-03
Related Funds
Other Short Corporate Bond funds tracked on ABC INVEST:
Data Sources
ABC INVEST compiles this page from public filings made to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) through EDGAR: portfolio holdings and monthly cashflows from Form N-PORT, expenses and returns from fund prospectuses (Form 485BPOS) and the SEC DERA Risk/Return Summary data sets, annual data from Form N-CEN, and shareholder reports from Form N-CSR.