Deutsche DWS Variable Series I NCSRS Certified semi-annual shareholder report (management investment company)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D. C. 20549

FORM N-CSRS

Investment Company Act file number: 811-04257

DWS Variable Series I

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

345 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10154-0004

(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)

Registrant’s Telephone Number, including Area Code: (212) 250-3220

Paul Schubert

60 Wall Street

New York, NY 10005

(Name and Address of Agent for Service)

Date of fiscal year end:	12/31

Date of reporting period:	6/30/2013

ITEM 1.	REPORT TO STOCKHOLDERS

JUNE 30, 2013

SEMIANNUAL REPORT

DWS VARIABLE SERIES I

DWS Bond VIP

Contents

3 Performance Summary

4 Portfolio Summary

6 Portfolio Management

7 Investment Portfolio

20 Statement of Assets and Liabilities

21 Statement of Operations

22 Statement of Changes in Net Assets

23 Financial Highlights

24 Notes to Financial Statements

33 Information About Your Fund's Expenses

34 Proxy Voting

35 Summary of Management Fee Evaluation by Independent Fee Consultant

This report must be preceded or accompanied by a prospectus. To obtain an additional prospectus or summary prospectus, if available, call (800) 728-3337 or your financial representative. We advise you to consider the Fund's objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. The summary prospectus and prospectus contain this and other important information about the Fund. Please read the prospectus carefully before you invest.

Bond investments are subject to interest-rate and credit risks. When interest rates rise, bond prices generally fall. Credit risk refers to the ability of an issuer to make timely payments of principal and interest. Investments in lower-quality ("junk bonds") and non-rated securities present greater risk of loss than investments in higher-quality securities. Investing in derivatives entails special risks relating to liquidity, leverage and credit that may reduce returns and/or increase volatility. Investing in foreign securities, particularly those of emerging markets, presents certain risks, such as currency fluctuations, political and economic changes, and market risks. See the prospectus for details.

DWS Investments is part of the Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management division of Deutsche Bank AG.

NOT FDIC/NCUA INSURED NO BANK GUARANTEE MAY LOSE VALUE NOT A DEPOSIT

NOT INSURED BY ANY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY

Performance Summary June 30, 2013 (Unaudited)

Fund performance shown is historical, assumes reinvestment of all dividend and capital gain distributions, and does not guarantee future results. Investment return and principal value fluctuate with changing market conditions so that, when redeemed, shares may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted. Please contact your participating insurance company for the Fund's most recent month-end performance. Performance doesn't reflect charges and fees ("contract charges") associated with the separate account that invests in the Fund or any variable life insurance policy or variable annuity contract for which the Fund is an investment option. These charges and fees will reduce returns.

The gross expense ratio of the Fund, as stated in the fee table of the prospectus dated May 1, 2013 is 0.58% for Class A shares and may differ from the expense ratio disclosed in the Financial Highlights table in this report.

Growth of an Assumed $10,000 Investment
		The Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index is an unmanaged index representing domestic taxable investment-grade bonds, with index components for government and corporate securities, mortgage pass-through securities, and asset-backed securities with an average maturity of one year or more. Index returns do not reflect any fees or expenses and it is not possible to invest directly into an index.

Yearly periods ended June 30

Comparative Results
DWS Bond VIP		6-Month‡			1-Year			3-Year			5-Year			10-Year
Class A	Growth of $10,000	$	9,609		$	9,982		$	11,162		$	10,885		$	12,701
Class A	Average annual total return		-3.91	%		-0.18	%		3.73	%		1.71	%		2.42	%
Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index	Growth of $10,000	$	9,756		$	9,931		$	11,090		$	12,878		$	15,559
Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index	Average annual total return		-2.44	%		-0.69	%		3.51	%		5.19	%		4.52	%

The growth of $10,000 is cumulative.

‡ Total returns shown for periods less than one year are not annualized.

Portfolio Summary (Unaudited)

Asset Allocation (As a % of Total Net Assets)	6/30/13	12/31/12

Corporate Bonds	38%	35%
Mortgage-Backed Securities Pass-Throughs	36%	34%
Government & Agency Obligations	22%	22%
Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities	7%	5%
Collateralized Mortgage Obligations	5%	5%
Municipal Bonds and Notes	5%	6%
Loan Participations and Assignments	2%	1%
Asset-Backed	2%	1%
Cash Equivalents and other Assets and Liabilities, net	-17%	-9%
	100%	100%

Quality (Excludes Cash Equivalents and Securities Lending Collateral)	6/30/13	12/31/12

AAA	55%	53%
AA	8%	7%
A	8%	8%
BBB	16%	18%
BB or Below	10%	11%
Not Rated	3%	3%
	100%	100%

Interest Rate Sensitivity	6/30/13	12/31/12

Effective Maturity	9.4 years	7.9 years
Effective Duration	6.1 years	4.9 years

The quality ratings represent the higher of Moody's Investors Service, Inc. ("Moody's") or Standard & Poor's Corporation ("S&P") credit ratings. The ratings of Moody's and S&P represent their opinions as to the quality of the securities they rate. Credit quality measures a bond issuer's ability to repay interest and principal in a timely manner. Ratings are relative and subjective and are not absolute standards of quality. Credit quality does not remove market risk and is subject to change.

Effective maturity is the weighted average of the maturity date of bonds held by the Fund taking into consideration any available maturity shortening features.

Effective duration is an approximate measure of the Fund's sensitivity to interest rate changes taking into consideration any maturity shortening features.

Portfolio holdings and characteristics are subject to change.

For more complete details about the Fund's investment portfolio, see page 7.

Following the Fund's fiscal first and third quarter-end, a complete portfolio holdings listing is filed with the SEC on Form N-Q. The form will be available on the SEC's Web site at www.sec.gov, and it also may be reviewed and copied at the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Information on the operation of the SEC's Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling (800) SEC-0330. The Fund's portfolio holdings are also posted on www.dws-investments.com from time to time. Please see the Fund's current prospectus for more information.

Portfolio Management

William Chepolis, CFA

John D. Ryan

Gary Russell, CFA

Portfolio Managers

Investment Portfolio June 30, 2013 (Unaudited)

		Principal Amount ($)(a)		Value ($)

Corporate Bonds 37.7%
Consumer Discretionary 3.0%
AMC Entertainment, Inc., 8.75%, 6/1/2019			115,000		123,050
APX Group, Inc., 144A, 6.375%, 12/1/2019			15,000		14,250
Asbury Automotive Group, Inc., 144A, 8.375%, 11/15/2020			5,000		5,538
Ashton Woods U.S.A. LLC, 144A, 6.875%, 2/15/2021			25,000		25,250
Avis Budget Car Rental LLC, 144A, 5.5%, 4/1/2023			15,000		14,475
BC Mountain LLC, 144A, 7.0%, 2/1/2021			15,000		15,300
Boyd Gaming Corp., 9.0%, 7/1/2020 (b)			10,000		10,138
British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC, 144A, 3.125%, 11/26/2022			330,000		308,588
Caesar's Entertainment Operating Co., Inc., 8.5%, 2/15/2020			185,000		174,362
Caesar's Operating Escrow LLC, 144A, 9.0%, 2/15/2020			15,000		14,288
CCO Holdings LLC, 6.5%, 4/30/2021			155,000		161,587
CDR DB Sub, Inc., 144A, 7.75%, 10/15/2020			15,000		15,037
Cequel Communications Holdings I LLC, 144A, 6.375%, 9/15/2020			80,000		81,400
Clear Channel Communications, Inc., 144A, 11.25%, 3/1/2021			20,000		20,850
Clear Channel Worldwide Holdings, Inc.:
Series A, 144A, 6.5%, 11/15/2022			15,000		15,375
Series B, 144A, 6.5%, 11/15/2022			25,000		25,750
Series B, 7.625%, 3/15/2020			75,000		77,625
Cox Communications, Inc., 144A, 3.25%, 12/15/2022			230,000		216,390
Cumulus Media Holdings, Inc., 7.75%, 5/1/2019			5,000		4,888
Delphi Corp., 5.0%, 2/15/2023			20,000		20,550
DIRECTV Holdings LLC, 2.4%, 3/15/2017			1,050,000		1,055,075
DISH DBS Corp., 7.875%, 9/1/2019			90,000		100,800
Griffey Intermediate, Inc., 144A, 7.0%, 10/15/2020			25,000		24,125
Hot Topic, Inc., 144A, 9.25%, 6/15/2021			10,000		10,125
Jo-Ann Stores Holdings, Inc., 144A, 9.75%, 10/15/2019 (PIK)			15,000		15,412
Macy's Retail Holdings, Inc., 3.875%, 1/15/2022			300,000		300,783
MDC Partners, Inc., 144A, 6.75%, 4/1/2020			15,000		14,963
		Principal Amount ($)(a)		Value ($)

Mediacom Broadband LLC, 6.375%, 4/1/2023			10,000		9,950
Mediacom LLC, 9.125%, 8/15/2019			85,000		91,375
MGM Resorts International:
6.625%, 12/15/2021			40,000		41,250
6.75%, 10/1/2020 (b)			10,000		10,350
8.625%, 2/1/2019			105,000		118,650
Norcraft Companies LP, 10.5%, 12/15/2015			65,000		67,437
Petco Holdings, Inc., 144A, 8.5%, 10/15/2017 (PIK)			5,000		5,100
Quebecor Media, Inc., 5.75%, 1/15/2023			15,000		14,625
SACI Falabella, 144A, 3.75%, 4/30/2023			200,000		183,000
Serta Simmons Holdings LLC, 144A, 8.125%, 10/1/2020			15,000		15,262
SIWF Merger Sub, Inc., 144A, 6.25%, 6/1/2021			10,000		9,800
Starz LLC, 5.0%, 9/15/2019			10,000		9,925
Taylor Morrison Communities, Inc., 144A, 5.25%, 4/15/2021			15,000		14,250
Viking Cruises Ltd., 144A, 8.5%, 10/15/2022			15,000		16,425
					3,473,373
Consumer Staples 1.4%
Anadolu Efes Biracilik Ve Malt Sanayii AS, 144A, 3.375%, 11/1/2022			250,000		215,000
B&G Foods, Inc., 4.625%, 6/1/2021			15,000		14,325
Chiquita Brands International, Inc., 144A, 7.875%, 2/1/2021			15,000		15,713
ConAgra Foods, Inc., 3.25%, 9/15/2022			350,000		333,893
Controladora Mabe SA de CV, 144A, 7.875%, 10/28/2019			200,000		214,000
Del Monte Corp., 7.625%, 2/15/2019			25,000		25,687
Hawk Acquisition Sub, Inc., 144A, 4.25%, 10/15/2020			125,000		119,531
JBS U.S.A. LLC, 144A, 8.25%, 2/1/2020			115,000		120,462
Pilgrim's Pride Corp., 7.875%, 12/15/2018			115,000		122,475
Reynolds Group Issuer, Inc.:
5.75%, 10/15/2020			25,000		25,188
7.125%, 4/15/2019			265,000		279,906
Smithfield Foods, Inc., 6.625%, 8/15/2022			35,000		37,625
Sun Products Corp., 144A, 7.75%, 3/15/2021			25,000		24,813
Tops Holding Corp., 144A, 8.875%, 12/15/2017			5,000		5,413
					1,554,031
Energy 4.4%
Access Midstream Partners LP, 4.875%, 5/15/2023			15,000		13,913
		Principal Amount ($)(a)		Value ($)

Berry Petroleum Co.:
6.375%, 9/15/2022			15,000		14,944
6.75%, 11/1/2020			15,000		15,525
BreitBurn Energy Partners LP, 7.875%, 4/15/2022			15,000		15,300
Chaparral Energy, Inc., 7.625%, 11/15/2022			25,000		25,500
Chesapeake Energy Corp., 5.75%, 3/15/2023			10,000		10,125
Continental Resources, Inc.:
144A, 4.5%, 4/15/2023			5,000		4,863
5.0%, 9/15/2022			15,000		15,262
DCP Midstream LLC, 144A, 9.75%, 3/15/2019			760,000		980,120
DCP Midstream Operating LP, 3.875%, 3/15/2023			250,000		234,471
Denbury Resources, Inc., 4.625%, 7/15/2023			35,000		32,287
Eagle Rock Energy Partners LP, 8.375%, 6/1/2019			25,000		25,437
EDC Finance Ltd., 144A, 4.875%, 4/17/2020			200,000		183,000
Enterprise Products Operating LLC, 6.125%, 10/15/2039			460,000		511,557
EP Energy LLC, 7.75%, 9/1/2022			25,000		26,750
EPE Holdings LLC, 144A, 8.125%, 12/15/2017 (PIK)			26,072		26,593
FMC Technologies, Inc., 3.45%, 10/1/2022			300,000		287,380
Halcon Resources Corp.:
8.875%, 5/15/2021			35,000		33,950
9.75%, 7/15/2020			15,000		14,963
KazMunayGas National Co. JSC, 144A, 5.75%, 4/30/2043			200,000		177,000
Kodiak Oil & Gas Corp., 144A, 5.5%, 1/15/2021			15,000		14,625
Linn Energy LLC, 144A, 6.25%, 11/1/2019			150,000		142,875
MEG Energy Corp., 144A, 6.375%, 1/30/2023			45,000		43,650
Memorial Production Partners LP, 144A, 7.625%, 5/1/2021			25,000		24,625
Midstates Petroleum Co., Inc.:
144A, 9.25%, 6/1/2021			30,000		28,200
144A, 10.75%, 10/1/2020			15,000		15,075
Oasis Petroleum, Inc.:
6.5%, 11/1/2021			75,000		76,875
6.875%, 1/15/2023			15,000		15,450
Odebrecht Drilling Norbe VIII/IX Ltd., 144A, 6.35%, 6/30/2021			95,000		95,950
Offshore Group Investment Ltd.:
144A, 7.125%, 4/1/2023			25,000		24,562
7.5%, 11/1/2019 (b)			40,000		41,700
ONEOK Partners LP, 6.15%, 10/1/2016			878,000		1,000,967
Pacific Drilling SA, 144A, 5.375%, 6/1/2020			15,000		14,025
Plains Exploration & Production Co., 6.75%, 2/1/2022			5,000		5,299
Range Resources Corp., 5.0%, 3/15/2023			5,000		4,888
		Principal Amount ($)(a)		Value ($)

SandRidge Energy, Inc., 7.5%, 3/15/2021			55,000		52,525
Talos Production LLC, 144A, 9.75%, 2/15/2018			25,000		23,750
Tesoro Corp., 5.375%, 10/1/2022			10,000		10,125
Transocean, Inc., 3.8%, 10/15/2022			555,000		528,666
Transportadora de Gas Internacional SA ESP, 144A, 5.7%, 3/20/2022			200,000		206,500
					5,019,272
Financials 15.2%
American International Group, Inc., 4.875%, 6/1/2022 (b)			400,000		426,370
American Tower Corp., (REIT), 3.5%, 1/31/2023			280,000		256,389
Atlantic Finance Ltd., (REIT), 144A, 10.75%, 5/27/2014			500,000		528,662
Bank of America Corp., 3.3%, 1/11/2023			800,000		756,118
Barclays Bank PLC, 7.625%, 11/21/2022 (b)			1,090,000		1,069,562
BBVA Bancomer SA, 144A, 6.75%, 9/30/2022			200,000		216,000
CNA Financial Corp., 5.75%, 8/15/2021			500,000		562,759
CNH Capital LLC, 144A, 3.625%, 4/15/2018			15,000		14,288
Cooperatieve Centrale Raiffeisen-Boerenleenbank BA, 3.95%, 11/9/2022			525,000		502,043
Development Bank of Kazakhstan JSC, Series 3, 6.5%, 6/3/2020			500,000		525,000
E*TRADE Financial Corp.:
6.375%, 11/15/2019			40,000		40,600
6.75%, 6/1/2016			205,000		210,638
Ford Motor Credit Co., LLC, 3.0%, 6/12/2017			485,000		486,022
General Electric Capital Corp., 3.1%, 1/9/2023			1,000,000		944,666
Glencore Funding LLC, 144A, 4.125%, 5/30/2023			100,000		89,188
Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.:
4.3%, 4/15/2043			615,000		532,674
6.0%, 1/15/2019			117,000		131,894
ING Bank NV, 144A, 2.0%, 9/25/2015			1,310,000		1,321,109
International Lease Finance Corp.:
4.625%, 4/15/2021			25,000		23,000
6.25%, 5/15/2019			5,000		5,138
Intesa Sanpaolo SpA, 3.875%, 1/16/2018			895,000		859,389
Jefferies Group LLC, 5.125%, 1/20/2023 (b)			300,000		297,687
JPMorgan Chase & Co., 5.125%, 9/15/2014			1,100,000		1,154,080
Loews Corp., 2.625%, 5/15/2023			160,000		145,534
Macquarie Bank Ltd., 144A, 3.45%, 7/27/2015			525,000		544,068
Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd., 144A, 2.95%, 10/17/2022			500,000		458,549
		Principal Amount ($)(a)		Value ($)

Morgan Stanley:
3.75%, 2/25/2023 (b)			835,000		798,496
4.1%, 5/22/2023			85,000		78,533
Neuberger Berman Group LLC, 144A, 5.875%, 3/15/2022			155,000		158,100
Nordea Bank AB, 144A, 4.25%, 9/21/2022			555,000		547,549
OPB Finance Trust, Series C, 2.9%, 5/24/2023	CAD		380,000		343,651
PNC Bank NA, 6.875%, 4/1/2018			200,000		239,872
Principal Financial Group, Inc., 3.3%, 9/15/2022			605,000		587,715
Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, 6.1%, 6/10/2023 (b)			100,000		94,871
Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB, 144A, 1.375%, 5/29/2018 (b)			640,000		616,512
SLM Corp., 5.5%, 1/25/2023 (b)			630,000		599,889
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., 6.0%, 6/15/2020			880,000		988,788
Turkiye Vakiflar Bankasi Tao, 144A, 3.75%, 4/15/2018			250,000		235,000
					17,390,403
Health Care 1.4%
Agilent Technologies, Inc., 3.2%, 10/1/2022			300,000		278,110
Biomet, Inc.:
6.5%, 8/1/2020			25,000		25,766
6.5%, 10/1/2020 (b)			5,000		4,987
Community Health Systems, Inc., 7.125%, 7/15/2020			125,000		128,750
Fresenius Medical Care U.S. Finance II, Inc., 144A, 5.875%, 1/31/2022			10,000		10,525
HCA, Inc.:
6.5%, 2/15/2020			235,000		254,241
7.5%, 2/15/2022			190,000		210,425
IMS Health, Inc., 144A, 6.0%, 11/1/2020			15,000		15,262
Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings, 3.75%, 8/23/2022			265,000		253,138
Mallinckrodt International Finance SA, 144A, 4.75%, 4/15/2023			110,000		104,787
Sky Growth Acquisition Corp., 144A, 7.375%, 10/15/2020			10,000		10,250
Tenet Healthcare Corp.:
144A, 4.5%, 4/1/2021			5,000		4,663
6.25%, 11/1/2018			60,000		63,150
Zoetis, Inc., 144A, 3.25%, 2/1/2023			220,000		209,026
					1,573,080
Industrials 1.6%
Accuride Corp., 9.5%, 8/1/2018			5,000		5,088
Air Lease Corp., 4.75%, 3/1/2020			20,000		19,300
Alphabet Holding Co., Inc., 7.75%, 11/1/2017 (PIK)			15,000		15,375
BE Aerospace, Inc., 6.875%, 10/1/2020			55,000		59,400
		Principal Amount ($)(a)		Value ($)

Belden, Inc., 144A, 5.5%, 9/1/2022			25,000		24,562
Bombardier, Inc., 144A, 5.75%, 3/15/2022			175,000		173,687
Clean Harbors, Inc., 5.125%, 6/1/2021			15,000		15,113
DigitalGlobe, Inc., 144A, 5.25%, 2/1/2021			10,000		9,600
Ferreycorp SAA, 144A, 4.875%, 4/26/2020			200,000		188,000
FTI Consulting, Inc., 144A, 6.0%, 11/15/2022			15,000		15,187
GenCorp, Inc., 144A, 7.125%, 3/15/2021			50,000		51,750
Georgian Railway JSC, 144A, 7.75%, 7/11/2022			200,000		216,140
Grupo KUO SAB De CV, 144A, 6.25%, 12/4/2022			200,000		204,750
Ingersoll-Rand Global Holding Co., Ltd., 144A, 2.875%, 1/15/2019			10,000		9,865
Kenan Advantage Group, Inc., 144A, 8.375%, 12/15/2018			25,000		26,000
Meritor, Inc., 6.75%, 6/15/2021			10,000		9,550
Navios Maritime Holdings, Inc., 8.875%, 11/1/2017			15,000		15,525
Navios South American Logistics, Inc., 144A, 9.25%, 4/15/2019			5,000		5,363
Owens Corning, Inc., 4.2%, 12/15/2022			190,000		184,108
Ply Gem Industries, Inc., 9.375%, 4/15/2017			6,000		6,345
Total System Services, Inc., 3.75%, 6/1/2023			30,000		27,855
TransDigm, Inc.:
144A, 7.5%, 7/15/2021 (c)			20,000		20,450
7.75%, 12/15/2018			25,000		26,312
Transnet SOC Ltd., 144A, 4.0%, 7/26/2022			500,000		437,200
U.S. Airways Group, Inc., 6.125%, 6/1/2018			15,000		14,175
United Rentals North America, Inc.:
6.125%, 6/15/2023			5,000		4,975
7.625%, 4/15/2022			85,000		92,012
Watco Companies LLC, 144A, 6.375%, 4/1/2023			15,000		14,925
					1,892,612
Information Technology 2.0%
Alliance Data Systems Corp., 144A, 5.25%, 12/1/2017			15,000		15,450
CDW LLC, 8.5%, 4/1/2019			160,000		172,000
CyrusOne LP, 144A, 6.375%, 11/15/2022			5,000		5,125
Equinix, Inc.:
5.375%, 4/1/2023			45,000		44,100
7.0%, 7/15/2021			140,000		151,900
First Data Corp.:
144A, 6.75%, 11/1/2020			105,000		106,838
144A, 7.375%, 6/15/2019			190,000		195,225
144A, 10.625%, 6/15/2021			30,000		29,625
Fiserv, Inc., 3.5%, 10/1/2022			715,000		678,623
Freescale Semiconductor, Inc., 144A, 9.25%, 4/15/2018			80,000		86,200
Hewlett-Packard Co., 3.3%, 12/9/2016			715,000		742,204
		Principal Amount ($)(a)		Value ($)

Hughes Satellite Systems Corp.:
6.5%, 6/15/2019			15,000		15,900
7.625%, 6/15/2021			50,000		53,125
IAC/InterActiveCorp., 144A, 4.75%, 12/15/2022			15,000		14,175
					2,310,490
Materials 3.6%
Anglo American Capital PLC, 144A, 4.125%, 9/27/2022			750,000		708,358
ArcelorMittal, 6.125%, 6/1/2018			500,000		515,000
Axiall Corp., 144A, 4.875%, 5/15/2023			5,000		4,750
Barrick Gold Corp., 144A, 2.5%, 5/1/2018			170,000		152,555
Bluescope Steel Ltd., 144A, 7.125%, 5/1/2018			10,000		10,150
BOE Merger Corp., 144A, 9.5%, 11/1/2017 (PIK)			30,000		30,600
Braskem America Finance Co., 144A, 7.125%, 7/22/2041			250,000		236,562
Eagle Spinco, Inc., 144A, 4.625%, 2/15/2021			10,000		9,600
FMG Resources (August 2006) Pty Ltd., 144A, 6.0%, 4/1/2017 (b)			375,000		364,687
FQM Akubra, Inc.:
144A, 7.5%, 6/1/2021			40,000		38,300
144A, 8.75%, 6/1/2020			25,000		25,563
Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, Inc., 3.55%, 3/1/2022			790,000		717,602
GTL Trade Finance, Inc., 144A, 7.25%, 10/20/2017			200,000		216,000
Hexion U.S. Finance Corp.:
6.625%, 4/15/2020			75,000		74,813
8.875%, 2/1/2018			35,000		35,700
Huntsman International LLC:
4.875%, 11/15/2020 (b)			15,000		14,813
8.625%, 3/15/2021			70,000		76,825
IAMGOLD Corp., 144A, 6.75%, 10/1/2020			5,000		4,225
Novelis, Inc., 8.75%, 12/15/2020			265,000		284,212
Polymer Group, Inc., 7.75%, 2/1/2019			65,000		67,600
PolyOne Corp., 144A, 5.25%, 3/15/2023			35,000		34,475
Polyus Gold International Ltd., 144A, 5.625%, 4/29/2020			200,000		194,000
Sealed Air Corp., 144A, 5.25%, 4/1/2023			10,000		9,725
Tronox Finance LLC, 144A, 6.375%, 8/15/2020			15,000		14,138
Votorantim Overseas IV, 144A, 7.75%, 6/24/2020			250,000		279,375
					4,119,628
Telecommunication Services 3.2%
America Movil SAB de CV, Series 12, 6.45%, 12/5/2022	MXN		2,000,000		149,481
CC Holdings GS V LLC, 3.849%, 4/15/2023			490,000		462,048
		Principal Amount ($)(a)		Value ($)

CenturyLink, Inc., Series V, 5.625%, 4/1/2020			5,000		5,050
Cincinnati Bell, Inc.:
8.375%, 10/15/2020			210,000		215,775
8.75%, 3/15/2018			95,000		95,119
Cricket Communications, Inc., 7.75%, 10/15/2020			190,000		182,400
Digicel Ltd., 144A, 8.25%, 9/1/2017			295,000		306,800
Frontier Communications Corp.:
7.125%, 1/15/2023			110,000		109,450
7.625%, 4/15/2024			5,000		5,013
8.5%, 4/15/2020			280,000		308,700
Intelsat Jackson Holdings SA:
144A, 5.5%, 8/1/2023			35,000		32,900
144A, 6.625%, 12/15/2022			15,000		14,550
7.5%, 4/1/2021			265,000		278,250
Intelsat Luxembourg SA, 144A, 7.75%, 6/1/2021			45,000		45,450
Level 3 Communications, Inc., 8.875%, 6/1/2019 (b)			80,000		83,200
Level 3 Financing, Inc., 7.0%, 6/1/2020			160,000		159,600
MetroPCS Wireless, Inc., 6.625%, 11/15/2020			175,000		181,562
Millicom International Cellular SA, 144A, 4.75%, 5/22/2020			200,000		190,052
SBA Communications Corp., 144A, 5.625%, 10/1/2019			15,000		14,850
Sprint Nextel Corp.:
6.0%, 11/15/2022			25,000		24,500
8.375%, 8/15/2017			60,000		67,350
Telefonica Emisiones SAU, 4.57%, 4/27/2023			170,000		162,741
Telemar Norte Leste SA, 144A, 5.5%, 10/23/2020			200,000		186,000
tw telecom holdings, Inc., 5.375%, 10/1/2022			15,000		14,888
Windstream Corp.:
6.375%, 8/1/2023			15,000		14,025
7.5%, 6/1/2022			10,000		10,200
7.5%, 4/1/2023			5,000		5,075
7.75%, 10/15/2020 (b)			330,000		341,550
7.75%, 10/1/2021			20,000		20,700
					3,687,279
Utilities 1.9%
AES Corp., 8.0%, 10/15/2017			20,000		22,500
American Electric Power Co., Inc., Series F, 2.95%, 12/15/2022			410,000		381,667
Calpine Corp.:
144A, 7.5%, 2/15/2021			205,000		218,837
144A, 7.875%, 7/31/2020			10,000		10,850
DTE Energy Co., 7.625%, 5/15/2014			300,000		317,791
Electricite de France SA, 144A, 5.25%, 1/29/2049			400,000		382,400
Majapahit Holding BV, REG S, 7.75%, 10/17/2016			100,000		110,750
Mexico Generadora de Energia S de rl, 144A, 5.5%, 12/6/2032			200,000		188,000
		Principal Amount ($)(a)		Value ($)

PPL Energy Supply LLC, 4.6%, 12/15/2021			500,000		508,812
					2,141,607
Total Corporate Bonds (Cost $43,989,222)					43,161,775

Mortgage-Backed Securities Pass-Throughs 36.2%
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.:
3.5%, 4/1/2042			8,084,982		8,207,204
4.0%, 8/1/2039			851,484		890,898
5.5%, with various maturities from 10/1/2023 until 8/1/2024			136,868		148,382
6.5%, 3/1/2026			381,794		424,209
Federal National Mortgage Association:
2.627%*, 8/1/2037			231,251		246,263
3.0%, 9/1/2042 (c)			4,500,000		4,400,156
3.5%, 1/1/2042 (c)			10,000,000		10,156,250
4.0%, 9/1/2040			682,590		713,547
4.5%, 10/1/2033			156,524		165,909
5.0%, with various maturities from 2/1/2021 until 8/1/2040			2,206,088		2,392,850
5.004%*, 9/1/2038			109,748		115,526
5.5%, with various maturities from 12/1/2032 until 4/1/2037			1,288,463		1,398,486
6.0%, with various maturities from 4/1/2024 until 3/1/2025			741,809		816,927
6.5%, with various maturities from 3/1/2017 until 12/1/2037			897,093		999,531
8.0%, 9/1/2015			6,286		6,584
Government National Mortgage Association, 3.5%, 4/1/2042 (c)			10,000,000		10,267,188
Total Mortgage-Backed Securities Pass-Throughs (Cost $41,638,038)					41,349,910

Asset-Backed 1.6%
Credit Card Receivables
Citibank Omni Master Trust, "A14", Series 2009-A14A, 144A, 2.943%*, 8/15/2018 (Cost $1,842,012)			1,750,000		1,797,185

Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities 7.3%
Banc of America Large Loan, Inc., "HLTN", Series 2010-HLTN, 144A, 2.493%*, 11/15/2015			1,698,067		1,699,385
Banc of America Merrill Lynch Commercial Mortgage, Inc., "A2", Series 2007-2, 5.634%*, 4/10/2049			33,112		33,479
Bear Stearns Commercial Mortgage Securities, Inc., "A4", Series 2007- PW16, 5.905%*, 6/11/2040			240,000		271,099
		Principal Amount ($)(a)		Value ($)

Commercial Mortgage Trust, "A4", Series 2007-GG9, 5.444%, 3/10/2039			1,750,000		1,934,331
Del Coronado Trust, "M", Series 2013-HDMZ, 144A, 5.193%*, 3/15/2018			125,000		125,650
JPMorgan Chase Commercial Mortgage Securities Corp.:
"C", Series 2012-HSBC, 144A, 4.021%, 7/5/2032			230,000		222,646
"A4", Series 2007-C1, 5.716%, 2/15/2051			960,000		1,072,087
"F", Series 2007-LD11, 6.003%*, 6/15/2049			650,000		65,096
"G", Series 2007-LD11, 144A, 6.003%*, 6/15/2049			760,000		60,829
"H", Series 2007-LD11, 144A, 6.003%*, 6/15/2049			460,000		32,207
LB-UBS Commercial Mortgage Trust, "A4", Series 2007-C6, 5.858%, 7/15/2040			1,315,000		1,456,263
Merrill Lynch Mortgage Trust, "ASB", Series 2007-C1, 6.038%*, 6/12/2050			1,238,421		1,316,391
Wachovia Bank Commercial Mortgage Trust, "H", Series 2007-C32, 144A, 5.937%*, 6/15/2049			770,000		57,750
Total Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities (Cost $10,247,348)					8,347,213

Collateralized Mortgage Obligations 5.3%
Countrywide Home Loans, "A2", Series 2006-1, 6.0%, 3/25/2036			452,297		401,552
CS First Boston Mortgage Securities Corp., "10A3", Series 2005-10, 6.0%, 11/25/2035			135,636		92,983
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.:
"PE", Series 2898, 5.0%, 5/15/2033			118,787		121,341
"JS", Series 3572, Interest Only, 6.608%*, 9/15/2039			887,444		137,524
Federal National Mortgage Association:
"QD", Series 2005-29, 5.0%, 8/25/2033			263,761		271,299
"EG", Series 2005-22, 5.0%, 11/25/2033			441,461		455,793
"TC", Series 2007-77, 5.5%, 9/25/2034			102,155		103,035
"SI", Series 2007-23, Interest Only, 6.577%*, 3/25/2037			380,087		67,217
Government National Mortgage Association:
"DI", Series 2012-102, Interest Only, 2.5%, 8/20/2027			4,527,220		487,807
		Principal Amount ($)(a)		Value ($)

"PL", Series 2013-19, 2.5%, 2/20/2043			684,500		583,950
"HX", Series 2012-91, 3.0%, 9/20/2040			421,863		433,682
"GI", Series 2010-89, Interest Only, 4.5%, 5/20/2039			1,757,013		236,565
"PD", Series 2011-25, 4.5%, 10/16/2039			1,000,000		1,065,524
"EI", Series 2011-162, Interest Only, 4.5%, 5/20/2040			1,980,628		322,770
"DI", Series 2011-40, Interest Only, 4.5%, 12/20/2040			4,595,433		649,898
"IM", Series 2010-87, Interest Only, 4.75%, 3/20/2036			1,623,518		105,356
"IN", Series 2009-69, Interest Only, 5.5%, 8/20/2039			287,480		46,127
"IV", Series 2009-69, Interest Only, 5.5%, 8/20/2039			567,912		92,510
"IJ", Series 2009-75, Interest Only, 6.0%, 8/16/2039			235,121		43,374
"AI", Series 2007-38, Interest Only, 6.268%*, 6/16/2037			144,427		19,582
"D", Series 1996-7, 7.5%, 5/16/2026			133,058		153,493
MASTR Alternative Loans Trust:
"5A1", Series 2005-1, 5.5%, 1/25/2020			170,534		173,911
"8A1", Series 2004-3, 7.0%, 4/25/2034			9,469		9,554
Total Collateralized Mortgage Obligations (Cost $6,140,899)					6,074,847

Government & Agency Obligations 22.4%
Other Government Related (d) 1.7%
KFW, 1.875%, 6/13/2018	CAD		965,000		898,036
Queensland Treasury Corp., Series 23, 4.25%, 7/21/2023	AUD		1,230,000		1,075,508
					1,973,544
Sovereign Bonds 2.1%
Government of Japan, Series 144, 1.5%, 3/20/2033	JPY		108,000,000		1,054,148
Republic of Belarus, REG S, 8.75%, 8/3/2015			500,000		501,250
Republic of El Salvador, REG S, 8.25%, 4/10/2032			40,000		41,700
Russian Federation:
Series 6204, 7.5%, 3/15/2018	RUB		3,400,000		106,717
Series 6207, 8.15%, 2/3/2027	RUB		10,200,000		318,825
United Mexican States:
Series M, 7.75%, 5/29/2031	MXN		2,700,000		230,284
Series M 20, 8.5%, 5/31/2029	MXN		1,350,000		124,188
					2,377,112
		Principal Amount ($)(a)		Value ($)

U.S. Government Sponsored Agencies 0.8%
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., 2.375%, 1/13/2022			350,000		338,701
Federal National Mortgage Association, 0.875%, 5/21/2018 (b)			630,000		610,044
					948,745
U.S. Treasury Obligations 17.8%
U.S. Treasury Bill, 0.1%**, 9/5/2013 (e)			433,000		432,984
U.S. Treasury Bond, 3.75%, 8/15/2041			2,500,000		2,639,452
U.S. Treasury Notes:
0.75%, 6/15/2014 (f)			2,500,000		2,513,183
1.0%, 8/31/2016			14,650,000		14,763,303
					20,348,922
Total Government & Agency Obligations (Cost $26,147,336)					25,648,323
Loan Participations and Assignments 1.7%
Sovereign Loans
Gazprom Neft OAO, 144A, 4.375%, 9/19/2022			250,000		228,963
Gazprom OAO, 144A, 9.25%, 4/23/2019			100,000		120,500
National JSC Naftogaz of Ukraine, 9.5%, 9/30/2014			250,000		249,375
Russian Railways, 5.739%, 4/3/2017			400,000		424,000
Uralkali OJSC, 144A, 3.723%, 4/30/2018 (b)			200,000		192,250
Vimpel Communications, 144A, 9.125%, 4/30/2018			200,000		227,500
VTB Bank OJSC, 144A, 6.0%, 4/12/2017			500,000		520,000
Total Loan Participations and Assignments (Cost $2,018,178)					1,962,588

Municipal Bonds and Notes 5.1%
Gwinnett County, GA, Development Authority Revenue, Gwinnett Stadium Project, 6.4%, 1/1/2028			655,000		724,233
Kentucky, Asset/Liability Commission, General Fund Revenue, 3.165%, 4/1/2018			1,715,001		1,781,234
Michigan, Western Michigan University Revenue, 4.41%, 11/15/2014, INS: AMBAC			320,000		322,640
New Jersey, Economic Development Authority Revenue, Series B, 6.5%, 11/1/2013, INS: AGC			860,000		873,949
New Jersey, State Economic Development Authority Revenue, Series B, 6.5%, 11/1/2014, INS: AGC			585,000		619,802
Port Authority New York & New Jersey, One Hundred Fiftieth Series, 4.75%, 9/15/2016			930,000		1,013,598
Virgin Islands, Port Authority Marine Revenue, Series B, 5.08%, 9/1/2013, INS: AGMC			160,000		160,304
		Principal Amount ($)(a)		Value ($)

Washington, Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority, Sales & Use Tax Revenue, Series A, 5.0%, 11/1/2036			285,000		303,236
Total Municipal Bonds and Notes (Cost $5,503,791)					5,798,996

	Shares		Value ($)

Preferred Stock 0.0%
Financials
Ally Financial, Inc., 144A, 7.0% (Cost $14,594)		15		14,258

	Contracts		Value ($)

Call Options Purchased 0.0%
Options on Exchange-Traded Futures Contracts
10 Year U.S. Treasury Note Future, Expiration Date 8/23/2013, Strike Price $132.5 (Cost $12,062)		24		1,125

	Shares		Value ($)

Securities Lending Collateral 4.5%
Daily Assets Fund Institutional, 0.10% (g) (h) (Cost $5,169,839)		5,169,839		5,169,839

Cash Equivalents 3.3%
Central Cash Management Fund, 0.07% (g) (Cost $3,794,189)		3,794,189		3,794,189

	% of Net Assets			Value ($)

Total Investment Portfolio (Cost $146,517,508)†		125.1			143,120,248
Other Assets and Liabilities, Net		(25.1	)		(28,716,565	)
Net Assets		100.0			114,403,683

* Floating rate securities' yields vary with a designated market index or market rate, such as the coupon-equivalent of the U.S. Treasury Bill rate. These securities are shown at their current rate as of June 30, 2013.

** Annualized yield at time of purchase; not a coupon rate.

† The cost for federal income tax purposes was $146,517,508. At June 30, 2013, net unrealized depreciation for all securities based on tax cost was $3,397,260. This consisted of aggregate gross unrealized appreciation for all securities in which there was an excess of value over tax cost of $1,941,548 and aggregate gross unrealized depreciation for all securities in which there was an excess of tax cost over value of $5,338,808.

(a) Principal amount stated in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted.

(b) All or a portion of these securities were on loan (see Notes to Financial Statements). The value of securities loaned at June 30, 2013 amounted to $5,013,650, which is 4.4% of net assets.

(d) Government-backed debt issued by financial companies or government sponsored enterprises.

(e) At June 30, 2013, this security has been pledged, in whole or in part, to cover initial margin requirements for open futures contracts.

(f) At June 30, 2013, this security has been pledged, in whole or in part, as collateral for open swap contracts.

(g) Affiliated fund managed by Deutsche Investment Management Americas Inc. The rate shown is the annualized seven-day yield at period end.

(h) Represents collateral held in connection with securities lending. Income earned by the Fund is net of borrower rebates.

144A: Security exempt from registration under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933. These securities may be resold in transactions exempt from registration, normally to qualified institutional buyers.

AGC: Assured Guaranty Corp.

AGMC: Assured Guaranty Municipal Corp.

AMBAC: Ambac Financial Group, Inc.

INS: Insured

Interest Only: Interest Only (IO) bonds represent the "interest only" portion of payments on a pool of underlying mortgages or mortgage-backed securities. IO securities are subject to prepayment risk of the pool of underlying mortgages.

PIK: Denotes that all or a portion of the income is paid in-kind in the form of additional principal.

REG S: Securities sold under Regulation S may not be offered, sold or delivered within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons, except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933.

REIT: Real Estate Investment Trust

Included in the portfolio are investments in mortgage or asset-backed securities which are interests in separate pools of mortgages or assets. Effective maturities of these investments may be shorter than stated maturities due to prepayments. Some separate investments in the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., Federal National Mortgage Association and issues which have similar coupon rates have been aggregated for presentation purposes in this investment portfolio.

At June 30, 2013, open futures contracts purchased were as follows:

Futures	Currency	Expiration Date	Contracts		Notional Value ($)		Unrealized Depreciation ($)
10 Year Canadian Government Bond	CAD	9/19/2013		5		624,750		(25,222	)
10 Year U.S. Treasury Note	USD	9/19/2013		200		25,312,500		(757,152	)
Federal Republic of Germany Euro-Bund	EUR	9/6/2013		5		921,047		(18,167	)
Total unrealized depreciation								(800,541	)

At June 30, 2013, open futures contracts sold were as follows:

Futures

Currency

Expiration Date

Contracts

Notional Value ($)

Unrealized Depreciation ($)

Ultra Long U.S. Treasury Bond

USD

9/19/2013

736,563

(12,288

)

At June 30, 2013, open written options contracts were as follows:

Options on Exchange-Traded Futures Contracts

Contracts

Expiration Date

Strike Price ($)

Premiums Received ($)

Value ($) (i)

Put Options

10 Year U.S. Treasury Note Future

8/23/2013

130.0

19,438

(87,000

)

(i) Unrealized depreciation on written options on exchange-traded futures contracts at June 30, 2013 was $67,562.

Options on Interest Rate Swap Contracts	Swap Effective/ Expiration Date	Contract Amount			Option Expiration Date	Premiums Received ($)		Value ($) (j)
Call Options Received Fixed — 4.064% - Pay Floating — LIBOR	5/13/2014 5/13/2044		2,000,000	1	5/9/2014		14,750		(55,362	)
Put Options Pay Fixed — 2.385% - Receive Floating — LIBOR	3/31/2014 3/31/2044		2,000,000	2	3/27/2014		27,300		(6,382	)
Pay Fixed — 2.423% - Receive Floating — LIBOR	3/20/2014 3/20/2044		2,000,000	3	3/18/2014		28,800		(7,250	)
Pay Fixed — 2.064% - Receive Floating — LIBOR	5/13/2014 5/13/2044		2,000,000	1	5/9/2014		14,750		(2,218	)
Total Put Options							70,850		(15,850	)
Total							85,600		(71,212	)

(j) Unrealized appreciation on written options on interest rate swap contracts at June 30, 2013 was $14,388.

At June 30, 2013, open credit default swap contracts sold were as follows:

Effective/ Expiration Date		Notional Amount ($) (k)				Fixed Cash Flows Received			Underlying Debt Obligation/ Quality Rating (l)		Value ($)				Upfront Payments Paid ($)				Unrealized Appreciation ($)
9/20/2012 12/20/2017			50,000	4			5.0	%	General Motors Corp., 3.3%, 12/20/2017, BB+			6,217				3,324				2,893

(k) The maximum potential amount of future undiscounted payments that the Fund could be required to make under a credit default swap contract would be the notional amount of the contract. These potential amounts would be partially offset by any recovery values of the referenced debt obligation or net amounts received from the settlement of buy protection credit default swap contracts entered into by the Fund for the same referenced debt obligation, if any.

(l) The quality ratings represent the higher of Moody's Investors Service, Inc. ("Moody's") or Standard & Poor's Corporation ("S&P") credit ratings and are unaudited.

At June 30, 2013, open interest rate swap contracts were as follows:

Effective/ Expiration Date	Notional Amount ($)			Cash Flows Paid by the Fund	Cash Flows Received by the Fund	Value ($)			Upfront Payments Paid/ (Received) ($)			Unrealized Appreciation/ (Depreciation) ($)
5/1/2014 5/1/2016		25,000,000	5	Fixed — 0.528%	Floating — LIBOR		198,959			—			198,959
5/1/2014 5/1/2034		3,000,000	3	Floating — LIBOR	Fixed — 2.791%		(319,977	)		7,242			(327,219	)
5/1/2014 5/1/2019		15,000,000	6	Fixed — 1.233%	Floating — LIBOR		610,937			(9,229	)		620,166
5/1/2014 5/1/2024		12,000,000	2	Fixed — 2.156%	Floating — LIBOR		934,208			(2,033	)		936,241
5/1/2014 5/1/2044		1,500,000	2	Floating — LIBOR	Fixed — 2.922%		(185,027	)		2,487			(187,514	)
Total net unrealized appreciation													1,240,633

Counterparties:

1 Nomura International PLC

2 Barclays Bank PLC

3 JPMorgan Chase Securities, Inc.

4 UBS AG

5 BNP Paribas

6 Citigroup, Inc.

LIBOR: London Interbank Offered Rate

At June 30, 2013, the Fund had the following open forward foreign currency exchange contracts:

Contracts to Deliver		In Exchange For		Settlement Date	Unrealized Appreciation ($)		Counterparty
NOK	10,730,174	EUR	1,400,000	7/5/2013		56,184	Citigroup, Inc.
AUD	600,000	USD	625,106	7/5/2013		76,584	Nomura International PLC
USD	9,507	NOK	57,957	7/5/2013		32	Citigroup, Inc.
GBP	900,000	USD	1,373,765	7/5/2013		4,959	JPMorgan Chase Securities, Inc.
JPY	90,000,000	USD	926,117	7/10/2013		18,642	Nomura International PLC
EUR	700,000	USD	927,199	7/11/2013		16,003	JPMorgan Chase Securities, Inc.
GBP	600,000	USD	933,057	7/11/2013		20,558	BNP Paribas
SGD	1,800,000	USD	1,446,729	7/11/2013		26,578	JPMorgan Chase Securities, Inc.
EUR	700,000	USD	928,794	7/11/2013		17,598	Barclays Bank PLC
AUD	1,500,000	NZD	1,790,160	7/12/2013		15,476	Citigroup, Inc.
CZK	17,200,000	USD	883,048	7/12/2013		22,389	Bank of America
CZK	17,100,000	USD	885,293	7/12/2013		29,638	BNP Paribas
USD	887,544	ZAR	8,800,000	7/15/2013		683	Barclays Bank PLC
NZD	1,100,000	USD	876,664	7/15/2013		25,166	Citigroup, Inc.
JPY	60,000,000	USD	605,152	7/16/2013		154	Nomura International PLC
JPY	60,000,000	USD	613,907	7/16/2013		8,909	Bank of America
EUR	900,000	USD	1,199,080	7/17/2013		27,514	Nomura International PLC
GBP	800,000	USD	1,253,747	7/17/2013		37,133	JPMorgan Chase Securities, Inc.
JPY	90,000,000	USD	913,300	7/24/2013		5,776	Barclays Bank PLC
USD	583,686	ZAR	6,000,000	7/25/2013		21,015	Barclays Bank PLC
USD	819,656	AUD	900,000	7/26/2013		1,816	JPMorgan Chase Securities, Inc.
CAD	900,000	USD	855,608	7/26/2013		394	Nomura International PLC
AUD	900,000	USD	831,535	7/26/2013		10,062	BNP Paribas
CAD	1,100,000	USD	1,076,818	7/31/2013		31,658	JPMorgan Chase Securities, Inc.
AUD	1,243,690	USD	1,207,630	7/31/2013		72,801	JPMorgan Chase Securities, Inc.
CAD	759,475	USD	735,820	7/31/2013		14,208	Nomura International PLC
JPY	30,000,000	USD	307,148	8/1/2013		4,631	Nomura International PLC
USD	1,107,823	JPY	110,000,000	8/2/2013		1,409	JPMorgan Chase Securities, Inc.
Total unrealized appreciation						567,970

Contracts to Deliver		In Exchange For		Settlement Date	Unrealized Depreciation ($)			Counterparty
USD	627,750	AUD	600,000	7/5/2013		(79,228	)	Barclays Bank PLC
USD	909,592	JPY	90,000,000	7/5/2013		(2,133	)	Nomura International PLC
USD	1,401,422	GBP	900,000	7/5/2013		(32,615	)	BNP Paribas
JPY	90,000,000	USD	898,307	7/5/2013		(9,152	)	Nomura International PLC
EUR	1,400,000	NOK	10,672,217	7/5/2013		(65,724	)	UBS AG
USD	931,055	JPY	90,000,000	7/10/2013		(23,580	)	Barclays Bank PLC
USD	933,264	GBP	600,000	7/11/2013		(20,765	)	Barclays Bank PLC
USD	1,431,725	SGD	1,800,000	7/11/2013		(11,573	)	Nomura International PLC
USD	1,863,428	EUR	1,400,000	7/11/2013		(41,037	)	Barclays Bank PLC
NZD	1,084,052	AUD	900,000	7/12/2013		(16,994	)	Nomura International PLC
NZD	717,352	AUD	600,000	7/12/2013		(7,188	)	BNP Paribas
USD	1,789,151	CZK	34,300,000	7/12/2013		(72,838	)	Barclays Bank PLC
USD	8,711	NZD	11,244	7/12/2013		(5	)	Barclays Bank PLC
USD	586,735	INR	34,500,000	7/15/2013		(7,779	)	Citigroup, Inc.
USD	884,879	NZD	1,100,000	7/15/2013		(33,381	)	JPMorgan Chase Securities, Inc.
ZAR	8,800,000	USD	877,679	7/15/2013		(10,548	)	UBS AG
INR	34,500,000	USD	566,689	7/15/2013		(12,268	)	Citigroup, Inc.
USD	1,210,388	JPY	120,000,000	7/16/2013		(393	)	Nomura International PLC
USD	1,258,000	GBP	800,000	7/17/2013		(41,385	)	UBS AG
USD	1,190,076	EUR	900,000	7/17/2013		(18,510	)	Nomura International PLC
USD	881,152	ZAR	8,700,000	7/19/2013		(3,545	)	JPMorgan Chase Securities, Inc.
ZAR	8,700,000	USD	871,606	7/19/2013		(6,000	)	JPMorgan Chase Securities, Inc.
NOK	5,557,509	EUR	700,000	7/24/2013		(2,899	)	BNP Paribas
USD	921,003	JPY	90,000,000	7/24/2013		(13,479	)	Nomura International PLC
ZAR	6,000,000	USD	592,826	7/25/2013		(11,875	)	Citigroup, Inc.
TWD	25,900,000	USD	861,610	7/29/2013		(2,754	)	JPMorgan Chase Securities, Inc.
JPY	108,517,971	USD	1,092,583	7/31/2013		(1,694	)	Nomura International PLC
USD	302,877	JPY	30,000,000	8/1/2013		(360	)	UBS AG
ZAR	8,800,000	USD	879,903	8/1/2013		(6,194	)	Citigroup, Inc.
USD	888,234	ZAR	8,800,000	8/1/2013		(2,137	)	Citigroup, Inc.
USD	2,057,685	MXN	26,600,000	8/19/2013		(14,121	)	JPMorgan Chase Securities, Inc.
Total unrealized depreciation						(572,154	)

Currency Abbreviations

AUD Australian Dollar

CAD Canadian Dollar

CZK Czech Koruna

EUR Euro

GBP Great British Pound

INR Indian Rupee

JPY Japanese Yen

MXN Mexican Peso

NOK Norwegian Krone

NZD New Zealand Dollar

RUB Russian Ruble

SGD Singapore Dollar

TWD Taiwan Dollar

USD United States Dollar

ZAR South African Rand

For information on the Fund's policy and additional disclosures regarding options purchased, futures contracts, written options, credit default swap contracts, interest rate swap contracts and forward foreign currency exchange contracts, please refer to Note B in the accompanying Notes to Financial Statements.

Fair Value Measurements

Various inputs are used in determining the value of the Fund's investments. These inputs are summarized in three broad levels. Level 1 includes quoted prices in active markets for identical securities. Level 2 includes other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar securities, interest rates, prepayment speeds, and credit risk). Level 3 includes significant unobservable inputs (including the Fund's own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments). The inputs or methodology used for valuing securities are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in those securities.

The following is a summary of the inputs used as of June 30, 2013 in valuing the Fund's investments. For information on the Fund's policy regarding the valuation of investments, please refer to the Security Valuation section of Note A in the accompanying Notes to Financial Statements.

Assets	Level 1			Level 2			Level 3		Total

Fixed Income Investments (m)
Corporate Bonds	$	—		$	43,161,775		$	—	$	43,161,775
Mortgage-Backed Securities Pass-Throughs		—			41,349,910			—		41,349,910
Asset-Backed		—			1,797,185			—		1,797,185
Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities		—			8,347,213			—		8,347,213
Collateralized Mortgage Obligations		—			6,074,847			—		6,074,847
Government & Agency Obligations		—			25,648,323			—		25,648,323
Loan Participations and Assignments		—			1,962,588			—		1,962,588
Municipal Bonds and Notes		—			5,798,996			—		5,798,996
Preferred Stock		—			14,258			—		14,258
Short-Term Investments (m)		8,964,028			—			—		8,964,028
Derivatives (n)
Purchased Options		1,125			—			—		1,125
Credit Default Swap Contracts		—			2,893			—		2,893
Interest Rate Swap Contracts		—			1,755,366			—		1,755,366
Forward Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts		—			567,970			—		567,970
Total	$	8,965,153		$	136,481,324		$	—	$	145,446,477
Liabilities
Derivatives (n)
Written Options	$	(87,000	)	$	(71,212	)	$	—	$	(158,212	)
Futures Contracts		(812,829	)		—			—		(812,829	)
Interest Rate Swap Contracts		—			(514,733	)		—		(514,733	)
Forward Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts		—			(572,154	)		—		(572,154	)
Total	$	(899,829	)	$	(1,158,099	)	$	—	$	(2,057,928	)

There have been no transfers between fair value measurement levels during the period ended June 30, 2013.

(m) See Investment Portfolio for additional detailed categorizations.

(n) Derivatives include value of options purchased, unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on futures contracts, credit default swap contracts, interest rate swap contracts, forward foreign currency exchange contracts and written options, at value.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

Statement of Assets and Liabilities

as of June 30, 2013 (Unaudited)
Assets
Investments: Investments in non-affiliated securities, at value (cost $137,553,480) — including $5,013,650 of securities loaned	$	134,156,220
Investment in Daily Assets Fund Institutional (cost $5,169,839)*		5,169,839
Investment in Central Cash Management Fund (cost $3,794,189)		3,794,189
Total investments, at value (cost $146,517,508)		143,120,248
Cash		26,847
Foreign currency, at value (cost $306,763)		287,604
Deposit from broker for swap contracts		360,000
Receivable for investments sold		469,785
Receivable for investments sold — when-issued securities		9,748,385
Receivable for Fund shares sold		18,962
Interest receivable		1,073,757
Unrealized appreciation on swap contracts		1,758,259
Unrealized appreciation on forward foreign currency exchange contracts		567,970
Upfront payments paid on swap contracts		13,053
Foreign taxes recoverable		1,037
Other assets		3,227
Total assets		157,449,134
Liabilities
Payable upon return of securities loaned		5,169,839
Payable for investments purchased		791,457
Payable for investments purchased — when-issued securities		35,044,148
Payable for Fund shares redeemed		199,317
Payable for variation margin on swap contracts		10,905
Payable upon return of deposit for swap contracts		360,000
Options written, at value (premiums received $105,038)		158,212
Net payable for pending swap contracts		117,418
Unrealized depreciation on swap contracts		514,733
Unrealized depreciation on forward foreign currency exchange contracts		572,154
Upfront payments received on swap contracts		11,262
Accrued management fee		27,785
Accrued Trustees' fees		2,628
Other accrued expenses and payables		65,593
Total liabilities		43,045,451
Net assets, at value	$	114,403,683
Net Assets Consist of
Undistributed net investment income		1,748,525
Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on: Investments		(3,397,260	)
Swap contracts		1,243,526
Futures		(812,829	)
Foreign currency		(25,189	)
Written options		(53,174	)
Accumulated net realized gain (loss)		(78,985,968	)
Paid-in capital		194,686,052
Net assets, at value	$	114,403,683
Class A Net Asset Value, offering and redemption price per share ($114,403,683 ÷ 20,965,100 outstanding shares of beneficial interest, $.01 par value, unlimited number of shares authorized)	$	5.46

* Represents collateral on securities loaned.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

Statement of Operations

for the six months ended June 30, 2013 (Unaudited)
Investment Income
Income: Interest (net of foreign taxes withheld of $461)	$	2,440,439
Income distributions — Central Cash Management Fund		4,569
Securities lending income, including income from Daily Assets Fund Institutional, net of borrower rebates		8,097
Total income		2,453,105
Expenses: Management fee		292,354
Administration fee		74,963
Services to shareholders		1,364
Custodian fee		19,001
Professional fees		31,007
Reports to shareholders		22,799
Trustees' fees and expenses		5,767
Other		7,925
Total expenses before expense reductions		455,180
Expense reductions		(41,295	)
Total expenses after expense reductions		413,885
Net investment income		2,039,220
Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss)
Net realized gain (loss) from: Investments		1,394,124
Swap contracts		147,781
Futures		(591,550	)
Written options		84,004
Foreign currency		(407,612	)
		626,747
Change in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on: Investments		(7,689,538	)
Swap contracts		1,031,726
Futures		(820,154	)
Written options		(129,178	)
Foreign currency		1,391
		(7,605,753	)
Net gain (loss)		(6,979,006	)
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations	$	(4,939,786	)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

Statement of Changes in Net Assets

Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets	Six Months Ended June 30, 2013 (Unaudited)			Year Ended December 31, 2012
Operations: Net investment income	$	2,039,220		$	4,611,965
Net realized gain (loss)		626,747			7,673,239
Change in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation)		(7,605,753	)		(104,078	)
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations		(4,939,786	)		12,181,126
Distributions to shareholders from: Net investment income: Class A		(4,386,055	)		(4,882,203	)
Fund share transactions: Class A Proceeds from shares sold		2,823,300			33,310,645
Net assets acquired in tax-free reorganization*		—			78,348,206
Reinvestment of distributions		4,386,055			4,882,203
Payments for shares redeemed		(73,726,792	)		(45,528,835	)
Net increase (decrease) in net assets from Class A share transactions		(66,517,437	)		71,012,219
Increase (decrease) in net assets		(75,843,278	)		78,311,142
Net assets at beginning of period		190,246,961			111,935,819
Net assets at end of period (including undistributed net investment income of $1,748,525 and $4,095,360, respectively)	$	114,403,683		$	190,246,961
Other Information
Class A Shares outstanding at beginning of period		32,324,964			19,571,536
Shares sold		487,650			5,773,870
Shares issued in tax-free reorganization*		—			13,990,523
Shares issued to shareholders in reinvestment of distributions		768,136			873,382
Shares redeemed		(12,615,650	)		(7,884,347	)
Net increase (decrease) in Class A shares		(11,359,864	)		12,753,428
Shares outstanding at end of period		20,965,100			32,324,964

* On April 30, 2012, DWS Core Fixed Income VIP was acquired by the Fund through a tax-free reorganization (see Note H).

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

Financial Highlights

				Years Ended December 31,
Class A	Six Months Ended 6/30/13 (Unaudited)			2012			2011			2010			2009			2008
Selected Per Share Data
Net asset value, beginning of period	$	5.89		$	5.72		$	5.66		$	5.54		$	5.50		$	6.98
Income (loss) from investment operations: Net investment incomea		.08			.16			.22			.19			.25			.37
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)		(.30	)		.27			.09			.18			.26			(1.48	)
Total from investment operations		(.22	)		.43			.31			.37			.51			(1.11	)
Less distributions from: Net investment income		(.21	)		(.26	)		(.25	)		(.25	)		(.47	)		(.37	)
Net asset value, end of period	$	5.46		$	5.89		$	5.72		$	5.66		$	5.54		$	5.50
Total Return (%)		(3.91	)b**		7.77			5.68			6.79			10.07			(16.77	)
Ratios to Average Net Assets and Supplemental Data
Net assets, end of period ($ millions)		114			190			112			155			159			155
Ratio of expenses before expense reductions (%)		.61	*		.58			.62			.59			.59			.59
Ratio of expenses after expense reductions (%)		.55	*		.58			.62			.59			.59			.59
Ratio of net investment income (%)		2.72	*		2.81			3.86			3.42			4.68			5.76
Portfolio turnover rate (%)		181	**		115			219			357			284			196
a Based on average shares outstanding during the period. b Total return would have been lower had certain expenses not been reduced. * Annualized ** Not annualized

Notes to Financial Statements (Unaudited)

A. Organization and Significant Accounting Policies

DWS Variable Series I (the "Series") is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act"), as an open-end, registered management investment company organized as a Massachusetts business trust. The Series consists of five diversified funds: DWS Bond VIP, DWS Core Equity VIP, DWS Capital Growth VIP, DWS Global Small Cap Growth VIP and DWS International VIP (individually or collectively hereinafter referred to as a "Fund" or the "Funds"). These financial statements report on DWS Bond VIP. The Series is intended to be the underlying investment vehicle for variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies to be offered by the separate accounts of certain life insurance companies ("Participating Insurance Companies").

The Fund's financial statements are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, which require the use of management estimates. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The policies described below are followed consistently by the Fund in the preparation of its financial statements.

Security Valuation. Investments are stated at value determined as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange on each day the exchange is open for trading.

Debt securities and loan participations and assignments are valued at prices supplied by independent pricing services approved by the Trustees of the Series. If the pricing services are unable to provide valuations, securities are valued at the most recent bid quotation or evaluated price, as applicable, obtained from one or more broker-dealers. Such services may use various pricing techniques which take into account appropriate factors such as yield, quality, coupon rate, maturity, type of issue, trading characteristics and other data, as well as broker quotes. These securities are generally categorized as Level 2.

Money market instruments purchased with an original or remaining maturity of sixty days or less, maturing at par, are valued at amortized cost, which approximates value, and are categorized as Level 2. Investments in open-end investment companies are valued at their net asset value each business day and are categorized as Level 1.

Futures contracts are generally valued at the settlement prices established each day on the exchange on which they are traded and are categorized as Level 1.

Swap contracts are valued daily based upon prices supplied by a Board approved pricing vendor, if available, and otherwise are valued at the price provided by the broker-dealer. Swap contracts are generally categorized as Level 2.

Forward currency contracts are valued at the prevailing forward exchange rate of the underlying currencies and are categorized as Level 2.

Exchange-traded options are valued at the last sale price or, in the absence of a sale, the mean between the closing bid and asked prices or at the most recent asked price (bid for purchased options) if no bid or asked price are available. Exchange-traded options are categorized as Level 1. Over-the-counter written or purchased options are valued at the price provided by the broker-dealer with which the option was traded and are generally categorized as Level 2.

Securities and other assets for which market quotations are not readily available or for which the above valuation procedures are deemed not to reflect fair value are valued in a manner that is intended to reflect their fair value as determined in accordance with procedures approved by the Trustees and are generally categorized as Level 3. In accordance with the Fund's valuation procedures, factors used in determining value may include, but are not limited to, the type of the security; the size of the holding; the initial cost of the security; the existence of any contractual restrictions on the security's disposition; the price and extent of public trading in similar securities of the issuer or of comparable companies; quotations or evaluated prices from broker-dealers and/or pricing services; information obtained from the issuer, analysts, and/or the appropriate stock exchange (for exchange-traded securities); an analysis of the company's or issuer's financial statements; an evaluation of the forces that influence the issuer and the market(s) in which the security is purchased and sold and with respect to debt securities; the maturity, coupon, creditworthiness, currency denomination and the movement of the market in which the security is normally traded. The value determined under these procedures may differ from published values for the same securities.

Disclosure about the classification of fair value measurements is included in a table following the Fund's Investment Portfolio.

Securities Lending. Deutsche Bank AG, as lending agent, lends securities of the Fund to certain financial institutions under the terms of the Security Lending Agreement. The Fund retains the benefits of owning the securities it has loaned and continues to receive interest and dividends generated by the securities and to participate in any changes in their market value. The Fund requires the borrowers of the securities to maintain collateral with the Fund consisting of either cash or liquid, unencumbered assets having a value at least equal to the value of the securities loaned. When the collateral falls below specified amounts, the lending agent will use its best effort to obtain additional collateral on the next business day to meet required amounts under the security lending agreement. The Fund may invest the cash collateral into a joint trading account in an affiliated money market fund pursuant to Exemptive Orders issued by the SEC. The Fund receives compensation for lending its securities either in the form of fees or by earning interest on invested cash collateral net of borrower rebates and fees paid to a lending agent. Either the Fund or the borrower may terminate the loan. There may be risks of delay and costs in recovery of securities or even loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially. If the Fund is not able to recover securities lent, the Fund may sell the collateral and purchase a replacement investment in the market, incurring the risk that the value of the replacement security is greater than the value of the collateral. The Fund is also subject to all investment risks associated with the reinvestment of any cash collateral received, including, but not limited to, interest rate, credit and liquidity risk associated with such investments.

As of June 30, 2013, the Fund had securities on loan with a gross value of $5,013,650. The value of the related collateral, $5,169,839, exceeded the value of the securities loaned at period end.

Foreign Currency Translations. The books and records of the Fund are maintained in U.S. dollars. Investment securities and other assets and liabilities denominated in a foreign currency are translated into U.S. dollars at the prevailing exchange rates at period end. Purchases and sales of investment securities, income and expenses are translated into U.S. dollars at the prevailing exchange rates on the respective dates of the transactions.

Net realized and unrealized gains and losses on foreign currency transactions represent net gains and losses between trade and settlement dates on securities transactions, the acquisition and disposition of foreign currencies, and the difference between the amount of net investment income accrued and the U.S. dollar amount actually received. That portion of both realized and unrealized gains and losses on investments that results from fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates is not separately disclosed but is included with net realized and unrealized gain/appreciation and loss/depreciation on investments.

Loan Participations and Assignments. Loan Participations and Assignments are portions of loans originated by banks and sold in pieces to investors. These U.S. dollar-denominated fixed and floating rate loans ("Loans") in which the Fund invests, are arranged between the borrower and one or more financial institutions ("Lenders"). These Loans may take the form of Senior Loans, which are corporate obligations often issued in connection with recapitalizations, acquisitions, leveraged buy-outs and refinancings, and Sovereign Loans, which are debt instruments between a foreign sovereign entity and one or more financial institutions. The Fund invests in such Loans in the form of participations in Loans ("Participations") or assignments of all or a portion of Loans from third parties ("Assignments"). Participations typically result in the Fund having a contractual relationship only with the Lender, not with the borrower. The Fund has the right to receive payments of principal, interest and any fees to which it is entitled from the Lender selling the Participation and only upon receipt by the Lender of the payments from the borrower. In connection with purchasing Participations, the Fund generally has no right to enforce compliance by the borrower with the terms of the loan agreement relating to the Loan, or any rights of set-off against the borrower, and the Fund will not benefit directly from any collateral supporting the Loan in which it has purchased the Participation. As a result, the Fund assumes the credit risk of both the borrower and the Lender that is selling the Participation. Assignments typically result in the Fund having a direct contractual relationship with the borrower, and the Fund may enforce compliance by the borrower with the terms of the loan agreement. Loans held by the Fund generally in the form of Assignments but the Fund may also invest in Participations. All Loan Participations and Assignments involve interest rate risk, liquidity risk and credit risk, including the potential default or insolvency of the borrower.

When-Issued/Delayed Delivery Securities. The Fund may purchase or sell securities with delivery or payment to occur at a later date beyond the normal settlement period. At the time the Fund enters into a commitment to purchase or sell a security, the transaction is recorded and the value of the transaction is reflected in the net asset value. The price of such security and the date when the security will be delivered and paid for are fixed at the time the transaction is negotiated. The value of the security may vary with market fluctuations. At the time the Fund enters into a purchase transaction it is required to segregate cash or other liquid assets at least equal to the amount of the commitment.

Certain risks may arise upon entering into when-issued or delayed delivery transactions from the potential inability of counterparties to meet the terms of their contracts or if the issuer does not issue the securities due to political, economic, or other factors. Additionally, losses may arise due to changes in the value of the underlying securities.

Taxes. The Fund is treated as a separate taxpayer as provided for in the Internal Revenue Code, as amended. It is the Fund's policy to comply with the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended, which are applicable to regulated investment companies, and to distribute all of its taxable income to the separate accounts of the Participating Insurance Companies which hold its shares.

Additionally, the Fund may be subject to taxes imposed by the governments of countries in which it invests and are generally based on income and/or capital gains earned or repatriated. Estimated tax liabilities on certain foreign securities are recorded on an accrual basis and are reflected as components of interest income or net change in unrealized gain/loss on investments. Tax liabilities realized as a result of security sales are reflected as a component of net realized gain/loss on investments.

Under the Regulated Investment Company Modernization Act of 2010, net capital losses incurred post-enactment may be carried forward indefinitely, and their character is retained as short-term and/or long-term. Previously, net capital losses were carried forward for eight years and treated as short-term losses. As a transition rule, the Act requires that post-enactment net capital losses be used before pre-enactment net capital losses.

At December 31, 2012, the Fund had a net tax basis capital loss carryforward of approximately $79,389,000, including $45,070,000 inherited from its merger with DWS Core Fixed Income VIP in fiscal year 2012, which may be applied against any realized net taxable capital gains of each succeeding year until fully utilized or until December 31, 2016 ($45,070,000) and December 31, 2017 ($34,319,000), the respective expiration dates, whichever occurs first, and which may be subject to certain limitations under Sections 381-384 of the Internal Revenue Code.

The Fund has reviewed the tax positions for the open tax years as of December 31, 2012 and has determined that no provision for income tax is required in the Fund's financial statements. The Fund's federal tax returns for the prior three fiscal years remain open subject to examination by the Internal Revenue Service.

Distribution of Income and Gains. Distributions from net investment income of the Fund, if any, are declared and distributed to shareholders annually. Net realized gains from investment transactions, in excess of available capital loss carryforwards, would be taxable to the Fund if not distributed, and, therefore, will be distributed to shareholders at least annually. The Fund may also make additional distributions for tax purposes if necessary.

The timing and characterization of certain income and capital gain distributions are determined annually in accordance with federal tax regulations which may differ from accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. These differences primarily relate to investments in foreign denominated investments, investments in forward foreign currency exchange contracts, futures contracts, swap contracts and certain securities sold at a loss. As a result, net investment income (loss) and net realized gain (loss) on investment transactions for a reporting period may differ significantly from distributions during such period. Accordingly, the Fund may periodically make reclassifications among certain of its capital accounts without impacting the net asset value of the Fund.

The tax character of current year distributions will be determined at the end of the current fiscal year.

Expenses. Expenses of the Series arising in connection with a specific Fund are allocated to that Fund. Other Series expenses which cannot be directly attributed to a Fund are apportioned among the Funds in the Series based upon the relative net assets or other appropriate measures.

Contingencies. In the normal course of business, the Fund may enter into contracts with service providers that contain general indemnification clauses. The Fund's maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown as this would involve future claims that may be made against the Fund that have not yet been made. However, based on experience, the Fund expects the risk of loss to be remote.

Other. Investment transactions are accounted for on a trade date plus one basis for daily net asset value calculations. However, for financial reporting purposes, investment transactions are reported on trade date. Interest income is recorded on the accrual basis net of foreign withholding taxes. Realized gains and losses from investment transactions are recorded on an identified cost basis and may include proceeds from litigation. All discounts and premiums are accreted/amortized for both tax and financial reporting purposes.

B. Derivative Instruments

Futures Contracts. A futures contract is an agreement between a buyer or seller and an established futures exchange or its clearinghouse in which the buyer or seller agrees to take or make a delivery of a specific amount of a financial instrument at a specified price on a specific date (settlement date). For the six months ended June 30, 2013, the Fund invested in interest rate futures to gain exposure to different parts of the yield curve while managing the overall duration. The Fund also entered into interest rate futures contracts for non-hedging purposes to seek to enhance potential gains.

Upon entering into a futures contract, the Fund is required to deposit with a financial intermediary cash or securities ("initial margin") in an amount equal to a certain percentage of the face value indicated in the futures contract. Subsequent payments ("variation margin") are made or received by the Fund dependent upon the daily fluctuations in the value and are recorded for financial reporting purposes as unrealized gains or losses by the Fund. Gains or losses are realized when the contract expires or is closed. Since all futures contracts are exchange traded, counterparty risk is minimized as the exchange's clearinghouse acts as the counterparty, and guarantees the futures against default.

Certain risks may arise upon entering into futures contracts, including the risk that an illiquid market will limit the Fund's ability to close out a futures contract prior to the settlement date and the risk that the futures contract is not well correlated with the security, index or currency to which it relates. Risk of loss may exceed amounts disclosed in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities.

A summary of the open futures contracts as of June 30, 2013, is included in a table following the Fund's Investment Portfolio. For the six months ended June 30, 2013, the investment in futures contracts purchased had a total notional value generally indicative of a range from approximately $8,763,000 to $26,858,000, and the investment in futures contracts sold had a total notional value generally indicative of a range from $0 to approximately $6,995,000.

Options. An option contract is a contract in which the writer (seller) of the option grants the buyer of the option, upon payment of a premium, the right to purchase from (call option), or sell to (put option), the writer a designated instrument at a specified price within a specified period of time. Certain options, including options on indices, will require cash settlement by the Fund if exercised. For the six months ended June 30, 2013, the Fund entered into options on interest rate futures and on interest rate swaps in order to hedge against potential adverse interest rate movements of portfolio assets.

If the Fund writes a covered call option, the Fund foregoes, in exchange for the premium, the opportunity to profit during the option period from an increase in the market value of the underlying security above the exercise price. If the Fund writes a put option it accepts the risk of a decline in the value of the underlying security below the exercise price. Over-the-counter options have the risk of the potential inability of counterparties to meet the terms of their contracts. The Fund's maximum exposure to purchased options is limited to the premium initially paid. In addition, certain risks may arise upon entering into option contracts including the risk that an illiquid secondary market will limit the Fund's ability to close out an option contract prior to the expiration date and that a change in the value of the option contract may not correlate exactly with changes in the value of the securities or currencies hedged.

A summary of the open purchased option contracts as of June 30, 2013 is included in the Fund's Investment Portfolio. A summary of open written option contracts is included in the table following the Fund's Investment Portfolio. For the six months ended June 30, 2013, the investment in written options contracts had a total value generally indicative of a range from approximately $26,000 to $158,000, and purchased option contracts had a total value generally indicative of a range from approximately $1,000 to $15,000.

Credit Default Swap Contracts. A credit default swap is a contract between a buyer and a seller of protection against pre-defined credit events for the reference entity. The Fund may enter into credit default swap contracts to gain exposure to an underlying issuer's credit quality characteristics without directly investing in that issuer or to hedge against the risk of a credit event on debt securities. As a seller in the credit default swap contract, the Fund is required to pay the par (or other agreed-upon) value of the referenced entity to the counterparty with the occurrence of a credit event by a third party, such as a U.S. or foreign corporate issuer, on the reference entity, which would likely result in a loss to the Fund. In return, the Fund receives from the counterparty a periodic stream of payments over the term of the contract provided that no credit event has occurred. If no credit event occurs, the Fund keeps the stream of payments with no payment obligations. The Fund may also buy credit default swap contracts, in which case the Fund functions as the counterparty referenced above. This involves the risk that the contract may expire worthless. It also involves counterparty risk that the seller may fail to satisfy its payment obligations to the Fund with the occurrence of a credit event. When the Fund sells a credit default swap contract it will cover its commitment. This may be achieved by, among other methods, maintaining cash or liquid assets equal to the aggregate notional value of the reference entities for all outstanding credit default swap contracts sold by the Fund. For the six months ended June 30, 2013, the Fund entered into credit default swap contracts to gain exposure to the underlying issuer's credit quality characteristics and hedge the risk of default on Fund securities.

The value of the credit default swap is adjusted daily and the change in value, if any, is recorded daily as unrealized appreciation or depreciation in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. An upfront payment, if any, made by the Fund is recorded as an asset in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. An upfront payment, if any, received by the Fund is recorded as a liability in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. Under the terms of the credit default swap contracts, the Fund receives or makes quarterly payments based on a specified interest rate on a fixed notional amount. These payments are recorded as a realized gain or loss in the Statement of Operations. Payments received or made as a result of a credit event or termination of the contract are recognized, net of a proportional amount of the upfront payment, as realized gains or losses in the Statement of Operations.

A summary of the open credit default swap contracts as of June 30, 2013 is included in a table following the Fund's Investment Portfolio. For the six months ended June 30, 2013, the investment in credit default swap contracts sold had a total notional value generally indicative of a range from $50,000 to $2,750,000.

Interest Rate Swap Contracts. For the six months ended June 30, 2013, the Fund entered into interest rate swap transactions to gain exposure to different parts of the yield curve while managing overall duration. The use of interest rate swaps is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio security transactions. In an interest rate swap, the Fund agrees to pay to the other party to the interest rate swap (which is known as the "counterparty") a fixed rate payment in exchange for the counterparty agreeing to pay to the Fund a variable rate payment, or the Fund agrees to receive from the counterparty a fixed rate payment in exchange for the counterparty agreeing to receive from the Fund a variable rate payment. In addition, both the Fund and counterparty may agree to exchange variable rate payments based on different indices. The payment obligations are based on the notional amount of the swap. Certain risks may arise when entering into swap transactions including counterparty default, liquidity or unfavorable changes in interest rates. In connection with these agreements, securities and or cash may be identified as collateral in accordance with the terms of the swap agreements to provide assets of value and recourse in the event of default. The maximum counterparty credit risk is the net present value of the cash flows to be received from or paid to the counterparty over the term of the interest rate swap contract, to the extent that this amount is beneficial to the Fund, in addition to any related collateral posted to the counterparty by the Fund. This risk may be partially reduced by a master netting arrangement between the Fund and the counterparty. The value of the swap is adjusted daily and the change in value, if any, is recorded as unrealized appreciation or depreciation in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. An upfront payment, if any, made by the Fund is recorded as an asset in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. An upfront payment, if any, received by the Fund is recorded as a liability in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. Payments received or made at the end of the measurement period are recorded as realized gain or loss in the Statement of Operations.

A summary of the open interest rate swap contracts as of June 30, 2013 is included in a table following the Fund's Investment Portfolio. For the six months ended June 30, 2013, the investment in interest rate swap contracts had a total notional amount generally indicative of a range from $27,500,000 to $56,500,000.

Forward Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts. A forward foreign currency exchange contract ("forward currency contract") is a commitment to purchase or sell a foreign currency at the settlement date at a negotiated rate. The Fund is subject to foreign exchange rate risk in its securities denominated in foreign currencies. Changes in exchange rates between foreign currencies and the U.S. dollar may affect the U.S. dollar value of foreign securities or the income or gains received on these securities. To reduce the effect of currency fluctuations, the Fund may enter into forward currency contracts. For the six months ended June 30, 2013, the Fund invested in forward currency contracts to hedge its exposure to changes in foreign currency exchange rates on its foreign currency denominated securities. In addition, the Fund also engaged in forward currency contracts for non-hedging purposes to seek to enhance potential gains.

Forward currency contracts are valued at the prevailing forward exchange rate of the underlying currencies and unrealized gain (loss) is recorded daily. On the settlement date of the forward currency contract, the Fund records a realized gain or loss equal to the difference between the value of the contract at the time it was opened and the value of the contract at the time it was closed. Certain risks may arise upon entering into forward currency contracts from the potential inability of counterparties to meet the terms of their contracts. The maximum counterparty credit risk to the Fund is measured by the unrealized gain on appreciated contracts. Additionally, when utilizing forward currency contracts to hedge, the Fund gives up the opportunity to profit from favorable exchange rate movements during the term of the contract.

A summary of the open forward currency contracts as of June 30, 2013, is included in a table following the Fund's Investment Portfolio. For the six months ended June 30, 2013, the investment in forward currency contracts U.S. dollars purchased had a total contract value generally indicative of a range from approximately $8,954,000 to $26,047,000, and the investment in forward currency contracts U.S. dollars sold had a total contract value generally indicative of a range from approximately $5,889,000 to $23,485,000.

The investment in forward currency contracts long vs. other foreign currencies sold had a total contract value generally indicative of a range from $0 to approximately $7,457,000.

The following tables summarize the value of the Fund's derivative instruments held as of June 30, 2013 and the related location in the accompanying Statement of Assets and Liabilities, presented by primary underlying risk exposure:

Asset Derivatives	Purchased Options		Forward Contracts		Swap Contracts		Total
Interest Rate Contracts (a)	$	1,125	$	—	$	1,755,366	$	1,756,491
Credit Contracts (a)		—		—		2,893		2,893
Foreign Exchange Contracts (b)		—		567,970		—		567,970
	$	1,125	$	567,970	$	1,758,259	$	2,327,354

Each of the above derivatives is located in the following Statement of Assets and Liabilities accounts:

(a) Investments in securities, at value (includes purchased options) and unrealized appreciation on swap contracts

(b) Unrealized appreciation on forward foreign currency exchange contracts

Liability Derivatives	Written Options			Forward Contracts			Swap Contracts			Futures Contracts			Total
Interest Rate Contracts (a) (b)	$	(158,212	)	$	—		$	(514,733	)	$	(812,829	)	$	(1,485,774	)
Foreign Exchange Contracts (c)		—			(572,154	)		—			—			(572,154	)
	$	(158,212	)	$	(572,154	)	$	(514,733	)	$	(812,829	)	$	(2,057,928	)

Each of the above derivatives is located in the following Statement of Assets and Liabilities accounts:

(a) Options written, at value and unrealized depreciation on swap contracts

(b) Includes cumulative depreciation of futures contracts as disclosed in the Investment Portfolio. Unsettled variation margin is disclosed separately within the Statement of Assets and Liabilities.

Additionally, the amount of unrealized and realized gains and losses on derivative instruments recognized in Fund earnings during the six months ended June 30, 2013 and the related location in the accompanying Statement of Operations is summarized in the following tables by primary underlying risk exposure:

Realized Gain (Loss)	Purchased Options			Written Options		Forward Contracts			Swap Contracts		Futures Contracts			Total
Interest Rate Contracts (a)	$	(932	)	$	84,004	$	—		$	142,459	$	(591,550	)	$	(366,019	)
Credit Contracts (b)		—			—		—			5,322		—			5,322
Foreign Exchange Contracts (c)		—			—		(368,630	)		—		—			(368,630	)
	$	(932	)	$	84,004	$	(368,630	)	$	147,781	$	(591,550	)	$	(729,327	)

Each of the above derivatives is located in the following Statement of Operations accounts:

(a) Net realized gain (loss) from investments (includes purchased options), written options, swap contracts and futures, respectively

(b) Net realized gain (loss) from swap contracts

(c) Net realized gain (loss) from foreign currency (Statement of Operations includes both forward currency contracts and foreign currency transactions)

Change in Net Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation)	Purchased Options			Written Options			Forward Contracts		Swap Contracts			Futures Contracts			Total
Interest Rate Contracts (a)	$	(10,435	)	$	(129,178	)	$	—	$	1,123,214		$	(820,154	)	$	163,447
Credit Contracts (b)		—			—			—		(91,488	)		—			(91,488	)
Foreign Exchange Contracts (c)		—			—			14,725		—			—			14,725
	$	(10,435	)	$	(129,178	)	$	14,725	$	1,031,726		$	(820,154	)	$	86,684

Each of the above derivatives is located in the following Statement of Operations accounts:

(a) Change in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments (includes purchased options), written options, swaps contracts and futures, respectively.

(b) Change in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on swap contracts

(c) Change in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on foreign currency (Statement of Operations includes both forward currency contracts and foreign currency transactions)

As of June 30, 2013, the Fund has transactions subject to enforceable master netting agreements. A reconciliation of the gross amounts on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities to the net amounts by derivative type, including any collateral exposure, is included in the following tables:

Counterparty	Gross Amounts of Assets Presented in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities (a)		Financial Instruments and Derivatives Available for Offset			Non-Cash Collateral Received			Collateral Received (c)			Net Amount of Derivative Assets
Bank of America	$	31,298	$	—		$	—		$	—		$	31,298
Barclays Bank PLC		981,313		(431,349	)		—			—			549,964
BNP Paribas		259,217		(42,702	)		—			—			216,515
Citigroup, Inc.		717,024		(40,253	)		—			(360,000	)		316,771
JPMorgan Chase Securities, Inc.		192,357		(192,357	)		—			—			—
Nomura International PLC		142,127		(131,508	)		—			—			10,619
UBS AG		2,893		(2,893	)		—			—			—
Exchange Traded Options and Futures (b)		1,125		—			—			—			1,125
	$	2,327,354	$	(841,062	)	$	—		$	(360,000	)	$	1,126,292
Counterparty	Gross Amounts of Liabilities Presented in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities (a)		Financial Instruments and Derivatives Available for Offset			Non-Cash Collateral Pledged (c)			Collateral Pledged			Net Amount of Derivative Liabilities
Barclays Bank PLC	$	431,349	$	(431,349	)	$	—		$	—		$	—
BNP Paribas		42,702		(42,702	)		—			—			—
Citigroup, Inc.		40,253		(40,253	)		—			—			—
JPMorgan Chase Securities, Inc.		394,270		(192,357	)		(201,913	)		—			—
Nomura International PLC		131,508		(131,508	)		—			—			—
UBS AG		118,017		(2,893	)		—			—			115,124
Exchange Traded Options and Futures (b)		899,829		—			—			—			899,829
	$	2,057,928	$	(841,062	)	$	(201,913	)	$	—		$	1,014,953

(a) Forward foreign currency exchange contracts, swap contracts and over-the-counter purchased options and written options are netted.

(b) Includes financial instruments (purchased options or futures) which are not subject to a master netting arrangement, or another similar arrangement.

C. Purchases and Sales of Securities

During the six months ended June 30, 2013, purchases and sales of investment securities (excluding short-term investments and U.S. Treasury obligations) aggregated $305,750,538 and $352,606,609, respectively. Purchases and sales of U.S. Treasury obligations aggregated $2,516,317 and $18,412,911, respectively.

For the six months ended June 30, 2013, transactions for written options on interest rate swap contracts and futures contracts were as follows:

	Contracts/ Contract Amount			Premiums
Outstanding, beginning of period		5,700,015		$	102,441
Options written		8,000,024			105,038
Options closed		(5,700,000	)		(96,615	)
Options expired		(15	)		(5,826	)
Outstanding, end of period		8,000,024		$	105,038

D. Related Parties

Management Agreement. Under the Investment Management Agreement with Deutsche Investment Management Americas Inc. ("DIMA" or the "Advisor"), an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Bank AG, the Advisor directs the investments of the Fund in accordance with its investment objectives, policies and restrictions. The Advisor determines the securities, instruments and other contracts relating to investments to be purchased, sold or entered into by the Fund.

Pursuant to the Investment Management Agreement with the Advisor, the Fund pays a monthly management fee based on the Fund's average daily net assets, computed and accrued daily and payable monthly, at the following annual rates:

First $250 million of average daily net assets	.390	%
Next $750 million of average daily net assets	.365	%
Over $1 billion of average daily net assets	.340	%

Accordingly, for the six months ended June 30, 2013, the Advisor waived a portion of its management fee pursuant to the Investment Management Agreement aggregating $40,987, and the amount charged aggregated $251,367, which was equivalent to an annualized effective rate of 0.34% of the Fund's average daily net assets.

For the period from January 1, 2013 through September 30, 2013, the Advisor has contractually agreed to waive its fees and/or reimburse certain operating expenses to the extent necessary to maintain the operating expenses (excluding certain expenses such as extraordinary expenses, taxes, brokerage and interest expense) of Class A at 0.55%.

Administration Fee. Pursuant to an Administrative Services Agreement, DIMA provides most administrative services to the Fund. For all services provided under the Administrative Services Agreement, the Fund pays the Advisor an annual fee ("Administration Fee") of 0.10% of the Fund's average daily net assets, computed and accrued daily and payable monthly. For the six months ended June 30, 2013, the Administration Fee was $74,963, of which $9,608 is unpaid.

Service Provider Fees. DWS Investments Service Company ("DISC"), an affiliate of the Advisor, is the transfer agent, dividend-paying agent and shareholder service agent for the Fund. Pursuant to a sub-transfer agency agreement between DISC and DST Systems, Inc. ("DST"), DISC has delegated certain transfer agent, dividend-paying agent and shareholder service agent functions to DST. DISC compensates DST out of the shareholder servicing fee it receives from the Fund. For the six months ended June 30, 2013, the amounts charged to the Fund by DISC aggregated $308, all of which was waived.

Typesetting and Filing Service Fees. Under an agreement with DIMA, DIMA is compensated for providing typesetting and certain regulatory filing services to the Fund. For the six months ended June 30, 2013, the amount charged to the Fund by DIMA included in the Statement of Operations under "reports to shareholders" aggregated $7,459, of which $6,983 is unpaid.

Trustees' Fees and Expenses. The Fund paid retainer fees to each Trustee not affiliated with the Advisor, plus specified amounts to the Board Chairperson and Vice Chairperson and to each committee Chairperson.

Affiliated Cash Management Vehicles. The Fund may invest uninvested cash balances in Central Cash Management Fund and DWS Variable NAV Money Fund, affiliated money market funds which are managed by the Advisor. Each affiliated money market fund seeks to provide a high level of current income consistent with liquidity and the preservation of capital. Each affiliated money market fund is managed in accordance with Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, which governs the quality, maturity, diversity and liquidity of instruments in which a money market fund may invest. Central Cash Management Fund seeks to maintain a stable net asset value, and DWS Variable NAV Money Fund maintains a floating net asset value. The Fund indirectly bears its proportionate share of the expenses of each affiliated money market fund in which it invests. Central Cash Management Fund does not pay the Advisor an investment management fee. To the extent that DWS Variable NAV Money Fund pays an investment management fee to the Advisor, the Advisor will waive an amount of the investment management fee payable to the Advisor by the Fund equal to the amount of the investment management fee payable on the Fund's assets invested in DWS Variable NAV Money Fund.

Securities Lending Agent Fees. Deutsche Bank AG serves as securities lending agent for the Fund. For the six months ended June 30, 2013, the Fund incurred securities lending agent fees to Deutsche Bank AG in the amount of $900.

E. Investing in Emerging Markets

Investing in emerging markets may involve special risks and considerations not typically associated with investing in developed markets. These risks include revaluation of currencies, high rates of inflation or deflation, repatriation restrictions on income and capital, and future adverse political, social and economic developments. Moreover, securities issued in these markets may be less liquid, subject to government ownership controls or delayed settlements and may have prices more volatile or less easily assessed than those of comparable securities of issuers in developed markets.

F. Ownership of the Fund

Three participating insurance companies were owners of record of 10% or more of the total outstanding Class A shares of the Fund, owning 35%, 25% and 13%, respectively.

G. Line of Credit

The Fund and other affiliated funds (the "Participants") share in a $375 million revolving credit facility provided by a syndication of banks. The Fund may borrow for temporary or emergency purposes, including the meeting of redemption requests that otherwise might require the untimely disposition of securities. The Participants are charged an annual commitment fee which is allocated based on net assets, among each of the Participants. Interest is calculated at a rate per annum equal to the sum of the Federal Funds Rate plus 1.25 percent plus if LIBOR exceeds the Federal Funds Rate the amount of such excess. The Fund may borrow up to a maximum of 33 percent of its net assets under the agreement. The Fund had no outstanding loans at June 30, 2013.

H. Acquisition of Assets

On April 30, 2012, the Fund acquired all of the net assets of DWS Core Fixed Income VIP pursuant to a plan of reorganization approved by the Board of Trustees on November 18, 2011. The acquisition was accomplished by a tax-free exchange of 8,800,059 Class A shares of DWS Core Fixed Income VIP for 13,990,523 Class A shares of the Fund outstanding on April 30, 2012. DWS Core Fixed Income VIP's net assets at that date, $78,348,206, including $2,794,520 of net unrealized appreciation, were combined with those of the Fund. The aggregate net assets of the Fund immediately before the acquisition were $109,635,421. The combined net assets of the Fund immediately following the acquisition were $187,983,627.

Information About Your Fund's Expenses (Unaudited)

As an investor of the Fund, you incur two types of costs: ongoing expenses and transaction costs. Ongoing expenses include management fees and other Fund expenses. Examples of transaction costs include contract charges, redemption fees and account maintenance fees, which are not shown in this section. The following tables are intended to help you understand your ongoing expenses (in dollars) of investing in the Fund and to help you compare these expenses with the ongoing expenses of investing in other mutual funds. In the most recent six-month period, the Fund limited these expenses; had it not done so, expenses would have been higher. The example in the table is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the six-month period and held for the entire period (January 1, 2013 to June 30, 2013).

The tables illustrate your Fund's expenses in two ways:

•Actual Fund Return. This helps you estimate the actual dollar amount of ongoing expenses (but not transaction costs) paid on a $1,000 investment in the Fund using the Fund's actual return during the period. To estimate the expenses you paid over the period, simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number in the "Expenses Paid per $1,000" line under the share class you hold.

• Hypothetical 5% Fund Return. This helps you to compare your Fund's ongoing expenses (but not transaction costs) with those of other mutual funds using the Fund's actual expense ratio and a hypothetical rate of return of 5% per year before expenses. Examples using a 5% hypothetical Fund return may be found in the shareholder reports of other mutual funds. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period.

Please note that the expenses shown in these tables are meant to highlight your ongoing expenses only and do not reflect any transaction costs. The "Expenses Paid per $1,000" line of the tables is useful in comparing ongoing expenses only and will not help you determine the relative total expense of owning different funds. If these transaction costs had been included, your costs would have been higher.

Expenses and Value of a $1,000 Investment for the six months ended June 30, 2013
Actual Fund Return	Class A
Beginning Account Value 1/1/13	$	1,000.00
Ending Account Value 6/30/13	$	960.90
Expenses Paid per $1,000*	$	2.67
Hypothetical 5% Fund Return	Class A
Beginning Account Value 1/1/13	$	1,000.00
Ending Account Value 6/30/13	$	1,022.07
Expenses Paid per $1,000*	$	2.76

* Expenses are equal to the Fund's annualized expense ratio, multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by 181 (the number of days in the most recent six-month period), then divided by 365.

Annualized Expense Ratio	Class A
DWS Variable Series I — DWS Bond VIP	.55%

For more information, please refer to the Fund's prospectus.

These tables do not reflect charges and fees ("contract charges") associated with the separate account that invests in the Fund or any variable life insurance policy or variable annuity contract for which the Fund is an investment option.

For an analysis of the fees associated with an investment in the Fund or similar funds, please refer to http://apps.finra.org/fundanalyzer/1/fa.aspx.

Proxy Voting

The Series' policies and procedures for voting proxies for portfolio securities and information about how the Series voted proxies related to its portfolio securities during the 12-month period ended June 30 are available on our Web site — www.dws-investments.com (click on "proxy voting"at the bottom of the page) — or on the SEC's Web site — www.sec.gov. To obtain a written copy of the Series' policies and procedures without charge, upon request, call us toll free at (800) 728-3337.

Summary of Management Fee Evaluation by Independent Fee Consultant

September 17, 2012

Pursuant to an Order entered into by Deutsche Investment Management Americas and affiliates (collectively, "DeAM") with the Attorney General of New York, I, Thomas H. Mack, have been appointed the Independent Fee Consultant for the DWS Funds (formerly the DWS Scudder Funds). My duties include preparing an annual written evaluation of the management fees DeAM charges the Funds, considering among other factors the management fees charged by other mutual fund companies for like services, management fees DeAM charges other clients for like services, DeAM's costs of supplying services under the management agreements and related profit margins, possible economies of scale if a Fund grows larger, and the nature and quality of DeAM's services, including fund performance. This report summarizes my evaluation for 2012, including my qualifications, the evaluation process for each of the DWS Funds, consideration of certain complex-level factors, and my conclusions. I served in substantially the same capacity in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011.

Qualifications

For more than 35 years I have served in various professional capacities within the investment management business. I have held investment analysis and advisory positions, including securities analyst, portfolio strategist and director of investment policy with a large investment firm. I have also performed business management functions, including business development, financial management and marketing research and analysis.

Since 1991, I have been an independent consultant within the asset management industry. I have provided services to over 125 client organizations, including investment managers, mutual fund boards, product distributors and related organizations. Over the past ten years I have completed a number of assignments for mutual fund boards, specifically including assisting boards with management contract renewal.

I hold a Master of Business Administration degree, with highest honors, from Harvard University and Master of Science and Bachelor of Science (highest honors) degrees from the University of California at Berkeley. I am an independent director and audit committee financial expert for two closed-end mutual funds and have served in various leadership and financial oversight capacities with non-profit organizations.

Evaluation of Fees for each DWS Fund

My work focused primarily on evaluating, fund-by-fund, the fees charged to each of the 103 mutual fund portfolios in the DWS Fund family. For each Fund, I considered each of the key factors mentioned above, as well as any other relevant information. In doing so I worked closely with the Funds' Independent Directors in their annual contract renewal process, as well as in their approval of contracts for several new funds (documented separately).

In evaluating each Fund's fees, I reviewed comprehensive materials provided by or on behalf of DeAM, including expense information prepared by Lipper Analytical, comparative performance information, profitability data, manager histories, and other materials. I also accessed certain additional information from the Lipper and Morningstar databases and drew on my industry knowledge and experience.

To facilitate evaluating this considerable body of information, I prepared for each Fund a document summarizing the key data elements in each area as well as additional analytics discussed below. This made it possible to consider each key data element in the context of the others.

In the course of contract renewal, DeAM agreed to implement a number of fee and expense adjustments requested by the Independent Directors which will favorably impact future fees and expenses, and my evaluation includes the effects of these changes.

Fees and Expenses Compared with Other Funds

The competitive fee and expense evaluation for each fund focused on two primary comparisons:

The Fund's contractual management fee (the advisory fee plus the administration fee where applicable) compared with those of a group of typically 12-15 funds in the same Lipper investment category (e.g. Large Capitalization Growth) having similar distribution arrangements and being of similar size.

The Fund's total expenses compared with a broader universe of funds from the same Lipper investment category and having similar distribution arrangements.

These two comparisons provide a view of not only the level of the fee compared with funds of similar scale but also the total expense the Fund bears for all the services it receives, in comparison with the investment choices available in the Fund's investment category and distribution channel. The principal figure-of-merit used in these comparisons was the subject Fund's percentile ranking against peers.

DeAM's Fees for Similar Services to Others

DeAM provided management fee schedules for all of its US domiciled fund and non-fund investment management accounts in any of the investment categories where there is a DWS Fund. These similar products included the other DWS Funds, non-fund pooled accounts, institutional accounts and sub-advisory accounts. Using this information, I calculated for each Fund the fee that would be charged to each similar product, at the subject Fund's asset level.

Evaluating information regarding non-fund products is difficult because there are varying levels of services required for different types of accounts, with mutual funds generally requiring considerably more regulatory and administrative types of service as well as having more frequent cash flows than other types of accounts. Also, while mutual fund fees for similar fund products can be expected to be similar, there will be some differences due to different pricing conditions in different distribution channels (e.g. retail funds versus those used in variable insurance products), differences in underlying investment processes and other factors.

Costs and Profit Margins

DeAM provided a detailed profitability analysis for each Fund. After making some adjustments so that the presentation would be more comparable to the available industry figures, I reviewed profit margins from investment management alone, from investment management plus other fund services (excluding distribution) provided to the Funds by DeAM (principally shareholder services), and DeAM profits from all sources, including distribution. A later section comments on overall profitability.

Economies of Scale

Economies of scale — an expected decline in management cost per dollar of fund assets as fund assets grow — are very rarely quantified and documented because of inherent difficulties in collecting and analyzing relevant data. However, in virtually every investment category that I reviewed, larger funds tend to have lower fees and lower total expenses than smaller funds. To see how each DWS Fund compares with this industry observation, I reviewed:

The trend in Fund assets over the last five years and the accompanying trend in total expenses. This shows if the Fund has grown and, if so, whether total expense (management fees as well as other expenses) have declined as a percent of assets.

Whether the Fund has break-points in its management fee schedule, the extent of the fee reduction built into the schedule and the asset levels where the breaks take effect, and in the case of a sub-advised Fund how the Fund's break-points compare with those of the sub-advisory fee schedule.

How the Fund's contractual fee schedule compares with trends in the industry data. To accomplish this, I constructed a chart showing how actual latest-fiscal-year contractual fees of the Fund and of other similar funds relate to average fund assets, with the subject Fund's contractual fee schedule superimposed.

Quality of Service — Performance

The quality-of-service evaluation focused on investment performance, which is the principal result of the investment management service. Each Fund's performance was reviewed over the past 1, 3, 5 and 10 years, as applicable, and compared with that of other funds in the same investment category and with a suitable market index.

In addition, I calculated and reviewed risk-adjusted returns relative to an index of similar mutual funds' returns and a suitable market index. The risk-adjusted returns analysis provides a way of determining the extent to which the Fund's return comparisons are mainly the product of investment value-added (or lack thereof) or alternatively taking considerably more or less risk than is typical in its investment category.

I also received and considered the history of portfolio manager changes for each Fund, as this provided an important context for evaluating the performance results.

Complex-Level Considerations

While this evaluation was conducted mainly at the individual fund level, there are some issues relating to the reasonableness of fees that can alternatively be considered across the whole fund complex:

I reviewed DeAM's profitability analysis for all DWS Funds, with a view toward determining if the allocation procedures used were reasonable and how profit levels compared with public data for other investment managers.

I considered whether DeAM and affiliates receive any significant ancillary or "fallout" benefits that should be considered in interpreting the direct profitability results. These would be situations where serving as the investment manager of the Funds is beneficial to another part of the Deutsche Bank organization.

I considered how aggregated DWS Fund expenses had varied over the years, by asset class and in the context of trends in asset levels.

I considered how aggregated DWS Fund performance measures relative to appropriate peers had varied by asset class and over time.

I reviewed the structure of the DeAM organization, trends in staffing levels, and information on compensation of investment management and other professionals compared with industry data.

Findings

Based on the process and analysis discussed above, which included reviewing a wide range of information from management and external data sources and considering among other factors the fees DeAM charges other clients, the fees charged by other fund managers, DeAM's costs and profits associated with managing the Funds, economies of scale, possible fall-out benefits, and the nature and quality of services provided, in my opinion the management fees charged the DWS Funds are reasonable.

Thomas H. Mack

President, Thomas H. Mack & Co., Inc.

Notes

DWS Investments Distributors, Inc.

222 South Riverside Plaza

Chicago, IL 60606

(800) 621-1148

VS1bond-3 (R-028373-2 8/13)

JUNE 30, 2013

SEMIANNUAL REPORT

DWS VARIABLE SERIES I

DWS Capital Growth VIP

Contents

3 Performance Summary

4 Portfolio Summary

4 Portfolio Management

5 Investment Portfolio

8 Statement of Assets and Liabilities

9 Statement of Operations

10 Statement of Changes in Net Assets

12 Financial Highlights

14 Notes to Financial Statements

18 Information About Your Fund's Expenses

19 Proxy Voting

20 Summary of Management Fee Evaluation by Independent Fee Consultant

The Fund may lend securities to approved institutions. Stocks may decline in value. See the prospectus for details.

DWS Investments is part of the Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management division of Deutsche Bank AG.

NOT FDIC/NCUA INSURED NO BANK GUARANTEE MAY LOSE VALUE NOT A DEPOSIT

NOT INSURED BY ANY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY

Performance Summary June 30, 2013 (Unaudited)

The gross expense ratios of the Fund, as stated in the fee table of the prospectus dated May 1, 2013 are 0.50% and 0.83% for Class A and Class B shares, respectively, and may differ from the expense ratios disclosed in the Financial Highlights tables in this report.

Growth of an Assumed $10,000 Investment
		The Russell 1000® Growth Index is an unmanaged, capitalization-weighted index containing those securities in the Russell 1000® Index with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values. Index returns do not reflect any fees or expenses and it is not possible to invest directly into an index.

Yearly periods ended June 30

Comparative Results
DWS Capital Growth VIP		6-Month‡			1-Year			3-Year			5-Year			10-Year
Class A	Growth of $10,000	$	11,033		$	11,558		$	15,509		$	12,902		$	19,767
Class A	Average annual total return		10.33	%		15.58	%		15.75	%		5.23	%		7.05	%
Russell 1000 Growth Index	Growth of $10,000	$	11,180		$	11,707		$	16,715		$	14,338		$	20,416
Russell 1000 Growth Index	Average annual total return		11.80	%		17.07	%		18.68	%		7.47	%		7.40	%
DWS Capital Growth VIP		6-Month‡			1-Year			3-Year			5-Year			10-Year
Class B	Growth of $10,000	$	11,019		$	11,523		$	15,362		$	12,696		$	19,098
Class B	Average annual total return		10.19	%		15.23	%		15.38	%		4.89	%		6.68	%
Russell 1000 Growth Index	Growth of $10,000	$	11,180		$	11,707		$	16,715		$	14,338		$	20,416
Russell 1000 Growth Index	Average annual total return		11.80	%		17.07	%		18.68	%		7.47	%		7.40	%

The growth of $10,000 is cumulative.

‡ Total returns shown for periods less than one year are not annualized.

Portfolio Summary (Unaudited)

Asset Allocation (As a % of Investment Portfolio excluding Securities Lending Collateral)	6/30/13	12/31/12

Common Stocks	99%	97%
Cash Equivalents	1%	3%
	100%	100%

Sector Diversification (As a % of Common Stocks)	6/30/13	12/31/12

Information Technology	26%	32%
Consumer Discretionary	19%	16%
Health Care	15%	13%
Industrials	13%	13%
Consumer Staples	12%	13%
Financials	5%	5%
Energy	5%	5%
Materials	4%	3%
Telecommunication Services	1%	—
Utilities	0%	0%
	100%	100%

Portfolio holdings and characteristics are subject to change.

For more complete details about the Fund's investment portfolio, see page 5.

Portfolio Management

Owen Fitzpatrick, CFA

Lead Portfolio Manager

Thomas M. Hynes, Jr., CFA

Brendan O'Neill, CFA

Portfolio Managers

Investment Portfolio June 30, 2013 (Unaudited)

	Shares		Value ($)

Common Stocks 99.1%
Consumer Discretionary 19.5%
Auto Components 0.8%
BorgWarner, Inc.* (a)		67,529		5,817,623
Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure 3.3%
Brinker International, Inc. (a)		145,313		5,729,692
Las Vegas Sands Corp.		147,340		7,798,706
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.* (a)		63,092		1,912,319
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (a)		140,028		8,848,369
				24,289,086
Household Durables 0.0%
Taylor Morrison Home Corp. "A"* (a)		4,650		113,367
Internet & Catalog Retail 1.5%
Amazon.com, Inc.*		40,690		11,299,206
Media 3.4%
Comcast Corp. "A"		348,980		14,615,282
News Corp. "A"		327,415		10,673,729
				25,289,011
Multiline Retail 1.1%
Dollar General Corp.*		163,296		8,235,017
Specialty Retail 5.3%
Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc. (a)		193,194		9,671,292
GNC Holdings, Inc. "A" (a)		98,889		4,371,883
Home Depot, Inc.		186,589		14,455,050
L Brands, Inc. (a)		213,613		10,520,440
				39,018,665
Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods 4.1%
NIKE, Inc. "B"		349,769		22,273,290
VF Corp. (a)		42,135		8,134,583
				30,407,873
Consumer Staples 12.2%
Beverages 3.7%
Beam, Inc.		152,794		9,642,829
PepsiCo, Inc.		214,302		17,527,761
				27,170,590
Food & Staples Retailing 4.4%
Costco Wholesale Corp.		133,314		14,740,529
Whole Foods Market, Inc. (a)		342,500		17,631,900
				32,372,429
Food Products 4.1%
Hillshire Brands Co.		282,957		9,360,217
Kraft Foods Group, Inc.		117,403		6,559,306
Mead Johnson Nutrition Co.		86,951		6,889,128
Mondelez International, Inc. "A"		276,682		7,893,737
				30,702,388
Energy 4.8%
Energy Equipment & Services 2.5%
Cameron International Corp.*		97,224		5,946,220
Schlumberger Ltd.		175,383		12,567,946
				18,514,166
	Shares		Value ($)

Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels 2.3%
Anadarko Petroleum Corp.		103,655		8,907,074
Concho Resources, Inc.*		46,999		3,934,756
Pioneer Natural Resources Co.		27,661		4,003,930
				16,845,760
Financials 5.3%
Capital Markets 3.0%
Affiliated Managers Group, Inc.* (a)		82,215		13,478,327
Ameriprise Financial, Inc.		67,147		5,430,850
Charles Schwab Corp.		137,127		2,911,206
				21,820,383
Consumer Finance 1.3%
Discover Financial Services		208,339		9,925,270
Real Estate Investment Trusts 0.9%
American Tower Corp. (REIT)		89,066		6,516,959
Real Estate Management & Development 0.1%
Realogy Holdings Corp.*		16,893		811,540
Health Care 14.4%
Biotechnology 7.7%
Celgene Corp.*		183,949		21,505,478
Cepheid, Inc.* (a)		155,369		5,347,801
Gilead Sciences, Inc.* (a)		432,697		22,158,413
Medivation, Inc.* (a)		162,921		8,015,713
				57,027,405
Health Care Equipment & Supplies 1.6%
CareFusion Corp.*		211,364		7,788,764
St. Jude Medical, Inc.		96,067		4,383,537
				12,172,301
Health Care Providers & Services 3.8%
Express Scripts Holding Co.*		276,663		17,067,340
McKesson Corp.		97,284		11,139,018
				28,206,358
Life Sciences Tools & Services 1.3%
Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. (a)		113,595		9,613,545
Industrials 12.5%
Aerospace & Defense 2.1%
Boeing Co.		74,437		7,625,326
TransDigm Group, Inc.		51,056		8,004,049
				15,629,375
Commercial Services & Supplies 0.9%
Stericycle, Inc.* (a)		57,396		6,338,240
Electrical Equipment 3.4%
AMETEK, Inc. (a)		276,403		11,691,847
Regal-Beloit Corp.		51,146		3,316,307
Roper Industries, Inc. (a)		82,510		10,249,392
				25,257,546
Industrial Conglomerates 1.2%
General Electric Co.		378,408		8,775,282
Machinery 3.7%
Dover Corp. (a)		115,280		8,952,645
Parker Hannifin Corp. (a)		139,888		13,345,315
SPX Corp. (a)		73,208		5,269,512
				27,567,472
	Shares		Value ($)

Road & Rail 1.2%
Norfolk Southern Corp.		127,134		9,236,285
Information Technology 25.6%
Communications Equipment 2.4%
QUALCOMM, Inc.		290,287		17,730,730
Computers & Peripherals 5.8%
Apple, Inc.		74,673		29,576,482
EMC Corp. (a)		535,358		12,645,156
Stratasys Ltd.*		7,070		592,042
				42,813,680
Internet Software & Services 4.8%
eBay, Inc.*		132,187		6,836,711
Google, Inc. "A"*		33,264		29,284,628
				36,121,339
IT Services 5.6%
Accenture PLC "A" (a)		161,668		11,633,629
International Business Machines Corp.		61,141		11,684,657
Visa, Inc. "A" (a)		101,366		18,524,636
				41,842,922
Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment 0.5%
Broadcom Corp. "A" (a)		104,049		3,512,694
Software 6.5%
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd.* (a)		106,080		5,270,054
Citrix Systems, Inc.*		110,348		6,657,295
Microsoft Corp.		301,483		10,410,208
Oracle Corp.		730,565		22,442,957
Solera Holdings, Inc.		60,132		3,346,346
				48,126,860
	Shares		Value ($)

Materials 4.0%
Chemicals
Ecolab, Inc. (a)		133,604		11,381,725
LyondellBasell Industries NV "A"		89,527		5,932,059
Monsanto Co.		127,755		12,622,194
				29,935,978
Telecommunication Services 0.5%
Wireless Telecommunication Services
Crown Castle International Corp.*		54,177		3,921,873
Utilities 0.3%
Water Utilities
American Water Works Co., Inc.		60,792		2,506,454
Total Common Stocks (Cost $470,849,603)				735,485,672

Securities Lending Collateral 16.6%
Daily Assets Fund Institutional, 0.10% (b) (c) (Cost $123,356,477)		123,356,477		123,356,477

Cash Equivalents 0.9%
Central Cash Management Fund, 0.07% (b) (Cost $6,524,732)		6,524,732		6,524,732

	% of Net Assets			Value ($)

Total Investment Portfolio (Cost $600,730,812)†		116.6			865,366,881
Other Assets and Liabilities, Net (a)		(16.6	)		(123,405,791	)
Net Assets		100.0			741,961,090

* Non-income producing security.

† The cost for federal income tax purposes was $603,069,362. At June 30, 2013, net unrealized appreciation for all securities based on tax cost was $262,297,519. This consisted of aggregate gross unrealized appreciation for all securities in which there was an excess of value over tax cost of $268,631,694 and aggregate gross unrealized depreciation for all securities in which there was an excess of tax cost over value of $6,334,175.

(a) All or a portion of these securities were on loan. In addition, included in other assets and liabilities, net are pending sales, that are also on loan (see Notes to Financial Statements). The value of securities loaned at June 30, 2013 amounted to $119,269,494, which is 16.1% of net assets.

(b) Affiliated fund managed by Deutsche Investment Management Americas Inc. The rate shown is the annualized seven-day yield at period end.

(c) Represents collateral held in connection with securities lending. Income earned by the Fund is net of borrower rebates.

REIT: Real Estate Investment Trust

Fair Value Measurements

Assets	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total

Common Stocks (d)	$	735,485,672	$	—	$	—	$	735,485,672
Short-Term Investments (d)		129,881,209		—		—		129,881,209
Total	$	865,366,881	$	—	$	—	$	865,366,881

There have been no transfers between fair value measurement levels during the period ended June 30, 2013.

(d) See Investment Portfolio for additional detailed categorizations.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

Statement of Assets and Liabilities

as of June 30, 2013 (Unaudited)
Assets
Investments: Investments in non-affiliated securities, at value (cost $470,849,603) — including $119,269,494 of securities loaned	$	735,485,672
Investment in Daily Assets Fund Institutional (cost $123,356,477)*		123,356,477
Investment in Central Cash Management Fund (cost $6,524,732)		6,524,732
Total investments in securities, at value (cost $600,730,812)		865,366,881
Foreign currency, at value (cost $3,675)		3,487
Receivable for investments sold		42,021,529
Receivable for Fund shares sold		70,289
Dividends receivable		647,960
Interest receivable		3,655
Foreign taxes recoverable		28,627
Other assets		4,664
Total assets		908,147,092
Liabilities
Payable upon return of securities loaned		123,356,477
Payable for investments purchased		42,173,008
Payable for Fund shares redeemed		290,831
Accrued management fee		231,333
Accrued Trustees' fees		706
Other accrued expenses and payables		133,647
Total liabilities		166,186,002
Net assets, at value	$	741,961,090
Net Assets Consist of
Undistributed net investment income		2,444,538
Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on: Investments		264,636,069
Foreign currency		3,489
Accumulated net realized gain (loss)		(38,850,036	)
Paid-in capital		513,727,030
Net assets, at value	$	741,961,090
Class A Net Asset Value, offering and redemption price per share ($728,827,763 ÷ 31,304,064 outstanding shares of beneficial interest, $.01 par value, unlimited number of shares authorized)	$	23.28
Class B Net Asset Value, offering and redemption price per share ($13,133,327 ÷ 565,478 outstanding shares of beneficial interest, $.01 par value, unlimited number of shares authorized)	$	23.23

* Represents collateral on securities loaned.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

Statement of Operations

for the six months ended June 30, 2013 (Unaudited)
Investment Income
Income: Dividends (net of foreign taxes withheld of $12,380)	$	4,451,551
Income distributions — Central Cash Management Fund		4,269
Securities lending income, including income from Daily Assets Fund Institutional, net of borrower rebates		20,672
Total income		4,476,492
Expenses: Management fee		1,387,835
Administration fee		371,737
Services to shareholders		2,592
Distribution and service fees (Class B)		16,703
Record keeping fee (Class B)		5,333
Custodian fee		8,032
Professional fees		33,976
Reports to shareholders		1,832
Trustees' fees and expenses		14,804
Total expenses		1,842,844
Net investment income (loss)		2,633,648
Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss)
Net realized gain (loss) from: Investments		50,176,232
Foreign currency		(1,009	)
	��	50,175,223
Change in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on: Investments		20,309,437
Foreign currency		(1,048	)
		20,308,389
Net gain (loss)		70,483,612
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations	$	73,117,260

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

Statement of Changes in Net Assets

Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets	Six Months Ended June 30, 2013 (Unaudited)			Year Ended December 31, 2012
Operations: Net investment income (loss)	$	2,633,648		$	9,693,194
Net realized gain (loss)		50,175,223			39,822,591
Change in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation)		20,308,389			58,817,893
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations		73,117,260			108,333,678
Distributions to shareholders from: Net investment income: Class A		(9,616,234	)		(6,353,433	)
Class B		(131,767	)		(73,349	)
Total distributions		(9,748,001	)		(6,426,782	)
Fund share transactions: Class A Proceeds from shares sold		4,965,062			16,829,443
Reinvestment of distributions		9,616,234			6,353,433
Payments for shares redeemed		(49,069,341	)		(99,466,658	)
Net increase (decrease) in net assets from Class A share transactions		(34,488,045	)		(76,283,782	)
Class B Proceeds from shares sold		303,236			580,173
Reinvestment of distributions		131,767			73,349
Payments for shares redeemed		(1,252,837	)		(2,697,364	)
Net increase (decrease) in net assets from Class B share transactions		(817,834	)		(2,043,842	)
Increase (decrease) in net assets		28,063,380			23,579,272
Net assets at beginning of period		713,897,710			690,318,438
Net assets at end of period (including undistributed net investment income of $2,444,538 and $9,558,891, respectively)	$	741,961,090		$	713,897,710
Other Information
Class A Shares outstanding at beginning of period		32,798,165			36,451,466
Shares sold		216,183			801,185
Shares issued to shareholders in reinvestment of distributions		419,923			298,283
Shares redeemed		(2,130,207	)		(4,752,769	)
Net increase (decrease) in Class A shares		(1,494,101	)		(3,653,301	)
Shares outstanding at end of period		31,304,064			32,798,165
Class B Shares outstanding at beginning of period		600,771			698,290
Shares sold		13,273			28,055
Shares issued to shareholders in reinvestment of distributions		5,764			3,450
Shares redeemed		(54,330	)		(129,024	)
Net increase (decrease) in Class B shares		(35,293	)		(97,519	)
Shares outstanding at end of period		565,478			600,771

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

Financial Highlights

				Years Ended December 31,
Class A	Six Months Ended 6/30/13 (Unaudited)			2012			2011			2010			2009			2008
Selected Per Share Data
Net asset value, beginning of period	$	21.38		$	18.58		$	19.59		$	16.93		$	13.55		$	20.41
Income (loss) from investment operations: Net investment income (loss)a		.08			.28			.17			.14	c		.14			.16
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)		2.12			2.70			(1.03	)		2.68			3.43			(6.83	)
Total from investment operations		2.20			2.98			(.86	)		2.82			3.57			(6.67	)
Less distributions from: Net investment income		(.30	)		(.18	)		(.15	)		(.16	)		(.19	)		(.19	)
Net asset value, end of period	$	23.28		$	21.38		$	18.58		$	19.59		$	16.93		$	13.55
Total Return (%)		10.33	**		16.05			(4.47	)		16.71	b		26.87	b		(32.98	)b
Ratios to Average Net Assets and Supplemental Data
Net assets, end of period ($ millions)		729			701			677			729			715			594
Ratio of expenses before expense reductions (%)		.50	*		.50			.50			.51			.51			.50
Ratio of expenses after expense reductions (%)		.50	*		.50			.50			.51			.49			.49
Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%)		.70	*		1.32			.86			.78	c		.98			.89
Portfolio turnover rate (%)		20	**		25			47			42			76			21
a Based on average shares outstanding during the period. b Total return would have been lower had certain expenses not been reduced. c Net investment income per share and ratio of net investment income include non-recurring dividend income amounting to $0.05 per share and 0.28% of average daily net assets for the year ended December 31, 2010. * Annualized ** Not annualized

				Years Ended December 31,
Class B	Six Months Ended 6/30/13 (Unaudited)			2012			2011			2010			2009			2008
Selected Per Share Data
Net asset value, beginning of period	$	21.29		$	18.51		$	19.51		$	16.86		$	13.49		$	20.31
Income (loss) from investment operations: Net investment income (loss)a		.04			.20			.10			.08	c		.09			.10
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)		2.13			2.69			(1.02	)		2.67			3.43			(6.81	)
Total from investment operations		2.17			2.89			(.92	)		2.75			3.52			(6.71	)
Less distributions from: Net investment income		(.23	)		(.11	)		(.08	)		(.10	)		(.15	)		(.11	)
Net asset value, end of period	$	23.23		$	21.29		$	18.51		$	19.51		$	16.86		$	13.49
Total Return (%)		10.19	**		15.61			(4.76	)		16.33	b		26.49	b		(33.20	)b
Ratios to Average Net Assets and Supplemental Data
Net assets, end of period ($ millions)		13			13			13			12			12			10
Ratio of expenses before expense reductions (%)		.83	*		.83			.84			.85			.85			.85
Ratio of expenses after expense reductions (%)		.83	*		.83			.84			.84			.82			.82
Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%)		.37	*		.97			.52			.45	c		.65			.56
Portfolio turnover rate (%)		20	**		25			47			42			76			21
a Based on average shares outstanding during the period. b Total return would have been lower had certain expenses not been reduced. c Net investment income per share and ratio of net investment income include non-recurring dividend income amounting to $0.05 per share and 0.28% of average daily net assets for the year ended December 31, 2010. * Annualized ** Not annualized

Notes to Financial Statements (Unaudited)

A. Organization and Significant Accounting Policies

DWS Variable Series I (the "Series") is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act"), as an open-end, registered management investment company organized as a Massachusetts business trust. The Series consists of five diversified funds: DWS Bond VIP, DWS Core Equity VIP, DWS Capital Growth VIP, DWS Global Small Cap Growth VIP and DWS International VIP (individually or collectively hereinafter referred to as a "Fund" or the "Funds"). These financial statements report on DWS Capital Growth VIP. The Series is intended to be the underlying investment vehicle for variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies to be offered by the separate accounts of certain life insurance companies ("Participating Insurance Companies").

Multiple Classes of Shares of Beneficial Interest. The Fund offers two classes of shares (Class A shares and Class B shares). Class B shares are subject to Rule 12b-1 distribution fees under the 1940 Act and record keeping fees equal to an annual rate of 0.25% and up to 0.15%, respectively, of the average daily net assets of the Class B shares of the Fund. Class A shares are not subject to such fees.

Investment income, realized and unrealized gains and losses, and certain fund-level expenses and expense reductions, if any, are borne pro rata on the basis of relative net assets by the holders of all classes of shares, except that each class bears certain expenses unique to that class (including the applicable 12b-1 distribution fees and recordkeeping fees). Differences in class-level expenses may result in payment of different per share dividends by class. All shares have equal rights with respect to voting subject to class-specific arrangements.

Security Valuation. Investments are stated at value determined as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange on each day the exchange is open for trading.

Investments in open-end investment companies are valued at their net asset value each business day and are categorized as Level 1.

Disclosure about the classification of fair value measurements is included in a table following the Fund's Investment Portfolio.

Securities Lending. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., as lending agent, lends securities of the Fund to certain financial institutions under the terms of the Security Lending Agreement. The Fund retains the benefits of owning the securities it has loaned and continues to receive interest and dividends generated by the securities and to participate in any changes in their market value. The Fund requires the borrowers of the securities to maintain collateral with the Fund consisting of either cash or liquid, unencumbered assets having a value at least equal to the value of the securities loaned. When the collateral falls below specified amounts, the lending agent will use its best effort to obtain additional collateral on the next business day to meet required amounts under the security lending agreement. The Fund may invest the cash collateral into a joint trading account in an affiliated money market fund pursuant to Exemptive Orders issued by the SEC. The Fund receives compensation for lending its securities either in the form of fees or by earning interest on invested cash collateral net of borrower rebates and fees paid to a lending agent. Either the Fund or the borrower may terminate the loan. There may be risks of delay and costs in recovery of securities or even loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially. If the Fund is not able to recover securities lent, the Fund may sell the collateral and purchase a replacement investment in the market, incurring the risk that the value of the replacement security is greater than the value of the collateral. The Fund is also subject to all investment risks associated with the reinvestment of any cash collateral received, including, but not limited to, interest rate, credit and liquidity risk associated with such investments.

As of June 30, 2013, the Fund had securities on loan with a gross value of $119,269,494. The value of the related collateral, $123,356,477, exceeded the value of the securities loaned at period end.

Federal Income Taxes. The Fund is treated as a separate taxpayer as provided for in the Internal Revenue Code, as amended. It is the Fund's policy to comply with the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended, which are applicable to regulated investment companies, and to distribute all of its taxable income to the separate accounts of the Participating Insurance Companies which hold its shares.

Under the Regulated Investment Company Modernization Act of 2010, net capital losses incurred post-enactment may be carried forward indefinitely, and their character is retained as short-term and/or long-term. Previously, net capital losses were carried forward for eight years and treated as short-term. As a transition rule, the Act requires that post-enactment net capital losses be used before pre-enactment net capital losses.

At December 31, 2012, the Fund had a net tax basis capital loss carryforward of approximately $86,678,000 of pre-enactment losses, including $48,520,000 inherited from its merger with other affiliated funds in previous years, which may be applied against any realized net taxable capital gains of each year until fully utilized or until December 31, 2015 ($6,855,000), December 31, 2016 ($41,665,000) and December 31, 2017 ($38,158,000), the respective expiration dates, whichever occurs first, and which may be subject to certain limitations under Section 382-384 of the Internal Revenue Code.

The timing and characterization of certain income and capital gain distributions are determined annually in accordance with federal tax regulations which may differ from accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. These differences primarily relate to certain securities sold at a loss. As a result, net investment income (loss) and net realized gain (loss) on investment transactions for a reporting period may differ significantly from distributions during such period. Accordingly, the Fund may periodically make reclassifications among certain of its capital accounts without impacting the net asset value of the Fund.

The tax character of current year distributions will be determined at the end of the current fiscal year.

Other. Investment transactions are accounted for on a trade date plus one basis for daily net asset value calculations. However, for financial reporting purposes, investment transactions are reported on trade date. Interest income is recorded on the accrual basis. Dividend income is recorded on the ex-dividend date net of foreign withholding taxes. Certain dividends from foreign securities may be recorded subsequent to the ex-dividend date as soon as the Fund is informed of such dividends. Realized gains and losses from investment transactions are recorded on an identified cost basis and may include proceeds from litigation.

B. Purchases and Sales of Securities

During the six months ended June 30, 2013, purchases and sales of investment securities (excluding short-term investments) aggregated $145,367,218 and $171,541,260, respectively.

C. Related Parties

First $250 million of average daily net assets	.390	%
Next $750 million of average daily net assets	.365	%
Over $1 billion of average daily net assets	.340	%

Accordingly, for the six months ended June 30, 2013, the fee pursuant to the Investment Management Agreement was equivalent to an annualized effective rate of 0.37% of the Fund's average daily net assets.

For the period from January 1, 2013 through September 30, 2013, the Advisor has contractually agreed to waive all or a portion of its fees and/or reimburse certain operating expenses of the Fund to the extent necessary to maintain the operating expenses (excluding certain expenses such as extraordinary expenses, taxes, brokerage and interest) of each class as follows:

Class A	.75%
Class B	1.08%

Services to Shareholders	Total Aggregated		Unpaid at June 30, 2013
Class A	$	362	$	124
Class B		75		21
	$	437	$	145

Distribution Service Agreement. DWS Investments Distributors, Inc. ("DIDI"), also an affiliate of the Advisor, is the Series' Distributor. In accordance with the Master Distribution Plan, DIDI receives 12b-1 fees of 0.25% of average daily net assets of Class B shares. Pursuant to the Master Distribution Plan, DIDI remits these fees to the Participating Insurance Companies for various costs incurred or paid by these companies in connection with marketing and distribution of Class B shares. For the six months ended June 30, 2013, the Distribution Service Fee aggregated $16,703, of which $2,762 is unpaid.

D. Ownership of the Fund

Three participating insurance companies were owners of record of 10% or more of the total outstanding Class A shares of the Fund, each owning 38%, 26% and 13%.

E. Line of Credit

Information About Your Fund's Expenses (Unaudited)

As an investor of the Fund, you incur two types of costs: ongoing expenses and transaction costs. Ongoing expenses include management fees, distribution and service (12b-1) fees and other Fund expenses. Examples of transaction costs include contract charges and account maintenance fees, which are not shown in this section. The following tables are intended to help you understand your ongoing expenses (in dollars) of investing in the Fund and to help you compare these expenses with the ongoing expenses of investing in other mutual funds. The example in the table is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the six-month period and held for the entire period (January 1, 2013 to June 30, 2013).

The tables illustrate your Fund's expenses in two ways:

Expenses and Value of a $1,000 Investment for the six months ended June 30, 2013
Actual Fund Return	Class A		Class B
Beginning Account Value 1/1/13	$	1,000.00	$	1,000.00
Ending Account Value 6/30/13	$	1,103.30	$	1,101.90
Expenses Paid per $1,000*	$	2.61	$	4.33
Hypothetical 5% Fund Return	Class A		Class B
Beginning Account Value 1/1/13	$	1,000.00	$	1,000.00
Ending Account Value 6/30/13	$	1,022.32	$	1,020.68
Expenses Paid per $1,000*	$	2.51	$	4.16

* Expenses are equal to the Fund's annualized expense ratio for each share class, multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by 181 (the number of days in the most recent six-month period), then divided by 365.

Annualized Expense Ratios	Class A		Class B
DWS Variable Series I — DWS Capital Growth VIP	.50%		.83%

For more information, please refer to the Fund's prospectus.

For an analysis of the fees associated with an investment in the Fund or similar funds, please refer to http://apps.finra.org/fundanalyzer/1/fa.aspx.

Proxy Voting

Summary of Management Fee Evaluation by Independent Fee Consultant

September 17, 2012

Qualifications

Evaluation of Fees for each DWS Fund

Fees and Expenses Compared with Other Funds

The competitive fee and expense evaluation for each fund focused on two primary comparisons:

The Fund's total expenses compared with a broader universe of funds from the same Lipper investment category and having similar distribution arrangements.

DeAM's Fees for Similar Services to Others

Costs and Profit Margins

Economies of Scale

Quality of Service — Performance

I also received and considered the history of portfolio manager changes for each Fund, as this provided an important context for evaluating the performance results.

Complex-Level Considerations

I considered how aggregated DWS Fund expenses had varied over the years, by asset class and in the context of trends in asset levels.

I considered how aggregated DWS Fund performance measures relative to appropriate peers had varied by asset class and over time.

I reviewed the structure of the DeAM organization, trends in staffing levels, and information on compensation of investment management and other professionals compared with industry data.

Findings

Thomas H. Mack

President, Thomas H. Mack & Co., Inc.

DWS Investments Distributors, Inc.

222 South Riverside Plaza

Chicago, IL 60606

(800) 621-1148

VS1capgro-3 (R-028374-2 8/13)

JUNE 30, 2013

SEMIANNUAL REPORT

DWS VARIABLE SERIES I

DWS Core Equity VIP

Contents

3 Performance Summary

4 Portfolio Summary

6 Portfolio Management

7 Investment Portfolio

13 Statement of Assets and Liabilities

14 Statement of Operations

15 Statement of Changes in Net Assets

16 Financial Highlights

18 Notes to Financial Statements

23 Information About Your Fund's Expenses

24 Proxy Voting

25 Summary of Management Fee Evaluation by Independent Fee Consultant

Investing in derivatives entails special risks relating to liquidity, leverage and credit that may reduce returns and/or increase volatility. The Fund may lend securities to approved institutions. Fund management could be wrong in its analysis of industries, companies, economic trends and favor a security that underperforms the market. Stocks may decline in value. See the prospectus for details.

DWS Investments is part of the Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management division of Deutsche Bank AG.

NOT FDIC/NCUA INSURED NO BANK GUARANTEE MAY LOSE VALUE NOT A DEPOSIT

NOT INSURED BY ANY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY

Performance Summary June 30, 2013 (Unaudited)

The gross expense ratios of the Fund, as stated in the fee table of the prospectus dated May 1, 2013 are 0.59% and 0.90% for Class A and Class B shares, respectively, and may differ from the expense ratios disclosed in the Financial Highlights tables in this report.

Growth of an Assumed $10,000 Investment
		The Russell 1000® Index is an unmanaged index that measures the performance of the 1,000 largest companies in the Russell 3000® Index, which represents approximately 92% of the total market capitalization of the Russell 3000 Index. Index returns do not reflect any fees or expenses and it is not possible to invest directly into an index.

Yearly periods ended June 30

Comparative Results
DWS Core Equity VIP		6-Month‡			1-Year			3-Year			5-Year				10-Year
Class A	Growth of $10,000	$	11,448		$	12,487		$	16,117		$	14,057			$	19,294
Class A	Average annual total return		14.48	%		24.87	%		17.25	%		7.05	%			6.79	%
Russell 1000® Index	Growth of $10,000	$	11,391		$	12,124		$	16,695		$	14,104			$	20,938
Russell 1000® Index	Average annual total return		13.91	%		21.24	%		18.63	%		7.12	%			7.67	%
DWS Core Equity VIP		6-Month‡			1-Year			3-Year			5-Year				10-Year
Class B	Growth of $10,000	$	11,439		$	12,464		$	15,986		$	13,912		��	$	18,759
Class B	Average annual total return		14.39	%		24.64	%		16.93	%		6.83	%			6.49	%
Russell 1000® Index	Growth of $10,000	$	11,391		$	12,124		$	16,695		$	14,104			$	20,938
Russell 1000® Index	Average annual total return		13.91	%		21.24	%		18.63	%		7.12	%			7.67	%

The growth of $10,000 is cumulative.

‡ Total returns shown for periods less than one year are not annualized.

Portfolio Summary (Unaudited)

Asset Allocation (As a % of Investment Portfolio excluding Securities Lending Collateral)	6/30/13	12/31/12

Common Stocks	99%	99%
Cash Equivalents	1%	1%
	100%	100%

Sector Diversification (As a % of Common Stocks)	6/30/13	12/31/12

Financials	19%	16%
Information Technology	17%	18%
Health Care	16%	12%
Consumer Discretionary	11%	13%
Energy	11%	12%
Consumer Staples	10%	12%
Industrials	9%	8%
Materials	4%	6%
Utilities	2%	1%
Telecommunication Services	1%	2%
	100%	100%

Portfolio holdings and characteristics are subject to change.

For more complete details about the Fund's investment portfolio, see page 7.

Portfolio Management

Effective July 12, 2013, QS Investors no longer serves as subadvisor to the fund and day-to-day portfolio management of the fund transitioned to Deutsche Investment Management Americas Inc.

The new portfolio management team for the fund is as follows:

Owen Fitzpatrick, CFA

Lead Portfolio Manager, Deutsche Investment Management Americas Inc.

Thomas M. Hynes, Jr., CFA

Brendan O'Neill, CFA

Pankaj Bhatnagar, PhD

Portfolio Managers, Deutsche Investment Management Americas Inc.

Investment Portfolio June 30, 2013 (Unaudited)

	Shares		Value ($)

Common Stocks 98.7%
Consumer Discretionary 10.7%
Auto Components 0.5%
Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.		20,300		673,351
Magna International, Inc.		3,800		270,636
Stoneridge, Inc.*		13,800		160,632
				1,104,619
Diversified Consumer Services 0.1%
H&R Block, Inc.		5,000		138,750
Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure 1.0%
Las Vegas Sands Corp.		20,400		1,079,772
Six Flags Entertainment Corp.		5,200		182,832
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.		10,400		657,176
				1,919,780
Household Durables 0.7%
Sony Corp. (ADR)		6,400		135,616
Whirlpool Corp.		11,500		1,315,140
				1,450,756
Leisure Equipment & Products 1.2%
Smith & Wesson Holding Corp.*		237,800		2,373,244
Media 3.3%
Comcast Corp. "A"		79,000		3,308,520
Comcast Corp. Special "A"		7,100		281,657
DIRECTV*		13,100		807,222
Time Warner, Inc.		12,500		722,750
Walt Disney Co. (a)		21,400		1,351,410
				6,471,559
Multiline Retail 0.2%
Dillard's, Inc. "A"		5,615		460,262
Specialty Retail 3.7%
Best Buy Co., Inc. (a)		103,000		2,814,990
Brown Shoe Co., Inc. (a)		6,000		129,180
GameStop Corp. "A"		8,600		361,458
Home Depot, Inc.		2,000		154,940
The Gap, Inc.		64,000		2,670,720
TJX Companies, Inc.		22,000		1,101,320
				7,232,608
Consumer Staples 10.1%
Beverages 0.4%
PepsiCo, Inc.		9,100		744,289
Food & Staples Retailing 3.6%
Costco Wholesale Corp.		14,100		1,559,037
CVS Caremark Corp.		20,000		1,143,600
Kroger Co.		70,900		2,448,886
Walgreen Co.		42,800		1,891,760
				7,043,283
Food Products 2.5%
General Mills, Inc.		18,400		892,952
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc.* (a)		3,000		225,180
The Hershey Co.		16,700		1,490,976
Tyson Foods, Inc. "A" (a)		92,200		2,367,696
Unilever PLC (ADR)		1,800		72,810
				5,049,614
	Shares		Value ($)

Household Products 0.7%
Kimberly-Clark Corp. (a)		13,600		1,321,104
Personal Products 0.5%
Avon Products, Inc.		44,800		942,144
Tobacco 2.4%
Altria Group, Inc. (a)		37,100		1,298,129
Lorillard, Inc. (a)		78,200		3,415,776
				4,713,905
Energy 10.5%
Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels
Alon U.S.A. Energy, Inc. (a)		5,200		75,192
Chevron Corp.		13,700		1,621,258
ConocoPhillips		3,200		193,600
Marathon Oil Corp.		34,400		1,189,552
Marathon Petroleum Corp.		40,700		2,892,142
Murphy Oil Corp.		8,700		529,743
Phillips 66		27,300		1,608,243
Royal Dutch Shell PLC (ADR)		55,200		3,521,760
Southwestern Energy Co.* (a)		25,700		938,821
Statoil ASA (ADR)		79,800		1,651,062
Tesoro Corp.		56,300		2,945,616
Valero Energy Corp.		58,000		2,016,660
Western Refining, Inc. (a)		54,100		1,518,587
				20,702,236
Financials 18.4%
Capital Markets 2.2%
Franklin Resources, Inc.		6,700		911,334
Invesco Ltd.		12,000		381,600
State Street Corp.		22,600		1,473,746
T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (a)		8,000		585,200
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.		3,900		589,875
Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc. "A"		10,400		452,400
				4,394,155
Commercial Banks 2.6%
First Niagara Financial Group, Inc.		7,300		73,511
PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.		14,600		1,064,632
Popular, Inc.* (a)		26,300		797,679
Regions Financial Corp.		150,300		1,432,359
SunTrust Banks, Inc.		9,600		303,072
Zions Bancorp. (a)		53,000		1,530,640
				5,201,893
Consumer Finance 1.5%
Discover Financial Services		62,800		2,991,792
Diversified Financial Services 3.2%
Bank of America Corp.		62,100		798,606
CBOE Holdings, Inc.		4,700		219,208
Citigroup, Inc.		41,200		1,976,364
JPMorgan Chase & Co.		62,600		3,304,654
				6,298,832
Insurance 6.9%
Aflac, Inc.		21,400		1,243,768
Allstate Corp.		35,100		1,689,012
Arch Capital Group Ltd.* (a)		6,600		339,306
Axis Capital Holdings Ltd.		9,300		425,754
Chubb Corp.		20,900		1,769,185
Cincinnati Financial Corp.		10,100		463,590
Everest Re Group Ltd.		12,100		1,551,946
	Shares		Value ($)

MetLife, Inc.		8,600		393,536
Progressive Corp.		121,200		3,080,904
The Travelers Companies, Inc.		27,500		2,197,800
XL Group PLC		11,900		360,808
				13,515,609
Real Estate Investment Trusts 2.0%
Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (REIT)		40,500		683,235
Potlatch Corp. (REIT)		1,700		68,748
The Geo Group, Inc. (REIT)		10,100		342,895
Weyerhaeuser Co. (REIT)		100,500		2,863,245
				3,958,123
Health Care 15.9%
Biotechnology 4.0%
Amgen, Inc.		14,200		1,400,972
Biogen Idec, Inc.*		9,900		2,130,480
Celgene Corp.*		20,400		2,384,964
Myriad Genetics, Inc.*		14,400		386,928
PDL BioPharma, Inc. (a)		208,200		1,607,304
				7,910,648
Health Care Equipment & Supplies 0.9%
Abbott Laboratories		50,900		1,775,392
Health Care Providers & Services 5.7%
Aetna, Inc.		50,200		3,189,708
AmerisourceBergen Corp.		24,700		1,379,001
Health Net, Inc.*		74,900		2,383,318
Humana, Inc.		15,000		1,265,700
WellPoint, Inc.		36,900		3,019,896
				11,237,623
Life Sciences Tools & Services 0.3%
Covance, Inc.* (a)		5,300		403,542
PAREXEL International Corp.* (a)		3,900		179,166
				582,708
Pharmaceuticals 5.0%
Actavis, Inc.*		12,000		1,514,640
Eli Lilly & Co.		58,600		2,878,432
Johnson & Johnson		47,500		4,078,350
Pfizer, Inc.		2,400		67,224
Sciclone Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*		14,500		71,920
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc.*		15,200		1,308,416
Warner Chilcott PLC "A"		800		15,904
				9,934,886
Industrials 9.4%
Aerospace & Defense 6.2%
Alliant Techsystems, Inc.		7,200		592,776
Boeing Co.		40,100		4,107,844
Exelis, Inc.		40,500		558,495
Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc.		10,700		604,336
Lockheed Martin Corp.		9,400		1,019,524
Northrop Grumman Corp.		19,700		1,631,160
Raytheon Co. (a)		52,700		3,484,524
United Technologies Corp.		1,600		148,704
				12,147,363
Air Freight & Logistics 0.7%
FedEx Corp.		13,700		1,350,546
Airlines 0.5%
Delta Air Lines, Inc.*		56,700		1,060,857
	Shares		Value ($)

Building Products 0.3%
A.O. Smith Corp.		8,400		304,752
Masco Corp.		15,000		292,350
				597,102
Commercial Services & Supplies 0.1%
R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. (a)		2,500		35,025
UniFirst Corp.		1,400		127,750
Viad Corp.		4,200		102,984
				265,759
Electrical Equipment 0.3%
Coleman Cable, Inc.		10,700		193,242
Generac Holdings, Inc.		7,800		288,678
				481,920
Industrial Conglomerates 0.3%
Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV		20,900		568,271
Machinery 0.8%
Meritor, Inc.*		21,700		152,985
Mueller Water Products, Inc. "A" (a)		5,400		37,314
Oshkosh Corp.*		32,400		1,230,228
Trinity Industries, Inc.		5,500		211,420
				1,631,947
Road & Rail 0.2%
Ryder System, Inc.		7,500		455,925
Information Technology 16.3%
Communications Equipment 1.9%
Cisco Systems, Inc.		57,000		1,385,670
InterDigital, Inc.		47,400		2,116,410
Research In Motion Ltd.* (a)		29,600		309,912
				3,811,992
Computers & Peripherals 4.4%
Apple, Inc.		900		356,472
Hewlett-Packard Co.		137,700		3,414,960
Lexmark International, Inc. "A"		19,600		599,172
Seagate Technology PLC		22,300		999,709
Western Digital Corp.		52,700		3,272,143
				8,642,456
Internet Software & Services 3.1%
AOL, Inc. (a)		85,400		3,115,392
eBay, Inc.*		47,300		2,446,356
Google, Inc. "A"*		400		352,148
Sohu.com, Inc.*		2,600		160,212
				6,074,108
IT Services 3.1%
Accenture PLC "A"		15,700		1,129,772
Computer Sciences Corp. (a)		59,200		2,591,184
Convergys Corp. (a)		34,400		599,592
CoreLogic, Inc.*		27,000		625,590
International Business Machines Corp.		1,200		229,332
MAXIMUS, Inc.		200		14,896
Visa, Inc. "A" (a)		4,800		877,200
				6,067,566
Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment 2.4%
Cree, Inc.* (a)		8,300		530,038
First Solar, Inc.* (a)		35,900		1,605,807
Intel Corp.		57,500		1,392,650
Kulicke & Soffa Industries, Inc.*		30,800		340,648
Texas Instruments, Inc.		25,800		899,646
				4,768,789
	Shares		Value ($)

Software 1.4%
Activision Blizzard, Inc.		71,100		1,013,886
CA, Inc. (a)		22,200		635,586
Microsoft Corp.		35,200		1,215,456
				2,864,928
Materials 4.0%
Chemicals 3.4%
CF Industries Holdings, Inc.		6,200		1,063,300
Dow Chemical Co.		6,400		205,888
FutureFuel Corp.		26,400		374,088
LyondellBasell Industries NV "A"		19,300		1,278,818
Monsanto Co.		18,500		1,827,800
PPG Industries, Inc.		3,500		512,435
Westlake Chemical Corp.		13,900		1,340,099
				6,602,428
Metals & Mining 0.5%
BHP Billiton PLC (ADR)		18,000		922,860
Paper & Forest Products 0.1%
International Paper Co.		6,200		274,722
Telecommunication Services 1.5%
Diversified Telecommunication Services
CenturyLink, Inc.		9,100		321,685
Deutsche Telekom AG (ADR)		14,100		164,406
Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp. (ADR)		6,800		176,868
Verizon Communications, Inc. (a)		46,400		2,335,776
				2,998,735
	Shares		Value ($)

Utilities 1.9%
Multi-Utilities
Consolidated Edison, Inc.		8,500		495,635
MDU Resources Group, Inc.		57,500		1,489,825
Public Service Enterprise Group, Inc.		50,900		1,662,393
				3,647,853
Total Common Stocks (Cost $171,503,388)				194,705,941

Securities Lending Collateral 17.4%
Daily Assets Fund Institutional, 0.10% (b) (c) (Cost $34,382,415)		34,382,415		34,382,415

Cash Equivalents 1.1%
Central Cash Management Fund, 0.07% (b) (Cost $2,159,766)		2,159,766		2,159,766

	% of Net Assets			Value ($)

Total Investment Portfolio (Cost $208,045,569)†		117.2			231,248,122
Other Assets and Liabilities, Net (a)		(17.2	)		(34,001,838	)
Net Assets		100.0			197,246,284

* Non-income producing security.

† The cost for federal income tax purposes was $209,336,492. At June 30, 2013, net unrealized appreciation for all securities based on tax cost was $21,911,630. This consisted of aggregate gross unrealized appreciation for all securities in which there was an excess of value over tax cost of $25,361,525 and aggregate gross unrealized depreciation for all securities in which there was an excess of tax cost over value of $3,449,895.

(a) All or a portion of these securities were on loan amounting to $30,250,830. In addition, included in other assets and liabilities, net are pending sales, amounting to $3,001,767, that are also on loan (see Notes to Financial Statements). The value of all securities loaned at June 30, 2013 amounted to $33,252,597, which is 16.9% of net assets.

(b) Affiliated fund managed by Deutsche Investment Management Americas Inc. The rate shown is the annualized seven-day yield at period end.

(c) Represents collateral held in connection with securities lending. Income earned by the Fund is net of borrower rebates.

ADR: American Depositary Receipt

REIT: Real Estate Investment Trust

At June 30, 2013, open futures contracts purchased were as follows:

Futures

Currency

Expiration Date

Contracts

Notional

Value ($)

Unrealized Depreciation ($)

S&P 500 E-Mini Index

USD

9/20/2013

2,478,915

(53,475

)

Currency Abbreviation

USD United States Dollar

For information on the Fund's policy and additional disclosures regarding futures contracts, please refer to the Derivatives section of Note B in the accompanying Notes to Financial Statements.

Fair Value Measurements

Assets	Level 1			Level 2		Level 3		Total

Common Stocks (d)	$	194,705,941		$	—	$	—	$	194,705,941
Short-Term Investments (d)		36,542,181			—		—		36,542,181
Total	$	231,248,122		$	—	$	—	$	231,248,122
Liabilities
Derivatives (e) Futures Contracts	$	(53,475	)	$	—	$	—	$	(53,475	)
Total	$	(53,475	)	$	—	$	—	$	(53,475	)

There have been no transfers between fair value measurement levels during the period ended June 30, 2013.

(d) See Investment Portfolio for additional detailed categorizations.

(e) Derivatives include unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on futures contracts.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

Statement of Assets and Liabilities

as of June 30, 2013 (Unaudited)
Assets
Investments: Investments in non-affiliated securities, at value (cost $171,503,388) — including $30,250,830 of securities loaned	$	194,705,941
Investment in Daily Assets Fund Institutional (cost $34,382,415)*		34,382,415
Investment in Central Cash Management Fund (cost $2,159,766)		2,159,766
Total investments in securities, at value (cost $208,045,569)		231,248,122
Cash		2,687
Deposit with broker for futures contracts		213,280
Receivable for investments sold		18,447,537
Receivable for Fund shares sold		1,197
Dividends receivable		165,951
Interest receivable		7,085
Foreign taxes recoverable		3,596
Other assets		1,824
Total assets		250,091,279
Liabilities
Payable upon return of securities loaned		34,382,415
Payable for investments purchased		18,103,580
Payable for Fund shares redeemed		160,982
Payable for variation margin on futures contracts		53,475
Accrued management fee		64,125
Accrued Trustees' fees		259
Other accrued expenses and payables		80,159
Total liabilities		52,844,995
Net assets, at value	$	197,246,284
Net Assets Consist of
Undistributed net investment income		1,424,862
Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on: Investments		23,202,553
Futures		(53,475	)
Accumulated net realized gain (loss)		(44,965,835	)
Paid-in capital		217,638,179
Net assets, at value	$	197,246,284
Class A Net Asset Value, offering and redemption price per share ($195,630,594 ÷ 20,337,948 outstanding shares of beneficial interest, $.01 par value, unlimited number of shares authorized)	$	9.62
Class B Net Asset Value, offering and redemption price per share ($1,615,690 ÷ 167,913 outstanding shares of beneficial interest, $.01 par value, unlimited number of shares authorized)	$	9.62

* Represents collateral on securities loaned.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

Statement of Operations

for the six months ended June 30, 2013 (Unaudited)
Investment Income
Income: Dividends (net of foreign taxes withheld of $26,358)	$	2,001,180
Income distributions — Central Cash Management Fund		837
Securities lending income, including income from Daily Assets Fund Institutional, net of borrower rebates		79,579
Total income		2,081,596
Expenses: Management fee		380,568
Administration fee		97,582
Services to shareholders		1,754
Distribution service fee (Class B)		2,110
Custodian fee		12,069
Professional fees		26,723
Reports to shareholders		23,380
Trustees' fees and expenses		4,722
Total expenses		548,908
Net investment income		1,532,688
Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss)
Net realized gain (loss) from: Investments		20,387,728
Futures		239,251
Foreign currency		(188	)
		20,626,791
Change in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on: Investments		3,783,685
Futures		(46,207	)
		3,737,478
Net gain (loss)		24,364,269
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations	$	25,896,957

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

Statement of Changes in Net Assets

Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets	Six Months Ended June 30, 2013 (Unaudited)			Year Ended December 31, 2012
Operations: Net investment income	$	1,532,688		$	2,877,688
Net realized gain (loss)		20,626,791			14,826,400
Change in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation)		3,737,478			(1,133,622	)
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations		25,896,957			16,570,466
Distributions to shareholders from: Net investment income: Class A		(2,931,105	)		(1,157,831	)
Class B		(20,449	)		(17,067	)
Total distributions		(2,951,554	)		(1,174,898	)
Fund share transactions: Class A Proceeds from shares sold		4,778,060			5,653,743
Net assets acquired in tax-free reorganization*		—			103,303,156
Reinvestment of distributions		2,931,105			1,157,831
Payments for shares redeemed		(14,851,313	)		(30,735,177	)
Net increase (decrease) in net assets from Class A share transactions		(7,142,148	)		79,379,553
Class B Proceeds from shares sold		5,578			52,927
Net assets acquired in tax-free reorganization*		—			34,921
Reinvestment of distributions		20,449			17,067
Payments for shares redeemed		(229,299	)		(312,213	)
Net increase (decrease) in net assets from Class B share transactions		(203,272	)		(207,298	)
Increase (decrease) in net assets		15,599,983			94,567,823
Net assets at beginning of period		181,646,301			87,078,478
Net assets at end of period (including undistributed net investment income of $1,424,862 and $2,843,728, respectively)	$	197,246,284		$	181,646,301
Other Information
Class A Shares outstanding at beginning of period		21,101,010			11,456,872
Shares sold		500,702			703,069
Shares issued in tax-free reorganization*		—			12,597,547
Shares issued to shareholders in reinvestment of distributions		308,213			141,027
Shares redeemed		(1,571,977	)		(3,797,505	)
Net increase (decrease) in Class A shares		(763,062	)		9,644,138
Shares outstanding at end of period		20,337,948			21,101,010
Class B Shares outstanding at beginning of period		188,843			214,502
Shares sold		594			6,501
Shares issued in tax-free reorganization*		—			4,259
Shares issued to shareholders in reinvestment of distributions		2,148			2,076
Shares redeemed		(23,672	)		(38,495	)
Net increase (decrease) in Class B shares		(20,930	)		(25,659	)
Shares outstanding at end of period		167,913			188,843

* On April 30, 2012, DWS Blue Chip VIP was acquired by the Fund through a tax-free reorganization (see Note G).

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

Financial Highlights

				Years Ended December 31,
Class A	Six Months Ended 6/30/13 (Unaudited)			2012			2011			2010			2009			2008
Selected Per Share Data
Net asset value, beginning of period	$	8.53		$	7.46		$	7.56		$	6.71		$	5.12		$	10.81
Income (loss) from investment operations: Net investment incomea		.07			.15			.10			.09			.10			.10
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)		1.16			1.03			(.10	)		.87			1.61			(3.45	)
Total from investment operations		1.23			1.18			.00			.96			1.71			(3.35	)
Less distributions from: Net investment income		(.14	)		(.11	)		(.10	)		(.11	)		(.12	)		(.18	)
Net realized gains		—			—			—			—			—			(2.16	)
Total distributions		(.14	)		(.11	)		(.10	)		(.11	)		(.12	)		(2.34	)
Net asset value, end of period	$	9.62		$	8.53		$	7.46		$	7.56		$	6.71		$	5.12
Total Return (%)		14.48	**		15.81			(.14	)		14.40	b		34.15	b		(38.31	)b
Ratios to Average Net Assets and Supplemental Data
Net assets, end of period ($ millions)		196			180			85			98			101			94
Ratio of expenses before expense reductions (%)		.57	*		.59			.63			.63			.63			.60
Ratio of expenses after expense reductions (%)		.57	*		.59			.63			.60			.54			.54
Ratio of net investment income (%)		1.56	*		1.90			1.25			1.32			1.74			1.34
Portfolio turnover rate (%)		145	**		307			215			145			82			130
a Based on average shares outstanding during the period. b Total return would have been lower had certain expenses not been reduced. * Annualized ** Not annualized

				Years Ended December 31,
Class B	Six Months Ended 6/30/13 (Unaudited)			2012			2011				2010			2009			2008
Selected Per Share Data
Net asset value, beginning of period	$	8.51		$	7.45		$	7.55			$	6.70		$	5.12		$	10.77
Income (loss) from investment operations: Net investment incomea		.07			.11			.08				.07			.08			.08
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)		1.15			1.03			(.10	)			.87			1.60			(3.42	)
Total from investment operations		1.22			1.14			(.02	)			.94			1.68			(3.34	)
Less distributions from: Net investment income		(.11	)		(.08	)		(.08	)	��		(.09	)		(.10	)		(.15	)
Net realized gains		—			—			—				—			—			(2.16	)
Total distributions		(.11	)		(.08	)		(.08	)			(.09	)		(.10	)		(2.31	)
Net asset value, end of period	$	9.62		$	8.51		$	7.45			$	7.55		$	6.70		$	5.12
Total Return (%)		14.39	**		15.41			(.40	)			14.12	b		33.64	b		(38.29	)b
Ratios to Average Net Assets and Supplemental Data
Net assets, end of period ($ millions)		2			2			2				2			2			2
Ratio of expenses before expense reductions (%)		.77	*		.90			.88				.88			.89			.82
Ratio of expenses after expense reductions (%)		.77	*		.90			.88				.85			.80			.77
Ratio of net investment income (%)		1.36	*		1.41			.99				1.07			1.48			1.12
Portfolio turnover rate (%)		145	**		307			215				145			82			130
a Based on average shares outstanding during the period. b Total return would have been lower had certain expenses not been reduced. * Annualized ** Not annualized

Notes to Financial Statements (Unaudited)

A. Organization and Significant Accounting Policies

DWS Variable Series I (the "Series") is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act"), as an open-end, registered management investment company organized as a Massachusetts business trust. The Series consists of five diversified funds: DWS Bond VIP, DWS Core Equity VIP, DWS Capital Growth VIP, DWS Global Small Cap Growth VIP and DWS International VIP (individually or collectively hereinafter referred to as a "Fund" or the "Funds"). These financial statements report on DWS Core Equity VIP. The Series is intended to be the underlying investment vehicle for variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies to be offered by the separate accounts of certain life insurance companies ("Participating Insurance Companies").

Multiple Classes of Shares of Beneficial Interest. The Fund offers two classes of shares (Class A shares and Class B shares). Class B shares are subject to Rule 12b-1 distribution fees under the 1940 Act and recordkeeping fees equal to an annual rate of 0.25% and up to 0.15%, respectively, of the average daily net assets of the Class B shares of the Fund. Class A shares are not subject to such fees.

Security Valuation. Investments are stated at value determined as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange on each day the exchange is open for trading.

Investments in open-end investment companies are valued at their net asset value each business day and are categorized as Level 1.

Futures contracts are generally valued at the settlement prices established each day on the exchange on which they are traded and are categorized as Level 1.

Disclosure about the classification of fair value measurements is included in a table following the Fund's Investment Portfolio.

As of June 30, 2013, the Fund had securities on loan with a gross value of $33,252,597. The value of the related collateral, $34,382,415, exceeded the value of the securities loaned at period end.

At December 31, 2012, the Fund had a net tax basis capital loss carryforward of approximately $63,882,000 of pre-enactment losses, including $27,700,000 inherited from its merger with DWS Blue Chip VIP in fiscal year 2012, which may be applied against any realized net taxable capital gains of each succeeding year until fully utilized or until December 31, 2016 ($34,761,000) and December 31, 2017 ($29,121,000), the respective expiration dates, whichever occurs first, and which may be subject to certain limitations under Sections 381-384 of the Internal Revenue Code.

In addition, from November 1, 2012 through December 31, 2012, the Fund elects to defer qualified late year net short-term realized capital losses of approximately $427,000 and treat them as arising in the fiscal year ending December 31, 2013.

The timing and characterization of certain income and capital gain distributions are determined annually in accordance with federal tax regulations which may differ from accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. These differences primarily relate to futures contracts and certain securities sold at a loss. As a result, net investment income (loss) and net realized gain (loss) on investment transactions for a reporting period may differ significantly from distributions during such period. Accordingly, the Fund may periodically make reclassifications among certain of its capital accounts without impacting the net asset value of the Fund.

The tax character of current year distributions will be determined at the end of the current fiscal year.

Other. Investment transactions are accounted for on a trade date plus one basis for daily net asset value calculations. However, for financial reporting purposes, investment transactions are reported on trade date. Interest income is recorded on the accrual basis. Dividend income is recorded on the ex-dividend date net of foreign withholding taxes. Realized gains and losses from investment transactions are recorded on an identified cost basis and may include proceeds from litigation.

B. Derivative Instruments

Futures Contracts. A futures contract is an agreement between a buyer or seller and an established futures exchange or its clearinghouse in which the buyer or seller agrees to take or make a delivery of a specific amount of a financial instrument at a specified price on a specific date (settlement date). For the six months ended June 30, 2013, the Fund entered into futures contracts in circumstances where portfolio management believed they offered an economic means of gaining exposure to a particular asset class or to keep cash on hand to meet shareholder redemptions or other needs while maintaining exposure to the market.

The following table summarizes the value of the Fund's derivative instruments held as of June 30, 2013 and the related location in the accompanying Statement of Assets and Liabilities, presented by primary underlying risk exposure:

Liability Derivative		Futures Contracts
Equity Contracts (a)		$	(53,475	)

The above derivative is located in the following Statement of Assets and Liabilities account:

(a) Includes cumulative depreciation of futures contracts as disclosed in the Investment Portfolio. Unsettled variation margin is disclosed separately within the Statement of Assets and Liabilities.

Realized Gain (Loss)		Futures Contracts
Equity Contracts (a)		$	239,251

The above derivative is located in the following Statement of Operations account:

(a) Net realized gain (loss) from futures

Change in Net Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation)		Futures Contracts
Equity Contracts (a)		$	(46,207	)

The above derivative is located in the following Statement of Operations account:

(a) Change in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on futures

C. Purchases and Sales of Securities

During the six months ended June 30, 2013, purchases and sales of investment securities (excluding short-term investments) aggregated $279,244,230 and $288,945,957, respectively.

D. Related Parties

QS Investors, LLC ("QS Investors") acted as subadvisor to the Fund. As a subadvisor, QS Investors made investment decisions and buys and sells securities for the Fund. QS Investors was paid by the Advisor for the services QS Investors provided to the Fund. Effective July 12, 2013, QS Investors no longer acts as subadvisor to the Fund and day-to-day portfolio management of the Fund transitioned to DIMA.

First $250 million of average daily net assets	.390	%
Next $750 million of average daily net assets	.365	%
Over $1 billion of average daily net assets	.340	%

Accordingly, for the six months ended June 30, 2013, the fee pursuant to the Investment Management Agreement was equivalent to an annualized effective rate of 0.39% of the Fund's average daily net assets.

Services to Shareholders	Total Aggregated		Unpaid at June 30, 2013
Class A	$	266	$	87
Class B		40		13
	$	306	$	100

E. Ownership of the Fund

Two participating insurance companies were owners of record of 10% or more of the total outstanding Class A shares of the Fund, each owning 42% and 34%.

F. Line of Credit

G. Acquisition of Assets

On April 30, 2012, the Fund acquired all of the net assets of DWS Blue Chip VIP pursuant to a plan of reorganization approved by the Board of Trustees on November 18, 2011. The acquisition was accomplished by a tax-free exchange of 8,967,004 Class A shares and 3,018 Class B shares of DWS Blue Chip VIP for 12,597,547 Class A shares and 4,259 Class B shares of the Fund, respectively, outstanding on April 30, 2012. DWS Blue Chip VIP's net assets at that date, $103,338,077, including $13,470,096 of net unrealized appreciation, were combined with those of the Fund. The aggregate net assets of the Fund immediately before the acquisition were $92,542,116. The combined net assets of the Fund immediately following the acquisition were $195,880,193.

Information About Your Fund's Expenses (Unaudited)

As an investor of the Fund, you incur two types of costs: ongoing expenses and transaction costs. Ongoing expenses include management fees, distribution and service (12b-1) fees and other Fund expenses. Examples of transaction costs include contract charges, redemption fees and account maintenance fees, which are not shown in this section. The following tables are intended to help you understand your ongoing expenses (in dollars) of investing in the Fund and to help you compare these expenses with the ongoing expenses of investing in other mutual funds. The example in the table is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the six-month period and held for the entire period (January 1, 2013 to June 30, 2013).

The tables illustrate your Fund's expenses in two ways:

Expenses and Value of a $1,000 Investment for the six months ended June 30, 2013
Actual Fund Return	Class A		Class B
Beginning Account Value 1/1/13	$	1,000.00	$	1,000.00
Ending Account Value 6/30/13	$	1,144.80	$	1,143.90
Expenses Paid per $1,000*	$	3.03	$	4.04
Hypothetical 5% Portfolio Return	Class A		Class B
Beginning Account Value 1/1/13	$	1,000.00	$	1,000.00
Ending Account Value 6/30/13	$	1,021.97	$	1,021.03
Expenses Paid per $1,000*	$	2.86	$	3.81

Annualized Expense Ratios	Class A		Class B
DWS Variable Series I — DWS Core Equity VIP	.57%		.77%

For more information, please refer to the Fund's prospectus.

For an analysis of the fees associated with an investment in the Fund or similar funds, please refer to http://apps.finra.org/fundanalyzer/1/fa.aspx.

Proxy Voting

Summary of Management Fee Evaluation by Independent Fee Consultant

September 17, 2012

Qualifications

Evaluation of Fees for each DWS Fund

Fees and Expenses Compared with Other Funds

The competitive fee and expense evaluation for each fund focused on two primary comparisons:

The Fund's total expenses compared with a broader universe of funds from the same Lipper investment category and having similar distribution arrangements.

DeAM's Fees for Similar Services to Others

Costs and Profit Margins

Economies of Scale

Quality of Service — Performance

I also received and considered the history of portfolio manager changes for each Fund, as this provided an important context for evaluating the performance results.

Complex-Level Considerations

I considered how aggregated DWS Fund expenses had varied over the years, by asset class and in the context of trends in asset levels.

I considered how aggregated DWS Fund performance measures relative to appropriate peers had varied by asset class and over time.

I reviewed the structure of the DeAM organization, trends in staffing levels, and information on compensation of investment management and other professionals compared with industry data.

Findings

Thomas H. Mack

President, Thomas H. Mack & Co., Inc.

Notes

DWS Investments Distributors, Inc.

222 South Riverside Plaza

Chicago, IL 60606

(800) 621-1148

VS1coreq-3 (R-028376-2 8/13)

JUNE 30, 2013

SEMIANNUAL REPORT

DWS VARIABLE SERIES I

DWS Global Small Cap Growth VIP

Contents

3 Performance Summary

4 Portfolio Summary

6 Portfolio Management

7 Investment Portfolio

12 Statement of Assets and Liabilities

13 Statement of Operations

14 Statement of Changes in Net Assets

15 Financial Highlights

17 Notes to Financial Statements

21 Information About Your Fund's Expenses

22 Proxy Voting

23 Summary of Management Fee Evaluation by Independent Fee Consultant

Investing in foreign securities, particularly those of emerging markets, presents certain risks, such as currency fluctuations, political and economic changes, and market risks. The Fund may lend securities to approved institutions. Smaller company stocks tend to be more volatile than medium-sized or large company stocks. Stocks may decline in value. See the prospectus for details.

DWS Investments is part of the Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management division of Deutsche Bank AG.

NOT FDIC/NCUA INSURED NO BANK GUARANTEE MAY LOSE VALUE NOT A DEPOSIT

NOT INSURED BY ANY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY

Performance Summary June 30, 2013 (Unaudited)

The gross expense ratios of the Fund, as stated in the fee table of the prospectus dated May 1, 2013 are 1.11% and 1.43% for Class A and Class B shares, respectively, and may differ from the expense ratios disclosed in the Financial Highlights tables in this report.

Growth of an Assumed $10,000 Investment
		The S&P® Developed SmallCap comprises the stocks representing the lowest 15% of float-adjusted market cap in each developed country. It Is a subset of the S&P® Global BMI, a comprehensive, rules-based index measuring global stock market performance. Index returns do not reflect any fees or expenses and it is not possible to invest directly into an index.

Yearly periods ended June 30

Comparative Results
DWS Global Small Cap Growth VIP		6-Month‡			1-Year			3-Year			5-Year			10-Year
Class A	Growth of $10,000	$	11,199		$	12,546		$	15,251		$	12,307		$	26,794
Class A	Average annual total return		11.99	%		25.46	%		15.11	%		4.24	%		10.36	%
S&P Developed SmallCap Index	Growth of $10,000	$	11,032		$	12,266		$	15,463		$	12,723		$	27,200
S&P Developed SmallCap Index	Average annual total return		10.32	%		22.66	%		15.64	%		4.93	%		10.52	%
DWS Global Small Cap Growth VIP		6-Month‡			1-Year			3-Year			5-Year			10-Year
Class B	Growth of $10,000	$	11,193		$	12,516		$	15,148		$	12,132		$	26,125
Class B	Average annual total return		11.93	%		25.16	%		14.85	%		3.94	%		10.08	%
S&P Developed SmallCap Index	Growth of $10,000	$	11,032		$	12,266		$	15,463		$	12,723		$	27,200
S&P Developed SmallCap Index	Average annual total return		10.32	%		22.66	%		15.64	%		4.93	%		10.52	%

The growth of $10,000 is cumulative.

‡ Total returns shown for periods less than one year are not annualized.

Portfolio Summary (Unaudited)

Asset Allocation (As a % of Investment Portfolio excluding Securities Lending Collateral)	6/30/13	12/31/12

Common Stocks	98%	99%
Cash Equivalents	2%	1%
	100%	100%

Geographical Diversification (As a % of Investment Portfolio excluding Cash Equivalents and Securities Lending Collateral)	6/30/13	12/31/12

United States	44%	42%
Continental Europe	20%	24%
Asia (excluding Japan)	12%	10%
United Kingdom	11%	9%
Japan	9%	8%
Canada	2%	3%
Latin America	1%	1%
Australia	0%	1%
Middle East	—	1%
Other	1%	1%
	100%	100%

Sector Diversification (As a % of Investment Portfolio excluding Cash Equivalents and Securities Lending Collateral)	6/30/13	12/31/12

Industrials	26%	27%
Consumer Discretionary	23%	21%
Financials	16%	13%
Health Care	14%	14%
Information Technology	7%	9%
Energy	6%	7%
Consumer Staples	6%	6%
Materials	2%	3%
	100%	100%

Portfolio holdings and characteristics are subject to change.

For more complete details about the Fund's investment portfolio, see page 7.

Portfolio Management

Joseph Axtell, CFA

Portfolio Manager

Investment Portfolio June 30, 2013 (Unaudited)

	Shares		Value ($)

Common Stocks 97.1%
Australia 0.3%
Austal Ltd.* (Cost $764,055)		576,906		397,343
Austria 0.1%
AMS AG (Cost $186,042)		1,974		145,732
Bermuda 0.8%
Lazard Ltd. "A" (a) (Cost $799,420)		32,102		1,032,079
Brazil 0.6%
Fleury SA (Cost $1,141,734)		99,543		811,922
Canada 1.2%
Americas Petrogas, Inc.*		149,587		126,588
SunOpta, Inc.*		184,529		1,400,575
(Cost $1,921,510)				1,527,163
China 1.6%
Charm Communications, Inc. (ADR)		106,708		482,320
Minth Group Ltd.		1,045,047		1,641,540
(Cost $1,486,336)				2,123,860
Cyprus 0.9%
ProSafe SE (Cost $1,032,641)		138,127		1,210,058
Denmark 0.8%
GN Store Nord AS (Cost $708,985)		55,244		1,042,987
France 1.6%
Flamel Technologies SA (ADR)*		156,961		965,310
JC Decaux SA (b)		45,026		1,227,293
(Cost $3,020,804)				2,192,603
Germany 4.5%
Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA		10,009		709,111
Gerresheimer AG		14,879		859,844
M.A.X. Automation AG		190,057		1,038,866
Rational AG		4,084		1,368,331
United Internet AG (Registered)		69,777		1,966,614
(Cost $2,325,200)				5,942,766
Gibraltar 0.3%
Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment PLC (Cost $971,421)		260,980		445,648
Hong Kong 3.1%
K Wah International Holdings Ltd.		3,383,062		1,539,866
REXLot Holdings Ltd.		19,870,685		1,301,199
Techtronic Industries Co., Ltd.		558,848		1,333,565
(Cost $2,741,443)				4,174,630
Indonesia 1.5%
PT Arwana Citramulia Tbk		3,250,896		1,045,895
PT Ciputra Property Tbk		8,149,270		969,234
(Cost $1,884,482)				2,015,129
Ireland 4.1%
C&C Group PLC		237,410		1,287,231
Paddy Power PLC		23,961		2,055,994
Ryanair Holdings PLC		229,466		2,132,193
(Cost $1,598,542)				5,475,418
	Shares		Value ($)

Italy 0.6%
Prysmian SpA (Cost $755,286)		41,990		780,710
Japan 8.5%
Ai Holdings Corp.		89,568		789,363
Avex Group Holdings, Inc.		50,083		1,578,119
Hajime Construction Co., Ltd. (b)		29,262		1,628,809
Kusuri No Aoki Co., Ltd.		20,104		1,325,746
Medical System Network Co., Ltd.		113,898		483,918
MISUMI Group, Inc.		30,937		845,886
Nippon Seiki Co., Ltd.		119,125		1,538,759
OSG Corp.		28,060		421,294
Sumikin Bussan Corp.		50,187		137,648
United Arrows Ltd.		38,930		1,630,992
Universal Entertainment Corp.		55,322		978,891
(Cost $8,591,988)				11,359,425
Luxembourg 0.4%
L'Occitane International SA (Cost $356,205)		181,565		488,156
Malaysia 1.5%
Hartalega Holdings Bhd.		661,740		1,338,166
Tune Ins Holdings Bhd.*		1,159,601		677,401
(Cost $1,363,457)				2,015,567
Netherlands 4.0%
Brunel International NV		27,592		1,161,651
Chicago Bridge & Iron Co. NV (c)		20,728		1,236,633
Koninklijke Vopak NV		23,438		1,381,933
SBM Offshore NV*		91,819		1,537,005
(Cost $2,592,005)				5,317,222
Panama 0.6%
Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior SA "E" (Cost $827,404)		34,592		774,515
Philippines 1.9%
Alliance Global Group, Inc.		2,642,914		1,413,832
GT Capital Holdings, Inc.		51,907		951,160
House of Investments, Inc.		914,640		158,623
(Cost $1,737,279)				2,523,615
Singapore 1.9%
Lian Beng Group Ltd.		2,616,511		1,069,978
Yongnam Holdings Ltd.		5,236,440		1,421,135
(Cost $1,939,414)				2,491,113
Switzerland 1.5%
Dufry AG (Registered)*		11,004		1,331,431
OC Oerlikon Corp. AG (Registered)		61,341		723,724
(Cost $2,106,354)				2,055,155
Thailand 0.4%
Malee Sampran Factory PCL (Foreign Registered) (Cost $975,784)		483,098		529,593
United Kingdom 10.7%
ARM Holdings PLC		45,571		551,400
Ashmore Group PLC		227,745		1,185,568
Babcock International Group PLC		140,923		2,372,712
	Shares		Value ($)

Burberry Group PLC		42,593		878,671
Crest Nicholson Holdings PLC*		142,199		691,701
Domino's Pizza Group PLC		106,167		1,085,759
Essentra PLC		100,949		1,074,752
Hargreaves Lansdown PLC		90,725		1,220,231
HellermannTyton Group PLC*		317,895		1,251,666
IG Group Holdings PLC		124,645		1,102,840
John Wood Group PLC		84,863		1,048,465
Nanoco Group PLC*		289,978		582,086
Rotork PLC		31,784		1,285,837
(Cost $8,234,102)				14,331,688
United States 43.7%
Advance Auto Parts, Inc.		11,760		954,559
Aecom Technology Corp.*		33,549		1,066,523
Aeropostale, Inc.*		50,024		690,331
Affiliated Managers Group, Inc.*		9,257		1,517,593
Altra Holdings, Inc.		28,488		780,001
Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc.		21,610		1,044,411
Ascena Retail Group, Inc.* (b)		31,888		556,446
athenahealth, Inc.*		8,408		712,326
BE Aerospace, Inc.*		31,443		1,983,424
Blount International, Inc.*		56,289		665,336
BorgWarner, Inc.*		12,292		1,058,956
Cardtronics, Inc.*		25,979		717,020
Catamaran Corp.*		24,515		1,194,371
Centene Corp.*		16,447		862,810
Cognex Corp.		16,251		734,870
CONMED Corp.		23,733		741,419
Deckers Outdoor Corp.* (b)		17,006		858,973
Derma Sciences, Inc.*		58,282		778,065
DFC Global Corp.*		59,624		823,407
Dresser-Rand Group, Inc.*		20,965		1,257,481
Encore Capital Group, Inc.* (b)		36,520		1,209,177
Furiex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*		18,193		619,836
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc.* (b)		22,093		1,658,301
Hain Celestial Group, Inc.* (b)		10,151		659,510
Harris Corp.		18,951		933,337
Haynes International, Inc.		15,185		726,906
HeartWare International, Inc.*		10,980		1,044,308
Hi-Tech Pharmacal Co., Inc.		42,001		1,394,433
Jack in the Box, Inc.*		18,802		738,731
Jarden Corp.*		37,094		1,622,863
Leucadia National Corp.		43,364		1,137,004
Manitowoc Co., Inc. (b)		81,547		1,460,507
MICROS Systems, Inc.* (b)		15,314		660,799
NxStage Medical, Inc.*		61,958		884,760
Oasis Petroleum, Inc.*		18,235		708,794
Ocwen Financial Corp.*		33,204		1,368,669
	Shares		Value ($)

Oil States International, Inc.*		11,540		1,069,066
Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc.*		85,413		2,476,977
PTC, Inc.*		30,002		735,949
Roadrunner Transportation Systems, Inc.*		32,995		918,581
Rosetta Resources, Inc.*		13,311		565,984
Schweitzer-Mauduit International, Inc.		13,806		688,643
Sears Hometown & Outlet Stores, Inc.*		28,577		1,249,386
Signature Bank*		10,463		868,638
Stericycle, Inc.*		6,553		723,648
Sunshine Heart, Inc.*		110,980		595,963
Tenneco, Inc.*		25,558		1,157,266
The Bancorp., Inc.*		29,870		447,751
Thoratec Corp.*		35,971		1,126,252
TIBCO Software, Inc.*		40,313		862,698
TiVo, Inc.*		70,178		775,467
Tristate Capital Holdings, Inc.*		56,467		776,421
United Rentals, Inc.* (b)		22,588		1,127,367
Urban Outfitters, Inc.*		29,154		1,172,574
WABCO Holdings, Inc.*		19,527		1,458,472
Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc. "A"		32,588		1,417,578
WageWorks, Inc.*		31,914		1,099,437
Zions Bancorp. (b)		41,897		1,209,985
(Cost $39,873,988)				58,350,360
Total Common Stocks (Cost $89,622,780)				129,554,457

Warrants 0.0%
Malaysia
Hartalega Holdings Bhd., Expiration Date 5/29/2015* (Cost $0)		68,733		51,980

Securities Lending Collateral 9.2%
Daily Assets Fund Institutional, 0.10% (d) (e) (Cost $12,312,833)		12,312,833		12,312,833

Cash Equivalents 2.0%
Central Cash Management Fund, 0.07% (d) (Cost $2,712,251)		2,712,251		2,712,251

	% of Net Assets			Value ($)

Total Investment Portfolio (Cost $104,647,864)†		108.3			144,631,521
Other Assets and Liabilities, Net		(8.3	)		(11,124,992	)
Net Assets		100.0			133,506,529

* Non-income producing security.

† The cost for federal income tax purposes was $105,203,586. At June 30, 2013, net unrealized appreciation for all securities based on tax cost was $39,427,935. This consisted of aggregate gross unrealized appreciation for all securities in which there was an excess of value over tax cost of $46,032,502 and aggregate gross unrealized depreciation for all securities in which there was an excess of tax cost over value of $6,604,567.

(a) Listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc.

(b) All or a portion of these securities were on loan (see Notes to Financial Statements). The value of securities loaned at June 30, 2013 amounted to $11,906,419, which is 8.9% of net assets.

(d) Affiliated fund managed by Deutsche Investment Management Americas Inc. The rate shown is the annualized seven-day yield at period end.

(e) Represents collateral held in connection with securities lending. Income earned by the Fund is net of borrower rebates.

ADR: American Depositary Receipt

Fair Value Measurements

Assets	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total

Common Stocks & Warrants
Australia	$	—	$	397,343	$	—	$	397,343
Austria		—		145,732		—		145,732
Bermuda		1,032,079		—		—		1,032,079
Brazil		811,922		—		—		811,922
Canada		1,527,163		—		—		1,527,163
China		482,320		1,641,540		—		2,123,860
Cyprus		—		1,210,058		—		1,210,058
Denmark		—		1,042,987		—		1,042,987
France		965,310		1,227,293		—		2,192,603
Germany		—		5,942,766		—		5,942,766
Gibraltar		—		445,648		—		445,648
Hong Kong		—		4,174,630		—		4,174,630
Indonesia		—		2,015,129		—		2,015,129
Ireland		—		5,475,418		—		5,475,418
Italy		—		780,710		—		780,710
Japan		—		11,359,425		—		11,359,425
Luxembourg		—		488,156		—		488,156
Malaysia		—		2,067,547		—		2,067,547
Netherlands		1,236,633		4,080,589		—		5,317,222
Panama		774,515		—		—		774,515
Philippines		—		2,523,615		—		2,523,615
Singapore		—		2,491,113		—		2,491,113
Switzerland		—		2,055,155		—		2,055,155
Thailand		—		529,593		—		529,593
United Kingdom		—		14,331,688		—		14,331,688
United States		58,350,360		—		—		58,350,360
Short-Term Investments (f)		15,025,084		—		—		15,025,084
Total	$	80,205,386	$	64,426,135	$	—	$	144,631,521

During the period ended June 30, 2013, the amount of transfers between Level 3 and Level 2 was $51,980. The investment was transferred from Level 3 to Level 2 as a result of the availability of a pricing source supported by observable inputs.

Transfers between price levels are recognized at the beginning of the reporting period.

(f) See Investment Portfolio for additional detailed categorizations.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

Statement of Assets and Liabilities

as of June 30, 2013 (Unaudited)
Assets
Investments: Investments in non-affiliated securities, at value (cost 89,622,780) — including $11,906,419 of securities loaned	$	129,606,437
Investment in Daily Assets Fund Institutional (cost $12,312,833)*		12,312,833
Investment in Central Cash Management Fund (cost $2,712,251)		2,712,251
Total investments in securities, at value (cost $104,647,864)		144,631,521
Foreign currency, at value (cost $177,616)		174,814
Receivable for investments sold		966,435
Receivable for Fund shares sold		83,351
Dividends receivable		151,608
Interest receivable		2,750
Foreign taxes recoverable		76,112
Other assets		964
Total assets		146,087,555
Liabilities
Payable upon return of securities loaned		12,312,833
Payable for investments purchased		37,827
Payable for Fund shares redeemed		92,872
Accrued management fee		61,010
Accrued Trustees' fees		408
Other accrued expenses and payables		76,076
Total liabilities		12,581,026
Net assets, at value	$	133,506,529
Net Assets Consist of
Undistributed net investment income		279,453
Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on: Investments		39,983,657
Foreign currency		(1,935	)
Accumulated net realized gain (loss)		6,658,530
Paid-in capital		86,586,824
Net assets, at value	$	133,506,529
Class A Net Asset Value, offering and redemption price per share ($131,493,968 ÷ 9,221,877 outstanding shares of beneficial interest, $.01 par value, unlimited number of shares authorized)	$	14.26
Class B Net Asset Value, offering and redemption price per share ($2,012,561 ÷ 143,739 outstanding shares of beneficial interest, $.01 par value, unlimited number of shares authorized)	$	14.00

* Represents collateral on securities loaned.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

Statement of Operations

for the six months ended June 30, 2013 (Unaudited)
Investment Income
Income: Dividends (net of foreign taxes withheld of $56,310)	$	921,139
Income distributions — Central Cash Management Fund		1,295
Securities lending income, including income from Daily Assets Fund Institutional, net of borrower rebates		41,950
Total income		964,384
Expenses: Management fee		598,640
Administration fee		67,263
Services to shareholders		1,432
Distribution service fee (Class B)		2,496
Record keeping fee (Class B)		38
Custodian fee		29,083
Professional fees		33,925
Reports to shareholders		16,743
Trustees' fees and expenses		2,896
Other		8,239
Total expenses before expense reductions		760,755
Expense reductions		(126,350	)
Total expenses after expense reductions		634,405
Net investment income (loss)		329,979
Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss)
Net realized gain (loss) from: Investments		7,288,193
Foreign currency		(11,688	)
		7,276,505
Change in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on: Investments		7,492,010
Foreign currency		(7,273	)
		7,484,737
Net gain (loss)		14,761,242
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations	$	15,091,221

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

Statement of Changes in Net Assets

Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets	Six Months Ended June 30, 2013 (Unaudited)			Year Ended December 31, 2012
Operations: Net investment income (loss)	$	329,979		$	860,631
Net realized gain (loss)		7,276,505			9,539,908
Change in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation)		7,484,737			7,657,855
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations		15,091,221			18,058,394
Distributions to shareholders from: Net investment income: Class A		(881,158	)		(847,848	)
Class B		(8,337	)		(8,192	)
Net realized gains: Class A		(9,356,181	)		(6,623,008	)
Class B		(145,558	)		(104,904	)
Total distributions		(10,391,234	)		(7,583,952	)
Fund share transactions: Class A Proceeds from shares sold		3,384,027			3,854,918
Reinvestment of distributions		10,237,339			7,470,856
Payments for shares redeemed		(10,445,518	)		(21,145,077	)
Net increase (decrease) in net assets from Class A share transactions		3,175,848			(9,819,303	)
Class B Proceeds from shares sold		154,180			79,415
Reinvestment of distributions		153,895			113,096
Payments for redeemed		(208,247	)		(365,396	)
Net increase (decrease) in net assets from Class B share transactions		99,828			(172,885	)
Increase (decrease) in net assets		7,975,663			482,254
Net assets at beginning of period		125,530,866			125,048,612
Net assets at end of period (including undistributed net investment income of $279,453 and $838,969, respectively)	$	133,506,529		$	125,530,866
Other Information
Class A Shares outstanding at beginning of period		8,977,791			9,718,286
Shares sold		231,269			294,057
Shares issued to shareholders in reinvestment of distributions		718,410			561,297
Shares redeemed		(705,593	)		(1,595,849	)
Net increase (decrease) in Class A shares		244,086			(740,495	)
Shares outstanding at end of period		9,221,877			8,977,791
Class B Shares outstanding at beginning of period		136,607			150,330
Shares sold		10,576			6,256
Shares issued to shareholders in reinvestment of distributions		11,000			8,640
Shares redeemed		(14,444	)		(28,619	)
Net increase (decrease) in Class B shares		7,132			(13,723	)
Shares outstanding at end of period		143,739			136,607

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

Financial Highlights

				Years Ended December 31,
Class A	Six Months Ended 6/30/13 (Unaudited)			2012			2011			2010			2009			2008
Selected Per Share Data
Net asset value, beginning of period	$	13.78		$	12.67		$	14.28		$	11.32		$	7.79		$	18.28
Income (loss) from investment operations: Net investment income (loss)a		.04			.09			.08			.05			.04			.20	c
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)		1.61			1.83			(1.45	)		2.96			3.64			(8.18	)
Total from investment operations		1.65			1.92			(1.37	)		3.01			3.68			(7.98	)
Less distributions from: Net investment income		(.10	)		(.09	)		(.24	)		(.05	)		(.15	)		(.04	)
Net realized gains		(1.07	)		(.72	)		—			—			—			(2.47	)
Total distributions		(1.17	)		(.81	)		(.24	)		(.05	)		(.15	)		(2.51	)
Net asset value, end of period	$	14.26		$	13.78		$	12.67		$	14.28		$	11.32		$	7.79
Total Return (%)b		11.99	**		15.37			(9.90	)		26.64			48.20			(49.96	)
Ratios to Average Net Assets and Supplemental Data
Net assets, end of period ($ millions)		131			124			123			158			139			117
Ratio of expenses before expense reductions (%)		1.13	*		1.11			1.12			1.12			1.11			1.11
Ratio of expenses after expense reductions (%)		.94	*		.98			1.00			1.04			.99			.99
Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%)		.49	*		.69			.57			.42			.47			1.53	c
Portfolio turnover rate (%)		19	**		36			31			39			53			21
a Based on average shares outstanding during the period. b Total return would have been lower had certain expenses not been reduced. c Net investment income per share and the ratio of net investment income include non-recurring dividend income amounting to $0.05 per share and 0.37% of average daily net assets for the year ended December 31, 2008. * Annualized ** Not annualized

				Years Ended December 31,
Class B	Six Months Ended 6/30/13 (Unaudited)			2012			2011			2010			2009			2008
Selected Per Share Data
Net asset value, beginning of period	$	13.52		$	12.45		$	14.03		$	11.11		$	7.65		$	18.03
Income (loss) from investment operations: Net investment income (loss)a		.03			.06			.05			.03			.02			.16	c
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)		1.58			1.79			(1.43	)		2.90			3.57			(8.07	)
Total from investment operations		1.61			1.85			(1.38	)		2.93			3.59			(7.91	)
Less distributions from: Net investment income		(.06	)		(.06	)		(.20	)		(.01	)		(.13	)		—
Net realized gains		(1.07	)		(.72	)		—			—			—			(2.47	)
Total distributions		(1.13	)		(.78	)		(.20	)		(.01	)		(.13	)		(2.47	)
Net asset value, end of period	$	14.00		$	13.52		$	12.45		$	14.03		$	11.11		$	7.65
Total Return (%)b		11.93	**		15.01			(10.08	)		26.38			47.66			(50.16	)
Ratios to Average Net Assets and Supplemental Data
Net assets, end of period ($ millions)		2			2			2			2			7			5
Ratio of expenses before expense reductions (%)		1.33	*		1.43			1.38			1.34			1.42			1.42
Ratio of expenses after expense reductions (%)		1.14	*		1.23			1.25			1.26			1.30			1.30
Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%)		.30	*		.44			.32			.20			.16			1.21	c
Portfolio turnover rate (%)		19	**		36			31			39			53			21
a Based on average shares outstanding during the period. b Total return would have been lower had certain expenses not been reduced. c Net investment income per share and the ratio of net investment income include non-recurring dividend income amounting to $0.05 per share and 0.37% of average daily net assets for the year ended December 31, 2008. * Annualized ** Not annualized

Notes to Financial Statements (Unaudited)

A. Organization and Significant Accounting Policies

DWS Variable Series I (the "Series") is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act"), as an open-end, registered management investment company organized as a Massachusetts business trust. The Series consists of five diversified funds: DWS Bond VIP, DWS Core Equity VIP, DWS Capital Growth VIP, DWS Global Small Cap Growth VIP and DWS International VIP (individually or collectively hereinafter referred to as a "Fund" or the "Funds"). These financial statements report on DWS Global Small Cap Growth VIP. The Series is intended to be the underlying investment vehicle for variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies to be offered by the separate accounts of certain life insurance companies ("Participating Insurance Companies").

Multiple Classes of Shares of Beneficial Interest. The Fund offers two classes of shares (Class A shares and Class B shares). Class B shares are subject to Rule 12b-1 distribution fees under the 1940 Act and recordkeeping fees equal to an annual rate of 0.25% and up to 0.15%, respectively, of the average daily net assets of the Class B shares of the Fund. Class A shares are not subject to such fees.

Investment income, realized and unrealized gains and losses, and certain fund-level expenses and expense reductions, if any, are borne pro rata on the basis of relative net assets by the holders of all classes of shares, except that each class bears certain expenses unique to that class (including the applicable 12b-1 distribution fees). Differences in class-level expenses may result in payment of different per share dividends by class. All shares have equal rights with respect to voting subject to class-specific arrangements.

Security Valuation. Investments are stated at value determined as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange on each day the exchange is open for trading.

Equity securities are valued at the most recent sale price or official closing price reported on the exchange (U.S. or foreign) or over-the-counter market on which they trade and are categorized as Level 1 securities. Securities for which no sales are reported are valued at the calculated mean between the most recent bid and asked quotations on the relevant market or, if a mean cannot be determined, at the most recent bid quotation. For certain international equity securities, in order to adjust for events which may occur between the close of the foreign exchanges and the close of the New York Stock Exchange, a fair valuation model may be used. This fair valuation model takes into account comparisons to the valuation of American Depository Receipts (ADRs), exchange-traded funds, futures contracts and certain indices and these securities are categorized as Level 2.

Investments in open-end investment companies are valued at their net asset value each business day and are categorized as Level 1.

Disclosure about the classification of fair value measurements is included in a table following the Fund's Investment Portfolio.

As of June 30, 2013, the Fund had securities on loan with a gross value of $11,906,419. The value of the related collateral, $12,312,833, exceeded the value of the securities loaned at period end.

The timing and characterization of certain income and capital gain distributions are determined annually in accordance with federal tax regulations which may differ from accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. These differences primarily relate to certain securities sold at a loss. As a result, net investment income (loss) and net realized gain (loss) on investment transactions for a reporting period may differ significantly from distributions during such period. Accordingly, the Fund may periodically make reclassifications among certain of its capital accounts without impacting the net asset value of the Fund.

The tax character of current year distributions will be determined at the end of the current fiscal year.

Other. Investment transactions are accounted for on a trade date plus one basis for daily net asset value calculations. However, for financial reporting purposes, investment transactions are reported on trade date. Interest income is recorded on the accrual basis net of foreign withholding taxes. Dividend income is recorded on the ex-dividend date net of foreign withholding taxes. Certain dividends from foreign securities may be recorded subsequent to the ex-dividend date as soon as the Fund is informed of such dividends. Realized gains and losses from investment transactions are recorded on an identified cost basis and may include proceeds from litigation.

B. Purchases and Sales of Securities

During the six months ended June 30, 2013, purchases and sales of investment securities (excluding short-term investments) aggregated $25,596,576 and $34,678,044, respectively.

C. Related Parties

First $500 million of average daily net assets	.890	%
Next $500 million of average daily net assets	.875	%
Next $1 billion of average daily net assets	.860	%
Over $2 billion of average daily net assets	.845	%

For the period from January 1, 2013 through April 30, 2014, the Advisor has contractually agreed to waive all or a portion of its fees and/or reimburse certain operating expenses of the Fund to the extent necessary to maintain the operating expenses (excluding certain expenses such as extraordinary expenses, taxes, brokerage and interest) of each class as follows:

Class A	.94%
Class B	1.19%

Accordingly, for the six months ended June 30, 2013, the Advisor waived a portion of its management fee pursuant to the Investment Management Agreement aggregating $126,136, and the amount charged aggregated $472,504, which was equivalent to an annualized effective rate of 0.70% of the Fund's average daily net assets.

Services to Shareholders	Total Aggregated		Waived		Unpaid
Class A	$	214	$	214	$	—
Class B		71		—		71
	$	285	$	214	$	71

D. Ownership of the Fund

Three participating insurance companies were owners of record of 10% or more of the total outstanding Class A shares of the Fund, each owning 50%, 16% and 10%.

E. Line of Credit

Information About Your Fund's Expenses (Unaudited)

As an investor of the Fund, you incur two types of costs: ongoing expenses and transaction costs. Ongoing expenses include management fees, distribution and service (12b-1) fees and other Fund expenses. Examples of transaction costs include contract charges, redemption fees and account maintenance fees, which are not shown in this section. The following tables are intended to help you understand your ongoing expenses (in dollars) of investing in the Fund and to help you compare these expenses with the ongoing expenses of investing in other mutual funds. In the most recent six-month period, the Fund limited these expenses; had it not done so, expenses would have been higher. The example in the table is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the six-month period and held for the entire period (January 1, 2013 to June 30, 2013).

The tables illustrate your Fund's expenses in two ways:

Expenses and Value of a $1,000 Investment for the six months ended June 30, 2013
Actual Fund Return	Class A		Class B
Beginning Account Value 1/1/13	$	1,000.00	$	1,000.00
Ending Account Value 6/30/13	$	1,119.90	$	1,119.30
Expenses Paid per $1,000*	$	4.94	$	5.99
Hypothetical 5% Fund Return	Class A		Class B
Beginning Account Value 1/1/13	$	1,000.00	$	1,000.00
Ending Account Value 6/30/13	$	1,020.13	$	1,019.14
Expenses Paid per $1,000*	$	4.71	$	5.71

Annualized Expense Ratios	Class A		Class B
DWS Variable Series I — DWS Global Small Cap Growth VIP	.94%		1.14%

For more information, please refer to the Fund's prospectus.

For an analysis of the fees associated with an investment in the Fund or similar funds, please refer to http://apps.finra.org/fundanalyzer/1/fa.aspx.

Proxy Voting

Summary of Management Fee Evaluation by Independent Fee Consultant

September 17, 2012

Qualifications

Evaluation of Fees for each DWS Fund

Fees and Expenses Compared with Other Funds

The competitive fee and expense evaluation for each fund focused on two primary comparisons:

The Fund's total expenses compared with a broader universe of funds from the same Lipper investment category and having similar distribution arrangements.

DeAM's Fees for Similar Services to Others

Costs and Profit Margins

Economies of Scale

Quality of Service — Performance

I also received and considered the history of portfolio manager changes for each Fund, as this provided an important context for evaluating the performance results.

Complex-Level Considerations

I considered how aggregated DWS Fund expenses had varied over the years, by asset class and in the context of trends in asset levels.

I considered how aggregated DWS Fund performance measures relative to appropriate peers had varied by asset class and over time.

I reviewed the structure of the DeAM organization, trends in staffing levels, and information on compensation of investment management and other professionals compared with industry data.

Findings

Thomas H. Mack

President, Thomas H. Mack & Co., Inc.

Notes

DWS Investments Distributors, Inc.

222 South Riverside Plaza

Chicago, IL 60606

(800) 621-1148

VS1gloscg-3 (R-028377-2 8/13)

JUNE 30, 2013

SEMIANNUAL REPORT

DWS VARIABLE SERIES I

DWS International VIP

Contents

3 Performance Summary

4 Portfolio Summary

4 Portfolio Management

5 Investment Portfolio

8 Statement of Assets and Liabilities

9 Statement of Operations

10 Statement of Changes in Net Assets

12 Financial Highlights

14 Notes to Financial Statements

19 Information About Your Fund's Expenses

19 Proxy Voting

21 Summary of Management Fee Evaluation by Independent Fee Consultant

Investing in derivatives entails special risks relating to liquidity, leverage and credit that may reduce returns and/or increase volatility. Investing in foreign securities, particularly those of emerging markets, presents certain risks, such as currency fluctuations, political and economic changes, and market risks. The Fund may lend securities to approved institutions. Stocks may decline in value. See the prospectus for details.

DWS Investments is part of the Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management division of Deutsche Bank AG.

NOT FDIC/NCUA INSURED NO BANK GUARANTEE MAY LOSE VALUE NOT A DEPOSIT

NOT INSURED BY ANY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY

Performance Summary June 30, 2013 (Unaudited)

The gross expense ratios of the Fund, as stated in the fee table of the prospectus dated May 1, 2013 are 0.98% and 1.26% for Class A and Class B shares, respectively, and may differ from the expense ratios disclosed in the Financial Highlights tables in this report.

Growth of an Assumed $10,000 Investment
		MSCI EAFE Index is an unmanaged index that tracks international stock performance in the 22 developed markets of Europe, Australasia and the Far East. Returns reflect reinvestment of dividends net of withholding taxes. The index is calculated using closing local market prices and translates into U.S. dollars using the London close foreign exchange rates. Index returns do not reflect any fees or expenses and it is not possible to invest directly into an index.

Yearly periods ended June 30

Comparative Results
DWS International VIP		6-Month‡			1-Year			3-Year			5-Year			10-Year
Class A	Growth of $10,000	$	10,284		$	11,779		$	12,498		$	7,804		$	17,160
Class A	Average annual total return		2.84	%		17.79	%		7.72	%		-4.84	%		5.55	%
MSCI EAFE® Index	Growth of $10,000	$	10,410		$	11,862		$	13,325		$	9,688		$	20,941
MSCI EAFE® Index	Average annual total return		4.10	%		18.62	%		10.04	%		-0.63	%		7.67	%
DWS International VIP		6-Month‡			1-Year			3-Year			5-Year			10-Year
Class B	Growth of $10,000	$	10,281		$	11,758		$	12,407		$	7,712		$	16,683
Class B	Average annual total return		2.81	%		17.58	%		7.45	%		-5.06	%		5.25	%
MSCI EAFE® Index	Growth of $10,000	$	10,410		$	11,862		$	13,325		$	9,688		$	20,941
MSCI EAFE® Index	Average annual total return		4.10	%		18.62	%		10.04	%		-0.63	%		7.67	%

The growth of $10,000 is cumulative.

‡ Total returns shown for periods less than one year are not annualized.

Portfolio Summary (Unaudited)

Asset Allocation (As a % of Investment Portfolio excluding Securities Lending Collateral)	6/30/13	12/31/12

Common Stocks	97%	100%
Cash Equivalents	3%	0%
Preferred Stocks	0%	—
	100%	100%

Geographical Diversification (As a % of Investment Portfolio excluding Cash Equivalents and Securities Lending Collateral)	6/30/13	12/31/12

Continental Europe	53%	50%
Japan	23%	24%
United Kingdom	14%	13%
Asia (excluding Japan)	5%	6%
Australia	4%	6%
Other	1%	1%
	100%	100%

Sector Diversification (As a % of Investment Portfolio excluding Cash Equivalents and Securities Lending Collateral)	6/30/13	12/31/12

Financials	23%	27%
Industrials	16%	21%
Consumer Discretionary	12%	11%
Telecommunication Services	9%	10%
Materials	8%	6%
Consumer Staples	8%	2%
Utilities	8%	12%
Health Care	7%	0%
Information Technology	6%	7%
Energy	3%	4%
	100%	100%

Portfolio holdings and characteristics are subject to change.

For more complete details about the Fund's investment portfolio, see page 5.

Portfolio Management

Thomas Voecking

Anna Wallentin

Juergen Foerster

Johannes Prix, PhD

Portfolio Managers

Investment Portfolio June 30, 2013 (Unaudited)

	Shares		Value ($)

Common Stocks 95.9%
Australia 3.8%
Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd.		61,700		1,601,467
BHP Billiton Ltd.		69,500		2,002,657
Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd.		36,000		416,878
Lend Lease Group		40,000		303,566
Macquarie Group Ltd.		10,300		390,638
Rio Tinto Ltd.		8,300		394,229
(Cost $5,348,620)				5,109,435
Belgium 0.3%
Anheuser-Busch InBev NV (Cost $412,423)		4,300		381,475
Denmark 0.9%
Coloplast AS "B" (Cost $1,130,982)		21,400		1,197,766
Finland 1.1%
Fortum Oyj (Cost $1,334,079)		75,000		1,401,052
France 6.8%
Dassault Systemes SA		34,900		4,269,283
European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co.		5,800		308,416
L'Oreal SA		13,500		2,207,275
Publicis Groupe		10,000		709,104
Sanofi		14,700		1,514,939
(Cost $6,885,256)				9,009,017
Germany 12.4%
Adidas AG		51,500		5,566,280
BASF SE		32,100		2,866,953
Bayer AG (Registered)		5,100		543,694
Beiersdorf AG		6,700		584,206
Continental AG		3,000		399,730
Deutsche Post AG (Registered)		85,000		2,112,322
Hannover Rueckversicherung SE (Registered)		7,700		553,387
HeidelbergCement AG		6,800		457,203
Muenchener Rueckversicherungs-Gesellschaft AG (Registered)		9,800		1,799,532
Siemens AG (Registered)		12,500		1,263,033
Suedzucker AG		14,000		433,350
(Cost $13,228,308)				16,579,690
Hong Kong 5.0%
BOC Hong Kong (Holdings) Ltd.		1,785,000		5,451,524
Link REIT (REIT)		82,000		400,830
Noble Group Ltd.		970,000		742,258
(Cost $6,073,737)				6,594,612
Italy 3.9%
Snam SpA (Cost $4,886,999)		1,130,000		5,145,341
Japan 21.7%
Bridgestone Corp.		74,500		2,539,346
Canon, Inc. (a)		56,800		1,865,522
Daiwa House Industry Co., Ltd.		21,000		391,976
FANUC Corp.		31,000		4,495,222
Fast Retailing Co., Ltd.		10,500		3,541,887
Hitachi Ltd.		192,000		1,233,352
Japan Tobacco, Inc.		12,000		424,122
	Shares		Value ($)

JGC Corp.		55,000		1,979,956
Keyence Corp.		1,300		414,897
Marubeni Corp.		280,000		1,872,001
Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd.		122,000		3,249,211
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.		92,000		511,176
Mitsui & Co., Ltd.		140,000		1,759,016
Mizuho Financial Group, Inc.		199,000		414,191
Nabtesco Corp.		99,200		2,063,639
Nikon Corp.		20,000		466,690
SoftBank Corp.		8,600		502,141
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc.		9,400		431,306
Sumitomo Realty & Development Co., Ltd.		13,300		530,450
Suzuki Motor Corp.		10,600		244,460
(Cost $25,174,938)				28,930,561
Netherlands 8.2%
Aegon NV		60,000		400,556
Akzo Nobel NV		11,700		657,204
ASML Holding NV		5,400		423,651
ING Groep NV (CVA)*		550,357		5,028,995
Koninklijke DSM NV		6,000		390,363
Royal Dutch Shell PLC "B"		120,000		3,968,493
(Cost $9,765,220)				10,869,262
Norway 2.5%
DnB ASA		207,576		2,998,794
Telenor ASA		19,000		376,647
(Cost $2,540,231)				3,375,441
Singapore 0.6%
United Overseas Bank Ltd. (Cost $848,648)		55,000		857,932
Spain 0.5%
Inditex SA (Cost $809,189)		5,800		715,445
Sweden 5.1%
SKF AB "B"		16,000		372,882
Swedbank AB "A"		66,000		1,506,304
Swedish Match AB		7,700		272,220
TeliaSonera AB		724,000		4,704,132
(Cost $6,271,176)				6,855,538
Switzerland 9.1%
Cie Financiere Richemont SA "A"		5,000		438,608
Nestle SA (Registered)		20,000		1,308,129
Roche Holding AG (Genusschein)		24,000		5,946,825
Sika AG (Bearer)		180		464,738
Swatch Group AG (Registered)		2,600		243,945
Swiss Life Holding AG (Registered)*		2,100		339,774
Syngenta AG (Registered)		8,550		3,334,399
(Cost $11,615,511)				12,076,418
United Kingdom 14.0%
Barclays PLC		141,000		604,431
British American Tobacco PLC		19,300		991,121
Capita PLC		212,000		3,123,557
Centrica PLC		526,000		2,886,756
Diageo PLC		64,700		1,855,805
Inmarsat PLC		180,000		1,847,286
	Shares		Value ($)

Old Mutual PLC		620,000		1,701,640
SABMiller PLC		27,200		1,308,829
Vodafone Group PLC		1,373,000		3,940,122
WPP PLC		25,000		427,114
(Cost $16,570,517)				18,686,661
Total Common Stocks (Cost $112,895,834)				127,785,646

Preferred Stock 0.2%
Germany
Henkel AG & Co. KGaA (Cost $257,406)		3,000		281,509

	Shares		Value ($)

Securities Lending Collateral 1.5%
Daily Assets Fund Institutional, 0.10% (b) (c) (Cost $1,958,985)		1,958,985		1,958,985

Cash Equivalents 3.3%
Central Cash Management Fund, 0.07% (b) (Cost $4,367,248)		4,367,248		4,367,248

	% of Net Assets			Value ($)

Total Investment Portfolio (Cost $119,479,473)†		100.9			134,393,388
Other Assets and Liabilities, Net		(0.9	)		(1,164,487	)
Net Assets		100.0			133,228,901

* Non-income producing security.

† The cost for federal income tax purposes was $120,823,547. At June 30, 2013, net unrealized appreciation for all securities based on tax cost was $13,569,841. This consisted of aggregate gross unrealized appreciation for all securities in which there was an excess of value over tax cost of $17,473,216 and aggregate gross unrealized depreciation for all securities in which there was an excess of tax cost over value of $3,903,375.

(a) All or a portion of these securities were on loan (see Notes to Financial Statements). The value of securities loaned at June 30, 2013 amounted to $1,862,238, which is 1.4% of net assets.

(b) Affiliated fund managed by Deutsche Investment Management Americas Inc. The rate shown is the annualized seven-day yield at period end.

(c) Represents collateral held in connection with securities lending. Income earned by the Fund is net of borrower rebates.

CVA: Certificaten Van Aandelen (Certificate of Stock)

REIT: Real Estate Investment Trust

At June 30, 2013, open futures contracts purchased were as follows:

Futures

Currency

Expiration Date

Contracts

Notional Value ($)

Unrealized Depreciation ($)

S&P 500 E-Mini Index

USD

9/20/2013

5,597,550

(120,750

)

Currency Abbreviation

USD United States Dollar

For information on the Fund's policy and additional disclosures regarding futures contracts, please refer to the Derivatives section of Note B in the accompanying Notes to Financial Statements.

Fair Value Measurements

Assets	Level 1			Level 2		Level 3		Total

Common Stocks (d)
Australia	$	—		$	5,109,435	$	—	$	5,109,435
Belgium		—			381,475		—		381,475
Denmark		—			1,197,766		—		1,197,766
Finland		—			1,401,052		—		1,401,052
France		—			9,009,017		—		9,009,017
Germany		—			16,579,690		—		16,579,690
Hong Kong		—			6,594,612		—		6,594,612
Italy		—			5,145,341		—		5,145,341
Japan		—			28,930,561		—		28,930,561
Netherlands		—			10,869,262		—		10,869,262
Norway		—			3,375,441		—		3,375,441
Singapore		—			857,932		—		857,932
Spain		—			715,445		—		715,445
Sweden		—			6,855,538		—		6,855,538
Switzerland		—			12,076,418		—		12,076,418
United Kingdom		—			18,686,661		—		18,686,661
Preferred Stock
Germany		—			281,509		—		281,509
Short-Term Investments (d)		6,326,233			—		—		6,326,233
Total	$	6,326,233		$	128,067,155	$	—	$	134,393,388
Liabilities
Derivatives (e) Futures Contracts	$	(120,750	)	$	—	$	—	$	(120,750	)
Total	$	(120,750	)	$	—	$	—	$	(120,750	)

There have been no transfers between fair value measurement levels during the period ended June 30, 2013.

(d) See Investment Portfolio for additional detailed categorizations.

(e) Derivatives include unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on futures contracts.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

Statement of Assets and Liabilities

as of June 30, 2013 (Unaudited)
Assets
Investments: Investments in non-affiliated securities, at value (cost $113,153,240) — including $1,862,238 of securities loaned	$	128,067,155
Investment in Daily Assets Fund Institutional (cost $1,958,985)*		1,958,985
Investment in Central Cash Management Fund (cost $4,367,248)		4,367,248
Total investments, at value (cost $119,479,473)		134,393,388
Foreign currency, at value (cost $237,431)		235,433
Deposit with broker for futures contracts		245,000
Receivable for Fund shares sold		18,786
Dividends receivable		281,502
Interest receivable		3,315
Foreign taxes recoverable		261,737
Other assets		1,486
Total assets		135,440,647
Liabilities
Payable upon return of securities loaned		1,958,985
Payable for Fund shares redeemed		54,004
Payable for variation margin on futures contracts		25,550
Accrued Trustees' fees		2,085
Accrued management fee		88,042
Other accrued expenses and payables		83,080
Total liabilities		2,211,746
Net assets, at value	$	133,228,901
Net Assets Consist of
Undistributed net investment income		1,221,132
Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on: Investments		14,913,915
Futures		(120,750	)
Foreign currency		(1,523	)
Accumulated net realized gain (loss)		(136,549,605	)
Paid-in capital		253,765,732
Net assets, at value	$	133,228,901
Class A Net Asset Value, offering and redemption price per share ($132,969,216 ÷ 17,158,555 outstanding shares of beneficial interest, $.01 par value, unlimited number of shares authorized)	$	7.75
Class B Net Asset Value, offering and redemption price per share ($259,685 ÷ 33,424 outstanding shares of beneficial interest, $.01 par value, unlimited number of shares authorized)	$	7.77

* Represents collateral on securities loaned.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

Statement of Operations

for the six months ended June 30, 2013 (Unaudited)
Investment Income
Income: Dividends (net of foreign taxes withheld of $284,898)	$	2,947,336
Income distributions — Central Cash Management Fund		4,352
Securities lending income, including income from Daily Assets Fund Institutional, net of borrower rebates		85,925
Total income		3,037,613
Expenses: Management fee		712,435
Administration fee		90,182
Services to shareholders		1,861
Custodian fee		29,283
Distribution service fee (Class B)		343
Professional fees		31,848
Reports to shareholders		23,951
Trustees' fees and expenses		4,409
Other		10,686
Total expenses		904,998
Net investment income (loss)		2,132,615
Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss)
Net realized gain (loss) from: Investments		12,557,354
Futures		978,247
Foreign currency		(209,117	)
		13,326,484
Change in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on: Investments		(7,667,770	)
Futures		(155,688	)
Foreign currency		63,930
		(7,759,528	)
Net gain (loss)		5,566,956
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations	$	7,699,571

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

Statement of Changes in Net Assets

Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets	Six Months Ended June 30, 2013 (Unaudited)			Year Ended December 31, 2012
Operations: Net investment income (loss)	$	2,132,615		$	6,560,034
Net realized gain (loss)		13,326,484			(18,682,583	)
Change in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation)		(7,759,528	)		53,381,763
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations		7,699,571			41,259,214
Distributions to shareholders from: Net investment income: Class A		(7,421,568	)		(4,756,093	)
Class B		(14,321	)		(4,778	)
Total distributions		(7,435,889	)		(4,760,871	)
Fund share transactions: Class A Proceeds from shares sold		3,301,639			8,058,394
Reinvestment of distributions		7,421,568			4,756,093
Payments for shares redeemed		(108,121,619	)		(29,986,864	)
Net increase (decrease) in net assets from Class A share transactions		(97,398,412	)		(17,172,377	)
Class B Proceeds from shares sold		18,869			38,387
Reinvestment of distributions		14,321			4,778
Payments for shares redeemed		(47,875	)		(40,070	)
Net increase (decrease) in net assets from Class B share transactions		(14,685	)		3,095
Increase (decrease) in net assets		(97,149,415	)		19,329,061
Net assets at beginning of period		230,378,316			211,049,255
Net assets at end of period (including undistributed net investment income of $1,221,132 and $6,524,406, respectively)	$	133,228,901		$	230,378,316
Other Information
Class A Shares outstanding at beginning of period		28,915,018			31,267,358
Shares sold		407,070			1,102,311
Shares issued to shareholders in reinvestment of distributions		930,021			650,628
Shares redeemed		(13,093,554	)		(4,105,279	)
Net increase (decrease) in Class A shares		(11,756,463	)		(2,352,340	)
Shares outstanding at end of period		17,158,555			28,915,018
Class B Shares outstanding at beginning of period		35,208			34,893
Shares sold		2,342			5,248
Shares issued to shareholders in reinvestment of distributions		1,790			652
Shares redeemed		(5,916	)		(5,585	)
Net increase (decrease) in Class B shares		(1,784	)		315
Shares outstanding at end of period		33,424			35,208

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

Financial Highlights

				Years Ended December 31,
Class A	Six Months Ended 6/30/13 (Unaudited)			2012			2011			2010			2009			2008
Selected Per Share Data
Net asset value, beginning of period	$	7.96		$	6.74		$	8.22		$	8.26		$	6.52		$	15.01
Income (loss) from investment operations: Net investment income (loss)a		.10			.22			.15			.13			.12			.29	c
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)		.14			1.16			(1.49	)		(.00	)***		1.93			(6.46	)
Total from investment operations		.24			1.38			(1.34	)		.13			2.05			(6.17	)
Less distributions from: Net investment income		(.45	)		(.16	)		(.14	)		(.17	)		(.31	)		(.17	)
Net realized gains		—			—			—			—			—			(2.15	)
Total distributions		(.45	)		(.16	)		(.14	)		(.17	)		(.31	)		(2.32	)
Net asset value, end of period	$	7.75		$	7.96		$	6.74		$	8.22		$	8.26		$	6.52
Total Return (%)		2.84	**		20.65			(16.67	)		1.62	b		33.52			(48.21	)b,d
Ratios to Average Net Assets and Supplemental Data
Net assets, end of period ($ millions)		133			230			211			288			344			297
Ratio of expenses before expense reductions (%)		1.00	*		.98			1.00			.99			.94			1.01
Ratio of expenses after expense reductions (%)		1.00	*		.98			1.00			.99			.94			.97
Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%)		2.36	*		2.99			1.98			1.68			1.69			2.74	c
Portfolio turnover rate (%)		49	**		85			174			228			81			123
a Based on average shares outstanding during the period. b Total return would have been lower had certain expenses not been reduced. c Net investment income per share and the ratio of net investment income include non-recurring dividend income amounting to $0.09 per share and 0.82% of average daily net assets for the year ended December 31, 2008. d Includes a reimbursement from the Advisor to reimburse the effect of losses incurred as the result of certain operation errors during the period. Excluding this reimbursement, total return would have been 0.06% lower. * Annualized Not annualized * Amount is less than $.005.

				Years Ended December 31,
Class B	Six Months Ended 6/30/13 (Unaudited)			2012			2011			2010			2009			2008
Selected Per Share Data
Net asset value, beginning of period	$	7.96		$	6.75		$	8.22		$	8.26		$	6.52		$	14.98
Income (loss) from investment operations: Net investment income (loss)a		.11			.20			.13			.11			.10			.23	c
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)		.13			1.15			(1.48	)		(.00	)***		1.94			(6.43	)
Total from investment operations		.24			1.35			(1.35	)		.11			2.04			(6.20	)
Less distributions from: Net investment income		(.43	)		(.14	)		(.12	)		(.15	)		(.30	)		(.11	)
Net realized gains		—			—			—			—			—			(2.15	)
Total distributions		(.43	)		(.14	)		(.12	)		(.15	)		(.30	)		(2.26	)
Net asset value, end of period	$	7.77		$	7.96		$	6.75		$	8.22		$	8.26		$	6.52
Total Return (%)		2.81	**		20.13			(16.77	)		1.33	b		32.89			(48.25	)b,d
Ratios to Average Net Assets and Supplemental Data
Net assets, end of period ($ millions)		.26			.28			.24			.36			.50			.40
Ratio of expenses before expense reductions (%)		1.28	*		1.26			1.28			1.26			1.22			1.33
Ratio of expenses after expense reductions (%)		1.28	*		1.26			1.28			1.26			1.22			1.28
Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%)		2.80	*		2.73			1.70			1.41			1.42			2.42	c
Portfolio turnover rate (%)		49	**		85			174			228			81			123
a Based on average shares outstanding during the period. b Total return would have been lower had certain expenses not been reduced. c Net investment income per share and the ratio of net investment income include non-recurring dividend income amounting to $0.09 per share and 0.82% of average daily net assets for the year ended December 31, 2008. d Includes a reimbursement from the Advisor to reimburse the effect of losses incurred as the result of certain operation errors during the period. Excluding this reimbursement, total return would have been 0.06% lower. * Annualized Not annualized * Amount is less than $.005.

Notes to Financial Statements (Unaudited)

A. Organization and Significant Accounting Policies

DWS Variable Series I (the "Series") is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act"), as an open-end, registered management investment company organized as a Massachusetts business trust. The Series consists of five diversified funds: DWS Bond VIP, DWS Core Equity VIP, DWS Capital Growth VIP, DWS Global Small Cap Growth VIP and DWS International VIP (individually or collectively hereinafter referred to as a "Fund" or the "Funds"). These financial statements report on DWS International VIP. The Series is intended to be the underlying investment vehicle for variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies to be offered by the separate accounts of certain life insurance companies ("Participating Insurance Companies").

Multiple Classes of Shares of Beneficial Interest. The Fund offers two classes of shares (Class A shares and Class B shares). Class B shares are subject to Rule 12b-1 distribution fees under the 1940 Act and recordkeeping fees equal to an annual rate of 0.25% and up to 0.15%, respectively, of the average daily net assets of the Class B shares of the Fund. Class A shares are not subject to such fees.

Security Valuation. Investments are stated at value determined as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange on each day the exchange is open for trading.

Investments in open-end investment companies are valued at their net asset value each business day and are categorized as Level 1.

Futures contracts are generally valued at the settlement prices established each day on the exchange on which they are traded and are categorized as Level 1.

Disclosure about the classification of fair value measurements is included in a table following the Fund's Investment Portfolio.

As of June 30, 2013, the Fund had securities on loan with a gross value of $1,862,238. The value of the related collateral, $1,958,985, exceeded the value of the securities loaned at period end.

At December 31, 2012, the Fund had a net tax basis capital loss carryforward of approximately $149,313,000, including $124,587,000 of pre-enactment losses, which may be applied against any realized net taxable capital gains of each succeeding year until fully utilized or until December 31, 2016 ($25,765,000) and December 31, 2017 ($98,822,000), the respective expiration dates, whichever occurs first; and approximately $24,726,000 of post-enactment losses, which may be applied against realized net taxable capital gains indefinitely, including short-term losses ($15,693,000) and long-term losses ($9,033,000).

Distribution of Income and Gains. Distributions from net investment income of the Fund, if any, are declared and distributed to shareholders annually. Net realized gains from investment transactions, in excess of available capital loss carryforwards, would be taxable to the Fund if not distributed and, therefore, will be distributed to shareholders at least annually. The Fund may also make additional distributions for tax purposes if necessary.

The timing and characterization of certain income and capital gain distributions are determined annually in accordance with federal tax regulations which may differ from accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. These differences primarily relate to investments in foreign denominated investments, futures contracts, passive foreign investment companies and certain securities sold at a loss. As a result, net investment income (loss) and net realized gain (loss) on investment transactions for a reporting period may differ significantly from distributions during such period. Accordingly, the Fund may periodically make reclassifications among certain of its capital accounts without impacting the net asset value of the Fund.

The tax character of current year distributions will be determined at the end of the current fiscal year.

Other. Investment transactions are accounted for on a trade date plus one basis for daily net asset value calculations. However, for financial reporting purposes, investment transactions are reported on trade date. Interest income is recorded on the accrual basis net of foreign withholding taxes. Dividend income is recorded on the ex-dividend date net of foreign withholding taxes. Certain dividends from foreign securities may be recorded subsequent to the ex-dividend date as soon as the Fund is informed of such dividends. Realized gains and losses from investment transactions are recorded on an identified cost basis and may include proceeds from litigation.

B. Derivative Instruments

Futures Contracts. A futures contract is an agreement between a buyer or seller and an established futures exchange or its clearinghouse in which the buyer or seller agrees to take or make a delivery of a specific amount of a financial instrument at a specified price on a specific date (settlement date). For the six months ended June 30, 2013, the Fund entered into futures contracts to keep cash on hand to meet shareholder redemptions or other needs while maintaining exposure to the market.

Upon entering into a futures contract, the Fund is required to deposit with a financial intermediary cash or securities ("initial margin") in an amount equal to a certain percentage of the face value indicated in the futures contract. Subsequent payments ("variation margin") are made or received by the Fund dependent upon the daily fluctuations in the value and are recorded for financial reporting purposes as unrealized gains or losses by the Fund. Gains or losses are realized when the contract expires or is closed. Since all futures contracts are exchange-traded, counterparty risk is minimized as the exchange's clearinghouse acts as the counterparty, and guarantees the futures against default.

A summary of the open futures contracts as of June 30, 2013 is included in a table following the Fund's Investment Portfolio. For the six months ended June 30, 2013, the investment in futures contracts purchased had a total notional value generally indicative of a range from approximately $4,615,000 to $6,641,000.

Liability Derivative		Futures Contracts
Equity Contracts (a)		$	(120,750	)

The above derivative is located in the following Statement of Assets and Liabilities account:

(a) Includes cumulative appreciation of futures contracts as disclosed in the Investment Portfolio. Unsettled variation margin is disclosed separately within the Statement of Assets and Liabilities.

Realized Gain (Loss)		Futures Contracts
Equity Contracts (a)		$	978,247

The above derivative is located in the following Statement of Operations account:

(a) Net realized gain (loss) from futures

Change in Net Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation)		Futures Contracts
Equity Contracts (a)		$	(155,688	)

The above derivative is located in the following Statement of Operations account:

(a) Change in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on futures

C. Purchases and Sales of Securities

During the six months ended June 30, 2013, purchases and sales of investment securities (excluding short-term investments) aggregated $82,355,181 and $185,591,121, respectively.

D. Related Parties

First $500 million of average daily net assets			.790	%
Over $500 million of average daily net assets			.640	%

Accordingly, for the six months ended June 30, 2013, the fee pursuant to the Investment Management Agreement was equivalent to an annualized effective rate of 0.79% of the Fund's average daily net assets.

For the period from January 1, 2013 through April 30, 2014 the Advisor has contractually agreed to waive all or a portion of its fees and/or reimburse certain operating expenses of the Fund to the extent necessary to maintain the operating expenses (excluding certain expenses such as extraordinary expenses, taxes, brokerage and interest) of each class as follows:

Class A	1.03%
Class B	1.28%

Services to Shareholders	Total Aggregated		Unpaid at June 30, 2013
Class A	$	342	$	113
Class B		40		13
	$	382	$	126

E. Ownership of the Fund

Two participating insurance companies were owners of record of 10% or more of the total outstanding Class A shares of the Fund, each owning 23%, 12% and 12%.

F. Line of Credit

Information About Your Fund's Expenses (Unaudited)

As an investor of the Fund, you incur two types of costs: ongoing expenses and transaction costs. Ongoing expenses include management fees, distribution and service (12b-1) fees and other Fund expenses. Examples of transaction costs include contract charges, redemption fees and account maintenance fees, which are not shown in this section. The following tables are intended to help you understand your ongoing expenses (in dollars) of investing in the Fund and to help you compare these expenses with the ongoing expenses of investing in other mutual funds. The example in the table is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the six-month period and held for the entire period (January 1, 2013 to June 30, 2013).

The tables illustrate your Fund's expenses in two ways:

Expenses and Value of a $1,000 Investment for the six months ended June 30, 2013
Actual Fund Return	Class A		Class B
Beginning Account Value 1/1/13	$	1,000.00	$	1,000.00
Ending Account Value 6/30/13	$	1,028.40	$	1,028.10
Expenses Paid per $1,000*	$	5.03	$	6.44
Hypothetical 5% Fund Return	Class A		Class B
Beginning Account Value 1/1/13	$	1,000.00	$	1,000.00
Ending Account Value 6/30/13	$	1,019.84	$	1,018.45
Expenses Paid per $1,000*	$	5.01	$	6.41

Annualized Expense Ratios	Class A		Class B
DWS Variable Series I — DWS International VIP	1.00%		1.28%

For more information, please refer to the Fund's prospectus.

For an analysis of the fees associated with an investment in the Fund or similar funds, please refer to http://apps.finra.org/fundanalyzer/1/fa.aspx.

Proxy Voting

Summary of Management Fee Evaluation by Independent Fee Consultant

September 17, 2012

Qualifications

Evaluation of Fees for each DWS Fund

Fees and Expenses Compared with Other Funds

The competitive fee and expense evaluation for each fund focused on two primary comparisons:

The Fund's total expenses compared with a broader universe of funds from the same Lipper investment category and having similar distribution arrangements.

DeAM's Fees for Similar Services to Others

Costs and Profit Margins

Economies of Scale

Quality of Service — Performance

I also received and considered the history of portfolio manager changes for each Fund, as this provided an important context for evaluating the performance results.

Complex-Level Considerations

I considered how aggregated DWS Fund expenses had varied over the years, by asset class and in the context of trends in asset levels.

I considered how aggregated DWS Fund performance measures relative to appropriate peers had varied by asset class and over time.

I reviewed the structure of the DeAM organization, trends in staffing levels, and information on compensation of investment management and other professionals compared with industry data.

Findings

Thomas H. Mack

President, Thomas H. Mack & Co., Inc.

DWS Investments Distributors, Inc.

222 South Riverside Plaza

Chicago, IL 60606

(800) 621-1148

VS1int-3 (R-028378-2 8/13)


ITEM 2.	CODE OF ETHICS

	Not applicable.

ITEM 3.	AUDIT COMMITTEE FINANCIAL EXPERT

	Not applicable

ITEM 4.	PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES

	Not applicable

ITEM 5.	AUDIT COMMITTEE OF LISTED REGISTRANTS

	Not applicable

ITEM 6.	SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS

	Not applicable

ITEM 7.	DISCLOSURE OF PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR CLOSED-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES

	Not applicable

ITEM 8.	PORTFOLIO MANAGERS OF CLOSED-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES

	Not applicable

ITEM 9.	PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES BY CLOSED-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANY AND AFFILIATED PURCHASERS

	Not applicable

ITEM 10.	SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS

	There were no material changes to the procedures by which shareholders may recommend nominees to the Fund’s Board. The primary function of the Nominating and Governance Committee is to identify and recommend individuals for membership on the Board and oversee the administration of the Board Governance Guidelines. Shareholders may recommend candidates for Board positions by forwarding their correspondence by U.S. mail or courier service to Kenneth C. Froewiss, Independent Chairman, DWS Mutual Funds, P.O. Box 78, Short Hills, NJ 07078.

ITEM 11.	CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

	(a)	The Chief Executive and Financial Officers concluded that the Registrant’s Disclosure Controls and Procedures are effective based on the evaluation of the Disclosure Controls and Procedures as of a date within 90 days of the filing date of this report.

	(b)	There have been no changes in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the second fiscal quarter of the period covered by this report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal controls over financial reporting.

ITEM 12.	EXHIBITS

	(a)(1)	Certification pursuant to Rule 30a-2(a) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (17 CFR 270.30a-2(a)) is filed and attached hereto as Exhibit 99.CERT.

	(b)	Certification pursuant to Rule 30a-2(b) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (17 CFR 270.30a-2(b)) is furnished and attached hereto as Exhibit 99.906CERT.

Form N-CSRS Item F

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

Registrant:	DWS Variable Series I


By:	/s/W. Douglas Beck W. Douglas Beck President

Date:	August 19, 2013

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

By:	/s/W. Douglas Beck W. Douglas Beck President

Date:	August 19, 2013



By:	/s/Paul Schubert Paul Schubert Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

Date:	August 19, 2013

Deutsche DWS Variable Series I N-CSRSCertified semi-annual shareholder report (management investment company)