^The Morningstar Medalist Rating^TM is the summary expression of Morningstar’s forward-looking analysis of investment strategies as offered via specific vehicles using a rating scale of Gold, Silver, Bronze, Neutral, and Negative. The Medalist Ratings indicate which investments Morningstar believes are likely to outperform a relevant index or peer group average on a risk-adjusted basis over time. Investment products are evaluated on three key pillars (People, Parent, and Process) which, when coupled with a fee assessment, forms the basis for Morningstar’s conviction in those products’ investment merits and determines the Medalist Rating they’re assigned. Pillar ratings take the form of Low, Below Average, Average, Above Average, and High. Pillars may be evaluated via an analyst’s qualitative assessment (either directly to a vehicle the analyst covers or indirectly when the pillar ratings of a covered vehicle are mapped to a related uncovered vehicle) or using algorithmic techniques. Vehicles are sorted by their expected performance into rating groups defined by their Morningstar Category and their active or passive status. When analysts directly cover a vehicle, they assign the three pillar ratings based on their qualitative assessment, subject to the oversight of the Analyst Rating Committee, and monitor and reevaluate them at least every 14 months. When the vehicles are covered either indirectly by analysts or by algorithm, the ratings are assigned monthly. For more detailed information about these ratings, including their methodology, please go to global.morningstar.com/managerdisclosures/.

The Morningstar Medalist Ratings are not statements of fact, nor are they credit or risk ratings. The Morningstar Medalist Rating (i) should not be used as the sole basis in evaluating an investment product, (ii) involves unknown risks and uncertainties which may cause expectations not to occur or to differ significantly from what was expected, (iii) are not guaranteed to be based on complete or accurate assumptions or models when determined algorithmically, (iv) involve the risk that the return target will not be met due to such things as unforeseen changes in management, technology, economic development, interest rate development, operating and/or material costs, competitive pressure, supervisory law, exchange rate, tax rates, exchange rate changes, and/or changes in political and social conditions, and (v) should not be considered an offer or solicitation to buy or sell the investment product. A change in the fundamental factors underlying the Morningstar Medalist Rating can mean that the rating is subsequently no longer accurate.

The Data Coverage % data point is a summary metric describing the level of data completeness used to generate the overall rating. If the pillar is assigned directly or indirectly by analysts, the pillar has complete data availability, as no model was used to estimate the pillar score. If the pillar is assigned directly by algorithm, Morningstar counts the number of data points feeding both the positive and negative models and counts whether the vehicle has strategy-specific data available. A simple percentage is calculated per pillar. The overall data coverage % is then scaled by pillar weights.

The Analyst-Driven % data point displays the weighted percentage of a vehicle’s pillar ratings assigned directly or indirectly by analysts. For example, if the People and Parent ratings are assigned directly or indirectly by analysts but the Process rating is assigned algorithmically, the Analyst-Driven % for an actively managed vehicle would disclose that 55% of the pillar weight was assigned by analysts and the Analyst-Driven % for a passively managed vehicle would disclose that 20% of the pillar weight was assigned by analysts.

Class C shares include deferred sales charge of 1.00% which declines to zero after first year.

Where the net expense ratio is lower than the gross expense ratio, certain fees have been waived and/ or expenses reimbursed. These waivers and/or reimbursements will continue for at least one year from the date of the applicable fund’s current prospectus (unless otherwise noted in the applicable prospectus) or until such time as the fund's Board of Directors/Trustees acts to discontinue all or a portion of such waivers and/or reimbursements. Absent such waivers and/or reimbursements, returns would have been lower. Expenses are based on the fund's current prospectus. The minimum initial investment is $1,000,000 for Class I shares.

For Class C shares, short-term returns may not be indicative of the fund’s long-term performance potential.

Class R6 shares, are being offered only to eligible investors who must meet a minimum initial investment of $5,000,000 or be a defined contribution, defined benefit or other employer sponsored employee benefit plan, whether or not qualified under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"), in each case subject to the discretion of the Portfolio's investment advisor.

The Fund has suspended offering Class L shares of the Portfolio to all investors.

Growth of Investment illustration is based on an initial investment of $10,000 made since fund inception, assumes reinvestment of dividends and capital gains and application of fees, but does not include sales charges. Performance would have been lower if sales charges had been included. Results are hypothetical.

Subject to change daily. Fund information, Portfolio Composition and Characteristics are provided for informational purposes only, and should not be deemed as a recommendation to buy or sell any security or securities in the sectors presented. 

Returns are net of fees and assume the reinvestment of all dividends and income. Returns for less than one year are cumulative (not annualized). Performance of other share classes will vary.

Please keep in mind that high double-digit and/or triple-digit returns are highly unusual and cannot be sustained. Investors should also be aware that these returns were primarily achieved during favorable market conditions.  

Forecasts/estimates are based on current market conditions, subject to change, and may not necessarily come to pass.

This material is a general communication, which is not impartial and all information provided has been prepared solely for informational and educational purposes and does not constitute an offer or a recommendation to buy or sell any particular security or to adopt any specific investment strategy. The information herein has not been based on a consideration of any individual investor circumstances and is not investment advice, nor should it be construed in any way as tax, accounting, legal or regulatory advice. To that end, investors should seek independent legal and financial advice, including advice as to tax consequences, before making any investment decision.

PORTFOLIO CHARACTERISTICS DEFINITIONS 
The Net Asset Value (NAV) per share is determined by dividing the value of the fund's portfolio securities, cash and other assets, less all liabilities, by the total number of common shares outstanding.  Return on capital is a measure of a company’s efficiency at allocating the capital under its control to profitable investments, calculated by dividing operating income [excluding dividends and taxes] by total capital. Earnings per share (EPS) growth is the weighted average of earnings per share growth for all securities in the portfolio projected for the past five fiscal years. Earnings per share for a company is defined as total earnings divided by shares outstanding. Sales growth is the percentage increase in sales over a 1-year period. The Weighted Median Market Capitalization is the point at which half of the market value of a portfolio or index is invested in stocks with a greater market cap, while the other half of the market value is invested in stocks with a lower market cap. Weighted median Debt to Equity ratio is the point at which half of the market value of a portfolio or index is invested in stocks with a greater Debt to Equity ratio, while the other half of the market value is invested in stocks with a lower Debt to Equity ratio. Debt/equity (D/E) is a measure of a company’s financial leverage calculated by dividing its total liabilities by stockholders’ equity.  

Turnover is sourced from the fund's current prospectus.

The index data displayed under allocations are calculated using MSIM and other third-party methodologies and may differ from data published by the vendor.

RISK/RETURN DEFINITIONS 
Active Share is the fraction of the portfolio or fund that is invested differently than its benchmark as of the last day of the reporting period. A portfolio with a high degree of Active Share does not assure a fund’s relative outperformance. Active Share calculation may consolidate holdings with the same economic exposure. Excess Return or value added (positive or negative) is the portfolio’s return relative to the return of the benchmark. Alpha (Jensen's) is a risk-adjusted performance measure that represents the average return on a portfolio or investment above or below that predicted by the capital asset pricing model (CAPM) given the portfolio's or investment's beta and the average market return. Prior to 6/30/2018 Alpha was calculated as the excess return of the fund versus benchmark. Beta is a measure of the relative volatility of a security or portfolio to the market's upward or downward movements. Information ratio is the portfolio’s alpha or excess return per unit of risk, as measured by tracking error, versus the portfolio’s benchmark. R squared measures how well an investment’s returns correlate to an index. An R squared of 100 means the portfolio performance is 100% correlated to the index’s, whereas a low r-squared means that the portfolio performance is less correlated to the index’s. Sharpe ratio is a risk-adjusted measure calculated as the ratio of excess return to standard deviation. The Sharpe ratio determines reward per unit of risk. The higher the Sharpe ratio, the better the historical risk-adjusted performance. Standard deviation measures how widely individual performance returns, within a performance series, are dispersed from the average or mean value. Tracking error is the amount by which the performance of the portfolio differs from that of the benchmark. Upside/downside market capture measures annualized performance in up/down markets relative to the market benchmark.

RISK CONSIDERATIONS
There is no assurance that a Portfolio will achieve its investment objective. Portfolios are subject to market risk, which is the possibility that the market values of securities owned by the Portfolio will decline and that the value of Portfolio shares may therefore be less than what you paid for them. Market values can change daily due to economic and other events (e.g. natural disasters, health crises, terrorism, conflicts and social unrest) that affect markets, countries, companies or governments. It is difficult to predict the timing, duration, and potential adverse effects (e.g. portfolio liquidity) of events. Accordingly, you can lose money investing in this Portfolio. Please be aware that this Portfolio may be subject to certain additional risks. In general, equities securities’ values also fluctuate in response to activities specific to a company. Investments in foreign markets entail special risks such as currency, political, economic, market and liquidity risks. The risks of investing in emerging market countries are greater than risks associated with investments in foreign developed countries. Investments in small capitalization companies tend to be more volatile and less liquid than those of larger, more established, companies. Illiquid securities may be more difficult to sell and value than publicly traded securities (liquidity risk). Derivative instruments may disproportionately increase losses and have a significant impact on performance. They also may be subject to counterparty, liquidity, valuation, correlation and market risks. Privately placed and restricted securities may be subject to resale restrictions as well as a lack of publicly available information, which will increase their illiquidity and could adversely affect the ability to value and sell them (liquidity risk). Portfolio Turnover. Consistent with its investment policies, the Fund will purchase and sell securities without regard to the effect on portfolio turnover. Higher portfolio turnover will cause the Fund to incur additional transaction costs. 

Morningstar
Rankings: The percentile rankings are based on the average annual total returns for the periods stated and do not include any sales charges, but do include reinvestment of dividends and capital gains and Rule 12b-1 fees. The highest (or most favorable) percentile rank is 1 and the lowest (or least favorable) percentile rank is 100. The top-performing fund in a category will always receive a rank of 1.

Ratings: The Morningstar Rating™ for funds, or "star rating", is calculated for managed products (including mutual funds, variable annuity and variable life subaccounts, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, and separate accounts) with at least a three-year history. Exchange-traded funds and open-ended mutual funds are considered a single population for comparative purposes. It is calculated based on a Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return measure that accounts for variation in a managed product's monthly excess performance, placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. The top 10% of products in each product category receive 5 stars, the next 22.5% receive 4 stars, the next 35% receive 3 stars, the next 22.5% receive 2 stars, and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. The Overall Morningstar Rating for a managed product is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with its three-, five-, and 10-year (if applicable) Morningstar Rating metrics. The weights are: 100% three-year rating for 36-59 months of total returns, 60% five-year rating/40% three-year rating for 60-119 months of total returns, and 50% 10-year rating/30% five-year rating/20% three-year rating for 120 or more months of total returns. While the 10-year overall star rating formula seems to give the most weight to the 10-year period, the most recent three-year period actually has the greatest impact because it is included in all three rating periods. Ratings do not take into account sales loads.

© 2024 Morningstar. All Rights Reserved. The information contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar and/or its content providers; (2) may not be copied or distributed; and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

See the Fund's prospectus for information related to a primary benchmark index selected (if applicable) to comply with a regulation that requires the Fund's primary benchmark to represent the overall applicable market.

The Russell 2000 Growth Index measures the performance of the small-cap growth segment of the U.S. equity universe. It includes those Russell 2000 Index companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values. The Russell 2000 Index is a subset of the Russell 3000 Index representing approximately 10% of the total market capitalization of that index. It includes approximately 2,000 of the smallest securities based on a combination of their market capitalization and current index membership.

The index is unmanaged and does not include any expenses, fees or sales charges. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Any index referred to herein is the intellectual property (including registered trademarks) of the applicable licensor.

Please consider the investment objective, risks, charges and expenses of the fund carefully before investing. The prospectus contains this and other information about the fund. To obtain a prospectus, download one at morganstanley.com/im or call 1-800-548-7786. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing. 

Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM) is the asset management division of Morgan Stanley.