Morningstar today named Dennis Lynch and the Morgan Stanley Investment Management Growth Team as the 2013 U.S. Domestic-Stock Fund Manager of the Year. According to Morningstar, the U.S. Fund Manager of the Year awards "acknowledge managers who not only delivered impressive performance in 2013, but who have also delivered excellent long-term risk-adjusted returns, and have been good stewards of fund shareholders' capital."

The Growth Team is led by Dennis Lynch, Head of Growth Investing at Morgan Stanley Investment Management. As part of the award, Morningstar named four of the Growth Team's funds: Morgan Stanley Focus Growth, Morgan Stanley Growth, Morgan Stanley Mid Cap Growth and Morgan Stanley Small Company Growth.

"Congratulations to Dennis Lynch and the Growth Team on achieving this significant recognition. A Morningstar Fund Manager of the Year award is one of the most important in the industry, and the team's accomplishments reflect our organization's continuing commitment to investment excellence. In honoring Dennis and his team, Morningstar has selected investment professionals who have been creating an impressive body of work over many years on behalf of our clients," said Gregory J. Fleming, President, Morgan Stanley Investment Management and Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.

"We are extremely proud of Dennis Lynch and the Growth Team for winning the Morningstar U.S. Domestic-Stock Fund Manager of the Year award. Morningstar has recognized a powerful investment philosophy that emphasizes long-term investments in companies with inherent sustainable competitive advantages, as well as a strong team culture that creates an environment where world-class investors can stick to their convictions," said Arthur Lev, Head of the Long-Only Business for Morgan Stanley Investment Management.

Morgan Stanley Investment Management, together with its investment advisory affiliates, has over 560 investment professionals around the world and $360 billion in assets under management or supervision as of September 30, 2013. Morgan Stanley Investment Management strives to provide outstanding long-term investment performance, service and a comprehensive suite of investment management solutions to a diverse client base, which includes governments, institutions, corporations and individuals worldwide.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) is a leading global financial services firm providing a wide range of investment banking, securities, investment management and wealth management services. The Firm's employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals from more than 1,200 offices in 43 countries. For further information about Morgan Stanley, please visit www.morganstanley.com.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. It is possible for a highly ranked fund to exhibit low or negative performance within a given period.

All investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Please be aware that these funds may be subject to certain additional risks, including but not limited to concentration, sector and foreign and emerging markets risks.

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Morgan Stanley Distribution, Inc. serves as the distributor of the Morgan Stanley Institutional Fund Growth Portfolio, Morgan Stanley Focus Growth Fund, Morgan Stanley Institutional Fund Trust Mid Cap Growth Portfolio and the Morgan Stanley Institutional Fund Small Company Growth Portfolio.

Morningstar Awards Winner (2013)©. Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Dennis Lynch and team awarded Domestic-Stock Fund Manager of the Year in the U.S. To qualify for the Domestic-Stock Fund Manager of the Year award, a manager's funds must have not only posted impressive returns for the year, but the manager also must have had a record of delivering outstanding long-term risk-adjusted performance and of aligning their interests with shareholders'. Nominated funds must be Morningstar Medalists - a fund that has garnered a Morningstar Analyst RatingTM of Gold, Silver, or Bronze. The Fund Manager of the Year award winners are chosen based on Morningstar's proprietary research and in-depth qualitative evaluation by its fund analysts.

Morningstar, Inc.'s awards are based on qualitative evaluation and research, thus subjective in nature and should not be used as the sole basis for investment decisions. Morningstar's awards are not guarantees of a fund's future investment performance. Morningstar, Inc. does not sponsor, issue, sell, or promote any open-end mutual funds including Morgan Stanley Investment Management's funds.

Analyst Ratings are subjective in nature and should not be used as the sole basis for investment decisions. Analyst Ratings are based on Morningstar's current expectations about future events and therefore involve unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause Morningstar's expectations not to occur or to differ significantly from what was expected. Morningstar does not represent its Analyst Ratings to be guarantees nor should they be viewed as an assessment of a fund's or the fund's underlying securities' creditworthiness.

Morgan Stanley Investment Management
Matt Burkhard, 212-761-2444