N-CSR 1 file1.htm N-CSR

 
 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM N-CSR

CERTIFIED SHAREHOLDER REPORT OF REGISTERED

MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES

Investment Company Act file number: 811-21248

Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund

(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)

 

522 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York

10036

(Address of principal executive offices)

(Zip code)

Ronald E. Robison

522 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10036

(Name and address of agent for service)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: 212-296-6990

Date of fiscal year end: January 31, 2008

Date of reporting period: January 31, 2008

Item 1 - Report to Shareholders

 
 

 

 



Welcome, Shareholder:

In this report, you’ll learn about how your investment in Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund performed during the annual period. We will provide an overview of the market conditions, and discuss some of the factors that affected performance during the reporting period. In addition, this report includes the Fund’s financial statements and a list of Fund investments.

This material must be preceded or accompanied by a prospectus for the fund being offered.
Market forecasts provided in this report may not necessarily come to pass. There is no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. The Fund is subject to market risk, which is the possibility that market values of securities owned by the Fund will decline and, therefore, the value of the Fund’s shares may be less than what you paid for them. Accordingly, you can lose money investing in this Fund. Please see the prospectus for more complete information on investment risks.




Fund Report
For the year ended January 31, 2008

Total Return for the 12 Months Ended January 31, 2008


Class A Class B Class C Class D S&P
500®
Lehman
Brothers
U.S.
Aggregate
Index2
Lipper
Flexible
Portfolio
Funds
Index3
  −0.89   −1.59   −1.61   −0.63   −2.31   8.81   4.76
The performance of the Fund’s four share classes varies because each has different expenses. The Fund’s total returns assume the reinvestment of all distributions but do not reflect the deduction of any applicable sales charges. Such costs would lower performance. See Performance Summary for standardized performance and benchmark information.

Market Conditions

Global equity markets posted mixed returns for the 12-month period ended January 31, 2008. In the U.S., the S&P 500® posted a negative total return of −2.31 percent, while internationally, the Morgan Stanley Capital International EAFE Index returned 0.22 percent, including net dividends. Asian equities, excluding Japan, excelled, and the Middle East, India, China, Latin America and Europe provided generally positive returns. However, Japanese equities posted negative total returns for the year. Fixed income markets outperformed their equity counterparts, as demonstrated by the Lehman Brothers U.S. Aggregate Index return of 8.81 percent for the trailing year ended January 31, 2008. In general, credits across most maturities and geographies posted positive total returns, with the exception of small negative returns in the high yield/lower quality segment of the bond market.

The fiscal year under review began on a negative note as investors entered 2007 with a high degree of uncertainty, based primarily on escalating commodity prices and a weakening U.S. dollar. First quarter gross domestic product (GDP) fell below 1 percent, posting its slowest growth rate since 2002 and placing the global recovery that had powered profitability for the past three years at risk. Growth recovered gradually in the second quarter, fueled by exports and steady consumer demand at home. Corporate profits, already well into a multi-year recovery, continued to climb further.

By the third quarter, fear dissipated as equity returns were once again running above historical averages, but investor focus quickly shifted to another potential risk, the global mortgage market. The housing sector, long a source of global spending and investment, began to show signs of exhaustion, and the large financing complex that had been balanced on the back of this juggernaut froze. While initially affecting only the mortgage originators and housing sectors, this credit quality deterioration spread to diversified financial services companies around the world. The pace of asset write-downs quickened, and, by mid-August, it became increasingly clear that the secondary effects of the credit deterioration could influence both U.S. and foreign consumers.

Congress, the Bush Administration and the Federal Reserve clearly sensed these risks, and, in a series of

2





steps, assembled a number of assistance programs, while the Federal Open Market Committee reduced both the discount and federal funds rates aggressively, providing stimulus wherever it might be needed. As the fiscal year ended, investors moved to higher quality, defensive investments and looked to economic indicators for signs that the worst was over for housing markets and the global financial sector.

Performance Analysis

All share classes of Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund outperformed the S&P 500®, but underperformed the Lehman Brothers U.S. Aggregate Index and the Lipper Flexible Portfolio Funds Index for the 12 months ended January 31, 2008, assuming no deduction of applicable sales charges.

Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund’s diversified and flexible investment approach includes investment across stocks, bonds, cash and other investment classes. To determine the specific allocation throughout the period, the portfolio management team rigorously evaluates a comprehensive array of quantitative and qualitative factors. The portfolio management team establishes an economic outlook based on its short-term and long-term views of the domestic and global economic cycles. As part of this process, the portfolio management team will attempt to identify those equity and fixed-income sectors it believes offer the best relative performance based on this economic outlook. The next step of the investment process entails an analysis of the industries within each sector to determine which are the most attractive. Specific stocks or corporate debt securities are selected in part based on company size and various valuation metrics.

We maintained a consistent asset allocation throughout the period under review, as a more defensive stance toward fixed income contrasted with a positive view toward equities. As of January 31, 2008, the Fund’s asset allocation stood at 74 percent equity (versus a neutral benchmark weight of 55 percent*), 10 percent fixed income (versus a neutral benchmark weight of 35 percent), 14 percent cash and short-term investments (versus a neutral benchmark weight of 10 percent) and 2 percent other.

Within the stock portion, a number of changes were made throughout the year. The Fund’s sector exposures were shifted to more cyclical industries during the fiscal year, resulting in larger exposures to information technology and basic materials. At the same time, consumer staples and health care investments were also increased. Sector exposures that were reduced to fund these increases included those in financials, utilities, and telecommunications.

The fixed income component of the Fund remained generally defensive throughout the period under review. Long-term U.S. government bond exposure represented about 60 percent of all fixed income securities, with the balance held in corporates, mortgages and other credits.

There is no guarantee that any sectors mentioned will continue to perform as discussed herein or that securities in such sectors will be held by the Fund in the future.

* Source: Morgan Stanley Investment Management. The ‘‘neutral weight’’ reflects the average allocation held by U.S. pension funds.

3






TOP 10 HOLDINGS   
U.S. Treasury Note   3.66
Microsoft Corp.   2.67  
General Electric Co.   2.53  
Hess Corp.   2.25  
UST, Inc.   1.97  
Altria Group, Inc.   1.94  
Windstream Corp.   1.92  
Citizens Communications Co.   1.86  
Barrick Gold Corp. (Canada)   1.77  
Kraft Foods Inc. (Class A)   1.76  

PORTFOLIO COMPOSITION   
Common Stocks   76.6
Short-Term Paper   12.4  
U.S. Government Agencies & Obligations   6.6  
Convertible Bonds   2.0  
Corporate Bonds   1.7  
Convertible Preferred Stock   0.4  
Collateralized Mortgage Obligations   0.3  
Does not include open long futures contracts with an underlying face amount of $3,699,031 and total unrealized appreciation of $77,063.
Data as of January 31, 2008. Subject to change daily. All percentages for top 10 holdings are as a percentage of net assets and all percentages for portfolio composition are as a percentage of total investments. These data are provided for informational purposes only and should not be deemed a recommendation to buy or sell the securities mentioned. Morgan Stanley is a full-service securities firm engaged in securities trading and brokerage activities, investment banking, research and analysis, financing and financial advisory services.

Investment Strategy

The Fund’s ‘‘Investment Adviser,’’ Morgan Stanley Investment Advisors Inc., actively allocates the Fund’s assets among the three major asset categories of equity securities (including depositary receipts), fixed-income securities and money market instruments, the combination of which will be varied from time to time both with respect to industry sector weightings and types of securities in response to changing market and economic trends. There is no limit as to the percentage of assets that may be allocated to any one asset class. The Fund may invest 100 percent of its assets in any one of the three major asset categories mentioned above at any time. It is anticipated that there will be significant fluctuations in the allocations over time and, thus, the Fund may exhibit higher volatility than other funds. The Investment Adviser generally considers selling an investment when it determines the security no longer satisfies its investment criteria.

For More Information About
Portfolio Holdings

Each Morgan Stanley fund provides a complete schedule of portfolio holdings in its semiannual and annual reports within 60 days of the end of the fund’s second and fourth fiscal quarters. The semiannual reports and the annual reports are filed electronically with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Form N-CSRS and Form N-CSR, respectively. Morgan Stanley also delivers the semiannual and annual reports to fund shareholders and makes these reports available on its public web site, www.morganstanley.com. Each Morgan Stanley fund also files a complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the SEC for the fund’s first and third fiscal quarters on Form N-Q. Morgan Stanley does not deliver the reports for the first and third fiscal

4





quarters to shareholders, nor are the reports posted to the Morgan Stanley public web site. You may, however, obtain the Form N-Q filings (as well as the Form N-CSR and N-CSRS filings) by accessing the SEC’s web site, http://www.sec.gov. You may also review and copy them at the SEC’s public reference room in Washington, DC. Information on the operation of the SEC’s public reference room may be obtained by calling the SEC at (800) SEC-0330. You can also request copies of these materials, upon payment of a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the SEC’s e-mail address (publicinfo@sec.gov) or by writing the public reference section of the SEC, Washington, DC 20549-0102.

Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures and Proxy Voting Record

You may obtain a copy of the Fund’s Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures without charge, upon request, by calling toll free (800) 869-NEWS or by visiting the Mutual Fund Center on our Web site at www.morganstanley.com. It is also available on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Web site at http://www.sec.gov.

You may obtain information regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent twelve-month period ended June 30 without charge by visiting the Mutual Fund Center on our Web site at www.morganstanley.com. This information is also available on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Web site at http://www.sec.gov.

Householding Notice

To reduce printing and mailing costs, the Fund attempts to eliminate duplicate mailings to the same address. The Fund delivers a single copy of certain shareholder documents, including shareholder reports, prospectuses and proxy materials, to investors with the same last name who reside at the same address. Your participation in this program will continue for an unlimited period of time unless you instruct us otherwise. You can request multiple copies of these documents by calling (800) 869-NEWS, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., ET. Once our Customer Service Center has received your instructions, we will begin sending individual copies for each account within 30 days.

5





Performance Summary

Performance of $10,000 Investment

6





Average Annual Total Returns — Period Ended January 31, 2008


  Class A Shares*
(since 02/26/03)
Class B Shares**
(since 02/26/03)
Class C Shares†
(since 02/26/03)
Class D Shares††
(since 02/26/03)
Symbol  ALRAX  ALRBX  ALRCX  ALRDX
1 Year   (0.89)% 4    (1.59)% 4    (1.61)% 4    (0.63)% 4 
    (6.10) 5    (5.86) 5    (2.46) 5   
Since Inception   7.61 4    6.80 4    6.80 4    7.86 4 
    6.43 5    6.50 5    6.80 5   

Performance data quoted represents past performance, which is no guarantee of future results and current performance may be lower or higher than the figures shown. For most recent month-end performance figures, please visit www.morganstanley.com/msim or speak with your Financial Advisor. Investment returns and principal value will fluctuate and fund shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. The graph and table do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on fund distributions or the redemption of fund shares. Performance for Class A, Class B, Class C, and Class D shares will vary due to differences in sales charges and expenses.

* The maximum front-end sales charge for Class A is 5.25%.
** The maximum contingent deferred sales charge (CDSC) for Class B is 5.0%. The CDSC declines to 0% after six years.
The maximum contingent deferred sales charge for Class C is 1.0% for shares redeemed within one year of purchase.
†† Class D has no sales charge.
(1) The Standard & Poor’s 500® Index (S&P 500®) is a broad-based index, the performance of which is based on the performance of 500 widely-held common stocks chosen for market size, liquidity and industry group representation. The Index is unmanaged and its returns do not include any sales charges or fees. Such costs would lower performance. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.
(2) The Lehman Brothers U.S. Aggregate Index tracks the performance of all U.S. government agency and Treasury securities, investment-grade corporate debt securities, agency mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities and commercial mortgage-based securities. The Index is unmanaged and its returns do not include any sales charges or fees. Such costs would lower performance. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.
(3) The Lipper Flexible Portfolio Funds Index is an equally weighted performance index of the largest qualifying funds (based on net assets) in the Lipper Flexible Portfolio Funds classification. The Index, which is adjusted for capital gains distributions and income dividends, is unmanaged and should not be considered an investment. There are currently 30 funds represented in this Index. The Fund is in the Lipper Flexible Portfolio Funds classification as of the date of this report.
(4) Figure shown assumes reinvestment of all distributions and does not reflect the deduction of any sales charges.
(5) Figure shown assumes reinvestment of all distributions and the deduction of the maximum applicable sales charge. See the Fund’s current prospectus for complete details on fees and sales charges.
Ending value assuming a complete redemption on January 31, 2008.

7





Expense Example

As a shareholder of the Fund, you incur two types of costs: (1) transaction costs, including sales charges (loads) on purchase payments and redemption fees; and (2) ongoing costs, including advisory fees; distribution and service (12b-1) fees; and other Fund expenses. This example is intended to help you understand your ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in the Fund and to compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other mutual funds.

The example is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the period and held for the entire period 08/01/07 – 01/31/08.

Actual Expenses

The first line of the table below provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information in this line, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that 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 first line under the heading entitled ‘‘Expenses Paid During Period’’ to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this period.

Hypothetical Example for Comparison Purposes

The second line of the table below provides information about hypothetical expenses based on the Fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed rate of return of 5% per year before expenses, which is not the Fund’s actual return. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. You may use this information to compare the ongoing cost of investing in the Fund and other funds. To do so, compare this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of the other funds.

Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs, such as sales charges (loads) and redemption fees. Therefore, the second line of the table is useful in comparing ongoing costs, and will not help you determine the relative total cost of owning different funds. In addition, if these transactional costs were included, your costs would have been higher.


  Beginning
Account Value
Ending
Account Value
Expenses Paid
During Period *
  08/01/07 01/31/08 08/01/07 –
01/31/08
Class A            
Actual (−2.17% return) $ 1,000.00   $ 978.30   $ 6.33  
Hypothetical (5% annual return before expenses) $ 1,000.00   $ 1,018.80   $ 6.46  
Class B            
Actual (−2.54% return) $ 1,000.00   $ 974.60   $ 10.05  
Hypothetical (5% annual return before expenses) $ 1,000.00   $ 1,015.02   $ 10.26  
Class C            
Actual (−2.56% return) $ 1,000.00   $ 974.40   $ 10.05  
Hypothetical (5% annual return before expenses) $ 1,000.00   $ 1,015.02   $ 10.26  
Class D            
Actual (−2.10% return) $ 1,000.00   $ 979.00   $ 5.09  
Hypothetical (5% annual return before expenses) $ 1,000.00   $ 1,020.06   $ 5.19  
* Expenses are equal to the Fund’s annualized expense ratios of 1.27%, 2.02%, 2.02% and 1.02% for Class A, Class B, Class C and Class D shares, respectively, multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by 184/365 (to reflect the one-half year period). If the Fund had borne all its expenses, the annualized expense ratios would have been 1.29%, 2.04%, 2.04% and 1.04% for Class A, Class B, Class C and Class D shares, respectively.

8





Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund

Portfolio of Investments January 31, 2008


NUMBER OF
SHARES
  VALUE
    Common Stocks (76.6%)    
    Advertising/Marketing Services (1.0%)
  13,286   Omnicom Group, Inc. $      602,786  
    Aerospace & Defense (0.8%)
  2,093   Northrop Grumman Corp.   166,101  
  4,772   Raytheon Co.   310,848  
        476,949  
    Biotechnology (3.7%)
  12,502   Celgene Corp.*   701,487  
  21,814   Gilead Sciences, Inc.*   996,682  
  23,000   Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc.*   468,280  
        2,166,449  
    Chemicals: Major Diversified (1.3%)
  19,121   Dow Chemical Co. (The)   739,218  
    Computer Communications (1.4%)
  33,278   Cisco Systems, Inc.*   815,311  
    Computer Peripherals (0.4%)
  12,911   EMC Corp.*   204,898  
    Computer Processing Hardware (1.4%)
  4,325   Apple Inc.*   585,432  
  13,048   Dell Inc.*   261,482  
        846,914  
    Data Processing Services (0.2%)
  5,159   Metavante Technologies, Inc.*   114,279  
    Department Stores (0.5%)
  6,755   Kohl’s Corp.*   308,298  
    Discount Stores (1.0%)
  8,362   Costco Wholesale Corp.   568,114  
    Electrical Products (0.4%)
  4,892   Emerson Electric Co.   248,709  
    Electronics/Appliances (1.5%)
  18,567   Sony Corp. (ADR) (Japan)   881,747  
    Financial Conglomerates (2.9%)
  11,715   American Express Co.   577,784  
  14,841   Citigroup, Inc.   418,813  
  15,160   JPMorgan Chase & Co.   720,858  
        1,717,455  

See Notes to Financial Statements

9





Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund

Portfolio of Investments January 31, 2008 continued


NUMBER OF
SHARES
  VALUE
    Food: Major Diversified (3.2%)
  17,652   Kellogg Co. $      845,531  
  35,457   Kraft Foods Inc. (Class A)   1,037,472  
        1,883,003  
    Forest Products (1.3%)
  11,376   Weyerhaeuser Co.   770,383  
    Home Building (1.2%)
  20,800   Gafisa S.A. (ADR) (Brazil)*   724,464  
    Hotels/Resorts/Cruiselines (0.1%)
  1,695   Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.   76,699  
    Household/Personal Care (1.5%)
  11,729   Colgate-Palmolive Co.   903,133  
    Industrial Conglomerates (2.5%)
  42,116   General Electric Co.   1,491,328  
    Information Technology Services (1.5%)
  8,450   International Business Machines Corp.   907,023  
    Integrated Oil (3.8%)
  10,282   Exxon Mobil Corp.   888,365  
  14,584   Hess Corp.   1,324,665  
        2,213,030  
    Internet Software/Services (1.3%)
  1,091   Google Inc. (Class A)*   615,651  
  6,905   Yahoo! Inc.*   132,438  
        748,089  
    Investment Banks/Brokers (3.4%)
  3,189   Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The)   640,256  
  8,643   NYSE Euronext   679,772  
  31,826   Schwab (Charles) Corp. (The)   709,720  
        2,029,748  
    Major Banks (2.2%)
  14,134   Bank of America Corp.   626,843  
  19,107   Wells Fargo & Co.   649,829  
        1,276,672  
    Marine Shipping (1.4%)
  15,385   Tidewater, Inc   814,790  
    Media Conglomerates (0.7%)
  25,739   Time Warner, Inc   405,132  

See Notes to Financial Statements

10





Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund

Portfolio of Investments January 31, 2008 continued


NUMBER OF
SHARES
  VALUE
    Medical Specialties (6.0%)
  10,065   Bard (C.R.), Inc. $      971,977  
  21,140   Covidien Ltd. (Bermuda)   943,478  
  20,191   St. Jude Medical, Inc.*   817,937  
  15,442   Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.*   795,109  
        3,528,501  
    Motor Vehicles (1.0%)
  18,336   Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (ADR) (Japan)   578,318  
    Oilfield Services/Equipment (2.6%)
  24,941   Halliburton Co.   827,293  
  13,360   Smith International, Inc.   724,246  
        1,551,539  
    Other Transportation (0.1%)
  38,000   Beijing Capital International Airport Co., Ltd. (H Shares) (China)#   49,572  
    Packaged Software (3.4%)
  48,196   Microsoft Corp.   1,571,190  
  20,789   Oracle Corp.*   427,214  
        1,998,404  
    Pharmaceuticals: Major (3.8%)
  13,644   Johnson & Johnson   863,119  
  36,061   Pfizer, Inc   843,467  
  27,582   Schering-Plough Corp.   539,780  
        2,246,366  
    Precious Metals (1.8%)
  20,245   Barrick Gold Corp. (Canada)   1,042,415  
    Property – Casualty Insurers (1.0%)
  12,031   Allstate Corp. (The)   592,767  
    Pulp & Paper (1.3%)  
  28,080   MeadWestvaco Corp.   786,240  
    Recreational Products (0.9%)
  24,180   Mattel, Inc.   508,022  
    Restaurants (1.1%)
  12,015   McDonald’s Corp.   643,403  
    Semiconductors (0.6%)
  15,697   Intel Corp.   332,776  
    Specialty Telecommunications (3.8%)
  95,232   Citizens Communications Co.   1,092,311  
  97,149   Windstream Corp.   1,127,900  
        2,220,211  

See Notes to Financial Statements

11





Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund

Portfolio of Investments January 31, 2008 continued


NUMBER OF
SHARES
  VALUE
    Steel (2.8%)
  14,293   Nucor Corp. $ 826,135  
  7,866   United States Steel Corp.   803,197  
        1,629,332  
    Telecommunication Equipment (1.5%)
  13,360   Motorola, Inc.   154,041  
  20,480   Nokia Oyj (Finland)#   753,206  
        907,247  
    Tobacco (3.9%)
  15,061   Altria Group, Inc.   1,141,925  
  22,269   UST, Inc.   1,157,097  
        2,299,022  
    Trucks/Construction/Farm Machinery (0.4%)
  3,217   Caterpillar Inc.   228,857  
    Total Common Stocks  (Cost $43,805,741)   45,077,613  
    Convertible Preferred Stock (0.4%)    
    Life/Health Insurance
  7,800   MetLife, Inc. $1.5938 (Cost $202,020)   227,214  

PRINCIPAL
AMOUNT IN
THOUSANDS
  COUPON
RATE
MATURITY
DATE
    Corporate Bonds (1.7%)          
    Aerospace & Defense (0.0%)      
$      14   Systems 2001 Asset Trust – 144A** (Cayman Islands)   6.664    09/15/13            13,942  
    Air Freight/Couriers (0.0%)      
  10   FedEx Corp.   7.25   02/15/11   10,848  
    Beverages: Alcoholic (0.2%)      
  75   Diageo Capital PLC   3.375   03/20/08   75,047  
  15   FBG Finance Ltd. – 144A** (Australia)   5.125   06/15/15   14,966  
  15   Miller Brewing Co. – 144A**   4.25   08/15/08   15,060  
              105,073  
    Cable/Satellite TV (0.1%)      
  20   Comcast Cable Communications, Inc.   6.75   01/30/11   21,083  
  20   EchoStar DBS Corp.   6.375   10/01/11   19,750  
              40,833  

See Notes to Financial Statements

12





Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund

Portfolio of Investments January 31, 2008 continued


PRINCIPAL
AMOUNT IN
THOUSANDS
  COUPON
RATE
MATURITY
DATE
VALUE
    Chemicals: Major Diversified (0.0%)        
$      10   Dupont (EI) De Nemours   5.00   01/15/13   $ 10,359  
  15   ICI Wilmington Inc.   4.375     12/01/08     15,089  
                25,448  
    Electric Utilities (0.1%)        
         5   Detroit Edison Co. (The)   6.125      10/01/10              5,292  
  10   Entergy Gulf States, Inc.   3.60     06/01/08     9,953  
  10   Entergy Gulf States, Inc.   5.524 ††    12/01/09     9,780  
  10   Entergy Gulf States, Inc. – 144A**   5.896 ††    12/08/08     10,043  
  14   PSEG Energy Holdings Inc.   8.625     02/15/08     14,012  
  10   Texas Eastern Transmission   7.00     07/15/32     11,101  
                60,181  
    Electronics/Appliances (0.0%)        
  10   LG Electronics Inc. – 144A** (South Korea)   5.00     06/17/10     9,955  
    Finance/Rental/Leasing (0.1%)        
  15   Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. (Series MTN)   3.25     05/21/08     14,500  
  20   Nationwide Building Society – 144A** (United Kingdom)   4.25     02/01/10     20,292  
  15   SLM Corp.   4.00     01/15/10     13,928  
                48,720  
    Financial Conglomerates (0.2%)        
  50   American Express   4.75     06/17/09     50,551  
  45   General Electric Capital Corp. (Series A)   5.45     01/15/13     47,231  
  5   Prudential Financial Inc. (Series MTN)   6.625     12/01/37     5,091  
                102,873  
    Food: Major Diversified (0.0%)        
  10   ConAgra Foods, Inc.   7.00     10/01/28     10,651  
    Gas Distributors (0.0%)        
  20   NiSource Finance Corp.   5.585 ††    11/23/09     19,520  
    Insurance Brokers/Services (0.2%)        
  100   Farmers Exchange Capital – 144A**   7.05     07/15/28     94,725  

See Notes to Financial Statements

13





Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund

Portfolio of Investments January 31, 2008 continued


PRINCIPAL
AMOUNT IN
THOUSANDS
  COUPON
RATE
MATURITY
DATE
VALUE
    Major Banks (0.2%)        
$      25   MBNA Corp. (Series F)   5.308 ††%    05/05/08   $ 25,033  
  90   Wachovia Corp.   5.30     10/15/11     92,486  
                117,519  
    Major Telecommunications (0.2%)        
  15   AT&T Corp.   8.00     11/15/31     18,104  
  15   France Telecom S.A. (France)   8.50     03/01/31     19,166  
  10   SBC Communications, Inc.   6.15     09/15/34     9,773  
  10   Sprint Capital Corp.   8.75     03/15/32     9,834  
  15   Telecom Italia Capital SA (Luxembourg)   4.00     01/15/10     14,836  
  15   Telefonica Europe BV (Netherlands)   8.25     09/15/30     18,443  
                90,156  
    Managed Health Care (0.0%)        
       10   WellPoint, Inc. 4.25       12/15/09            10,035  
    Motor Vehicles (0.0%)        
  5   DaimlerChrysler North American Holdings Co.   8.50     01/18/31     6,272  
    Multi-Line Insurance (0.1%)        
  35   AIG SunAmerica Global Financing VI – 144A**   6.30     05/10/11     37,086  
  10   American General Finance Corp. (Series I)   4.625     05/15/09     10,090  
  10   Equitable Co.   6.50     04/01/08     10,055  
                57,231  
    Other Metals/Minerals (0.0%)        
  15   Brascan Corp. (Canada)   7.125     06/15/12     15,274  
    Property – Casualty Insurers (0.1%)        
  10   Platinum Underwriters Finance Inc. (Series B)   7.50     06/01/17     10,715  
  25   Xlliac Global Funding – 144A**   4.80     08/10/10     24,918  
                35,633  
    Railroads (0.0%)        
  5   Union Pacific Corp.   6.625     02/01/08     5,000  
    Regional Banks (0.0%)        
  15   Marshall & Ilsley Bank (Series T)   3.80     02/08/08     15,000  

See Notes to Financial Statements

14





Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund

Portfolio of Investments January 31, 2008 continued


PRINCIPAL
AMOUNT IN
THOUSANDS
  COUPON
RATE
MATURITY
DATE
VALUE
    Restaurants (0.1%)        
$      50   McDonald’s Corp.   5.80   10/15/17   $ 52,980  
    Savings Banks (0.1%)        
  35   Household Finance Corp.   8.00     07/15/10     37,911  
  20   Sovereign Bancorp, Inc.   5.114 ††    03/23/10     19,141  
  13   Washington Mutual Inc.   8.25     04/01/10     12,368  
                69,420  
    Total Corporate Bonds  (Cost $1,015,703)   1,017,289  
    U.S. Government & Agencies Obligations (6.6%)
Federal National Mortgage Assoc.
           
  27          7.00     04/01/32     28,610  
  4          7.00     12/01/35     4,103  
  60          7.00     07/01/29     64,395  
  228          7.00     11/01/34     242,659  
  51   Federal National Mortgage Assoc. ARM   7.283     07/01/36     52,553  
    U.S. Treasury Bond             
  225          6.125     08/15/29     280,213  
  85          6.375     08/15/27     107,465  
  50          8.125     08/15/21     70,680  
    U.S. Treasury Note             
     250        3.875      02/15/13          262,442  
  2,130          5.625     05/15/08     2,152,133  
  450          4.875     02/15/12     490,008  
  100   U.S. Treasury Notes & Bonds   4.625     02/15/17     107,828  
    Total U.S. Government & Agencies Obligations  (Cost $3,742,884)   3,863,089  
    Convertible Bonds (2.0%)            
    Airlines (0.9%)            
  350   Continental Airlines Inc.   5.00     06/15/23     534,625  
    Electronic Equipment/Instruments (0.5%)            
  300   JDS Uniphase Corp.   .00     11/15/10     290,250  
    Internet Retail (0.6%)            
  300   Amazon.com, Inc.   4.75     02/01/09     338,250  
    Total Convertible Bonds  (Cost $876,937)   1,163,125  

See Notes to Financial Statements

15





Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund

Portfolio of Investments January 31, 2008 continued


PRINCIPAL
AMOUNT IN
THOUSANDS
  COUPON
RATE
MATURITY
DATE
VALUE
    Asset-Backed Security (0.0%)            
    Finance/Rental/Leasing              
$      25   TXU Electric Delivery Transition Bond Co. LLC 2004-1 A2 (Cost $24,969)   4.81 ††%    11/17/14   $ 25,461  
    Collateralized Mortgage Obligations (0.3%)
  39   Greenpoint Mortgage Funding Trust 2006-AR2 3A2   3.696 ††    03/25/36     35,857  
  32   Harborview Mortgage Loan Trust 2006-1 2A1A   4.174 ††    03/19/37     29,379  
  10   Washington Mutual Bank 2005-AR15 A1B1   5.115 ††    11/25/45     9,947  
  21   Washington Mutual Bank 2005-AR6 2AB3   3.646 ††    04/25/45     18,869  
  45   Structured Asset Mortgage Investment Inc. 2006-AR2 A2   5.175 ††    02/25/36     41,199  
  34   Structured Asset Mortgage Investment Inc. 2006-AR1 2A2   5.175 ††    02/25/36     30,840  
    Total Collateralized Mortgage Obligations  (Cost $181,411)   166,091  
    Short-Term Investments (12.4%)            
    U.S. Government Agency & Obligation (a) (1.8%)            
  1,000   Federal National Mortgage Assoc.   4.28     02/19/08     997,860  
  50   U.S. Treasury Bills†   3.15     04/10/08     49,698  
    Total U.S. Government Agency & Obligation (Cost $1,047,558)   1,047,558  
NUMBER OF
SHARES (000)
             
    Investment Company (b) (10.6%)            
  6,259   Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Money Market Portfolio – Institutional Class
(Cost $6,259,217)
  6,259,217  
    Total Short-Term Investments (Cost $7,306,775)   7,306,775  
    Total Investments  (Cost $57,156,440) (c) (d)     100.0%   58,846,657  
    Other Assets in Excess of Liabilities         0.0    27,254  
    Net Assets     100.0% $ 58,873,911  
ADR American Depositary Receipt.
ARM Adjustable Rate Mortgage.
MTN Medium-Term Note.
* Non-income producing security.
** Resale is restricted to qualified institutional investors.
A portion of this security has been physically segregated in connection with open futures contracts in the amount of $27,500.
†† Variable rate security. Rate shown is the rate in effect at January 31, 2008.
# Securities with total market value equal to $802,778 have been valued at their fair value as determined in good faith under procedures established by and under the general supervision of the Fund’s Trustees.
(a) Purchased on a discount basis. The interest rate shown has been adjusted to reflect a money market equivalent yield.
(b) See Note 4 to the financial statements regarding investments in Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Money Market Portfolio – Institutional Class.
(c) Securities have been designated as collateral in an amount equal to $3,594,399 in connection with open futures contracts.
(d) The aggregate cost for federal income tax purposes is $57,341,875. The aggregate gross unrealized appreciation is $5,095,735 and the aggregate gross unrealized depreciation is $3,590,953, resulting in net unrealized appreciation of $1,504,782.

See Notes to Financial Statements

16





Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund

Portfolio of Investments January 31, 2008 continued

Futures Contracts Open at January 31, 2008:


NUMBER OF
CONTRACTS
LONG/
SHORT
DESCRIPTION,
DELIVERY MONTH
AND YEAR
UNDERLYING
FACE AMOUNT
AT VALUE
UNREALIZED
APPRECIATION
3 Long U.S. Treasury Notes 5 Year,  
March 2008
$ 339,000   $   8,671  
7 Long U.S. Treasury Notes 2 Year,   March 2008   1,492,531     10,124  
16 Long U.S. Treasury Notes 10 Year, March 2008   1,867,500     58,268  
    Total Unrealized Appreciation $ 77,063  

See Notes to Financial Statements

17





Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund

Financial Statements

Statement of Assets and Liabilities

January 31, 2008


Assets:
Investments in securities, at value (cost $50,897,223) $52,587,440
Investment in affiliate, at value (cost $6,259,217) 6,259,217
Cash 98
Receivable for:  
Interest 79,128
Dividends 42,044
Dividends from affiliate 28,014
Shares of beneficial interest sold 21,039
Variation margin 15,453
Foreign withholding taxes reclaimed 34
Prepaid expenses and other assets          22,877
Total Assets    59,055,344
Liabilities:  
Payable for:  
Distribution fee 44,749
Investment advisory fee 32,727
Shares of beneficial interest redeemed 24,291
Administration fee 4,064
Transfer agent fee 925
Accrued expenses and other payables          74,677
Total Liabilities         181,433
Net Assets  $58,873,911
Composition of Net Assets:  
Paid-in-capital $55,295,431
Net unrealized appreciation 1,767,283
Accumulated undistributed net investment income 228,279
Accumulated undistributed net realized gain     1,582,918
Net Assets  $58,873,911
Class A Shares:  
Net Assets $9,122,019
Shares Outstanding (unlimited authorized, $.01 par value) 957,613
Net Asset Value Per Share  $9.53
        Maximum Offering Price Per Share,
         (net asset value plus 5.54% of net asset value)
$10.06
Class B Shares:  
Net Assets $42,643,019
Shares Outstanding (unlimited authorized, $.01 par value) 4,558,036
Net Asset Value Per Share  $9.36
Class C Shares:  
Net Assets $6,959,490
Shares Outstanding (unlimited authorized, $.01 par value) 744,394
Net Asset Value Per Share  $9.35
Class D Shares:  
Net Assets $149,383
Shares Outstanding (unlimited authorized, $.01 par value) 15,599
Net Asset Value Per Share  $9.58

See Notes to Financial Statements

18





Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund

Financial Statements continued

Statement of Operations

For the year ended January 31, 2008


Net Investment Income:
Income
Dividends (net of $5,237 foreign withholding tax) $ 1,042,761  
Interest   632,447  
Dividends from affiliate   277,473  
Total Income    1,952,681  
Expenses    
Distribution fee (Class A shares)   25,982  
Distribution fee (Class B shares)   522,779  
Distribution fee (Class C shares)   85,708  
Investment advisory fee   481,114  
Professional fees   80,264  
Shareholder reports and notices   58,886  
Administration fee   57,446  
Transfer agent fees and expenses   52,974  
Registration fees   38,025  
Custodian fees   13,367  
Trustees’ fees and expenses   1,740  
Other   27,565  
Total Expenses    1,445,850  
Less: amounts waived/reimbursed   (5,746
Less: expense offset   (311
Net Expenses    1,439,793  
Net Investment Income    512,888  
Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss):    
Net Realized Gain (Loss) on:    
Investments   9,974,820  
Futures contracts   219,048  
Foreign exchange transactions   (6,250
Net Realized Gain    10,187,618  
Net Change in Unrealized Appreciation/Depreciation on:    
Investments   (11,250,595
Futures contracts   60,044  
Translation of other assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies   10  
Net Change in Unrealized Appreciation/Depreciation    (11,190,541
Net Loss    (1,002,923
Net Decrease $ (490,035

See Notes to Financial Statements

19





Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund

Financial Statements continued

Statements of Changes in Net Assets


  FOR THE YEAR
ENDED
JANUARY 31, 2008
FOR THE YEAR
ENDED
JANUARY 31, 2007
Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets:        
Operations:        
Net investment income $ 512,888   $ 243,430  
Net realized gain   10,187,618     8,087,301  
Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation   (11,190,541   (1,290,267
Net Increase (Decrease)    (490,035   7,040,464  
Dividends and Distributions to Shareholders from:        
Net investment income        
Class A shares   (127,229   (95,202
Class B shares   (193,512   (75,215
Class C shares   (30,893   (18,275
Class D shares   (3,604   (11,311
Net realized gain        
Class A shares   (1,301,218   (1,016,970
Class B shares   (6,144,840   (5,815,479
Class C shares   (999,681   (919,235
Class D shares   (24,231   (96,031
Total Dividends and Distributions    (8,825,208   (8,047,718
Net decrease from transactions in shares of beneficial interest   (13,334,601   (23,273,515
Net Decrease    (22,649,844   (24,280,769
Net Assets:        
Beginning of period   81,523,755     105,804,524  
End of Period
(Including accumulated undistributed net investment income of $228,279 and $84,079, respectively)
$ 58,873,911   $ 81,523,755  

See Notes to Financial Statements

20





Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund

Notes to Financial Statements January 31, 2008

1.    Organization and Accounting Policies

Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund (the ‘‘Fund’’) is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the ‘‘Act’’), as a diversified, open-end management investment company. The Fund’s investment objective is selecting securities to maximize total investment return through different stages of an economic cycle. The Fund was organized as a Massachusetts business trust on October 25, 2002 and commenced operations on February 26, 2003.

The Fund offers Class A shares, Class B shares, Class C shares and Class D shares. The four classes are substantially the same except that most Class A shares are subject to a sales charge imposed at the time of purchase and some Class A shares, and most Class B shares and Class C shares are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge imposed on shares redeemed within eighteen months, six years and one year, respectively. Class D shares are not subject to a sales charge. Additionally, Class A shares, Class B shares and Class C shares incur distribution expenses.

The Fund will assess a 2% redemption fee, on Class A shares, Class B shares, Class C shares, and Class D shares, which is paid directly to the Fund, for shares redeemed or exchanged within seven days of purchase, subject to certain exceptions. The redemption fee is designed to protect the Fund and its remaining shareholders from the effects of short-term trading.

The following is a summary of significant accounting policies:

A.   Valuation of Investments — (1) an equity portfolio security listed or traded on the New York Stock Exchange (‘‘NYSE’’) or American Stock Exchange or other exchange is valued at its latest sale price prior to the time when assets are valued; if there were no sales that day, the security is valued at the mean between the last reported bid and asked price; (2) an equity portfolio security listed or traded on the Nasdaq is valued at the Nasdaq Official Closing Price; if there were no sales that day, the security is valued at the mean between the last reported bid and asked price; (3) for equity securities traded on foreign exchanges, the last reported sale price or the latest bid price may be used if there were no sales on a particular day; (4) all other portfolio securities for which over-the-counter market quotations are readily available are valued at the mean between the last reported bid and asked price. In cases where a security is traded on more than one exchange, the security is valued on the exchange designated as the primary market; (5) listed options are valued at the latest sale price on the exchange on which they are listed unless no sales of such options have taken place that day, in which case they are valued at the mean between their latest bid and asked price; (6) futures are valued at the latest price published by the commodities exchange on which they trade; (7) when market quotations are not readily available including circumstances under which Morgan Stanley Investment Advisors Inc. (the ‘‘Investment Adviser’’), determines that the latest sale price, the bid price or the mean between the last reported bid and asked price do not reflect a security’s market value, portfolio securities are valued at their fair value as determined in good faith under procedures established by and under

21





Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund

Notes to Financial Statements January 31, 2008 continued

the general supervision of the Fund’s Trustees. Occasionally, developments affecting the closing prices of securities and other assets may occur between the times at which valuations of such securities are determined (that is, close of the foreign market on which the securities trade) and the close of business on the NYSE. If developments occur during such periods that are expected to materially affect the value of such securities, such valuations may be adjusted to reflect the estimated fair value of such securities as of the close of the NYSE, as determined in good faith by the Fund’s Trustees or by the Investment Adviser using a pricing service and/or procedures approved by the Trustees of the Fund; (8) certain portfolio securities may be valued by an outside pricing service approved by the Fund’s Trustees; (9) investments in open-end mutual funds, including the Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Funds, are valued at the net asset value as of the close of each business day; and (10) short-term debt securities having a maturity date of more than sixty days at time of purchase are valued on a mark-to-market basis until sixty days prior to maturity and thereafter at amortized cost based on their value on the 61st day. Short-term debt securities having a maturity date of sixty days or less at the time of purchase are valued at amortized cost.

B.   Accounting for Investments — Security transactions are accounted for on the trade date (date the order to buy or sell is executed). Realized gains and losses on security transactions are determined by the identified cost method. Dividend income and other distributions are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Discounts are accreted and premiums are amortized over the life of the respective securities and are included in interest income. Interest income is accrued daily.

C.   Multiple Class Allocations — Investment income, expenses (other than distribution fees), and realized and unrealized gains and losses are allocated to each class of shares based upon the relative net asset value on the date such items are recognized. Distribution fees are charged directly to the respective class.

D.   Options — When the Fund writes a call or put option, an amount equal to the premium received is included in the Fund’s Statement of Assets and Liabilities as a liability which is subsequently marked-to-market to reflect the current market value of the option written. If a written option either expires or the Fund enters into a closing purchase transaction, the Fund realizes a gain or loss without regard to any unrealized gain or loss on the underlying security or currency and the liability related to such option is extinguished. If a written call option is exercised, the Fund realizes a gain or loss from the sale of the underlying security and the proceeds from such sale are increased by the premium originally received. If a written put option is exercised, the amount of the premium originally received reduces the cost of the security which the Fund purchases upon exercise of the option.

When the Fund purchases a call or put option, the premium paid is recorded as an investment which is subsequently marked-to-market to reflect the current market value. If a purchased option expires, the Fund will realize a loss to the extent of the premium paid. If the Fund enters into a closing sale transaction, a gain or loss is realized for the difference between the proceeds from the sale and the cost of the option. If a put

22





Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund

Notes to Financial Statements January 31, 2008 continued

option is exercised, the cost of the security or currency sold upon exercise will be increased by the premium originally paid. If a call option is exercised, the cost of the security purchased upon exercise will be increased by the premium originally paid.

E.   Futures Contracts — A futures contract is an agreement between two parties to buy and sell financial instruments or contracts based on financial indices at a set price on a future date. Upon entering into such a contract, the Fund is required to pledge to the broker cash, U.S. Government securities or other liquid portfolio securities equal to the minimum initial margin requirements of the applicable futures exchange. Pursuant to the contract, the Fund agrees to receive from or pay to the broker an amount of cash equal to the daily fluctuation in the value of the contract. Such receipts or payments known as variation margin are recorded by the Fund as unrealized gains and losses. Upon closing of the contract, the Fund realizes a gain or loss equal to the difference between the value of the contract at the time it was opened and the value at the time it was closed.

F.   Foreign Currency Translation and Forward Foreign Currency Contracts — The books and records of the Fund are maintained in U.S. dollars as follows: (1) the foreign currency market value of investment securities, other assets and liabilities and forward foreign currency contracts (‘‘forward contracts’’) are translated at the exchange rates prevailing at the end of the period; and (2) purchases, sales, income and expenses are translated at the exchange rates prevailing on the respective dates of such transactions. The resultant exchange gains and losses are recorded as realized and unrealized gain/loss on foreign exchange transactions. Pursuant to U.S. federal income tax regulations, certain foreign exchange gains/losses included in realized and unrealized gain/loss are included in or are a reduction of ordinary income for federal income tax purposes. The Fund does not isolate that portion of the results of operations arising as a result of changes in the foreign exchange rates from the changes in the market prices of the securities. Forward contracts are valued daily at the appropriate exchange rates. The resultant unrealized exchange gains and losses are recorded as unrealized foreign currency gain or loss. The Fund records realized gains or losses on delivery of the currency or at the time the forward contract is extinguished (compensated) by entering into a closing transaction prior to delivery.

G.   Federal Income Tax Policy — It is the Fund’s policy to comply with the requirements of the Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code applicable to regulated investment companies and to distribute substantially all of its taxable income to its shareholders. Therefore, no federal income tax provision is required. The Fund files tax returns with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, New York State and New York City. The Fund adopted the provisions of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (‘‘FASB’’) Interpretation No. 48 (‘‘FIN 48’’) Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes on June 29, 2007. FIN 48 sets forth a minimum threshold for financial statement recognition of the benefit of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. The implementation of FIN 48 did not result in any unrecognized tax benefits in the accompanying financial statements. If applicable, the Fund recognizes interest accrued related to unrecognized tax benefits in interest

23





Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund

Notes to Financial Statements January 31, 2008 continued

expense and penalties in other expenses in the Statement of Operations. Each of the tax years in the four year period ended January 31, 2008, remains subject to examination by taxing authorities.

H.   Dividends and Distributions to Shareholders — Dividends and distributions to shareholders are recorded on the ex-dividend date.

I.   Use of Estimates — The preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts and disclosures. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

2.   Investment Advisory/Administration Agreements

Pursuant to an Investment Advisory Agreement with the Investment Adviser, the Fund pays an advisory fee, accrued daily and payable monthly, by applying the following annual rate of 0.67% to the net assets of the Fund determined as of the close of each business day.

Pursuant to an Administration Agreement with Morgan Stanley Services Company Inc. (the ‘‘Administrator’’), an affiliate of the Investment Adviser, the Fund pays an administration fee, accrued daily and payable monthly, by applying the annual rate of 0.08% to the Fund’s daily net assets.

Under an agreement between the Administrator and State Street Bank and Trust Company (‘‘State Street’’), State Street provides certain administrative services to the Fund. For such services, the Administrator pays State Street a portion of the fee the Administrator receives from the Fund.

3.   Plan of Distribution

Shares of the Fund are distributed by Morgan Stanley Distributors Inc. (the ‘‘Distributor’’), an affiliate of the Investment Adviser and Administrator. The Fund has adopted a Plan of Distribution (the ‘‘Plan’’) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Act. The Plan provides that the Fund will pay the Distributor a fee which is accrued daily and paid monthly at the following annual rates: (i) Class A – up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets of Class A shares; (ii) Class B – up to 1.0% of the average daily net assets of Class B shares; and (iii) Class C – up to 1.0% of the average daily net assets of Class C shares.

In the case of Class B shares, provided that the Plan continues in effect, any cumulative expenses incurred by the Distributor but not yet recovered may be recovered through the payment of future distribution fees from the Fund pursuant to the Plan and contingent deferred sales charges paid by investors upon redemption of Class B shares. Although there is no legal obligation for the Fund to pay expenses incurred in excess of payments made to the Distributor under the Plan and the proceeds of contingent deferred sales charges paid by investors upon redemption of shares, if for any reason the Plan is terminated, the Trustees will consider at that time the manner in which to treat such expenses. The Distributor has advised the Fund that such excess amounts totaled $1,601,735 at January 31, 2008.

24





Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund

Notes to Financial Statements January 31, 2008 continued

In the case of Class A shares and Class C shares, expenses incurred pursuant to the Plan in any calendar year in excess of 0.25% or 1.0% of the average daily net assets of Class A or Class C, respectively, will not be reimbursed by the Fund through payments in any subsequent year, except that expenses representing a gross sales credit to Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors and other authorized financial representatives at the time of sale may be reimbursed in the subsequent calendar year. For the year ended January 31, 2008, the distribution fee was accrued for Class A shares and Class C shares at the annual rate of 0.25% and 1.0%, respectively.

The Distributor has informed the Fund that for the year ended January 31, 2008, it received contingent deferred sales charges from certain redemptions of the Fund’s Class B shares and Class C shares of $141,823 and $33, respectively and received $11,570 in front-end sales charges from sales of the Fund’s Class A shares. The respective shareholders pay such charges which are not an expense of the Fund.

4. Security Transactions and Transactions with Affiliates

The Fund invests in Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Money Market Portfolio – Institutional Class, an open-end management investment company managed by the Investment Adviser. Investment advisory fees paid by the Fund are reduced by an amount equal to the advisory and administrative service fees paid by Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Money Market Portfolio – Institutional Class with respect to assets invested by the Fund in Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Money Market Portfolio – Institutional Class. For the year ended January 31, 2008, advisory fees paid were reduced by $5,746 relating to the Fund’s investment in Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Money Market Portfolio – Institutional Class. Income distributions earned by the Fund are recorded as dividends from affiliate in the Statement of Operations and totaled $277,473 for the year ended January 31, 2008. During the year ended January 31, 2008, cost of purchases and sales of investments in Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Money Market Portfolio – Institutional Class aggregated $29,392,170 and $23,132,953, respectively.

The cost of purchases and proceeds from sales of portfolio securities, excluding short-term investments, for the year ended January 31, 2008 aggregated $34,154,338 and $54,965,985, respectively. Included in the aforementioned are purchases of $165,150 with other Morgan Stanley funds.

For the year ended January 31, 2008, the Fund incurred brokerage commissions of $8,362 with Morgan Stanley & Co., Inc., an affiliate of the Investment Adviser, Administrator and Distributor, for portfolio transactions executed on behalf of the Fund.

Morgan Stanley Trust, an affiliate of the Investment Adviser, Administrator and Distributor, is the Fund’s transfer agent.

The Fund has an unfunded Deferred Compensation Plan (the ‘‘Compensation Plan’’) which allows each independent Trustee to defer payment of all, or a portion, of the fees he or she receives for serving on the

25





Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund

Notes to Financial Statements January 31, 2008 continued

Board of Trustees. Each eligible Trustee generally may elect to have the deferred amounts credited with a return equal to the total return on one or more of the Morgan Stanley funds that are offered as investment options under the Compensation Plan. Appreciation/depreciation and distributions received from these investments are recorded with an offsetting increase/decrease in the deferred compensation obligation and do not affect the net asset value of the Fund.

5.   Shares of Beneficial Interest

Transactions in shares of beneficial interest were as follows:


  FOR THE YEAR
ENDED
JANUARY 31, 2008
FOR THE YEAR
ENDED
JANUARY 31, 2007
  SHARES AMOUNT SHARES AMOUNT
CLASS A SHARES                
Sold   69,881   $ 801,922     108,486   $ 1,245,483  
Conversion from Class B   89,766     999,873     73,628     836,512  
Reinvestment of dividends and distributions   119,330     1,203,589     85,427     941,502  
Redeemed   (289,976   (3,184,654   (418,021   (4,798,729
Net decrease – Class A   (10,999   (179,270   (150,480   (1,775,232
CLASS B SHARES                
Sold   47,731     489,780     86,651     985,743  
Conversion to Class A   (91,504   (999,873   (74,934   (836,512
Reinvestment of dividends and distributions   579,097     5,744,943     476,910     5,170,085  
Redeemed   (1,454,350   (15,956,796   (2,050,670   (23,086,047
Net decrease – Class B   (919,026   (10,721,946   (1,562,043   (17,766,731
CLASS C SHARES                
Sold   9,462     98,286     11,132     124,292  
Reinvestment of dividends and distributions   94,208     933,777     79,349     860,206  
Redeemed   (244,197   (2,689,325   (282,826   (3,173,778
Net decrease – Class C   (140,527   (1,657,262   (192,345   (2,189,280
CLASS D SHARES                
Sold   5,923     65,075     9,600     110,878  
Reinvestment of dividends and distributions   1,819     18,851     8,306     91,972  
Redeemed   (74,419   (860,049   (151,770   (1,745,122
Net decrease – Class D   (66,677   (776,123   (133,864   (1,542,272
Net decrease in Fund   (1,137,229 $ (13,334,601   (2,038,732 $ (23,273,515

6.   Expense Offset

The expense offset represents a reduction of the fees and expenses for interest earned on cash balances maintained by the Fund with the transfer agent.

26





Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund

Notes to Financial Statements January 31, 2008 continued

7.   Purposes of and Risks Relating to Certain Financial Instruments

For hedging and investment purposes, the Fund may engage in transactions in listed and over-the-counter options and interest rate futures or in the case of forward contracts, to facilitate settlement of foreign currency denominated securities (‘‘derivative instruments’’).

These derivative instruments involve elements of market risk in excess of the amounts reflected in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. The Fund bears the risk of an unfavorable change in the underlying securities or currencies. Risks may also arise upon entering into these contracts from the potential inability of the counterparties to meet the terms of their contracts.

8.   Federal Income Tax Status

The amount of dividends and distributions from net investment income and net realized capital gains are determined in accordance with federal income tax regulations which may differ from generally accepted accounting principles. These ‘‘book/tax’’ differences are either considered temporary or permanent in nature. To the extent these differences are permanent in nature, such amounts are reclassified within the capital accounts based on their federal tax-basis treatment; temporary differences do not require reclassification. Dividends and distributions which exceed net investment income and net realized capital gains for tax purposes are reported as distributions of paid-in-capital.

The tax character of distributions paid was as follows:


  FOR THE YEAR
ENDED
JANUARY 31, 2008
FOR THE YEAR
ENDED
JANUARY 31, 2007
Ordinary income $ 2,657,180   $ 1,415,487  
Long-term capital gains   6,168,028     6,632,231  
Total distributions $ 8,825,208   $ 8,047,718  

As of January 31, 2008, the tax-basis components of accumulated earnings were as follows:


Undistributed ordinary income $ 230,722    
Undistributed long-term gains   1,851,897    
Net accumulated earnings   2,082,619    
Post-October losses   (8,202  
Temporary differences   (722  
Net unrealized appreciation   1,504,785    
Total accumulated earnings $ 3,578,480    

27





Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund

Notes to Financial Statements January 31, 2008 continued

As of January 31, 2008, the Fund had temporary book/tax differences primarily attributable to post-October losses (foreign currency losses incurred after October 31 within the taxable year which are deemed to arise on the first business day of the Fund’s next taxable year), mark-to-market of open futures contracts and capital loss deferrals on wash sales and straddles.

Permanent differences, primarily due to foreign currency losses, nondeductible expenses, losses on paydowns and capital gains retained by the Fund, resulted in the following reclassifications among the Fund’s components of net assets at January 31, 2008:


ACCUMULATED
UNDISTRIBUTED
NET INVESTMENT
INCOME
ACCUMULATED
UNDISTRIBUTED
NET REALIZED
GAIN
PAID-IN-CAPITAL
$(13,450) $ 5,504   $ 7,946  

9.   Accounting Pronouncement

In September 2006, Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 157, Fair Value Measurements (SFAS 157), was issued and is effective for fiscal years beginning after November 15, 2007. SFAS 157 defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value and expands disclosures about fair value measurements. Management is currently evaluating the impact the adoption of SFAS 157 will have on the Fund’s financial statement disclosures.

28





Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund

Financial Highlights

Selected ratios and per share data for a share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout each period:


  FOR THE YEAR ENDED JANUARY 31, FOR THE PERIOD
FEBRUARY 26, 2003*
THROUGH
JANUARY 31, 2004
  2008 2007 2006 2005
Class A Shares                    
Selected Per Share Data:                    
Net asset value, beginning of period $ 11.16   $ 11.34   $ 10.62   $ 11.39   $ 10.00  
Income (loss) from investment operations:                    
Net investment income‡   0.15     0.10     0.05     0.09     0.05  
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)   (0.18   0.94     0.91     0.32     1.67  
Total income (loss) from investment operations   (0.03   1.04     0.96     0.41     1.72  
Less dividends and distributions from:                    
Net investment income   (0.14   (0.10   (0.02   (0.10   —      
Net realized gain   (1.46   (1.12   (0.22   (1.08   (0.33
Total dividends and distributions   (1.60   (1.22   (0.24   (1.18   (0.33
Net asset value, end of period $   9.53   $ 11.16   $ 11.34   $ 10.62   $ 11.39  
Total Return†   (0.89 )%    9.24   9.25   3.57   17.16 % (1) 
Ratios to Average Net Assets(3):                    
Total expenses (before expense offset)   1.37  %(4)    1.38   1.38   1.23   1.23 % (2) 
Net investment income   1.35  %(4)    0.90   0.49   0.84   0.47 % (2) 
Supplemental Data:                    
Net assets, end of period, in thousands $9,122 $10,807  $12,691  $15,527  $22,141 
Portfolio turnover rate   57  %    118   64   126   239 % (1) 
* Commencement of operations.
The per share amounts were computed using an average number of shares outstanding during the period.
Does not reflect the deduction of sales charge. Calculated based on the net asset value as of the last business day of the period.
(1) Not annualized.
(2) Annualized.
(3) Reflects overall Fund ratios for investment income and non-class specific expenses.
(4) Reflects waivers of certain Fund expenses in connection with the investments in Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Money Market Portfolio – Institutional Class during the period. As a result of such waivers the expenses as a percentage of its net assets had a net effect of 0.01%.

See Notes to Financial Statements

29





Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund

Financial Highlights continued

    


  FOR THE YEAR ENDED JANUARY 31, FOR THE PERIOD
FEBRUARY 26, 2003*
THROUGH
JANUARY 31, 2004
  2008 2007 2006 2005
Class B Shares                    
Selected Per Share Data:                    
Net asset value, beginning of period $ 10.97   $ 11.17   $ 10.54   $ 11.31   $ 10.00  
Income (loss) from investment operations:                    
Net investment income (loss)‡   0.07     0.02     (0.03   0.01     (0.03
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)   (0.18   0.91     0.89     0.31     1.67  
Total income (loss) from investment operations   (0.11   0.93     0.86     0.32     1.64  
Less dividends and distributions from:                    
Net investment income   (0.04   (0.01   (0.01   (0.01   —      
Net realized gain   (1.46   (1.12   (0.22   (1.08   (0.33
Total dividends and distributions   (1.50   (1.13   (0.23   (1.09   (0.33
Net asset value, end of period $   9.36   $ 10.97   $ 11.17   $ 10.54   $ 11.31  
Total Return†   (1.59 )%    8.37   8.37  %    2.84   16.36  %(1) 
Ratios to Average Net Assets(3):                    
Total expenses (before expense offset)   2.12  %(4)    2.13   2.13  %    1.98   2.02  %(2) 
Net investment income (loss)   0.60  %(4)    0.15   (0.26 )%    0.09   (0.32 )%(2) 
Supplemental Data:                    
Net assets, end of period, in thousands $42,643  $60,091  $78,623  $116,344  $157,175 
Portfolio turnover rate   57  %    118   64  %    126   239  %(1) 
* Commencement of operations.
The per share amounts were computed using an average number of shares outstanding during the period.
Does not reflect the deduction of sales charge. Calculated based on the net asset value as of the last business day of the period.
(1) Not annualized.
(2) Annualized.
(3) Reflects overall Fund ratios for investment income and non-class specific expenses.
(4) Reflects waivers of certain Fund expenses in connection with the investments in Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Money Market Portfolio – Institutional Class during the period. As a result of such waivers the expenses as a percentage of its net assets had a net effect of 0.01%.

See Notes to Financial Statements

30





Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund

Financial Highlights continued

    


  FOR THE YEAR ENDED JANUARY 31, FOR THE PERIOD
FEBRUARY 26, 2003*
THROUGH
JANUARY 31, 2004
  2008 2007 2006 2005
Class C Shares                    
Selected Per Share Data:                    
Net asset value, beginning of period $ 10.96   $ 11.17   $ 10.54   $ 11.31   $ 10.00  
Income (loss) from investment operations:                    
Net investment income (loss)‡   0.07     0.02     (0.03   0.01     (0.03
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)   (0.18   0.91     0.90     0.32     1.67  
Total income (loss) from investment operations   (0.11   0.93     0.87     0.33     1.64  
Less dividends and distributions from:                    
Net investment income   (0.04   (0.02   (0.02   (0.02   —      
Net realized gain   (1.46   (1.12   (0.22   (1.08   (0.33
Total dividends and distributions   (1.50   (1.14   (0.24   (1.10   (0.33
Net asset value, end of period $   9.35   $ 10.96   $ 11.17   $ 10.54   $ 11.31  
Total Return†   (1.61 )%    8.44   8.41  %    2.76   16.36  %(1) 
Ratios to Average Net Assets(3):                    
Total expenses (before expense offset)   2.12  %(4)    2.10   2.13  %    1.96   2.02  %(2) 
Net investment income (loss)   0.60  %(4)    0.18   (0.26 )%    0.11   (0.32 )%(2) 
Supplemental Data:                    
Net assets, end of period, in thousands $6,959 $9,703 $12,029  $16,920  $21,927 
Portfolio turnover rate   57  %    118   64  %    126   239  %(1) 
* Commencement of operations.
The per share amounts were computed using an average number of shares outstanding during the period.
Does not reflect the deduction of sales charge. Calculated based on the net asset value as of the last business day of the period.
(1) Not annualized.
(2) Annualized.
(3) Reflects overall Fund ratios for investment income and non-class specific expenses.
(4) Reflects waivers of certain Fund expenses in connection with the investments in Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Money Market Portfolio − Institutional Class during the period. As a result of such waivers the expenses as a percentage of its net assets had a net effect of 0.01%.

See Notes to Financial Statements

31





Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund

Financial Highlights continued

    


  FOR THE YEAR ENDED JANUARY 31, FOR THE PERIOD
FEBRUARY 26, 2003*
THROUGH
JANUARY 31, 2004
  2008 2007 2006 2005
Class D Shares                    
Selected Per Share Data:                    
Net asset value, beginning of period $ 11.21   $ 11.39   $ 10.65   $ 11.42   $ 10.00  
Income (loss) from investment operations:                    
Net investment income‡   0.19     0.13     0.08     0.12     0.07  
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)   (0.19   0.94     0.90     0.32     1.68  
Total income (loss) from investment operations   (0.00   1.07     0.98     0.44     1.75  
Less dividends and distributions from:                    
Net investment income   (0.17   (0.13   (0.02   (0.13   —      
Net realized gain   (1.46   (1.12   (0.22   (1.08   (0.33
Total dividends and distributions   (1.63   (1.25   (0.24   (1.21   (0.33
Net asset value, end of period $   9.58   $ 11.21   $ 11.39   $ 10.65   $ 11.42  
Total Return†   (0.63 )%    9.45   9.44   3.84   17.46 % (1) 
Ratios to Average Net Assets(3):                    
Total expenses (before expense offset)   1.12  %(4)    1.13   1.13   0.98   1.02 % (2) 
Net investment income   1.60  %(4)    1.15   0.74   1.09   0.68 % (2) 
Supplemental Data:                    
Net assets, end of period, in thousands  $149  $923 $2,462 $6,009 $13,006 
Portfolio turnover rate   57  %    118   64   126   239 % (1) 
* Commencement of operations.
The per share amounts were computed using an average number of shares outstanding during the period.
Calculated based on the net asset value as of the last business day of the period.
(1) Not annualized.
(2) Annualized.
(3) Reflects overall Fund ratios for investment income and non-class specific expenses.
(4) Reflects waivers of certain Fund expenses in connection with the investments in Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Money Market Portfolio − Institutional Class during the period. As a result of such waivers the expenses as a percentage of its net assets had a net effect of 0.01%.

See Notes to Financial Statements

32





Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the Shareholders and Board of Trustees of
Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund:

We have audited the accompanying statement of assets and liabilities of Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund (the ‘‘Fund’’), including the portfolio of investments, as of January 31, 2008, and the related statements of operations for the year then ended and changes in net assets for each of the two years in the period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the periods presented. These financial statements and financial highlights are the responsibility of the Fund’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and financial highlights based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements and financial highlights are free of material misstatement. The Fund is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. Our audits included consideration of internal control over financial reporting as a basis for designing audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Fund’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion. An audit also includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. Our procedures included confirmation of securities owned as of January 31, 2008, by correspondence with the custodian, we performed other auditing procedures. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the financial statements and financial highlights referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund as of January 31, 2008, the results of its operations for the year then ended, the changes in its net assets for each of the two years in the period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the periods presented, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Deloitte & Touche LLP
New York, New York
March 20, 2008

33





Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund

Trustee and Officer Information  (unaudited)

Independent Trustees:


Name, Age and Address of
Independent Trustee
Position(s) Held with Registrant Term of
Office and
Length of
Time
Served*
Principal Occupation(s)
During Past 5 Years
Number of Portfolios
in Fund Complex Overseen by Independent
Trustee**
Other Directorships
Held by Independent Trustee
Frank L. Bowman (63)
c/o Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP
Counsel to the Independent Trustees
1177 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036
Trustee Since
August 2006
President and Chief Executive Officer, Nuclear Energy Institute (policy organization) (since February 2005); Director or Trustee of various Retail Funds and Institutional Funds (since August 2006); Chairperson of the Insurance Sub-Committee of the Insurance, Valuation and Compliance Committee (since February 2007); formerly, variously, Admiral in the U.S. Navy, Director of Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program and Deputy Administrator—Naval Reactors in the National Nuclear Security Administration at the U.S. Department of Energy (1996-2004). Honorary Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. 180 Director of the National Energy Foundation, the U.S. Energy Association, the American Council for Capital Formation and the Armed Services YMCA of the USA.
Michael Bozic (67)
c/o Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP Counsel to the Independent Trustees
1177 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036
Trustee
Since
April 1994
Private investor; Chairperson of the Insurance, Valuation and Compliance Committee (since October 2006); Director or Trustee of the Retail Funds (since April 1994) and the Institutional Funds (since July 2003); formerly, Chairperson of the Insurance Committee (July 2006-September 2006); Vice Chairman of Kmart Corporation (December 1998-October 2000), Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Levitz Furniture Corporation (November 1995-November 1998) and President and Chief Executive Officer of Hills Department Stores (May 1991-July 1995); variously Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, President and Chief Operating Officer (1987-1991) of the Sears Merchandise Group of Sears, Roebuck & Co. 182 Director of various business organizations.

34





Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund

Trustee and Officer Information  (unaudited) continued


Name, Age and Address of
Independent Trustee
Position(s) Held with Registrant Term of
Office and
Length of
Time
Served*
Principal Occupation(s)
During Past 5 Years
Number of Portfolios
in Fund Complex Overseen by Independent
Trustee**
Other Directorships
Held by Independent Trustee
Kathleen A. Dennis (54)
c/o Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP
Counsel to the Independent Trustees
1177 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036
Trustee Since
August 2006
President, Cedarwood Associates (mutual fund and investment management) (since July 2006); Chairperson of the Money Market and Alternatives Sub-Committee of the Investment Committee (since October 2006) and Director or Trustee of various Retail Funds and Institutional Funds (since August 2006); formerly, Senior Managing Director of Victory Capital Management (1993-2006). 180 Director of various non-profit organizations.
Dr. Manuel H. Johnson (59)
c/o Johnson Smick Group, Inc.
888 16th Street, N.W.
Suite 740
Washington, D.C. 20006
Trustee
Since
July 1991
Senior Partner, Johnson Smick International, Inc. (consulting firm); Chairperson of the Investment Committee (since October 2006) and Director or Trustee of the Retail Funds (since July 1991) and the Institutional Funds (since July 2003); Co-Chairman and a founder of the Group of Seven Council (G7C) (international economic commission); formerly, Chairperson of the Audit Committee (July 1991-September 2006); Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Treasury. 182 Director of NVR, Inc. (home construction); Director of Evergreen Energy.
Joseph J. Kearns (65)
c/o Kearns & Associates LLC
PMB754
23852 Pacific Coast Highway
Malibu, CA 90265
Trustee
Since
August 1994
President, Kearns & Associates LLC (investment consulting); Chairperson of the Audit Committee (since October 2006) and Director or Trustee of the Retail Funds (since July 2003) and the Institutional Funds (since August 1994); formerly, Deputy Chairperson of the Audit Committee (July 2003- September 2006) and Chairperson of the Audit Committee of the Institutional Funds (October 2001-July 2003); CFO of the J. Paul Getty Trust. 183 Director of Electro Rent Corporation (equipment leasing) and The Ford Family Foundation.

35





Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund

Trustee and Officer Information  (unaudited) continued


Name, Age and Address of
Independent Trustee
Position(s) Held with Registrant Term of
Office and
Length of
Time
Served*
Principal Occupation(s)
During Past 5 Years
Number of Portfolios
in Fund Complex Overseen by Independent
Trustee**
Other Directorships
Held by Independent Trustee
Michael F. Klein (49)
c/o Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP
Counsel to the Independent Trustees
1177 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036
Trustee Since
August 2006
Managing Director, Aetos Capital, LLC (since March 2000) and Co-President, Aetos Alternatives Management, LLC (since January 2004); Chairperson of the Fixed-Income Sub-Committee of the Investment Committee (since October 2006) and Director or Trustee of various Retail Funds and Institutional Funds (since August 2006); formerly, Managing Director, Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc. and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Investment Management, President, Morgan Stanley Institutional Funds (June 1998-March 2000) and Principal, Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc. and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Investment Management (August 1997-December 1999). 180 Director of certain investment funds managed or sponsored by Aetos Capital, LLC. Director of Sanitized AG and Sanitized Marketing AG (specialty chemicals).
Michael E. Nugent (71)
c/o Triumph Capital, L.P.
445 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10022
Chairperson of the Board and Trustee
Chairperson of the Boards since
July 2006
and Trustee since
July 1991
General Partner, Triumph Capital, L.P. (private investment partnership); Chairperson of the Boards of the Retail Funds and Institutional Funds (since July 2006); Director or Trustee
of the Retail Funds (since July 1991)
and the Institutional Funds (since
July 2001); formerly, Chairperson of
the Insurance Committee (until July 2006).
182 None.
W. Allen Reed (60)
c/o Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP
Counsel to the Independent Trustees
1177 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036
Trustee Since
August 2006
Chairperson of the Equity Sub-Committee of the Investment Committee (since October 2006) and Director or Trustee of various Retail Funds and Institutional Funds (since August 2006); formerly, President and CEO of General Motors Asset Management; Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the GM Trust Bank and Corporate Vice President of General Motors Corporation (August 1994-December 2005). 180 Director of Temple-Inland Industries (packaging and forest products); Director of Legg Mason, Inc. and Director of the Auburn University Foundation.
Fergus Reid (75)
c/o Lumelite Plastics Corporation
85 Charles Colman Blvd.
Pawling, NY 12564
Trustee
Since
June 1992
Chairman of Lumelite Plastics Corporation; Chairperson of the Governance Committee and Director or Trustee of the Retail Funds (since July 2003) and the Institutional Funds (since June 1992). 183 Trustee and Director of certain investment companies in the JPMorgan Funds complex managed by J.P. Morgan Investment Management Inc.

36





Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund

Trustee and Officer Information  (unaudited) continued

Interested Trustee:


Name, Age and Address of
Interested Trustee
Position(s) Held with Registrant Term of
Office and
Length of
Time
Served*
Principal Occupation(s)
During Past 5 Years
Number of Portfolios
in Fund Complex Overseen by Interested Trustee**
Other Directorships
Held by Interested Trustee
James F. Higgins (60)
c/o Morgan Stanley Trust
Harborside Financial Center
Plaza Two
Jersey City, NJ 07311
Trustee
Since
June 2000
Director or Trustee of the Retail Funds (since June 2000) and the Institutional Funds (since July 2003); Senior Advisor of Morgan Stanley (since August 2000). 181 Director of AXA Financial, Inc. and The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States (financial services).
 * This is the earliest date the Trustee began serving the funds advised by Morgan Stanley Investment Advisors Inc. (the ‘‘Investment Adviser’’) (the ‘‘Retail Funds’’) or the funds advised by Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc. and Morgan Stanley AIP GP LP (the ‘‘Institutional Funds’’).
** The Fund Complex includes all open-end and closed-end funds (including all of their portfolios) advised by the Investment Adviser and any funds that have an investment adviser that is an affiliated person of the Investment Adviser (including, but not limited to, Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc.).

37





Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund

Trustee and Officer Information  (unaudited) continued

Executive Officers:


Name, Age and Address of
Executive Officer
Position(s)
Held with
Registrant
    
Term of
Office and
Length of
Time
Served*
Principal Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years
Ronald E. Robison (69)
522 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10036
President and Principal Executive Officer
President since September 2005 and Principal Executive Officer since May 2003 President (since September 2005) and Principal Executive Officer (since May 2003) of funds in the Fund Complex; President (since September 2005) and Principal Executive Officer (since May 2003) of the Van Kampen Funds; Managing Director, Director and/or Officer of the Investment Adviser and various entities affiliated with the Investment Adviser; Director of Morgan Stanley SICAV (since May 2004). Formerly, Executive Vice President (July 2003-September 2005) of funds in the Fund Complex and the Van Kampen Funds; President and Director of the Institutional Funds (March 2001-July 2003); Chief Administrative Officer of the Investment Adviser; Chief Administrative Officer of Morgan Stanley Services Company Inc.
J. David Germany (53)
Morgan Stanley Investment Management Limited
20 Bank Street
Canary Wharf,
London, England E14 4AD
Vice President Since February 2006 Managing Director and (since December 2005) Chief Investment Officer – Global Fixed Income of Morgan Stanley Investment Management; Managing Director and Director of Morgan Stanley Investment Management Limited; Vice President of the Retail Funds and Institutional Funds (since February 2006).
Dennis F. Shea (54)
522 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10036
Vice President Since February 2006 Managing Director and (since February 2006) Chief Investment Officer – Global Equity of Morgan Stanley Investment Management; Vice President of the Retail Funds and Institutional Funds (since February 2006). Formerly, Managing Director and Director of Global Equity Research at Morgan Stanley.
Amy R. Doberman (45)
522 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10036
Vice President Since July 2004 Managing Director and General Counsel, U.S. Investment Management of Morgan Stanley Investment Management (since July 2004); Vice President of the Retail Funds and Institutional Funds (since July 2004); Vice President of the Van Kampen Funds (since August 2004); Secretary (since February 2006) and Managing Director (since July 2004) of the Investment Adviser and various entities affiliated with the Investment Adviser. Formerly, Managing Director and General Counsel – Americas, UBS Global Asset Management (July 2000-July 2004).
Carsten Otto (44)
522 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10036
Chief Compliance
Officer
Since October
2004
Managing Director and Global Head of Compliance for Morgan Stanley Investment Management (since April 2007); and Chief Compliance Officer of Morgan Stanley Retail Funds and Institutional Funds (since October 2004). Formerly, U.S. Director of Compliance (October 2004-April 2007) and Assistant Secretary and Assistant General Counsel of the Retail Funds.
Stefanie V. Chang Yu (41)
522 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10036
Vice President
Since December 1997
Managing Director of the Investment Adviser and various entities affiliated with the Investment Adviser; Vice President of the Retail Funds (since July 2002) and the Institutional Funds (since December 1997). Formerly, Secretary of various entities affiliated with the Investment Adviser.

38





Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund

Trustee and Officer Information  (unaudited) continued


Name, Age and Address of
Executive Officer
Position(s)
Held with
Registrant
    
Term of
Office and
Length of
Time
Served*
Principal Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years
Francis J. Smith (42)
c/o Morgan Stanley Trust
Harborside Financial Center
Plaza Two
Jersey City, NJ 07311
Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer
Treasurer since July 2003 and Chief Financial Officer since September 2002 Executive Director of the Investment Adviser and various entities affiliated with the Investment Adviser; Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of the Retail Funds (since July 2003). Formerly, Vice President of the Retail Funds (September 2002 to July 2003).
Mary E. Mullin (40)
522 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10036
Secretary
Since June 1999
Executive Director of the Investment Adviser and various entities affiliated with the Investment Adviser; Secretary of the Retail Funds (since July 2003) and the Institutional Funds (since June 1999).
    * This is the earliest date the Officer began serving the Retail Funds or Institutional Funds.

    

2008 Federal Tax Notice (unaudited)

For Federal income tax purposes, the following information is furnished with respect to the distributions paid by the Fund during its taxable year ended January 31, 2008. For corporate shareholders, 45.90% of the dividends qualified for the dividend received deduction. The Fund designated and paid $6,800,000 as a long-term capital gain distribution. 3.77% of the Fund’s dividends was attributable to qualifying U.S. Government obligations. (Please consult your tax advisor to determine if any portion of the dividends you received is exempt from state income tax.)

For Federal income tax purposes, the following information is furnished with respect to the Fund’s earnings for its taxable year ended January 31, 2008. When distributed, certain earnings may be subject to a maximum tax rate of 15% as provided for by the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003. The Fund designated up to a maximum of $990,520 as taxable at this lower rate.

In January, the Fund provides tax information to shareholders for the preceding calendar year.

39





Trustees

Frank L. Bowman
Michael Bozic
Kathleen A. Dennis
James F. Higgins
Dr. Manuel H. Johnson
Joseph J. Kearns
Michael F. Klein
Michael E. Nugent
W. Allen Reed
Fergus Reid

Officers

Michael E. Nugent
Chairperson of the Board

Ronald E. Robison
President and Principal Executive Officer

J. David Germany
Vice President

Dennis F. Shea
Vice President

Amy R. Doberman
Vice President

Carsten Otto
Chief Compliance Officer

Stefanie V. Chang Yu
Vice President

Francis J. Smith
Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer

Mary E. Mullin
Secretary

Transfer Agent

Morgan Stanley Trust
Harborside Financial Center, Plaza Two
Jersey City, New Jersey 07311

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

Deloitte & Touche LLP
Two World Financial Center
New York, New York 10281

Legal Counsel

Clifford Chance US LLP
31 West 52nd Street
New York, New York 10019

Counsel to the Independent Trustees

Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP
1177 Avenue of the Americas
New York, New York 10036

Investment Adviser

Morgan Stanley Investment Advisors Inc.
522 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York 10036

This report is submitted for the general information of the shareholders of the Fund. For more detailed information about the Fund, its fees and expenses and other pertinent information, please read its Prospectus. The Fund’s Statement of Additional Information contains additional information about the Fund, including its trustees. It is available, without charge, by calling (800) 869-NEWS.

This report is not authorized for distribution to prospective investors in the Fund unless preceded or accompanied by an effective Prospectus. Read the Prospectus carefully before investing.

Morgan Stanley Distributors Inc., member FINRA.

© 2008 Morgan Stanley



                ALRANN                IU08-01537P-Y01/08
MORGAN STANLEY FUNDS


Morgan Stanley
Allocator Fund






Annual Report
January 31, 2008















Item 2. Code of Ethics.

(a) The Fund has adopted a code of ethics (the “Code of Ethics”) that applies to its principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller, or persons performing similar functions, regardless of whether these individuals are employed by the Fund or a third party.

(b) No information need be disclosed pursuant to this paragraph.

(c) Not applicable.

(d) Not applicable.

(e) Not applicable.

(f)

(1) The Fund’s Code of Ethics is attached hereto as Exhibit 12 A.

(2) Not applicable.

(3) Not applicable.

Item 3. Audit Committee Financial Expert.

The Fund’s Board of Trustees has determined that Joseph J. Kearns, an “independent” Trustee, is an “audit committee financial expert” serving on its audit committee. Under applicable securities laws, a person who is determined to be an audit committee financial expert will not be deemed an “expert” for any purpose, including without limitation for the purposes of Section 11 of the Securities Act of 1933, as a result of being designated or identified as an audit committee financial expert. The designation or identification of a person as an audit committee financial expert does not impose on such person any duties, obligations, or liabilities that are greater than the duties, obligations, and liabilities imposed on such person as a member of the audit committee and Board of Trustees in the absence of such designation or identification

 

 

2

 



Item 4. Principal Accountant Fees and Services.

(a)(b)(c)(d) and (g). Based on fees billed for the periods shown:

2008

 

 

 

Registrant

 

Covered Entities(1)

 

Audit Fees

 

$

38,500

 

 

N/A

 

Non-Audit Fees

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Audit-Related Fees

 

$

(2)

$

6,164,000

(2)

Tax Fees

 

$

6,043

(3)

$

1,002,000

(4)

All Other Fees

 

$

 

$

 

Total Non-Audit Fees

 

$

6,043

 

$

7,166,000

 

Total

 

$

44,453

 

$

7,166,000

 

2007

 

 

 

Registrant

 

Covered Entities(1)

 

Audit Fees

 

$

37,600

 

 

N/A

 

Non-Audit Fees

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Audit-Related Fees

 

$

531

(2)

$

5,200,002

Tax Fees

 

$

5,880

(3)

$

809,670

(4)

All Other Fees

 

$

 

$

(5)

Total Non-Audit Fees

 

$

6,411

 

$

6,009,672

 

Total

 

$

44,011

 

$

6,009,672

 

N/A- Not applicable, as not required by Item 4.

(1)

Covered Entities include the Adviser (excluding sub-advisors) and any entity controlling, controlled by or under common control with the Adviser that provides ongoing services to the Registrant.

(2)

Audit-Related Fees represent assurance and related services provided that are reasonably related to the performance of the audit of the financial statements of the Covered Entities’ and funds advised by the Adviser or its affiliates, specifically data verification and agreed-upon procedures related to asset securitizations and agreed-upon procedures engagements.

(3)

Tax Fees represent tax compliance, tax planning and tax advice services provided in connection with the preparation and review of the Registrant’s tax returns.

(4)

Tax Fees represent tax compliance, tax planning and tax advice services provided in connection with the review of Covered Entities’ tax returns.

(5)

All other fees represent project management for future business applications and improving business and operational processes.

 

 

3

 



(e)(1) The audit committee’s pre-approval policies and procedures are as follows:

APPENDIX A

AUDIT COMMITTEE

AUDIT AND NON-AUDIT SERVICES

PRE-APPROVAL POLICY AND PROCEDURES

OF THE

MORGAN STANLEY RETAIL AND INSTITUTIONAL FUNDS

AS ADOPTED AND AMENDED JULY 23, 2004,1

1. Statement of Principles

The Audit Committee of the Board is required to review and, in its sole discretion, pre-approve all Covered Services to be provided by the Independent Auditors to the Fund and Covered Entities in order to assure that services performed by the Independent Auditors do not impair the auditor’s independence from the Fund.

The SEC has issued rules specifying the types of services that an independent auditor may not provide to its audit client, as well as the audit committee’s administration of the engagement of the independent auditor. The SEC’s rules establish two different approaches to pre-approving services, which the SEC considers to be equally valid. Proposed services either: may be pre-approved without consideration of specific case-by-case services by the Audit Committee (“general pre-approval”); or require the specific pre-approval of the Audit Committee or its delegate (“specific pre-approval”). The Audit Committee believes that the combination of these two approaches in this Policy will result in an effective and efficient procedure to pre-approve services performed by the Independent Auditors. As set forth in this Policy, unless a type of service has received general pre-approval, it will require specific pre-approval by the Audit Committee (or by any member of the Audit Committee to which pre-approval authority has been delegated) if it is to be provided by the Independent Auditors. Any proposed services exceeding pre-approved cost levels or budgeted amounts will also require specific pre-approval by the Audit Committee.

The appendices to this Policy describe the Audit, Audit-related, Tax and All Other services that have the general pre-approval of the Audit Committee. The term of any general pre-approval is 12 months from the date of pre-approval, unless the Audit Committee considers and provides a different period and states otherwise. The Audit Committee will annually review and pre-approve the services that may be provided by the Independent Auditors without obtaining specific pre-approval from the Audit Committee. The Audit Committee will add to or subtract from the list of general pre-approved services from time to time, based on subsequent determinations.

______________

1

This Audit Committee Audit and Non-Audit Services Pre-Approval Policy and Procedures (the “Policy”), adopted as of the date above, supersedes and replaces all prior versions that may have been adopted from time to time.

 

 

4

 



The purpose of this Policy is to set forth the policy and procedures by which the Audit Committee intends to fulfill its responsibilities. It does not delegate the Audit Committee’s responsibilities to pre-approve services performed by the Independent Auditors to management.

The Fund’s Independent Auditors have reviewed this Policy and believes that implementation of the Policy will not adversely affect the Independent Auditors’ independence.

2. Delegation

As provided in the Act and the SEC’s rules, the Audit Committee may delegate either type of pre-approval authority to one or more of its members. The member to whom such authority is delegated must report, for informational purposes only, any pre-approval decisions to the Audit Committee at its next scheduled meeting.

3. Audit Services

The annual Audit services engagement terms and fees are subject to the specific pre-approval of the Audit Committee. Audit services include the annual financial statement audit and other procedures required to be performed by the Independent Auditors to be able to form an opinion on the Fund’s financial statements. These other procedures include information systems and procedural reviews and testing performed in order to understand and place reliance on the systems of internal control, and consultations relating to the audit. The Audit Committee will approve, if necessary, any changes in terms, conditions and fees resulting from changes in audit scope, Fund structure or other items.

In addition to the annual Audit services engagement approved by the Audit Committee, the Audit Committee may grant general pre-approval to other Audit services, which are those services that only the Independent Auditors reasonably can provide. Other Audit services may include statutory audits and services associated with SEC registration statements (on Forms N-1A, N-2, N-3, N-4, etc.), periodic reports and other documents filed with the SEC or other documents issued in connection with securities offerings.

The Audit Committee has pre-approved the Audit services in Appendix B.1. All other Audit services not listed in Appendix B.1 must be specifically pre-approved by the Audit Committee (or by any member of the Audit Committee to which pre-approval has been delegated).

4. Audit-related Services

Audit-related services are assurance and related services that are reasonably related to the performance of the audit or review of the Fund’s financial statements and, to the extent they are Covered Services, the Covered Entities or that are traditionally performed by the Independent Auditors. Because the Audit Committee believes that the provision of Audit-related services does not impair the independence of the auditor and is consistent with the SEC’s rules on auditor independence, the Audit Committee may grant general pre-approval to Audit-related services. Audit-related services include, among others, accounting consultations related to accounting, financial reporting or disclosure matters

 

 

5

 



not classified as “Audit services”; assistance with understanding and implementing new accounting and financial reporting guidance from rulemaking authorities; agreed-upon or expanded audit procedures related to accounting and/or billing records required to respond to or comply with financial, accounting or regulatory reporting matters; and assistance with internal control reporting requirements under Forms N-SAR and/or N-CSR.

The Audit Committee has pre-approved the Audit-related services in Appendix B.2. All other Audit-related services not listed in Appendix B.2 must be specifically pre-approved by the Audit Committee (or by any member of the Audit Committee to which pre-approval has been delegated).

5. Tax Services

The Audit Committee believes that the Independent Auditors can provide Tax services to the Fund and, to the extent they are Covered Services, the Covered Entities, such as tax compliance, tax planning and tax advice without impairing the auditor’s independence, and the SEC has stated that the Independent Auditors may provide such services.

Pursuant to the preceding paragraph, the Audit Committee has pre-approved the Tax Services in Appendix B.3. All Tax services in Appendix B.3 must be specifically pre-approved by the Audit Committee (or by any member of the Audit Committee to which pre-approval has been delegated).

6. All Other Services

The Audit Committee believes, based on the SEC’s rules prohibiting the Independent Auditors from providing specific non-audit services, that other types of non-audit services are permitted. Accordingly, the Audit Committee believes it may grant general pre-approval to those permissible non-audit services classified as All Other services that it believes are routine and recurring services, would not impair the independence of the auditor and are consistent with the SEC’s rules on auditor independence.

The Audit Committee has pre-approved the All Other services in Appendix B.4. Permissible All Other services not listed in Appendix B.4 must be specifically pre-approved by the Audit Committee (or by any member of the Audit Committee to which pre-approval has been delegated).

7. Pre-Approval Fee Levels or Budgeted Amounts

Pre-approval fee levels or budgeted amounts for all services to be provided by the Independent Auditors will be established annually by the Audit Committee. Any proposed services exceeding these levels or amounts will require specific pre-approval by the Audit Committee. The Audit Committee is mindful of the overall relationship of fees for audit and non-audit services in determining whether to pre-approve any such services.

8. Procedures

All requests or applications for services to be provided by the Independent Auditors that do not require specific approval by the Audit Committee will be submitted to the Fund’s Chief Financial Officer and must include a detailed description of the services to be

 

 

6

 



rendered. The Fund’s Chief Financial Officer will determine whether such services are included within the list of services that have received the general pre-approval of the Audit Committee. The Audit Committee will be informed on a timely basis of any such services rendered by the Independent Auditors. Requests or applications to provide services that require specific approval by the Audit Committee will be submitted to the Audit Committee by both the Independent Auditors and the Fund’s Chief Financial Officer, and must include a joint statement as to whether, in their view, the request or application is consistent with the SEC’s rules on auditor independence.

The Audit Committee has designated the Fund’s Chief Financial Officer to monitor the performance of all services provided by the Independent Auditors and to determine whether such services are in compliance with this Policy. The Fund’s Chief Financial Officer will report to the Audit Committee on a periodic basis on the results of its monitoring. Both the Fund’s Chief Financial Officer and management will immediately report to the chairman of the Audit Committee any breach of this Policy that comes to the attention of the Fund’s Chief Financial Officer or any member of management.

9. Additional Requirements

The Audit Committee has determined to take additional measures on an annual basis to meet its responsibility to oversee the work of the Independent Auditors and to assure the auditor’s independence from the Fund, such as reviewing a formal written statement from the Independent Auditors delineating all relationships between the Independent Auditors and the Fund, consistent with Independence Standards Board No. 1, and discussing with the Independent Auditors its methods and procedures for ensuring independence.

10. Covered Entities

Covered Entities include the Fund’s investment adviser(s) and any entity controlling, controlled by or under common control with the Fund’s investment adviser(s) that provides ongoing services to the Fund(s). Beginning with non-audit service contracts entered into on or after May 6, 2003, the Fund’s audit committee must pre-approve non-audit services provided not only to the Fund but also to the Covered Entities if the engagements relate directly to the operations and financial reporting of the Fund. This list of Covered Entities would include:

Morgan Stanley Retail Funds

Morgan Stanley Investment Advisors Inc.

Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated

Morgan Stanley DW Inc.

Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc.

Morgan Stanley Investment Management Limited

Morgan Stanley Investment Management Private Limited

Morgan Stanley Asset & Investment Trust Management Co., Limited

Morgan Stanley Investment Management Company

Van Kampen Asset Management

Morgan Stanley Services Company, Inc.

Morgan Stanley Distributors Inc.

Morgan Stanley Trust FSB

 

 

7

 



Morgan Stanley Institutional Funds

Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc.

Morgan Stanley Investment Advisors Inc.

Morgan Stanley Investment Management Limited

Morgan Stanley Investment Management Private Limited

Morgan Stanley Asset & Investment Trust Management Co., Limited

Morgan Stanley Investment Management Company

Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated

Morgan Stanley Distribution, Inc.

Morgan Stanley AIP GP LP

Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners LP

(e)(2) Beginning with non-audit service contracts entered into on or after May 6, 2003, the audit committee also is required to pre-approve services to Covered Entities to the extent that the services are determined to have a direct impact on the operations or financial reporting of the Registrant. 100% of such services were pre-approved by the audit committee pursuant to the Audit Committee’s pre-approval policies and procedures (attached hereto).

(f)

Not applicable.

(g)

See table above.

(h) The audit committee of the Board of Trustees has considered whether the provision of services other than audit services performed by the auditors to the Registrant and Covered Entities is compatible with maintaining the auditors’ independence in performing audit services.

Item 5. Audit Committee of Listed Registrants.

 

(a)

The Fund has a separately-designated standing audit committee established in accordance with Section 3(a)(58)(A) of the Exchange Act whose members are: Joseph Kearns, Michael Nugent and Allen Reed.

 

(b)

Not applicable.

Item 6. Schedule of Investments

Refer to Item 1.

 

 

8

 



Item 7. Disclosure of Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures for Closed-End Management Investment Companies.

Applicable only to reports filed by closed-end funds.

Item 8. Portfolio Managers of Closed-End Management Investment Companies

Applicable only to reports filed by closed-end funds.

Item 9. Closed-End Fund Repurchases

Applicable only to reports filed by closed-end funds.

Item 10. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders

Not applicable.

Item 11. Controls and Procedures

(a) The Fund’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer have concluded that the Fund’s disclosure controls and procedures are sufficient to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Fund in this Form N-CSR was recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules and forms, based upon such officers’ evaluation of these controls and procedures as of a date within 90 days of the filing date of the report.

(b) There were 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 control over financial reporting.

Item 12. Exhibits

(a) The Code of Ethics for Principal Executive and Senior Financial Officers is attached hereto.

(b) A separate certification for each principal executive officer and principal financial officer of the registrant are attached hereto as part of EX-99.CERT.

 

 

9

 



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.

 

Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/s/ Ronald E. Robison

 

 

 

Ronald E. Robison
Principal Executive Officer
March 20, 2008

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

/s/ Ronald E. Robison

 

 

 

Ronald E. Robison
Principal Executive Officer
March 20, 2008

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/s/ Francis Smith

 

 

 

Francis Smith
Principal Financial Officer
March 20, 2008

 

 

 

 

 

10

 



EXHIBIT 12 A

CODE OF ETHICS FOR PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE AND SENIOR FINANCIAL OFFICERS

ADOPTED SEPTEMBER 28, 2004, AS AMENDED SEPTEMBER 20, 2005

I.

This Code of Ethics (the “Code”) for the investment companies within the Morgan Stanley complex identified in Exhibit A (collectively, “Funds” and each, a “Fund”) applies to each Fund’s Principal Executive Officer, President, Principal Financial Officer and Treasurer (or persons performing similar functions) (“Covered Officers” each of whom are set forth in Exhibit B) for the purpose of promoting:

 

honest and ethical conduct, including the ethical handling of actual or apparent conflicts of interest between personal and professional relationships.

 

full, fair, accurate, timely and understandable disclosure in reports and documents that a company files with, or submits to, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and in other public communications made by the Fund;

 

compliance with applicable laws and governmental rules and regulations;

 

prompt internal reporting of violations of the Code to an appropriate person or persons identified in the Code; and

 

accountability for adherence to the Code.

Each Covered Officer should adhere to a high standard of business ethics and should be sensitive to situations that may give rise to actual as well as apparent conflicts of interest. Any question about the application of the Code should be referred to the General Counsel or his/her designee (who is set forth in Exhibit C).

II.

Covered Officers Should Handle Ethically Actual and Apparent Conflicts of Interest

Overview. A “conflict of interest” occurs when a Covered Officer’s private interest interferes, or appears to interfere, with the interests of, or his service to, the Fund. For example, a conflict of interest would arise if a Covered Officer, or a member of his family, receives improper personal benefits as a result of his position with the Fund.

Certain conflicts of interest arise out of the relationships between Covered Officers and the Fund and already are subject to conflict of interest provisions in the

 

 

11

 



Investment Company Act of 1940 (“Investment Company Act”) and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (“Investment Advisers Act”). For example, Covered Officers may not individually engage in certain transactions (such as the purchase or sale of securities or other property) with the Fund because of their status as “affiliated persons” (as defined in the Investment Company Act) of the Fund. The Fund’s and its investment adviser’s compliance programs and procedures are designed to prevent, or identify and correct, violations of these provisions. This Code does not, and is not intended to, repeat or replace these programs and procedures, and such conflicts fall outside the parameters of this Code, unless or until the General Counsel determines that any violation of such programs and procedures is also a violation of this Code.

Although typically not presenting an opportunity for improper personal benefit, conflicts may arise from, or as a result of, the contractual relationship between the Fund and its investment adviser of which the Covered Officers are also officers or employees. As a result, this Code recognizes that the Covered Officers will, in the normal course of their duties (whether formally for the Fund or for the investment adviser, or for both), be involved in establishing policies and implementing decisions that will have different effects on the Fund and its investment adviser. The participation of the Covered Officers in such activities is inherent in the contractual relationship between the Fund and the investment adviser and is consistent with the performance by the Covered Officers of their duties as officers of the Fund. Thus, if performed in conformity with the provisions of the Investment Company Act and the Investment Advisers Act, such activities will be deemed to have been handled ethically. In addition, it is recognized by the Funds’ Boards of Directors/Trustees (“Boards”) that the Covered Officers may also be officers or employees of one or more other investment companies covered by this or other codes.

Other conflicts of interest are covered by the Code, even if such conflicts of interest are not subject to provisions in the Investment Company Act and the Investment Advisers Act. The following list provides examples of conflicts of interest under the Code, but Covered Officers should keep in mind that these examples are not exhaustive. The overarching principle is that the personal interest of a Covered Officer should not be placed improperly before the interest of the Fund.

Each Covered Officer must not:

 

use his personal influence or personal relationships improperly to influence investment decisions or financial reporting by the Fund whereby the Covered Officer would benefit personally (directly or indirectly);

 

cause the Fund to take action, or fail to take action, for the individual personal benefit of the Covered Officer rather than the benefit of the Fund; or

 

use material non-public knowledge of portfolio transactions made or contemplated for, or actions proposed to be taken by, the Fund to trade personally or cause others to trade personally in contemplation of the market effect of such transactions.

 

 

12

 



Each Covered Officer must, at the time of signing this Code, report to the General Counsel all affiliations or significant business relationships outside the Morgan Stanley complex and must update the report annually.

Conflict of interest situations should always be approved by the General Counsel and communicated to the relevant Fund or Fund’s Board. Any activity or relationship that would present such a conflict for a Covered Officer would likely also present a conflict for the Covered Officer if an immediate member of the Covered Officer’s family living in the same household engages in such an activity or has such a relationship. Examples of these include:

 

service or significant business relationships as a director on the board of any public or private company;

 

accepting directly or indirectly, anything of value, including gifts and gratuities in excess of $100 per year from any person or entity with which the Fund has current or prospective business dealings, not including occasional meals or tickets for theatre or sporting events or other similar entertainment; provided it is business-related, reasonable in cost, appropriate as to time and place, and not so frequent as to raise any question of impropriety;

 

any ownership interest in, or any consulting or employment relationship with, any of the Fund’s service providers, other than its investment adviser, principal underwriter, or any affiliated person thereof; and

 

a direct or indirect financial interest in commissions, transaction charges or spreads paid by the Fund for effecting portfolio transactions or for selling or redeeming shares other than an interest arising from the Covered Officer’s employment, such as compensation or equity ownership.

III.

Disclosure and Compliance

 

Each Covered Officer should familiarize himself/herself with the disclosure and compliance requirements generally applicable to the Funds;

 

each Covered Officer must not knowingly misrepresent, or cause others to misrepresent, facts about the Fund to others, whether within or outside the Fund, including to the Fund’s Directors/Trustees and auditors, or to governmental regulators and self-regulatory organizations;

 

each Covered Officer should, to the extent appropriate within his area of responsibility, consult with other officers and employees of the Funds and their investment advisers with the goal of promoting full, fair, accurate, timely and understandable disclosure in the reports and documents the Funds file with, or submit to, the SEC and in other public communications made by the Funds; and

 

 

13

 



 

it is the responsibility of each Covered Officer to promote compliance with the standards and restrictions imposed by applicable laws, rules and regulations.

IV.

Reporting and Accountability

Each Covered Officer must:

 

upon adoption of the Code (thereafter as applicable, upon becoming a Covered Officer), affirm in writing to the Boards that he has received, read and understands the Code;

 

annually thereafter affirm to the Boards that he has complied with the requirements of the Code;

 

not retaliate against any other Covered Officer, other officer or any employee of the Funds or their affiliated persons for reports of potential violations that are made in good faith; and

 

notify the General Counsel promptly if he/she knows or suspects of any violation of this Code. Failure to do so is itself a violation of this Code.

The General Counsel is responsible for applying this Code to specific situations in which questions are presented under it and has the authority to interpret this Code in any particular situation. However, any waivers2 sought by a Covered Officer must be considered by the Board of the relevant Fund or Funds.

The Funds will follow these procedures in investigating and enforcing this Code:

 

the General Counsel will take all appropriate action to investigate any potential violations reported to him;

 

if, after such investigation, the General Counsel believes that no violation has occurred, the General Counsel is not required to take any further action;

 

any matter that the General Counsel believes is a violation will be reported to the relevant Fund’s Audit Committee;

 

if the directors/trustees/managing general partners who are not “interested persons” as defined by the Investment Company Act (the “Independent Directors/Trustees/Managing General Partners”) of the relevant Fund concur that a violation has occurred, they will consider appropriate action, which may include review of, and appropriate modifications to, applicable

______________

2

Item 2 of Form N-CSR defines “waiver” as “the approval by the registrant of a material departure from a provision of the code of ethics.”

 

 

14

 



policies and procedures; notification to appropriate personnel of the investment adviser or its board; or a recommendation to dismiss the Covered Officer or other appropriate disciplinary actions;

 

the Independent Directors/Trustees/Managing General Partners of the relevant Fund will be responsible for granting waivers of this Code, as appropriate; and

 

any changes to or waivers of this Code will, to the extent required, be disclosed as provided by SEC rules.

V.

Other Policies and Procedures

This Code shall be the sole code of ethics adopted by the Funds for purposes of Section 406 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the rules and forms applicable to registered investment companies thereunder. Insofar as other policies or procedures of the Funds, the Funds’ investment advisers, principal underwriters, or other service providers govern or purport to govern the behavior or activities of the Covered Officers who are subject to this Code, they are superseded by this Code to the extent that they overlap or conflict with the provisions of this Code unless any provision of this Code conflicts with any applicable federal or state law, in which case the requirements of such law will govern. The Funds’ and their investment advisers’ and principal underwriters’ codes of ethics under Rule 17j-1 under the Investment Company Act and Morgan Stanley’s Code of Ethics are separate requirements applying to the Covered Officers and others, and are not part of this Code.

VI.

Amendments

Any amendments to this Code, other than amendments to Exhibits A, B or C, must be approved or ratified by a majority vote of the Board of each Fund, including a majority of Independent Directors/Trustees/Managing General Partners.

VII.

Confidentiality

All reports and records prepared or maintained pursuant to this Code will be considered confidential and shall be maintained and protected accordingly. Except as otherwise required by law or this Code, such matters shall not be disclosed to anyone other than the Independent Directors/Trustees/Managing General Partners of the relevant Fund or Funds and their counsel, the relevant Fund or Funds and their counsel and the relevant investment adviser and its counsel.

 

 

15

 



VIII.

Internal Use

The Code is intended solely for the internal use by the Funds and does not constitute an admission, by or on behalf of any Fund, as to any fact, circumstance, or legal conclusion

I have read and understand the terms of the above Code. I recognize the responsibilities and obligations incurred by me as a result of my being subject to the Code. I hereby agree to abide by the above Code.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

         

Date:

 

 

 

 

 

 

16

 



Exhibit A

Fund List

at

February 29, 2008

RETAIL FUNDS

Open-End Retail Funds

Taxable Money Market Funds

 

1.

Active Assets Government Securities Trust (“AA Government”)

 

2.

Active Assets Institutional Government Securities Trust (“AA Institutional Government”)

 

3.

Active Assets Institutional Money Trust (“AA Institutional Money”)

 

4.

Active Assets Money Trust (“AA Money”)

 

5.

Morgan Stanley Liquid Asset Fund Inc. (“Liquid Asset”)

 

6.

Morgan Stanley U.S. Government Money Market Trust (“Government Money”)

Tax-Exempt Money Market Funds

 

7.

Active Assets California Tax-Free Trust (“AA California”)

 

8.

Active Assets Tax-Free Trust (“AA Tax-Free”)

 

9.

Morgan Stanley California Tax-Free Daily Income Trust (“California Tax-Free Daily”)

 

10.

Morgan Stanley New York Municipal Money Market Trust (“New York Money”)

 

11.

Morgan Stanley Tax-Free Daily Income Trust (“Tax-Free Daily”)

Equity Funds

 

12.

Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund (“Allocator Fund”)+

 

13.

Morgan Stanley Capital Opportunities Trust (“Capital Opportunities”)+

 

14.

Morgan Stanley Diversified International Equity Fund (“Diversified International Equity”)+

 

15.

Morgan Stanley Diversified Large Cap Equity Fund (“Diversified Large Cap Equity”)

 

16.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Growth Securities Inc. (“Dividend Growth”)+

 

17.

Morgan Stanley Equally-Weighted S&P 500 Fund (“Equally-Weighted S&P 500”)+

 

18.

Morgan Stanley European Equity Fund Inc. (“European Equity”)+

 

19.

Morgan Stanley Financial Services Trust (“Financial Services”)+

 

20.

Morgan Stanley Focus Growth Fund (“Focus Growth”)+

 

21.

Morgan Stanley Fundamental Value Fund (“Fundamental Value”)+

 

 

17

 



 

22.

Morgan Stanley FX Series – FX Alpha Plus Strategy Portfolio (“Alpha Plus”)+

 

23.

Morgan Stanley FX Series – FX Alpha Strategy Portfolio (“Alpha”)+

 

24.

Morgan Stanley Global Advantage Fund (“Global Advantage”)+

 

25.

Morgan Stanley Global Dividend Growth Securities (“Global Dividend Growth”)+

 

26.

Morgan Stanley Health Sciences Trust (“Health Sciences”)+

 

27.

Morgan Stanley Institutional Strategies Fund (“Institutional Strategies”)+

 

28.

Morgan Stanley International Fund (“International Fund”)+

 

29.

Morgan Stanley International SmallCap Fund (“International SmallCap”)+

 

30.

Morgan Stanley International Value Equity Fund (“International Value”)+

 

31.

Morgan Stanley Japan Fund (“Japan Fund”)+

 

32.

Morgan Stanley Mid Cap Growth Fund (“Mid Cap Growth”)+

 

33.

Morgan Stanley Mid-Cap Value Fund (“Mid-Cap Value”)+

 

34.

Morgan Stanley Multi-Asset Class Fund (“Multi-Asset Class”)+

 

35.

Morgan Stanley Nasdaq-100 Index Fund (“Nasdaq-100”)+

 

36.

Morgan Stanley Natural Resource Development Securities Inc. (“Natural Resource”)+

 

37.

Morgan Stanley Pacific Growth Fund Inc. (“Pacific Growth”)+

 

38.

Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund (“Real Estate”)+

 

39.

Morgan Stanley Small-Mid Special Value Fund (“Small-Mid Special Value”)+

 

40.

Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund (“S&P500 Index”)+

 

41.

Morgan Stanley Special Growth Fund (“Special Growth”)+

 

42.

Morgan Stanley Special Value Fund (“Special Value”)+

 

43.

Morgan Stanley Technology Fund (“Technology”)+

 

44.

Morgan Stanley Total Market Index Fund (“Total Market Index”)+

 

45.

Morgan Stanley Utilities Fund (“Utilities Fund”)+

 

46.

Morgan Stanley Value Fund (“Value Fund”)+

Balanced Funds

 

47.

Morgan Stanley Balanced Fund (“Balanced”)+

Asset Allocation Fund

 

48.

Morgan Stanley Strategist Fund (“Strategist Fund”)+

Taxable Fixed-Income Funds

 

49.

Morgan Stanley Convertible Securities Trust (“Convertible Securities”)+

 

50.

Morgan Stanley Flexible Income Trust (“Flexible Income”)+

 

51.

Morgan Stanley Income Trust (“Income Trust”)+

 

52.

Morgan Stanley High Yield Securities Inc. (“High Yield Securities”)+

 

53.

Morgan Stanley Limited Duration Fund (“Limited Duration Fund”)

 

54.

Morgan Stanley Limited Duration U.S. Treasury Trust (“Limited Duration Treasury”)

 

55.

Morgan Stanley Mortgage Securities Trust (“Mortgage Securities”)+

 

56.

Morgan Stanley U.S. Government Securities Trust (“Government Securities”)+

 

 

18

 



Tax-Exempt Fixed-Income Funds

 

57.

Morgan Stanley California Tax-Free Income Fund (“California Tax-Free”)+

 

58.

Morgan Stanley Limited Term Municipal Trust (“Limited Term Municipal”)

 

59.

Morgan Stanley New York Tax-Free Income Fund (“New York Tax-Free”)+

 

60.

Morgan Stanley Tax-Exempt Securities Trust (“Tax-Exempt Securities”)+

Special Purpose Funds

 

61.

Morgan Stanley Select Dimensions Investment Series (“Select Dimensions”)

 

Balanced Portfolio

 

Capital Opportunities Portfolio

 

Developing Growth Portfolio

 

Dividend Growth Portfolio

 

Equally-Weighted S&P 500 Portfolio

 

Flexible Income Portfolio

 

Focus Growth Portfolio

 

Global Equity Portfolio

 

Growth Portfolio

 

Money Market Portfolio

 

Utilities Portfolio

 

62.

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series (“Variable Investment”)

 

Aggressive Equity Portfolio

 

Dividend Growth Portfolio

 

Equity Portfolio

 

European Growth Portfolio

 

Global Advantage Portfolio

 

Global Dividend Growth Portfolio

 

High Yield Portfolio

 

Income Builder Portfolio

 

Limited Duration Portfolio

 

Money Market Portfolio

 

Income Plus Portfolio

 

S&P 500 Index Portfolio

 

Strategist Portfolio

 

Utilities Portfolio

 

 

19

 



Closed-End Retail Funds

Taxable Fixed-Income Closed-End Funds

 

63.

Morgan Stanley Income Securities Inc. (“Income Securities”)

 

64.

Morgan Stanley Prime Income Trust (“Prime Income”)

Tax-Exempt Fixed-Income Closed-End Funds

 

65.

Morgan Stanley California Insured Municipal Income Trust (“California Insured Municipal”)

 

66.

Morgan Stanley California Quality Municipal Securities (“California Quality Municipal”)

 

67.

Morgan Stanley Insured California Municipal Securities (“Insured California Securities”)

 

68.

Morgan Stanley Insured Municipal Bond Trust (“Insured Municipal Bond”)

 

69.

Morgan Stanley Insured Municipal Income Trust (“Insured Municipal Income”)

 

70.

Morgan Stanley Insured Municipal Securities (“Insured Municipal Securities”)

 

71.

Morgan Stanley Insured Municipal Trust (“Insured Municipal Trust”)

 

72.

Morgan Stanley Municipal Income Opportunities Trust (“Municipal Opportunities”)

 

73.

Morgan Stanley Municipal Income Opportunities Trust II (“Municipal Opportunities II”)

 

74.

Morgan Stanley Municipal Income Opportunities Trust III (“Municipal Opportunities III”)

 

75.

Morgan Stanley Municipal Premium Income Trust (“Municipal Premium”)

 

76.

Morgan Stanley New York Quality Municipal Securities (“New York Quality Municipal”)

 

77.

Morgan Stanley Quality Municipal Income Trust (“Quality Municipal Income”)

 

78.

Morgan Stanley Quality Municipal Investment Trust (“Quality Municipal Investment”)

 

79.

Morgan Stanley Quality Municipal Securities (“Quality Municipal Securities”)

+- Denotes Retail Multi-Class Fund

INSTITUTIONAL FUNDS

Open-End Institutional Funds

1.

Morgan Stanley Institutional Fund, Inc. (“Institutional Fund Inc.”)

Active Portfolios:

 

Active International Allocation Portfolio

 

Emerging Markets Portfolio

 

Emerging Markets Debt Portfolio

 

Focus Equity Portfolio

 

Global Franchise Portfolio

 

Global Real Estate Portfolio

 

 

20

 



 

Global Value Equity Portfolio

 

International Equity Portfolio

 

International Growth Equity Portfolio

 

International Magnum Portfolio

 

International Real Estate Portfolio

 

International Small Cap Portfolio

 

Large Cap Relative Value Portfolio

 

Money Market Portfolio

 

Municipal Money Market Portfolio

 

Small Company Growth Portfolio

 

Systematic Active large Cap Core Portfolio

 

Systematic Active Small Cap Core Portfolio

 

Systematic Active Small Cap Growth Portfolio

 

Systematic Active Small Cap Value Portfolio

 

U.S. Large Cap Growth Portfolio

 

U.S. Real Estate Portfolio

Inactive Portfolios*:

 

China Growth Portfolio

 

Gold Portfolio

 

Large Cap Relative Value Portfolio

 

MicroCap Portfolio

 

Mortgage-Backed Securities Portfolio

 

Municipal Bond Portfolio

 

U.S. Equity Plus Portfolio

2.

Morgan Stanley Institutional Fund Trust (“Institutional Fund Trust”)

Active Portfolios:

 

Advisory Portfolio

 

Advisory Foreign Fixed Income II Portfolio

 

Advisory Foreign Fixed Income Portfolio

 

Balanced Portfolio

 

Core Fixed Income Portfolio

 

Core Plus Fixed Income Portfolio

 

Equity Portfolio

 

Equity Plus Portfolio

 

High Yield Portfolio

 

Intermediate Duration Portfolio

______________

*

Have not commenced or have ceased operations

 

 

21

 



 

International Fixed Income Portfolio

 

Investment Grade Fixed Income Portfolio

 

Limited Duration Portfolio

 

Long Duration Fixed Income Portfolio

 

Mid-Cap Growth Portfolio

 

Municipal Portfolio

 

U.S. Mid-Cap Value Portfolio

 

U.S. Small-Cap Value Portfolio

 

Value Portfolio

Inactive Portfolios*:

 

Balanced Plus Portfolio

 

Growth Portfolio

 

Investment Grade Credit Advisory Portfolio

 

Mortgage Advisory Portfolio

 

New York Municipal Portfolio

 

Targeted Duration Portfolio

 

Value II Portfolio

3.

The Universal Institutional Funds, Inc. (“Universal Funds)

Active Portfolios:

 

Core Plus Fixed Income Portfolio

 

Emerging Markets Debt Portfolio

 

Emerging Markets Equity Portfolio

 

Equity and Income Portfolio

 

Equity Growth Portfolio

 

Global Franchise Portfolio

 

Global Real Estate Portfolio

 

Global Value Equity Portfolio

 

High Yield Portfolio

 

International Growth Equity Portfolio

 

International Magnum Portfolio

 

Mid-Cap Growth Portfolio

 

Small Company Growth Portfolio

 

U.S. Mid-Cap Value Portfolio

 

U.S. Real Estate Portfolio

 

Value Portfolio

 

 

22

 



Inactive Portfolios*:

 

Balanced Portfolio

 

Capital Preservation Portfolio

 

Core Equity Portfolio

 

International Fixed Income Portfolio

 

Investment Grade Fixed Income Portfolio

 

Latin American Portfolio

 

Multi-Asset Class Portfolio

 

Targeted Duration Portfolio

4.

Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Funds (“Liquidity Funds”)

Active Portfolios:

 

Government Portfolio

 

Money Market Portfolio

 

Prime Portfolio

 

Tax-Exempt Portfolio

 

Treasury Portfolio

Inactive Portfolios*:

 

Government Securities Portfolio

 

Treasury Securities Portfolio

Closed-End Institutional Funds

5.

Morgan Stanley Asia-Pacific Fund, Inc. (“Asia-Pacific Fund”)

6.

Morgan Stanley Eastern Europe Fund, Inc. (“Eastern Europe”)

7.

Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Debt Fund, Inc. (“Emerging Markets Debt”)

8.

Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Fund, Inc. (“Emerging Markets Fund”)

9.

Morgan Stanley Global Opportunity Bond Fund, Inc. (“Global Opportunity”)

10.

Morgan Stanley High Yield Fund, Inc. (“High Yield Fund”)

11.

The Latin American Discovery Fund, Inc. (“Latin American Discovery”)

12

The Malaysia Fund, Inc. (“Malaysia Fund”)

13.

The Thai Fund, Inc. (“Thai Fund”)

14.

The Turkish Investment Fund, Inc. (“Turkish Investment”)

15.

India Investment Fund (“India Investment”)

Closed-End Fund of Hedge Funds

16.

Morgan Stanley Institutional Fund of Hedge Funds (“Fund of Hedge Funds”)

______________

*

Have not commenced or have ceased operations

  

23

 



In Registration

Morgan Stanley Retail Funds

1.

Morgan Stanley American Franchise Fund

Funds of Hedge Funds

1.

Morgan Stanley Absolute Return Fund

2.

Morgan Stanley Institutional Fund of Hedge Funds II

  

24

 



EXHIBIT B

Institutional Funds

Covered Officers

Ronald E. Robison – President and Principal Executive Officer

James W. Garrett – Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

Retail Funds

Covered Officers

Ronald E. Robison – President and Principal Executive Officer

Francis Smith – Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

Morgan Stanley India Investment Fund, Inc.

Covered Officers

Ronald E. Robison – President and Principal Executive Officer

James W. Garrett – Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

  

25

 



EXHIBIT C

General Counsel

Arthur Lev

  

26

 



EXHIBIT 12 B1

CERTIFICATION OF PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE OFFICER

CERTIFICATIONS

I, Ronald E. Robison, certify that:

1.

I have reviewed this report on Form N-CSR of Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund;

2.

Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

3.

Based on my knowledge, the financial statements and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations, changes in net assets, and cash flows (if the financial statements are required to include a statement of cash flows) of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4.

The registrant’s other certifying officers and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) for the registrant and have:

a)

designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

b)

designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

c)

evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of a date within 90 days prior to the filing date of this report based on such evaluation; and

d)

disclosed in this report any change 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 control over financial reporting; and

5.

The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

  

27

 



a)

all significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize, and report financial information; and

b)

any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal controls over financial reporting.

 

Date: March 20, 2008

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/s/ Ronald E. Robison

 

 

 

Ronald E. Robison

 

 

 

Principal Executive Officer

 

 

28

 



EXHIBIT 12 B2

CERTIFICATION OF PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL OFFICER

CERTIFICATIONS

I, Francis Smith, certify that:

1.

I have reviewed this report on Form N-CSR of Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund;

2.

Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

3.

Based on my knowledge, the financial statements and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations, changes in net assets, and cash flows (if the financial statements are required to include a statement of cash flows) of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4.

The registrant’s other certifying officers and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) for the registrant and have:

a)

designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

b)

designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

c)

evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of a date within 90 days prior to the filing date of this report based on such evaluation; and

d)

disclosed in this report any change 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 control over financial reporting; and

5.

The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

  

29

 



a)

all significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize, and report financial information; and

b)

any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal controls over financial reporting.

 

Date: March 20, 2008

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/s/ Francis Smith

 

 

 

Francis Smith

 

 

 

Principal Financial Officer

 

 

30

 



SECTION 906 CERTIFICATION

Certification Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350,

As Adopted Pursuant to
Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund

In connection with the Report on Form N-CSR (the “Report”) of the above-named issuer for the period ended January 31, 2008 that is accompanied by this certification, the undersigned hereby certifies that:

1.

The Report fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and

2.

The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Issuer.

 

 

 

 

 

Date: March 20, 2008

 

 

/s/ Ronald E. Robison

 

 

 

Ronald E. Robison

 

 

 

Principal Executive Officer

A signed original of this written statement required by Section 906 has been provided to Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund and will be retained by Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund and furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission or its staff upon request.

 

 

31

 



SECTION 906 CERTIFICATION

Certification Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350,

As Adopted Pursuant to
Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund

In connection with the Report on Form N-CSR (the “Report”) of the above-named issuer for the period ended January 31, 2008 that is accompanied by this certification, the undersigned hereby certifies that:

1.

The Report fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and

2.

The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Issuer.

 

 

 

 

 

Date: March 20, 2008

 

 

/s/ Francis Smith

 

 

 

Francis Smith

 

 

 

Principal Financial Officer

A signed original of this written statement required by Section 906 has been provided to Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund and will be retained by Morgan Stanley Allocator Fund and furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission or its staff upon request.

 

 

32