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August 24, 2006

Supplement

 

SUPPLEMENT DATED AUGUST 24, 2006 TO THE STATEMENTS OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OF 

Morgan Stanley California Tax-Free Income Fund, dated April 28, 2006
Morgan Stanley Limited Term Municipal Trust, dated July 31, 2006
Morgan Stanley New York Tax-Free Income Fund, dated April  28, 2006
Morgan Stanley Tax-Exempt Securities Trust, dated April 28, 2006 

The following disclosure is hereby added in the section of each Fund’s Statement of Additional Information entitled ‘‘II. Description of the Fund and Its Investments Risks – B. Investment Strategies and Risks’’:  

Interest Rate Transactions.    The Fund may enter into interest rate swaps and may purchase or sell interest rate caps, floors and collars. The Fund expects to enter into these transactions primarily to manage interest rate risk, hedge portfolio positions and preserve a return or spread on a particular investment or portion of its portfolio. The Fund may also enter into these transactions to protect against any increase in the price of securities the Fund anticipates purchasing at a later date. The Fund does not intend to use these transactions as speculative investments and will not enter into interest rate swaps or sell interest rate caps or floors where it does not own or have the right to acquire the underlying securities or other instruments providing the income stream the Fund may be obligated to pay. Interest rate swaps involve the exchange by the Fund with another party of their respective commitments to pay or receive interest, e.g., an exchange of floating rate payments for fixed-rate payments. The purchase of an interest rate cap entitles the purchaser, to the extent that a specified index exceeds a predetermined interest rate, to receive payments of interest on a contractually-based principal amount from the party selling the interest rate cap. The purchase of an interest rate floor entitles the purchaser, to the extent that a specified index falls below a predetermined interest rate, to receive payments of interest on a contractually-based principal amount from the party selling the interest rate floor. An interest rate collar combines the elements of purchasing a cap and selling a floor. The collar protects against an interest rate rise above the maximum amount but foregoes the benefit of an interest rate decline below the minimum amount. 

The Fund may enter into interest rate swaps, caps, floors and collars on either an asset-based or liability-based basis, and will usually enter into interest rate swaps on a net basis, i.e., the two payment streams are netted out, with the Fund receiving or paying, as the case may be, only the net amount of the two payments. The net amount of the excess, if any, of the Fund's obligations over its entitlements with respect to each interest rate swap will be accrued on a daily basis and the Fund segregates an amount of cash and/or liquid securities having an aggregate net asset value at least equal to the accrued excess. If the Fund enters into an interest rate swap on other than a net basis, the Fund would segregate the full amount accrued on a daily basis of the Fund's obligations with respect to the swap. Interest rate transactions do not constitute senior securities under the 1940 Act when the Fund segregates assets to cover the obligations under the transactions. The Fund will enter into interest rate swap, cap or floor transactions only with counterparties approved by the Fund's Board of Trustees. The Adviser will monitor the creditworthiness of counterparties to the Fund's interest rate swap, cap, floor and collar transactions on an ongoing basis. If there is a default by the other party to such a transaction, the Fund will have contractual remedies pursuant to the agreements related to the transaction. To the extent the Fund sells (i.e., writes) caps, floors and collars, it will segregate cash and/or liquid securities having an aggregate net asset value at least equal to the full amount, accrued on a daily basis, of the Fund's net obligations with respect to the caps, floors or collars. The use of interest rate swaps is a highly specialized activity which involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. If the Adviser is incorrect in its forecasts of the market values, interest rates and other applicable factors, the investment performance of the Fund would diminish compared with what it would have been if these investment techniques were not used. The use of interest rate swaps, caps, collars and floors may also have the effect of shifting the recognition of income between current and future periods. 

These transactions do not involve the delivery of securities or other underlying assets or principal. Accordingly, the risk of loss with respect to interest rate swaps is limited to the net amount of interest payments that the Fund is contractually obligated to make. If the other party to an interest rate swap defaults, the Fund’s risk of loss consists of the net amount of interest payments that the Fund contractually is entitled to receive. 

PLEASE RETAIN THIS SUPPLEMENT FOR FUTURE REFERENCE.