UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM N-Q

QUARTERLY SCHEDULE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS OF REGISTERED
MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANY

Investment Company Act file number: 811-03692

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series

(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)

522 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York
(Address of principal executive offices) 10036
(Zip code)

Sara Furber
522 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10036
(Name and address of agent for service)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: 212-296-6963

Date of fiscal year end: December 31, 2011

Date of reporting period: March 31, 2011

Item 1. Schedule of Investments.

The Fund’s schedule of investments as of the close of the reporting period prepared pursuant to Rule 12-12 of Regulation S-X is as follows:

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Money Market Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited)

PRINCIPAL			ANNUALIZED
AMOUNT IN			YIELD ON				MATURITY
THOUSANDS			DATE OF PURCHASE				DATE				VALUE
		Repurchase Agreements (39.3%)
$	15,000	Barclays Capital, Inc. (dated 03/25/11; proceeds $15,000,321; fully collateralized by U.S. Government Agencies; Government National Mortgage Association 4.00% - 5.00% due 03/15/26 — 03/20/41; valued at $15,450,001)		0.11		%		04/01/11			$	15,000,000
	20,000	Credit Agricole Securities (dated 03/31/11; proceeds $20,000,072; fully collateralized by a U.S. Government Obligation; U.S. Treasury Note 0.875% due 05/31/11; valued at $20,359,091)		0.13				04/01/11				20,000,000
	12,897	Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. (dated 03/31/11; proceeds $12,897,036; fully collateralized by a U.S. Government Agency; Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation 0.00% due 07/15/11; valued at $13,200,000)		0.10				04/01/11				12,897,000
		Total Repurchase Agreements (Cost $47,897,000)										47,897,000
		Commercial Paper (28.3%)
		Asset-Backed — Consumer Diversified (4.1%)
	5,000	Sheffield Receivable Corp. (a)		0.09				04/01/11				5,000,000
		International Banks (24.2%)
	2,000	ABN Amro Funding USA LLC (a)		0.31				06/16/11				1,998,691
	500	BNZ International Funding (a)		0.42				06/07/11				499,609
	5,500	BPCE SA (a)		0.43-0.44				06/03/11- 07/08/11				5,494,964
	4,000	DNB NOR Bank ASA (a)		0.15				04/06/11				3,999,917
	3,000	ING US Funding LLC		0.29				07/08/11				2,997,632
	5,000	NRW Bank (a)		0.31				04/18/11				4,999,280
	5,500	Skandinaviska Enskilda (a)		0.28				05/02/11- 05/04/11				5,498,635
	3,000	Svenska Handelsbanken AB (a)		0.29				07/15/11				2,997,462
	1,000	Westpac Securities NZ Ltd. (a)		0.31				06/06/11				999,432
												29,485,622
		Total Commercial Paper (Cost $34,485,622)										34,485,622
		Floating Rate Notes (18.0%)
		International Banks
	6,000	Barclays Bank PLC		0.65	(b)			04/19/11		(c)		6,000,000
	6,000	BNP Paribas		0.76	(b)			06/23/11		(c)		6,000,000
	5,000	Lloyds TSB Bank PLC		0.65	(b)			04/29/11		(c)		5,000,000
	5,000	Societe Generale		1.71	(b)			05/05/11		(c)		5,000,000
		Total Floating Rate Notes (Cost $22,000,000)										22,000,000
		Certificates of Deposit (14.4%)
		International Banks
	5,000	Bank of Montreal — Chicago		0.23				04/25/11				5,000,000
	5,000	Credit AG CIB		0.41				05/04/11				5,000,000
	5,500	Credit Industriel et Commercial		0.49				04/13/11				5,500,000
	2,000	Toronto — Dominion Bank		0.23				04/25/11				2,000,000
		Total Certificates of Deposit (Cost $17,500,000)										17,500,000
		Total Investments (Cost $121,882,622) (d)							100.0	%		121,882,622
		Liabilities in Excess of Other Assets							0.0			(40,581	)
		Net Assets							100.0	%	$	121,842,041

(a) Resale is restricted to qualified institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Money Market Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited) continued

(b)	Rate shown is the rate in effect at March 31, 2011.
(c)	Date of next interest rate reset.
(d)	Cost is the same for federal income tax purposes.

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Limited Duration Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited)

PRINCIPAL
AMOUNT IN			COUPON		MATURITY
THOUSANDS			RATE		DATE	VALUE
		Corporate Bonds (54.7%)
		Agricultural Chemicals (0.6%)
$	350	Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, Inc. (Canada)	5.25	%	05/15/14	$	381,745
		Agricultural Operations (0.4%)
	260	Bunge Ltd. Finance Corp.	5.35		04/15/14		275,768
		Auto — Cars/Light Trucks (0.6%)
	360	Daimler Finance North America LLC	7.30		01/15/12		378,213
	30	Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp. (144A) (a)	3.25		01/30/13		30,661
							408,874
		Beverages (0.6%)
	165	Anheuser-Busch InBev Worldwide, Inc.	4.125		01/15/15		174,435
	205	Anheuser-Busch InBev Worldwide, Inc.	5.375		11/15/14		226,092
							400,527
		Beverages — Wine/Spirits (0.5%)
	265	Bacardi Ltd. (144A) (Bermuda) (a)	7.45		04/01/14		305,148
		Building Societies (0.4%)
	270	Nationwide Building Society (144A) (United Kingdom) (a)	4.65		02/25/15		273,765
		Cable/Satellite TV (0.7%)
	215	COX Communications, Inc.	4.625		06/01/13		228,329
	220	DirecTV Holdings LLC/DirecTV Financing Co., Inc.	4.75		10/01/14		237,081
							465,410
		Capital Markets (1.6%)
	425	Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The)	3.70		08/01/15		428,561
	230	Macquarie Group Ltd. (144A) (Australia) (a)	7.30		08/01/14		255,371
	365	UBS AG/Stamford CT (Series DPNT) (Switzerland)	3.875		01/15/15		374,421
							1,058,353
		Cellular Telecommunications (0.6%)
	340	Vodafone Group PLC (United Kingdom)	5.00		12/16/13		369,167
		Chemicals — Diversified (0.6%)
	350	Dow Chemical Co. (The)	5.90		02/15/15		388,263
		Commercial Banks (15.2%)
	315	Barclays Bank PLC (United Kingdom)	2.50		01/23/13		320,655
	330	BBVA Bancomer SA (144A) (Mexico) (a)	4.50		03/10/16		332,349
	390	Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (Canada)	1.45		09/13/13		388,791
	900	Commonwealth Bank of Australia (144A) (Australia) (a)	2.50		12/10/12		923,782
	575	Commonwealth Bank of Australia (144A) (Australia) (a)	2.75		10/15/12		587,747
	340	Credit Suisse (Switzerland)	5.50		05/01/14		372,942
	120	Intesa Sanpaolo SpA (144A) (Italy) (a)	3.625		08/12/15		116,089
	365	Nordea Bank AB (144A) (Sweden) (a)	2.50		11/13/12		371,467
	2,300	Royal Bank of Scotland PLC (The) (144A) (United Kingdom) (a)	2.625		05/11/12		2,351,492
	335	Royal Bank of Scotland PLC (The) (United Kingdom)	4.875		03/16/15		348,502
	300	Standard Chartered PLC (144A) (United Kingdom) (a)	3.85		04/27/15		307,297
	320	Svenska Handelsbanken AB (144A) (Sweden) (a)	2.875		09/14/12		327,868
	1,545	Swedbank AB (144A) (Sweden) (a)	2.90		01/14/13		1,587,025
	750	Wells Fargo & Co. (Series I)	3.75		10/01/14		786,495
	810	Westpac Securities NZ Ltd. (144A) (New Zealand) (a)	2.50		05/25/12		825,886
							9,948,387
		Data Processing Services (0.3%)
	203	Fiserv, Inc.	6.125		11/20/12		218,039

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Limited Duration Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited) continued

PRINCIPAL
AMOUNT IN			COUPON		MATURITY
THOUSANDS			RATE		DATE	VALUE
		Diversified Financial Services (3.2%)
$	300	Bank of America Corp.	4.50	%	04/01/15	$	311,806
	475	Citigroup, Inc. (b)	4.587		12/15/15		491,690
	1,000	General Electric Capital Corp.	2.25		11/09/15		961,705
	250	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	3.40		06/24/15		251,780
	110	Societe Generale (144A) (France) (a)	3.10		09/14/15		108,399
							2,125,380
		Diversified Minerals (0.6%)
	350	Anglo American Capital PLC (144A) (United Kingdom) (a)	9.375		04/08/14		418,909
		Diversified Telecommunication Services (0.6%)
	375	AT&T, Inc.	2.50		08/15/15		372,600
		Electric — Integrated (2.4%)
	150	Commonwealth Edison Co.	1.625		01/15/14		149,145
	380	Dominion Resources, Inc.	5.70		09/17/12		404,050
	350	EDF SA (144A) (France) (a)	5.50		01/26/14		383,724
	350	Enel Finance International SA (144A) (Luxembourg) (a)	3.875		10/07/14		362,053
	265	NextEra Energy Capital Holdings, Inc.	5.35		06/15/13		284,078
							1,583,050
		Electric Utilities (0.3%)
	215	Firstenergy Solutions Corp.	4.80		02/15/15		225,749
		Electronic Connectors (0.2%)
	140	Amphenol Corp.	4.75		11/15/14		150,339
		Electronic Measuring Instrument (0.6%)
	385	Agilent Technologies, Inc.	4.45		09/14/12		399,347
		Finance — Consumer Loans (0.6%)
	350	HSBC Finance Corp.	5.25		04/15/15		377,140
		Finance — Credit Card (1.2%)
	475	American Express Co.	7.25		05/20/14		540,667
	250	MBNA Corp.	6.125		03/01/13		267,584
							808,251
		Finance — Investment Banker/Broker (0.7%)
	75	Jefferies Group, Inc.	3.875		11/09/15		74,916
	365	TD Ameritrade Holding Corp.	2.95		12/01/12		372,675
							447,591
		Food — Retail (0.9%)
	330	Delhaize Group SA (Belgium)	5.875		02/01/14		360,530
	225	Kroger Co. (The)	7.50		01/15/14		256,346
							616,876
		Food Products (0.5%)
	300	Kraft Foods, Inc.	6.75		02/19/14		338,671
		Gas — Distribution (0.5%)
	320	Sempra Energy	2.00		03/15/14		318,038
		Government Guaranteed Non-U.S. (0.9%)
	577	Societe Financement de l’Economie Francaise (144A) (France) (a)	3.375		05/05/14		606,334
		Health Care Providers & Services (0.6%)
	350	Medco Health Solutions, Inc.	7.25		08/15/13		392,197
		Hotels & Motels (0.7%)
	420	Marriott International, Inc.	4.625		06/15/12		436,626
		Instruments — Scientific (0.4%)
	220	Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.	3.25		11/20/14		228,893
		Insurance (1.3%)
	225	MetLife, Inc. (c)	2.375		02/06/14		225,458
	270	Principal Financial Group, Inc.	7.875		05/15/14		312,163

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Limited Duration Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited) continued

PRINCIPAL
AMOUNT IN			COUPON		MATURITY
THOUSANDS			RATE		DATE	VALUE
$	320	Prudential Financial, Inc. (MTN)	4.75	%	09/17/15	$	341,060
							878,681
		Life/Health Insurance (0.2%)
	110	Aflac, Inc.	3.45		08/15/15		110,579
		Media (1.5%)
	300	Comcast Corp.	6.50		01/15/15		339,789
	200	Time Warner Cable, Inc.	8.25		02/14/14		232,693
	350	Viacom, Inc.	4.375		09/15/14		373,722
							946,204
		Medical — Wholesale Drug Distribution (0.6%)
	370	McKesson Corp.	4.75		03/01/21		375,978
		Medical Labs & Testing Services (0.5%)
	320	Quest Diagnostic, Inc.	3.20		04/01/16		318,435
		Metals & Mining (0.4%)
	190	ArcelorMittal (Luxembourg)	9.00		02/15/15		227,604
		Money Center Banks (1.8%)
	290	ABN Amro Bank N.V. (144A) (Netherlands) (a)	3.00		01/31/14		289,680
	355	Deutsche Bank AG (Germany)	2.375		01/11/13		360,907
	500	Lloyds TSB Bank PLC (144A) (United Kingdom) (a)	2.80		04/02/12		510,990
							1,161,577
		Mortgage Banks (1.7%)
	575	Abbey National Treasury Services PLC (144A) (United Kingdom) (a)	3.875		11/10/14		574,773
	500	Cie de Financement Foncier (144A) (France) (a)	2.25		03/07/14		500,333
							1,075,106
		Multi-line Insurance (1.0%)
	260	American International Group, Inc.	3.65		01/15/14		264,804
	350	Monumental Global Funding III (144A) (a)	5.25		01/15/14		369,773
							634,577
		Multimedia (0.9%)
	290	NBC Universal Media LLC (144A) (a)	2.10		04/01/14		288,860
	245	News America, Inc.	5.30		12/15/14		270,554
							559,414
		Oil Companies — Exploration & Production (0.9%)
	350	EOG Co. of Canada (144A) (Canada) (a)	7.00		12/01/11		363,821
	215	Nexen, Inc. (Canada)	5.05		11/20/13		236,270
							600,091
		Oil Company — Integrated (0.9%)
	205	BP Capital Markets PLC (United Kingdom)	3.875		03/10/15		213,059
	380	Marathon Petroleum Corp. (144A) (a)	3.50		03/01/16		381,424
							594,483
		Pipelines (1.4%)
	225	Enterprise Products Operating LLC (Series O)	9.75		01/31/14		269,778
	320	Plains All American Pipeline LP/PAA Finance Corp.	4.25		09/01/12		332,285
	305	Spectra Energy Capital LLC	5.90		09/15/13		332,546
							934,609
		REIT — Health Care (0.3%)
	200	HCP, Inc.	2.70		02/01/14		200,735
		Retail — Consumer Electronics (0.5%)
	305	Best Buy Co., Inc.	3.75		03/15/16		301,400
		Retail — Drug Store (0.3%)
	180	CVS Caremark Corp.	5.75		08/15/11		183,380

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Limited Duration Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited) continued

PRINCIPAL
AMOUNT IN			COUPON			MATURITY
THOUSANDS			RATE			DATE	VALUE
		Retail — Restaurants (0.3%)
$	185	Yum! Brands, Inc.	8.875		%	04/15/11	$	185,416
		Special Purpose Entity (0.4%)
	250	Harley-Davidson Funding Corp. (144A) (a)	5.25			12/15/12		260,987
		Specialty Retail (0.4%)
	220	Home Depot, Inc.	5.40			03/01/16		243,542
		Super-Regional Banks — U.S. (1.4%)
	405	Bank One Corp.	5.25			01/30/13		429,610
	300	Capital One Financial Corp.	7.375			05/23/14		344,583
	140	Fifth Third Bancorp	3.625			01/25/16		140,029
								914,222
		Telephone — Integrated (0.6%)
	375	Telecom Italia Capital SA (Luxembourg)	5.25			11/15/13		396,220
		Tobacco (0.4%)
	250	Altria Group, Inc.	4.125			09/11/15		260,166
		Total Corporate Bonds (Cost $35,445,518)						35,702,843
		Foreign Government Obligation (2.4%)
	1,508	Denmark Government International Bond (Series E) (Denmark) (Cost $1,548,014)	2.75			11/15/11		1,529,539
		U.S. Government Agencies & Obligations (12.7%)
		Commercial Banks — FDIC Guaranteed (3.7%)
	400	KeyBank NA	3.20			06/15/12		413,218
	2,000	PNC Funding Corp.	2.30			06/22/12		2,043,948
								2,457,166
		U.S. Government Agency (1.1%)
	700	FDIC Structured Sale Guaranteed Notes Ser. A-1 (144A) — FDIC Guaranteed (a)	0.00			10/25/11		697,969
		U.S. Government Obligations (7.9%)
	2,250	U.S. Treasury Bond	7.50			11/15/24		3,105,351
	2,050	U.S. Treasury Note	1.75			07/31/15		2,034,945
								5,140,296
		Total U.S. Government Agencies & Obligations (Cost $8,271,168)						8,295,431
		U.S. Government Agencies — Mortgage-Backed Securities (1.8%)
		Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (ARM) (0.3%)
	108		5.484			01/01/38		115,015
	96		6.064			02/01/37		102,006
								217,021
		Federal National Mortgage Association (0.9%)
	382		6.50			01/01/32–11/01/33		432,572
	134		7.00			08/01/29–06/01/32		155,666
								588,238
		Federal National Mortgage Association (ARM) (0.6%)
	305		2.535			05/01/35		306,805
	59		5.689			03/01/38		62,428
								369,233
		Total U.S. Government Agencies — Mortgage-Backed Securities (Cost $1,138,986)						1,174,492
		Asset-Backed Securities (24.0%)
	100	Ally Master Owner Trust 2010-1 A (144A) (a)	2.005	(d)		01/15/15		101,846
	225	Ally Master Owner Trust 2010-3 A (144A) (a)	2.88			04/15/15		230,317
	200	Ally Master Owner Trust 2011-1 A2	2.15			01/15/16		200,165
	800	American Express Credit Account Master Trust 2009-2 A	1.505	(d)		03/15/17		828,906
	144	ARI Fleet Lease Trust 2010-A A (144A) (a)	1.705	(d)		08/15/18		145,197

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Limited Duration Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited) continued

PRINCIPAL
AMOUNT IN			COUPON			MATURITY
THOUSANDS			RATE			DATE	VALUE
$	807	Capital One Multi-Asset Execution Trust 2005-A10 A	0.335	(d)	%	09/15/15	$	803,458
	225	CarMax Auto Owner Trust	1.29			09/15/15		224,412
	174	Chesapeake Funding LLC 2009-1 A (144A) (a)	2.255	(d)		12/15/20		175,037
	467	CIT Equipment Collateral 2010-VT1A A2 (144A) (a)	1.51			05/15/12		467,933
	600	Citibank Credit Card Issuance Trust 2009-A5 A5 (b)	2.25			12/23/14		612,953
	589	CNH Equipment Trust 2010-A A3	1.54			07/15/14		592,654
	600	CNH Equipment Trust 2010-C A3	1.17			05/15/15		599,381
	850	Discover Card Master Trust 2009-A1 A1	1.555	(d)		12/15/14		861,669
	775	Ford Credit Floorplan Master Owner Trust 2009-2 A	1.805	(d)		09/15/14		785,723
	375	Ford Credit Floorplan Master Owner Trust 2010-3 A1 (144A) (a)	4.20			02/15/17		397,003
	1,150	GE Capital Credit Card Master Note Trust 2009-1 A	2.355	(d)		04/15/15		1,170,355
	425	GE Equipment Midticket LLC 2010-1 A3 (144A) (a)	0.94			07/14/14		424,630
	440	Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Trust 2009-4 A3	1.87			02/15/14		442,780
	625	Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Trust 2010-1 A3	1.16			02/15/15		624,459
	367	Huntington Auto Trust 2009-1A A3 (144A) (a)	3.94			06/17/13		371,259
	575	Hyundai Auto Receivables Trust 2010-A A3	1.50			10/15/14		580,225
	525	Macquarie Equipment Funding Trust 2011-A A2 (144A) (a)	1.21			09/20/13		525,815
	425	MMAF Equipment Finance LLC 2009-AA A3 (144A) (a)	2.37			11/15/13		428,951
	225	MMCA Automobile Trust 2011-A A3 (144A) (a)	1.22			01/15/15		224,289
	525	MMCA Automobile Trust 2010-A A3 (144A) (a)	1.39			01/15/14		527,157
	669	Navistar Financial Corp. Owner Trust 2010-A A2 (144A) (a)	1.47			10/18/12		671,108
	575	Nissan Auto Lease Trust 2010-B A3	1.12			12/15/13		575,569
	200	Nissan Master Owner Trust Receivables 2010-AA A (144A) (a)	1.405	(d)		01/15/15		202,263
	350	North Carolina State Education Authority 2011-1 A1	0.823	(d)		01/25/21		349,534
	400	Toyota Auto Receivables Owner Trust 2010-A A3	1.27			12/16/13		402,539
	643	Volvo Financial Equipment LLC 2010-1A A2 (144A) (a)	1.06			06/15/12		643,546
	194	Wheels SPV LLC 2009-1 A (144A) (a)	1.805	(d)		03/15/18		195,164
	300	World Omni Auto Receivables Trust 2011-A A3	1.11			05/15/15		299,775
		Total Asset-Backed Securities (Cost $15,566,073)						15,686,072
		Collateralized Mortgage Obligation (0.6%)
		U.S. Government Agency
	346	Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation 2182 ZC (Cost $369,967)	7.50			09/15/29		389,282
		Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities (1.0%)
		Private Issues
	220	Bear Stearns Commercial Mortgage Securities 2004-T14 A4	5.20	(d)		01/12/41		234,757
	230	LB-UBS Commercial Mortgage Trust 2004-C2 A4	4.367			03/15/36		240,088
	190	Wachovia Bank Commercial Mortgage Trust 2004-C12 A4	5.308	(d)		07/15/41		204,115
		Total Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities (Cost $653,835)						678,960

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Limited Duration Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited) continued

PRINCIPAL
AMOUNT IN			COUPON			MATURITY
THOUSANDS			RATE			DATE	VALUE
		Municipal Bond (0.5%)
		Development
$	300	New Jersey Economic Development Authority (Cost $300,000)	1.31	(d)	%	06/15/13	$	300,045
		Short-Term Investments (2.3%)
		U.S. Government Obligation (e)(f) (1.2%)
	800	U.S. Treasury Bill (Cost $799,904)	0.162			04/28/11		799,904

NUMBER OF
SHARES (000)
		Investment Company (g) (1.1%)
	709	Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Funds — Money Market Portfolio — Institutional Class (Cost $709,326)				709,326
		Total Short-Term Investments (Cost $1,509,230)				1,509,230
		Total Investments (Cost $64,802,791) (h)(i)	100.0	%		65,265,894
		Liabilities in Excess of Other Assets	0.0			(4,148	)
		Net Assets	100.0	%	$	65,261,746

ARM	Adjustable Rate Mortgage. Interest rate in effect as of March 31, 2011.
FDIC	Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
MTN	Medium Term Note.
REIT	Real Estate Investment Trust.
(a)	Resale is restricted to qualified institutional investors.
(b)	For the three months ended March 31, 2011, the cost of purchases and the proceeds from sales of Citigroup, Inc., Corporate Bonds and Asset-Backed Securities, and its affiliated broker/dealers which are affiliates of the Investment Adviser, Administrator and Distributor, were $491,725 and $634,827, respectively, including net realized gain of $9,796.
(c)	For the three months ended March 31, 2011, there were no transactions in MetLife, Inc., Corporate Bond, an affiliate of the Fund.
(d)	Floating rate security. Rate shown is the rate in effect at March 31, 2011.
(e)	Purchased on a discount basis. The interest rates shown have been adjusted to reflect a money market equivalent yield.
(f)	A portion of this security has been physically segregated in connection with open futures and swap contracts.
(g)	The Portfolio invests in the Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Funds — Money Market Portfolio — Institutional Class (the “Liquidity Fund”), an open-end management investment company managed by the Investment Adviser. Investment advisory fees paid by the Portfolio are reduced by an amount equal to the advisory and administrative service fees paid by the Liquidity Fund with respect to assets invested by the Portfolio in the Liquidity Fund.
(h)	Securities have been designated as collateral in connection with open futures and swap contracts.
(i)	The aggregate cost for federal income tax purposes approximates the aggregate cost for book purposes.

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Limited Duration Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited) continued

Futures Contracts Open at March 31, 2011:

		DESCRIPTION,	UNDERLYING			UNREALIZED
NUMBER OF	LONG/	DELIVERY MONTH	FACE AMOUNT			APPRECIATION
CONTRACTS	SHORT	AND YEAR	AT VALUE			(DEPRECIATION)
76	Long	U.S. Treasury Notes 5 Year, June 2011	$	8,875,969		$	2,294
35	Short	U.S. Treasury Notes 2 Year, June 2011		(7,634,375	)		(4,355	)
		Net Unrealized Depreciation				$	(2,061	)

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Limited Duration Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited) continued

Interest Rate Swap Contracts Open at March 31, 2011:

	NOTIONAL									UNREALIZED
	AMOUNT		FLOATING RATE	PAY/RECEIVE				TERMINATION		APPRECIATION
SWAP COUNTERPARTY	(000)		INDEX	FLOATING RATE	FIXED RATE			DATE		(DEPRECIATION)
Bank of America, N.A.	$	245	3 Month LIBOR	Receive		4.058	%		12/09/40	$	9,339
Bank of America, N.A.***		1,010	3 Month LIBOR	Pay		4.795			12/09/20		(3,898	)
Credit Suisse Group		6,515	3 Month LIBOR	Receive		0.80			10/28/13		79,613
Credit Suisse Group		2,730	3 Month LIBOR	Pay		2.098			10/28/17		(137,592	)
UBS AG		240	3 Month LIBOR	Receive		4.00			12/07/40		11,520
UBS AG ***		1,010	3 Month LIBOR	Pay		4.65			12/07/20		(9,645	)
			Net Unrealized Depreciation							$	(50,663	)

***	Forward interest rate swap. Periodic payments on specified notional amount with future effective date, unless terminated earlier.
LIBOR	London Interbank Offered Rate.

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Limited Duration Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited) continued

Zero Coupon Swap Contracts Open at March 31, 2011:

	NOTIONAL AMOUNT		FLOATING RATE	PAY/RECEIVE	TERMINATION		UNREALIZED APPRECIATION
SWAP COUNTERPARTY	(000)		INDEX	FLOATING RATE	DATE		(DEPRECIATION)
Barclays Bank PLC^	$	1,590	3 Month LIBOR	Receive		11/15/19	$	(184,320	)
Barclays Bank PLC^^		1,590	3 Month LIBOR	Pay		11/15/19		16,647
Deutsche Bank AG^		1,100	3 Month LIBOR	Receive		11/15/21		(97,203	)
Deutsche Bank AG^^		1,100	3 Month LIBOR	Pay		11/15/21		(2,039	)
JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. New York^		705	3 Month LIBOR	Receive		11/15/19		(76,061	)
JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. New York^		1,190	3 Month LIBOR	Receive		11/15/20		(136,882	)
JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. New York^		2,260	3 Month LIBOR	Receive		11/15/22		(67,601	)
			Net Unrealized Depreciation				$	(547,459	)

LIBOR	London Interbank Offered Rate.
^	Portfolio will make payments of $616,586, $474,412, $267,984, $503,070, and $895,625, respectively on termination date.
^^	Portfolio will receive payments of $436,614 and $367,331, respectively, on termination date.

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Income Plus Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited)

PRINCIPAL
AMOUNT IN			COUPON		MATURITY
THOUSANDS			RATE		DATE	VALUE
		Corporate Bonds (89.5%)
		Advertising Agencies (0.1%)
$	320	Omnicom Group, Inc.	4.45	%	08/15/20	$	315,768
		Aerospace & Defense (0.7%)
	255	Bombardier, Inc. (144A) (Canada) (a)	7.50		03/15/18		276,675
	505	Bombardier, Inc. (144A) (Canada) (a)	7.75		03/15/20		551,081
	615	Meccanica Holdings USA (144A) (a)	7.375		07/15/39		639,800
							1,467,556
		Agricultural Chemicals (0.5%)
	615	CF Industries, Inc.	6.875		05/01/18		691,875
	535	Incitec Pivot Ltd. (144A) (Australia) (a)	4.00		12/07/15		535,972
							1,227,847
		Agricultural Operations (0.3%)
	580	Bunge Ltd. Finance Corp.	8.50		06/15/19		689,780
		Airlines (0.4%)
	915	America West Airlines LLC (Series 011G) (AMBAC Insd)	7.10		04/02/21		910,730
		Apparel Manufacturers (0.1%)
	285	Levi Strauss & Co.	7.625		05/15/20		287,138
		Appliances (0.2%)
	450	Whirlpool Corp.	8.60		05/01/14		522,468
		Auto — Cars/Light Trucks (0.2%)
	395	Daimler Finance North America LLC	8.50		01/18/31		532,367
		Beverages — Wine/Spirits (0.1%)
	165	Constellation Brands, Inc.	7.25		09/01/16		179,231
		Building — Heavy Construction (0.3%)
	750	Odebrecht Finance Ltd. (144A) (Cayman Islands) (a)	6.00		04/05/23		746,250
		Building Product — Cement/Aggregation (1.2%)
	820	CRH America, Inc.	6.00		09/30/16		884,935
	480	CRH America, Inc.	8.125		07/15/18		565,730
	545	Holcim US Finance Sarl & Cie SCS (144A) (Luxembourg) (a)	6.00		12/30/19		572,166
	670	Lafarge SA (144A) (France) (a)	5.50		07/09/15		692,361
							2,715,192
		Building Product — Wood (0.3%)
	710	Masco Corp.	6.125		10/03/16		729,068
		Building Societies (1.2%)
	2,655	Nationwide Building Society (144A) (United Kingdom) (a)	6.25		02/25/20		2,766,988
		Cable/Satellite TV (1.4%)
	310	Cablevision Systems Corp.	7.75		04/15/18		336,350
	110	COX Communications, Inc. (144A) (a)	8.375		03/01/39		140,063
	745	DirecTV Holdings LLC/DirecTV Financing Co., Inc.	4.60		02/15/21		727,702
	735	DirecTV Holdings LLC/DirecTV Financing Co., Inc.	5.875		10/01/19		796,000
	620	DirecTV Holdings LLC/DirecTV Financing Co., Inc.	7.625		05/15/16		684,278
	510	DISH DBS Corp.	7.125		02/01/16		546,975
							3,231,368
		Capital Markets (3.5%)
	5,035	Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The)	6.15		04/01/18		5,466,625
	1,565	Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The)	6.75		10/01/37		1,583,378
	190	Macquarie Bank Ltd. (144A) (Australia) (a)	6.625		04/07/21		189,629

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Income Plus Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited) continued

PRINCIPAL
AMOUNT IN			COUPON			MATURITY
THOUSANDS			RATE			DATE	VALUE
$	705	Macquarie Group Ltd. (144A) (Australia) (a)	6.00		%	01/14/20	$	710,708
								7,950,340
		Casino Gaming (0.3%)
	590	Wynn Las Vegas LLC/Wynn Las Vegas Capital Corp.	7.75			08/15/20		628,350
		Chemicals (0.6%)
	1,275	Mosaic Co. (The) (144A) (a)	7.625			12/01/16		1,377,224
		Chemicals — Diversified (0.4%)
	290	Dow Chemical Co. (The)	4.25			11/15/20		278,036
	544	Lyondell Chemical Co. (144A) (a)	8.00			11/01/17		601,120
								879,156
		Chemicals — Specialty (0.5%)
	545	Lubrizol Corp.	8.875			02/01/19		701,500
	445	Nalco Co. (144A) (a)	6.625			01/15/19		460,019
								1,161,519
		Commercial Banks (7.2%)
	1,150	Banco de Cridito del Peru (144A) (Peru) (a)	4.75			03/16/16		1,138,500
	990	Banco Votorantim SA (144A) (Brazil) (a)	5.25			02/11/16		1,022,175
	780	Barclays Bank PLC (144A) (United Kingdom) (a)	6.05			12/04/17		813,772
	700	Barclays Bank PLC (United Kingdom)	6.75			05/22/19		791,844
	1,135	BBVA Bancomer SA (144A) (Mexico) (a)	4.50			03/10/16		1,143,079
	260	Cooperatieve Centrale Raiffeisen-Boerenleenbank BA (144A) (Netherlands) (a)	11.00	(b)		06/30/19(c)		339,655
	280	Credit Suisse (Switzerland)	6.00			02/15/18		297,807
	290	Credit Suisse AG (Switzerland)	5.40			01/14/20		293,401
	425	Discover Bank	7.00			04/15/20		468,378
	715	Discover Bank	8.70			11/18/19		857,963
	725	First Horizon National Corp.	5.375			12/15/15		758,245
	1,675	HBOS PLC (144A) (United Kingdom) (a)	6.75			05/21/18		1,641,636
	595	Huntington BancShares, Inc.	7.00			12/15/20		658,058
	275	Intesa Sanpaolo SpA (144A) (Italy) (a)	6.50			02/24/21		289,118
	1,240	Regions Financial Corp.	5.75			06/15/15		1,264,418
	925	Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (United Kingdom)	6.40			10/21/19		953,843
	1,175	Royal Bank of Scotland PLC (The) (United Kingdom)	4.875			03/16/15		1,222,357
	1,300	Santander US Debt SA Unipersonal (144A) (Spain) (a)	3.724			01/20/15		1,258,261
	885	Standard Chartered Bank (144A) (United Kingdom) (a)	6.40			09/26/17		960,367
								16,172,877
		Consumer Products — Miscellaneous (0.2%)
	460	Fortune Brands, Inc.	6.375			06/15/14		504,841
		Containers — Metal & Glass (0.5%)
	540	Ball Corp.	7.375			09/01/19		587,250
	585	Crown Americas LLC/Crown Americas Capital Corp. III (144A) (a)	6.25			02/01/21		598,162
								1,185,412
		Distribution/Wholesale (0.1%)
	225	Ingram Micro, Inc.	5.25			09/01/17		229,055
		Diversified Financial Services (9.0%)
	700	Ally Financial, Inc. (144A) (a)	6.25			12/01/17		714,000
	340	Bank of America Corp.	5.625			07/01/20		349,697
	1,865	Bank of America Corp.	5.75			12/01/17		1,967,700
	730	BNP Paribas (France)	5.00			01/15/21		738,240
	1,735	Citigroup, Inc. (d)	5.875			05/29/37		1,698,558
	480	Citigroup, Inc. (d)	6.125			05/15/18		524,301

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Income Plus Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited) continued

PRINCIPAL
AMOUNT IN			COUPON			MATURITY
THOUSANDS			RATE			DATE	VALUE
$	785	Citigroup, Inc. (d)	8.125		%	07/15/39	$	987,123
	2,690	Citigroup, Inc. (d)	8.50			05/22/19		3,324,208
	1,305	Credit Agricole SA (144A) (France) (a)	8.375	(b)		10/13/19(c)		1,402,875
	545	General Electric Capital Corp.	5.30			02/11/21		554,596
	735	General Electric Capital Corp.	5.625			05/01/18		795,787
	75	General Electric Capital Corp. (MTN)	5.875			01/14/38		74,293
	6,350	General Electric Capital Corp. (Series G)	6.00			08/07/19		6,944,182
								20,075,560
		Diversified Minerals (0.6%)
	305	Rio Tinto Finance USA Ltd. (Australia)	9.00			05/01/19		401,417
	475	Teck Resources Ltd. (Canada)	10.25			05/15/16		571,772
	195	Vale Overseas Ltd. (Cayman Islands)	6.875			11/21/36		208,135
	210	Vale Overseas Ltd. (Cayman Islands)	6.875			11/10/39		225,518
								1,406,842
		Diversified Telecommunication Services (1.8%)
	1,700	AT&T, Inc. (144A) (a)	5.35			09/01/40		1,528,082
	980	AT&T, Inc.	6.15			09/15/34		979,592
	325	CenturyLink, Inc. (Series Q)	6.15			09/15/19		341,815
	150	Verizon Communications, Inc.	6.40			02/15/38		157,674
	715	Verizon Communications, Inc.	8.95			03/01/39		977,615
								3,984,778
		E-Commerce/Services (0.3%)
	560	Expedia, Inc.	5.95			08/15/20		567,700
		Electric — Generation (0.8%)
	1,610	AES Corp. (The)	8.00			06/01/20		1,746,850
		Electric — Integrated (3.8%)
	775	CMS Energy Corp.	6.25			02/01/20		813,274
	22	CMS Energy Corp.	6.30			02/01/12		22,825
	750	EDP Finance BV (144A) (Netherlands) (a)	4.90			10/01/19		655,745
	1,175	Enel Finance International N.V. (144A) (Luxembourg) (a)	5.125			10/07/19		1,186,773
	800	Entergy Gulf States Louisiana LLC	5.59			10/01/24		831,628
	2,100	Exelon Generation Co. LLC	4.00			10/01/20		1,923,613
	875	Iberdrola Finance Ireland Ltd. (144A) (Ireland) (a)	5.00			09/11/19		852,719
	1,150	Puget Energy, Inc. (144A) (a)	6.50			12/15/20		1,155,193
	1,200	UIL Holdings Corp.	4.625			10/01/20		1,143,208
								8,584,978
		Electric Utilities (0.9%)
	975	FirstEnergy Solutions Corp.	6.05			08/15/21		1,012,243
	975	FirstEnergy Solutions Corp.	6.80			08/15/39		969,671
								1,981,914
		Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components (0.3%)
	640	Corning, Inc.	7.25			08/15/36		732,936
		Electronics — Military (0.4%)
	915	L-3 Communications Corp.	4.95			02/15/21		922,121
		Energy Equipment & Services (0.8%)
	675	Weatherford International Ltd. (Bermuda)	5.125			09/15/20		671,487
	900	Weatherford International Ltd. (Bermuda)	9.625			03/01/19		1,147,893
								1,819,380
		Finance — Auto Loans (0.5%)
	605	Ford Motor Credit Co. LLC	5.75			02/01/21		598,544
	465	Ford Motor Credit Co. LLC	7.00			04/15/15		503,771
								1,102,315
		Finance — Consumer Loans (0.8%)
	510	SLM Corp. (Series A)	5.00			10/01/13		528,202
	700	SLM Corp. (MTN)	6.25			01/25/16		730,506

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Income Plus Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited) continued

PRINCIPAL
AMOUNT IN			COUPON		MATURITY
THOUSANDS			RATE		DATE	VALUE
$	495	SLM Corp. (MTN)	8.00	%	03/25/20	$	540,424
							1,799,132
		Finance — Credit Card (0.4%)
	780	Capital One Bank USA NA	8.80		07/15/19		982,256
		Finance — Investment Banker/Broker (4.7%)
	610	Bear Stearns Cos. LLC (The)	5.55		01/22/17		648,765
	200	Jefferies Group, Inc.	3.875		11/09/15		199,777
	710	Jefferies Group, Inc.	6.875		04/15/21		755,486
	2,610	JPMorgan Chase Capital XXVII (Series AA)	7.00		11/01/39		2,697,709
	3,625	Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. (MTN)	6.875		04/25/18		4,031,946
	930	Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.	7.75		05/14/38		1,071,087
	1,120	TD Ameritrade Holding Corp.	5.60		12/01/19		1,187,241
							10,592,011
		Finance — Other Services (0.5%)
	165	NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (The)	5.25		01/16/18		165,182
	875	NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (The)	5.55		01/15/20		858,325
							1,023,507
		Food — Baking (0.2%)
	490	Grupo Bimbo SAB de CV (144A) (Mexico) (a)	4.875		06/30/20		493,535
		Food — Canned (0.3%)
	520	TreeHouse Foods, Inc.	7.75		03/01/18		561,600
		Food — Miscellaneous/Diversified (0.8%)
	860	ConAgra Foods, Inc.	7.00		10/01/28		926,582
	740	ConAgra Foods, Inc.	8.25		09/15/30		884,976
							1,811,558
		Food — Retail (0.5%)
	1,185	Delhaize Group SA (Belgium)	5.70		10/01/40		1,086,560
		Food Products (0.7%)
	700	Kraft Foods, Inc.	6.875		02/01/38		778,578
	610	Kraft Foods, Inc.	6.875		01/26/39		680,359
							1,458,937
		Health Care Equipment & Supplies (0.3%)
	620	Boston Scientific Corp.	6.00		01/15/20		650,755
		Hotels & Motels (1.0%)
	565	Choice Hotels International, Inc.	5.70		08/28/20		559,911
	405	Hyatt Hotels Corp. (144A) (a)	6.875		08/15/19		434,178
	800	Wyndham Worldwide Corp.	5.625		03/01/21		793,966
	365	Wyndham Worldwide Corp.	5.75		02/01/18		378,727
							2,166,782
		Independent Power Producer (0.1%)
	295	NRG Energy, Inc.	8.50		06/15/19		311,963
		Insurance (1.5%)
	965	MetLife, Inc. (e)	10.75		08/01/39		1,335,164
	1,025	Principal Financial Group, Inc.	8.875		05/15/19		1,304,797
	635	Prudential Financial, Inc. (MTN)	6.625		12/01/37		692,328
							3,332,289
		Insurance Brokers (0.4%)
	900	Willis Group Holdings PLC (Ireland)	4.125		03/15/16		896,359
		Investment Management/Advisor Services (0.4%)
	855	Blackstone Holdings Finance Co. LLC (144A) (a)	6.625		08/15/19		899,688
		Life/Health Insurance (2.1%)
	660	Aflac, Inc.	8.50		05/15/19		799,068
	745	Lincoln National Corp.	8.75		07/01/19		944,819
	525	Nationwide Financial Services (144A) (a)	5.375		03/25/21		521,003
	1,325	Pacific LifeCorp (144A) (a)	6.00		02/10/20		1,413,355

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Income Plus Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited) continued

PRINCIPAL
AMOUNT IN			COUPON		MATURITY
THOUSANDS			RATE		DATE	VALUE
$	925	Protective Life Corp.	7.375	%	10/15/19	$	1,030,870
							4,709,115
		Machinery — Construction & Mining (0.1%)
	260	Boart Longyear Management Pty Ltd. (144A) (Australia) (a)	7.00		04/01/21		267,800
		Machinery — General Industry (0.3%)
	620	Roper Industries, Inc.	6.25		09/01/19		684,933
		Media (2.4%)
	800	Comcast Corp.	5.15		03/01/20		834,255
	820	Comcast Corp.	6.40		05/15/38		837,740
	100	Comcast Corp.	6.45		03/15/37		102,768
	1,200	Time Warner Cable, Inc.	6.75		07/01/18		1,365,209
	375	Time Warner Cable, Inc.	6.75		06/15/39		393,353
	155	Time Warner Cable, Inc.	8.25		04/01/19		189,112
	610	Time Warner, Inc.	6.50		11/15/36		629,064
	545	Time Warner, Inc.	7.70		05/01/32		637,330
	455	Viacom, Inc.	6.875		04/30/36		499,776
							5,488,607
		Medical — Biomedical/Genetics (0.3%)
	680	Gilead Sciences, Inc.	4.50		04/01/21		673,256
		Medical — Drugs (0.1%)
	150	Wyeth	6.45		02/01/24		175,291
		Medical Labs & Testing Services (0.5%)
	105	Quest Diagnostics, Inc.	3.20		04/01/16		104,487
	520	Quest Diagnostics, Inc.	4.70		04/01/21		515,694
	365	Quest Diagnostics, Inc.	6.95		07/01/37		401,981
							1,022,162
		Metal — Copper (0.4%)
	845	Southern Copper Corp.	5.375		04/16/20		863,168
		Metal — Iron (0.4%)
	835	Cliffs Natural Resources, Inc.	4.875		04/01/21		825,230
		Metals & Mining (0.7%)
	820	ArcelorMittal (Luxembourg)	9.85		06/01/19		1,041,917
	390	Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, Inc.	8.375		04/01/17		430,485
							1,472,402
		Money Center Banks (0.7%)
	685	ABN Amro Bank NV (144A) (Netherlands) (a)	3.00		01/31/14		684,244
	505	Lloyds TSB Bank PLC (144A) (United Kingdom) (a)	5.80		01/13/20		506,359
	260	Lloyds TSB Bank PLC (United Kingdom)	6.375		01/21/21		271,438
							1,462,041
		Multi-line Insurance (5.4%)
	1,125	Aegon N.V. (Netherlands)	4.625		12/01/15		1,169,252
	1,285	American Financial Group, Inc.	9.875		06/15/19		1,573,170
	2,320	American International Group, Inc.	6.40		12/15/20		2,480,621
	1,335	CNA Financial Corp.	7.35		11/15/19		1,510,179
	1,750	Farmers Insurance Exchange (144A) (a)	8.625		05/01/24		1,990,175
	1,195	Genworth Financial, Inc.	7.70		06/15/20		1,226,566
	1,250	Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.	5.50		03/30/20		1,273,502
	850	XL Group PLC (Ireland)	5.25		09/15/14		896,160
							12,119,625
		Multiline Retail (0.3%)
	210	JC Penney Co., Inc.	5.65		06/01/20		203,437
	455	JC Penney Corp., Inc.	6.375		10/15/36		412,344
							615,781

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Income Plus Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited) continued

PRINCIPAL
AMOUNT IN			COUPON		MATURITY
THOUSANDS			RATE		DATE	VALUE
		Multimedia (1.6%)
$	1,045	NBC Universal Media LLC (144A) (a)	4.375	%	04/01/21	$	1,002,464
	680	NBC Universal Media LLC (144A) (a)	5.15		04/30/20		702,108
	170	News America, Inc.	6.40		12/15/35		175,452
	930	News America, Inc.	6.65		11/15/37		978,489
	370	News America, Inc.	7.85		03/01/39		438,476
	335	Vivendi SA (144A) (France) (a)	6.625		04/04/18		375,642
							3,672,631
		Oil Companies — Exploration & Production (2.2%)
	600	Anadarko Petroleum Corp.	6.95		06/15/19		674,598
	175	Anadarko Petroleum Corp.	8.70		03/15/19		214,672
	665	Chesapeake Energy Corp.	7.625		07/15/13		748,125
	150	Concho Resources, Inc.	7.00		01/15/21		158,250
	745	Continental Resources, Inc.	7.125		04/01/21		795,287
	715	EQT Corp.	8.125		06/01/19		853,603
	400	Gazprom Via Gaz Capital SA (144A) (Luxembourg) (a)	6.51		03/07/22		427,000
	480	Plains Exploration & Production Co.	7.625		06/01/18		516,000
	535	QEP Resources, Inc.	6.875		03/01/21		564,425
							4,951,960
		Oil Company — Integrated (1.1%)
	325	Marathon Petroleum Corp. (144A) (a)	5.125		03/01/21		328,227
	775	Marathon Petroleum Corp. (144A) (a)	6.50		03/01/41		785,621
	950	Petro-Canada (Canada)	5.95		05/15/35		961,755
	410	Petrobras International Finance Co. (Cayman Islands)	5.75		01/20/20		425,020
							2,500,623
		Oil Refining & Marketing (0.3%)
	700	Valero Energy Corp.	6.125		02/01/20		758,399
		Paper & Related Products (1.1%)
	440	Georgia-Pacific LLC	7.75		11/15/29		485,650
	435	Georgia-Pacific LLC	8.875		05/15/31		527,437
	1,325	MeadWestvaco Corp.	7.375		09/01/19		1,428,460
							2,441,547
		Pipelines (4.7%)
	1,350	DCP Midstream Operating LP	3.25		10/01/15		1,324,259
	1,750	Energy Transfer Partners LP	9.00		04/15/19		2,214,137
	275	Enterprise Products Operating LLC	5.25		01/31/20		285,899
	850	Enterprise Products Operating LLC	5.95		02/01/41		829,596
	1,480	Kinder Morgan Finance Co. ULC (Canada)	5.70		01/05/16		1,559,550
	775	Midcontinent Express Pipeline LLC (144A) (a)	6.70		09/15/19		858,912
	1,095	Plains All American Pipeline LP/PAA Finance Corp.	6.70		05/15/36		1,188,454
	675	Plains All American Pipeline LP/PAA Finance Corp.	8.75		05/01/19		845,738
	225	Spectra Energy Capital LLC	8.00		10/01/19		274,011
	960	Texas Eastern Transmission LP	7.00		07/15/32		1,125,118
							10,505,674
		Professional Services (0.5%)
	1,080	Verisk Analytics, Inc.	5.80		05/01/21		1,087,008
		Property Trust (0.4%)
	800	Dexus Diversfied Trust/Dexus Office Trust (144A) (Australia) (a)	5.60		03/15/21		791,035
		Real Estate Management & Development (0.4%)
	815	Brookfield Asset Management, Inc. (Canada)	5.80		04/25/17		846,264
		Reinsurance (0.5%)
	370	Platinum Underwriters Finance, Inc. (Series B)	7.50		06/01/17		396,316

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Income Plus Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited) continued

PRINCIPAL
AMOUNT IN			COUPON		MATURITY
THOUSANDS			RATE		DATE	VALUE
$	775	Reinsurance Group of America, Inc.	6.45	%	11/15/19	$	836,479
							1,232,795
		REIT — Diversified (0.9%)
	1,125	Digital Realty Trust LP	5.25		03/15/21		1,108,979
	950	Goodman Funding Pty Ltd. (144A) (Australia) (a)	6.375		04/15/21		949,697
							2,058,676
		REIT — Health Care (0.9%)
	450	HCP, Inc.	5.375		02/01/21		455,308
	860	Health Care, Inc.	6.125		04/15/20		911,182
	575	Healthcare Realty Trust, Inc.	5.75		01/15/21		590,795
							1,957,285
		REIT — Office Property (0.9%)
	1,025	Brandywine Operating Partnership	4.95		04/15/18		1,014,762
	900	Wells Operating Partnership II LP (144A) (a)	5.875		04/01/18		894,860
							1,909,622
		Retail — Automobile (0.3%)
	630	AutoNation, Inc.	6.75		04/15/18		662,288
		Retail — Consumer Electronics (0.5%)
	1,045	Best Buy Co., Inc.	3.75		03/15/16		1,032,666
		Retail — Drug Store (0.8%)
	1,497	CVS Pass-Through Trust	6.036		12/10/28		1,545,797
	117	CVS Pass-Through Trust (144A) (a)	8.353		07/10/31		139,649
							1,685,446
		Retail — Mail Order (0.3%)
	620	QVC, Inc. (144A) (a)	7.125		04/15/17		654,100
		Retail — Restaurants (0.5%)
	1,040	Yum! Brands, Inc.	6.875		11/15/37		1,162,365
		Semiconductor Equipment (0.4%)
	905	KLA-Tencor Corp.	6.90		05/01/18		999,511
		Special Purpose Entity (0.6%)
	800	Capital One Capital VI	8.875		05/15/40		849,000
	550	Harley-Davidson Funding Corp. (144A) (a)	6.80		06/15/18		604,659
							1,453,659
		Steel — Specialty (0.1%)
	285	Allegheny Technologies, Inc.	5.95		01/15/21		300,631
		Telecommunication Services (1.0%)
	715	Qwest Corp.	6.50		06/01/17		792,756
	260	Qwest Corp.	6.875		09/15/33		261,625
	280	Qwest Corp.	8.375		05/01/16		334,600
	545	Sable International Finance Ltd. (144A) (Cayman Islands) (a)	7.75		02/15/17		574,975
	305	SBA Telecommunications, Inc.	8.25		08/15/19		338,550
							2,302,506
		Telephone — Integrated (2.4%)
	315	Deutsche Telekom International Finance BV (Netherlands)	6.75		08/20/18		372,284
	300	Deutsche Telekom International Finance BV (Netherlands)	8.75		06/15/30		394,362
	775	Frontier Communications Corp.	8.50		04/15/20		843,781
	655	Telecom Italia Capital SA (Luxembourg)	6.999		06/04/18		713,273
	1,280	Telecom Italia Capital SA (Luxembourg)	7.175		06/18/19		1,401,397
	1,330	Telefonica Europe BV (Netherlands)	8.25		09/15/30		1,611,038
							5,336,135
		Tobacco (0.8%)
	505	Altria Group, Inc.	10.20		02/06/39		718,571

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Income Plus Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited) continued

PRINCIPAL
AMOUNT IN			COUPON		MATURITY
THOUSANDS			RATE		DATE	VALUE
$	835	Lorillard Tobacco Co.	8.125	%	06/23/19	$	973,726
							1,692,297
		Wireless Equipment (0.5%)
	1,070	American Tower Corp.	4.50		01/15/18		1,052,348
		Total Corporate Bonds (Cost $189,967,977)					200,829,713
		Convertible Bonds (4.8%)
		Advertising Agencies (0.2%)
	375	Omnicom Group, Inc. (f)	0.00		07/01/38		423,281
		Aerospace/Defense — Equipment (0.1%)
	286	Orbital Sciences Corp.	2.438		01/15/27		305,663
		Agricultural Operations (0.2%)
	416	Archer-Daniels-Midland Co.	0.875		02/15/14		464,880
		Applications Software (0.2%)
	434	Microsoft Corp. (144A) (a)(f)	0.00		06/15/13		455,157
		Brewery (0.2%)
	330	Molson Coors Brewing Co.	2.50		07/30/13		384,863
		Broadcast Service/Program (0.4%)
	381	Liberty Media LLC	3.125		03/30/23		454,342
	815	Liberty Media LLC	3.50		01/15/31		460,475
							914,817
		Building — Residential/Commercial (0.2%)
	344	DR Horton, Inc. (Series DHI)	2.00		05/15/14		393,880
		Casino Gaming (0.1%)
	208	International Game Technology	3.25		05/01/14		239,720
		Coal (0.2%)
	356	Alpha Natural Resources, Inc.	2.375		04/15/15		485,940
		Computers — Memory Devices (0.2%)
	350	SanDisk Corp.	1.00		05/15/13		345,188
		Containers — Metal & Glass (0.2%)
	374	Owens-Brockway Glass Container, Inc. (144A) (a)	3.00		06/01/15		381,013
		Electronic Parts Distribution (0.1%)
	300	Tech Data Corp.	2.75		12/15/26		324,750
		Gold Mining (0.1%)
	203	Goldcorp, Inc. (Canada)	2.00		08/01/14		259,840
		Internet Security (0.2%)
	350	Symantec Corp.	1.00		06/15/13		423,937
		Investment Company (0.2%)
	432	Ares Capital Corp. (144A) (a)	5.75		02/01/16		462,780
		Medical — Biomedical/Genetics (0.5%)
	300	Amgen, Inc.	0.375		02/01/13		299,625
	420	Gilead Sciences, Inc. (144A) (a)	1.00		05/01/14		473,550
	300	Life Technologies Corp.	1.50		02/15/24		349,500
							1,122,675
		Medical — Drugs (0.2%)
	300	Cephalon, Inc.	2.50		05/01/14		359,625
		Medical — Generic Drugs (0.1%)
	300	Mylan, Inc.	1.25		03/15/12		331,875
		Oil Company — Exploration & Production (0.2%)
	394	Chesapeake Energy Corp.	2.75		11/15/35		460,980
		REIT — Apartments (0.1%)
	300	ERP Operating LP	3.85		08/15/26		307,140
		REIT — Diversified (0.2%)
	300	Vornado Realty LP	3.875		04/15/25		336,375

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Income Plus Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited) continued

PRINCIPAL
AMOUNT IN			COUPON		MATURITY
THOUSANDS			RATE		DATE	VALUE
		REIT — Health Care (0.2%)
$	300	Health Care REIT, Inc.	4.75	%	07/15/27	$	338,250
		Retail — Consumer Electronics (0.2%)
	427	RadioShack Corp. (144A) (a)	2.50		08/01/13		436,607
		Semiconductor Components — Integrated Circuits (0.1%)
	300	Linear Technology Corp. (Series A)	3.00		05/01/27		323,625
		Wireless Equipment (0.2%)
	351	SBA Communications Corp.	1.875		05/01/13		401,895
		Total Convertible Bonds (Cost $10,313,433)					10,684,756
		Foreign Government Obligations (0.9%)
	565	Export-Import Bank of Korea (South Korea)	4.125		09/09/15		580,969
	1,345	Korea Development Bank (South Korea)	4.375		08/10/15		1,397,749
		Total Foreign Government Obligations (Cost $1,906,179)					1,978,718
		U.S. Government Agency — Mortgage-Backed Security (0.0%)
	1	Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (PC) Gold (Cost $1,472)	6.50		12/01/28		1,601
		Municipal Bond (0.3%)
		General Obligation
	600	State of California — Various Purpose (Cost $603,036)	5.95		04/01/16		640,782

NUMBER OF
SHARES
		Preferred Stock (0.3%)
		Finance
	22,725	GMAC Capital Trust I (Cost $574,065) (g)	579,487
		Convertible Preferred Stock (0.1%)
		Diversified Financial Services
	350	Bank of America Corp. (Series L) $72.50 (Cost $337,770)	353,847

PRINCIPAL
AMOUNT IN
THOUSANDS
		Short-Term Investments (2.5%)
		U.S. Government Obligations (0.3%)
$	585	U.S. Treasury Bills (Cost $584,938) (h)(i)	0.101-0.147	04/28/11	584,938

NUMBER OF
SHARES (000)
		Investment Company (2.2%)
	4,987	Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Funds — Money Market Portfolio — Institutional Class (Cost $4,987,234)				4,987,234
		Total Short-Term Investments (Cost $5,572,172)				5,572,172
		Total Investments (Cost $209,276,104) (j)(k)	98.4	%		220,641,076
		Other Assets in Excess of Liabilities	1.6			3,603,485
		Net Assets	100.0	%	$	224,244,561

MTN	Medium Term Note.
PC	Participation Certificate.
REIT	Real Estate Investment Trust.
(a)	Resale is restricted to qualified institutional investors.
(b)	Floating rate security. Rate shown is the rate in effect at March 31, 2011.
(c)	Security issued with perpetual maturity.

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Income Plus Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited) continued

(d)	For the three months ended March 31, 2011, the proceeds from sales of Citigroup, Inc. corporate bonds, and its affiliated broker/dealers which are affiliates of the Investment Adviser, Administrator and Distributor, was $637,195, including net realized gains of $94,542.
(e)	For the three months ended March 31, 2011, there were no transactions in Metlife, Inc., an affiliate of the Fund.
(f)	Capital appreciation bond.
(g)	Non-income producing security.
(h)	A portion of this security has been physically segregated in connection with open futures contracts.
(i)	Purchased on a discount basis. The interest rates shown have been adjusted to reflect a money market equivalent yield.
(j)	Securities have been designated as collateral in connection with open futures and swap contracts.
(k)	The aggregate cost for federal income tax purposes approximates the aggregate cost for book purposes.
Bond Insurance:
AMBAC	AMBAC Assurance Corporation.

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Income Plus Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited) continued

Futures Contracts Open at March 31, 2011:

		DESCRIPTION,	UNDERLYING			UNREALIZED
NUMBER OF	LONG/	DELIVERY MONTH	FACE AMOUNT			APPRECIATION
CONTRACTS	SHORT	AND YEAR	AT VALUE			(DEPRECIATION)
282	Long	U.S. Treasury Notes 5 Year, June 2011	$	32,934,515		$	11,304
58	Long	U.S. Treasury Notes 2 Year, June 2011		12,651,250			4,665
76	Long	U.S. Ultra Bond, June 2011		9,390,750			74,978
66	Short	U.S. Treasury Bonds 30 Year, June 2011		(7,932,375	)		(52,061	)
401	Short	U.S. Treasury Notes 10 Year, June 2011		(47,731,531	)		(94,250	)
		Net Unrealized Depreciation				$	(55,364	)

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Income Plus Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited) continued

Credit Default Swaps Contracts Open at March 31, 2011:

CREDIT

SWAP COUNTERPARTY

RATING OF

&

NOTIONAL

REFERENCE

REFERENCE

BUY/SELL

AMOUNT

INTEREST

TERMINATION

UNREALIZED

UPFRONT

OBLIGATION+

OBLIGATION

PROTECTION

(000’s)

RATE

DATE

DEPRECIATION

PAYMENTS

VALUE

(unaudited)

Barclays Capital Whirlpool Corp.

Buy

$

450

1.00

%

June 20, 2014

$

(25,648

)

$

24,264

$

(1,384

)

BBB-

+ Credit rating as issued by Standard & Poor’s.

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Income Plus Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited) continued

Interest Rate Swap Agreements Open at March 31, 2011:

	NOTIONAL									UNREALIZED
	AMOUNT		FLOATING RATE	PAY/RECEIVE				TERMINATION		APPRECIATION
SWAP COUNTERPARTY	(000)		INDEX	FLOATING RATE	FIXED RATE			DATE		(DEPRECIATION)
Bank of America, N.A	$	6,710	3 Month LIBOR	Pay		4.795	%		12/09/20	$	(25,901	)
Bank of America, N.A. ***		1,635	3 Month LIBOR	Receive		4.058			12/09/40		62,326
Credit Suisse Group		21,865	3 Month LIBOR	Receive		0.80			10/28/13		267,190
Credit Suisse Group		9,160	3 Month LIBOR	Pay		2.098			10/28/17		(461,664	)
Goldman Sachs International		1,600	3 Month LIBOR	Receive		4.015			12/07/40		72,672
Goldman Sachs International***		6,715	3 Month LIBOR	Pay		4.67			12/07/20		(58,823	)
			Net Unrealized Depreciation							$	(144,200	)

LIBOR	London Interbank Offered Rate.
***	Forward interest rate swap. Periodic payments on specified notional amount with future effective date, unless terminated earlier.

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Global Infrastructure Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited)

NUMBER OF
SHARES			VALUE
		Common Stocks (99.4%)
		Australia (4.3%)
		Airports
	89,845	Australian Infrastructure Fund (Stapled Securities) (a)(b)	$	177,963
	280,513	MAP Group (Stapled Securities) (a)		882,053
				1,060,016
		Diversified
	156,400	DUET Group (Stapled Securities) (a)(b)		270,969
		Oil & Gas Storage & Transportation
	105,100	APA Group (Stapled Securities) (a)		457,670
		Toll Roads
	229,100	Transurban Group (Stapled Securities) (a)(b)		1,272,528
		Transmission & Distribution
	301,706	Spark Infrastructure Group		349,518
		Total Australia		3,410,701
		Brazil (0.6%)
		Water
	7,800	Cia de Saneamento Basico do Estado de Sao Paulo (ADR)		458,172
		Canada (13.5%)
		Oil & Gas Storage & Transportation
	63,820	Enbridge, Inc.		3,911,485
	144,350	TransCanada Corp.		5,852,912
				9,764,397
		Ports
	10,150	Westshore Terminals Investment Corp. (Stapled Securities) (a)(b)		270,632
		Transmission & Distribution
	17,420	Fortis, Inc.		595,101
		Total Canada		10,630,130
		China (9.5%)
		Oil & Gas Storage & Transportation
	595,000	Beijing Enterprises Holdings Ltd. (c)		3,396,263
	340,000	China Gas Holdings Ltd. (c)		166,972
	573,000	ENN Energy Holdings Ltd. (c)		1,782,671
	226,000	Sichuan Expressway Co. Ltd. (c)		146,724
				5,492,630
		Ports
	258,327	China Merchants Holdings International Co., Ltd. (c)		1,090,954
		Toll Roads
	809,000	Jiangsu Expressway Co., Ltd. (H Shares) (c)		906,915
		Total China		7,490,499
		France (4.8%)
		Airports
	5,300	Aeroports de Paris (ADP)		488,223
		Communications
	15,011	Eutelsat Communications SA		599,593
	101,965	SES SA		2,626,363
				3,225,956
		Toll Roads
	7,939	Groupe Eurotunnel SA		84,462
		Total France		3,798,641
		Germany (0.8%)
		Airports
	9,025	Fraport AG Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide		661,380

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Global Infrastructure Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited) continued

NUMBER OF
SHARES			VALUE
		Hong Kong (2.6%)
		Oil & Gas Storage & Transportation
	848,000	Hong Kong & China Gas Co., Ltd.	$	2,034,271
		Italy (4.8%)
		Oil & Gas Storage & Transportation
	221,998	Snam Rete Gas SpA		1,247,759
		Toll Roads
	75,268	Atlantia SpA		1,724,843
		Transmission & Distribution
	163,200	Terna Rete Elettrica Nazionale SpA		781,284
		Total Italy		3,753,886
		Mexico (0.8%)
		Airports
	6,200	Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico SAB de CV (ADR)		263,438
	6,100	Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste SAB de CV (ADR)		358,497
		Total Mexico		621,935
		Netherlands (0.6%)
		Oil & Gas Storage & Transportation
	9,834	Koninklijke Vopak N.V.		473,150
		Spain (5.6%)
		Diversified
	41,512	Ferrovial SA		520,650
		Oil & Gas Storage & Transportation
	18,204	Enagas SA		410,713
		Toll Roads
	144,292	Abertis Infraestructuras SA		3,134,827
		Transmission & Distribution
	5,869	Red Electrica Corp. SA		333,532
		Total Spain		4,399,722
		Switzerland (0.5%)
		Airports
	936	Flughafen Zuerich AG		389,788
		United Kingdom (12.6%)
		Transmission & Distribution
	754,100	National Grid PLC		7,185,822
		Water
	65,400	Pennon Group PLC		655,721
	37,900	Severn Trent PLC		888,281
	122,600	United Utilities Group PLC		1,163,339
				2,707,341
		Total United Kingdom		9,893,163
		United States (38.4%)
		Communications
	90,790	American Tower Corp. (Class A) (d)		4,704,738
	73,620	Crown Castle International Corp. (d)		3,132,531
	31,030	SBA Communications Corp. (Class A) (d)		1,231,270
				9,068,539
		Diversified
	171,650	Centerpoint Energy, Inc.		3,014,174
		Oil & Gas Storage & Transportation
	7,332	Kinder Morgan Management LLC (d)		480,906
	56,810	NiSource, Inc.		1,089,616
	23,440	Oneok, Inc.		1,567,667
	32,480	Sempra Energy		1,737,680
	38,840	Southern Union Co.		1,111,601

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Global Infrastructure Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited) continued

NUMBER OF
SHARES			VALUE
	137,176	Spectra Energy Corp.	$	3,728,443
				9,715,913
		Transmission & Distribution
	40,890	Consolidated Edison, Inc.		2,073,941
	38,110	ITC Holdings Corp.		2,663,889
	49,080	Northeast Utilities		1,698,168
	21,180	NSTAR		979,999
				7,415,997
		Water
	15,810	American Water Works Co., Inc.		443,470
	22,620	Aqua America, Inc.		517,772
				961,242
		Total United States		30,175,865
		Total Common Stocks (Cost $65,405,939)		78,191,303

NUMBER OF
SHARES (000)
		Short-Term Investment (e) (0.6%)
		Investment Company
	508	Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Funds — Money Market Portfolio — Institutional Class (Cost $507,952)				507,952
		Total Investments (Cost $65,913,891) (f)	100.0	%		78,699,255
		Liabilities in Excess of Other Assets	0.0			(3,220	)
		Net Assets	100.0	%	$	78,696,035

ADR	American Depositary Receipt.
FDR	Fiduciary Depositary Receipt.
(a)	Comprised of securities in separate entities that are traded as a single stapled security.
(b)	Consists of one or more class of securities traded together as a unit; stocks with attached warrants.
(c)	Security trades on the Hong Kong exchange.
(d)	Non-income producing security.
(e)	The Portfolio invests in the Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Funds — Money Market Portfolio — Institutional Class (the “Liquidity Fund”), an open-end management investment company managed by the Investment Adviser. Investment advisory fees paid by the Portfolio are reduced by an amount equal to the advisory and administrative service fees paid by the Liquidity Fund with respect to assets invested by the Portfolio in the Liquidity Fund.
(f)	The aggregate cost for federal income tax purposes approximates the aggregate cost for book purposes.

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Global Infrastructure Portfolio

Summary of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited)

			PERCENT OF
			TOTAL
INDUSTRY	VALUE		INVESTMENTS
Oil & Gas Storage & Transportation	$	29,596,503		37.6	%
Transmission & Distribution		16,661,254		21.2
Communications		12,294,495		15.6
Toll Roads		7,123,575		9.1
Water		4,126,755		5.2
Diversified		3,805,793		4.8
Airports		3,221,342		4.1
Ports		1,361,586		1.7
Investment Company		507,952		0.7
	$	78,699,255		100.0	%

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — European Equity Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited)

NUMBER OF
SHARES			VALUE
		Common Stocks (98.2%)
		Belgium (1.9%)
		Chemicals
	27,717	Umicore SA	$	1,374,616
		Finland (1.9%)
		Machinery
	24,036	Kone Oyj (Class B)		1,382,985
		France (11.0%)
		Commercial Banks
	26,806	BNP Paribas		1,960,627
	24,293	Societe Generale		1,578,518
				3,539,145
		Electrical Equipment
	10,867	Schneider Electric SA		1,857,317
		Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure
	22,943	Accor SA		1,030,878
		Multi-Utilities
	38,282	GDF Suez		1,559,774
		Total France		7,987,114
		Germany (16.5%)
		Automobiles
	26,607	Daimler AG (a)		1,879,707
		Food & Staples Retailing
	17,412	Metro AG		1,189,762
		Health Care Providers & Services
	15,276	Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA		1,413,033
		Industrial Conglomerates
	19,615	Siemens AG (Registered Shares)		2,688,368
		Insurance
	8,017	Muenchener Rueckversicherungs AG (Registered Shares)		1,261,142
		Machinery
	12,946	MAN SE		1,614,535
		Pharmaceuticals
	25,691	Bayer AG (Registered Shares)		1,989,394
		Total Germany		12,035,941
		Luxembourg (2.1%)
		Metals & Mining
	41,314	ArcelorMittal		1,494,487
		Netherlands (1.9%)
		Diversified Telecommunication Services
	81,302	Koninklijke KPN N.V.		1,384,952
		Portugal (1.4%)
		Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels
	48,715	Galp Energia SGPS SA (Class B)		1,042,828
		Spain (2.2%)
		Commercial Bank
	130,948	Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA (b)		1,588,739
		Switzerland (12.0%)
		Food Products
	52,785	Nestle SA (Registered Shares)		3,025,727
		Insurance
	5,922	Zurich Financial Services AG		1,657,644
		Pharmaceuticals
	39,309	Novartis AG (Registered Shares)		2,132,144

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — European Equity Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited) continued

NUMBER OF
SHARES			VALUE
	13,462	Roche Holding AG	$	1,922,934
				4,055,078
		Total Switzerland		8,738,449
		United Kingdom (45.6%)
		Aerospace & Defense
	129,559	Rolls-Royce Group PLC		1,286,528
		Commercial Banks
	371,528	Barclays PLC		1,654,222
	275,491	HSBC Holdings PLC		2,832,869
				4,487,091
		Food & Staples Retailing
	258,818	WM Morrison Supermarkets PLC		1,145,947
		Household Products
	26,773	Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC		1,375,243
		Insurance
	122,309	Prudential PLC		1,386,219
		Media
	143,607	Reed Elsevier PLC		1,244,029
		Metals & Mining
	46,343	Anglo American PLC		2,384,208
		Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels
	110,495	BG Group PLC		2,749,258
	294,487	BP PLC		2,144,782
	75,423	Royal Dutch Shell PLC (Class A)		2,739,311
	64,478	Tullow Oil PLC		1,497,756
				9,131,107
		Pharmaceuticals
	98,041	GlaxoSmithKline PLC		1,870,825
		Professional Services
	106,251	Experian PLC		1,315,865
		Specialty Retail
	189,082	Carphone Warehouse Group PLC (a)		1,104,111
		Tobacco
	48,472	British American Tobacco PLC		1,945,536
	51,309	Imperial Tobacco Group PLC		1,586,121
				3,531,657
		Wireless Telecommunication Services
	1,016,322	Vodafone Group PLC		2,877,644
		Total United Kingdom		33,140,474
		United States (1.7%)
		Auto Components
	16,682	Autoliv, Inc. (SDR)		1,228,969
		Total Common Stocks (Cost $56,402,162)		71,399,554

PRINCIPAL
AMOUNT IN
THOUSANDS
		Short-Term Investments (2.8%)
		Securities Held as Collateral on Loaned Securities (1.8%)
		Repurchase Agreements (0.3%)
$	58	Barclays Capital, Inc. (0.05%, dated 03/31/11, due 04/01/11; proceeds $58,450; fully collateralized by U.S. Government Obligations; U.S. Treasury Note 4.25% due 09/30/12; U.S. Treasury Bill 0.00% due 09/29/11; valued at $59,619)	58,450

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — European Equity Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited) continued

PRINCIPAL
AMOUNT IN
THOUSANDS			VALUE
$	113	Nomura Holdings, Inc. (0.24%, dated 03/31/11, due 04/01/11; proceeds $112,800; fully collateralized by a U.S. Government Agency; Federal National Mortgage Association 5.00% due 05/01/40; valued at $115,055)	$	112,799
		Total Repurchase Agreements (Cost $171,249)		171,249

NUMBER OF
SHARES (000)
		Investment Company (c) (1.5%)
	1,115	Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Funds — Money Market Portfolio — Institutional Class (Cost $1,115,315)				1,115,315
		Total Securities Held as Collateral on Loaned Securities (Cost $1,286,564)				1,286,564
		Investment Company (c) (1.0%)
	752	Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Funds — Money Market Portfolio — Institutional Class (Cost $752,044)				752,044
		Total Short-Term Investments (Cost $2,038,608)				2,038,608
		Total Investments (Cost $58,440,770) (d)(e)	101.0	%		73,438,162
		Liabilities in Excess of Other Assets	(1.0	)		(719,723	)
		Net Assets	100.0	%	$	72,718,439

SDR	Swedish Depositary Receipt.
(a)	Non-income producing security.
(b)	The value of loaned securities and related collateral outstanding at March 31, 2011 were $1,193,955 and $1,286,564, respectively. The Portfolio received cash collateral of $1,286,564 which was subsequently invested in Repurchase Agreements and Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Funds — Money Market Portfolio — Institutional Class as reported in the Portfolio of Investments. The Portfolio has the right under the lending agreement to recover the securities from the borrower on demand.
(c)	The Portfolio invests in the Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Funds — Money Market Portfolio - Institutional Class (the “Liquidity Fund”), an open-end management investment company managed by the Investment Adviser. Investment advisory fees paid by the Portfolio are reduced by an amount equal to the advisory and administrative service fees paid by the Liquidity Fund with respect to assets invested by the Portfolio in the Liquidity Fund.
(d)	Securities have been designated as collateral in connection with open foreign currency exchange contracts.
(e)	The aggregate cost for federal income tax purposes approximates the aggregate cost for book purposes.

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — European Equity Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited) continued

Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts Open at March 31, 2011:

							UNREALIZED
	CONTRACTS		IN EXCHANGE		DELIVERY		APPRECIATION
COUNTERPARTY	TO DELIVER		FOR		DATE		(DEPRECIATION)
State Street Bank and Trust Co.	EUR	2,590,939	GBP	2,280,000		04/01/2011	$	(14,276	)
State Street Bank and Trust Co.	GBP	2,280,000	EUR	2,675,984		04/01/2011		134,801
State Street Bank and Trust Co.	GBP	2,255,000	EUR	2,562,966		05/06/2011		13,823
Net Unrealized Appreciation							$	134,348

Currency Abbreviations
EUR	Euro.
GBP	British Pound.

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — European Equity Portfolio

Summary of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited)

				PERCENT OF
				TOTAL
INDUSTRY	VALUE			INVESTMENTS
Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels	$	10,173,935			14.1	%
Commercial Banks		9,614,975			13.3
Pharmaceuticals		7,915,297			11.0
Insurance		4,305,005			6.0
Metals & Mining		3,878,695			5.4
Tobacco		3,531,657			4.9
Food Products		3,025,727			4.2
Machinery		2,997,520			4.2
Wireless Telecommunication Services		2,877,644			4.0
Industrial Conglomerates		2,688,368			3.7
Food & Staples Retailing		2,335,709			3.2
Automobiles		1,879,707			2.6
Electrical Equipment		1,857,317			2.6
Multi-Utilities		1,559,774			2.2
Health Care Providers & Services		1,413,033			2.0
Diversified Telecommunication Services		1,384,952			1.9
Household Products		1,375,243			1.9
Chemicals		1,374,616			1.9
Professional Services		1,315,865			1.8
Aerospace & Defense		1,286,528			1.8
Media		1,244,029			1.7
Auto Components		1,228,969			1.7
Specialty Retail		1,104,111			1.5
Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure		1,030,878			1.4
Investment Company		752,044			1.0
	$	72,151,598	^		100.0	%

^ Does not reflect value of securities held as collateral on loaned securities and does not include open foreign currency exchange contracts with net unrealized appreciation of $134,348.

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Multi Cap Growth Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited)

NUMBER OF
SHARES			VALUE
		Common Stocks (99.2%)
		Air Freight & Logistics (1.9%)
	111,994	Expeditors International of Washington, Inc.	$	5,615,379
		Capital Markets (2.4%)
	104,824	Greenhill & Co., Inc.		6,896,371
		Chemicals (2.9%)
	114,209	Monsanto Co.		8,252,742
		Commercial Services & Supplies (3.6%)
	347,691	Edenred (France) (a)		10,493,013
		Communications Equipment (3.6%)
	228,457	Motorola Solutions, Inc. (a)		10,209,743
		Computers & Peripherals (7.2%)
	59,133	Apple, Inc. (a)		20,604,894
		Distributors (2.5%)
	1,398,000	Li & Fung Ltd. (Bermuda) (b)		7,162,042
		Diversified Financial Services (7.3%)
	864,689	BM&F Bovespa SA (Brazil)		6,276,033
	198,648	Leucadia National Corp.		7,457,246
	197,180	MSCI, Inc. (Class A) (a)		7,260,167
				20,993,446
		Food Products (2.2%)
	108,818	Mead Johnson Nutrition Co.		6,303,827
		Health Care Equipment & Supplies (2.4%)
	20,748	Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (a)		6,918,628
		Health Care Technology (2.4%)
	150,287	athenahealth, Inc. (a)		6,782,452
		Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure (7.5%)
	165,982	Ctrip.com International Ltd. (ADR) (Cayman Islands) (a)		6,886,593
	170,563	Las Vegas Sands Corp. (a)		7,201,170
	159,338	PF Chang’s China Bistro, Inc.		7,359,822
				21,447,585
		Information Technology Services (1.5%)
	84,925	Teradata Corp. (a)		4,305,698
		Internet & Catalog Retail (10.0%)
	109,719	Amazon.com, Inc. (a)		19,763,684
	37,949	NetFlix, Inc. (a)		9,006,436
				28,770,120
		Internet Software & Services (15.1%)
	86,301	Baidu, Inc. (ADR) (Cayman Islands) (a)		11,893,141
	196,222	eBay, Inc. (a)		6,090,731
	327,898	Facebook, Inc. (a)(c)(d)		7,213,756
	24,372	Google, Inc. (Class A) (a)		14,287,110
	160,700	Tencent Holdings Ltd. (Cayman Islands) (b)		3,914,952
				43,399,690
		Life Sciences Tools & Services (3.3%)
	133,661	Illumina, Inc. (a)		9,365,626
		Media (1.8%)
	96,413	Naspers Ltd. (Class N) (South Africa)		5,187,632
		Metals & Mining (5.5%)
	6,767,181	Lynas Corp. Ltd. (Australia) (a)		15,749,188
		Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels (4.8%)
	93,312	Range Resources Corp.		5,455,020
	167,170	Ultra Petroleum Corp. (Canada) (a)		8,233,122
				13,688,142

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Multi Cap Growth Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited) continued

NUMBER OF
SHARES			VALUE
		Professional Services (5.0%)
	130,569	CoStar Group, Inc. (a)	$	8,184,065
	186,597	Verisk Analytics, Inc. (Class A) (a)		6,112,918
				14,296,983
		Real Estate Management & Development (3.8%)
	335,588	Brookfield Asset Management, Inc. (Class A) (Canada)		10,893,186
		Software (2.5%)
	54,905	Salesforce.com, Inc. (a)		7,334,210
		Total Common Stocks (Cost $192,903,492)		284,670,597
		Convertible Preferred Stock (0.5%)
		Alternative Energy
	488,605	Better Place, Inc. (Cost $1,465,815) (a)(c)(d)		1,465,815

NUMBER OF
SHARES (000)
		Short-Term Investment (e) (0.7%)
		Investment Company
	2,081	Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Funds — Money Market Portfolio — Institutional Class (Cost $2,080,794)				2,080,794
		Total Investments (Cost $196,450,101) (f)	100.4	%		288,217,206
		Liabilities in Excess of Other Assets	(0.4	)		(1,147,491	)
		Net Assets	100.0	%	$	287,069,715

ADR	American Depositary Receipt.
(a)	Non-income producing security.
(b)	Security trades on the Hong Kong exchange.
(c)	Illiquid security. Resale is restricted to qualified institutional investors.
(d)	At March 31, 2011, the Portfolio held fair valued securities valued at $8,679,571, representing 3.0% of net assets. These securities have been fair valued as determined in good faith under procedures established by and under the general supervision of the Fund’s Trustees.
(e)	The Portfolio invests in the Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Funds — Money Market Portfolio — Institutional Class (the “Liquidity Fund”), an open-end management investment company managed by the Investment Adviser. Investment advisory fees paid by the Portfolio are reduced by an amount equal to the advisory and administrative service fees paid by the Liquidity Fund with respect to assets invested by the Portfolio in the Liquidity Fund.
(f)	The aggregate cost for federal income tax purposes approximates the aggregate cost for book purposes.

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Aggressive Equity Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited)

NUMBER OF
SHARES			VALUE
		Common Stocks (97.9%)
		Air Freight & Logistics (1.9%)
	13,097	Expeditors International of Washington, Inc.	$	656,684
		Capital Markets (2.4%)
	12,259	Greenhill & Co., Inc.		806,520
		Chemicals (2.8%)
	13,357	Monsanto Co.		965,177
		Commercial Services & Supplies (3.6%)
	41,372	Edenred (France) (a)		1,248,571
		Communications Equipment (3.6%)
	27,282	Motorola Solutions, Inc. (a)		1,219,233
		Computers & Peripherals (7.1%)
	6,916	Apple, Inc. (a)		2,409,880
		Distributors (2.5%)
	164,000	Li & Fung Ltd. (Bermuda) (b)		840,182
		Diversified Financial Services (7.2%)
	101,124	BM&F Bovespa SA (Brazil)		733,972
	23,232	Leucadia National Corp.		872,130
	23,060	MSCI, Inc. (Class A) (a)		849,069
				2,455,171
		Food Products (2.2%)
	12,726	Mead Johnson Nutrition Co.		737,217
		Health Care Equipment & Supplies (2.4%)
	2,427	Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (a)		809,307
		Health Care Technology (2.3%)
	17,576	athenahealth, Inc. (a)		793,205
		Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure (7.3%)
	19,411	Ctrip.com International Ltd. (ADR) (Cayman Islands) (a)		805,362
	19,947	Las Vegas Sands Corp. (a)		842,162
	18,634	PF Chang’s China Bistro, Inc.		860,705
				2,508,229
		Information Technology Services (1.5%)
	9,932	Teradata Corp. (a)		503,552
		Internet & Catalog Retail (9.9%)
	12,831	Amazon.com, Inc. (a)		2,311,248
	4,438	NetFlix, Inc. (a)		1,053,271
				3,364,519
		Internet Software & Services (15.0%)
	10,093	Baidu, Inc. (ADR) (Cayman Islands) (a)		1,390,916
	23,432	eBay, Inc. (a)		727,329
	39,222	Facebook, Inc. (a)(c)(d)		862,884
	2,850	Google, Inc. (Class A) (a)		1,670,699
	18,800	Tencent Holdings Ltd. (Cayman Islands) (b)		458,003
				5,109,831
		Life Sciences Tools & Services (3.2%)
	15,631	Illumina, Inc. (a)		1,095,264
		Media (1.8%)
	11,275	Naspers Ltd. (Class N) (South Africa)		606,667
		Metals & Mining (5.4%)
	791,409	Lynas Corp. Ltd. (Australia) (a)		1,841,838
		Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels (4.7%)
	10,913	Range Resources Corp.		637,974
	19,550	Ultra Petroleum Corp. (Canada) (a)		962,837
				1,600,811

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Aggressive Equity Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited) continued

NUMBER OF
SHARES			VALUE
		Professional Services (4.9%)
	15,270	CoStar Group, Inc. (a)	$	957,123
	21,822	Verisk Analytics, Inc. (Class A) (a)		714,889
				1,672,012
		Real Estate Management & Development (3.7%)
	39,246	Brookfield Asset Management, Inc. (Class A) (Canada)		1,273,925
		Software (2.5%)
	6,421	Salesforce.com, Inc. (a)		857,717
		Total Common Stocks (Cost $22,656,533)		33,375,512
		Convertible Preferred Stock (0.5%)
		Alternative Energy
	59,090	Better Place, Inc. (Cost $177,270) (a)(c)(d)		177,270

NUMBER OF
SHARES (000)
		Short-Term Investment (e) (2.1%)
		Investment Company
	732	Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Funds — Money Market Portfolio — Institutional Class (Cost $731,928)				731,928
		Total Investments (Cost $23,565,731) (f)	100.5	%		34,284,710
		Liabilities in Excess of Other Assets	(0.5	)		(166,040	)
		Net Assets	100.0	%	$	34,118,670

ADR	American Depositary Receipt.
(a)	Non-income producing security.
(b)	Security trades on the Hong Kong exchange.
(c)	Illiquid security. Resale is restricted to qualified institutional investors.
(d)	At March 31, 2011, the Portfolio held fair valued securities valued at $1,040,154, representing 3.0% of net assets. These securities have been fair valued as determined in good faith under procedures established by and under the general supervision of the Fund’s Trustees.
(e)	The Portfolio invests in the Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Funds — Money Market Portfolio — Institutional Class (the “Liquidity Fund”), 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 the Liquidity Fund with respect to assets invested by the Fund in the Liquidity Fund.
(f)	The aggregate cost for federal income tax purposes approximates the aggregate cost for book purposes.

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Strategist Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited)

NUMBER OF
SHARES			VALUE
		Common Stocks (64.2%)
		Aerospace & Defense (1.7%)
	60,130	Raytheon Co.	$	3,058,813
		Capital Markets (1.2%)
	14,000	Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The)		2,218,580
		Commercial Bank (0.8%)
	500,000	Popular, Inc. (Puerto Rico) (a)		1,455,000
		Communications Equipment (1.5%)
	163,350	Cisco Systems, Inc.		2,801,453
		Computers & Peripherals (9.9%)
	176,000	Dell, Inc. (a)		2,553,760
	101,300	Hewlett-Packard Co.		4,150,261
	30,270	International Business Machines Corp.		4,936,129
	137,700	SanDisk Corp. (a)		6,346,593
				17,986,743
		Diversified Financial Services (6.0%)
	1,250,000	Citigroup, Inc. (b)		5,525,000
	116,445	JPMorgan Chase & Co.		5,368,114
				10,893,114
		Diversified Telecommunication Services (1.7%)
	73,400	CenturyLink, Inc.		3,049,770
		Food Products (2.0%)
	103,170	Archer-Daniels-Midland Co.		3,715,152
		Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure (1.9%)
	46,850	McDonald’s Corp.		3,564,817
		Industrial Conglomerates (2.7%)
	247,010	General Electric Co.		4,952,550
		Information Technology Services (2.5%)
	87,900	Automatic Data Processing, Inc.		4,510,149
		Insurance (3.6%)
	108,145	Chubb Corp.		6,630,370
		Internet Software & Services (1.5%)
	90,000	eBay, Inc. (a)		2,793,600
		Machinery (1.9%)
	31,345	Caterpillar, Inc.		3,490,266
		Metals & Mining (6.4%)
	112,060	Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, Inc.		6,224,933
	100,000	United States Steel Corp.		5,394,000
				11,618,933
		Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels (4.9%)
	39,605	Chevron Corp.		4,254,765
	57,900	ConocoPhillips		4,623,894
				8,878,659
		Pharmaceuticals (2.5%)
	173,180	Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.		4,577,147
		Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) (2.2%)
	90,825	Plum Creek Timber Co., Inc.		3,960,878
		Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment (2.0%)
	183,805	Intel Corp.		3,707,347
		Software (2.0%)
	147,385	Microsoft Corp.		3,737,684

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Strategist Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited) continued

NUMBER OF
SHARES			VALUE
		Specialty Retail (1.1%)
	51,935	Home Depot, Inc.	$	1,924,711
		Wireless Telecommunication Services (4.2%)
	1,650,000	Sprint Nextel Corp. (a)		7,656,000
		Total Common Stocks (Cost $105,306,130)		117,181,736

PRINCIPAL
AMOUNT IN			COUPON		MATURITY
THOUSANDS			RATE		DATE
		Corporate Bonds (8.1%)
		Advertising Services (0.1%)
$	100	WPP Finance (United Kingdom)	8.00	%	09/15/14	116,651
		Aerospace & Defense (0.1%)
	20	Bombardier, Inc. (144A) (Canada) (c)	7.50		03/15/18	21,700
	40	Bombardier, Inc. (144A) (Canada) (c)	7.75		03/15/20	43,650
	74	Systems 2001 Asset Trust (144A) (Cayman Islands) (c)	6.664		09/15/13	78,965
						144,315
		Agricultural Chemicals (0.0%)
	50	CF Industries, Inc.	6.875		05/01/18	56,250
		Agricultural Operations (0.0%)
	45	Bunge Ltd. Finance Corp.	8.50		06/15/19	53,517
		Airlines (0.1%)
	132	America West Airlines LLC (Series 011G) (AMBAC Insd)	7.10		04/02/21	131,414
		Auto — Cars/Light Trucks (0.1%)
	60	Daimler Finance North America LLC	7.30		01/15/12	63,035
	35	Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp. (144A) (c)	4.50		01/30/15	36,615
						99,650
		Beverages — Wine/Spirits (0.0%)
	25	Constellation Brands, Inc.	7.25		09/01/16	27,156
		Building Product — Cement/Aggregation (0.1%)
	75	CRH America, Inc.	6.00		09/30/16	80,939
	30	Holcim US Finance Sarl & Cie SCS (144A) (Luxembourg) (c)	6.00		12/30/19	31,495
	55	Lafarge SA (144A) (France) (c)	5.50		07/09/15	56,836
						169,270
		Building Societies (0.1%)
	170	Nationwide Building Society (144A) (United Kingdom) (c)	6.25		02/25/20	177,171
		Cable/Satellite TV (0.1%)
	15	COX Communications, Inc. (144A) (c)	8.375		03/01/39	19,100
	50	DirecTV Holdings LLC/DirecTV Financing Co., Inc.	4.60		02/15/21	48,839
	30	DirecTV Holdings LLC/DirecTV Financing Co., Inc.	5.875		10/01/19	32,490
	30	DirecTV Holdings LLC/DirecTV Financing Co., Inc.	7.625		05/15/16	33,110
	40	DISH DBS Corp.	7.125		02/01/16	42,900
						176,439
		Capital Markets (0.3%)
	305	Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The)	6.15		04/01/18	331,146
	80	Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The)	6.75		10/01/37	80,939
	60	Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The)	7.50		02/15/19	69,801
	50	Macquarie Bank Ltd. (144A) (Australia) (c)	6.625		04/07/21	49,903
	55	Macquarie Group Ltd. (144A) (Australia) (c)	6.00		01/14/20	55,445
						587,234

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Strategist Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited) continued

PRINCIPAL
AMOUNT IN			COUPON		MATURITY
THOUSANDS			RATE		DATE	VALUE
		Casino Gaming (0.1%)
$	100	Wynn Las Vegas LLC/Wynn Las Vegas Capital Corp.	7.75	%	08/15/20	$	106,500
		Chemicals (0.1%)
	110	Mosaic Co. (The) (144A) (c)	7.625		12/01/16		118,819
		Commercial Banks (0.9%)
	100	Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. (144A) (Australia) (c)	4.875		01/12/21		101,125
	175	Barclays Bank PLC (United Kingdom)	6.75		05/22/19		197,961
	160	Cooperatieve Centrale Raiffeisen-Boerenleenbank BA (144A) (Netherlands) (c)	4.75		01/15/20		165,457
	100	Credit Agricole SA (144A) (France) (c)	3.50		04/13/15		100,537
	25	Credit Suisse (Switzerland)	6.00		02/15/18		26,590
	240	Credit Suisse AG (Switzerland)	5.40		01/14/20		242,815
	130	HBOS PLC (144A) (United Kingdom) (c)	6.75		05/21/18		127,410
	100	HSBC Bank PLC (144A) (United Kingdom) (c)	3.50		06/28/15		101,397
	50	Regions Financial Corp.	5.75		06/15/15		50,985
	100	Royal Bank of Scotland PLC (The) (United Kingdom)	4.875		03/16/15		104,030
	100	Standard Chartered Bank (144A) (United Kingdom) (c)	6.40		09/26/17		108,516
	100	Svenska Handelsbanken AB (144A) (Sweden) (c)	5.125		03/30/20		104,962
	235	Wells Fargo & Co.	5.625		12/11/17		257,031
							1,688,816
		Commercial Service — Finance (0.1%)
	90	Verisk Analytics, Inc.	5.80		05/01/21		90,584
		Commercial Services & Supplies (0.0%)
	80	Waste Management, Inc.	6.125		11/30/39		83,318
		Computers & Peripherals (0.1%)
	100	International Business Machines Corp.	7.625		10/15/18		125,338
		Consulting Services (0.0%)
	50	SAIC, Inc. (144A) (c)	5.95		12/01/40		51,812
		Distribution/Wholesale (0.0%)
	45	Ingram Micro, Inc.	5.25		09/01/17		45,811
		Diversified Financial Services (0.7%)
	135	Bank of America Corp. (Series L)	5.65		05/01/18		141,291
	30	Bank of America Corp.	5.75		12/01/17		31,652
	70	BNP Paribas (France)	5.00		01/15/21		70,790
	110	Citigroup, Inc. (b)	5.875		05/29/37		107,690
	160	Citigroup, Inc. (b)	6.125		11/21/17		174,584
	70	Citigroup, Inc. (b)	6.125		05/15/18		76,461
	60	General Electric Capital Corp.	5.30		02/11/21		61,056
	160	General Electric Capital Corp.	5.625		05/01/18		173,233
	270	General Electric Capital Corp. (Series G)	6.00		08/07/19		295,264
	90	HSBC Holdings PLC (United Kingdom)	5.10		04/05/21		90,638
	15	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	4.95		03/25/20		15,277
							1,237,936
		Diversified Manufactured Operation (0.1%)
	90	Cooper US, Inc.	5.25		11/15/12		95,776
		Diversified Minerals (0.2%)
	100	Anglo American Capital PLC (144A) (United Kingdom) (c)	9.375		04/08/19		133,442
	70	Rio Tinto Finance USA Ltd. (Australia)	9.00		05/01/19		92,129
	60	Vale Overseas Ltd. (Cayman Islands)	5.625		09/15/19		63,133
	15	Vale Overseas Ltd. (Cayman Islands)	6.875		11/10/39		16,108
							304,812

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Strategist Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited) continued

PRINCIPAL
AMOUNT IN			COUPON		MATURITY
THOUSANDS			RATE		DATE	VALUE
		Diversified Telecommunication Services (0.1%)
$	95	AT&T, Inc.	6.15	%	09/15/34	$	94,961
	35	Verizon Communications, Inc.	4.60		04/01/21		34,919
	55	Verizon Communications, Inc.	8.95		03/01/39		75,201
							205,081
		E-Commerce/Services (0.0%)
	55	Expedia, Inc.	5.95		08/15/20		55,756
		Electric — Integrated (0.3%)
	120	CMS Energy Corp.	6.25		02/01/20		125,926
	50	EDF SA (144A) (France) (c)	4.60		01/27/20		51,055
	125	Enel Finance International N.V. (144A) (Luxembourg) (c)	5.125		10/07/19		126,253
	150	Exelon Generation Co. LLC	5.20		10/01/19		152,271
	75	Iberdrola Finance Ireland Ltd. (144A) (Ireland) (c)	5.00		09/11/19		73,090
	75	Ohio Power Co. (Series M)	5.375		10/01/21		79,928
							608,523
		Electric Utilities (0.1%)
	140	FirstEnergy Solutions Corp.	6.05		08/15/21		145,348
		Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components (0.0%)
	20	Corning, Inc.	7.25		08/15/36		22,904
		Electronics — Military (0.0%)
	75	L-3 Communications Corp.	4.95		02/15/21		75,584
		Energy Equipment & Services (0.1%)
	85	Weatherford International Ltd. (Bermuda)	9.625		03/01/19		108,412
		Finance — Consumer Loans (0.0%)
	60	SLM Corp. (Series A)	5.00		10/01/13		62,141
		Finance — Credit Card (0.1%)
	110	American Express Credit Corp. (Series C)	7.30		08/20/13		123,066
		Finance — Investment Banker/Broker (0.3%)
	60	Bear Stearns Cos. LLC (The)	6.40		10/02/17		67,493
	170	Bear Stearns Cos. LLC (The)	7.25		02/01/18		198,345
	225	Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. (MTN)	6.875		04/25/18		250,259
	105	TD Ameritrade Holding Corp.	5.60		12/01/19		111,304
							627,401
		Finance — Other Services (0.0%)
	80	NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (The)	5.55		01/15/20		78,475
		Food — Baking (0.1%)
	100	Grupo Bimbo SAB de CV (144A) (Mexico) (c)	4.875		06/30/20		100,721
		Food — Miscellaneous/Diversified (0.1%)
	30	ConAgra Foods, Inc.	7.00		10/01/28		32,323
	55	ConAgra Foods, Inc.	8.25		09/15/30		65,775
							98,098
		Food — Retail (0.0%)
	21	Delhaize Group SA (Belgium) (c)	5.70		10/01/40		19,256
	65	Woolworths Ltd. (144A) (Australia) (c)	4.00		09/22/20		62,911
							82,167
		Food Products (0.1%)
	180	Kraft Foods, Inc.	7.00		08/11/37		203,013
		Health Care Equipment & Supplies (0.0%)
	55	Boston Scientific Corp.	6.00		01/15/20		57,728
		Health Care Providers & Services (0.1%)
	60	Medco Health Solutions, Inc.	7.125		03/15/18		70,071
	115	UnitedHealth Group, Inc.	6.625		11/15/37		125,052
							195,123

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Strategist Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited) continued

PRINCIPAL
AMOUNT IN			COUPON		MATURITY
THOUSANDS			RATE		DATE	VALUE
		Hotels & Motels (0.1%)
$	40	Hyatt Hotels Corp. (144A) (c)	6.875	%	08/15/19	$	42,882
	75	Wyndham Worldwide Corp.	5.625		03/01/21		74,434
							117,316
		Independent Power Producer (0.0%)
	45	NRG Energy, Inc.	8.50		06/15/19		47,588
		Insurance (0.1%)
	50	Principal Financial Group, Inc.	8.875		05/15/19		63,649
	40	Prudential Financial, Inc. (MTN)	6.625		12/01/37		43,611
							107,260
		Insurance Brokers (0.0%)
	80	Willis Group Holdings PLC (Ireland)	4.125		03/15/16		79,676
		Life/Health Insurance (0.1%)
	50	Nationwide Financial Services (144A) (c)	5.375		03/25/21		49,620
	75	Pacific LifeCorp (144A) (c)	6.00		02/10/20		80,001
							129,621
		Media (0.3%)
	50	CBS Corp.	8.875		05/15/19		62,880
	50	Comcast Corp.	5.15		03/01/20		52,141
	45	Comcast Corp.	5.70		05/15/18		49,056
	15	Comcast Corp.	6.45		03/15/37		15,415
	45	Time Warner Cable, Inc.	6.75		06/15/39		47,202
	65	Time Warner Cable, Inc.	8.75		02/14/19		81,158
	25	Time Warner, Inc.	4.875		03/15/20		25,538
	40	Time Warner, Inc.	5.875		11/15/16		44,679
	25	Time Warner, Inc.	7.70		05/01/32		29,235
	80	Viacom, Inc.	6.875		04/30/36		87,873
							495,177
		Medical — Biomedical/Genetics (0.1%)
	55	Genzyme Corp.	3.625		06/15/15		57,192
	95	Gilead Sciences, Inc.	4.50		04/01/21		94,058
							151,250
		Medical Labs & Testing Services (0.1%)
	115	Quest Diagnostics, Inc.	6.95		07/01/37		126,651
		Metal — Copper (0.0%)
	20	Southern Copper Corp.	5.375		04/16/20		20,430
	30	Southern Copper Corp.	6.75		04/16/40		30,305
							50,735
		Metals & Mining (0.1%)
	15	ArcelorMittal (Luxembourg)	7.00		10/15/39		15,086
	50	ArcelorMittal (Luxembourg)	9.85		06/01/19		63,532
	30	Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, Inc.	8.375		04/01/17		33,114
							111,732
		Money Center Banks (0.0%)
	70	Lloyds TSB Bank PLC (United Kingdom)	6.375		01/21/21		73,080
		Mortgage Bank (0.1%)
	100	Abbey National Treasury Services PLC (144A) (United Kingdom) (c)	3.875		11/10/14		99,961
		Multi-line Insurance (0.3%)
	75	Aegon N.V. (Netherlands)	4.625		12/01/15		77,950
	50	American International Group, Inc.	6.40		12/15/20		53,462
	95	CNA Financial Corp.	5.75		08/15/21		97,452
	140	Farmers Exchange Capital (144A) (c)	7.05		07/15/28		140,720
	75	Genworth Financial, Inc.	7.20		02/15/21		74,615

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Strategist Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited) continued

PRINCIPAL
AMOUNT IN			COUPON		MATURITY
THOUSANDS			RATE		DATE	VALUE
$	60	Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.	5.50	%	03/30/20	$	61,128
							505,327
		Multiline Retail (0.0%)
	25	JC Penney Co., Inc.	5.65		06/01/20		24,219
	49	JC Penney Corp., Inc.	6.375		10/15/36		44,406
							68,625
		Multimedia (0.1%)
	65	NBC Universal Media LLC (144A) (c)	5.15		04/30/20		67,113
	100	News America, Inc.	7.85		03/01/39		118,507
	45	Vivendi SA (144A) (France) (c)	6.625		04/04/18		50,460
							236,080
		Oil Companies — Exploration & Production (0.1%)
	45	Anadarko Petroleum Corp.	6.95		06/15/19		50,595
	35	EQT Corp.	8.125		06/01/19		41,785
	100	Gazprom Via Gaz Capital SA (144A) (Luxembourg) (c)	6.51		03/07/22		106,750
	45	QEP Resources, Inc.	6.875		03/01/21		47,475
							246,605
		Oil Company — Integrated (0.1%)
	35	Marathon Petroleum Corp. (144A) (c)	5.125		03/01/21		35,347
	80	Petrobras International Finance Co. (Cayman Islands)	5.75		01/20/20		82,931
							118,278
		Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels (0.0%)
	75	Hess Corp.	6.00		01/15/40		76,077
		Paper & Related Products (0.0%)
	35	Georgia-Pacific LLC	7.75		11/15/29		38,631
	35	Georgia-Pacific LLC	8.875		05/15/31		42,438
							81,069
		Pipelines (0.4%)
	75	Energy Transfer Partners LP	8.50		04/15/14		87,698
	35	Enterprise Products Operating LLC	5.25		01/31/20		36,387
	90	Enterprise Products Operating LLC (Series N)	6.50		01/31/19		102,451
	50	Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP	5.95		02/15/18		55,134
	135	Kinder Morgan Finance Co. ULC (Canada)	5.70		01/05/16		142,256
	60	Plains All American Pipeline LP/PAA Finance Corp.	6.70		05/15/36		65,121
	60	Plains All American Pipeline LP/PAA Finance Corp.	8.75		05/01/19		75,177
	50	Spectra Energy Capital LLC	7.50		09/15/38		58,819
	55	Texas Eastern Transmission LP	7.00		07/15/32		64,460
							687,503
		Property Trust (0.0%)
	60	Dexus Diversfied Trust/Dexus Office Trust (144A) (Australia) (c)	5.60		03/15/21		59,328
		Real Estate Management & Development (0.0%)
	45	Brookfield Asset Management, Inc. (Canada)	5.80		04/25/17		46,726
		Reinsurance (0.1%)
	60	Platinum Underwriters Finance, Inc. (Series B)	7.50		06/01/17		64,267
	60	Reinsurance Group of America, Inc.	6.45		11/15/19		64,760
							129,027
		REIT — Diversified (0.1%)
	115	Digital Realty Trust LP	4.50		07/15/15		118,231
		REIT — Health Care (0.1%)
	30	HCP, Inc.	5.375		02/01/21		30,354
	60	Health Care, Inc.	6.125		04/15/20		63,571

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Strategist Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited) continued

PRINCIPAL
AMOUNT IN			COUPON		MATURITY
THOUSANDS			RATE		DATE	VALUE
$	60	Healthcare Realty Trust, Inc.	5.75	%	01/15/21	$	61,648
							155,573
		REIT — Office Property (0.1%)
	75	Brandywine Operating Partnership	4.95		04/15/18		74,251
	80	Wells Operating Partnership II LP (144A) (c)	5.875		04/01/18		79,543
							153,794
		Retail — Automobile (0.0%)
	40	AutoNation, Inc.	6.75		04/15/18		42,050
		Retail — Consumer Electronics (0.1%)
	90	Best Buy Co., Inc.	3.75		03/15/16		88,938
		Retail — Discount (0.0%)
	40	Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.	5.25		09/01/35		39,235
		Retail — Drug Store (0.1%)
	147	CVS Pass-Through Trust	6.036		12/10/28		152,273
		Retail — Mail Order (0.0%)
	70	QVC, Inc. (144A) (c)	7.125		04/15/17		73,850
		Retail — Restaurants (0.0%)
	5	Yum! Brands, Inc.	6.875		11/15/37		5,588
		Semiconductor Equipment (0.0%)
	45	KLA-Tencor Corp.	6.90		05/01/18		49,699
		Special Purpose Entity (0.1%)
	190	AIG SunAmerica Global Financing VI (144A) (c)	6.30		05/10/11		191,095
	45	Harley-Davidson Funding Corp. (144A) (c)	6.80		06/15/18		49,472
							240,567
		Specialty Retail (0.1%)
	90	Home Depot, Inc.	5.875		12/16/36		89,754
		Super-Regional Banks — U.S. — FDIC Guaranteed (0.1%)
	155	Capital One Financial Corp.	6.75		09/15/17		178,522
	40	Fifth Third Bancorp	3.625		01/25/16		40,008
	25	Wells Fargo & Co.	3.676		06/15/16		25,177
							243,707
		Telecommunication Services (0.1%)
	50	Qwest Corp.	6.50		06/01/17		55,438
	40	Qwest Corp.	6.875		09/15/33		40,250
	45	Qwest Corp.	8.375		05/01/16		53,775
	100	Sable International Finance Ltd. (144A) (Cayman Islands) (c)	7.75		02/15/17		105,500
							254,963
		Telephone — Integrated (0.2%)
	45	Deutsche Telekom International Finance BV (Netherlands)	8.75		06/15/30		59,154
	70	Frontier Communications Corp.	8.50		04/15/20		76,213
	30	Telecom Italia Capital SA (Luxembourg)	6.999		06/04/18		32,669
	75	Telecom Italia Capital SA (Luxembourg)	7.175		06/18/19		82,113
	95	Telefonica Europe BV (Netherlands)	8.25		09/15/30		115,074
							365,223
		Therapeutics (0.0%)
	60	Warner Chilcott Co. LLC/Warner Chilcott Finance LLC (144A) (c)	7.75		09/15/18		63,150
		Tobacco (0.1%)
	50	Altria Group, Inc.	4.125		09/11/15		52,033
	60	Altria Group, Inc.	9.25		08/06/19		78,425
	50	BAT International Finance PLC (144A) (United Kingdom) (c)	9.50		11/15/18		66,227
							196,685

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Strategist Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited) continued

PRINCIPAL
AMOUNT IN			COUPON			MATURITY
THOUSANDS			RATE			DATE	VALUE
		Transport — Rail (0.1%)
$	60	Norfolk Southern Corp.	7.25		%	02/15/31	$	73,478
	40	Union Pacific Corp.	6.125			02/15/20		45,991
								119,469
		Total Corporate Bonds (Cost $14,122,265)						14,835,571
		Foreign Government Obligations (0.3%)
	230	Brazilian Government International Bond (Brazil)	6.00			01/17/17		258,980
EUR	95	Ireland Government Bond (Ireland)	5.40			03/13/25		91,008
$	25	Peruvian Government International Bond (Peru)	7.125			03/30/19		29,625
	105	Republic of Italy (Italy)	6.875			09/27/23		118,272
		Total Foreign Government Obligations (Cost $477,451)						497,885
		U.S. Government Agencies & Obligations (10.6%)
		Commercial Bank (0.1%)
	200	KeyBank NA	3.20			06/15/12		206,609
		Diversified Financial Services (1.6%)
	200	Ally Financial, Inc.	2.20			12/19/12		204,987
	1,200	Citigroup Funding, Inc. (b)	2.25			12/10/12		1,230,779
	300	General Electric Capital Corp.	2.20			06/08/12		306,272
	1,200	General Electric Capital Corp. (Series G)	2.625			12/28/12		1,239,065
								2,981,103
		Finance — Consumer Loans (0.6%)
	1,000	John Deere Capital Corp.	2.875			06/19/12		1,029,281
		U.S. Government Agencies (1.1%)
		Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation
	150		3.75			03/27/19		154,887
	400		4.875			06/13/18		445,441
	250		6.75			03/15/31		319,583
		Federal National Mortgage Association
	350		4.125			04/15/14		377,787
	700		4.375			10/15/15		764,476
								2,062,174
		U.S. Government Obligations (7.2%)
		U.S. Treasury Bonds
	870		3.50			02/15/39		729,577
	960		4.375			11/15/39		939,300
	270		4.625			02/15/40		275,358
	1,320		6.875			08/15/25		1,737,656
	1,090		7.50			11/15/24		1,504,370
		U.S. Treasury Notes
	2,130		1.25			08/31/15		2,064,769
	3,700		1.75			04/15/13–07/31/15		3,722,394
	815		2.25			01/31/15		831,936
	800		2.375			08/31/14		823,625
	485		2.75			02/15/19		473,974
								13,102,959
		Total U.S. Government Agencies & Obligations (Cost $19,584,507)						19,382,126
		Asset-Backed Securities (0.2%)
	100	Ally Master Owner Trust 2011-1 A1	1.125	(d)		01/15/16		100,410
	34	Brazos Student Finance Corp. 2010-1 A1	1.208	(d)		06/25/35		34,327
	175	Ford Credit Floorplan Master Owner Trust 2010-3 A2 (144A) (c)	1.955	(d)		02/15/17		182,026
	100	GE Dealer Floorplan Master Note Trust 2009-2A A (144A) (c)	1.804	(d)		10/20/14		101,378
		Total Asset-Backed Securities (Cost $409,423)						418,141

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Strategist Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited) continued

PRINCIPAL
AMOUNT IN			COUPON		MATURITY
THOUSANDS			RATE		DATE	VALUE
		U.S. Government Agencies — Mortgage-Backed Securities (0.0%)
		Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (PC) Gold (0.0%)
$	2		6.50	%	05/01/29–12/01/31	$	2,859
		Federal National Mortgage Association (0.0%)
	1		6.50		11/01/29		1,492
		Total U.S. Government Agencies — Mortgage-Backed Securities (Cost $3,995)					4,351
		Municipal Bonds (0.3%)
		Airport (0.0%)
	30	City of Chicago O’Hare Int’l Airport (Series B)	6.395		01/01/40		28,910
		General Obligation (0.2%)
	75	Chicago Transit Authority (Series B)	6.20		12/01/40		66,836
	70	City of New York (Series G-1)	5.968		03/01/36		70,131
	65	New York City Transitional Finance Authority	5.267		05/01/27		66,899
	45	State of California — Various Purpose	5.95		04/01/16		48,059
	30	State of California — Various Purpose	6.65		03/01/22		32,519
							284,444
		Power Conversion/Supply Equipment (0.1%)
	50	Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia Plant Vogtle Units 3 & 4 (Series 2010 J)	6.637		04/01/57		47,746
	95	Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia Plant Vogtle	6.655		04/01/57		89,774
							137,520
		Transportation (0.0%)
	85	Illinois State Toll Highway Authority 2009 (Series A)	6.184		01/01/34		82,509
		Total Municipal Bonds (Cost $547,369)					533,383

NUMBER OF
SHARES
		Investment Trusts/Mutual Funds (6.7%)
	243,400	iPATH S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (ETF) (a)	7,146,224
	49,000	iShares Barclays Aggregate Bond Fund (ETF)	5,151,370
		Total Investment Trusts/Mutual Funds (Cost $14,316,442)	12,297,594

PRINCIPAL
AMOUNT IN
THOUSANDS
		Short-Term Investments (9.5%)
		U.S. Government Obligation (e)(f) (0.3%)
$	450	U.S. Treasury Bill (Cost $449,946)	0.162	04/28/11	449,946

NUMBER OF
SHARES (000)
		Investment Company (g) (9.2%)
	16,770	Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Funds — Money Market Portfolio — Institutional Class (Cost $16,769,845)				16,769,845
		Total Short-Term Investments (Cost $17,219,791)				17,219,791
		Total Investments (Cost $171,987,373) (h)(i)	99.9	%		182,370,578
		Other Assets in Excess of Liabilities	0.1			106,614
		Net Assets	100.0	%	$	182,477,192

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Strategist Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited) continued

ETF	Exchange Traded Fund.
FDIC	Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
MTN	Medium Term Note.
PC	Participation Certificate.
REIT	Real Estate Investment Trust.
(a)	Non-income producing security.
(b)	For the three months ended March 31, 2011, the cost of purchases and proceeds from sales of Citigroup, Inc., Common Stock and Corporate Bonds, and its affiliated broker/dealers which are affiliates of the Investment Advisor, Administrator and Distributor, was $3,667,730 and $113,161, respectively, including net realized gains of $10,332.
(c)	Resale is restricted to qualified institutional investors.
(d)	Floating rate security. Rate shown is the rate in effect at March 31, 2011.
(e)	Purchased on a discount basis. The interest rates shown have been adjusted to reflect a money market equivalent yield.
(f)	A portion of this security has been physically segregated in connection with open futures and swap contracts.
(g)	The Portfolio invests in the Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Funds — Money Market Portfolio — Institutional Class (the “Liquidity Fund”), an open-end management investment company managed by the Investment Adviser. Investment advisory fees paid by the Portfolio are reduced by an amount equal to the advisory and administrative service fees paid by the Liquidity Fund with respect to assets invested by the Portfolio in the Liquidity Fund.
(h)	Securities have been designated as collateral in connection with open futures, foreign currency exchange and swap contracts.
(i)	The aggregate cost for federal income tax purposes approximates the aggregate cost for book purposes.
Bond Insurance:
AMBAC	AMBAC Assurance Corporation.

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Strategist Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited) continued

Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts Open at March 31, 2011:

	CONTRACTS		IN EXCHANGE		DELIVERY		UNREALIZED
COUNTERPARTY	TO DELIVER		FOR		DATE		DEPRECIATION
UBS AG London	EUR	76,773	$	106,480		04/18/2011	$	(2,290	)

Currency Abbreviation:
EUR	Euro.

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Strategist Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited) continued

Futures Contracts Open at March 31, 2011:

		DESCRIPTION,	UNDERLYING			UNREALIZED
NUMBER OF	LONG/	DELIVERY MONTH	FACE AMOUNT			APPRECIATION
CONTRACTS	SHORT	AND YEAR	AT VALUE			(DEPRECIATION)
22	Long	U.S. Treasury Notes 5 Year, June 2011	$	2,569,359		$	1,177
2	Long	U.S. Treasury Notes 2 Year, June 2011		436,250			161
1	Short	Euro-Bund, June 2011		(171,877	)		310
8	Short	U.S. Treasury Notes 10 Year, June 2011		(952,250	)		4,639
13	Short	U.S. Treasury Bonds 30 Year, June 2011		(1,562,437	)		(10,082	)
		Net Unrealized Depreciation				$	(3,795	)

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Strategist Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited) continued

Interest Rate Swap Agreements Open at March 31, 2011:

	NOTIONAL									UNREALIZED
	AMOUNT		FLOATING RATE	PAY/RECEIVE				TERMINATION		APPRECIATION
SWAP COUNTERPARTY	(000)		INDEX	FLOATING RATE	FIXED RATE			DATE		(DEPRECIATION)
Bank of America, N.A.	$	275	3 Month LIBOR	Receive		4.058	%		12/09/40	$	10,483
Bank of America, N.A***		1,140	3 Month LIBOR	Pay		4.795			12/09/20		(4,400	)
Barclays Bank ***	SEK	10,278	3 Month STIBOR	Receive		3.106			06/22/12		197
Barclays Bank ***		21,016	3 Month STIBOR	Pay		3.832			03/22/15		(2,863	)
Barclays Bank ***		10,862	3 Month STIBOR	Receive		3.927			03/22/21		8,458
Credit Suisse Group	$	3,690	3 Month LIBOR	Receive		0.80			10/28/13		45,092
Credit Suisse Group	CAD	1,185	3 Month CDOR	Receive		2.18			09/08/15		35,819
Credit Suisse Group		854	3 Month CDOR	Receive		2.208			09/08/15		24,780
Credit Suisse Group	$	1,545	3 Month LIBOR	Pay		2.098			10/28/17		(77,868	)
Credit Suisse Group***	CAD	1,388	3 Month CDOR	Pay		4.065			09/08/20		(33,027	)
Credit Suisse Group***		1,000	3 Month CDOR	Pay		4.123			09/08/20		(21,471	)
Deutsche Bank AG ***	SEK	2,355	3 Month STIBOR	Receive		3.04			06/17/12		231
Deutsche Bank AG ***		4,820	3 Month STIBOR	Pay		3.78			03/17/15		(1,339	)
Deutsche Bank AG ***		2,500	3 Month STIBOR	Receive		3.83			03/17/21		3,358
Goldman Sachs	GBP	280	6 Month LIBOR	Receive		4.18			03/04/41		(3,363	)
Goldman Sachs		1,210	6 Month LIBOR	Pay		4.895			03/04/21		4,193
UBS AG	$	270	3 Month LIBOR	Receive		4.00			12/07/40		12,960
UBS AG		1,140	3 Month LIBOR	Pay		4.65			12/07/20		(10,887	)
			Net Unrealized Depreciation							$	(9,647	)

CDOR	Canadian Dealer Offered Rate.
LIBOR	London Interbank Offered Rate.
STIBOR	Stockholm Interbank Offered Rate.
***	Forward interest rate swap. Periodic payments on specified notional amount with future effective date, unless terminated earlier.
Currency Abbreviations:
CAD	Canadian Dollar.
GBP	British Pound.
SEK	Swedish Krona.

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Strategist Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited) continued

Zero Coupon Swap Contracts Open at March 31, 2011:

	NOTIONAL						UNREALIZED
	AMOUNT		FLOATING RATE	PAY/RECEIVE	TERMINATION		APPRECIATION
SWAP COUNTERPARTY	(000)		INDEX	FLOATING RATE	DATE		(DEPRECIATION)
Barclays Bank PLC^	$	710	3 Month LIBOR	Receive		11/15/19	$	(82,307	)
Barclays Bank PLC^^		710	3 Month LIBOR	Pay		11/15/19		7,434
JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. New York^		735	3 Month LIBOR	Receive		11/15/19		(79,298	)
JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. New York^		1,330	3 Month LIBOR	Receive		11/15/21		(133,508	)
			Net Unrealized Depreciation				$	(287,679	)

LIBOR	London Interbank Offered Rate.
^	Portfolio will make payments of $275,331, $279,388 and $589,387, respectively, on the termination date.
^^	Portfolio will receive payment of $194,966 on termination date.

Valuation of Investments — Money Market: Portfolio securities are valued at amortized cost, which approximates market value, in accordance with Rule 2a-7 under the Act. All remaining Portfolios: (1) an equity portfolio security listed or traded on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) or American Stock Exchange or other domestic exchange is valued at its last 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 ask 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 ask price; (3) all other domestic securities for which over-the-counter market quotations are readily available are valued at the mean between the last reported bid and ask price. In cases where a security is traded on more than one domestic exchange, the security is valued on the exchange designated as the primary market; (4) 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; (5) futures are valued at the latest price published by the commodities exchange on which they trade; (6) swaps are marked-to-market daily based upon quotations from market makers; (7) 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 ask price; (8) when market quotations are not readily available, including circumstances under which Morgan Stanley Investment Advisors Inc. (the “Investment Adviser”) or Morgan Stanley Investment Management Limited or Morgan Stanley Investment Management Company (each, a “Sub-Adviser”), each a wholly owned subsidiary of Morgan Stanley, determines that the latest sale price, the bid price or the mean between the last reported bid and ask 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 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; (9) certain portfolio securities may be valued by an outside pricing service approved by the Fund’s Trustees; (10) 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 (11) 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, which approximates market value.

Fair Valuation Measurements

Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures (“ASC 820”), defines fair value as the price that the Fund would receive to sell an investment or pay to transfer a liability in a timely transaction with an independent buyer in the principal market, or in the absence of a principal market the most advantageous market for the investment or liability. ASC 820 establishes a three-tier hierarchy to distinguish between (1) inputs that reflect the assumptions market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability developed based on market data obtained from sources independent of the reporting entity (observable inputs) and (2) inputs that reflect the reporting entity’s own assumptions about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability developed based on the best information available in the circumstances (unobservable inputs) and to establish classification of fair value measurements for disclosure purposes. Various inputs are used in determining the value of the Fund’s investments. The inputs are summarized in the three broad levels listed below.

• Level 1 — unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical investments

• Level 2 — other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar investments, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, etc.)

• Level 3 — significant unobservable inputs including the Fund’s own assumptions

in determining the fair value of investments. Factors considered in making this determination may include, but are not limited to, information obtained by contacting the issuer, analysts, or the appropriate stock exchange (for exchange-traded securities), analysis of the issuer’s financial statements or other available documents and, if necessary, available information concerning other securities in similar circumstances

The inputs or methodology used for valuing securities are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in those securities and the determination of the significance of a particular input to the fair value measurement in its entirety requires judgment and considers factors specific to each security.

The following is a summary of the inputs used as of March 31, 2011 in valuing the Fund’s investments carried at fair value:

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Money Market Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited)

	FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS AT MARCH 31, 2011 USING
			UNADJUSTED
			QUOTED PRICES IN
			ACTIVE MARKETS		OTHER
			FOR		SIGNIFICANT		SIGNIFICANT
			IDENTICAL		OBSERVABLE		UNOBSERVABLE
			INVESTMENTS		INPUTS		INPUTS
INVESTMENT TYPE	TOTAL		(LEVEL 1)		(LEVEL 2)		(LEVEL 3)
Short-Term Investments:
Repurchase Agreements	$	47,897,000		—	$	47,897,000		—
Commercial Paper		34,485,622		—		34,485,622		—
Floating Rate Notes — Corporate		22,000,000		—		22,000,000		—
Certificates of Deposit		17,500,000		—		17,500,000		—
Total	$	121,882,622		—	$	121,882,622		—

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Limited Duration Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited)

	FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS AT MARCH 31, 2011 USING
				UNADJUSTED
				QUOTED PRICES IN
				ACTIVE MARKETS			OTHER
				FOR			SIGNIFICANT			SIGNIFICANT
				IDENTICAL			OBSERVABLE			UNOBSERVABLE
				INVESTMENTS			INPUTS			INPUTS
INVESTMENT TYPE	TOTAL			(LEVEL 1)			(LEVEL 2)			(LEVEL 3)
Assets:
Corporate Bonds	$	35,702,843			—		$	35,702,843			—
Foreign Government Obligation		1,529,539			—			1,529,539			—
U.S. Government Agencies & Obligations		8,295,431			—			8,295,431			—
Asset-Backed Securities		15,686,072			—			15,686,072			—
U.S. Government Agencies — Mortgage-Backed Securities		1,174,492			—			1,174,492			—
Municipal Bond		300,045			—			300,045			—
Collateralized Mortgage Obligation		389,282			—			389,282			—
Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities		678,960			—			678,960			—
Short-Term Investments
U.S. Government Obligation		799,904			—			799,904			—
Investment Company		709,326		$	709,326			—			—
Total Short-Term Investments		1,509,230			709,326			799,904			—
Futures		2,294			2,294			—			—
Interest Rate Swaps		100,472			—			100,472			—
Zero Coupon Swaps		16,647			—			16,647			—
Total	$	65,385,307		$	711,620		$	64,673,687			—
Liabilities:
Futures	$	(4,355	)	$	(4,355	)		—			—
Interest Rate Swaps		(151,135	)		—		$	(151,135	)		—
Zero Coupon Swaps		(564,106	)		—			(564,106	)		—
Total	$	(719,596	)	$	(4,355	)	$	(715,241	)		—

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Income Plus Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited)

	FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS AT MARCH 31, 2011 USING
				UNADJUSTED
				QUOTED PRICES IN
				ACTIVE MARKETS			OTHER
				FOR			SIGNIFICANT			SIGNIFICANT
				IDENTICAL			OBSERVABLE			UNOBSERVABLE
				INVESTMENTS			INPUTS			INPUTS
INVESTMENT TYPE	TOTAL			(LEVEL 1)			(LEVEL 2)			(LEVEL 3)
Assets:
Corporate Bonds	$	200,829,713			—		$	200,829,713			—
Convertible Bonds		10,684,756			—			10,684,756			—
Foreign Government Obligations		1,978,718			—			1,978,718			—
U.S. Government Agency — Mortgage-Backed Security		1,601			—			1,601			—
Municipal Bond		640,782			—			640,782			—
Preferred Stock		579,487			—			579,487			—
Convertible Preferred Stock		353,847		$	353,847			—			—
Short-Term Investments
U.S. Government Obligations		584,938			—			584,938			—
Investment Company		4,987,234			4,987,234			—			—
Total Short-Term Investments		5,572,172			4,987,234			584,938			—
Futures		90,947			90,947			—			—
Interest Rate Swaps		402,188			—			402,188			—
Total	$	221,134,211		$	5,432,028		$	215,702,183			—
Liabilities:
Futures	$	(146,311	)	$	(146,311	)		—			—
Credit Default Swaps		(25,648	)		—		$	(25,648	)		—
Interest Rate Swaps		(546,388	)		—			(546,388	)		—
Total	$	(718,347	)	$	(146,311	)	$	(572,036	)		—

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Global Infrastructure Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited)

	FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS AT MARCH 31, 2011 USING
			UNADJUSTED
			QUOTED PRICES IN
			ACTIVE MARKETS		OTHER
			FOR		SIGNIFICANT		SIGNIFICANT
			IDENTICAL		OBSERVABLE		UNOBSERVABLE
			INVESTMENTS		INPUTS		INPUTS
INVESTMENT TYPE	TOTAL		(LEVEL 1)		(LEVEL 2)		(LEVEL 3)
Assets:
Common Stocks
Airports	$	3,221,342	$	3,221,342		—		—
Communications		12,294,495		12,294,495		—		—
Diversified		3,805,793		3,805,793		—		—
Oil & Gas Storage & Transportation		29,596,503		29,596,503		—		—
Ports		1,361,586		1,361,586		—		—
Toll Roads		7,123,575		7,123,575		—		—
Transmission & Distribution		16,661,254		16,661,254		—		—
Water		4,126,755		4,126,755		—		—
Total Common Stocks		78,191,303		78,191,303		—		—
Short-Term Investment — Investment Company		507,952		507,952		—		—
Total	$	78,699,255	$	78,699,255		—		—

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — European Equity Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited)

	FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS AT MARCH 31, 2011 USING
				UNADJUSTED
				QUOTED PRICES IN		OTHER
				ACTIVE MARKETS FOR		SIGNIFICANT			SIGNIFICANT
				IDENTICAL		OBSERVABLE			UNOBSERVABLE
				INVESTMENTS		INPUTS			INPUTS
INVESTMENT TYPE	TOTAL			(LEVEL 1)		(LEVEL 2)			(LEVEL 3)
Assets:
Common Stocks
Aerospace & Defense	$	1,286,528		$	1,286,528		—			—
Auto Components		1,228,969			1,228,969		—			—
Automobiles		1,879,707			1,879,707		—			—
Chemicals		1,374,616			1,374,616		—			—
Commercial Banks		9,614,975			9,614,975		—			—
Diversified Telecommunication Services		1,384,952			1,384,952		—			—
Electrical Equipment		1,857,317			1,857,317		—			—
Food & Staples Retailing		2,335,709			2,335,709		—			—
Food Products		3,025,727			3,025,727		—			—
Health Care Providers & Services		1,413,033			1,413,033		—			—
Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure		1,030,878			1,030,878		—			—
Household Products		1,375,243			1,375,243		—			—
Industrial Conglomerates		2,688,368			2,688,368		—			—
Insurance		4,305,005			4,305,005		—			—
Machinery		2,997,520			2,997,520		—			—
Media		1,244,029			1,244,029		—			—
Metals & Mining		3,878,695			3,878,695		—			—
Multi-Utilities		1,559,774			1,559,774		—			—
Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels		10,173,935			10,173,935		—			—
Pharmaceuticals		7,915,297			7,915,297		—			—
Professional Services		1,315,865			1,315,865		—			—
Specialty Retail		1,104,111			1,104,111		—			—
Tobacco		3,531,657			3,531,657		—			—
Wireless Telecommunication Services		2,877,644			2,877,644		—			—
Total Common Stocks		71,399,554			71,399,554		—			—
Short-Term Investments
Repurchase Agreements		171,249			—	$	171,249			—
Investment Company		1,867,359			1,867,359		—			—
Total Short-Term Investments		2,038,608			1,867,359		171,249			—
Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts Open		148,624			—		148,624			—
Total	$	73,586,786		$	73,266,913	$	319,873			—
Liabilities:
Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts Open	$	(14,276	)		—	$	(14,276	)		—

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Multi Cap Growth Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited)

	FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS AT MARCH 31, 2011 USING
			UNADJUSTED
			QUOTED PRICES IN
			ACTIVE MARKETS		OTHER
			FOR		SIGNIFICANT		SIGNIFICANT
			IDENTICAL		OBSERVABLE		UNOBSERVABLE
			INVESTMENTS		INPUTS		INPUTS
INVESTMENT TYPE	TOTAL		(LEVEL 1)		(LEVEL 2)		(LEVEL 3)
Common Stocks
Air Freight & Logistics	$	5,615,379	$	5,615,379		—		—
Capital Markets		6,896,371		6,896,371		—		—
Chemicals		8,252,742		8,252,742		—		—
Commercial Services & Supplies		10,493,013		10,493,013		—		—
Communications Equipment		10,209,743		10,209,743		—		—
Computers & Peripherals		20,604,894		20,604,894		—		—
Distributors		7,162,042		7,162,042		—		—
Diversified Financial Services		20,993,446		20,993,446		—		—
Food Products		6,303,827		6,303,827		—		—
Health Care Equipment & Supplies		6,918,628		6,918,628		—		—
Health Care Technology		6,782,452		6,782,452		—		—
Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure		21,447,585		21,447,585		—		—
Information Technology Services		4,305,698		4,305,698		—		—
Internet & Catalog Retail		28,770,120		28,770,120		—		—
Internet Software & Services		43,399,690		36,185,934		—	$	7,213,756
Life Sciences Tools & Services		9,365,626		9,365,626		—		—
Media		5,187,632		5,187,632		—		—
Metals & Mining		15,749,188		15,749,188		—		—
Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels		13,688,142		13,688,142		—		—
Professional Services		14,296,983		14,296,983		—		—
Real Estate Management & Development		10,893,186		10,893,186		—		—
Software		7,334,210		7,334,210		—		—
Total Common Stocks		284,670,597		277,456,841		—		7,213,756
Convertible Preferred Stock		1,465,815		—		—		1,465,815
Short-Term Investment — Investment Company		2,080,794		2,080,794		—		—
Total	$	288,217,206	$	279,537,635		—	$	8,679,571

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Aggressive Equity Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited)

	FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS AT MARCH 31, 2011 USING
			UNADJUSTED
			QUOTED PRICES IN
			ACTIVE MARKETS		OTHER
			FOR		SIGNIFICANT		SIGNIFICANT
			IDENTICAL		OBSERVABLE		UNOBSERVABLE
			INVESTMENTS		INPUTS		INPUTS
INVESTMENT TYPE	TOTAL		(LEVEL 1)		(LEVEL 2)		(LEVEL 3)
Common Stocks
Air Freight & Logistics	$	656,684	$	656,684		—		—
Capital Markets		806,520		806,520		—		—
Chemicals		965,177		965,177		—		—
Commercial Services & Supplies		1,248,571		1,248,571		—		—
Communications Equipment		1,219,233		1,219,233		—		—
Computers & Peripherals		2,409,880		2,409,880		—		—
Distributors		840,182		840,182		—		—
Diversified Financial Services		2,455,171		2,455,171		—		—
Food Products		737,217		737,217		—		—
Health Care Equipment & Supplies		809,307		809,307		—		—
Health Care Technology		793,205		793,205		—		—
Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure		2,508,229		2,508,229		—		—
Information Technology Services		503,552		503,552		—		—
Internet & Catalog Retail		3,364,519		3,364,519		—		—
Internet Software & Services		5,109,831		4,246,947		—	$	862,884
Life Sciences Tools & Services		1,095,264		1,095,264		—		—
Media		606,667		606,667		—		—
Metals & Mining		1,841,838		1,841,838		—		—
Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels		1,600,811		1,600,811		—		—
Professional Services		1,672,012		1,672,012		—		—
Real Estate Management & Development		1,273,925		1,273,925		—		—
Software		857,717		857,717		—		—
Total Common Stocks		33,375,512		32,512,628		—		862,884
Convertible Preferred Stock		177,270		—		—		177,270
Short-Term Investment — Investment Company		731,928		731,928		—		—
Total	$	34,284,710	$	33,244,556		—	$	1,040,154

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Strategist Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited)

	FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS AT MARCH 31, 2011 USING
				UNADJUSTED
				QUOTED PRICES IN
				ACTIVE MARKETS			OTHER
				FOR			SIGNIFICANT			SIGNIFICANT
				IDENTICAL			OBSERVABLE			UNOBSERVABLE
				INVESTMENTS			INPUTS			INPUTS
INVESTMENT TYPE	TOTAL			(LEVEL 1)			(LEVEL 2)			(LEVEL 3)
Assets:
Common Stocks
Aerospace & Defense	$	3,058,813		$	3,058,813			—			—
Capital Markets		2,218,580			2,218,580			—			—
Commercial Bank		1,455,000			1,455,000			—			—
Communications Equipment		2,801,453			2,801,453			—			—
Computers & Peripherals		17,986,743			17,986,743			—			—
Diversified Financial Services		10,893,114			10,893,114			—			—
Diversified Telecommunication Services		3,049,770			3,049,770			—			—
Food Products		3,715,152			3,715,152			—			—
Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure		3,564,817			3,564,817			—			—
Industrial Conglomerates		4,952,550			4,952,550			—			—
Information Technology Services		4,510,149			4,510,149			—			—
Insurance		6,630,370			6,630,370			—			—
Internet Software & Services		2,793,600			2,793,600			—			—
Machinery		3,490,266			3,490,266			—			—
Metals & Mining		11,618,933			11,618,933			—			—
Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels		8,878,659			8,878,659			—			—
Pharmaceuticals		4,577,147			4,577,147			—			—
Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)		3,960,878			3,960,878			—			—
Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment		3,707,347			3,707,347			—			—
Software		3,737,684			3,737,684			—			—
Specialty Retail		1,924,711			1,924,711			—			—
Wireless Telecommunication Services		7,656,000			7,656,000			—			—
Total Common Stocks		117,181,736			117,181,736			—			—
Corporate Bonds		14,835,571			—		$	14,835,571			—
Foreign Government Obligations		497,885			—			497,885			—
U.S. Government Agencies & Obligations		19,382,126			—			19,382,126			—
Asset-Backed Securities		418,141			—			418,141			—
U.S. Government Agencies — Mortgage-Backed Securities		4,351			—			4,351			—
Municipal Bonds		533,383			—			533,383			—
Investment Trusts/Mutual Funds		12,297,594			12,297,594			—			—
Short-Term Investments
U.S. Government Obligation		449,946			—			449,946			—
Investment Company		16,769,845			16,769,845			—			—
Total Short-Term Investments		17,219,791			16,769,845			449,946			—
Futures		6,287			6,287			—			—
Interest Rate Swaps		145,571			—			145,571			—
Zero Coupon Swaps		7,434			—			7,434			—
Total	$	182,529,870		$	146,255,462		$	36,274,408			—
Liabilities:
Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts	$	(2,290	)		—		$	(2,290	)		—
Futures		(10,082	)	$	(10,082	)		—			—

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series — Strategist Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments § March 31, 2011 (unaudited) continued

	FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS AT MARCH 31, 2011 USING
				UNADJUSTED
				QUOTED PRICES IN
				ACTIVE MARKETS			OTHER
				FOR			SIGNIFICANT			SIGNIFICANT
				IDENTICAL			OBSERVABLE			UNOBSERVABLE
				INVESTMENTS			INPUTS			INPUTS
INVESTMENT TYPE	TOTAL			(LEVEL 1)			(LEVEL 2)			(LEVEL 3)
Interest Rate Swaps	$	(155,218	)		—		$	(155,218	)		—
Zero Coupon Swaps		(295,113	)		—			(295,113	)		—
Total	$	(462,703	)	$	(10,082	)	$	(452,621	)		—

Transfers between investment levels may occur as the markets fluctuate and/or the availability of data used in an investment’s valuation changes. The Fund recognizes transfers between the levels as of the end of the period. As of March 31, 2011, securities with a total value of $166,972 transferred from Level 2 to Level 1 in the Global Infrastructure Portfolio. At December 31, 2010, the fair market value of a security was adjusted due to a halt on trading of that security which resulted in its Level 2 classification.

Following is a reconciliation of investments in which significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) were used in determining fair value:

	Multi Cap Growth				Aggressive Equity
	Common		Convertible Preferred					Convertible Preferred
	Stock		Stock		Common Stock			Stock
Beginning Balance	$	5,231,372	$	1,465,815		—		$	177,270
Purchases		1,334,854		—	$	862,949			—
Sales		—		—		—			—
Amortization of discount		—		—		—			—
Transfers in		—		—		—			—
Transfers out		—		—		—			—
Change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation		647,530		—		(65	)		—
Realized gains (losses)		—		—		—			—
Ending Balance	$	7,213,756	$	1,465,815	$	862,884		$	177,270
Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation from investments still held as of March 31, 2011	$	647,530		—	$	(65	)	$	—

Item 2. 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-Q 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 Fund’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Fund’s internal control over financial reporting.

Item 3. Exhibits.

(a) A separate certification for each principal executive officer and principal financial officer of the registrant are attached hereto.

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 Variable Investment Series

/s/ Sara Furber
Sara Furber
Principal Executive Officer
May 24, 2011

     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/ Sara Furber
Sara Furber
Principal Executive Officer
May 24, 2011

/s/ Francis Smith
Francis Smith
Principal Financial Officer
May 24, 2011