Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series The Limited Duration Portfolio
Class Y

Summary Prospectus | May 1, 2017

Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund's statutory prospectus ("Prospectus"), which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Fund's Prospectus and other information about the Fund, including the Statement of Additional Information ("SAI") and the most recent annual and semiannual reports to shareholders, online at www.morganstanley.com/im. You can also get this information at no cost by calling toll-free 1-866-414-6349 or by sending an e-mail request to orders@mysummaryprospectus.com. The Fund's Prospectus and SAI, both dated May 1, 2017 (as may be supplemented from time to time), are incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus.

Investment Objective

The Fund seeks to provide a high level of current income, consistent with the preservation of capital.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold Class Y shares of the Fund. Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses in the table and the Example below do not reflect the impact of any charges by your insurance company. If they did, expenses would be higher.

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Advisory Fee	0.30%
Distribution (12b-1) Fee	0.25%
Other Expenses	0.62%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	1.17%

Example

The example below is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund, your investment has a 5% return each year, and the Fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Limited Duration Portfolio	$119	$372	$644	$1,420

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 22% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund will normally invest at least 65% of its net assets in securities issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest by the U.S. Government, its agencies and instrumentalities, investment grade mortgage-backed securities, and investment grade corporate and other types of bonds including asset-backed securities. In selecting portfolio investments to purchase or sell, the "Adviser," Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc., considers both domestic and international economic developments, interest rate levels, the steepness of the yield curve and other factors, and seeks to maintain an overall average duration for the Fund's portfolio of three years or less.

The Fund may invest in securities of foreign issuers, including issuers located in emerging market or developing countries. Securities of such foreign issuers may be denominated in U.S. dollars or in currencies other than U.S. dollars. The Fund will limit its investments in non-U.S. dollar-denominated securities to 20% of the Fund's net assets.

Certain of the securities in which the Fund may invest are mortgage-backed securities.The mortgage-backed securities in which the Fund may invest include mortgage pass-through securities, collateralized mortgage obligations ("CMOs"), stripped mortgage-backed securities ("SMBS") and inverse floating rate

Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series | Fund Summary

Limited Duration Portfolio (Con't)

obligations ("inverse floaters"). In addition, the Fund may invest in to-be-announced pass-through mortgage securities, which settle on a delayed delivery basis ("TBAs"). The Fund may also invest in asset-backed securities. Asset-backed securities apply the securitization techniques used to develop mortgage-backed securities to a broad range of other assets. The Fund may also invest in restricted and illiquid securities.

The Fund may, but it is not required to, use derivative instruments for a variety of purposes, including hedging, risk management, portfolio management or to earn income. The Fund's use of derivatives may involve the purchase and sale of derivative instruments such as futures, options, swaps and other related instruments and techniques. The Fund may utilize foreign currency forward exchange contracts, which are also derivatives, in connection with its investments in foreign securities. These derivative instruments will be counted toward the Fund's 65% policy discussed above to the extent they have economic characteristics similar to the securities included within that policy.

Principal Risks

There is no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective, and you can lose money investing in this Fund. The principal risks of investing in the Fund include:

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Fixed-Income Securities. Fixed-income securities are subject to the risk of the issuer's inability to meet principal and interest payments on its obligations (i.e., credit risk) and are subject to price volatility resulting from, among other things, interest rate sensitivity, market perception of the creditworthiness of the issuer and general market liquidity (i.e., market risk). The historically low interest rate environment increases the risk associated with rising interest rates, including the potential for periods of volatility and increased redemptions. The Fund may face a heightened level of interest rate risk, especially since the Federal Reserve Board has ended its quantitative easing program and has begun to raise rates. The Fund may be subject to certain liquidity risks that may result from the lack of an active market and the reduced number and capacity of traditional market participants to make a market in fixed-income securities. Securities with longer durations are likely to be more sensitive to changes in interest rates, generally making them more volatile than securities with shorter durations. Lower rated fixed-income securities have greater volatility because there is less certainty that principal and interest payments will be made as scheduled. 

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U.S. Government Securities. The U.S. government securities in which the Fund invests can be subject to two types of risk: credit risk and interest rate risk. When the general level of interest rates goes up, the prices of most fixed-income securities go down. When the general level of interest rates goes down, the prices of most fixed-income securities go up. While the credit risk associated with U.S. government securities generally is considered to be minimal, the interest rate risk can be substantial. With respect to U.S. government securities that are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, there is the risk that the U.S. Government will not provide financial support to such U.S. government agencies, instrumentalities or sponsored enterprises if it is not obligated to do so by law.

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Mortgage-Backed Securities. Mortgage-backed securities entail prepayment risk, which generally increases during a period of falling interest rates. Rising interest rates tend to discourage refinancings, with the result that the average life and volatility of mortgage securities will increase and market price will decrease. Rates of prepayment, faster or slower than expected by the Adviser, could reduce the Fund's yield, increase the volatility of the Fund and/or cause a decline in net asset value per share ("NAV"). Mortgage-backed securities are also subject to extension risk, which is the risk that rising interest rates could cause mortgages or other obligations underlying the securities to be prepaid more slowly than expected, thereby lengthening the duration of such securities, increasing their sensitivity to interest rate changes and causing their prices to decline. Certain mortgage-backed securities may be more volatile and less liquid than other traditional types of debt securities. In addition, an unexpectedly high rate of defaults on the mortgages held by a mortgage pool may adversely affect the value of a mortgage-backed security and could result in losses to the Fund. The risk of such defaults is generally higher in the case of mortgage pools that include subprime mortgages. In addition, the Fund may invest in TBAs, which settle on a delayed delivery basis. Investments in TBAs may give rise to a form of leverage and may cause the Fund's portfolio turnover rate to appear higher. Leverage may cause the Fund to be more volatile than if the Fund had not been leveraged.

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CMOs. CMOs are comprised of various tranches, the expected cash flows of which have varying degrees of predictability as compared with the underlying mortgage loans or mortgage pass-through entities. The less predictable the cash flow, the higher the yield and the greater the risk. In addition, if the collateral securing CMOs or any third-party guarantees is insufficient to make payments, the Fund could sustain a loss.

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SMBS. Investments in each class of SMBS are extremely sensitive to changes in interest rates. The interest-only or "IO" class tends to decrease in value substantially if interest rates decline and prepayment rates become more rapid. The principal-only or "PO" class tends to decrease in value substantially if interest rates increase and the rate of prepayment decreases. If the Fund invests in SMBS and interest rates move in a manner not anticipated by Fund management, it is possible that the Fund could lose all or substantially all of its investment.

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Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series | Fund Summary

Limited Duration Portfolio (Con't)

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Inverse Floaters. Inverse floating rate obligations are obligations which pay interest at rates that vary inversely with changes in market rates of interest. Because the interest rate paid to holders of such obligations is generally determined by subtracting a variable or floating rate from a predetermined amount, the interest rate paid to holders of such obligations will decrease as such variable or floating rate increases and increase as such variable or floating rate decreases.

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Asset-Backed Securities. Asset-backed securities involve the risk that various federal and state consumer laws and other legal and economic factors may result in the collateral backing the securities being insufficient to support payment on the securities. Some asset-backed securities also entail prepayment risk, which may vary depending on the type of asset.

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Liquidity. The Fund's investments in restricted and illiquid securities may entail greater risk than investments in other types of securities. These securities may be more difficult to sell, particularly in times of market turmoil. Additionally, the market for certain investments deemed liquid at the time of purchase may become illiquid under adverse market or economic conditions. Liquidity risk may be magnified in a rising interest rate environment or other circumstances where investor redemptions from fixed income mutual funds may be higher than normal. Illiquid securities may be more difficult to value. If the Fund is forced to sell an illiquid security to fund redemptions or for other cash needs, it may be forced to sell the security at a loss.

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Foreign and Emerging Market Securities. Investments in foreign markets entail special risks such as currency, political, economic and market risks. There also may be greater market volatility, less reliable financial information, higher transaction and custody costs, decreased market liquidity and less government and exchange regulation associated with investments in foreign markets. In addition, investments in certain foreign markets that have historically been considered stable may become more volatile and subject to increased risk due to ongoing developments and changing conditions in such markets. Moreover, the growing interconnectivity of global economies and financial markets has increased the probability that adverse developments and conditions in one country or region will affect the stability of economies and financial markets in other countries or regions. The risks of investing in emerging market countries are greater than the risks associated with investments in foreign developed countries. In addition, the Fund's investments in foreign issuers may be denominated in foreign currencies and therefore, to the extent unhedged, the value of those investments will fluctuate with the U.S. dollar exchange rates. To the extent hedged by the use of foreign currency forward exchange contracts, the precise matching of the foreign currency forward exchange contract amounts and the value of the securities involved will not generally be possible because the future value of such securities in foreign currencies will change as a consequence of market movements in the value of those securities between the date on which the contract is entered into and the date it matures. There is additional risk that such transactions reduce or preclude the opportunity for gain if the value of the currency should move in the direction opposite to the position taken and that foreign currency forward exchange contracts create exposure to currencies in which the Fund's securities are not denominated. The use of foreign currency forward exchange contracts involves the risk of loss from the insolvency or bankruptcy of the counterparty to the contract or the failure of the counterparty to make payments or otherwise comply with the terms of the contract.

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Derivatives. A derivative instrument often has risks similar to its underlying asset and may have additional risks, including imperfect correlation between the value of the derivative and the underlying asset, risks of default by the other party to certain transactions, magnification of losses incurred due to changes in the market value of the securities, instruments, indices or interest rates to which the derivative instrument relates and risks that the transactions may not be liquid. Certain derivative transactions may give rise to a form of leverage. Leverage magnifies the potential for gain and the risk of loss.

Shares of the Fund are not bank deposits and are not guaranteed or insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

Past Performance

The bar chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the performance of the Fund's Class Y shares from year-to-year and by showing how the average annual returns of the Fund's Class Y shares for the one, five and 10 year periods compare with those of a broad measure of market performance over time. This performance information does not include the impact of any charges deducted by your insurance company. If it did, returns would be lower. The Fund's past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.

Annual Total Returns—Calendar Years

High Quarter	06/30/16	2.99%
Low Quarter	03/31/08	-7.01%

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Morgan Stanley Variable Investment Series | Fund Summary

Limited Duration Portfolio (Con't)

Average Annual Total Returns For Periods Ended December 31, 2016²

	Past 1 Year	Past 5 Years	Past 10 Years
Income Plus Portfolio	4.80%	1.67%	0.46%
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Government/Credit Index (1-5 Year) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)1	1.56%	1.29%	3.05%

1	The Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Government/Credit Index (1-5 Year) tracks the performance of U.S. government and corporate obligations, including U.S. government agency and Treasury securities, and corporate and Yankee bonds with maturities of one to five years. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.
2	During 2016, the Fund received proceeds related to certain non-litigation settlements. Had these settlements not occurred, the one, five and 10 year returns for such periods would have been lower. Please refer to the Financial Highlights for further information.

Fund Management

Adviser. Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc.

Portfolio Managers. The Fund is managed by members of the Taxable Fixed Income team. Information about the members jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund is shown below:

Name	Title with Adviser	Date Began Managing Fund
Neil Stone	Managing Director	January 2011
Matthew Dunning	Executive Director	October 2014
Eric Jesionowski	Executive Director	May 2015

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

The Prospectus offers Class Y shares of the Limited Duration Portfolio. The Fund also offers Class X shares of the Fund through a separate prospectus. Class X shares are subject to different expenses. For eligibility information, contact your insurance company.

Fund shares will be sold at the next price calculated after we receive the redemption request on your behalf.

The Fund offers its shares only to insurance company separate accounts that insurance companies establish to fund variable life insurance and/or variable annuity contracts. An insurance company purchases or redeems shares of the Fund based on, among other things, the amount of net contract premiums or purchase payments allocated to a separate account investment division, transfers to or from a separate account investment division, contract loans and repayments, contract withdrawals and surrenders, and benefit payments. The contract prospectus describes how contract owners may allocate, transfer and withdraw amounts to, and from, separate accounts.

For more information, please refer to the section of the Prospectus entitled "Shareholder Information—Purchases and Sales of Fund Shares."

Tax Information

Special tax rules apply to life insurance companies, variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance contracts. For information on federal income taxation of a life insurance company with respect to its receipt of distributions from the Fund and federal income taxation of owners of variable annuity or variable life insurance contracts, see the accompanying contract prospectus.

Payments to Insurance Companies and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase Fund shares through an insurance company or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Adviser and/or the Fund's "Distributor," Morgan Stanley Distribution, Inc., may pay the financial intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments, which may be significant in amount, may create a conflict of interest by influencing the insurance company or other financial intermediary and your salesperson to recommend one variable annuity contract over another or be a factor in an insurance company's decision to include the Fund as an underlying investment option in its variable insurance products. Ask your salesperson or visit your insurance company's or other financial intermediary's web site for more information.

© 2017 Morgan Stanley.