Mid Cap Growth Portfolio

Mid Cap Growth Portfolio

Objective

The Mid Cap Growth Portfolio seeks long-term capital growth.

Fees and Expenses

The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. For purchases of Class A shares, you may qualify for a sales charge discount if the cumulative net asset value ("NAV") of Class A shares of the Portfolio purchased in a single transaction, together with the NAV of all Class A shares of other portfolios of Morgan Stanley Institutional Fund Trust (the "Fund") or Class A shares of other Morgan Stanley Multi-Class Funds (as defined in the section of this Prospectus entitled "Shareholder Information—Exchange Privilege") held in Related Accounts (as defined in the section of this Prospectus entitled "Shareholder Information—How To Purchase Class A Shares"), amounts to $25,000 or more. More information about this combined purchase discount and other discounts is available from your financial intermediary and in the section of this Prospectus entitled "Shareholder Information—How To Purchase Class A Shares."

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees Mid Cap Growth Portfolio	Class I Shares	Class A Shares		Class L	Class IS
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price)	none	5.25%		none	none
Maximum deferred sales charge (load) (as a percentage based on the lesser of the offering price or NAV at redemption)	none	none	[1]	none	none

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

Annual Fund Operating Expenses Mid Cap Growth Portfolio	Class I Shares	Class A Shares	Class L	Class IS
Advisory Fee	0.50%	0.50%	0.50%	0.50%
Distribution and/or Shareholder Service (12b-1) Fee	none	0.25%	0.75%	none
Other Expenses	0.25%	0.25%	0.30%	0.11%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	0.75%	1.00%	1.55%	0.61%

Example

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

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

Expense Example Mid Cap Growth Portfolio (USD $)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class I Shares	77	240	417	930
Class A Shares	622	827	1,048	1,685
Class L	158	490	845	1,845
Class IS	62	195	340	762

Portfolio Turnover

The Portfolio 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 and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio's portfolio turnover rate was 45% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Portfolio's assets will be invested in common stocks of mid cap companies. This policy may be changed without shareholder approval; however you would be notified in writing of any changes. The Portfolio's "Adviser," Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc., seeks long-term capital growth by investing primarily in established and emerging companies with capitalizations within the range of companies included in the Russell Midcap® Growth Index, which as of December 31, 2014 was between $204 million and $33 billion. The Adviser emphasizes a bottom-up stock selection process, seeking attractive investments on an individual company basis. The Adviser seeks to invest in high quality companies it believes have sustainable competitive advantages and the ability to redeploy capital at high rates of return. The Adviser typically favors companies with rising returns on invested capital, above average business visibility, strong free cash flow generation and an attractive risk/reward. The Portfolio may also use derivative instruments as discussed herein. These derivative instruments will be counted towards the 80% policy discussed above to the extent they have economic characteristics similar to the securities included within that policy.

The Portfolio may invest up to 25% of its net assets in securities of foreign issuers, including issuers located in emerging market or developing countries. The securities in which the Portfolio may invest may be denominated in U.S. dollars or in currencies other than U.S. dollars. The Portfolio may invest in privately placed securities. In addition, the Portfolio may invest in convertible securities.

The Portfolio may utilize foreign currency forward exchange contracts, which are derivatives, in connection with its investments in foreign securities.

Principal Risks

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

•Equity Securities. In general, prices of equity securities are more volatile than those of fixed income securities. The prices of equity securities fluctuate, and sometimes widely fluctuate, in response to activities specific to the issuer of the security as well as factors unrelated to the fundamental condition of the issuer, including general market, economic and political conditions. To the extent that the Portfolio invests in convertible securities, and the convertible security's investment value is greater than its conversion value, its price will be likely to increase when interest rates fall and decrease when interest rates rise. If the conversion value exceeds the investment value, the price of the convertible security will tend to fluctuate directly with the price of the underlying security.

•   Mid Capitalization Companies. Investments in mid cap companies may involve greater risks than investments in larger, more established companies. The securities issued by mid cap companies may be less liquid, and such companies may have more limited markets, financial resources and product lines, and may lack the depth of management of larger companies.

•  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, which 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 risks associated with investments in foreign developed countries. In addition, the Portfolio's investments in foreign issuers may be denominated in foreign currencies and therefore, to the extent unhedged, the value of the investment 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 Portfolio'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.

•  Liquidity. The Portfolio's investments may also include privately placed securities, which are subject to resale restrictions. These securities will have the effect of increasing the level of Portfolio illiquidity to the extent the Portfolio may be unable to sell or transfer these securities due to restrictions on transfers or on the ability to find buyers interested in purchasing the securities. Additionally, the market for certain investments deemed liquid at the time of purchase may become illiquid under adverse market or economic conditions. The illiquidity of the market, as well as the lack of publicly available information regarding these securities, may also adversely affect the ability to arrive at a fair value for certain securities at certain times and could make it difficult for the Portfolio to sell certain securities. If the Portfolio 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.

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

Performance Information

The bar chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio by showing changes in the Portfolio's Class I shares' performance from year-to-year and by showing how the Portfolio's average annual returns for the past one, five and 10 year periods and since inception compare with those of a broad measure of market performance, as well as an index that represents a group of similar mutual funds, over time. The performance of the other Classes, which is shown in the table below, will differ because the Classes have different ongoing fees. The Portfolio's returns in the table include the maximum applicable sales charge for Class A and assume you sold your shares at the end of each period (unless otherwise noted). The Portfolio's past performance, before and after taxes, is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available online at www.morganstanley.com/im.

Annual Total Returns—Calendar Years

High Quarter	6/30/09	26.71	%
Low Quarter	12/31/08	–26.68	%

Average Annual Total Returns (For Periods Ended December 31, 2014)

Average Annual Returns Mid Cap Growth Portfolio		Average Annual Returns, 1 Year	Average Annual Returns, 5 Years	Average Annual Returns, 10 Years	Average Annual Returns, Since Inception		Average Annual Returns, Inception Date
Class I Shares		1.33%	13.70%	9.91%	12.92%		Mar. 30, 1990
Class A Shares		(4.23%)	12.21%	9.05%	9.96%		Jan. 31, 1997
Class L		0.52%			15.77%		Jun. 14, 2012
Class IS		1.49%			8.79%		Sep. 13, 2013
After Taxes on Distributions Class I Shares		(2.21%)	12.20%	9.17%	10.94%
After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares Class I Shares		3.30%	10.90%	8.14%	10.40%
Russell Midcap® Growth Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	[1]	11.90%	16.94%	9.43%	10.63%	[2]	Mar. 30, 1990
Lipper Mid-Cap Growth Funds Index (reflects no deductions for taxes)	[3]	7.91%	14.72%	8.89%	10.05%	[2]	Mar. 30, 1990

The after-tax returns shown in the table above are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates during the period shown and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. After-tax returns for the Portfolio's other Classes will vary from Class I shares' returns. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown, and after-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold their Portfolio shares through tax deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. After-tax returns may be higher than before-tax returns due to foreign tax credits and/or an assumed benefit from capital losses that would have been realized had Portfolio shares been sold at the end of the relevant periods, as applicable.

[1] Investments that are not subject to any sales charges at the time of purchase are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge ("CDSC") of 1.00% that will be imposed if you sell your shares within 18 months after the last day of the month of purchase, except for certain specific circumstances. See "Shareholder Information-How to Redeem Shares-Class A Shares" for further information about the CDSC waiver categories.

[1] The Russell Midcap Growth Index measures the performance of the mid-cap growth segment of the U.S. equity universe. It includes those Russell Midcap Index companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values. The Russell Midcap Index is a subset of the Russell 1000 Index and includes approximately 800 of the smallest securities in the Russell 1000 Index, which in turn consists of approximately 1,000 of the largest U.S. securities based on a combination of market capitalization and current index membership. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.

[2] Since Inception reflects the inception date of Class I.

[3] The Lipper Mid-Cap Growth Funds Index is an equally weighted performance index of the largest qualifying funds (based on net assets) in the Lipper Mid-Cap Growth Funds classification. There are currently 30 funds represented in this Index.