Investment objective
Maximum total return, consistent with preservation of capital and prudent investment management.
Fund fees and expenses
This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.
Annual Advisory Program Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment in the applicable Morgan Stanley-sponsored investment advisory program)
Maximum annual fees in the Consulting Group Advisor, Select UMA or Portfolio Management investment advisory programs (as a percentage of prior quarter-end net assets)* |
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Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay
each year as a percentage of the value of your investment in the Fund)
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Distribution (12b-1) Fees |
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Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
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Net Annual Fund Operating Expenses* |
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* CGAS (defined herein) has contractually agreed to waive fees and reimburse expenses in order to keep the Fund’s management fees from exceeding the total amount of sub-advisory fees paid by CGAS
plus 0.20% based on average net assets. This contractual waiver will only apply if the Fund’s total management fees exceed the total amount of sub-advisory fees paid by CGAS plus 0.20% and will not affect the Fund’s total
management fees if they are less than such amount. This fee waiver and/or reimbursement will continue for at least one year from the date of this prospectus or until such time as the Board of Trustees acts to discontinue all or a portion of such
waiver and/or reimbursement when they deem such action is appropriate.
Examples
These examples are intended
to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The
examples assume that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated. The examples also assume that
your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The
effect of the Fund’s contractual fee waiver is only reflected in the first year of the example. The figures
are calculated based upon total annual Fund operating expenses and a maximum annual fee of 2.00% for the
applicable Morgan Stanley-sponsored investment advisory program through which you invest. Although your actual
costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
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 and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs,
which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the above examples, affect the Fund’s
performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 254% of the average
value of its portfolio.
Principal investment strategies
The Fund will invest, under normal market conditions, at least 80% of its net assets (plus the amount of any borrowing for investment purposes) in fixed income instruments. Fixed income instruments include securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies or government-sponsored
enterprises (note that securities issued by U.S. Government agencies or government-sponsored enterprises may not
be guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury); corporate debt securities of U.S. and non-U.S. issuers, including
convertible securities and corporate commercial paper; mortgage-backed and other asset-backed securities;
inflation-indexed bonds issued both by governments and corporations; structured notes, including hybrid or
“indexed” securities and event-linked bonds; loan participations and assignments; delayed funding loans and revolving credit facilities; bank certificates of deposit, fixed time deposits and bankers’ acceptances; repurchase
agreements on fixed income instruments and reverse repurchase agreements on fixed income instruments; debt
securities issued by states or local governments and their agencies, authorities and other government-sponsored
enterprises; obligations of non-U.S. governments or their subdivisions, agencies and government-sponsored
enterprises; and obligations of international agencies or supranational entities.
The Fund may also invest in derivatives based on fixed income instruments, including futures, forwards, options, swaps, and swaptions, and may use other investment techniques such as
mortgage dollar rolls, buy-backs and securities lending to earn additional income. The Fund also may engage in
short sales. The Fund may also invest in Exchange-Traded Funds (“ETFs”) to gain exposure to a
particular portion of the market while allocating assets among Sub-advisers (as defined below), transitioning the
Fund’s portfolio or awaiting an opportunity to purchase securities directly.
Investments may be structured to provide all types of interest rate payments, including fixed, variable, floating, inverse,
zero or interest-only rates of interest. The Fund may invest up to 30% of its total assets in securities
denominated in foreign currencies and may invest beyond this limit in U.S. dollar-denominated securities of
foreign issuers. The Fund may invest in currency spot and forward transactions for the purpose of active currency
exposure. Foreign currency exposure (from non-U.S. dollar-denominated securities or currencies) normally will be
limited to 20% of the Fund’s total assets. The Fund may invest up to 15% in emerging market