2022-09-21MSILFInstitutionalClassPortfolios_485B_PSP_February2023
 
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MORGAN STANLEY INSTITUTIONAL LIQUIDITY FUNDS
  
Statement of Additional Information
February 28, 2023
Share Class and Ticker Symbol
Fund Name
Institutional
Class
Institutional
Select Class
Investor
Class
Administrative
Class
Advisory
Class
Participant
Class
Cash Management
Class
Select
Class
CastleOak Class
Impact
Class
Prime Portfolio
MPFXX
MPEXX
MPVXX
MPMXX
MAVXX
MPNXX
MSPXX
CASXX
IMTXX
Government Portfolio
MVRXX
MGSXX
MVVXX
MGOXX
MAYXX
MPCXX
MSGXX
MSDXX
COSXX
IMPXX
Government Securities Portfolio
MUIXX
MSVXX
MVIXX
MGAXX
MVAXX
MGPXX
MCHXX
Treasury Portfolio
MISXX
MTSXX
MTNXX
MTTXX
MAOXX
MTCXX
MREXX
MSTXX
Treasury Securities Portfolio
MSUXX
MSSXX
MNVXX
MAMXX
MVYXX
MPRXX
MHSXX
MSEXX
Tax-Exempt Portfolio
MTXXX
MXSXX
MXIXX
MXAXX
MADXX
MXPXX
MTMXX
Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Funds (the “Trust”) is a mutual fund currently consisting of the following seven portfolios:, the Prime Portfolio, the Government Portfolio, the Government Securities Portfolio, the Treasury Portfolio, the Treasury Securities Portfolio, Tax-Exempt Portfolio (each a  “Fund” and collectively the “Funds”) and the ESG Money Market Portfolio. Each Fund offers the following classes of shares: Institutional Class, Institutional Select Class, Investor Class, Administrative Class, Advisory Class, Participant Class and Cash Management Class. The Government Portfolio, the Treasury Portfolio and the Treasury Securities Portfolio also offer Select Class shares. The Prime Portfolio  and Government Portfolio offer CastleOak Class shares. The Government Portfolio and Prime Portfolio offer Impact Class shares. The Funds are designed to provide investors with a variety of liquidity options. This Statement of Additional Information (the “SAI”) sets forth information about the Trust and information applicable to the Funds. Information regarding the Administrative Class, the Advisory Class, the Cash Management Class, the Investor Class, the Participant Class, the Select Class, the Wealth Class and the Wealth S Class of the ESG Money Market Portfolio are set forth in a separate SAI dated January 23, 2023. This SAI is not a prospectus but should be read in conjunction with the Funds’ Prospectuses relating to the Institutional Class, Institutional Select Class, Investor Class, Administrative Class, Advisory Class, Participant Class, Cash Management Class, Select Class, CastleOak  Class and Impact Class dated February 28, 2023,  as may be supplemented from time to time. To obtain any of these Prospectuses, please call Shareholder Services at the number indicated below. The Funds’ most recent Annual Report to Shareholders is a separate document supplied with this SAI.
The Funds’ Annual Report to Shareholders includes the Funds’ audited financial statements, including notes thereto, and the report of the Funds’ independent registered public accounting firm, which are incorporated by reference into this SAI.
SHAREHOLDER SERVICES: 1-888-378-1630
PRICES AND INVESTMENT RESULTS: WWW.MORGANSTANLEY.COM/LIQUIDITY

 
 
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INVESTMENTS AND INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
The following discussion of each Fund’s investments and risks should be read in conjunction with the sections of the Funds’ Prospectuses entitled “Principal Investment Strategies,” “Principal Risks,” “Approach,” and “Additional Information about the Funds’ Investment Strategies and Related Risks.” The Funds’ investments are limited by the quality, maturity and diversification requirements adopted under Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (“Rule 2a-7” of the “1940 Act”). In addition, each Fund is “diversified” and, as such, each Fund’s investments are required to meet certain diversification requirements under federal securities laws.
Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc. is the adviser (the “Adviser” or “MSIM”) to each Fund.  
Agencies. Agencies refer to fixed-income securities issued or guaranteed by federal agencies and U.S. government sponsored instrumentalities. They may or may not be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. If they are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, the investor must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing or guaranteeing the obligation for ultimate repayment, and may not be able to assert a claim against the United States itself in the event the agency or instrumentality does not meet its commitment. Agencies that are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States include the Export-Import Bank, Farmers Home Administration, Federal Financing Bank and others. Certain debt issued by Resolution Funding Corporation has both its principal and interest backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury in that its principal is backed by U.S. Treasury zero coupon issues, while the U.S. Treasury is explicitly required to advance funds sufficient to pay interest on it, if needed. Certain agencies and instrumentalities, such as the Government National Mortgage Association (“Ginnie Mae”), are, in effect, backed by the full faith and credit of the United States through provisions in their charters that they may make “indefinite and unlimited” drawings on the Treasury if needed to service their debt. Debt from certain other agencies and instrumentalities, including the Federal Home Loan Banks, the Federal National Mortgage Association (“Fannie Mae”)  and  the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (“Freddie Mac”), are not guaranteed by the United States, but those institutions are protected by the discretionary authority of the U.S. Treasury to purchase certain amounts of their securities to assist them in meeting their debt obligations. Finally, other agencies and instrumentalities, such as the Farm Credit System, are federally chartered institutions under U.S. Government supervision, but their debt securities are backed only by the creditworthiness of those institutions, not the U.S. Government. Some of the U.S. government agencies that issue or guarantee securities include the Export-Import Bank of the United States, Farmers Home Administration, Federal Housing Administration, Maritime Administration, Small Business Administration and the Tennessee Valley Authority.  
An instrumentality of the U.S. Government is a government agency organized under federal charter with government supervision. Instrumentalities issuing or guaranteeing securities include, among others, Federal Home Loan Banks, the Federal Land Bank, Central Bank for Cooperatives, Federal Intermediate Credit Banks and Fannie Mae.
U.S. Government Securities. U.S. government securities refer to a variety of fixed-income securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government and its various instrumentalities and agencies. The U.S. government securities that  certain Funds may purchase include U.S. Treasury bills, notes and bonds, all of which are direct obligations of the U.S. Government. In addition,  certain Funds may purchase securities issued by agencies and instrumentalities of the U.S. Government that are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. Among the agencies and instrumentalities issuing these obligations are  Ginnie Mae and the Federal Housing Administration.  Certain Funds may also purchase securities issued by agencies and instrumentalities that are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, but whose issuing agency or instrumentality has the right to borrow, to meet its obligations, from the U.S. Treasury. Among these agencies and instrumentalities are Fannie Mae,  Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks. Further,  certain Funds may purchase securities issued by agencies and instrumentalities that are backed solely by the credit of the issuing agency or instrumentality. Among these agencies and instrumentalities is the Federal Farm Credit System.
Asset-Backed Securities. Certain Funds may invest in asset-backed securities. Asset-backed securities utilize the securitization techniques used to develop MBS. These techniques are also applied to a broad range of other assets. Various types of assets, primarily automobile and credit card receivables and home equity loans, are being securitized in pass-through structures similar to the mortgage pass-through structures. These types of securities are known as asset-backed securities.  A Fund may invest in any type of asset-backed security. Asset-backed securities have risk characteristics similar to MBS. Like MBS, they generally decrease in value as a result of interest rate increases, but may benefit less than other fixed-income securities from declining interest rates, principally because of prepayments. Also, as in the case of MBS, prepayments generally increase during a period of declining interest rates although other factors, such as changes in credit use and payment patterns, may also influence prepayment rates. Asset-backed securities also involve the risk that various federal and state consumer laws and other legal, regulatory and economic factors may result in the collateral backing the securities being insufficient to support payment on the securities.
Bank Obligations. Bank obligations include certificates of deposit, commercial paper, unsecured bank promissory notes, bankers’ acceptances, time deposits and other debt obligations. Certain Funds may invest in obligations issued or backed by U.S. banks when a bank has more than $1 billion in total assets at the time of purchase or is a branch or subsidiary of such a bank. In addition, certain Funds may invest in U.S. dollar-denominated obligations issued or guaranteed by foreign banks that have more than $1 billion in total assets at the time of purchase, U.S. branches or subsidiaries of such foreign banks (Yankee obligations), foreign branches of such
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foreign banks and foreign branches of U.S. banks having more than $1 billion in total assets at the time of purchase. Bank obligations may be general obligations of the parent bank or may be limited to the issuing branch by the terms of the specific obligation or by U.S. government regulation.
If a Fund invests more than 25% of its total assets in bank obligations (whether foreign or domestic), it may be especially affected by favorable and adverse developments in or related to the banking industry. The activities of U.S. and most foreign banks are subject to comprehensive regulations, which, in the case of U.S. regulations, have undergone substantial changes in the past decade. The enactment of new legislation or regulations, as well as changes in interpretation and enforcement of current laws, may affect the manner of operations and profitability of domestic and foreign banks. Significant developments in the U.S. banking industry have included increased competition from other types of financial institutions, increased acquisition activity and geographic expansion. Banks may be particularly susceptible to certain economic factors, such as interest rate changes and adverse developments in the real estate markets. Fiscal and monetary policy and general economic cycles can affect the availability and cost of funds, loan demand and asset quality and thereby impact the earnings and financial conditions of banks.
Investment Company Securities. In accordance with Rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act, a money market fund (such as a Fund) is permitted to invest in securities issued by a registered investment company that also is a money market fund. The Funds (other than the Treasury Securities Portfolio)  may, to the extent noted in the Fund’s non-fundamental limitations, invest in investment company securities as may be permitted by (i) the 1940 Act; (ii) the rules and regulations promulgated by the  SEC under the 1940 Act; or (iii) an exemption or other relief applicable to the Fund from provisions of the 1940 Act. The 1940 Act generally prohibits an investment company from acquiring more than 3% of the outstanding voting shares of an investment company and limits such investments to no more than 5% of a Fund’s total assets in any one investment company and no more than 10% in any combination of investment companies. The 1940 Act also prohibits  a Fund from acquiring in the aggregate more than 10% of the outstanding voting shares of any registered closed-end investment company.  A Fund may invest in investment company securities of investment companies managed by the  Adviser or  its affiliates to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act or as otherwise authorized by the SEC. To the extent  a Fund invests a portion of its assets in investment company securities, those assets will be subject to the risks of the purchased investment company’s portfolio securities, and a shareholder in the Fund will bear not only his proportionate share of the expenses of the Fund, but also, indirectly the expenses of the purchased investment company.
To the extent permitted by applicable law,  each Fund (other than the Treasury Securities Portfolio)  may invest all or some of its short-term cash investments in any money market fund advised or managed by the Adviser or  its affiliates. In connection with any such investments, each Fund, to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act, will pay its share of all expenses (other than advisory and administrative fees) of a money market fund in which it invests, which may result in the Fund bearing some additional expenses.  The rules governing money market funds:  (1) permit (and, under certain circumstances, require) certain money market funds to impose a “liquidity fee” (up to 2%), or a “redemption gate” that temporarily restricts redemptions from a money market fund, if weekly liquidity levels fall below the required regulatory threshold, and (2) require “institutional money market funds” to operate with a floating net asset value per share (“NAV”) rounded to a minimum of the fourth decimal place in the case of a fund with a $1.0000 share price or an equivalent or more precise level of accuracy for money market funds with a different share price (e.g., $10.000 per share, or $100.00 per share). These may affect the investment strategies, performance and operating expenses of money market funds. If a Fund invests in the Government Portfolio, the Government  Securities Portfolio, the Treasury Portfolio or the Treasury Securities Portfolio, such requirements do not currently apply.  
Corporates. Corporates are fixed-income securities issued by private businesses. Holders, as creditors, have a prior legal claim over holders of equity securities of the issuer as to both income and assets for the principal and interest due to the holder. The Funds will buy corporates subject to any quality constraints set forth under Rule 2a-7.
Custodial Receipts.  Certain Funds may invest in custodial receipts representing interests in U.S. government securities, municipal obligations or other debt instruments held by a custodian or trustee. Custodial receipts evidence ownership of future interest payments, principal payments or both on notes or bonds issued or guaranteed as to principal or interest by the U.S. Government, its agencies, instrumentalities, political subdivisions or authorities, by a state or local governmental body or authority, or by other types of issuers. For certain securities law purposes, custodial receipts are not considered obligations of the underlying issuers. In addition, if for tax purposes a Fund is not considered to be the owner of the underlying securities held in the custodial account, the Fund may suffer adverse tax consequences. As a holder of custodial receipts, a  Fund will bear its proportionate share of the fees and expenses charged to the custodial account.
Industrial Development and Pollution Control Bonds. The Tax-Exempt Portfolio may invest more than 25% of its total assets in industrial development and pollution control bonds (two kinds of tax-exempt municipal bonds) whether or not the users of the facilities financed by such bonds are in the same industry. In cases where such users are in the same industry, there may be additional risk to the Fund in the event of an economic downturn in such industry, which may result generally in a lowered need for such facilities and a lowered ability of such users to pay for the use of such facilities.
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Lease Obligations. Included within the revenue bonds category in which  a Fund may invest are participations in lease obligations or installment purchase contracts (hereinafter collectively called “lease obligations”) of municipalities. State and local governments, agencies or authorities issue lease obligations to acquire equipment and facilities. Lease obligations may have risks not normally associated with general obligation or other revenue bonds. Leases, and installment purchase or conditional sale contracts (which may provide for title to the leased asset to pass eventually to the issuer), have developed as a means for governmental issuers to acquire property and equipment without the necessity of complying with the constitutional and statutory requirements generally applicable for the issuance of debt. Certain lease obligations contain “non-appropriation” clauses that provide that the governmental issuer has no obligation to make future payments under the lease or contract unless money is appropriated for such purpose by the appropriate legislative body on an annual or other periodic basis. Consequently, continued lease payments on those lease obligations containing “non-appropriation” clauses are dependent on future legislative actions. If such legislative actions do not occur, the holders of the lease obligation may experience difficulty in exercising their rights, including disposition of the property.
In addition, lease obligations do not have the depth of marketability associated with more conventional municipal obligations, and, as a result, certain of such lease obligations may be considered illiquid securities. The  Adviser, pursuant to procedures adopted by the Trustees, will make a determination as to the liquidity of each lease obligation purchased by the Funds. If a lease obligation is determined to be “liquid,” the security will not be included within the category “illiquid securities.”
Variable Rate and Floating Rate Obligations.  A  Fund may invest in variable rate and floating rate obligations. Subject to the conditions for using amortized cost valuation under the 1940 Act,  a Fund may consider the maturity of a variable or floating rate obligation to be shorter than its ultimate stated maturity if the obligation is issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or its various instrumentalities and agencies, if the obligation has a remaining maturity of 397 calendar days or less or if the obligation has a demand feature that permits the Fund to receive payment at any time or at specified intervals not exceeding 397 calendar days. The interest rate payable, on a variable rate obligation, is adjusted at pre-designated periodic intervals and, on a floating rate obligation, whenever there is a change in the market rate of interest on which the interest rate payable is based. Other features may include the right whereby a  Fund may demand prepayment of the principal amount of the obligation prior to its stated maturity and the right of the issuer to prepay the principal amount prior to maturity. The principal benefit of a variable rate obligation is that the interest rate adjustment minimizes changes in the market value of the obligation. In addition, the purchase of variable rate and floating rate obligations should allow the Fund to sell obligations prior to maturity at a price that is approximately the full principal amount of the obligations. The principal benefit to a  Fund of purchasing obligations with a demand feature is that liquidity, and the ability of the Fund to obtain repayment of the full principal amount of an obligation prior to maturity, is enhanced. The payment of principal and interest by issuers of certain obligations purchased by a  Fund may be guaranteed by letters of credit or other credit facilities offered by banks or other financial institutions. Such guarantees will be considered in determining whether an obligation meets a  Fund’s investment quality requirements. A  Fund may purchase variable or floating rate obligations from the issuers or may purchase certificates of participation, a type of variable or floating rate obligation, which are interests in a pool of debt obligations held by a bank or other financial institution. Certain of the variable rate obligations may be in the form of preferred shares of registered closed-end investment companies.
Adjustable Rate Government Securities.  Adjustable rate government securities are variable rate securities where the variable rate of interest is readjusted no less frequently than every 397 calendar days and deemed to have a maturity equal to the period remaining until the next readjustment of the interest rate.
Promissory Notes.  Promissory notes are generally debt obligations of the issuing entity and are subject to the risks of investing in corporate debt. The Prime Portfolio may invest up to 5% of its net assets in illiquid securities, including unsecured bank promissory notes.
Funding Agreements.  A funding agreement is a contract between an issuer and a purchaser that obligates the issuer to pay a guaranteed rate of interest on a principal sum deposited by the purchaser. Funding agreements will also guarantee the return of principal and may guarantee a stream of payments over time. A funding agreement has a fixed maturity and may have either a fixed, variable or floating interest rate that is based on an index and guaranteed for a fixed time period. The secondary market, if any, for these funding agreements is limited; thus, such investments purchased by the Funds  may be treated as illiquid.   Certain Funds may invest up to 5% of their net assets in illiquid securities, including funding agreements.
Repurchase Agreements. Repurchase agreements are transactions in which  a Fund purchases a security or basket of securities and simultaneously commits to resell that security or basket to the seller (a bank, broker or dealer) at a mutually agreed-upon date and price. The resale price reflects the purchase price plus an agreed-upon market rate of interest which is unrelated to the coupon rate or date of maturity of the purchased security. The term of these agreements usually ranges from overnight to one week, and never exceeds one year. Repurchase agreements with a term of over seven days are considered illiquid.
In these transactions,  a Fund receives securities that have a market value at least equal to the purchase price (including accrued interest) of the repurchase agreement, and this value is maintained during the term of the agreement. These securities are held by the  Trust’s custodian or an approved third party for the benefit of a  Fund until repurchased. Repurchase agreements permit  a Fund
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to remain fully invested while retaining overnight flexibility to pursue investments of a longer-term nature. If the seller defaults and the value of the repurchased securities declines,  a Fund might incur a loss. If bankruptcy proceedings are commenced with respect to the seller,  a Fund’s realization upon the collateral may be delayed.
While repurchase agreements involve certain risks not associated with direct investments in debt securities,  each Fund follows procedures approved by the  Trustees that are designed to minimize such risks. These procedures include effecting repurchase transactions only with large, well-capitalized and well-established financial institutions whose financial condition will be continually monitored by the Adviser. In addition, the value of the collateral underlying the repurchase agreement will be at least equal to the repurchase price, including any accrued interest earned on the repurchase agreement. In the event of a default or bankruptcy by a selling financial institution, the  Funds will seek to liquidate such collateral. However, the exercising of a  Fund’s right to liquidate such collateral could involve certain costs or delays and, to the extent that proceeds from any sale upon a default of the obligation to repurchase were less than the repurchase price, the Fund could suffer a loss. Certain Funds  may invest in repurchase agreements backed by municipal securities and non-governmental collateral such as corporate debt obligations, convertible securities and common and preferred stock. Certain of these securities may be rated below investment grade.
Repurchase agreements involving obligations other than U.S. government securities may be subject to special risks. Repurchase agreements secured by obligations that are not eligible for direct investment under  a Fund’s investment objectives and restrictions may require the Fund to promptly dispose of such collateral if the seller or guarantor becomes insolvent. A  Fund may enter into repurchase agreements on a forward commitment basis. To the extent a  Fund does so and the counterparty to the trade fails to effectuate the trade at the scheduled time, the Fund may be forced to deploy its capital in a repurchase agreement with a less favorable rate of return than it otherwise may have achieved or may be unable to enter into a repurchase agreement at all at the desired time.
A Fund will not invest in repurchase agreements that do not mature within seven days if any such investment, together with any other illiquid assets held by the Fund, amount to more than 5% of its net assets. A  Fund’s investments in repurchase agreements may at times be substantial when for example, in the view of the Fund’s Adviser, liquidity or other conditions warrant.
Reverse Repurchase Agreements. The Funds (other than the Treasury Securities Portfolio) may also use reverse repurchase agreements as part of their investment strategies. Reverse repurchase agreements involve sales by a Fund of portfolio assets concurrently with an agreement by the Fund to repurchase the same assets at a later date at a fixed price. Generally, the effect of such a transaction is that a Fund can recover all or most of the cash invested in the portfolio securities involved during the term of the reverse repurchase agreement, while it will be able to keep the interest income associated with those portfolio securities. Such transactions are only advantageous if the interest cost to a Fund of the reverse repurchase transaction is less than the cost of otherwise obtaining the cash. Opportunities to achieve this advantage may not always be available, and each Fund intends to use the reverse repurchase technique only when it will be to its advantage to do so. Reverse repurchase agreements are considered borrowings by a Fund and for purposes other than meeting redemptions may not exceed 5% of a Fund’s total assets. All forms of borrowing (including reverse repurchase agreements) are limited in the aggregate and may not exceed 33⅓% of a Fund’s total assets, except as permitted by law. See “Leveraging,” below, for a description of leverage risk. Furthermore, reverse repurchase agreements involve the risks that (i) the interest income earned in the investment of the proceeds will be less than the interest expense, (ii) the market value of the securities retained in lieu of sale by a Fund may decline below the price of the securities the Fund has sold but is obligated to repurchase, (iii) the market value of the securities sold will decline below the price at which a Fund is required to repurchase them and (iv) the securities will not be returned to a Fund.
Private Placements.  The Funds (other than the Treasury Securities Portfolio)  may invest in commercial paper issued in reliance on the so-called “private placement” exemption afforded by Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933 (the “1933 Act”) and which may be sold to other institutional investors pursuant to Rule 144A under the 1933 Act. Rule 144A permits the Funds to sell restricted securities to qualified institutional buyers without limitation. However, investing in Rule 144A securities could have the effect of increasing the level of Fund illiquidity to the extent a Fund, at a particular point in time, may be unable to find qualified institutional buyers interested in purchasing such securities.
Section 4(a)(2) and Rule 144A securities may involve a higher degree of business and financial risk that can result in substantial losses. As a result of the absence of a public trading market for these securities, they may be less liquid than publicly traded securities. Although these securities may be resold in privately negotiated transactions, the prices realized from these sales could be less than those originally paid by a Fund or less than what may be considered the fair value of such securities. Furthermore, companies whose securities are not publicly traded may not be subject to the disclosure and other investor protection requirements which might be applicable if their securities were publicly traded. 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 a Fund to sell certain securities. If such securities are required to be registered under the securities laws of one or more jurisdictions before being sold, a Fund may be required to bear the expenses of registration.
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The Adviser, pursuant to procedures adopted by the Trustees, will make a determination as to the liquidity of each restricted security purchased by the Funds. If a restricted security is determined to be “liquid,” the security will not be included within the category “illiquid securities.”
Put Options.  A Fund may purchase securities together with the right to resell them to the seller at an agreed-upon price or yield within a specified period prior to the maturity date of such securities. Such a right to resell is commonly known as a “put,” and the aggregate price which  a Fund pays for securities with puts may be higher than the price which otherwise would be paid for the securities. The primary purpose of this practice is to permit  a Fund to be fully invested in securities, the interest on which is exempt from federal income tax, while preserving the necessary flexibility and liquidity to purchase securities on a when-issued basis, to meet unusually large redemptions and to purchase at a later date securities other than those subject to the put. The  Trust’s policy is, generally, to exercise the puts on their expiration date, when the exercise price is higher than the current market price for the related securities. Puts may be exercised prior to the expiration date in order to fund obligations to purchase other securities or to meet redemption requests. These obligations may arise during periods in which proceeds from sales of Fund shares and from recent sales of portfolio securities are insufficient to meet such obligations or when the funds available are otherwise allocated for investment. In addition, puts may be exercised prior to their expiration date in the event the Adviser revises its evaluation of the creditworthiness of the issuer of the underlying security. In determining whether to exercise puts prior to their expiration date and in selecting which puts to exercise in such circumstances, the Adviser considers, among other things, the amount of cash available to the Fund, the expiration dates of the available puts, any future commitments for securities purchases, the yield, quality and maturity dates of the underlying securities, alternative investment opportunities and the desirability of retaining the underlying securities in the Fund’s portfolio.
Each  Fund values securities which are subject to puts at their amortized cost and values the put, apart from the security, at zero. Thus, the cost of the put will be carried on  a Fund’s books as an unrealized loss from the date of acquisition and will be reflected in realized gain or loss when the put is exercised or expires. Since the value of the put is dependent on the ability of the put writer to meet its obligation to repurchase, the  Trust’s policy is to enter into put transactions only with municipal securities dealers who are approved by the  Trust’s Trustees. Each dealer will be approved on its own merits and it is the  Trust’s general policy to enter into put transactions only with those dealers which are determined to present minimal credit risks. In connection with such determination, the Adviser will review, among other things, the ratings, if available, of equity and debt securities of such municipal securities dealers, their reputations in the municipal securities markets, the net worth of such dealers and their efficiency in consummating transactions. Bank dealers normally will be members of the Federal Reserve System, and other dealers will be members of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) or members of a national securities exchange. The Trustees have directed the Adviser not to enter into put transactions with, and to exercise outstanding puts of, any municipal securities dealer which, in the judgment of the Adviser, ceases at any time to present a minimal credit risk. In the event that a dealer should default on its obligation to repurchase an underlying security, a Fund is unable to predict whether all or any portion of any loss sustained could be subsequently recovered from such dealer.
In Revenue Ruling 82-144, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) stated that, under certain circumstances, a purchaser of tax-exempt obligations which are subject to puts will be considered the owner of the obligations for federal income tax purposes.
Municipals. Municipal securities include debt obligations of states, territories or possessions of the United States and the District of Columbia and their political subdivisions, agencies and instrumentalities, the income on which is generally exempt from federal income tax at the time of issuance, in the opinion of bond counsel or other counsel to the issuers of such securities. Municipals include both municipal bonds (those securities with maturities of five years or more) and municipal notes (those with maturities of less than five years). Municipal bonds are issued for a wide variety of reasons: to construct public facilities, such as airports, highways, bridges, schools, hospitals, mass transportation, streets, water and sewer works; to obtain funds for operating expenses; to refund outstanding municipal obligations; and to loan funds to various public institutions and facilities. Certain industrial development bonds are also considered municipal bonds if their interest is exempt from federal income tax. Industrial development bonds are issued by, or on behalf of, public authorities to obtain funds for various privately-operated manufacturing facilities, housing, sports arenas, convention centers, airports, mass transportation systems and water, gas or sewage works. Industrial development bonds are ordinarily dependent on the credit quality of a private user, not the public issuer. Private activity bonds are another type of municipal security.
The two principal classifications of municipal bonds are “general obligation” and “revenue” or “special tax” bonds. General obligation bonds are secured by the issuer’s pledge of its full faith, credit and taxing power for the payment of principal and interest. Thus, these bonds may be vulnerable to limits on a government’s power or ability to raise revenue or increase taxes and its ability to maintain a fiscally sound budget. The timely payments may also be influenced by any unfunded pension liabilities or other post-employee benefit plan liabilities. These bonds may also depend on legislative appropriation and/or funding or other support from other governmental bodies in order to make payments. Revenue or special tax bonds are payable only from the revenues derived from a particular facility or class of facilities or, in some cases, from the proceeds of a special excise or other tax, but not from general tax revenues. As a result, these bonds historically have been subject to a greater risk of default than general obligation bonds because
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investors can look only to the revenue generated by the project or other revenue source backing the project, rather than to the general taxing authority of the state or local government issuer of the obligations.
Industrial revenue bonds in most cases are revenue bonds and generally do not have the pledge of the credit of the issuer. The payment of the principal and interest on such industrial revenue bonds is dependent solely on the ability of the user of the facilities financed by the bonds to meet its financial obligations and the pledge, if any, of real and personal property so financed as security for such payment. Short-term municipal obligations issued by states, cities, municipalities or municipal agencies, include tax anticipation notes, revenue anticipation notes, bond anticipation notes, construction loan notes and short-term discount notes.
Private activity bonds may be used by municipalities to finance the development of industrial facilities for use by private enterprise. Principal and interest payments are to be made by the private enterprise benefitting from the development, which means that the holder of the bond is exposed to the risk that the private issuer may default on the bond. The credit and quality of private activity bonds and industrial development bonds are usually related to the credit of the corporate user of the facilities. Payment of interest on and repayment of principal of such bonds is the responsibility of the corporate user (and/or any guarantor).
Municipal notes are issued to meet the short-term funding requirements of local, regional and state governments. Municipal notes include bond anticipation notes, revenue anticipation notes and tax and revenue anticipation notes. These are short-term debt obligations issued by state and local governments to aid cash flows while waiting for taxes or revenue to be collected, at which time the debt is retired. Other types of municipal notes in which  a Fund may invest are construction loan notes, short-term discount notes, tax-exempt commercial paper, demand notes and similar instruments.
Municipal bonds generally include debt obligations issued by states and their political subdivisions, and duly constituted authorities and corporations, to obtain funds to construct, repair or improve various public facilities such as airports, bridges, highways, hospitals, housing, schools, streets and water and sewer works. Municipal bonds may also be issued to refinance outstanding obligations as well as to obtain funds for general operating expenses and for loans to other public institutions and facilities.  In addition, municipal bonds may include obligations of municipal housing authorities and single-family mortgage revenue bonds. Weaknesses in federal housing subsidy programs and their administration may result in a decrease of subsidies available for payment of principal and interest on housing authority bonds. Economic developments, including fluctuations in interest rates and increasing construction and operating costs, may also adversely impact revenues of housing authorities. In the case of some housing authorities, inability to obtain additional financing could also reduce revenues available to pay existing obligations. Single-family mortgage revenue bonds are subject to extraordinary mandatory redemption at par in whole or in part from the proceeds derived from prepayments of underlying mortgage loans and also from the unused proceeds of the issue within a stated period which may be within a year from the date of issue.
Note obligations with demand or put options may have a stated maturity in excess of one year, but permit any holder to demand payment of principal plus accrued interest upon a specified number of days’ notice. Frequently, such obligations are secured by letters of credit or other credit support arrangements provided by banks. The issuer of such notes normally has a corresponding right, after a given period, to repay at its discretion the outstanding principal of the note plus accrued interest upon a specific number of days’ notice to the bondholders. The interest rate on a demand note may be based upon a known lending rate, such as the prime lending rate, and be adjusted when such rate changes, or the interest rate on a demand note may be a market rate that is adjusted at specified intervals. Each note purchased by the  Funds will meet the quality criteria set out in the applicable Prospectus for the Fund.
The yields of municipal bonds depend on, among other things, general money market conditions, conditions in the municipal bond market, the size of a particular offering, the maturity of the obligation, and the rating of the issue. The ratings of  Moody’s and  Standard & Poor’s represent their opinions of the quality of the municipal bonds rated by them. It should be emphasized that such ratings are general and are not absolute standards of quality. Consequently, municipal bonds with the same maturity, coupon and rating may have different yields, while municipal bonds of the same maturity and coupon, but with different ratings, may have the same yield. It will be the responsibility of the Adviser to appraise independently the fundamental quality of the bonds held by the Funds.
Municipal bonds are sometimes purchased on a “when-issued” or “delayed-delivery” basis, which means  a Fund has committed to purchase certain specified securities at an agreed-upon price when they are issued. The period between commitment date and issuance date can be a month or more. It is possible that the securities will never be issued and the commitment canceled.
From time to time proposals have been introduced before Congress to restrict or eliminate the federal income tax exemption for interest on municipal bonds. Similar proposals may be introduced in the future.
Similarly, from time to time proposals have been introduced before state and local legislatures to restrict or eliminate the state and local income tax exemption for interest on municipal bonds. Similar proposals may be introduced in the future.
The  Funds may also purchase bonds the income on which is subject to the alternative minimum tax (“AMT bonds”). AMT bonds are tax-exempt private activity bonds issued after August 7, 1986, the proceeds of which are directed, at least in part, to private, for-profit organizations. While the income from AMT bonds is exempt from regular federal income tax, it is a tax preference item in the
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calculation of the alternative minimum tax. The alternative minimum tax is a special separate tax that applies to some taxpayers who have certain adjustments to income or tax preference items.  
An issuer of municipal securities may file for bankruptcy or otherwise seek to reorganize its debts by extending debt maturities, reducing the amount of principal or interest, refinancing the debt or taking other measures, in each case which may significantly affect the rights of creditors and the value of the municipal securities and the value of a Fund’s investments in such municipal securities. In addition, changes to bankruptcy laws may adversely impact a Fund’s investments in municipal securities, including creditor rights, if the issuer seeks bankruptcy protection.
Build America Bonds are taxable municipal securities on which the issuer receives federal support of the interest paid. Assuming certain specified conditions are satisfied, issuers of Build America Bonds may either (i) receive reimbursement from the U.S. Treasury with respect to a portion of its interest payments on the bonds (“direct pay” Build America Bonds) or (ii) provide tax credits to investors in the bonds (“tax credit” Build America Bonds). Unlike most other municipal securities, interest received on Build America Bonds is subject to federal and state income tax. Issuance of Build America Bonds ceased on December 31, 2010. The number of Build America Bonds available in the market is limited, which may negatively affect the value of the Build America Bonds.
The Funds may hold municipal private placements. These securities are sold through private negotiations, usually to institutions or mutual funds, and generally have resale restrictions. Their yields are usually higher than comparable public securities to compensate the investor for their limited marketability.
Tender Option Bonds. A tender option bond is a municipal obligation (generally held pursuant to a custodial arrangement) created by dividing the income stream provided by an underlying municipal bond having a relatively long maturity and bearing interest at a fixed rate substantially higher than prevailing short-term tax-exempt rates to create two securities issued by a special-purpose trust – floating rate certificates and residual interest securities. Tender option bonds are typically issued in conjunction with the agreement of a third party, such as a bank, broker-dealer or other financial institution, pursuant to which the institution grants the security holder the option, at periodic intervals, to tender its securities to the institution. A Fund holds the class of interest, or floating rate certificate, which receives tax-exempt interest based on short-term rates and has the ability to tender the certificate at par. As consideration for providing the tender option, the financial institution receives periodic fees equal to the difference between the bond’s fixed coupon rate and the rate, as determined by a remarketing or similar agent, that would cause the securities, coupled with the tender option, to trade at par on the date of such determination. Thus, after payment of this fee, the security holder effectively holds a demand obligation that bears interest at the prevailing short-term, tax-exempt rate. The tender option will be taken into account in determining the maturity of the tender option bonds and a Fund’s average portfolio maturity. There is a risk that  a Fund may not be considered the owner of a tender option bond for federal income tax purposes, and thus will not be entitled to treat such interest as exempt from federal income tax. Certain tender option bonds may be illiquid or may become illiquid as a result of a credit rating downgrade, a payment default or a disqualification from tax-exempt status.  
Variable Rate Master Demand Notes. These are obligations that permit a Fund to invest fluctuating amounts, at varying rates of interest, pursuant to direct arrangements between the Fund, as lender, and the borrower. These obligations permit daily changes in the amounts borrowed. Because these obligations are direct lending arrangements between the lender and borrower, it is not contemplated that such instruments generally will be traded, and there generally is no established secondary market for these obligations, although they are redeemable at face value, plus accrued interest. Accordingly, where these obligations are not secured by letters of credit or other credit support arrangements, a Fund’s right to redeem is dependent on the ability of the borrower to pay principal and interest on demand.
When-Issued Securities.  Certain fixed income securities are purchased on a “when-issued” basis. This means that the securities are purchased at a certain price, but may not be delivered for up to 90 days. No payment or delivery is made until a Fund receives payment or delivery from the other party to the transaction. Although a Fund receives no income from the above described securities prior to delivery, the market value of such securities is still subject to change. As a consequence, it is possible that the market price of the securities at the time of delivery may be higher or lower than the purchase price.
Eurodollar and Yankee Dollar Obligations.  Certain Funds may invest in Eurodollar and Yankee dollar obligations provided that such obligations are U.S. dollar-denominated. Eurodollar and Yankee dollar obligations are fixed income securities that include time deposits, which are non-negotiable deposits maintained in a bank for a specified period of time at a stated interest rate. Eurodollar obligations may be issued by government and corporate issuers in Europe. Yankee dollar obligations, which include time deposits and certificates of deposit, are U.S. dollar-denominated obligations issued in the U.S. capital markets by foreign banks. Eurodollar bank obligations, which include time deposits and certificates of deposit, are U.S. dollar-denominated obligations issued outside the U.S. capital markets by foreign branches of U.S. banks and by  foreign banks. The  Funds may consider Yankee dollar obligations to be domestic securities for purposes of their investment policies.
Eurodollar and Yankee dollar obligations are subject to the same risks as domestic issues, notably credit risk, market risk and liquidity risk. However, Eurodollar (and to a limited extent, Yankee dollar) obligations are also subject to certain sovereign risks. One such risk is the possibility that a sovereign country might prevent capital from flowing across its borders. Other risks include adverse political
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and economic developments; the extent and quality of government regulations of financial markets and institutions; the imposition of foreign withholding taxes; and the expropriation or nationalization of foreign issuers.
Zero Coupons. Zero coupons are fixed-income securities on which the holder does not receive periodic cash payments of interest or principal. Generally, these securities are subject to greater price volatility and lesser liquidity in the event of adverse market conditions than comparably rated securities paying cash interest at regular intervals. Although  a Fund will not receive cash periodic coupon payments on these securities, the Fund may be deemed to have received interest income, or “phantom income” during the life of the obligation. A  Fund may have to distribute such phantom income to avoid taxes at the Fund level, although it has not received any cash payment.
Zero coupons are sold at a discount from their face value. The difference between a zero coupon’s issue or purchase price and its face value represents the imputed interest an investor will earn if the obligation is held until maturity. For tax purposes, a portion of this imputed interest is deemed as income received by zero coupon bondholders each year. Each  Fund intends to pass along such interest as a component of the Fund’s distributions of net investment income.
Zero coupons may offer investors the opportunity to earn a higher yield than that available on ordinary interest-paying obligations of similar credit quality and maturity. However, zero coupon prices may also exhibit greater price volatility than ordinary fixed-income securities because of the manner in which their principal and interest are returned to the investor.
Leveraging. Each Fund may borrow money from a bank in an amount up to 33 1/3% of its respective total assets (including the amount borrowed) less its liabilities (not including any borrowings but including the fair market value at the time of computation of any other senior securities then outstanding). Each Fund will maintain asset coverage in accordance with the 1940 Act. Leveraging portfolio assets has speculative characteristics. The use of leverage may cause a Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it may not be advantageous to do so in order to satisfy its obligations or to maintain asset coverage. Leverage, including borrowing, may cause a Fund to be more volatile than if the Fund had not been leveraged. This is because leverage tends to exaggerate the effect of any increase or decrease in the value of a Fund’s portfolio securities.
Regulatory Matters. The Adviser, on behalf of each  Fund, has filed a notice of eligibility with the National Futures Association (“NFA”) claiming an exclusion from the definition of the term “commodity pool operator” (“CPO”) pursuant to CFTC Regulation 4.5, as promulgated under the Commodity Exchange Act, as amended (“CEA”), with respect to  each Fund’s operations. Therefore, neither the  Funds nor the Adviser (with respect to the Funds) is subject to registration or regulation as a commodity pool or CPO under the CEA. If the Adviser or a Fund becomes subject to these requirements, as well as related NFA rules, the Fund may incur additional compliance and other expenses.
Regulatory and Legal Risk.  U.S. and non-U.S. governmental agencies and other regulators regularly implement additional regulations and legislators pass new laws that affect the investments held by a Fund, the strategies used by a Fund or the level of regulation or taxation applying to a Fund (such as regulations related to investments in derivatives and other transactions). These regulations and laws impact the investment strategies, performance, costs and operations of a Fund or taxation of shareholders.
Special Risks Related to Cyber Security. The  Trust and its service providers are susceptible to cyber security risks that include, among other things, theft, unauthorized monitoring, release, misuse, loss, destruction or corruption of confidential and highly restricted data; denial of service attacks; unauthorized access to relevant systems; compromises to networks or devices that the  Trust and its service providers use to service the  Trust’s operations; or operational disruption or failures in the physical infrastructure or operating systems that support the  Trust and its service providers. Cyber attacks against or security breakdowns of the  Trust or its service providers may adversely impact the  Trust and its shareholders, potentially resulting in, among other things, financial losses; the inability of Fund shareholders to transact business and a  Fund  to process transactions; inability to calculate  a Fund’s NAV; violations of applicable privacy and other laws; regulatory fines, penalties, reputational damage, reimbursement or other compensation costs; and/or additional compliance costs. The  Trust may incur additional costs for cyber security risk management and remediation purposes. In addition, cyber security risks may also impact issuers of securities in which  a Fund invests, which may cause  a Fund’s investment in such issuers to lose value. There can be no assurance that the  Trust or its service providers will not suffer losses relating to cyber attacks or other information security breaches in the future.
Market and Geopolitical Risk. The value of your investment in a Fund is based on the values of a Fund’s investments. These values change daily due to economic and other events that affect markets generally, as well as those that affect particular regions, countries, industries, companies or governments. Price movements, sometimes called volatility, may be greater or less depending on the types of securities a Fund owns and the markets in which the securities trade. The increasing interconnectivity between global economies and financial markets increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one region or financial market may adversely impact issuers in a different country, region or financial market. Securities in a Fund’s portfolio may underperform due to inflation (or expectations for inflation), interest rates, global demand for particular products or resources, natural disasters, pandemics, epidemics, terrorism, regulatory events and governmental or quasi-governmental actions. The occurrence of global events similar to those in recent years, such as terrorist attacks around the world, natural disasters, social and political discord or debt crises and downgrades, among others, may result in market volatility and may have long term effects on both the U.S. and global financial markets. The occurrence of such
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events may be sudden and unexpected, and it is difficult to predict when similar events affecting the U.S. or global financial markets may occur, the effects that such events may have and the duration of those effects. Any such event(s) could have a significant adverse impact on the value, liquidity and risk profile of a Fund’s portfolio, as well as its ability to sell securities to meet redemptions. There is a risk that you may lose money by investing in a Fund.
Social, political, economic and other conditions and events, such as war, natural disasters, health emergencies (e.g., epidemics and pandemics), terrorism, conflicts, social unrest, recessions, inflation, rapid interest rate changes and supply chain disruptions may occur and could significantly impact issuers, industries, governments and other systems, including the financial markets. As global systems, economies and financial markets are increasingly interconnected, events that once had only local impact are now more likely to have regional or even global effects. Events that occur in one country, region or financial market will, more frequently, adversely impact issuers in other countries, regions or markets. These impacts can be exacerbated by failures of governments and societies to adequately respond to an emerging event or threat. These types of events quickly and significantly impact markets in the U.S. and across the globe leading to extreme market volatility and disruption. The extent and nature of the impact on supply chains or economies and markets from these events is unknown, particularly if a health emergency or other similar event, such as the recent COVID-19 (the “Coronavirus”) outbreak, persists for an extended period of time. Social, political, economic and other conditions and events, such as natural disasters, health emergencies (e.g., epidemics and pandemics), terrorism, conflicts and social unrest, could reduce consumer demand or economic output, result in market closures, travel restrictions or quarantines, and generally have a significant impact on the economies and financial markets and the Adviser’s investment advisory activities and services of other service providers, which in turn could adversely affect a Fund’s investments and other operations. The value of a Fund’s investment may decrease as a result of such events, particularly if these events adversely impact the operations and effectiveness of the Adviser or key service providers or if these events disrupt systems and processes necessary or beneficial to the investment advisory or other activities on behalf a Fund.
Many countries have experienced outbreaks of infectious illnesses in recent decades, including swine flu, avian influenza, SARS and the Coronavirus, and may experience similar outbreaks in the future. For example, the Coronavirus outbreak has resulted in numerous deaths and the imposition of both local and more widespread “work from home” and other quarantine measures, border closures and other travel restrictions, causing social unrest and commercial disruption on a global scale and significant volatility in financial markets.
The ongoing spread of the Coronavirus has had, and is expected to continue to have, a material adverse impact on local economies in the affected jurisdictions and also on the global economy, as cross border commercial activity and market sentiment are increasingly impacted by the Coronavirus and government and other measures seeking to contain its spread. The global impact of the Coronavirus has continued to evolve and has, at times, created disruption in supply chains, and adversely impacted a number of industries, including but not limited to retail, transportation, hospitality and entertainment. In addition to these developments having adverse consequences for certain companies and other issuers in which a Fund invests and the value of a Fund’s investments therein, the operations of the Adviser (including those relating to the Fund) could be impacted adversely, including through quarantine measures and travel restrictions imposed on the Adviser’s or service providers’ personnel located in affected countries, regions or local areas, or any related health issues of such personnel. Any of the foregoing events could materially and adversely affect the Adviser’s ability to source, manage and divest investments on behalf of a Fund and pursue a Fund’s investment objectives and strategies. Similar consequences could arise with respect to other infectious diseases. Given the significant economic and financial market disruptions and general uncertainty associated with the Coronavirus pandemic, the valuation and performance of the Fund’s investments may be impacted adversely (see “Account Policies and Features--Valuation of Shares”).
During periods of low interest rates, a Fund’s susceptibility to interest rate risk (i.e., the risks associated with changes in interest rates) may be magnified, its yield and income may be diminished and its performance may be adversely affected (e.g., during periods of low interest rates, the Fund may be unable to maintain positive returns). These levels of interest rates may magnify the risks associated with rising interest rates. Changing interest rates, may have unpredictable effects on markets, including market volatility and reduced liquidity, and may adversely affect a Fund’s yield, income and performance and for a Fund that operates as an “institutional money market fund”, the Fund’s NAV (i.e., adversely affect and increase the volatility of the Fund’s share price). For a Fund that operates as a money market fund and uses the amortized cost method of valuation to seek to maintain a stable NAV per share, a low interest rate environment could impact the Fund’s ability to maintain a stable NAV per share at $1.00 and the Trustees may enact certain measures to seek to maintain a stable NAV per share at $1.00.
Government and other public debt, including municipal obligations in which a Fund may invest, can be adversely affected by large and sudden changes in local and global economic conditions that result in increased debt levels. Although high levels of government and other public debt do not necessarily indicate or cause economic problems, high levels of debt may create certain systemic risks if sound debt management practices are not implemented. A high debt level may increase market pressures to meet an issuer’s funding needs, which may increase borrowing costs and cause a government or public or municipal entity to issue additional debt, thereby increasing the risk of refinancing. A high debt level also raises concerns that the issuer may be unable or unwilling to repay the principal or interest on its debt, which may adversely impact instruments held by a Fund that rely on such payments. Governmental
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and quasi-governmental responses to certain economic or other conditions may lead to increasing government and other public debt, which heighten these risks. Unsustainable debt levels can lead to declines in the value of currency, and can prevent a government from implementing effective counter-cyclical fiscal policy during economic downturns, can generate or contribute to an economic downturn or cause other adverse economic or market developments, such as increases in inflation or volatility. Increasing government and other public debt may adversely affect issuers, obligors, guarantors or instruments across a variety of asset classes. During periods of controversy or uncertainty regarding the status of negotiations in the U.S. Congress to increase the statutory debt ceiling or other adverse political or economic developments, the Adviser may take steps intended to mitigate the associated risks to the Fund’s portfolio (such as by investing in longer or shorter duration U.S. government securities), which may be ineffective or otherwise adversely impact the Fund’s performance.
LIBOR Discontinuance or Unavailability Risk.  A  Fund’s investments, payment obligations and financing terms may be based on floating rates, such as the London Interbank Offered Rates (collectively, “LIBOR”),  Euro Interbank Offered Rate and other similar types of reference rates (each, a “Reference Rate”). These Reference Rates are generally intended to represent the rate at which contributing banks may obtain short-term borrowings from each other within certain financial markets. On July 27, 2017, the Chief Executive of the UK Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”), which regulates LIBOR, announced that the FCA will no longer persuade nor require banks to submit rates for the calculation of LIBOR and certain other Reference Rates after 2021. Such announcement indicates that the continuation of LIBOR and other Reference Rates on the current basis cannot and will not be guaranteed after the end of 2021. On March 5, 2021, the FCA announced that LIBOR will either cease to be provided by any administrator, or no longer be representative for many LIBOR settings after December 31, 2021, and for the most widely used tenors of U.S. dollar LIBOR after June 30, 2023. In addition, in connection with supervisory guidance from regulators, many regulated entities have ceased to enter into new LIBOR-based contracts after January 1, 2022. These announcements and developments and any additional regulatory or market changes may have an adverse impact on a Fund or its investments.  
Regulators and market participants are currently engaged in identifying successor Reference Rates (“Alternative Reference Rates”). Additionally, it is expected that market participants will focus on the transition mechanisms by which the Reference Rates in existing contracts or instruments may be amended, whether through marketwide protocols, fallback contractual provisions, bespoke negotiations or amendments or otherwise, in connection with the federal Adjustable Interest Rate (LIBOR) Act. Nonetheless, the termination of certain Reference Rates presents risks to a  Fund. At this time, it is not possible to completely identify or predict the effect of any such changes, any establishment of Alternative Reference Rates or any other reforms to Reference Rates that may be enacted in the UK or elsewhere. The elimination of a Reference Rate or any other changes or reforms to the determination or supervision of Reference Rates could have an adverse impact on the market for or value of any securities or payments linked to those Reference Rates and other financial obligations held by  a Fund or on its overall financial condition or results of operations. To identify a successor rate for US dollar LIBOR, the Alternative Reference Rates Committee (“ARRC”), a U.S.-based group convened by the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, was formed. The ARRC has identified Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) as its preferred alternative rate for LIBOR. SOFR is a measure of the cost of borrowing cash overnight, collateralized by the U.S. Treasury securities, and is based on directly observable U.S. Treasury backed repurchase transactions.  It is expected that a substantial portion of future floating rate investments will be linked to SOFR or benchmark rates derived from SOFR. At this time, it is not possible to predict the effect of the transition to these benchmark rates.
The transition process might lead to increased volatility and illiquidity in markets that currently rely on Reference Rates to determine interest rates. It could also lead to a reduction in the value of some Reference Rate-based investments held by a Fund and reduce the effectiveness of new hedges placed against existing Reference Rate-based instruments. While market participants are endeavoring to minimize the economic impact of the transition from Reference Rates to Alternative Reference Rates, the transition away from LIBOR and certain other Reference Rates could, among other negative consequences:
Adversely impact the pricing, liquidity, value of, return on and trading for a broad array of financial products, including any Reference Rate-linked securities, loans and derivatives in which a Fund may invest;
 
Require extensive negotiations of and/or amendments to agreements and other documentation governing Reference Rate-linked investments products;
 
Lead to disputes, litigation or other actions with counterparties or portfolio companies regarding the interpretation and enforceability of  “fallback” provisions that provide for an alternative reference rate in the event of Reference Rate unavailability; or
 
Cause a Fund to incur additional costs in relation to any of the above factors.
 
The risks associated with the above factors, including decreased liquidity, are heightened with respect to investments in Reference Rate-based products that do not include a fallback provision that addresses how interest rates will be determined if LIBOR and certain other Reference Rates stop being published. Even with some Reference Rate-based instruments that may contemplate a scenario where Reference Rates are no longer available by providing for an alternative rate-setting methodology and/or increased costs for certain Reference Rate-related instruments or financing transactions, there may be significant uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of any such alternative methodologies, resulting in prolonged adverse market conditions for a Fund. In many cases, in the event that an instrument falls back to an Alternative Reference Rate, the Alternative Reference Rate would not perform the same
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as the Reference Rate being replaced would have and may not include adjustments to such rates that are reflective of current economic circumstances or differences between such rate and LIBOR. Since the usefulness of LIBOR and certain other Reference Rates as benchmarks could deteriorate during the transition period, these effects could occur prior to June 2023 for those Reference Rates which are expected to be discontinued at that time. There also remains uncertainty and risk regarding the willingness and ability of issuers to include enhanced provisions in new and existing contracts or instruments. In addition, when a Reference Rate is discontinued, the Alternative Reference Rate may be lower than market expectations, which could have an adverse impact on the value of preferred and debt securities with floating or fixed-to-floating rate coupons. Various pieces of legislation, including recent federal legislation and laws enacted by the states of New York and Alabama, may affect the transition of LIBOR-based instruments as well by permitting trustees and calculation agents to transition instruments with no LIBOR transition language to an Alternative Reference Rate provided for in such legislation. Such pieces of legislation also include safe harbors from liability, which may limit the recourse a Fund may have if the Alternative Reference Rate does not fully compensate the Fund for the transition of an instrument from LIBOR. It is uncertain what impact any such legislation may have. In addition, any Alternative Reference Rate and any pricing adjustments imposed by a regulator or counterparties or otherwise may adversely affect a Fund’s performance or NAV.
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES AND LIMITATIONS
Fundamental Objectives/Limitations. Each Fund’s investment objective has been adopted as fundamental and the Funds are subject to the following restrictions which are also fundamental policies and may not be changed without the approval of the lesser of (1) at least 67% of the voting securities of the respective Fund present at a meeting if the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund are present or represented by proxy, or (2) more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities of the respective Fund.
As a matter of fundamental policy, each Fund will not change its investment objective and will not:
1 invest in physical commodities or contracts on physical commodities;
2 purchase or sell real estate, although it may purchase and sell securities of companies which deal in real estate, other than real estate limited partnerships, and may purchase and sell marketable securities which are secured by interests in real estate;
3 make loans except: (i) by purchasing debt securities in accordance with its investment objectives and policies, or entering into repurchase agreements, (ii) by lending its portfolio securities, and (iii) by lending Fund assets to other Funds of the Trust, so long as such loans are not inconsistent with the 1940 Act, or the rules and regulations, or interpretations or orders of the SEC thereunder;
4 with respect to 75% of its assets, purchase a security if, as a result, it would hold more than 10% (taken at the time of such investment) of the outstanding voting securities of any issuer;
5 purchase any securities other than obligations of U.S. regulated banks or of the U.S. Government, or its agencies or instrumentalities, and, with respect to the Tax-Exempt Portfolio, industrial development bonds, if immediately after such purchase, 25% or more of the value of the Fund’s total assets would be invested in the securities of issuers in the same industry; there is no limitation as to investments in bank obligations or in obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities, and, with respect to the Tax-Exempt Portfolio, to industrial development bonds where the users of the facilities financed by such bonds are in the same industry;
6 with respect to 75% of its assets, purchase securities of any issuer if, as a result, more than 5% of the Fund’s total assets, taken at market value at the time of such investment, would be invested in the securities of such issuer except that this restriction does not apply to securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or its agencies or instrumentalities;
7 borrow money, except (i) each Fund may borrow money from a bank in an amount up to 5% of its total assets; (ii) as a temporary measure for extraordinary or emergency purposes, or to meet redemption requests which might otherwise require the untimely disposition of securities; and (iii) in connection with reverse repurchase agreements, provided that (i), (ii) and (iii) in combination do not exceed 33 1/3% of the Fund’s total assets (including the amount borrowed) less liabilities (exclusive of borrowings);
8 issue senior securities as defined in the 1940 Act except insofar as the Trust may be deemed to have issued a senior security by reason of (a) entering into any repurchase agreements or reverse repurchase agreements; (b) purchasing any securities on a when-issued or delayed delivery basis; (c) borrowing money as set forth above; or (d) lending portfolio securities; and
9 underwrite the securities of other issuers (except to the extent that the Trust may be deemed to be an underwriter within the meaning of the 1933 Act in connection with the disposition of restricted securities).
 
In addition, as a non-fundamental policy, each Fund will not invest its assets in securities of any investment company, except as permitted by the 1940 Act or the rules, regulations, interpretations or orders of the SEC and its staff thereunder. Each Fund may invest substantially all of its assets in a single open-end investment company or series thereof that has substantially the same investment objectives, policies and restrictions as the Fund.
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The percentage limitations contained in these fundamental and non-fundamental limitations apply at the time of purchase of securities. A later change in percentage resulting from changes in the value of a Fund’s assets or in total or net assets of the Fund will not be considered a violation of the restriction and the sale of securities will not be required unless otherwise noted or required. The foregoing does not apply to borrowings. Future series of the Trust may adopt different limitations.
The investment policies, limitations or practices of the Funds may not apply during periods of unusual or adverse market, economic, political or other conditions. Such market, economic, political or other conditions may include periods of abnormal or heightened market volatility, strained credit and/or liquidity conditions or increased governmental intervention in the markets or industries. During such periods, a Fund may not invest according to its principal investment strategies or in the manner in which its name may suggest, and may be subject to different and/or heightened risks. It is possible that such unusual or adverse conditions may continue for extended periods of time. Although permitted under the fundamental policies set forth above, the Treasury Securities Portfolio will not lend its portfolio securities or otherwise lend its assets.
For purposes of policies adopted in accordance with Rule 35d-1 under the 1940 Act, the term “assets,” as defined in Rule 35d-1 under the 1940 Act, means net assets plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes.
DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS
The Trust’s Board of Trustees and the Adviser have adopted policies and procedures regarding disclosure of portfolio holdings (the “Policy”). Pursuant to the Policy, the Adviser may disclose information concerning Trust portfolio holdings only if such disclosure is consistent with the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws and the Trust’s and the Adviser’s fiduciary duties to Trust shareholders. In no instance may the Adviser or the Trust receive compensation or any other consideration in connection with the disclosure of information about the portfolio securities of the Trust. Consideration includes any agreement to maintain assets in the Trust or in other investment companies or accounts managed by the Adviser or by any affiliated person of the Adviser. Non-public information concerning portfolio holdings may be divulged to third parties only when the Trust has a legitimate business purpose for doing so and the recipients of the information are subject to a duty of confidentiality. Under no circumstances shall current or prospective Trust shareholders receive non-public portfolio holdings information, except as described below.  
In order to comply with amendments to Rule 2a-7, information concerning the Trust’s portfolio holdings, as well as its daily weighted average portfolio maturity and weighted average life, is posted on its public website no later than five business days after the end of each month. It is also the current policy of the Trust to post this information on its website on a weekly basis. In addition, the Trust also discloses on its website its market-based NAV, daily and weekly liquid assets and daily net inflows and outflows as of each business day for the preceding six months, as of the end of the preceding business day. The market-based NAV is for informational purposes for each of the Government Portfolio, Government Securities Portfolio, Treasury Portfolio and Treasury Securities Portfolio, which currently use an amortized cost valuation methodology to value underlying securities, and the shares of these Funds generally transact at $1.00 per share. Each of the  Prime Portfolio and Tax-Exempt Portfolio currently price and transact in its shares at a NAV reflecting market-based values of its portfolio holdings (i.e., at a “floating NAV”). In the event that the Trust files information regarding certain material events with the SEC on Form N-CR, the Trust will disclose on its website certain information that the Trust is required to report on Form N-CR (e.g., the imposition or termination of a liquidity fee or redemption gate). The Trust provides a complete schedule of portfolio holdings for the second and fourth fiscal quarters in its Semi-Annual and Annual Reports. Also, the Trust files a complete schedule of portfolio holdings information with the SEC on Form N-MFP within five business days after the end of each month. The SEC makes Form N-MFP filings publicly available on its website at the same time as the filing and a link to the SEC filing is posted on the Trust’s website.
All other portfolio holdings information that has not been disseminated in a manner making it available generally as described above is non-public information for purposes of the Policy.
The Trust also makes its complete portfolio holdings available weekly on its website, at least two business days following the end of the prior week. In addition, prospective investors generally may obtain holdings information if they enter into an agreement or undertaking to keep the information confidential.
The Trust may make selective disclosure of non-public portfolio holdings information pursuant to certain exemptions set forth in the Policy. Third parties eligible for exemptions under the Policy and therefore eligible to receive such disclosures currently include clients/shareholders (such as redeeming shareholders in-kind), fund rating agencies, information exchange subscribers, proxy voting or advisory services, pricing services, consultants and analysts, portfolio analytics providers, transition managers and service providers, provided that the third party expressly agrees to maintain the disclosed information in confidence and not to trade portfolio securities or related derivative securities based on the non-public information. Non-public portfolio holdings information may not be disclosed to a third party pursuant to an exemption unless and until the third party recipient has entered into a non-disclosure agreement with the Trust and the arrangement has been reviewed and approved, as set forth in the Policy and discussed below. In addition, persons who owe a duty of trust or confidence to the Trust or the Adviser may receive non-public portfolio holdings information without entering into a non-disclosure agreement. Currently, these persons include (i) the Funds’ independent registered public accounting
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firm (as of the Trust’s fiscal year-end and on an as-needed basis), (ii) counsel to the Funds (on an as-needed basis), (iii) counsel to the Independent Trustees (on an as-needed basis) and (iv) members of the Board of Trustees (on an as-needed basis). Subject to the terms and conditions of any agreement between the Adviser or the Trust and the third party recipient, if these conditions for disclosure are satisfied, there shall be no restriction on the frequency with which Trust non-public portfolio holdings information is released, and no lag period shall apply (unless otherwise indicated below).
The Adviser may provide interest lists to broker-dealers who execute securities transactions for the Funds without entering into a non-disclosure agreement with the broker-dealers, provided that the interest list satisfies all of the following criteria: (1) the interest list must contain only the CUSIP numbers and/or ticker symbols of securities held in all registered management investment companies advised by the Adviser or any affiliate of the Adviser (the “Morgan Stanley Funds”) on an aggregate, rather than a fund-by-fund basis; (2) the interest list will not disclose portfolio holdings on a fund-by-fund basis; (3) the interest list must not contain information about the number or value of shares owned by a specified Morgan Stanley Fund; (4) the interest list may identify the investment strategy, but not the particular Morgan Stanley Funds, to which the list relates; and (5) the interest list may not identify the portfolio manager or team members responsible for managing the Morgan Stanley Funds.
The Trust may discuss or otherwise disclose performance attribution analyses (i.e., mention the effects of having a particular security in the portfolio(s)) where such discussion is not contemporaneously made public, provided that the particular holding has been disclosed publicly or the information that includes such holding(s) has been made available to shareholders requesting such information. Additionally, any discussion of the analyses may not be more current than the date the holding was disclosed publicly or the information that includes such holding(s) has been made available to shareholders requesting such information.
Portfolio holdings information may be provided to broker-dealers, prime brokers, futures commission merchants, or similar providers in connection with each Fund’s portfolio trading or operational processing activities; such entities generally need access to such information in the performance of their duties and responsibilities to fund service providers and are subject to a duty of confidentiality, including a duty not to trade on material non-public information, imposed by law or contract. Portfolio holdings information may also be provided to affiliates of MSIM  pursuant to regulatory requirements or for legitimate business purposes, which may include risk management, or may be reported by each Fund’s counterparties to certain global trade repositories pursuant to regulatory requirements.
The Adviser, the Trust and/or certain Funds currently have entered into ongoing arrangements regarding the selective disclosure of complete portfolio holdings information with the following parties:
Name
Frequency1
Lag Time
Service Providers
 
State Street Bank and Trust Company
Daily basis
Daily
BlackRock Financial Management Inc.
Daily basis
2
KellyCo Marketing
Monthly basis and Quarterly basis
Varying lag times after the date of the information
R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company
Monthly basis and Quarterly basis
Varying lag times after the date of the information
Portfolio Analytics Providers
 
Bloomberg Finance, L.P.
Daily basis
2
Abel Noser Solutions, LLC
Daily basis
Daily
1 Dissemination of portfolio holdings information to entities listed above may occur less frequently than indicated (or not at all).
2 Information will typically be provided on a real time basis or as soon thereafter as possible.
Further, certain entities such as municipalities, which may not be authorized to enter into a non-disclosure agreement, may enter into an undertaking to keep any non-public holdings information confidential.
All disclosures of non-public portfolio holdings information made to third-parties pursuant to the exemptions set forth in the Policy must be reviewed and approved by the Adviser, which will also determine from time-to-time whether such third-parties should continue to receive portfolio holdings information.
The Adviser shall report quarterly to the Board of Trustees (or a designated committee thereof) at the next regularly scheduled meeting: (i) any material information concerning all parties receiving non-public portfolio holdings information pursuant to an exemption; and (ii) any new non-disclosure agreements entered into during the reporting period. Procedures to monitor the use of such non-public portfolio holdings information may include requiring annual certifications that the recipients have utilized such information only pursuant to the terms of the agreement between the recipient and the Adviser and, for those recipients receiving information electronically, acceptance of the information will constitute reaffirmation that the third-party expressly agrees to maintain the disclosed information in confidence and not to trade portfolio securities based on the non-public information.
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PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION OF SHARES
Purchase of Shares. The name of the Fund requested should be designated on the Account Registration Form. Each Fund reserves the right in its sole discretion (i) to suspend the offering of its shares, (ii) to reject purchase orders, and (iii) to reduce or waive the minimum for initial and subsequent investments. The officers of the Trust may from time to time waive the minimum initial and subsequent investment requirements in connection with investments in the Trust by certain investors, including but not limited to (a) employees of the Adviser and its affiliates, and (b) other investors with whom the Adviser wishes to develop a relationship or whose investments are expected, over a reasonable period of time, to exceed the minimum initial investment requirement.
Each Fund declares dividends daily and, therefore, at the time of a purchase, must have funds immediately available for investment. As a result, you must pay for shares of each Fund with Federal funds (monies credited to the Fund’s custodian by a Federal Reserve Bank).
Investors purchasing and redeeming shares of the Fund through a financial intermediary may be charged a transaction-based fee or other fee for the financial intermediary’s services. Each financial intermediary is responsible for sending you a schedule of fees and information regarding any additional or different conditions regarding purchases and redemptions. Customers of financial intermediaries should read this SAI in light of the terms governing accounts with their organization. The Trust does not pay compensation to or receive compensation from financial intermediaries for the sale of Institutional Class Shares but does pay compensation in connection with other share classes.
Neither Morgan Stanley Distribution, Inc. (the “Distributor”) nor the Trust will be responsible for any loss, liability, cost, or expense for acting upon facsimile instructions or upon telephone instructions that they reasonably believe to be genuine. In order to confirm that telephone instructions in connection with redemptions are genuine, the Trust and the Distributor will provide written confirmation of transactions initiated by telephone.
Redemption of Shares.  Redemptions are not made on days during which the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) is closed or on the following federal holidays: Columbus Day and Veterans Day. Generally, payment for Trust shares sold will be made on the day on which the order is processed, but under certain circumstances may not be made until the next business day. The Trust may postpone and/or suspend redemption and payment beyond one business day only as follows: (a) for any period during which there is a non-routine closure of the Federal Reserve Wire Network or applicable Federal Reserve Banks; (b) or any period (i) during which the NYSE is closed other than customary weekend and holiday closings or (ii) during which trading on the New York Stock Exchange is restricted; (c) for any period during which an emergency exists as a result of which (i) disposal of securities owned by a Fund is not reasonably practicable or (ii) it is not reasonably practicable for a Fund to fairly determine the NAV of shares of a Fund; (d) for any period during which the SEC has, by rule or regulation, deemed that (i) trading shall be restricted or (ii) an emergency exists; (e) for any period that the SEC may by order permit; (f) the Board of Trustees has imposed a redemption gate that temporarily suspends the right of redemption; or (g) for any period during which the Trust as part of a necessary liquidation of a Fund, has properly postponed and/or suspended redemption of shares and payment in accordance with federal securities laws. In addition, when the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association recommends that the securities markets close early, payments with respect to redemption requests received subsequent to the recommended close will be made the next business day. If the NYSE is closed due to inclement weather, technology problems or any other reason on a day it would normally be open for business, or the NYSE has an unscheduled early closing on a day it has opened for business, a Fund reserves the right to treat such day as a business day and accept purchase and redemption orders until, and calculate its NAV as of, the normally scheduled close of regular trading on the NYSE for that day, or such time as noted in a Fund’s Prospectus, so long as the Adviser believes there generally remains an adequate market to obtain reliable and accurate market quotations.
The Trust has made an election with the SEC pursuant to Rule 18f-1 under the 1940 Act to pay in cash all redemptions requested by any shareholder of record limited in amount during any 90-day period to the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of the net assets of a Fund at the beginning of such period. Such commitment is irrevocable without the prior approval of the SEC. Redemptions in excess of the above limits may be paid in whole or in part in investment securities or in cash, as the Trustees may deem advisable; however, payment will be made wholly in cash unless the Trustees believe that economic or market conditions exist which would make such a practice detrimental to the best interests of the Trust. If redemptions are paid in investment securities, such securities will be valued as set forth in the Funds’ Prospectuses under “Valuation of Shares” and a redeeming shareholder would normally incur brokerage expenses in converting these securities to cash.
No charge is made by the Funds for redemptions. Redemption proceeds may be more or less than the shareholder’s cost depending on the market value of the securities held by the Funds.
Transactions With Brokers/Dealers.  The Trust has authorized certain brokers to receive on its behalf purchase and redemption orders. Some of these brokers are authorized to designate other intermediaries to receive purchase and redemption orders on the Trust’s behalf. For purposes of determining the purchase price of shares, the Trust will be deemed to have received a purchase or redemption order when an authorized broker, or if applicable, a broker’s authorized designee, receives the order in proper form. In
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other words, orders will be priced at the NAV next computed after such orders are received in proper form by an authorized broker or the broker’s authorized designee.
ACCOUNT POLICIES AND FEATURES
Transfer of Shares.  Shareholders may transfer shares of the Funds to another person by written request to Shareholder Services at Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Funds, c/o SS&C Global Investor and Distribution Solutions, Inc., P.O. Box 219804, Kansas City, MO 64121-9804. If shares are being transferred to an existing account, the request should clearly identify the account and number of shares to be transferred and include the signature of all registered owners and all share certificates, if any, which are subject to the transfer. The signature on the letter of request, the share certificate or any stock power must be guaranteed in the same manner as described under “Redemption of Shares.” As in the case of redemptions, the written request must be received in good order before any transfer can be made.
Valuation of Shares.  For the purpose of calculating the Government Portfolio’s, Government Securities Portfolio’s, Treasury Portfolio’s and Treasury Securities Portfolio’s NAV, securities are valued by the amortized cost method of valuation, which does not take into account unrealized gains or losses. This involves valuing an instrument at its cost and thereafter assuming a constant amortization to maturity of any discount or premium, regardless of the impact of fluctuating interest rates on the market value of the instrument. While this method provides certainty in valuation, it may result in periods during which value based on amortized cost is higher or lower than the price these Funds would receive if they sold the instrument.
The use of amortized cost and the maintenance of each applicable Fund’s NAV at $1.00 is based on its election to operate under the provisions of Rule 2a-7. As conditions of operating under Rule 2a-7, each Fund must maintain a dollar-weighted average Fund maturity of 60 days or less, purchase only instruments having remaining maturities of thirteen months or less and invest only in U.S. dollar-denominated securities which are determined by the Trustees to present minimal credit risks and which are of eligible quality as determined under the rule.
The Board adopted procedures reasonably designed, taking into account current market conditions and each applicable Fund’s investment objective, to stabilize the NAV as computed for the purposes of sales and redemptions at $1.00. These procedures include periodic review, as the Trustees deem appropriate and at such intervals as are reasonable in light of current market conditions, of the relationship between the amortized cost value per share and a NAV based upon available indications of market value. In such a review, investments for which market quotations are readily available are fair valued at the most recent bid price or quoted yield equivalent for such securities or for securities of comparable maturity, quality and type as obtained from one or more of the major market makers for the securities to be valued. Other investments and assets are valued at fair value, as determined in good faith by the Board.
Each Fund relies on various sources to calculate its NAV. The ability of the Fund to calculate the NAV per share of the Fund is subject to operational risks associated with processing or human errors, systems or technology failures, cyber attacks and errors caused by third party service providers, data sources, or trading counterparties. Such failures may result in delays in the calculation of the Fund’s NAV and/or the inability to calculate NAV over extended time periods. The Fund may be unable to recover any losses associated with such failures. In addition, if the third-party service providers and/or data sources upon which the Fund directly or indirectly relies to calculate its NAV or price individual securities are unavailable or otherwise unable to calculate the NAV correctly, it may be necessary for alternative procedures to be utilized to price the securities at the time of determining the Fund’s NAV.
In general, fair value represents the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. When there is no public market or possibly no market at all for an asset, fair value represents, in general, a good faith approximation of the current value of an asset. A security that is fair valued may be valued at a price higher or lower than actual market quotations or the value determined by other funds using their own fair valuation procedures or by other investors. The fair value of an asset may not be the price at which that asset is ultimately sold.
For each of the applicable Funds, in the unlikely event that the Board are to determine pursuant to Rule 2a-7 that the extent of the deviation between a Fund’s amortized cost per share and its market-based NAV may result in material dilution or other unfair results to shareholders, the Board will cause a Fund to take such action as it deems appropriate to eliminate or reduce to the extent practicable such dilution or unfair results, including, but not limited to, considering suspending redemption of shares and liquidating the Fund under Rule 22e-3 under the 1940 Act.
In the event of a negative interest rate environment, the net income of a Fund may fall below zero (i.e., become negative). If this occurs, or to the extent the deviation between a Fund’s amortized cost per share and its market-based NAV may result in material dilution or other unfair results to shareholders, or to the extent the deviation between a Fund’s amortized cost per share and its market-based NAV may result in material dilution or other unfair results to shareholders, the Trustees may enact certain measures to seek to maintain a stable NAV per share at $1.00 for each applicable Fund. These measures may include the reduction or suspension of the issuance of dividends, the implementation of reverse distributions or periodic reverse share splits, as necessary in the Trustees’ judgment, to seek to maintain a stable NAV per share at $1.00. In each case, measures taken by the Trustees in an effort to stabilize
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the NAV per share at $1.00 are subject to applicable law and the provisions of the Fund’s organizational documents. Investments in a Fund are subject to the potential that the Trustees may enact such measures.
A Fund may also effect reverse distributions to offset the impact of the negative income on a Fund’s NAV per share, thereby reducing the number of shares outstanding and maintaining a stable NAV per share at $1.00. In a reverse distribution, the number of shares would be reduced on a pro rata basis from each shareholder.
If there is a reverse share split, the number of shares of a Fund will decrease, on a pro rata basis, as necessary to reflect the negative income of the Fund and maintain a stable NAV per share at $1.00.
Depending on the specific measure(s) taken, these measures would result in shareholders not receiving a dividend, holding fewer shares of the Fund and/or experiencing a loss in the aggregate value of their investment in the Fund. There is no assurance that the Trustees will take such actions or that such measures will result in a stable NAV per share of $1.00.
If the Trustees determine that it is no longer in the best interests of the Trust and its shareholders to maintain a stable price of $1.00 per share or if the Trustees believe that maintaining such price no longer reflects a market-based NAV, the Trustees have the right to change from an amortized cost basis of valuation to valuation based on market quotations. The Trust will notify shareholders of an applicable Fund of any such change.
Each of the  Prime Portfolio’s and Tax-Exempt Portfolio’s investments will be valued using market-based prices provided by an approved pricing service/vendor and the share price of each rounded to the fourth decimal place.
Each Fund invests in eligible securities (“Eligible Securities”) as defined in Rule 2a-7. An Eligible Security means a security: (i) with a remaining maturity of 397 calendar days or less that a Trust’s Board determines presents minimal credit risks to the Fund, which determination must include an analysis of the capacity of the security’s issuer or guarantor (including for this paragraph the provider of a conditional demand feature, when applicable) to meet its financial obligations, and such analysis must include, to the extent appropriate, consideration of the following factors with respect to the security’s issuer or guarantor: (a) financial condition; (b) sources of liquidity; (c) ability to react to future market-wide and issuer- or guarantor-specific events, including ability to repay debt in a highly adverse situation; and (d) strength of the issuer’s or guarantor’s industry within the economy and relative to economic trends, and issuer’s or guarantor’s competitive position within its industry; (ii) that is issued by a registered investment company that is a money market fund; or (iii) that is a government security. As permitted by Rule 2a-7, the Board has delegated to the Trust’s Adviser the responsibility to make the above determinations pursuant to Rule 2a-7.
The proceeds received by each Fund from the issue or sale of its shares, and all net investment income, realized and unrealized gain and proceeds thereof, subject only to the rights of creditors, will be specifically allocated to the Fund and constitute the underlying assets of each Fund. The underlying assets of a Fund will be segregated on the books of account, and will be charged with the liabilities in respect of a Fund and with a share of the general liabilities of the Trust. Expenses of the Trust with respect to the Fund and the other series of the Trust are generally allocated in proportion to the NAVs of the respective Fund except where allocations of expenses can otherwise be fairly made.
MANAGEMENT OF THE TRUST
Board of Trustees
General. The Board of Trustees of the Trust oversees the management of the Trust, but does not itself manage the Trust. The Trustees review various services provided by or under the direction of the Adviser to ensure that the Trust’s general investment policies and programs are properly carried out. The Trustees also conduct their review to ensure that administrative services are provided to the Trust in a satisfactory manner.
Under state law, the duties of the Trustees are generally characterized as a duty of loyalty and a duty of care. The duty of loyalty requires a Trustee to exercise his or her powers in the interest of the Trust and not the Trustee’s own interest or the interest of another person or organization. A Trustee satisfies his or her duty of care by acting in good faith with the care of an ordinarily prudent person and in a manner the Trustee reasonably believes to be in the best interest of the Trust and its shareholders.
Trustees and Officers.  The Board of the Trust consists of eleven Trustees. These same individuals also serve as directors or trustees for certain of the funds advised by the Adviser and Morgan Stanley AIP GP LP. None of the Trustees have an affiliation or business connection with the Adviser or any of its affiliated persons or own any stock or other securities issued by the Adviser’s parent company, Morgan Stanley. They are the “non-interested” or “Independent” Trustees as defined under the 1940 Act.
Board Structure and Oversight Function.  The Board’s leadership structure features an Independent Trustee serving as Chairperson and the Board Committees described below. The Chairperson participates in the preparation of the agenda for meetings of the Board and the preparation of information to be presented to the Board with respect to matters to be acted upon by the Board. The Chairperson also presides at all meetings of the Board and is involved in discussions regarding matters pertaining to the oversight of the management of the Trust between meetings.
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The Board of Trustees operates using a system of committees to facilitate the timely and efficient consideration of all matters of importance to the Trustees, the Trust and Trust stockholders, and to facilitate compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and oversight of the Trust’s activities and associated risks. The Board of Trustees has established six standing committees: (1) Audit Committee, (2) Governance Committee, (3) Compliance and Insurance Committee, (4) Equity Investment Committee, (5) Fixed Income, Liquidity and Alternatives Investment Committee and (6) Risk Committee, which are each comprised exclusively of Independent Trustees. Each committee charter governs the scope of the committee’s responsibilities with respect to the oversight of the Trust. The responsibilities of each committee, including their oversight responsibilities, are described further under the caption “Independent Trustees and the Committees.”
The Funds are subject to a number of risks, including investment, compliance, operational and valuation risk, among others. The Board of Trustees oversees these risks as part of its broader oversight of the Trust’s affairs through various Board and committee activities. The Board has adopted, and periodically reviews, policies and procedures designed to address various risks to the Funds. In addition, appropriate personnel, including but not limited to the Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer, members of the Trust’s administration and accounting teams, representatives from the Trust’s independent registered public accounting firm, the Trust’s Treasurer, portfolio management personnel, risk management personnel and independent valuation and brokerage evaluation service providers, make regular reports regarding the Trust’s activities and related risks to the Board of Trustees and the committees, as appropriate. These reports include, among others, quarterly performance reports, quarterly risk reports and discussions with members of the risk teams relating to each asset class. The Board’s committee structure allows separate committees to focus on different aspects of risk and the potential impact of these risks on some or all of the funds in the complex and then report back to the full Board. In between regular meetings, Trust officers also communicate with the Trustees regarding material exceptions and items relevant to the Board’s risk oversight function. The Board recognizes that it is not possible to identify all of the risks that may affect the Funds, and that it is not possible to develop processes and controls to eliminate all of the risks that may affect the Funds. Moreover, the Board recognizes that it may be necessary for the Funds to bear certain risks (such as investment risk) to achieve their respective investment objective.
As needed between meetings of the Board, the Board or a specific committee receives and reviews reports relating to the Trust and engages in discussions with appropriate parties relating to the Trust’s operations and related risks.
Management Information
Trustees. The Trust seeks as Trustees individuals of distinction and experience in business and finance, government service or academia. In determining that a particular Trustee was and continues to be qualified to serve as Trustee, the Board has considered a variety of criteria, none of which, in isolation, was controlling. Based on a review of the experience, qualifications, attributes or skills of each Trustee, including those enumerated in the table below, the Board has determined that each of the Trustees is qualified to serve as a Trustee of the Trust. In addition, the Board believes that, collectively, the Trustees have balanced and diverse experience, qualifications, attributes and skills that allow the Board to operate effectively in governing the Trust and protecting the interests of shareholders. Information about the Trust’s Governance Committee and Board of Trustees nomination process is provided below under the caption “Independent Trustees and the Committees.”
The Trustees of the Trust, their birth years, addresses, positions held, length of time served, their principal business occupations during the past five years and other relevant professional experience, the number of portfolios in the Fund Complex (described below) overseen by each Independent Trustee and other directorships, if any, held by the Trustees, are shown below (as of December 31, 2022). The Fund Complex includes all open-end and closed-end funds (including all of their portfolios) advised by the Adviser and any registered funds that have an adviser that is an affiliate of the Adviser (including, but not limited to, Morgan Stanley AIP GP LP) (the “Morgan Stanley AIP Funds”).
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Name, Address and Birth Year of Independent Trustee
Position(s) Held with Registrant
Length of
Time
Served*
Principal Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years and Other Relevant Professional Experience
Number of Funds
in Fund Complex Overseen by Independent Trustee
Other Directorships Held by Independent Trustee During Past 5 Years**
Frank L. Bowman
c/o Perkins Coie LLP
Counsel to the
Independent Trustees
1155 Avenue of the Americas
22nd Floor
New York, NY 10036
Birth Year: 1944
Trustee
Since August 2006
President, Strategic Decisions, LLC (consulting) (since February 2009); Director or Trustee of various Morgan Stanley Funds (since August 2006); Chairperson of the Compliance and Insurance Committee (since October 2015); formerly, Chairperson of the Insurance Sub-Committee of the Compliance and Insurance Committee (2007-2015); served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Nuclear Energy Institute (policy organization) (February 2005-November 2008); retired as Admiral, U.S. Navy after serving over 38 years on active duty including 8 years as Director of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program in the Department of the Navy and the U.S. Department of Energy (1996-2004); served as Chief of Naval Personnel (July 1994-September 1996) and on the Joint Staff as Director of Political Military Affairs (June 1992-July 1994); knighted as Honorary Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire; awarded the Officier de l’Orde National du Mérite by the French Government; elected to the National Academy of Engineering (2009).
79
Director of Naval and Nuclear Technologies LLP; Director Emeritus of the Armed Services YMCA; Member of the National Security Advisory Council of the Center for U.S. Global Engagement and a former member of the CNA Military Advisory Board; Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Fairhaven United Methodist Church; Member of the Board of Advisors of the Dolphin Scholarship Foundation; Director of other various nonprofit organizations; formerly, Director of BP, plc (November 2010-May 2019).
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Name, Address and Birth Year of Independent Trustee
Position(s) Held with Registrant
Length of
Time
Served*
Principal Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years and Other Relevant Professional Experience
Number of Funds
in Fund Complex Overseen by Independent Trustee
Other Directorships Held by Independent Trustee During Past 5 Years**
Frances L. Cashman
c/o Perkins Coie LLP
Counsel to the
Independent Trustees
1155 Avenue of the Americas
22nd Floor
New York, NY 10036
Birth Year: 1961
Trustee
Trustee since March 2022
Chief Executive Officer, Asset Management Division, Delinian Ltd. (financial information) (May 2021-Present); Executive Vice President and various other roles, Legg Mason & Co. (asset management) (2010-2020); Managing Director, Stifel Nicolaus (2005-2010).
80
Trustee and Investment Committee Member, Georgia Tech Foundation (Since June 2019); Trustee and Chair of Marketing Committee, and Member of Investment Committee, Loyola Blakefield (Since September 2017); Trustee, MMI Gateway Foundation (since September 2017); Director and Investment Committee Member, Catholic Community Foundation Board (2012–2018); Director and Investment Committee Member, St. Ignatius Loyola Academy (2011-2017).
Kathleen A. Dennis
c/o Perkins Coie LLP
Counsel to the
Independent Trustees
1155 Avenue of the Americas
22nd Floor
New York, NY 10036
Birth Year: 1953
Trustee
Since
August
2006
Chairperson of the Governance Committee (since January 2021), Chairperson of the Liquidity and Alternatives Sub-Committee of the Investment Committee (2006-2020) and Director or Trustee of various Morgan Stanley Funds (since August 2006); President, Cedarwood Associates (mutual fund and investment management consulting) (since July 2006); formerly, Senior Managing Director of Victory Capital Management (1993-2006).
79
Board Member, University of Albany Foundation (2012-present); Board Member, Mutual Funds Directors Forum (2014-present); Director of various non-profit organizations.
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Name, Address and Birth Year of Independent Trustee
Position(s) Held with Registrant
Length of
Time
Served*
Principal Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years and Other Relevant Professional Experience
Number of Funds
in Fund Complex Overseen by Independent Trustee
Other Directorships Held by Independent Trustee During Past 5 Years**
Nancy C. Everett
c/o Perkins Coie LLP
Counsel to the
Independent Trustees
1155 Avenue of the Americas
22nd Floor
New York, NY 10036
Birth Year: 1955
Trustee
Since
January
2015
Chairperson of the Equity Investment Committee (since January 2021); Director or Trustee of various Morgan Stanley Funds (since January 2015); Chief Executive Officer, Virginia Commonwealth University Investment Company (since November 2015); Owner, OBIR, LLC (institutional investment management consulting) (since June 2014); formerly, Managing Director, BlackRock, Inc. (February 2011-December 2013) and Chief Executive Officer, General Motors Asset Management (a/k/a Promark Global Advisors, Inc.) (June 2005-May 2010).
80
Formerly, Member of Virginia Commonwealth University School of Business Foundation (2005-2016); Member of Virginia Commonwealth University Board of Visitors (2013-2015); Member of Committee on Directors for Emerging Markets Growth Fund, Inc. (2007-2010); Chairperson of Performance Equity Management, LLC (2006-2010); and Chairperson, GMAM Absolute Return Strategies Fund, LLC (2006-2010).
Eddie A. Grier
c/o Perkins Coie LLP
Counsel to the
Independent Trustees
1155 Avenue of the Americas
22nd Floor
New York, NY 10036
Birth Year: 1955
Trustee
Trustee since March 2022
Dean, Santa Clara University Leavey School of Business (since July 2021); Dean, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Business (2010-2021); President and various other roles, Walt Disney Company (entertainment and media) (1981-2010).
80
Director, Witt/Kieffer, Inc. (executive search) (since 2016); Director, NuStar GP, LLC (energy) (since August 2021); Director, Sonida Senior Living, Inc. (residential community operator) (2016-2021); Director, NVR, Inc. (homebuilding) (2013-2020); Director, Middleburg Trust Company (wealth management) (2014-2019); Director, Colonial Williamsburg Company (2012-2021); Regent, University of Massachusetts Global (since 2021); Director and Chair, ChildFund International (2012-2021); Trustee, Brandman University (2010-2021); Director, Richmond Forum (2012-2019).
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Name, Address and Birth Year of Independent Trustee
Position(s) Held with Registrant
Length of
Time
Served*
Principal Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years and Other Relevant Professional Experience
Number of Funds
in Fund Complex Overseen by Independent Trustee
Other Directorships Held by Independent Trustee During Past 5 Years**
Jakki L. Haussler
c/o Perkins Coie LLP
Counsel to the
Independent Trustees
1155 Avenue of the Americas
22nd Floor
New York, NY 10036
Birth Year: 1957
Trustee
Since
January
2015
Director or Trustee of various Morgan Stanley Funds (since January 2015); Chairman, Opus Capital Group (since 1996); formerly, Chief Executive Officer, Opus Capital Group (1996-2019); Director, Capvest Venture Fund, LP (May 2000-December 2011); Partner, Adena Ventures, LP (July 1999-December 2010); Director, The Victory Funds (February 2005-July 2008).
80
Director, Vertiv Holdings Co. (VRT) (since August 2022); Director of Cincinnati Bell Inc. and Member, Audit Committee and Chairman, Governance and Nominating Committee (2008-2021); Director of Service Corporation International and Member, Audit Committee and Investment Committee; Director, Barnes Group Inc. (since July 2021); Director of Northern Kentucky University Foundation and Member, Investment Committee; Member of Chase College of Law Center for Law and Entrepreneurship Board of Advisors; Director of Best Transport (2005-2019); Director of Chase College of Law Board of Visitors; formerly, Member, University of Cincinnati Foundation Investment Committee.
Dr. Manuel H. Johnson
c/o Johnson Smick
International, Inc.
220 I Street, NE
Suite 200
Washington, D.C. 20002
Birth Year: 1949
Trustee
Since
July 1991
Senior Partner, Johnson Smick International, Inc. (consulting firm); Chairperson of the Fixed Income, Liquidity and Alternatives Investment Committee (since January 2021), Chairperson of the Investment Committee (2006-2020) and Director or Trustee of various Morgan Stanley Funds (since July 1991); Co-Chairman and a founder of the Group of Seven Council (G7C) (international economic commission); formerly, Chairperson of the Audit Committee (July 1991-September 2006); Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Treasury.
79
Director of NVR, Inc. (home construction).
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Name, Address and Birth Year of Independent Trustee
Position(s) Held with Registrant
Length of
Time
Served*
Principal Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years and Other Relevant Professional Experience
Number of Funds
in Fund Complex Overseen by Independent Trustee
Other Directorships Held by Independent Trustee During Past 5 Years**
Joseph J. Kearns
c/o Perkins Coie LLP
Counsel to the
Independent Trustees
1155 Avenue of the Americas
22nd Floor
New York, NY 10036
Birth Year: 1942
Trustee
Since
August
1994
Senior Adviser, Kearns & Associates LLC (investment consulting); Chairperson of the Audit Committee (since October 2006) and Director or Trustee of various Morgan Stanley Funds (since August 1994); formerly, Deputy Chairperson of the Audit Committee (July 2003-September 2006) and Chairperson of the Audit Committee of various Morgan Stanley Funds (since August 1994); CFO of the J. Paul Getty Trust (1982-1999).
80
Director, Rubicon Investments (since February 2019); Prior to August 2016, Director of Electro Rent Corporation (equipment leasing). Prior to December 31, 2013, Director of The Ford Family Foundation.
Michael F. Klein
c/o Perkins Coie LLP
Counsel to the
Independent Trustees
1155 Avenue of the Americas
22nd Floor
New York, NY 10036
Birth Year: 1958
Trustee
Since
August
2006
Chairperson of the Risk Committee (since January 2021); Managing Director, Aetos Alternatives Management, LP (since March 2000); Co-President, Aetos Alternatives Management, LP (since January 2004) and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Aetos Alternatives Management, LP (since August 2013); Chairperson of the Fixed Income Sub-Committee of the Investment Committee (2006-2020) and Director or Trustee of various Morgan Stanley Funds (since August 2006); formerly, Managing Director, Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc. and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Investment Management and President, various Morgan Stanley Funds (June 1998-March 2000); Principal, Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc. and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Investment Management (August 1997-December 1999).
79
Director of certain investment funds managed or sponsored by Aetos Alternatives Management, LP; Director of Sanitized AG and Sanitized Marketing AG (specialty chemicals).
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Name, Address and Birth Year of Independent Trustee
Position(s) Held with Registrant
Length of
Time
Served*
Principal Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years and Other Relevant Professional Experience
Number of Funds
in Fund Complex Overseen by Independent Trustee
Other Directorships Held by Independent Trustee During Past 5 Years**
Patricia A. Maleski
c/o Perkins Coie LLP
Counsel to the
Independent Trustees
1155 Avenue of the Americas
22nd Floor
New York, NY 10036
Birth Year: 1960
Trustee
Since
January
2017
Director or Trustee of various Morgan Stanley Funds (since January 2017); Managing Director, JPMorgan Asset Management (2004-2016); Oversight and Control Head of Fiduciary and Conflicts of Interest Program (2015-2016); Chief Control Officer—Global Asset Management (2013-2015); President, JPMorgan Funds (2010-2013); Chief Administrative Officer (2004-2013); various other positions including Treasurer and Board Liaison (since 2001).
80
Trustee (since January 2022) and Treasurer (since January 2023, Nutley Family Service Bureau, Inc.
W. Allen Reed
c/o Perkins Coie LLP
Counsel to the
Independent Trustees
1155 Avenue of the Americas
22nd Floor
New York, NY 10036
Birth Year: 1947
Chair of the Board and Trustee
Chair of the Board since August 2020 and Trustee since August 2006
Chair of the Boards of various Morgan Stanley Funds (since August 2020); Director or Trustee of various Morgan Stanley Funds (since August 2006); formerly, Vice Chair of the Boards of various Morgan Stanley Funds (January 2020-August 2020); President and Chief Executive Officer of General Motors Asset Management; Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the GM Trust Bank and Corporate Vice President of General Motors Corporation (August 1994-December 2005).
79
Formerly, Director of Legg Mason, Inc. (2006-2019); and Director of the Auburn University Foundation (2010-2015).
* This is the earliest date the Trustee  began serving the Morgan Stanley Funds. Each Trustee  serves an indefinite term, until his or her successor is elected.
** This includes any directorships at public companies and registered investment companies held by the Trustee at any time during the past five years.
The executive officers of the Trust, their birth years, addresses, positions held, length of time served and their principal business occupations during the past five years are shown below (as of December 31, 2022).
Executive Officers
Name, Address and Birth Year of Executive Officer
Position(s) Held with Registrant
Length of Time Served*
Principal Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years
John H. Gernon
522 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10036
Birth Year: 1963
President and Principal Executive Officer
Since September 2013
President and Principal Executive Officer of the Equity and Fixed Income Funds and the Morgan Stanley AIP Funds (since September 2013) and the Liquidity Funds and various money market funds (since May 2014) in the Fund Complex; Managing Director of the Adviser; Head of Public Markets Product Development (since 2006).
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Name, Address and Birth Year of Executive Officer
Position(s) Held with Registrant
Length of Time Served*
Principal Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years
Deidre A. Downes
1633 Broadway
New York, NY 10019
Birth Year: 1977
Chief Compliance Officer
Since November 2021
Executive Director of the Adviser (since January 2021) and Chief Compliance officer of various Morgan Stanley Funds (since November 2021). Formerly, Vice President and Corporate Counsel at PGIM and Prudential Financial (October 2016 – December 2020).
Francis J. Smith
522 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10036
Birth Year: 1965
Treasurer and Principal Financial Officer
Treasurer since July 2003 and Principal Financial Officer since September 2002
Managing Director of the Adviser and various entities affiliated with the Adviser; Treasurer (since July 2003) and Principal Financial Officer of various Morgan Stanley Funds (since September 2002).
Mary E. Mullin
1633 Broadway
New York, NY 10019
Birth Year: 1967
Secretary
Since June 1999
Managing Director of the Adviser; Secretary of various Morgan Stanley Funds (since June 1999).
Michael J. Key
522 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10036
Birth Year: 1979
Vice President
Since June 2017
Vice President of the Equity and Fixed Income Funds, Liquidity Funds, various money market funds and the Morgan Stanley AIP Funds in the Fund Complex (since June 2017); Managing Director of the Adviser; Head of Product Development for Equity and Fixed Income Funds (since August 2013).
* This is the earliest date the officer began serving the Morgan Stanley Funds. Each officer serves a one-year term, until his or her successor is elected and has qualified.
In addition, the following individuals who are officers of the Adviser or who are officers of its affiliates serve as assistant secretaries of the Trust: Nicholas Di Lorenzo, Princess Kludjeson, Francesca Mead, Sydney A. Walker and Jill R. Whitelaw.
It is a policy of the Trust’s Board that each Trustee shall invest in any combination of the Morgan Stanley Funds that the Trustee determines meets his or her own specific investment objectives, without requiring any specific investment in any particular Fund.
For each Trustee, the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by the Trustee in the Funds and in the Family of Investment Companies (Family of Investment Companies includes all of the registered investment companies advised by the Adviser and Morgan Stanley AIP GP LP) for the calendar year ended December 31, 2022 is set forth in the table below.
Name of Trustee
Dollar Range of Equity Securities in the Funds (as of December 31, 2022)
Aggregate Dollar Range of Equity Securities in All Registered Investment Companies Overseen by Trustee in Family of Investment Companies (as of December 31, 2022)
Independent:
 
Frank L. Bowman
None
over $100,000
Frances L. Cashman1
None
None
Kathleen A. Dennis
None
over $100,000
Nancy C. Everett
None
over $100,000
Eddie A. Grier1
None
None
Jakki L. Haussler
None
over $100,000
Manuel H. Johnson
None
over $100,000
Joseph J. Kearns2
None3
over $100,000
Michael F. Klein2
None
over $100,000
Patricia Maleski
None3
over $100,000
W. Allen Reed2
None
over $100,000
1 Ms. Cashman and Mr. Grier became members of the Advisory Board of the Board of Trustees on January 1, 2022, and Trustees on March 31, 2022.
2 Includes the total amount of compensation deferred by the Trustee at his election pursuant to a deferred compensation plan. Such deferred compensation is placed in a deferral account and deemed to be invested in one or more of the Morgan Stanley Funds (or portfolio thereof) that are offered as investment options under the plan.
3 Joseph J. Kearns—Treasury Securities Portfolio (over $100,000); and Patricia Maleski—Prime Portfolio (over $100,000).
As to each Independent Trustee and his or her immediate family members, no person owned beneficially or of record securities of an investment adviser or principal underwriter of the Trust, or a person (other than a registered investment company) directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by or under common control with an investment adviser or principal underwriter of the Trust.
As of February 1, 2023, the Trustees and officers of the Trust, as a group, owned less than 1% of any class of the outstanding shares of beneficial interest of each Fund.
Independent Trustees and the Committees
Law and regulation establish both general guidelines and specific duties for the Independent Trustees. The Board has six committees: (1) Audit Committee, (2) Governance Committee, (3) Compliance and Insurance Committee, (4) Equity Investment Committee, (5) Fixed Income, Liquidity and Alternatives Investment Committee and (6) Risk Committee.
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The Independent Trustees are charged with recommending to the full Board approval of management, advisory and administration contracts, Rule 12b-1 plans and distribution and underwriting agreements; continually reviewing fund performance, checking on the pricing of portfolio securities, brokerage commissions, transfer agent costs and performance and trading among funds in the same complex; and approving fidelity bond and related insurance coverage and allocations, as well as other matters that arise from time to time. The Independent Trustees are required to select and nominate individuals to fill any Independent Trustee vacancy on the board of any fund that has a Rule 12b-1 plan of distribution. Most of the retail Morgan Stanley Funds have a Rule 12b-1 plan.
The Board of Trustees has a separately-designated standing Audit Committee established in accordance with Section 3(a)(58)(A) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “1934 Act”). The Audit Committee is charged with recommending to the full Board the engagement or discharge of the Trust’s independent registered public accounting firm; directing investigations into matters within the scope of the independent registered public accounting firm’s duties, including the power to retain outside specialists; reviewing with the independent registered public accounting firm the audit plan and results of the auditing engagement; approving professional services provided by the independent registered public accounting firm and other accounting firms prior to the performance of the services; reviewing the independence of the independent registered public accounting firm; considering the range of audit and non-audit fees; reviewing the adequacy of the Trust’s system of internal controls and reviewing the valuation process. The Trust has adopted a formal, written Audit Committee Charter.
The members of the Audit Committee of the Trust are Nancy C. Everett, Eddie A. Grier, Jakki L. Haussler and Joseph J. Kearns. None of the members of the Trust’s Audit Committee is an “interested person,” as defined under the 1940 Act, of the Trust (with such disinterested Trustees being “Independent Trustees” or individually, an “Independent Trustee”). Each Independent Trustee is also “independent” from the Trust under the listing standards of the NYSE. The Chairperson of the Audit Committee of the Trust is Jakki L. Haussler.
The Board of Trustees of the Trust also has a Governance Committee. The Governance Committee identifies individuals qualified to serve as Independent Trustees on the Trust’s Board and on committees of the Board and recommends such qualified individuals for nomination by the Trust’s Independent Trustees as candidates for election as Independent Trustees, advises the Trust’s Board with respect to Board composition, procedures and committees, develops and recommends to the Trust’s Board a set of corporate governance principles applicable to the Trust, monitors and makes recommendations on corporate governance matters and policies and procedures of the Trust’s Board of Trustees and any Board committees and oversees periodic evaluations of the Trust’s Board and its committees. The members of the Governance Committee of the Trust are Kathleen A. Dennis, Manuel H. Johnson, Michael F. Klein, Patricia A. Maleski and W. Allen Reed, each of whom is an Independent Trustee. In addition, W. Allen Reed (as Chair of the Morgan Stanley Funds) periodically may attend other operating Committee meetings. The Chairperson of the Governance Committee is Kathleen A. Dennis.
The Trust does not have a separate nominating committee. While the Trust’s Governance Committee recommends qualified candidates for nominations as Independent Trustees, the Board of Trustees of the Trust believes that the task of nominating prospective Independent Trustees is important enough to require the participation of all current Independent Trustees, rather than a separate committee consisting of only certain Independent Trustees. Accordingly, all the Independent Trustees participate in the selection and nomination of candidates for election as Independent Trustees for the Trust. Persons recommended by the Trust’s Governance Committee as candidates for nomination as Independent Trustees shall possess such experience, qualifications, attributes, skills and diversity so as to enhance the Board’s ability to manage and direct the affairs and business of the Trust, including, when applicable, to enhance the ability of committees of the Board to fulfill their duties and/or to satisfy any independence requirements imposed by law, regulation or any listing requirements of the NYSE. While the Independent Trustees of the Trust expect to be able to continue to identify from their own resources an ample number of qualified candidates for the Trust’s Board as they deem appropriate, they will consider nominations from shareholders to the Board. Nominations from shareholders should be in writing and sent to the Independent Trustees as described below under the caption “Shareholder Communications.”
The Board formed the Compliance and Insurance Committee to address insurance coverage and oversee the compliance function for the Trust and the Board. The Compliance and Insurance Committee consists of Frank L. Bowman, Kathleen A. Dennis and Patricia A. Maleski, each of whom is an Independent Trustee. The Chairperson of the Compliance and Insurance Committee is Frank L. Bowman.
The Equity Investment Committee and the Fixed Income, Liquidity and Alternatives Investment Committees oversee the Trust’s portfolio investment process and review the performance of the Trust’s investments. The Equity Investment Committee and the Fixed Income, Liquidity and Alternatives Investment Committees also recommend to the Board to approve or renew the Trust’s Investment Advisory and Administration Agreements. Each Investment Committee focuses on the Trust’s primary areas of investment, namely equities, fixed income, liquidity and alternatives. Kathleen A. Dennis, Nancy C. Everett, Eddie A. Grier, Jakki L. Haussler and Michael F. Klein are members of the Equity Investment Committee. The Chairperson of the Equity Investment Committee is Nancy C. Everett. Frank L. Bowman, Frances L. Cashman, Manuel H. Johnson, Joseph J. Kearns and Patricia A. Maleski are members of the Fixed Income, Liquidity and Alternatives Investment Committee. The Chairperson of the Fixed Income, Liquidity and Alternatives Investment Committee is Manuel H. Johnson.
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The Risk Committee assists the Board in connection with the oversight of the Trust’s risks, including investment risks, operational risks and risks posed by the Trust’s service providers as well as the effectiveness of the guidelines, policies and processes for monitoring and mitigating such risks. The members of the Risk Committee of the Trust are Frances L. Cashman, Manuel H. Johnson, Michael F. Klein and W. Allen Reed, each of whom is an Independent Trustee. The Chairperson of the Risk Committee is Michael F. Klein.
During the Trust’s fiscal year ended October 31, 2022, the Board of Trustees held the following meetings:
Board of Trustees/Committee
Number of Meetings
Board of Trustees
6
Audit Committee
4
Governance Committee
4
Compliance and Insurance Committee
4
Equity Investment Committee
5
Fixed Income, Liquidity and Alternatives Investment Committee
5
Risk Committee
4
Experience, Qualifications and Attributes
The Board has concluded, based on each Trustee’s experience, qualifications and attributes that each Board member should serve as a Trustee. Following is a brief summary of the information that led to and/or supports this conclusion.
Mr. Bowman has experience in a variety of business and financial matters through his prior service as a Director or Trustee for various funds in the Fund Complex, where he serves as Chairperson of the Compliance and Insurance Committee (and formerly served as Chairperson of the Insurance Sub-Committee of the Compliance and Insurance Committee). Mr. Bowman also serves as a Director of Naval and Nuclear Technologies LLP and Director Emeritus for the Armed Services YMCA, and formerly served as a Director of BP, plc. Mr. Bowman serves as a Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Fairhaven United Methodist Church. Mr. Bowman is also a member of the National Security Advisory Council of the Center for U.S. Global Engagement, a former member of the CNA Military Advisory Board and a member of the Dolphin Scholarship Foundation Advisory Board. Mr. Bowman retired as an Admiral in the U.S. Navy after serving over 38 years on active duty including eight years as Director of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program in the Department of the Navy and the U.S. Department of Energy (1996-2004). Additionally, Mr. Bowman served as the U.S. Navy’s Chief of Naval Personnel (1994-1996) where he was responsible for the planning and programming of all manpower, personnel, training and education resources for the U.S. Navy, and on the Joint Staff as Director of Political Military Affairs (1992-1994). In addition, Mr. Bowman served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Nuclear Energy Institute. Mr. Bowman has received such distinctions as a knighthood as Honorary Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire and the Officier de l’Orde National du Mérite from the French Government, and was elected to the National Academy of Engineering (2009). He is President of the consulting firm Strategic Decisions, LLC.
With more than 30 years of experience in the financial services industry, Ms. Cashman possesses valuable insights and expertise regarding governance, marketing, communications, and strategy. Ms. Cashman is Chief Executive Officer of the Asset Management Division of Delinian Ltd. Prior to that, Ms. Cashman spent over 20 years at Legg Mason & Co., ultimately serving as Executive Vice President and Global Head of Marketing and Communications. She has gained valuable experience as Director of two investment management entities and as a distribution leader reporting to boards of other mutual funds. In addition, Ms. Cashman also serves as Trustee for the Georgia Tech Foundation and the MMI Gateway Foundation.
Ms. Dennis has over 25 years of business experience in the financial services industry and related fields including serving as a Director or Trustee of various other funds in the Fund Complex, where she serves as Chairperson of the Governance Committee. Ms. Dennis possesses a strong understanding of the regulatory framework under which investment companies must operate based on her years of service to this Board and her position as Senior Managing Director of Victory Capital Management.
Ms. Everett has over 35 years of experience in the financial services industry, including roles with both registered investment companies and registered investment advisers. Ms. Everett serves as the Chairperson of the Equity Investment Committee. By serving on the boards of other registered funds, such as GMAM Absolute Return Strategies Fund, LLC and Emerging Markets Growth Fund, Inc., Ms. Everett has acquired significant experience with financial, accounting, investment and regulatory matters. Ms. Everett is also a Chartered Financial Analyst.
During the course of a career spanning more than 40 years in both academia and industry, Mr. Grier has gained substantial experience in management, operations, finance, marketing, and oversight. Mr. Grier is the Dean of Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business. Prior to that, Mr. Grier was the Dean of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Business. Before joining academia, Mr. Grier spent 29 years at the Walt Disney Company where he served in various leadership roles, including as President of the Disneyland Resort. Mr. Grier also gained substantial oversight experience serving on the boards of Sonia Senior Living, Inc. (formerly, Capital Senior Living Corporation), NVR, Inc., and Middleburg Trust Company. In addition, Mr. Grier
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currently serves as a Director of Witt/Kieffer, Inc., Director of NuStar GP, LLC, and Regent of University of Massachusetts Global. Mr. Grier is also a Certified Public Accountant.
With more than 30 years of experience in the financial services industry, including her years of entrepreneurial and managerial experience in the development and growth of Opus Capital Group, Ms. Haussler brings a valuable perspective to the Trust’s Board, where she serves as the Chairperson of the Audit Committee. Through her role at Opus Capital and her service as a director of several venture capital funds and other boards, Ms. Haussler has gained valuable experience dealing with accounting principles and evaluating financial results of large corporations. She is a certified public accountant (inactive) and a licensed attorney in the State of Ohio (inactive). The Board has determined that Ms. Haussler is an “audit committee financial expert” as defined by the SEC.
In addition to his tenure as a Director or Trustee of various other funds in the Fund Complex, where he currently serves as the Chairperson of the Fixed Income, Liquidity and Alternatives Investment Committee and formerly served as Chairperson of the Audit Committee, Dr. Johnson has also served as an officer or a board member of numerous companies for over 20 years. These positions included Co-Chairman and a founder of the Group of Seven Council, Director of NVR, Inc., Director of Evergreen Energy and Director of Greenwich Capital Holdings. He also has served as Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Treasury. In addition, Dr. Johnson also served as Chairman of the Financial Accounting Foundation, which oversees the Financial Accounting Standards Board, for seven years.
Mr. Kearns gained extensive experience regarding accounting through his experience on the Audit Committees of the boards of other funds in the Fund Complex, including by previously serving as either Chairperson or Deputy Chairperson of the Audit Committee for nearly 20 years, and through his position as Chief Financial Officer of the J. Paul Getty Trust. He also has experience in financial, accounting, investment and regulatory matters through his position as President and founder of Kearns & Associates LLC, a financial consulting company. Mr. Kearns previously served as a Director of Electro Rent Corporation and previously served as Director of The Ford Family Foundation.  
Through his prior positions as a Managing Director of Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc. and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Investment Management and as President and a Trustee of the Morgan Stanley Institutional Funds, Mr. Klein has experience in the management and operation of registered investment companies, enabling him to provide management input and investment guidance to the Board. Mr. Klein is the Chairperson of the Risk Committee. Mr. Klein also has extensive experience in the investment management industry based on his current positions as Managing Director and Co-Chief Executive and Co-President of Aetos Alternatives Management, LP and as a Director of certain investment funds managed or sponsored by Aetos Alternatives Management, LP. In addition, he also has experience as a member of the board of other funds in the Fund Complex.
Ms. Maleski has over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry and extensive experience with registered investment companies. Ms. Maleski began her career as a certified public accountant at Price Waterhouse LLP (“PW”) and was a member of PW’s Investment Company Practice. After a brief stint at the Bank of New York, Ms. Maleski began her affiliation with the JPMorgan Funds, at the Pierpont Group, and then with J.P. Morgan Investment Management Inc. From 2001-2013, Ms. Maleski held roles with increasing responsibilities, from Vice President and Board Liaison, Treasurer and Principal Financial Officer, Chief Administrative Officer and finally President and Principal Executive Officer for the JPMorgan Fund complex. Between 2013 and 2016, Ms. Maleski served as Global Head of Oversight and Control of JPMorgan Asset Management and then as Head of JPMorgan Chase’s Fiduciary and Conflicts of Interest Program. Ms. Maleski has extensive experience in the management and operation of funds in addition to regulatory and accounting and valuation matters.
Mr. Reed has experience on investment company boards and is experienced with financial, accounting, investment and regulatory matters through his prior service as a Director of iShares Inc. and his service as Chair of the Board and as Trustee or Director of other funds in the Fund Complex. Mr. Reed also gained substantial experience in the financial services industry through his prior positions as a Director of Legg Mason, Inc. and as President and CEO of General Motors Asset Management.
The Trustees’ principal occupations and other relevant professional experience during the past five years or more are shown in the above tables.
The Board has adopted a policy that Board members are expected to retire no later than the end of the year they reach the age of 78. The Governance Committee has discretion to grant waivers from this retirement policy under special circumstances, including for Board members to continue serving in Chair or Chair-related roles beyond the retirement age. Current Board members who reached the age of 75 as of January 1, 2021, are grandfathered as exceptions to the retirement policy and may continue to serve on the Board until the end of the year in which they turn 80 years of age.
Advantages of Having the Same Individuals as Trustees for the Morgan Stanley Funds. The Independent Trustees and the Trust’s management believe that having the same Independent Trustees for each of the Morgan Stanley Funds avoids the duplication of effort that would arise from having different groups of individuals serving as Independent Trustees for each of the funds or even of sub-groups of funds. They believe that having the same individuals serve as Independent Trustees of all the Morgan Stanley Funds tends to increase their knowledge and expertise regarding matters which affect the Fund Complex generally and enhances their ability
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to negotiate on behalf of each fund with the fund’s service providers. This arrangement also precludes the possibility of separate groups of Independent Trustees arriving at conflicting decisions regarding operations and management of the funds and avoids the cost and confusion that would likely ensue. Finally, having the same Independent Trustees serve on all fund boards enhances the ability of each fund to obtain, at modest cost to each separate fund, the services of Independent Trustees of the caliber, experience and business acumen of the individuals who serve as Independent Trustees of the Morgan Stanley Funds.
Trustee and Officer Indemnification. The Trust’s Declaration of Trust provides that no Trustee, officer, employee or agent of the Trust is liable to the Trust or to a shareholder, nor is any Trustee, officer, employee or agent liable to any third persons in connection with the affairs of the Trust, except as such liability may arise from his/her or its own bad faith, willful misfeasance, gross negligence or reckless disregard of his/her or its duties. It also provides that all third persons shall look solely to Trust   property for satisfaction of claims arising in connection with the affairs of the Trust. With the exceptions stated, the Declaration of Trust provides that a Trustee, officer, employee or agent is entitled to be indemnified against all liability in connection with the affairs of the Trust.
Shareholder Communications. Shareholders may send communications to the Trust’s Board of Trustees. Shareholders should send communications intended for the Trust’s Board by addressing the communications directly to the Board (or individual Board members) and/or otherwise clearly indicating in the salutation that the communication is for the Board (or individual Board members) and by sending the communication to either the Trust’s office or directly to such Board member(s) at the address specified for each Trustee previously noted. Other shareholder communications received by the Trust not directly addressed and sent to the Board will be reviewed and generally responded to by management, and will be forwarded to the Board only at management’s discretion based on the matters contained therein.
Compensation
Each Trustee (except for the Chair of the Boards) receives an annual retainer fee of $335,000 ($295,000 prior to January 1, 2023) for serving as a Trustee of the Morgan Stanley Funds.
The Audit Committee Chairperson receives an additional annual retainer fee of $80,000, the Risk Committee Chairperson, the Equity Investment Committee Chairperson, Fixed Income, Liquidity and Alternatives Investment Committee Chairperson and Governance Committee Chairperson each receive an additional annual retainer fee of $50,000 and the Compliance and Insurance Committee Chairperson receives an additional annual retainer fee of $65,000. The aggregate compensation paid to each Trustee is paid by the Morgan Stanley Funds, and is allocated on a pro rata basis among each of the operational funds of the Morgan Stanley Funds based on the relative net assets of each of the funds. The Chair of the Boards receives a total annual retainer fee of $630,000 ($590,000 prior to January 1, 2023) for his services and for administrative services provided to each Board.
The Trust also reimburses such Trustees for travel and other out-of-pocket expenses incurred by them in connection with attending such meetings. Trustees of the Trust who are employed by the Adviser receive no compensation or expense reimbursement from the Trust for their services as a Trustee.
Effective April 1, 2004, the Trust began a Deferred Compensation Plan (the “DC Plan”), which allows each Trustee to defer payment of all, or a portion, of the fees he or she receives for serving on the Board of Trustees throughout the year. Each eligible Trustee generally may elect to have the deferred amounts credited with a return equal to the total return on one or more of the Morgan Stanley Funds that are offered as investment options under the DC Plan. At the Trustee’s election, distributions are either in one lump sum payment, or in the form of equal annual installments over a period of five years. The rights of an eligible Trustee and the beneficiaries to the amounts held under the DC Plan are unsecured and such amounts are subject to the claims of the creditors of the Trust.
Prior to April 1, 2004, the Trust maintained a similar Deferred Compensation Plan (the “Prior DC Plan”), which also allowed each Independent Trustee to defer payment of all, or a portion, of the fees he or she received for serving on the Board of Trustees throughout the year. Generally, the DC Plan amends and supersedes the Prior DC Plan and all amounts payable under the Prior DC Plan are now subject to the terms of the DC Plan (except for amounts paid during the calendar year 2004, which remain subject to the terms of the Prior DC Plan).
The following table shows aggregate compensation payable to each of the Trust’s Trustees from the Trust for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2022 and the aggregate compensation payable to each of the Trust’s Trustees by the Fund Complex (which includes all of the Morgan Stanley Funds) for the calendar year ended December 31, 2022.
COMPENSATION1
Name of Independent Trustee:
Aggregate Compensation
From the Trust2
Total Compensation From Trust and Fund Complex Paid to the Trustees3
Frank L. Bowman
$ 295,718
$ 360,000
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COMPENSATION1
Frances L. Cashman4
     242,462
     295,000
Kathleen A. Dennis
       283,396    
     345,000
Nancy C. Everett
       283,126    
     345,000
Eddie A. Grier4
     242,462
     295,000
Jakki L. Haussler
       242,105    
       295,000    
Manuel H. Johnson
       283,396    
       345,000    
Joseph J. Kearns2,3
     307,780
     375,000
Michael F. Klein2,3
     283,380
     345,000
Patricia Maleski
     242,105
     295,000
W. Allen Reed3
     484,615
     590,000
1 Includes all amounts paid for serving as director/trustee of the funds in the Fund Complex, as well as serving as Chair of the Boards or a Chairperson of a Committee.
2 The amounts shown in this column represent the aggregate compensation before deferral with respect to the Trust’s fiscal year. The following Trustees deferred compensation from the Trust during the fiscal year ended October 31, 2022: Mr. Kearns, $131,297, and Mr. Klein, $283,380.
3 The amounts shown in this column represent the aggregate compensation paid by all of the funds in the Fund Complex as of December 31, 2022 before deferral by the Trustee under the DC Plan. As of December 31, 2022, the value (including interest) of the deferral accounts across the Fund Complex for Messrs. Kearns, Klein and Reed pursuant to the deferred compensation plans was $1,003,275,  $3,052,005  and  $3,795,878, respectively. Because the funds in the Fund Complex have different fiscal year ends, the amounts shown in this column are presented on a calendar year basis.
4 Ms. Cashman and Mr. Grier became members of the Advisory Board of the Board of Trustees on January 1, 2022, and Trustees on March 31, 2022.
Prior to December 31, 2003, 49 of the Morgan Stanley Funds (the “Adopting Funds”), not including the Trust, had adopted a retirement program under which an Independent Trustee who retired after serving for at least five years as an Independent Trustee of any such fund (an “Eligible Trustee”) would have been entitled to retirement payments, based on factors such as length of service, upon reaching the eligible retirement age. On December 31, 2003, the amount of accrued retirement benefits for each Eligible Trustee was frozen, and will be payable, together with a return of 8% per annum, at or following each such Eligible Trustee’s retirement as shown in the table below.
The following table illustrates the retirement benefits accrued to the Trust’s Independent Trustees by the Adopting Funds for the calendar year ended December 31, 2022, and the estimated retirement benefits for the Independent Trustees from the Adopting Funds for each calendar year following retirement. Only the Trustees listed below participated in the retirement program.
Name of Independent Trustee
Retirement Benefits Accrued as Fund Expenses By All Adopting Funds1
Estimated Annual Benefits Upon Retirement2 From All Adopting Funds
Manuel H. Johnson
$(5,498)
$55,816
1 Mr. Johnson’s retirement expenses are negative due to the fact that his retirement date has been extended and therefore his expenses have been over accrued.
2 Total compensation accrued under the retirement plan, together with a return of 8% per annum, will be paid annually commencing upon retirement and continuing for the remainder of the Trustee’s life.
Code of Ethics
The Trust, the Adviser and the Distributor have each adopted a Code of Ethics pursuant to Rule 17j-1 under the 1940 Act. The Codes of Ethics are designed to detect and prevent improper personal trading. The Codes of Ethics permit personnel subject to the Codes of Ethics to invest in securities, including securities that may be purchased, sold or held by the Trust, subject to a number of restrictions and controls, including prohibitions against purchases of securities in an initial public offering and a preclearance requirement with respect to personal securities transactions.
ADVISER
The Adviser is a wholly owned subsidiary of Morgan Stanley (NYSE: “MS”), a preeminent global financial securities firm engaged in securities trading and brokerage activities, as well as providing investment banking, research and analysis, financing and financial advisory services. The principal offices of Morgan Stanley are located at 1585 Broadway, New York, NY 10036, and the principal offices of the Adviser are located at 522 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10036. As of December 31, 2022, the Adviser, together with its affiliated asset management companies, had approximately $1.3 trillion in assets under management or supervision.
The Adviser provides investment advice and portfolio management services pursuant to an Investment Advisory Agreement and, subject to the control and supervision of the Trust’s Board of Trustees, makes each Fund’s day-to-day investment decisions, arranges for the execution of portfolio transactions and generally manages each Fund’s investments.
As compensation for the services rendered by the Adviser under the Agreement and the assumption by the Adviser of the expenses related thereto (other than the cost of securities purchased for each Fund and the taxes and brokerage commissions, if any, payable in
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connection with the purchase and/or sale of such securities), each Fund pays the Adviser monthly compensation calculated daily by applying the annual rate of 0.15% to each Fund’s daily net assets.
Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc., as the Adviser and the Administrator, has agreed to reduce its advisory fee, its administration fee and/or reimburse certain expenses to the extent necessary so that total annual operating expenses of each Institutional Class, Institutional Select Class, Investor Class, Administrative Class, Advisory Class, Participant Class, Cash Management Class, Select Class, CastleOak  Class and Impact Class will not exceed 0.20%, 0.25%, 0.30%, 0.35%, 0.45%, 0.70% (0.45% with respect to Government Securities Portfolio, which includes a waiver in which the Fund’s Distributor has agreed to waive 0.15% of the 0.25% 12b-1 fee and 0.10% of the 0.25% Shareholder Service Fee that it may receive), 0.35%, 1.00%, 0.20% and 0.20% of their average daily net assets, respectively. In determining the actual amount of fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements for a Fund, if any, the Adviser and Administrator exclude from total annual fund operating expenses, acquired fund fees and expenses (as applicable), certain investment related expenses, taxes, interest and other extraordinary expenses (including litigation). If these expenses were included, each Fund’s total annual fund operating expenses after fee waivers and/or reimbursements would exceed the percentage limits stated above. These fee waivers and expense reimbursements will continue for at least one year from the date of the applicable Prospectus or until such time as the Trust’s Board of Trustees acts to discontinue all or a portion of such waivers and/or reimbursements when it deems such action is appropriate. The Distributor, Adviser and Administrator may also waive distribution fees, advisory fees, administration fees and/or reimburse expenses to enable a Fund to maintain a minimum level of daily net investment income. Furthermore, the Adviser and Administrator may make additional voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. The Distributor, Adviser and Administrator may discontinue these voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements at any time in the future.
The following table reflects for each Fund (i) the advisory fee paid; and (ii) the advisory fee waived and/or affiliated rebates for each of the past three fiscal years ended October 31, 2020, 2021 and 2022:
 
Advisory Fees Paid
(After Fee Waivers and/or Affiliated Rebates)
Advisory Fees Waived
Affiliated Rebates
Fund
2020
(000)
2021
(000)
2022
(000)
2020
(000)
2021
(000)
2022
(000)
2020
(000)
2021
(000)
2022
(000)
Prime Portfolio
$12,556
$11,780
$13,290
$12,691
$12,851
$7,897
Government Portfolio
98,449
15,071
98,943
29,887
170,784
127,295
Government Securities Portfolio
5,477
976
9,479
1,892
16,447
12,192
Treasury Portfolio
38,273
7,459
34,644
5,625
48,913
25,804    
Treasury Securities Portfolio
48,755
7,342
40,596    
9,074
77,251
36,118    
Tax-Exempt Portfolio
79
0
0
671    
433
437
The Trust bears all of its own costs and expenses, including but not limited to: services of its independent accountants, its administrator and dividend disbursing and transfer agent, legal counsel, taxes, insurance premiums, costs incidental to meetings of its shareholders and Trustees, the cost of filing its registration statements under federal and state securities laws, reports to shareholders and custodian fees. These Trust expenses are, in turn, allocated to each Fund, based on their relative net assets. Each Fund bears its own advisory fees, brokerage commissions and transfer taxes in connection with acquiring and disposing of its investment securities.
The Agreement continues for successive one-year periods only if each renewal is specifically approved by an in-person vote of the Trust’s Board, including the affirmative votes of a majority of the Trustees who are not parties to the agreement or “interested persons” (as defined in the 1940 Act) of any such party at a meeting called for the purpose of considering such approval. In addition, the question of continuance of the Agreement may be presented to the shareholders of the Funds; in such event, continuance shall be effected only if approved by the affirmative vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of each Fund. If the holders of a Fund fail to approve the Agreement, the Adviser may continue to serve as investment adviser to each Fund that approved the Agreement, and to any Fund that did not approve the Agreement until new arrangements have been made. The Agreement is automatically terminated if assigned, and may be terminated by a Fund without the payment of any penalty, at any time, (1) by vote of a majority of the entire Board or (2) by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Trust on sixty (60) days’ written notice to the Adviser or (3) by the Adviser without the payment of any penalty, upon ninety (90) days’ written notice to the Trust.
Proxy Voting Policy and Proxy Voting Record
The Board of Trustees believes that the voting of proxies on securities held by the Trust is an important element of the overall investment process. As such, the Trustees have delegated the responsibility to vote such proxies to MSIM.
A copy of MSIM’s Proxy Voting Policy (“Proxy Policy”) is attached hereto as Appendix A. In addition, a copy of the Proxy Policy, as well as the Trust’s most recent proxy voting record for the 12-month period ended June 30, as filed with the SEC, are available
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without charge on our web site at www.morganstanley.com/liquidity. The Trust’s proxy voting record is also available without charge on the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov.
PRINCIPAL UNDERWRITER
Morgan Stanley Distribution, Inc., an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Morgan Stanley, with its principal office at 522 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10036, distributes the shares of each Fund. Under the Distribution Agreement, the Distributor, as agent of the Trust, agrees to use its best efforts as sole distributor of each Fund’s shares. The Distribution Agreement continues in effect so long as such continuance is approved at least annually by the Trust’s Board, including a majority of those Trustees who are not parties to such Distribution Agreement nor interested persons of any such party. The Distribution Agreement provides that each Fund will bear the costs of registering its shares with the SEC and various states and printing its prospectuses, statements of additional information and reports to shareholders.
SERVICE AND DISTRIBUTION OF SHARES
Administration Plans
The Trust has entered into an Administration Plan with respect to its Institutional Select Class Shares to pay the Distributor to compensate Service Organizations (defined below) who provide administrative services to shareholders. Under the Plan, the Trust, on behalf of the Institutional Select Class Shares, is authorized to pay the Distributor a monthly administration fee at an annual rate of 0.05% of each Fund’s average daily net assets of Institutional Select Class Shares owned beneficially by the customers of such Service Organizations during such period, to compensate Service Organizations for providing the following services: processing and issuing confirmations concerning shareholder orders to purchase, redeem and exchange shares of such class; receiving and transmitting funds representing the purchase price or redemption proceeds of such shares; and forwarding shareholder communications such as prospectus updates, proxies and shareholder reports.
For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2022, the  Prime, Government, Government Securities, Treasury, Treasury Securities and Tax-Exempt Portfolios of the Institutional Select Class paid $4,175, $7,248,169, $16, $3,788,783, $140,167 and $18 respectively, to compensate the Distributor pursuant to the Institutional Select Class Administration Plan and such payments reflect a waiver of   $1,014, $4,623,663, $10, $2,886,658, $130,750 and $8 respectively. These fees were used to reimburse third parties for various Fund administration activities performed on behalf of the Trust.
The Trust also has entered into an Administration Plan with respect to its Investor Class Shares to pay the Distributor to compensate Service Organizations who provide administrative services to shareholders. Under the Plan, the Trust, on behalf of the Investor Class Shares, is authorized to pay the Distributor a monthly administration fee at an annual rate of 0.10% of each Fund’s average daily net assets of Investor Class Shares owned beneficially by the customers of such Service Organizations during such period, to compensate Service Organizations for making available the following services: (a) acting, or arranging for another party to act, as recordholder and nominee of all shares of such class beneficially owned by shareholders of the Trust; (b) providing sub-accounting with respect to shares of such class of a Fund beneficially owned by shareholders or the information necessary for sub-accounting, including establishing and maintaining individual accounts and records with respect to shares of such class owned by each shareholder; (c) processing and issuing confirmations concerning shareholder orders to purchase, redeem and exchange shares of such class; (d) providing periodic statements to each shareholder showing account balances and transactions during the relevant period; and (e) processing dividend payments.
For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2022, the  Prime, Government, Government Securities, Treasury, Treasury Securities and Tax-Exempt Portfolios of the Investor Class paid $0, $1,818,876, $32, $76,414, $32 and $0, respectively, to compensate the Distributor pursuant to the Investor Class Administration Plan and such payments reflect a waiver of $0, $625,290, $19, $33,569, $19, and $0, respectively. These fees were used to reimburse third parties for various Fund administration activities performed on behalf of the Trust.
The Trust has entered into an Administration Plan with respect to its Administrative Class Shares to pay the Distributor to compensate Service Organizations who provide administrative services to shareholders. Under the Plan, the Trust, on behalf of the Administrative Class Shares, is authorized to pay the Distributor a monthly administration fee which shall not exceed during any one year 0.15% of the average daily net assets of Administrative Class Shares owned beneficially by the customers of such Service Organizations during such period. An initial 0.10% of the average daily net assets of the Administrative Class Shares will be assessed for making available the services listed in (a) through (e) above; an additional 0.05% of the average daily net assets of the Administrative Class Shares will be assessed for making available the following shareholder administration services: (f) receiving, tabulating and transmitting proxies; (g) responding to shareholder inquiries relating to such  class of shares or these services; and (h) providing sweep services (“Sweep Services”) which may include: (i) providing the necessary computer hardware and software which links the service organization to an account management system; (ii) providing software that aggregates a shareholder’s orders and establishes an order to purchase or redeem shares of a Fund based on established target levels for the shareholder’s demand deposit
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accounts; (iii) providing periodic statements showing a shareholder’s account balance and, to the extent practicable, integrating such information with other shareholder transactions otherwise effected through or with the Service Organization; and (iv) furnishing (either separately or on an integrated basis with other reports sent to a shareholder by the Service Organization) monthly and year-end statements and confirmations of purchases, exchanges and redemptions.
For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2022, the Prime, Government, Government Securities, Treasury, Treasury Securities and Tax-Exempt Portfolios of the Administrative Class paid $0, $342,948, $48, $6,497, $14,426 and $0, respectively, to compensate the Distributor pursuant to the Administrative Class Administration Plan and such payments reflect a waiver of $0, $200,847, $29, $1,820, $9,914 and $0, respectively. These fees were used to reimburse third parties for various Fund administration activities performed on behalf of the Trust.
Service Organizations include institutions that (i) act directly or indirectly as nominees and recordholders of shares of each class for their respective customers who are or may become beneficial owners of such shares; (ii) provide services to other Service Organizations intended to facilitate or improve a Service Organization’s services to shareholders of the Funds with respect to the Funds; and/or (iii) perform certain account administration services with respect to the shareholders pursuant to agreements between the Trust, on behalf of the respective class of each Fund, and such Service Organizations.
Service and Shareholder Administration Plan
The Trust has also entered into a Service and Shareholder Administration Plan with respect to its Advisory Class Shares to pay the Distributor to compensate Service Organizations who provide administrative services to shareholders. Under the Plan, the Trust, on behalf of the Advisory Class Shares, is authorized to pay the Distributor a monthly service fee which shall not exceed during any one year 0.25% of the average daily net assets of Advisory Class Shares owned beneficially by the customers of such Service Organizations during such period. An initial 0.10% of the average daily net assets of the Advisory Class Shares will be assessed for making available the services listed in (a) through (e) above; an additional 0.05% of the average daily net assets of the Advisory Class Shares will be assessed for providing some or all of the services listed in (f) through (h) above; and an additional 0.10% of the average daily net assets of the Advisory Class Shares will be assessed for making available some or all of the following shareholder services: (i) providing facilities to answer inquiries and respond to correspondence with shareholders of the Trust and other investors about the status of their accounts or about other aspects of the Trust or the applicable Fund; (j) acting as liaison between shareholders and the Trust, including obtaining information from the Trust and assisting the Trust in correcting errors and resolving problems; (k) assisting shareholders of the Trust in completing application forms, selecting dividend and other account options and opening custody accounts with the Service Organization; and (l) displaying and making prospectuses available to existing shareholders on the Service Organization’s premises.
For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2022, the Prime, Government, Government Securities, Treasury, Treasury Securities and Tax-Exempt Portfolios of the Advisory Class paid $908, $2,450,995, $59,723, $783,909, $44,899 and $0, respectively, to compensate the Distributor pursuant to the Advisory Class Service and Shareholder Administration Plan and such payments reflect a waiver of $1,635, $1,711,181, $44,483, $570,669, $62,820 and $0, respectively. These fees were used to reimburse third parties for shareholder administration-related and personal and account maintenance services performed on behalf of the Trust.
Shareholder Service Plans
The Trust has entered into a Shareholder Service Plan with respect to its Participant Class Shares to pay the Distributor to provide for, or to compensate Service Organizations for providing personal and account maintenance services and administrative services to shareholders. Under the Plan, the Trust, on behalf of the Participant Class Shares, is authorized to pay the Distributor a monthly service fee which shall not exceed during any one year 0.25% of the average daily net assets of Participant Class Shares owned beneficially by the customers of such Service Organizations during such period. Such service fee is assessed as follows: an initial 0.10% of the average daily net assets of the Participant Class Shares will be assessed for making available the services listed in (a) through (e) above; an additional 0.05% of the average daily net assets of the Participant Class Shares will be assessed for making available the services listed in (f) through (h) above; and an additional 0.10% of the average daily net assets of the Participant Class Shares will be assessed for making available some or all of the services listed in (i) through (l) above. With respect to the Government Securities Portfolio, the Trust’s Distributor has agreed to waive 0.10% of the 0.25% Shareholder Service Fee that it may receive. This waiver will continue for at least one year from the date of the applicable Prospectus or until such time as the Trust’s Board of Trustees acts to discontinue all or a portion of such waiver when it deems such action is appropriate.
For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2022, the  Prime, Government, Government Securities, Treasury, Treasury Securities and Tax-Exempt Portfolios of the Participant Class paid $0, $3,087,813, $7,720,112, $3,040,536, $236 and $0, respectively, to compensate the Distributor pursuant to the Participant Class Shareholder Service Plan and reflect a waiver of $0, $2,423,920, $25,824,566, $4,117,395, $171 and $0, respectively.  These fees were used to reimburse third parties for shareholder administration-related and personal and account maintenance services performed on behalf of the Trust.
The Trust has also entered into a Shareholder Service Plan with respect to its Cash Management Class Shares to pay the Distributor to compensate Service Organizations who provide administrative services to shareholders. Under the Plan, the Trust, on behalf of the
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Cash Management Class Shares, is authorized to pay the Distributor a monthly service fee which shall be assessed at an annual rate of 0.05% of the average daily net assets of Cash Management Class Shares owned beneficially by the customers of such Service Organizations during such period, to compensate Service Organizations for staffing and maintaining call centers and answering inquiries and addressing issues related to the Cash Management Share Class.
For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2022, the Prime, Government, Government Securities, Treasury, Treasury Securities and Tax-Exempt Portfolios of the Cash Management Class paid $1,628, $799, $101, $3,793, $2,940 and $1,130, respectively, to compensate the Distributor pursuant to the Cash Management Class Shareholder Service Plan and reflect a waiver of $954, $778, $61, $2,949, $1,821 and $733, respectively.  These fees were used to reimburse third parties for shareholder administration-related and personal and account maintenance services performed on behalf of the Trust.
The Trust has also entered into a Shareholder Service Plan with respect to its Select Class Shares to pay the Distributor to provide for, or to compensate Service Organizations for providing personal and account maintenance services and administrative services to shareholders. Under the Plan, the Trust, on behalf of the Select Class Shares, is authorized to pay the Distributor a monthly service fee which shall not exceed during any one year 0.25% of the average daily net assets of Select Class Shares owned beneficially by the customers of such Service Organizations during such period. Such service fee is assessed as follows: an initial 0.10% of the average daily net assets of the Select Class Shares will be assessed for making available the services listed in (a) through (d) above; an additional 0.05% of the average daily net assets of the Select Class Shares will be assessed for making available the services listed in (f) through (h) above; and an additional 0.10% of the average daily net assets of the Select Class Shares will be assessed for making available some or all of the services listed in (i) through (l) above.
For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2022, the Government, Treasury and Treasury Securities Portfolios of the Select Class paid $65, $63 and $63, respectively, to compensate the Distributor pursuant to the Select Class Shareholder Service Plan and reflect a waiver of $62, $63 and $64, respectively.  These fees were used to reimburse third parties for shareholder administration-related and personal and account maintenance services performed on behalf of the Trust.
Distribution Plans
The Trust has also entered into a Distribution Plan with respect to its Participant Class Shares to pay the Distributor to provide for, or to compensate Service Organizations for providing distribution-related services. Under the Plan, the Trust, on behalf of the Participant Class Shares, is authorized to pay the Distributor a monthly distribution fee which shall not exceed during any one year 0.25% (which is assessed annually) of the average daily net assets of Participant Class Shares owned beneficially by the customers of such Service Organizations during such period. Distribution-related services for which the Distributor or a Service Organization may be compensated include any activities or expenses primarily intended to result in the sale of Participant Class shares, including, but not limited to: distribution of sales literature and advertising materials and compensation to broker-dealers who sell Participant Class shares. The Distributor may negotiate with any such broker-dealer the services to be provided by the broker-dealer to shareholders in connection with the sale of Participant Class shares, and all or any portion of the compensation paid to the Distributor pursuant to this Distribution Plan may be reallocated by the Distributor to broker-dealers who sell shares. The Trust, on behalf of the Participant Class Shares, has adopted this Plan in accordance with the provisions of Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act which regulates circumstances under which an investment company may directly or indirectly bear expenses relating to the distribution of shares. The Distributor may retain any portion of the fees it does not expend in meeting its obligations to the Trust. With respect to the Government Securities Portfolio, the Trust’s Distributor has agreed to waive 0.15% of the 0.25% 12b-1 Fee that it may receive. This waiver will continue for at least one year from the date of the applicable Prospectus or until such time as the Trust’s Board of Trustees acts to discontinue all or a portion of such waiver when it deems such action is appropriate.
For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2022, the  Prime, Government, Government Securities, Treasury, Treasury Securities and Tax-Exempt Portfolios of the Participant Class paid $0, $3,087,813, $7,720,112, $3,040,536, $236 and $0, respectively, to compensate the Distributor pursuant to the Participant Class Distribution Plan and reflect a waiver of $0, $2,423,920, $25,824,566, $4,117,395, $171 and $0, respectively.  These fees were used to reimburse third parties for various Fund administration activities performed on behalf of the Trust.
The Trust has also entered into a Distribution Plan with respect to its Cash Management Class Shares to pay the Distributor to provide for, or to compensate Service Organizations for providing distribution-related services. Under the Plan, the Trust, on behalf of the Cash Management Class Shares, is authorized to pay the Distributor a monthly distribution fee which shall not exceed during any one year 0.10% (which is assessed annually) of the average daily net assets of Cash Management Class Shares owned beneficially by the customers of such Service Organizations during such period. Distribution-related services for which the Distributor may be compensated include any activities or expenses primarily intended to result in the sale of Cash Management Class Shares including, but not limited to, printing and distribution of sales literature and advertising materials, and compensation to broker-dealers who sell Cash Management Class Shares. The Distributor may negotiate with any such broker-dealer the services to be provided by the broker-dealer in connection with the sale of Cash Management Class shares, and all or any portion of the compensation paid to the Distributor pursuant to this Distribution Plan may be reallocated by the Distributor to broker-dealers who sell Shares. The Trust, on behalf of the Cash Management Class Shares, has adopted this Plan in accordance with the provisions of Rule 12b-1 under the 1940
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Act which regulates circumstances under which an investment company may directly or indirectly bear expenses relating to the distribution of shares. The Distributor may retain any portion of the fees it does not expend in meeting its obligations to the Trust.
For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2022, the Prime, Government, Government Securities, Treasury, Treasury Securities and Tax-Exempt Portfolios of the Cash Management Class paid $3,257, $1,598, $202, $7,586, $5,881 and $2,259, respectively, to compensate the Distributor pursuant to the Cash Management Class Distribution Plan and  reflect a waiver of $1,907, $1,557, $123, $5,898, $3,641 and $1,467, respectively.  These fees were used to reimburse third parties for various Fund administration activities performed on behalf of the Trust.
Finally, the Trust has entered into a Distribution Plan with respect to its Select Class Shares to pay the Distributor to provide for, or to compensate Service Organizations for providing distribution-related services. Under the Plan, the Trust, on behalf of the Select Class Shares, is authorized to pay the Distributor a monthly distribution fee which shall not exceed during any one year 0.55% (which is assessed annually) of the average daily net assets of Select Class Shares owned beneficially by the customers of such Service Organizations during such period. Distribution-related services for which the Distributor or a Service Organization may be compensated include any activities or expenses primarily intended to result in the sale of Select Class shares, including, but not limited to: distribution of sales literature and advertising materials and compensation to broker-dealers who sell Select Class shares. The Distributor may negotiate with any such broker-dealer the services to be provided by the broker-dealer to shareholders in connection with the sale of Select Class shares, and all or any portion of the compensation paid to the Distributor pursuant to this Distribution Plan may be reallocated by the Distributor to broker-dealers who sell shares. The Trust, on behalf of the Select Class Shares, has adopted this Plan in accordance with the provisions of Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act which regulates circumstances under which an investment company may directly or indirectly bear expenses relating to the distribution of shares. The Distributor may retain any portion of the fees it does not expend in meeting its obligations to the Trust.
For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2022, the Government, Treasury and Treasury Securities Portfolios of the Select Class paid $141, $141 and $138, respectively, to compensate the Distributor pursuant to the Select Class Distribution Plan and reflect a waiver of $137, $138, and $141, respectively. These fees were used to reimburse third parties for various Fund administration activities performed on behalf of the Trust.
No interested person of the Trust nor any Independent Trustee has any direct financial interest in the operation of each Plan except to the extent that the Distributor, the Adviser, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC or certain of their employees may be deemed to have such an interest as a result of benefits derived from the successful operation of a Plan or as a result of receiving a portion of the amounts expended thereunder by the Trust.
Continuance of each Plan must be approved annually by a majority of the Trustees of the Trust and the Trustees who are not “interested persons” of the Trust within the meaning of the 1940 Act. The Plans require that quarterly written reports of amounts spent under each respective Plan and the purposes of such expenditures be furnished to and review by Trustees. The Plans may not be amended to increase materially the amount which may be spent thereunder by each class without approval by a majority of the outstanding shares of each respective class. All material amendments of the Plans will require approval by a majority of the Trustees of the Trust and of the Trustees who are not “interested persons” of the Trust.
Revenue Sharing
The Adviser and/or Distributor may pay compensation, out of their own funds and not as an expense of the Funds, to certain affiliated entities of the Adviser and the Distributor (“Affiliated Entities”) and to certain unaffiliated brokers, dealers and other financial intermediaries, including recordkeepers and administrators of various deferred compensation plans (“Intermediaries”) in connection with the sale, distribution, marketing and retention of shares of the Funds and/or shareholder servicing. For example, the Adviser or the Distributor may pay additional compensation to Affiliated Entities and other Intermediaries for, among other things, promoting the sale and distribution of Fund shares, providing access to various programs, mutual fund platforms or preferred or recommended mutual fund lists offered by the Affiliated Entity or other Intermediary, granting the Distributor access to the Affiliated Entity’s or Intermediary’s financial advisors and consultants, providing assistance in the ongoing education and training of the Affiliated Entity’s or Intermediary’s financial personnel, furnishing marketing support, maintaining share balances, and/or for sub-accounting, recordkeeping, administrative, shareholder or transaction processing services. The Adviser and/or Distributor will also reimburse certain investors, or make payments to certain third party vendors, to defray costs incurred by investors for the use of treasury management systems or other business-related software for investments in funds. Such payments are in addition to any distribution fees, shareholder servicing fees and/or transfer agency fees that may be payable by the Funds. The additional payments may be based on various factors, including level of sales (based on gross or net sales or some specified minimum sales or some other similar criteria related to sales of the Funds and/or some or all other Morgan Stanley Funds), amount of assets invested by the Affiliated Entity’s or Intermediary’s customers (which could include current or aged assets of the Funds), a Fund’s advisory fees, some other agreed upon amount, or other measures as determined from time to time by the Adviser and/or Distributor. The amount of these payments may be different for different Affiliated Entities and Intermediaries.
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With respect to Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, these payments may include the following amounts, which are paid in accordance with the applicable compensation structure:  
(1) an ongoing annual fee in an amount of $582,650 in consideration of the Adviser’s participation at various Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC events, including seminars, conferences and meetings as determined by Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC; and  
(2) an ongoing annual fee in an amount of $575,000 in consideration of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC providing Adviser with access to distribution analytical data in relation to sales of the Funds and certain other products managed and/or sponsored by the Adviser or its affiliates.
With respect to Affiliated Entities, these payments, which are paid in accordance with the applicable compensation structure, may include an ongoing annual fee in an amount up to 0.10% of the total average NAV in respect of the applicable period of shares of the Funds held in the applicable accounts.  
The prospect of receiving, or the receipt of, additional compensation, as described above, by Affiliated Entities or other Intermediaries may provide Affiliated Entities and such Intermediaries, and/or their financial advisers or other salespersons with an incentive to favor sales of shares of the Funds over other investment options with respect to which an Affiliated Entity or an Intermediary does not receive additional compensation (or receives lower levels of additional compensation). These payment arrangements, however, will not change the price that an investor pays for shares of a Fund or the amount that a Fund receives to invest on behalf of an investor. Investors may wish to take such payment arrangements into account when considering and evaluating any recommendations relating to Fund shares and should review carefully any disclosure provided by an Affiliated Entity or Intermediary as to its compensation.
Other Payments to Intermediaries
The Adviser and/or the Distributor may also make payments, out of their own assets and not as an expense to a Fund, to Intermediaries to offset certain nominal expenses of Intermediaries related to setup, connectivity or other technological maintenance of the Intermediary’s investment platform and/or the provision of services with respect to a Fund or share class on an Intermediary’s investment platform. Investors may wish to take such payment arrangements into account when considering an investment in Fund shares.
FUND ADMINISTRATION
The Adviser also provides administrative services to the Trust pursuant to an Administration Agreement. The services provided under the Administration Agreement are subject to the supervision of the officers and the Board of Trustees of the Trust and include day-to-day administration of matters related to the corporate existence of the Trust, maintenance of records, preparation of reports, supervision of the Trust’s arrangements with its custodian and assistance in the preparation of the Trust’s registration statement under federal laws. The Administration Agreement also provides that the Adviser, through its agents, will provide dividend disbursing and transfer agent services to the Trust. For its services under the Administration Agreement, the Trust pays the Adviser a monthly fee which on an annual basis equals 0.05% of a Fund’s average daily net assets. The Adviser may compensate other service providers for performing shareholder servicing and administrative services.
For the fiscal years ended October 31, 2020, 2021 and 2022, the Trust paid the following administrative fees;
 
Administrative Fees Paid
Fund
20201
(000)
20212
(000)
20223
(000)
Prime Portfolio
$8,218
$8,210
$7,062    
Government Portfolio
42,779    
51,356
68,657
Government Securities Portfolio
2,456    
3,318
6,141
Treasury Portfolio
14,633    
16,079
19,265
Treasury Securities Portfolio
19,276
19,025
24,088
Tax-Exempt Portfolio
214
6
1
1 For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2020, the administration fees paid reflect a waiver of approximately $198,000 and $36,000 for the Prime and Tax-Exempt Portfolios, respectively.
2 For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2021, the administration fees paid reflect a waiver of approximately $10,596,000,$2,490,000, $2,712,000, $9,173,000 and $138,000 for the Government, Government Securities, Treasury, Treasury Securities and Tax-Exempt Portfolios, respectively.
3 For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2022, the administration fees paid reflect a waiver of approximately $6,756,000, $1,083,000, $884,000, $1,483,000, and $145,000 for the Government, Government Securities, Treasury, Treasury Securities and Tax-Exempt Portfolios, respectively.
Sub-Administrator. Under an agreement between the Administrator and State Street Bank and Trust Company (“State Street”), State Street provides certain administrative services to the Trust. For such services, the Administrator pays State Street a portion of the administrative fee the Administrator receives from the Trust. The Administrator supervises and monitors the administrative and
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accounting services provided by State Street. Their services are also subject to the supervision of the officers and Board of Trustees of the Trust.
OTHER SERVICE PROVIDERS
Custodian. State Street, One Lincoln Street, Boston, MA 02111-2101, is the custodian of the Trust’s assets. Any of the Trust’s cash balances with the Custodian in excess of $250,000 are unprotected by federal deposit insurance. These balances may, at times, be substantial.
Transfer and Dividend Disbursing Agent. SS&C Global Investor and Distribution Solutions, Inc., 2000 Crown Colony Drive, Quincy, MA 02169-0953, serves as the Funds’ transfer agent and dividend disbursing agent.
Co-Transfer Agent. Morgan Stanley Services Company, Inc. (“MSSCI”), 522 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10036, is a registered transfer agent and operates the Trust’s call center. In connection therewith, MSSCI performs certain transfer agency services related to processing and relaying purchase and redemption orders to SS&C Global Investor and Distribution Solutions, Inc., the Funds’ transfer agent. MSSCI does not receive any direct compensation from the Funds for providing the call center or the related transfer agency services.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. Ernst & Young LLP, located at 200 Clarendon Street, Boston, MA 02116-5021, serves as independent registered public accounting firm and provides audit and audit-related services, tax-related services and assistance in connection with various SEC filings.
Fund Counsel. Dechert LLP, located at 1095 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10036, acts as the Funds’ legal counsel.
BROKERAGE TRANSACTIONS
Brokerage Selection
The Adviser is responsible for decisions to buy and sell securities for a Fund, for broker-dealer selection and for negotiation of commission rates. The Adviser is prohibited from directing brokerage transactions on the basis of the referral of clients or the sale of shares of advised investment companies. Purchases and sales of securities on a stock exchange are effected through brokers who charge a commission for their services. In the OTC market, securities may be traded as agency transactions through broker-dealers or traded on a “net” basis with dealers acting as principal for their own accounts without a stated commission, although the price of the security usually includes profit to the dealer. In underwritten offerings, securities are purchased at a fixed price which includes an amount of compensation to the underwriter, generally referred to as the underwriter’s concession or discount. When securities are purchased or sold directly from or to an issuer, no commissions or discounts are paid.
A Fund may purchase certain money market instruments directly from an issuer without payment of a commission or concession. Money market instruments are generally traded on a “net” basis with dealers acting as principal for their own accounts without a stated commission, although the price of the security usually includes a profit to the dealer.
The Trust anticipates that certain of its transactions involving foreign securities will be effected on foreign securities exchanges. There is also generally less government supervision and regulation of foreign securities exchanges and brokers than in the United States.
The Adviser selects broker-dealers for the execution of transactions for the Funds in accordance with its duty to seek “best execution” (i.e., the most favorable terms of execution). In seeking best execution, the Adviser is not obligated to choose the broker-dealer offering the lowest available commission rate if, in the Adviser’s reasonable judgment, (i) the total costs or proceeds from the transaction might be less favorable than may be obtained elsewhere; (ii) a higher commission is justified by the brokerage and research services provided by the broker-dealer that fall within the safe harbor of Section 28(e) of the 1934 Act or otherwise is permitted under applicable law; or (iii) other considerations, such as the order size, the time required for execution, the depth and breadth of the market for the security or minimum credit quality requirements to transact business with a particular broker-dealer. The research services received include services which aid the Adviser in fulfilling its investment decision-making responsibilities, including (a) furnishing advice as to the value of securities, the advisability of investing in, purchasing or selling securities, and the availability of securities or purchasers or sellers of securities; and (b) furnishing analyses and reports concerning issuers, industries, securities, economic factors and trends, portfolio strategy, and the performance of accounts.
When effecting transactions on behalf of the Funds, the Adviser may trade with any broker-dealer on their list of approved broker-dealers. Approved broker-dealers have met criteria as established by the Adviser’s Trading and Research Governance team (“TRG”). TRG reviews and approves broker-dealers periodically to determine whether broker-dealers on the approved list continue to meet such criteria. The approval lists are reported quarterly to the Adviser’s Counterparty Governance Committee.  When selecting an approved broker-dealer (including an affiliate) to execute securities transactions, the following factors may be considered: (i) best available price; (ii) reliability, integrity and reputation in the industry (which may include a review of financial information and creditworthiness); (iii) execution capabilities, including block positioning, speed of execution and quality and responsiveness of its
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trading desk; (iv) knowledge of and access to the markets for the securities being traded; (v) potential ability to obtain price improvement; (vi) ability to maintain confidentiality; (vii) ability to handle non-traditional trades; (viii) commission and commission-equivalent rates; (ix) technology infrastructure; (x) clearance and settlement capabilities; (xi) the size of the trade relative to other trades in the same instrument; (xii) ability of a counterparty to commit its capital to a Fund’s trade and its access to liquidity; (xiii) counterparty restrictions associated with a portfolio, including regulatory trading, documentation requirement or any specific clearing broker-dealer requirements; (xiv) client-directed execution; (xv) client-specific restrictions; and (xvi) such other factors as may be appropriate.
Subject to the duty to seek best execution, the Adviser uses a portion of the commissions generated when executing client transactions to acquire brokerage and research services that aid in fulfilling investment decision-making responsibilities in accordance with Section 28(e) and applicable law. Commissions paid to broker-dealers providing brokerage and research services may be higher than those charged by other broker-dealers. Subject to applicable law, the Adviser receives a benefit when using client commissions to obtain brokerage and research services because the Adviser does not have to produce or pay for the brokerage research services itself. Therefore, the Adviser has an incentive to select or recommend a broker-dealer based on its interest in receiving brokerage and research services, rather than solely on its clients’ interest in obtaining the best price.
The Adviser has adopted policies and procedures designed to help track and evaluate the benefits received from brokerage and research services, as well as to track how much clients pay above the amount that broker-dealers from which the Adviser receives brokerage and research services may have charged solely for execution of such trades. The Adviser utilizes a voting system to assist in making a good faith determination of the value of brokerage and research services it receives in accordance with Section 28(e) and applicable law. In many cases, these involve subjective judgments or approximations. The Adviser has established a process for budgeting research costs and allocating such costs across client accounts.
The Adviser and certain other affiliated advisers have entered into commission sharing arrangements (“CSAs”) with executing brokers (“CSA Partners”) and a third-party vendor (“CSA Aggregator”). Pursuant to these arrangements, and under the Adviser’s supervision, the CSA Partners and CSA Aggregator track execution and research commissions separately and pool and distribute research credits in accordance with the policies and procedures discussed above to approved research providers (which may include executing brokerage firms or independent research providers (“Approved Research Providers”)) that provide brokerage and research services. The CSA Aggregator also reconciles research credits from trades with CSA Partners, and pays Approved Research Providers and provides other related administrative functions. In addition, a CSA Partner may provide the Adviser with proprietary research it has developed and, upon instruction, may retain research commission credits as compensation for the provision of such proprietary research services. The Adviser believes that these arrangements allow it to monitor the amount of trading costs that are attributable to execution services on the one hand and other brokerage and research services on the other.
Transactions that generate research credits include equity transactions executed on an agency basis or via a riskless principal transaction where the executing broker-dealer receives a commission. The Adviser does not use CSAs or otherwise have arrangements to pay for brokerage and research services with client commissions in connection with trading fixed-income securities. Consistent with long-standing industry practice in the fixed-income markets, however, the Adviser, subject to applicable law, may receive brokerage and research services and other information, including access to fixed-income trading platforms that dealers provide for no charge to their customers in the ordinary course of business. Fixed-income instruments typically trade at a bid/ask spread and without an explicit brokerage charge. While there is not a formal trading expense or commission, clients will bear the implicit trading costs reflected in these spreads.
The Adviser may receive “mixed use” products and services from an Approved Research Provider, where a portion of the product or service assists in its investment decision-making process in accordance with Section 28(e) and a portion may be used for other purposes. Where a product or service has a mixed use, the Adviser will make a reasonable allocation of its cost according to its use and will use client commissions to pay only for the portion of the product or service that assists in its investment decision-making process. The Adviser may have an incentive to allocate the costs to uses that assist in its investment decision-making process because the Adviser may pay for such costs with client commissions rather than its own resources. To the extent the Adviser receives “mixed use” products and services, the Adviser will allocate the anticipated costs of a mixed use product or service in good faith and maintain records concerning allocations in order to mitigate such conflicts.
Client accounts that pay a greater amount of commissions relative to other accounts may bear a greater share of the cost of brokerage and research services than such other accounts. The Adviser may use brokerage and research services obtained with brokerage commissions from some clients for the benefit of other clients whose brokerage commissions do not pay for such brokerage and research services. The Adviser may also share brokerage and research services with its affiliated advisers, and the clients of its affiliated advisers may receive the benefits of such brokerage and research services. These arrangements remain subject to the Adviser’s overall obligation to seek best execution for client trading.
The EU’s Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (“MiFID II”), which became effective January 3, 2018, requires investment advisers regulated under MiFID II to pay for research services separately from trade execution services, either through their own
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resources or a research payment account funded by a specific charge to a client. Although the Adviser is not directly subject to the provisions of MiFID II, certain of its affiliated advisers are, such as Morgan Stanley Investment Management Limited; accordingly, as applicable, the Adviser makes a reasonable valuation and allocation of the cost of research services as between MiFID II client accounts and other accounts that participate in CSAs and will pay for research services received with respect to MiFID II client accounts from its own resources. The Adviser and affiliated advisers subject to MiFID II may separately pay for fixed-income research from their own resources. Following its withdrawal from the EU on January 31, 2020, the United Kingdom has entered a transition period, during which EU law (including MiFID II) will continue to apply in the United Kingdom. Following the transition period, investment managers in the United Kingdom may still be required to comply with certain MiFID II equivalent requirements in accordance with the handbook of rules and guidance issued by the Financial Conduct Authority.
When permitted under applicable law, portfolio managers generally will aggregate orders of their clients for the same securities in a single order so that such orders are executed simultaneously in order to facilitate best execution and to reduce brokerage costs. The Adviser effects aggregated orders in a manner designed to ensure that no participating client is favored over any other client.
In general, accounts that participate in an aggregated order will participate on a pro rata or other objective basis. Pro rata allocation of securities and other instruments will generally consist of allocation based on the order size of a participating client account in proportion to the size of the orders placed for other accounts participating in the aggregated order. However, the Adviser may allocate such securities and other instruments using a method other than pro rata if its supply is limited, based on differing portfolio characteristics among accounts or to avoid odd lots or small allocations, among other reasons. These allocations are made in the good faith judgment of the Adviser with a goal of seeking to ensure that fair and equitable allocation occurs over time. There may be times that the Adviser is not able to aggregate orders because of applicable law or other considerations when doing so might otherwise be advantageous.
Pursuant to an order issued by the SEC, the Trust is permitted to engage in principal transactions in money market instruments, subject to certain conditions, with Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, a broker-dealer affiliated with the Trust’s Adviser.
During the fiscal years ended October 31, 2020, 2021 and 2022, the Trust did not effect any principal transactions with Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC.
Commissions Paid
During the fiscal years ended October 31, 2020, 2021 and 2022, the Trust did not pay any commissions or concessions and did not pay any brokerage commissions to an affiliated broker or dealer.
Regular Broker-Dealers
During the fiscal year ended October 31, 2022, the Funds purchased securities issued by the following issuers, which were among the ten brokers or ten dealers that executed transactions for or with the Trust or the Fund in the largest dollar amounts during the period:
Fund
Issuer
Prime Portfolio
Barclays Bank PLC
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
Goldman Sachs & Co.
Mizuho Securities USA Inc.
Natixis Global Asset Management, L.P.
Government Portfolio
None
Government Securities Portfolio
None
Treasury Portfolio
None
Treasury Securities Portfolio
None
Tax-Exempt Portfolio
None
At October 31, 2022, the Funds held securities issued by such brokers or dealers with the following market values:
Fund
Issuer
Approximate Market Value at October 31, 2022
Prime Portfolio
Natixis Global Asset Management, L.P.
Barclays Bank PLC
Mizuho Securities USA Inc.
$330,101,000
253,750,000
148,861,000
GENERAL INFORMATION
Trust History
Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Funds is an open-end, management investment company established under Massachusetts law as a Massachusetts business trust under a Declaration of Trust dated February 13, 2003 and amended as of July 25, 2005.
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Description of Shares and Voting Rights
The shareholders of the Trust are entitled to a full vote for each full share of beneficial interest held. The Trust is authorized to issue an unlimited number of shares of beneficial interest. All shares of beneficial interest of each Fund are of $0.01 par value and are equal as to earnings, assets and voting privileges except that each class will have exclusive voting privileges with respect to matters relating to distribution expenses borne solely by such class or any other matter in which the interests of one class differ from the interests of any other class. The Institutional Select Class, Investor Class, Administrative Class, Advisory Class, Participant Class, Cash Management Class and Select Class bear expenses related to compensating service organizations who provide personal and account maintenance services and administrative services to shareholders and distribution related services to the Funds, as the case may be (see “Service and Distribution of Shares”).
The Trust’s Declaration of Trust permits the Trustees to authorize the creation of additional portfolios of shares (the proceeds of which would be invested in separate, independently managed portfolios) and additional classes of shares within any portfolio. The Trustees have not presently authorized any such additional portfolios or classes of shares other than as set forth in the Prospectuses.
The Trust is not required to hold annual meetings of shareholders and in ordinary circumstances the Trust does not intend to hold such meetings. The Trustees may call special meetings of shareholders for action by shareholder vote as may be required by the 1940 Act or the Declaration of Trust. Under certain circumstances, the Trustees may be removed by the actions of the Trustees. In addition, under certain circumstances, the shareholders may call a meeting to remove the Trustees and the Trust is required to provide assistance in communicating with shareholders about such a meeting. The voting rights of shareholders are not cumulative, so that holders of more than 50% of the shares voting can, if they choose, elect all Trustees being selected, while the holders of the remaining shares would be unable to elect any Trustees.
Under Massachusetts law, shareholders of a business trust may, under certain limited circumstances, be held personally liable as partners for the obligations of each Fund. However, the Declaration of Trust contains an express disclaimer of shareholder liability for acts or obligations of the Trust, requires that notice of such Trust obligations include such disclaimer, and provides for indemnification out of the Trust’s property for any shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the Trust. Thus, the risk of a shareholder incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which the Trust itself would be unable to meet its obligations. Given the above limitations on shareholder personal liability, and the nature of the Trust’s assets and operations, the possibility of the Trust being unable to meet its obligations is remote and thus, in the opinion of Massachusetts counsel to the Trust, the risk to the Trust’s shareholders of personal liability is remote.
The Trustees themselves have the power to alter the number and the terms of office of the Trustees (as provided for in the Declaration of Trust), and they may at any time lengthen or shorten their own terms or make their terms of unlimited duration and appoint their own successors, provided that always at least a majority of the Trustees has been elected by the shareholders of the Trust.
Dividends and Capital Gains Distributions
The Trust’s policy is to distribute substantially all of the Funds’  net investment income, if any, together with any net realized capital gains in the amount and at the times that will avoid both income (including capital gains) taxes on it and the imposition of the federal excise tax on undistributed income and capital gains. The amounts of any income dividends or capital gains distributions cannot be predicted.
Unless the shareholder elects otherwise in writing, all dividends and distributions are automatically reinvested in additional shares of the Funds at NAV (as of the business day following the record date). This will remain in effect until the Trust is notified by the shareholder in writing that either the income option (income dividends in cash and capital gains distributions in additional shares at NAV) or the cash option (both income dividends and capital gain distributions in cash) has been elected. It may take up to three business days to effect this change. An account statement is sent to shareholders whenever a dividend or distribution is paid.
The Funds and any other portfolios which the Trust may establish from time to time are treated as separate entities (and hence, as separate “regulated investment companies”) for federal tax purposes. Any net capital gains recognized by a Fund are distributed to its investors and may generally not be offset (for federal income tax purposes) by any net capital losses of another Fund.
Special Considerations for the Funds. The Funds declare income dividends daily on each business day and pay them monthly to shareholders. Dividends are based on estimates of income, expenses and shareholder activity for the Funds. Actual income, expenses and shareholders activity may differ from estimates and differences, if any, will be included in the calculation of subsequent dividends.
Shareholders of record are those shareholders who have submitted a purchase order prior to the following times for each Fund and who have submitted payment for their shares prior to the close of Fed wire that day: for the Government Portfolio and Treasury Portfolio—5:00 p.m. Eastern time; for the  Prime Portfolio, Government Securities Portfolio and Treasury Securities Portfolio—3:00 p.m. Eastern time; and for the Tax-Exempt Portfolio—1:00 p.m. Eastern time. Shareholders who redeem prior to such respective times are not entitled to dividends for that day. Dividends declared for Saturdays, Sundays and holidays are payable to shareholders
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of record as of such respective times on the preceding business day on which the Fund was open for business. Net realized short-term capital gains, if any, of the Funds will be distributed whenever the Trustees determine that such distributions would be in the best interest of shareholders, but at least once a year. The Funds do not expect to realize any long-term capital gains. Should any such gains be realized, they will be distributed annually.
Duties of Financial Intermediaries under Rule 2a-7 with Respect to Funds Designated as “Institutional” Money Market Funds
Financial Intermediaries (as defined in each Fund’s Prospectus) will take such actions reasonably requested by a Fund to impose, lift or modify a liquidity fee or redemption gate, or assist a Fund in imposing, lifting or modifying a liquidity fee or redemption gate.
If a Fund implements a liquidity fee, unless the Financial Intermediary will calculate and remit the liquidity fee in accordance with the Trust’s reasonable directions, the Financial Intermediary authorizes the Trust or the Distributor to calculate the liquidity fee owed to the Fund as a result of redemptions submitted through the Financial Intermediary (the “Fee Amount”) following the imposition of the liquidity fee and to withhold an amount equal to the Fee Amount from any redemption proceeds or other payments that the Fund owes to the Financial Intermediary in its sole discretion.
To facilitate the Trust’s or the Distributor’s ability to calculate the Fee Amount, following such notification, the Financial Intermediary will provide the Trust or the Distributor, before each NAV calculation time (as detailed in each Fund’s Prospectus), with the gross dollar amount and number of Fund shares that the Financial Intermediary’s customers tendered for redemption before the NAV calculation time and, if requested by the Trust, after the time at which the liquidity fee was imposed or before the time at which the liquidity fee was terminated or modified, as applicable.
Upon the reasonable request of the Distributor, the Trust or its authorized agent, Financial Intermediaries will provide (i) copies (or a summary) of the policies, procedures and internal controls covering the foregoing and (ii) information or certification as to the adequacy of such procedures and the effectiveness of their implementation, in such form as may be reasonably satisfactory to the Distributor and/or Trust (or its authorized agent).
In the event that a Financial Intermediary cannot redeem shares as provided herein, the Financial Intermediary will promptly notify the Trust and will comply with any requests from the Trust or the Distributor relating to the involuntary redemption of such shares (including shares held in an omnibus account).
TAXES
The Funds and any other portfolios which the Trust may establish from time to time each is or will each be treated as a separate entity for federal income tax purposes and intend to qualify for the special tax treatment afforded regulated investment companies under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). As such, each Fund will not be subject to federal income tax to the extent it distributes its net investment company taxable income, net tax-exempt interest income and net capital gains to shareholders. The Trust will notify you annually as to the tax classification of all distributions.
The Funds intend to declare and pay dividends and capital gain distributions so as to avoid imposition of the federal excise tax. To do so, the Funds generally expect to distribute an amount at least equal to the sum of (i) 98% of its calendar year (taking into account certain deferrals and elections) ordinary income, (ii) 98.2% of its capital gain net income for the one-year period ending October 31st of that year, and (iii) 100% of any undistributed ordinary and capital gain net income from the prior year.
In order for a Fund to continue to qualify for federal income tax treatment as a regulated investment company, at least 90% of its gross income for a taxable year must be derived from qualifying income including, but not limited to, dividends, interest, income derived from loans of securities and gains from the sale of securities or foreign currencies, or other income derived with respect to its business of investing in such securities or currencies. In addition, (i) the Fund must distribute annually to its shareholders at least the sum of 90% of its net tax-exempt interest income and 90% of its investment company taxable income; and (ii) at the close of each quarter of the Fund’s taxable year, the Fund must diversify its assets, including a requirement that (a) at least 50% of its total assets must be represented by cash and cash items, U.S. government securities, securities of other regulated investment companies and other securities with limitations, and (b) at the close of each quarter of the Fund’s taxable year, not more than 25% of the value of its assets may be invested in securities of any one issuer, or of two or more issuers engaged in the same or similar businesses if the Fund owns at least 20% of the voting power of such issuers or in securities of certain “qualified publicly traded partnerships.” Net income derived from an interest in a “qualified publicly traded partnership,” as defined in the Code, will be treated as qualifying income. If a Fund fails to qualify for any taxable year as a regulated investment company, all of its taxable income will be subject to tax at regular corporate income tax rates without any deduction for distributions to shareholders, and such distributions generally will be taxable to shareholders as ordinary dividends to the extent of the Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits.
Each Fund will distribute to shareholders annually any net capital gains which have been recognized for federal income tax purposes. Such distributions will be combined with distributions of capital gains realized on the Fund’s other investments and shareholders will be advised of the nature of the payments.
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The Trust may be required to withhold U.S. federal income tax at the applicable rate of reportable payments (which may include dividends and capital gains distributions) paid to shareholders. In order to avoid this backup withholding requirement, you must certify on your Account Registration Form that your social security number or taxpayer identification number is correct, that you are not subject to backup withholding and provide appropriate tax documentation.
Shareholders who are not citizens or residents of the United States and certain foreign entities may be subject to withholding of U.S. tax on distributions made by a Fund of investment income and short-term capital gains at a rate of 30% (or a lower tax treaty rate, if applicable). Such shareholders may also be subject to United States estate tax with respect to their shares. Dividends paid by a Fund to shareholders who are nonresident aliens or foreign entities that are derived from short-term capital gains and qualifying U.S. source net interest income (including income from original issue discount and market discount), and that are designated by the Fund as “interest-related dividends” or “short-term capital gain dividends,” will generally not be subject to U.S. withholding tax, provided that the income would not be subject to U.S. federal income tax if earned directly by the foreign shareholder. However, depending on the circumstances, a Fund may designate all, some or none of the Fund’s potentially eligible dividends as exempt.
A Fund is required to withhold U.S. tax (at a 30% rate) on payments of taxable dividends made to certain non-U.S. entities that fail to comply (or be deemed compliant) with extensive new reporting and withholding requirements designed to inform the U.S. Department of the Treasury of U.S.-owned foreign investment accounts. Shareholders may be requested to provide additional information to the Funds to enable the Funds to determine whether withholding is required.
Although income received on direct U.S. Government obligations is taxable at the federal level, when received by a shareholder such income may be exempt from state tax, depending on the state. Each Fund will inform shareholders annually of the percentage of income and distributions derived from direct U.S. Government obligations. Shareholders should consult their tax advisers to determine whether any portion of dividends received from the Fund is considered tax-exempt in their particular states.
Dividends paid to shareholders of the Tax-Exempt Portfolio that are derived from municipal bond interest are expected to be designated as exempt-interest dividends that are generally excluded from gross income for tax purposes. Interest on indebtedness incurred or continued by a shareholder to purchase or carry shares of this Fund is not deductible to the extent it is deemed related to the Fund’s distributions of tax-exempt interest. Tax-exempt distributions received from this Fund are taken into account in determining, and may increase, the portion of social security and certain railroad retirement benefits that may be subject to federal income tax. Further, entities or persons who are “substantial users” (or persons related to “substantial users”) of facilities financed by industrial development or private activity bonds should consult their tax advisers before purchasing shares of these Funds. “Substantial user” is defined in applicable Treasury regulations to include a “non-exempt person” who regularly uses in its trade or business a part of a facility financed from the proceeds of industrial development bonds, and the same definition should apply in the case of private activity bonds.
Under recently issued Treasury regulations, certain distributions reported by the Funds as section 163(j) interest dividends may be treated as interest income by shareholders for purposes of the tax rules applicable to interest expense limitations under Code section 163(j). Such treatment by the shareholder is generally subject to holding period requirements and other potential limitations, although the holding period requirements are generally not applicable to dividends declared by money market funds and certain other funds that declare dividends daily and pay such dividends on a monthly or more frequent basis. The amount that a Fund is eligible to report as a Section 163(j) dividend for a tax year is generally limited to the excess of the Fund’s business interest income over the sum of the Fund’s (i) business interest expense and (ii) other deductions properly allocable to the Fund’s business interest income.
Any gain or loss recognized on a sale or redemption of shares of a Fund by a shareholder will generally be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the shares have been held for more than twelve months and short-term if held for twelve months or less. Under current law, the maximum rate on long-term capital gains available to non-corporate shareholders generally is 15 or 20%, depending on whether the shareholder’s income exceeds certain threshold amounts. If shares held for six months or less are sold or redeemed for a loss, a special rule applies. If shares on which a net capital gain distribution has been received are subsequently sold or redeemed, and such shares have been held for six months or less, any loss recognized will be treated as long-term capital loss to the extent of the long-term capital gain distributions.
An additional 3.8% Medicare tax is imposed on certain net investment income (including ordinary dividends and capital gain distributions received from a Fund and net gains from redemptions or other taxable dispositions of Fund shares) of U.S. individuals, estates and trusts to the extent that such person’s “modified adjusted gross income” (in the case of an individual) or “adjusted gross income” (in the case of an estate or trust) exceeds certain threshold amounts.
Sales, exchanges and redemptions of shares in a Fund are generally taxable events and may result in taxable gain or loss to you. Because each of Government Portfolio, Government Securities Portfolio, Treasury Portfolio and Treasury Securities Portfolio (together, the “Stable NAV Funds”) intends to maintain a stable $1.00 NAV, shareholders will typically not recognize gain or loss when they sell or exchange their shares in these Funds because the amount realized will be the same as their tax basis in the shares.
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Because each of Prime Portfolio and Tax-Exempt Portfolio does not maintain a stable share price, a sale of these Funds’ shares may result in capital gain or loss to you.
Gain or loss on the sale or redemption of shares of a Fund is generally measured by the difference between the amount of cash received (or the fair market value of any property received) and the tax basis of the shares. Shareholders should keep records of investments made (including shares acquired through reinvestment of dividends and distributions) so they can compute the tax basis of their shares. Under certain circumstances, a shareholder may compute and use an average cost basis in determining the gain or loss on the sale or redemption of shares.
With respect to any gain or loss recognized on the sale or exchange of shares of a Fund, unless you choose to adopt a simplified “NAV method” of accounting (described below), the amount of any gain or loss and the rate of tax will depend mainly upon how much you paid for the shares, how much you sell them for, and how long you held them. In this case, any gain or loss generally will be treated as short-term capital gain or loss if you held your shares as capital assets for one year or less, and long-term capital gain or loss if you held your shares as capital assets for more than one year. The maximum individual tax rate applicable to long-term capital gains is generally 15% or 20%, depending on whether the individual’s income exceeds certain threshold amounts. Any loss realized upon a taxable disposition of Fund shares held for six months or less will be treated as a long-term capital loss, rather than a short-term capital loss, to the extent of any long-term capital gain distributions received (or deemed received) by you with respect to the Fund shares.
If a Fund were to undergo a reverse stock split, effect a reverse distribution (see above), or undergo a similar transaction, such transaction is expected to be tax-free to Fund shareholders. Your total cost basis in your Fund shares would remain the same but per share basis would be slightly higher than before such transaction. Your holding period for the Fund shares received in the reverse stock split is expected to include the period during which you held the Fund shares surrendered in the reverse stock split. It is possible that a reverse distribution may be treated as a shareholder level investment expense incurred outside the Fund; if so treated, a shareholder may be unable to claim a current deduction or loss with respect to such expense. This description of the tax consequences of these potential transactions is not binding on the IRS.
If you elect to adopt the simplified “NAV method” of accounting, rather than compute gain or loss on every taxable sale or other disposition of shares of a Fund as described above, you would determine your gain or loss based on the change in the aggregate value of your Fund shares during a computation period (such as your taxable year), reduced by your net investment (i.e., purchases minus sales) in those Fund shares during the computation period. Under the simplified “NAV method,” any resulting capital gain or loss would be reportable on a net basis and would generally be treated as a short-term capital gain or loss.
A liquidity fee imposed by a Fund will reduce the amount you will receive upon the redemption of your shares, and will generally decrease the amount of any capital gain or increase the amount of any capital loss you will recognize with respect to such redemption. There is some degree of uncertainty with respect to the tax treatment of liquidity fees received by money market funds, and such tax treatment may be the subject of future guidance issued by the IRS. If a Fund receives liquidity fees, it will consider the appropriate tax treatment of such fees to the Fund at such time.
Exchanges of shares of a Fund for shares of another Fund are also subject to similar tax treatment. Such an exchange is treated for tax purposes as a sale of the original shares in the first Fund, followed by the purchase of shares in the second Fund. With respect to the stable NAV Funds, if a shareholder realizes a loss on the redemption or exchange of a Fund’s shares and receives securities that are considered substantially identical to that Fund’s shares or reinvests in that Fund’s shares within 30 days before or after the redemption or exchange, the transactions may be subject to the “wash sale” rules resulting in a postponement of the recognition of such loss for tax purposes. The ability to deduct capital losses may be subject to other limitations under the Code.
Shareholders are advised to consult their own tax advisers with respect to the particular tax consequences to them of an investment in a Fund.
CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES
As of February 1, 2023, the following persons or entities own, of record or beneficially, 5% or more of the shares of any class of the following Funds’ outstanding shares:
INSTITUTIONAL CLASS
Fund
Name and Address
% of Class
Prime Portfolio
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC
Special Custody Acct For The
Exclusive Benefit of Customers of MSSB
1300 Thames Street Wharf 6th Floor
Baltimore, MD 21231-3496
31.05%
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Prime Portfolio
Wells Fargo Bank Account For
The Exclusive Benefit of Its Customers
ATTN Money Fund
Mail Code D1109-010
1525 W WT Harris Blvd
Charlotte NC 28262-8522
7.17%
Prime Portfolio
New York State Common Retirement
Fund (NYSCRF) Securities Finance
Trust CO As Agent
ATTN Sonya Silva
1 Boston Pl Fl 24th
Boston, MA 02108-4407
6.37%
Government Portfolio
US Bank NA FBO  SVB
PO Box 1787
Milwaukee WI 53201-1787
22.91%
Government Portfolio
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC
Special Custody Acct  For The
Exclusive Benefits of Customers of MSSB
1300 Thames Street Wharf 6th Floor
Baltimore, MD 21231-3496
18.94%
Government Portfolio
Hare & Co 2
ATTN Stif Operations
PO Box 223910
Pittsburgh PA 15251-2910
8.03%
Government Portfolio
BOFA Securities Inc.
For The Sole Benefit of Its Customers
ATTN Money Fund
200 N College St. Floor 3
NC1-004-03-06
Charlotte, NC 28202-2191
5.44%
Government Securities Portfolio
Morgan Stanley Fund Services Inc
2000 Westchester  Ave
Purchase NY 10577-2529
28.89%
Government Securities Portfolio
JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.
FBO Its Customers
ATTN: Liquidity Operations
10410 Highland Manor Drive Floor 03
Tampa FL 33610-9128
15.14%
Government Securities Portfolio
Morgan Stanley & CO Inc
FBO  038CAC557
201 Harborside Financials  CTR.,
Plaza III, Floor 2
Jersey City, NJ 07311
15.12%
Government Securities Portfolio
Wells Fargo Bank Account
For Exclusive Benefit of Its Customers
ATTN Money Fund
Mail Code D1109-010
1525 W WT Harris Blvd
Charlotte NC 28262-8522
8.95%
Government Securities Portfolio
Hare & Co 2
ATTN Stif Operations
PO Box 223910
Pittsburgh PA 15251-2910
7.57%
Government Securities Portfolio
BOFA Securities Inc. For The Sole
Benefit of Its Customers
ATTN Money Fund
200 N College St. Floor 3
NC1-004-03-06
Charlotte, NC 28202-2191
5.76%
Treasury Portfolio
Hare & Co 2
ATTN Stif Operations
PO Box 223910
Pittsburgh PA 15251-2910
13.62%
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Treasury Portfolio
State Street Bank and Trust CO
C/O Cash Sweep FBO
Morgan Stanley Funds
ATTN Cash Sweep Support Rich Letham
1776 Herritage Drive
North Quincy, MA 02171-2119
12.56%
Treasury Portfolio
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC
Special Custody Acct For The
Exclusive Benefit of Customers of MSSB
1300 Thames Street Wharf 6th Floor
Baltimore, MD 21231-3496
9.66%
Treasury Securities Portfolio
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC
Special Custody Acct For The
Exclusive Benefit of Customers of MSSB
1300 Thames Street Wharf 6th Floor
Baltimore, MD 21231-3496
35.04%
Treasury Securities Portfolio
Hare & Co 2 B
ATTN Stif Operations
PO Box 223910
Pittsburgh PA 15251-2910
9.31%
Treasury Securities Portfolio
Hare & Co 2
ATTN Stif Operations
PO Box 223910
Pittsburgh PA 15251-2910
7.18%
Treasury Securities Portfolio
US Bank NA FBO SVB
PO Box 1787
Milwaukee WI 53201-1787
5.45%
Tax-Exempt Portfolio
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC
Special Custody Acct  For The
Exclusive Benefit of Customers of MSSB
1300 Thames Street Wharf 6th Floor
Baltimore, MD 21231-3496
86.18%
Tax-Exempt Portfolio
Hare & Co 2
ATTN Stif Operations
PO Box 223910
Pittsburgh PA 15251-2910
9.59%
INSTITUTIONAL SELECT CLASS
Fund
Name and Address
% of Class
Prime Portfolio
Regions Bank
FBO Amethyst Construction
ATTN Regions Liquidity Manager
1900 5th Ave N Fl. 14th
Birmingham, AL 35203-2670
27.38%
Prime Portfolio
Regions Bank FBO  WEH  Fund
Tracking LLC
ATTN Regions Liquidity Manager
1900 5th Ave N Fl 14th
Birmingham, AL 35203-2610
26.30%
Prime Portfolio
Regions Bank FBO  BLH Fund
Tracking LLC
ATTN Regions Liquidity Manager
1900 5th Ave. N Fl 14th
Birmingham, AL 35203-2610
18.11%
Prime Portfolio
Regions Bank
FBO  PSH  Tracking Fund LLC
ATTN Regions Liquidity Manager
1900 5th Ave N Fl 14th
Birmingham, AL 35203-2610
18.78%
Prime Portfolio
Regions Bank FBO  Traina Enterprises
ATTN Regions Liquidity Manager
1900 5th Ave N Fl 14th
Birmingham Al 35203-2610
7.54%
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Government Portfolio
Silicon Valley Bank
ATTN Liquidity Mngt  Middle Office
3003 Tasman  Dr
Santa Clara CA 95054-1191
95.42%
Government Securities Portfolio
Morgan Stanley Investment Management
ATTN Michael Agosta
750 Seventh Ave 12th Floor
New York, NY 10019-6835
100%
Treasury Portfolio
Silicon Valley Bank
ATTN Liquidity Mngt  Middle Office
3003 Tasman Dr
Santa Clara CA 95054-1191
99.59%
Treasury Securities Portfolio
Band & CO
C/O US Bank
PO Box 1787
Milwaukee WI 53201-1787
96.37%
Tax-Exempt Portfolio
Morgan Stanley Investment Management
ATTN Michael Agosta
750 Seventh Ave 12th Floor
New York NY 10019-6835
100%
INVESTOR CLASS
Fund
Name and Address
% of Class
Government Portfolio
Regions Bank
Treasure Management Sweep Operations
ATTN Tonya  James
2090 Parkway Office Circle
Hoover, AL 35244-1805
96.24%
Government Securities Portfolio
Morgan Stanley Investment Management
ATTN Michael Agosta
750 Seventh Ave. 12th Floor
New York, NY 10019-6835
100%
Treasury Portfolio
Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company
ATTN Trust & Investment Services
1100 Wehrle Dr
Williamsville, NY 14221-7748
91.72%
Treasury Portfolio
Gateway Arch Park Foundation
Construction Escrow Set Aside
ATTN Janis Cooper
1 S Memorial Dr Ste 700
Saint Louis, MO 63102-2439
7.25%
Treasury Securities Portfolio
Arbin Instruments Inc
762 Peach Creek Cut Off
College Station TX 77845-8704
85.45%
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Treasury Securities Portfolio
Arbin  Corporation D/B/A/ Arbin
Instruments 762 Peach Creek Cut Off
College Station TX 77845-8704
13.79%
ADMINISTRATIVE CLASS
Fund
Name and Address
% of Class
Government Portfolio
Zions First National Bank
Trust Dept ATTN Robyn Broadhead
PO Box 30880
Salt Lake City, UT 84130-0880
71.55%
Government Portfolio
Hare & Co 2
ATTN Stif Operations
PO Box 223910
Pittsburgh PA 15251-2910
6.65%
Government Securities Portfolio
Morgan Stanley Investment Management
ATTN Michael Agosta
750 Seventh Ave. 12th Floor
New York, NY 10019-6835
100%
Treasury Portfolio
Zions First National Bank
Trust Dept ATTN Robyn Broadhead
PO Box 30880
Salt Lake City, UT 84130-0880
62.55%
Treasury Portfolio
City of Marquette
ATTN Gary Simpson
300 W Baraga Ave
Marquette, MI 49855-4712
29.44%
Treasury Portfolio
Fred M. Luth & Sons Inc
ATTN Bill Luth
4516 McRee Ave
Saint Louis, MO 63110-2297
7.27%
Treasury Securities Portfolio
Zions First National Bank
Trust Dept ATTN Robyn Broadhead
PO Box 30880
Salt Lake City, UT 84130-0880
99.87%
ADVISORY CLASS
Fund
Name and Address
% of Class
Prime Portfolio
Morgan Stanley Investment Management
ATTN Michael Agosta
750 Seventh Ave. 12th Floor
New York, NY 10019-6835
98.65%
Government Portfolio
SEI Private Trust Company
C/O Regions Bank
1 Freedom Valley Dr
Oaks, PA 19456-9989
53.06%
Government Portfolio
Hare & Co 2
ATTN Stif Operations
PO Box 223910
Pittsburgh PA 15251-2910
8.63%
Government Portfolio
Manufacturers And Traders Trust
Company
ATTN Trust & Investment Services
1100 Wehrle Dr
Williamsville NY 14221-7748
8.53%
Government Portfolio
Zions First National Bank
Trust Dept ATTN Robyn Broadhead
PO Box 30880
Salt Lake City, UT 84130-0880
7.94%
Government Portfolio
Huntington National Bank
Carey & Co
7 Easton Oval EA4E70
Columbus OH
43219-6010
5.71%
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Government Securities Portfolio
UMB Bank NA
ATTN Trust Dept Money Market Desk
928 Grand Blvd. MS 1010405
PO Box 419260
Kansas City, MO 64141-6260
99.36%
Treasury Portfolio
State Street Bank and Trust CO As
Cust FBO FNZ TR CO Clients
1 Heritage DR # OHD3
North Quincy MA 02171-2105
37.49%
Treasury Portfolio
SEI Private Trust Company
C/O Regions Bank
1 Freedom Valley DR
Oaks, PA 19456-9989
28.93%
Treasury Portfolio
Zoins  First National Bank
Trust Dept ATTN Robyn Broadhead
PO Box 30880
Salt Lake City, UT-84130-0880
7.65%
Treasury Portfolio
CBNA FBO Taco Bell Franchisor
Senior Interest Reserve AC I
ATTN: Taco Bell Funding
480 Washington Blvd Fl 30th
Jersey City, NJ 07310-2053
7.55%
Treasury Securities Portfolio
CBNA  FBO CMFT Corp  Credit Secs LLC
Principal Coll AC 12300100 ATTN
CNBA  FBO  CMFT  Corp  Credit Secs  LLC
480 Washington Blvd  Fl 30
Jersey City NJ 07310-2053
44.31%
Treasury Securities Portfolio
CBNA  FBO CMFT Corp  Credit Secs LLC
Interest Coll AC 12300200 ATTN
CNBA  FBO  CMFT  Corp  Credit Secs  LLC
480 Washington Blvd  Fl 30
Jersey City NJ 07310-2053
31.23%
Treasury Securities Portfolio
Amalgamated Bank Of Chicago
ATTN Trust Operations
30 N Lasalle St 38th Fl Trust DEPT
Chicago IL 60602
19.61%
PARTICIPANT CLASS
Fund
Name and Address
% of Class
Government Portfolio
UMB Bank NA
ATTN Trust Dept Money Market Desk
928 Grand Blvd  MS 1010405
PO Box 419260
Kansas City, MO 64141-6260
99.99%
Government Securities Portfolio
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC
Special Custody Acct  For The
Exclusive Benefit of Customers of MSSB
1300 Thames Street Wharf 6th Floor
Baltimore, MD 21231-3496
100%
Treasury Portfolio
UMB Bank NA
ATTN Trust Dept Money Market Desk
928 Grand Blvd  MS 1010405
PO Box 419260
Kansas City, MO 64141-6260
100%
Treasury Securities Portfolio
Berkeley Point Capital LLC DBA
Newmark  As Trustee For  Freddie Mac
8 Spring House Innovation Park
STE 200
Ambler PA 19002-1220
53.82%
Treasury Securities Portfolio
Morgan Stanley Investment Management
ATTN Michael Agosta
750 Seventh Ave 12th Floor
New York NY  10019-6835
25.74%
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Treasury Securities Portfolio
Berkeley Point Capital LLC DBA
Newmark as TTEE For Freddie Mac
ATTN Roberta Logue
8 Spring House Innovation Park
STE 200
Ambler PA 19002-1220
20.43%
CASH MANAGEMENT CLASS
Fund
Name and Address
% of Class
Prime Portfolio
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC
Special Custody Acct  For The
Exclusive Benefit of Customers of MSSB
1300 Thames Street Wharf 6th Floor
Baltimore, MD 21231-3496
92.42%
Prime Portfolio
Morgan Stanley Investment Management
ATTN Michael Agosta
750 Seventh Ave. 12th Floor
New York, NY 10019-6835
7.58%
Government Portfolio
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC
Special Custody Acct  For The
Exclusive Benefit of Customers of MSSB
1300 Thames St Wharf 6th Floor
Baltimore, MD 21231-3496
97.08%
Government Securities Portfolio
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC
Special Custody Acct  For The
Exclusive Benefit of Customers of MSSB
1300 Thames Street Wharf 6th Floor
Baltimore, MD 21231-3496
100%
Treasury Portfolio
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC
Special Custody Acct For The
Exclusive Benefit of Customers of MSSB
1300 Thames Street Wharf 6th Floor
Baltimore, MD 21231-3496
100%
Treasury Securities Portfolio
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC
Special Custody Acct For The
Exclusive Benefit of Customers of MSSB
1300 Thames Street Wharf 6th Floor
Baltimore, MD 21231-3496
100%
Tax-Exempt Portfolio
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC
Special Custody Acct  For The
Exclusive Benefit of Customers of MSSB
1300 Thames Street Wharf 6th Floor
Baltimore, MD 21231-3496
99.61%
As of February 1, 2023, no person was known by the Trust to own beneficially or of record 5% or more of any outstanding class of shares of a Fund not listed above.
The persons listed above as owning 25% or more of the outstanding shares of a Fund may be presumed to “control” (as that term is defined in the 1940 Act) such Fund. As a result, those persons would have the ability to vote a majority of the shares of the Funds on any matter requiring the approval of shareholders of  such Funds.  
The percentage ownership of shares of beneficial interest of each Fund changes from time to time depending on purchases and redemptions by shareholders and the total number of shares outstanding.
PERFORMANCE INFORMATION
Calculation of Yield
The tables below describe the current yields of each class of the Funds for the 7-day period ended October 31, 2022 and the effective yields of the Funds for the 7-day period ended October 31, 2022.
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Subsidized Yields
 
Current Yield 7-Day Period Ended October 31, 2022
Effective Yield 7-Day Period Ended October 31, 2022
Prime Portfolio
Institutional Class
3.10%
3.15%
Institutional Select Class
3.05%
3.10%
Investor Class
N/A
N/A
Administrative Class
N/A
N/A
Advisory Class
2.85%
2.89%
Participant Class
N/A
N/A
Cash Management Class
2.95%
3.00%
CastleOak Shares
3.11%
3.16%
Impact Class
3.11%
3.15%
Government Portfolio
Institutional Class
2.88%
2.93%
Institutional Select Class
2.83%
2.87%
Investor Class
2.78%
2.82%
Administrative Class
2.73%
2.77%
Advisory Class
2.63%
2.67%
Participant Class
2.38%
2.41%
Cash Management Class
2.73%
2.77%
Select Class
2.08%
2.10%
CastleOak Class
2.88%
2.93%
Impact Class
2.88%
2.93%
Government Securities Portfolio
Institutional Class
2.81%
2.85%
Institutional Select Class
2.76%
2.79%
Investor Class
2.71%
2.74%
Administrative Class
2.66%
2.69%
Advisory Class
2.56%
2.59%
Participant Class
2.56%
2.59%
Cash Management Class
2.66%
2.70%
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Subsidized Yields
 
Current Yield 7-Day Period Ended October 31, 2022
Effective Yield 7-Day Period Ended October 31, 2022
Treasury Portfolio
Institutional Class
2.85%
2.89%
Institutional Select Class
2.80%
2.84%
Investor Class
2.75%
2.79%
Administrative Class
2.70%
2.74%
Advisory Class
2.60%
2.63%
Participant Class
2.35%
2.38%
Cash Management Class
2.70%
2.74%
Select Class
2.05%
2.07%
Treasury Securities Portfolio
Institutional Class
3.03%
3.07%
Institutional Select Class
2.98%
3.02%
Investor Class
2.93%
2.97%
Administrative Class
2.88%
2.92%
Advisory Class
2.78%
2.81%
Participant Class
2.53%
2.56%
Cash Management Class
2.88%
2.92%
Select Class
2.22%
2.25%
Tax-Exempt Portfolio
Institutional Class
2.00%
2.02%
Institutional Select Class
1.95%
1.97%
Investor Class
N/A
N/A
Administrative Class
N/A
N/A
Advisory Class
N/A
N/A
Participant Class
N/A
N/A
Cash Management Class
1.85%
1.87%
 
Non-Subsidized Yields
 
Current Yield 7-Day Period Ended October 31, 2022
Effective Yield 7-Day Period Ended October 31, 2022
Prime Portfolio
Institutional Class
3.09%
3.14%
Institutional Select Class
3.04%
3.09%
Investor Class
N/A
N/A
Administrative Class
N/A
N/A
Advisory Class
2.85%
2.89%
Participant Class
N/A
N/A
Cash Management Class
2.94%
2.99%
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CastleOak Shares
3.10%
3.15%
Impact Class
3.10%
3.15%
Government Portfolio
Institutional Class
2.84%
2.88%
Institutional Select Class
2.79%
2.83%
Investor Class
2.74%
2.78%
Administrative Class
2.69%
2.73%
Advisory Class
2.59%
2.63%
Participant Class
2.34%
2.37%
Cash Management Class
2.69%
2.73%
Select Class
2.04%
2.06%
CastleOak Shares
2.84%
2.88%
Impact Class
2.84%
2.88%
Government Securities Portfolio
Institutional Class
2.78%
2.82%
Institutional Select Class
2.73%
2.77%
Investor Class
2.68%
2.72%
Administrative Class
2.63%
2.66%
Advisory Class
2.53%
2.56%
Participant Class
2.28%
2.30%
Cash Management Class
2.63%
2.66%
Treasury Portfolio
Institutional Class
2.84%
2.88%
Institutional Select Class
2.79%
2.83%
Investor Class
2.74%
2.78%
Administrative Class
2.69%
2.73%
Advisory Class
2.59%
2.63%
Participant Class
2.34%
2.37%
Cash Management Class
2.69%
2.73%
Select Class
2.05%
2.07%
Treasury Securities Portfolio
Institutional Class
3.02%
3.07%
Institutional Select Class
2.97%
3.01%
Investor Class
2.92%
2.97%
Administrative Class
2.87%
2.91%
Advisory Class
2.77%
2.81%
Participant Class
2.52%
2.55%
Cash Management Class
2.87%
2.91%
Select Class
2.22%
2.25%
Tax-Exempt Portfolio
Institutional Class
1.81%
1.82%
Institutional Select Class
1.75%
1.76%
Investor Class
N/A
N/A
Administrative Class
N/A
N/A
Advisory Class
N/A
N/A
Participant Class
N/A
N/A
Cash Management Class
1.66%
1.67%
The non-subsidized yield reflects what the yield would have been had a fee and/or expense waiver not been in place during the period shown.
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Taxable Equivalent Yields
Joint Return
Single Return
Federal Income Tax Brackets
Taxable Equivalent Rates Based on Tax-Exempt Yield of:
From
To
From
To
 
3.50%
4%
5%
6%
7%
8%
9%
10%
11%
$ —
$13,000
$ —
$4,350
0.00%
3.50%
4.00%
5.00%
6.00%
7.00%
8.00%
9.00%
10.00%
11.00%
$13,000
$33,550
$4,350
$14,625
10.00%
3.89%
4.44%
5.56%
6.67%
7.78%
8.89%
10.00%
11.11%
12.22%
$33,550
$96,550
$14,625
$46,125
12.00%
3.98%
4.55%
5.68%
6.82%
7.95%
9.09%
10.23%
11.36%
12.50%
$96,550
$191,150
$46,125
$93,425
22.00%
4.49%
5.13%
6.41%
7.69%
8.97%
10.26%
11.54%
12.82%
14.10%
$191,150
$353,100
$93,425
$174,400
24.00%
4.61%
5.26%
6.58%
7.89%
9.21%
10.53%
11.84%
13.16%
14.47%
$353,100
$444,900
$174,400
$220,300
32.00%
5.15%
5.88%
7.35%
8.82%
10.29%
11.76%
13.24%
14.71%
16.18%
$444,900
$660,850
$220,300
$544,250
35.00%
5.38%
6.15%
7.69%
9.23%
10.77%
12.31%
13.85%
15.38%
16.92%
$660,850
Over
$544,250
Over
37.00%
5.56%
6.35%
7.94%
9.52%
11.11%
12.70%
14.29%
15.87%
17.46%
$660,850
Over
$544,250
Over
40.80%1
5.91%
6.76%
8.45%
10.14%
11.82%
13.51%
15.20%
16.89%
18.58%
1 Includes 3.8% Medicare Tax
Note: Net amount subject to 2022 Federal Income Tax after deductions and exemptions, not indexed for 2021 income tax rates. These rates are subject to change with any updates to the tax laws.
The tables below describe the taxable equivalent yields and the taxable equivalent effective yields of each class of the Tax-Exempt Portfolio for the seven days ended October 31, 2022, assuming the same tax rate.
 
Taxable Equivalent Yield
7-Day Period Ended October 31, 2022
Taxable Equivalent Effective Yield
7-Day Period Ended October 31, 2022
Tax-Exempt Portfolio
Institutional Class
3.17%
3.21%
Institutional Select Class
3.10%
3.13%
Investor Class
N/A
N/A
Administrative Class
N/A
N/A
Advisory Class
N/A
N/A
Participant Class
N/A
N/A
Cash Management Class
2.94%
2.97%
POTENTIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
As a diversified global financial services firm, Morgan Stanley, the parent company of the Adviser, engages in a broad spectrum of activities, including financial advisory services, investment management activities, lending, commercial banking, sponsoring and managing private investment funds, engaging in broker-dealer transactions and principal securities, commodities and foreign exchange transactions, research publication and other activities. In the ordinary course of its business, Morgan Stanley is a full-service investment banking and financial services firm and therefore engages in activities where Morgan Stanley’s interests or the interests of its clients may conflict with the interests of a Fund. Morgan Stanley advises clients and sponsors, manages or advises other investment funds and investment programs, accounts and businesses (collectively, together with the Morgan Stanley Funds, any new or successor funds, programs, accounts or businesses (other than funds, programs, accounts or businesses sponsored, managed, or advised by former direct or indirect subsidiaries of Eaton Vance Corp. (“Eaton Vance Investment Accounts”)), the ‘‘MS Investment Accounts”, and, together with the Eaton Vance Investment Accounts, the “Affiliated Investment Accounts’’) with a wide variety of investment objectives that in some instances may overlap or conflict with a Fund’s investment objectives and present conflicts of interest. In addition, Morgan Stanley or the Adviser may also from time to time create new or successor Affiliated Investment Accounts that may compete with a Fund and present similar conflicts of interest. The discussion below enumerates certain actual, apparent and potential conflicts of interest. There is no assurance that conflicts of interest will be resolved in favor of Fund shareholders and, in fact, they may not be. Conflicts of interest not described below may also exist.
The discussions below with respect to actual, apparent and potential conflicts of interest also may be applicable to or arise from the Eaton Vance Investment Accounts whether or not specifically identified.
Material Non-public and Other Information. It is expected that confidential or material non-public information regarding an investment or potential investment opportunity may become available to the Adviser. If such information becomes available, the Adviser may be precluded (including by applicable law or internal policies or procedures) from pursuing an investment or disposition
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opportunity with respect to such investment or investment opportunity. The Adviser may also from time to time be subject to contractual ‘‘stand-still’’ obligations and/or confidentiality obligations that may restrict its ability to trade in certain investments on a Fund’s behalf. In addition, the Adviser may be precluded from disclosing such information to an investment team, even in circumstances in which the information would be beneficial if disclosed. Therefore, the investment team may not be provided access to material non-public information in the possession of Morgan Stanley that might be relevant to an investment decision to be made on behalf of a Fund, and the investment team may initiate a transaction or sell an investment that, if such information had been known to it, may not have been undertaken. In addition, certain members of the investment team may be recused from certain investment-related discussions so that such members do not receive information that would limit their ability to perform functions of their employment with the Adviser or its affiliates unrelated to that of a Fund. Furthermore, access to certain parts of Morgan Stanley may be subject to third party confidentiality obligations and to information barriers established by Morgan Stanley in order to manage potential conflicts of interest and regulatory restrictions, including without limitation joint transaction restrictions pursuant to the 1940 Act. Accordingly, the Adviser’s ability to source investments from other business units within Morgan Stanley may be limited and there can be no assurance that the Adviser will be able to source any investments from any one or more parts of the Morgan Stanley network.
The Adviser may restrict its investment decisions and activities on behalf of the Funds in various circumstances, including because of applicable regulatory requirements or information held by the Adviser or Morgan Stanley. The Adviser might not engage in transactions or other activities for, or enforce certain rights in favor of, a Fund due to Morgan Stanley’s activities outside the Funds. In instances where trading of an investment is restricted, the Adviser may not be able to purchase or sell such investment on behalf of a Fund, resulting in a Fund’s inability to participate in certain desirable transactions. This inability to buy or sell an investment could have an adverse effect on a Fund’s portfolio due to, among other things, changes in an investment’s value during the period its trading is restricted. Also, in situations where the Adviser is required to aggregate its positions with those of other Morgan Stanley business units for position limit calculations, the Adviser may have to refrain from making investments due to the positions held by other Morgan Stanley business units or their clients. There may be other situations where the Adviser refrains from making an investment due to additional disclosure obligations, regulatory requirements, policies, and reputational risk, or the Adviser may limit purchases or sales of securities in respect of which Morgan Stanley is engaged in an underwriting or other distribution capacity.
Morgan Stanley has established certain information barriers and other policies to address the sharing of information between different businesses within Morgan Stanley. As a result of information barriers, the Adviser generally will not have access, or will have limited access, to certain information and personnel in other areas of Morgan Stanley and generally will not manage the Funds with the benefit of the information held by such other areas. Morgan Stanley, due to its access to and knowledge of funds, markets and securities based on its prime brokerage and other businesses, may make decisions based on information or take (or refrain from taking) actions with respect to interests in investments of the kind held (directly or indirectly) by the Funds in a manner that may be adverse to the Fund, and will not have any obligation or other duty to share information with the Adviser.
In limited circumstances, however, including for purposes of managing business and reputational risk, and subject to policies and procedures and any applicable regulations, Morgan Stanley personnel, including personnel of the Adviser, on one side of an information barrier may have access to information and personnel on the other side of the information barrier through “wall crossings.” The Adviser faces conflicts of interest in determining whether to engage in such wall crossings. Information obtained in connection with such wall crossings may limit or restrict the ability of the Adviser to engage in or otherwise effect transactions on behalf of the Funds (including purchasing or selling securities that the Adviser may otherwise have purchased or sold for a Fund in the absence of a wall crossing). In managing conflicts of interest that arise because of the foregoing, the Adviser generally will be subject to fiduciary requirements. The Adviser may also implement internal information barriers or ethical walls, and the conflicts described herein with respect to information barriers and otherwise with respect to Morgan Stanley and the Adviser will also apply internally within the Adviser. As a result, a Fund may not be permitted to transact in (e.g., dispose of a security in whole or in part) during periods when it otherwise would have been able to do so, which could adversely affect a Fund. Other investors in the security that are not subject to such restrictions may be able to transact in the security during such periods. There may also be circumstances in which, as a result of information held by certain portfolio management teams in the Adviser, the Adviser limits an activity or transaction for a Fund, including if a Fund is managed by a portfolio management team other than the team holding such information.
Investments by Morgan Stanley and its Affiliated Investment Accounts. In serving in multiple capacities to Affiliated Investment Accounts, Morgan Stanley, including the Adviser and its investment teams, may have obligations to other clients or investors in Affiliated Investment Accounts, the fulfillment of which may not be in the best interests of a Fund or its shareholders. A Fund’s investment objectives may overlap with the investment objectives of certain Affiliated Investment Accounts. As a result, the members of an investment team may face conflicts in the allocation of investment opportunities among a Fund and other investment funds, programs, accounts and businesses advised by or affiliated with the Adviser. Certain Affiliated Investment Accounts may provide for higher management or incentive fees or greater expense reimbursements or overhead allocations, all of which may contribute to this conflict of interest and create an incentive for the Adviser to favor such other accounts.
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Morgan Stanley currently invests and plans to continue to invest on its own behalf and on behalf of its Affiliated Investment Accounts in a wide variety of investment opportunities globally. Morgan Stanley and its Affiliated Investment Accounts, to the extent consistent with applicable law and policies and procedures, will be permitted to invest in investment opportunities without making such opportunities available to a Fund beforehand. Subject to the foregoing, Morgan Stanley may offer investments that fall into the investment objectives of an Affiliated Investment Account to such account or make such investment on its own behalf, even though such investment also falls within a Fund’s investment objectives. A Fund may invest in opportunities that Morgan Stanley and/or one or more Affiliated Investment Accounts has declined, and vice versa. All of the foregoing may reduce the number of investment opportunities available to a Fund and may create conflicts of interest in allocating investment opportunities. Investors should note that the conflicts inherent in making such allocation decisions may not always be resolved to a Fund’s advantage. There can be no assurance that a Fund will have an opportunity to participate in certain opportunities that fall within their investment objectives.
To seek to reduce potential conflicts of interest and to attempt to allocate such investment opportunities in a fair and equitable manner, the Adviser has implemented allocation policies and procedures. These policies and procedures are intended to give all clients of the Adviser, including the Fund, fair access to investment opportunities consistent with the requirements of organizational documents, investment strategies, applicable laws and regulations, and the fiduciary duties of the Adviser. Each client of the Adviser that is subject to the allocation policies and procedures, including each Fund, is assigned an investment team and portfolio manager(s) by the Adviser. The investment team and portfolio managers review investment opportunities and will decide with respect to the allocation of each opportunity considering various factors and in accordance with the allocation policies and procedures. The allocation policies and procedures are subject to change. Investors should note that the conflicts inherent in making such allocation decisions may not always be resolved to the advantage of a Fund.
It is possible that Morgan Stanley or an Affiliated Investment Account, including another Morgan Stanley Fund, will invest in or advise (in the case of Morgan Stanley) a company that is or becomes a competitor of a company of which a Fund holds an investment. Such investment could create a conflict between the Fund, on the one hand, and Morgan Stanley or the Affiliated Investment Account, on the other hand. In such a situation, Morgan Stanley may also have a conflict in the allocation of its own resources to the portfolio investment. Furthermore, certain Affiliated Investment Accounts will be focused primarily on investing in other funds which may have strategies that overlap and/or directly conflict and compete with a Fund.
In addition, certain investment professionals who are involved in a Fund’s activities remain responsible for the investment activities of other Affiliated Investment Accounts managed by the Adviser and its affiliates, and they will devote time to the management of such investments and other newly created Affiliated Investment Accounts (whether in the form of funds, separate accounts or other vehicles), as well as their own investments. In addition, in connection with the management of investments for other Affiliated Investment Accounts, members of Morgan Stanley and its affiliates may serve on the boards of directors of or advise companies which may compete with a Fund’s portfolio investments. Moreover, these Affiliated Investment Accounts managed by Morgan Stanley and its affiliates may pursue investment opportunities that may also be suitable for a Fund.
It should be noted that Morgan Stanley may, directly or indirectly, make large investments in certain of its Affiliated Investment Accounts, and accordingly Morgan Stanley’s investment in a Fund may not be a determining factor in the outcome of any of the foregoing conflicts. Nothing herein restricts or in any way limits the activities of Morgan Stanley, including its ability to buy or sell interests in, or provide financing to, equity and/or debt instruments, funds or portfolio companies, for its own accounts or for the accounts of Affiliated Investment Accounts or other investment funds or clients in accordance with applicable law.
Different clients of the Adviser, including a Fund, may invest in different classes of securities of the same issuer, depending on the respective clients’ investment objectives and policies. As a result, the Adviser and its affiliates, at times, will seek to satisfy fiduciary obligations to certain clients owning one class of securities of a particular issuer by pursuing or enforcing rights on behalf of those clients with respect to such class of securities, and those activities may have an adverse effect on another client which owns a different class of securities of such issuer. For example, if one client holds debt securities of an issuer and another client holds equity securities of the same issuer, if the issuer experiences financial or operational challenges, the Adviser and its affiliates may seek a liquidation of the issuer on behalf of the client that holds the debt securities, whereas the client holding the equity securities may benefit from a reorganization of the issuer. Thus, in such situations, the actions taken by the Adviser or its affiliates on behalf of one client can negatively impact securities held by another client. These conflicts also exist as between the Adviser’s clients, including the Fund, and the Affiliated Investment Accounts managed by Eaton Vance.
The Adviser and its affiliates may give advice and recommend securities to other clients which may differ from advice given to, or securities recommended or bought for, a Fund even though such other clients’ investment objectives may be similar to those of the Fund.
The Adviser and its affiliates manage long and short portfolios. The simultaneous management of long and short portfolios creates conflicts of interest in portfolio management and trading in that opposite directional positions may be taken in client accounts, including client accounts managed by the same investment team, and creates risks such as: (i) the risk that short sale activity could adversely affect the market value of long positions in one or more portfolios (and vice versa) and (ii) the risks associated with the
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trading desk receiving opposing orders in the same security simultaneously. The Adviser and its affiliates have adopted policies and procedures that are reasonably designed to mitigate these conflicts. In certain circumstances, the Adviser invests on behalf of itself in securities and other instruments that would be appropriate for, held by, or may fall within the investment guidelines of its clients, including a Fund. At times, the Adviser may give advice or take action for its own accounts that differs from, conflicts with, or is adverse to advice given or action taken for any client.
From time to time, conflicts also arise due to the fact that certain securities or instruments may be held in some client accounts, including a Fund, but not in others, or that client accounts may have different levels of holdings in certain securities or instruments. In addition, due to differences in the investment strategies or restrictions among client accounts, the Adviser may take action with respect to one account that differs from the action taken with respect to another account. In some cases, a client account may compensate the Adviser based on the performance of the securities held by that account. The existence of such a performance based fee may create additional conflicts of interest for the Adviser in the allocation of management time, resources and investment opportunities. The Adviser has adopted several policies and procedures designed to address these potential conflicts including a code of ethics and policies that govern the Adviser’s trading practices, including, among other things, the aggregation and allocation of trades among clients, brokerage allocations, cross trades and best execution.
In addition, at times an investment team will give advice or take action with respect to the investments of one or more clients that is not given or taken with respect to other clients with similar investment programs, objectives, and strategies. Accordingly, clients with similar strategies will not always hold the same securities or instruments or achieve the same performance. The Adviser’s investment teams also advise clients with conflicting programs, objectives or strategies. These conflicts also exist as between the Adviser’s clients, including the Fund, and the Affiliated Investment Accounts managed by Eaton Vance.
Morgan Stanley and its affiliates maintain separate trading desks that operate independently of each other and do not share information with the Adviser. The Morgan Stanley and affiliate trading desks may compete against the Adviser trading desks when implementing buy and sell transactions, possibly causing certain Affiliated Investment Accounts to pay more or receive less for a security than other Affiliated Investment Accounts.
Investments by Separate Investment Departments. The entities and individuals that provide investment-related services for the Fund and certain other MS Investment Accounts (the “MS Investment Department”) may be different from the entities and individuals that provide investment-related services to Eaton Vance Investment Accounts (the “Eaton Vance Investment Department” and, together with the MS Investment Department, the “Investment Departments”). Although Morgan Stanley has implemented information barriers between the Investment Departments in accordance with internal policies and procedures, each Investment Department may engage in discussions and share information and resources with the other Investment Department on certain investment-related matters. The sharing of information and resources between the Investment Departments is designed to further increase the knowledge and effectiveness of each Investment Department. Because each Investment Department generally makes investment decisions and executes trades independently of the other, the quality and price of execution, and the performance of investments and accounts, can be expected to vary. In addition, each Investment Department may use different trading systems and technology and may employ differing investment and trading strategies. As a result, an Eaton Vance Investment Account could trade in advance of the Fund (and vice versa), might complete trades more quickly and efficiently than the Fund, and/or achieve different execution than the Fund on the same or similar investments made contemporaneously, even when the Investment Departments shared research and viewpoints that led to that investment decision. Any sharing of information or resources between the Investment Department servicing the Fund and the Eaton Vance Investment Department may result, from time to time, in the Fund simultaneously or contemporaneously seeking to engage in the same or similar transactions as an account serviced by the other Investment Department and for which there are limited buyers or sellers on specific securities, which could result in less favorable execution for the Fund than such Affiliated Investment Account. The MS Investment Department will not knowingly or intentionally cause the Fund to engage in a cross trade with an account serviced by the Eaton Vance Investment Department, however, subject to applicable law and internal policies and procedures, the Fund may conduct cross trades with other accounts serviced by the MS Investment Department. Although the MS Investment Department may aggregate the Fund’s trades with trades of other accounts serviced by the MS Investment Department, subject to applicable law and internal policies and procedures, there will be no aggregation or coordination of trades with accounts serviced by the Eaton Vance Investment Department, even when both Investment Departments are seeking to acquire or dispose of the same investments contemporaneously.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries. The Adviser and/or the Distributor may pay compensation, out of their own funds and not as an expense of the Fund, to certain Financial Intermediaries (which may include affiliates of the Adviser and the Distributor), including recordkeepers and administrators of various deferred compensation plans, in connection with the sale, distribution, marketing and retention of shares of the Fund and/or shareholder servicing. For example, the Adviser or the Distributor may pay additional compensation to a Financial Intermediary for, among other things, promoting the sale and distribution of Fund shares, providing access to various programs, mutual fund platforms or preferred or recommended mutual fund lists that may be offered by a Financial Intermediary, granting the Distributor access to a Financial Intermediary’s financial advisors and consultants, providing assistance in the ongoing education and training of a Financial Intermediary’s financial personnel, furnishing marketing
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support, maintaining share balances and/or for sub-accounting, recordkeeping, administrative, shareholder or transaction processing services. Such payments are in addition to any distribution fees, shareholder servicing fees and/or transfer agency fees that may be payable by the Fund. The additional payments may be based on various factors, including level of sales (based on gross or net sales or some specified minimum sales or some other similar criteria related to sales of the Fund and/or some or all other Morgan Stanley Funds), amount of assets invested by the Financial Intermediary’s customers (which could include current or aged assets of the Fund and/or some or all other Morgan Stanley Funds), a Fund’s advisory fee, some other agreed upon amount or other measures as determined from time to time by the Adviser and/or the Distributor. The amount of these payments may be different for different Financial Intermediaries.
The prospect of receiving, or the receipt of, additional compensation, as described above, by Financial Intermediaries may provide such Financial Intermediaries and their financial advisors and other salespersons with an incentive to favor sales of shares of the Fund over other investment options with respect to which these Financial Intermediaries do not receive additional compensation (or receives lower levels of additional compensation). These payment arrangements, however, will not change the price that an investor pays for shares of the Fund or the amount that the Fund receives to invest on behalf of an investor. Investors may wish to take such payment arrangements into account when considering and evaluating any recommendations relating to Fund shares and should review carefully any disclosures provided by Financial Intermediaries as to their compensation.
In addition, in certain circumstances, the Adviser restricts, limits or reduces the amount of the Fund’s investment, or restricts the type of governance or voting rights it acquires or exercises, where the Fund (potentially together with Morgan Stanley) exceeds a certain ownership interest, or possesses certain degrees of voting or control or has other interests.
Morgan Stanley Trading and Principal Investing Activities. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, Morgan Stanley will generally conduct its sales and trading businesses, publish research and analysis, and render investment advice without regard for a Fund’s holdings, although these activities could have an adverse impact on the value of one or more of the Fund’s investments, or could cause Morgan Stanley to have an interest in one or more portfolio investments that is different from, and potentially adverse to that of a Fund. Furthermore, from time to time, the Adviser or its affiliates may invest “seed” capital in a Fund, typically to enable the Fund to commence investment operations and/or achieve sufficient scale. The Adviser and its affiliates may hedge such seed capital exposure by investing in derivatives or other instruments expected to produce offsetting exposure. Such hedging transactions, if any, would occur outside of a Fund.
Morgan Stanley’s sales and trading, financing and principal investing businesses (whether or not specifically identified as such, and including Morgan Stanley’s trading and principal investing businesses) will not be required to offer any investment opportunities to a Fund. These businesses may encompass, among other things, principal trading activities as well as principal investing.
Morgan Stanley’s sales and trading, financing and principal investing businesses have acquired or invested in, and in the future may acquire or invest in, minority and/or majority control positions in equity or debt instruments of diverse public and/or private companies. Such activities may put Morgan Stanley in a position to exercise contractual, voting or creditor rights, or management or other control with respect to securities or loans of portfolio investments or other issuers, and in these instances Morgan Stanley may, in its discretion and subject to applicable law, act to protect its own interests or interests of clients, and not a Fund’s interests.
Subject to the limitations of applicable law, a Fund may purchase from or sell assets to, or make investments in, companies in which Morgan Stanley has or may acquire an interest, including as an owner, creditor or counterparty.
Morgan Stanley’s Investment Banking and Other Commercial Activities. Morgan Stanley advises clients on a variety of mergers, acquisitions, restructuring, bankruptcy and financing transactions. Morgan Stanley may act as an advisor to clients, including other investment funds that may compete with a Fund and with respect to investments that a Fund may hold. Morgan Stanley may give advice and take action with respect to any of its clients or proprietary accounts that may differ from the advice given, or may involve an action of a different timing or nature than the action taken, by a Fund. Morgan Stanley may give advice and provide recommendations to persons competing with a Fund and/or any of a Fund’s investments that are contrary to the Fund’s best interests and/or the best interests of any of its investments.
Morgan Stanley could be engaged in financial advising, whether on the buy-side or sell-side, or in financing or lending assignments that could result in Morgan Stanley’s determining in its discretion or being required to act exclusively on behalf of one or more third parties, which could limit a Fund’s ability to transact with respect to one or more existing or potential investments. Morgan Stanley may have relationships with third-party funds, companies or investors who may have invested in or may look to invest in portfolio companies, and there could be conflicts between a Fund’s best interests, on the one hand, and the interests of a Morgan Stanley client or counterparty, on the other hand.
To the extent that Morgan Stanley advises creditor or debtor companies in the financial restructuring of companies either prior to or after filing for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code or similar laws in other jurisdictions, the Adviser’s flexibility in making investments in such restructurings on a Fund’s behalf may be limited.
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Morgan Stanley could provide investment banking services to competitors of portfolio companies, as well as to private equity and/or private credit funds; such activities may present Morgan Stanley with a conflict of interest vis-a-vis a Fund’s investment and may also result in a conflict in respect of the allocation of investment banking resources to portfolio companies.
To the extent permitted by applicable law, Morgan Stanley may provide a broad range of financial services to companies in which a Fund invests, including strategic and financial advisory services, interim acquisition financing and other lending and underwriting or placement of securities, and Morgan Stanley generally will be paid fees (that may include warrants or other securities) for such services. Morgan Stanley will not share any of the foregoing interest, fees and other compensation received by it (including, for the avoidance of doubt, amounts received by the Adviser) with a Fund, and any advisory fees payable will not be reduced thereby.
Morgan Stanley may be engaged to act as a financial advisor to a company in connection with the sale of such company, or subsidiaries or divisions thereof, may represent potential buyers of businesses through its mergers and acquisition activities and may provide lending and other related financing services in connection with such transactions. Morgan Stanley’s compensation for such activities is usually based upon realized consideration and is usually contingent, in substantial part, upon the closing of the transaction. Under these circumstances, a Fund may be precluded from participating in a transaction with or relating to the company being sold or participating in any financing activity related to merger or acquisition.
The involvement or presence of Morgan Stanley in the investment banking and other commercial activities described above (or the financial markets more broadly) may restrict or otherwise limit investment opportunities that may otherwise be available to the Fund. For example, issuers may hire and compensate Morgan Stanley to provide underwriting, financial advisory, placement agency, brokerage services or other services and, because of limitations imposed by applicable law and regulation, a Fund may be prohibited from buying or selling securities issued by those issuers or participating in related transactions or otherwise limited in its ability to engage in such investments.
Morgan Stanley’s Marketing Activities. Morgan Stanley is engaged in the business of underwriting, syndicating, brokering, administering, servicing, arranging and advising on the distribution of a wide variety of securities and other investments in which a Fund may invest. Subject to the restrictions of the 1940 Act, including Sections 10(f) and 17(e) thereof, a Fund may invest in transactions in which Morgan Stanley acts as underwriter, placement agent, syndicator, broker, administrative agent, servicer, advisor, arranger or structuring agent and receives fees or other compensation from the sponsors of such products or securities. Any fees earned by Morgan Stanley in such capacity will not be shared with the Adviser or the Fund. Certain conflicts of interest, in addition to the receipt of fees or other compensation, would be inherent in these transactions. Moreover, the interests of one of Morgan Stanley’s clients with respect to an issuer of securities in which a Fund has an investment may be adverse to the Adviser’s or a Fund’s best interests. In conducting the foregoing activities, Morgan Stanley will be acting for its other clients and will have no obligation to act in the Adviser’s or a Fund’s best interests.
Client Relationships. Morgan Stanley has existing and potential relationships with a significant number of corporations, institutions and individuals. In providing services to its clients, Morgan Stanley may face conflicts of interest with respect to activities recommended to or performed for such clients, on the one hand, and a Fund, its shareholders or the entities in which the Fund invests, on the other hand. In addition, these client relationships may present conflicts of interest in determining whether to offer certain investment opportunities to a Fund.
In acting as principal or in providing advisory and other services to its other clients, Morgan Stanley may engage in or recommend activities with respect to a particular matter that conflict with or are different from activities engaged in or recommended by the Adviser on a Fund’s behalf.
Principal Investments. To the extent permitted by applicable law, there may be situations in which a Fund’s interests may conflict with the interests of one or more general accounts of Morgan Stanley and its affiliates or accounts managed by Morgan Stanley or its affiliates. This may occur because these accounts hold public and private debt and equity securities of many issuers which may be or become portfolio companies, or from whom portfolio companies may be acquired.
Transactions with Portfolio Companies of Affiliated Investment Accounts. The companies in which a Fund may invest may be counterparties to or participants in agreements, transactions or other arrangements with portfolio companies or other entities of portfolio investments of Affiliated Investment Accounts (for example, a company in which a Fund invests may retain a company in which an Affiliated Investment Account invests to provide services or may acquire an asset from such company or vice versa). Certain of these agreements, transactions and arrangements involve fees, servicing payments, rebates and/or other benefits to Morgan Stanley or its affiliates. For example, portfolio entities may, including at the encouragement of Morgan Stanley, enter into agreements regarding group procurement and/or vendor discounts. Morgan Stanley and its affiliates may also participate in these agreements and may realize better pricing or discounts as a result of the participation of portfolio entities. To the extent permitted by applicable law, certain of these agreements may provide for commissions or similar payments and/or discounts or rebates to be paid to a portfolio entity of an Affiliated Investment Account, and such payments or discounts or rebates may also be made directly to Morgan Stanley or its affiliates. Under these arrangements, a particular portfolio company or other entity may benefit to a greater degree than the other participants, and the Morgan Stanley Funds, investment vehicles and accounts (which may or may not include a Fund) that
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own an interest in such entity will receive a greater relative benefit from the arrangements than the Morgan Stanley Funds, investment vehicles or accounts that do not own an interest therein. Fees and compensation received by portfolio companies of Affiliated Investment Accounts in relation to the foregoing will not be shared with a Fund or offset advisory fees payable.
Investments in Portfolio Investments of Other Funds. To the extent permitted by applicable law, when a Fund invests in certain companies or other entities, other funds affiliated with the Adviser may have made or may be making an investment in such companies or other entities. Other funds that have been or may be managed by the Adviser may invest in the companies or other entities in which a Fund has made an investment. Under such circumstances, a Fund and such other funds may have conflicts of interest (e.g., over the terms, exit strategies and related matters, including the exercise of remedies of their respective investments). If the interests held by a Fund are different from (or take priority over) those held by such other funds, the Adviser may be required to make a selection at the time of conflicts between the interests held by such other funds and the interests held by a Fund.
Allocation of Expenses. Expenses may be incurred that are attributable to a Fund and one or more other Affiliated Investment Accounts (including in connection with issuers in which a Fund and such other Affiliated Investment Accounts have overlapping investments). The allocation of such expenses among such entities raises potential conflicts of interest. The Adviser and its affiliates intend to allocate such common expenses among a Fund and any such other Affiliated Investment Accounts on a pro rata basis or in such other manner as the Adviser deems to be fair and equitable or in such other manner as may be required by applicable law.
Temporary Investments. To more efficiently invest short-term cash balances held by a Fund, the Adviser may invest such balances on an overnight “sweep” basis in shares of one or more money market funds or other short-term vehicles. It is anticipated that the investment adviser to these money market funds or other short-term vehicles may be the Adviser (or an affiliate) to the extent permitted by applicable law, including Rule 12d1-1 under the 1940 Act. In such a case, the affiliated investment adviser may receive asset-based fees in respect of a Fund’s investment (which will reduce the net return realized by a Fund).
Transactions with Affiliates. The Adviser and any investment sub-adviser might purchase securities from underwriters or placement agents in which a Morgan Stanley affiliate is a member of a syndicate or selling group, as a result of which an affiliate might benefit from the purchase through receipt of a fee or otherwise. Neither the Adviser nor any investment sub-adviser will purchase securities on behalf of a Fund from an affiliate that is acting as a manager of a syndicate or selling group. Purchases by the Adviser on behalf of a Fund from an affiliate acting as a placement agent must meet the requirements of applicable law. Furthermore, Morgan Stanley may face conflicts of interest when a Fund uses service providers affiliated with Morgan Stanley because Morgan Stanley receives greater overall fees when they are used.
General Process for Potential Conflicts. All of the transactions described above involve the potential for conflicts of interest between the Adviser, related persons of the Adviser and/or their clients. The Advisers Act, the 1940 Act and ERISA impose certain requirements designed to decrease the possibility of conflicts of interest between an investment adviser and its clients. In some cases, transactions may be permitted subject to fulfillment of certain conditions. Certain other transactions may be prohibited. In addition, the Adviser has instituted policies and procedures designed to prevent conflicts of interest from arising and, when they do arise, to ensure that it effects transactions for clients in a manner that is consistent with its fiduciary duty to its clients and in accordance with applicable law. The Adviser seeks to ensure that potential or actual conflicts of interest are appropriately resolved taking into consideration the overriding best interests of the client.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The Funds’ audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2022, including notes thereto, and the report of Ernst & Young LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, are herein incorporated by reference to the Funds’ Annual Report to Shareholders. A copy of the Funds’ Annual Report to Shareholders must accompany the delivery of this SAI.
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APPENDIX A — MORGAN STANLEY INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT EQUITY PROXY VOTING POLICY AND PROCEDURES
I. POLICY STATEMENT
Morgan Stanley Investment Management’s policy and procedures for voting proxies, the Equity Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures (the “Policy”), with respect to securities held in the accounts of clients applies to those Morgan Stanley Investment Management (“MSIM”) entities that provide discretionary investment management services and for which an MSIM entity has authority to vote proxies1. For purposes of this Policy, clients shall include: Morgan Stanley U.S. registered investment companies, other Morgan Stanley pooled investment vehicles, and MSIM separately managed accounts (including accounts for Employee Retirement Income Security (“ERISA”) clients and ERISA-equivalent clients). This Policy is reviewed and updated as necessary to address new and evolving proxy voting issues and standards.

The MSIM entities covered by this Policy currently include the following: Morgan Stanley AIP GP LP, Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc., Morgan Stanley Investment Management Limited, Morgan Stanley Investment Management Company, Morgan Stanley Saudi Arabia, MSIM Fund Management (Ireland) Limited, Morgan Stanley Asia Limited, Morgan Stanley Investment Management (Japan) Co. Limited, Morgan Stanley Investment Management Private Limited, Morgan Stanley Eaton Vance CLO Manager LLC, and, Morgan Stanley Eaton Vance CLO CM LLC (each an “MSIM Affiliate” and collectively referred to as the “MSIM Affiliates” or as “we” below).

Each MSIM Affiliate will use its best efforts to vote proxies as part of its authority to manage, acquire and dispose of account assets.
With respect to the U.S. registered investment companies sponsored, managed or advised by any MSIM Affiliate (the “MS Funds”), each MSIM Affiliate will vote proxies under this Policy pursuant to authority granted under its applicable investment advisory agreement or, in the absence of such authority, as authorized by the Board of Directors/Trustees of the MS Funds.
 
For other pooled investment vehicles (e.g., UCITS), each MSIM Affiliate will vote proxies under this Policy pursuant to authority granted under its applicable investment advisory agreement or, in the absence of such authority, as authorized by the relevant governing board.
 
For separately managed accounts (including ERISA and ERISA-equivalent clients), each MSIM Affiliate will vote proxies under this Policy pursuant to authority granted under the applicable investment advisory agreement or investment management agreement. Where an MSIM Affiliate has the authority to vote proxies on behalf of ERISA and ERISA-equivalent clients, the MSIM Affiliate must do so in accordance with its fiduciary duties under ERISA (and the Internal Revenue Code).
 
In certain situations, a client or its fiduciary may reserve the authority to vote proxies for itself or an outside party or may provide an MSIM Affiliate with a statement of proxy voting policy. The MSIM Affiliate will comply with the client’s policy.
 
An MSIM Affiliate will not vote proxies unless the investment management agreement, investment advisory agreement or other authority explicitly authorizes the MSIM Affiliate to vote proxies.

MSIM Affiliates will vote proxies in a prudent and diligent manner and in the best interests of clients, including beneficiaries of and participants in a client’s benefit plan(s) for which the MSIM Affiliates manage assets, consistent with the objective of maximizing long-term investment returns (“Client Proxy Standard”) and this Policy. In addition to voting proxies of portfolio companies, MSIM routinely engages with, or, in some cases, may engage a third party to engage with, the management or board of companies in which we invest on a range of environmental, social and governance issues. Governance is a window into or proxy for management and board quality. MSIM engages with companies where we have larger positions, voting issues are material or where we believe we can make a positive impact on the governance structure. MSIM’s engagement process, through private communication with companies, allows us to understand the governance structures at investee companies and better inform our voting decisions.
1 This Policy does not apply to MSIM’s authority to exercise certain decision-making rights associated with investments in loans and other fixed income instruments (collectively, for purposes hereof, “Fixed Income Instruments”).
Retention and Oversight of Outsourced Proxy Voting - Certain MSIM exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) will follow Calvert Research and Management’s (“Calvert”) Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures and the Global Proxy Voting Guidelines set forth in Appendix A of the Calvert Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures. MSIM’s oversight of Calvert’s proxy voting engagement is ongoing pursuant to the 40 Act Fund Service Provider and Vendor Oversight Policy.
Retention and Oversight of Proxy Advisory Firms - Institutional Shareholder Services (“ISS”)  and Glass Lewis (together with other proxy research providers as we may retain from time to time, the “Research Providers”) are independent advisers that specialize in providing a variety of fiduciary-level proxy-related services to institutional investment managers, plan sponsors, custodians, consultants, and other institutional investors. The services provided include in-depth research, global issuer analysis, record retention, ballot processing and voting recommendations.
To facilitate proxy voting, MSIM has retained Research Providers to provide company level reports that summarize key data elements contained within an issuer’s proxy statement. Although we are aware of the voting recommendations included in the Research Providers’ company level reports, these recommendations are not an input into our vote nor is any potential vote prepopulated based on a Research Provider’s research. MSIM votes all proxies based on its own proxy voting policies, consultation with the investment
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teams, and in the best interests of each client. In addition to research, MSIM retains ISS to provide vote execution, reporting, and recordkeeping services.
As part of MSIM’s ongoing oversight of the Research Providers, MSIM performs periodic due diligence on the Research Providers. Topics of the reviews include, but are not limited to, conflicts of interest, methodologies for developing their policies and vote recommendations, and resources.
Voting Proxies for Certain Non-U.S. Companies - Voting proxies of companies located in some jurisdictions may involve several problems that can restrict or prevent the ability to vote such proxies or entail significant costs. These problems include, but are not limited to: (i) proxy statements and ballots being written in a language other than English; (ii) untimely and/or inadequate notice of shareholder meetings; (iii) restrictions on the ability of holders outside the issuer’s jurisdiction of organization to exercise votes; (iv) requirements to vote proxies in person; (v) the imposition of restrictions on the sale of the securities for a period of time in proximity to the shareholder meeting; and (vi) requirements to provide local agents with power of attorney to facilitate our voting instructions. As a result, we vote clients’ non-U.S. proxies on a best efforts basis only, after weighing the costs and benefits of voting such proxies, consistent with the Client Proxy Standard. ISS has been retained to provide assistance in connection with voting non-U.S. proxies.
Securities Lending - MS Funds or any other investment vehicle sponsored, managed or advised by an MSIM affiliate may participate in a securities lending program through a third party provider. The voting rights for shares that are out on loan are transferred to the borrower and therefore, the lender (i.e., an MS Fund or another investment vehicle sponsored, managed or advised by an MSIM affiliate) is not entitled to vote the lent shares at the company meeting. In general, MSIM believes the revenue received from the lending program outweighs the ability to vote and we will not recall shares for the purpose of voting. However, in cases in which MSIM believes the right to vote outweighs the revenue received, we reserve the right to recall the shares on loan on a best efforts basis.
II. GENERAL PROXY VOTING GUIDELINES
To promote consistency in voting proxies on behalf of our clients, we follow this Policy (subject to any exception set forth herein). As noted above, certain ETFs will follow Calvert’s Global Proxy Voting Guidelines set forth in Appendix A of Calvert’s Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures and the proxy voting guidelines discussed in this section do not apply to such ETFs. See Appendix A of Calvert’s Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures for a general discussion of the proxy voting guidelines to which these ETFs will be subject.
The Policy addresses a broad range of issues, and provides general voting parameters on proposals that arise most frequently. However, details of specific proposals vary, and those details affect particular voting decisions, as do factors specific to a given company. Pursuant to the procedures set forth herein, we may vote in a manner that is not in accordance with the following general guidelines, provided the vote is approved by the Proxy Review Committee (see Section 3) and is consistent with the Client Proxy Standard. Morgan Stanley AIP GP LP (Morgan Stanley AIP”) will follow the procedures as described in Appendix A.
We endeavor to integrate governance and proxy voting policy with investment goals, using the vote to encourage portfolio companies to enhance long-term shareholder value and to provide a high standard of transparency such that equity markets can value corporate assets appropriately.
We seek to follow the Client Proxy Standard for each client. At times, this may result in split votes, for example when different clients have varying economic interests and / or priorities reflected in their mandates with respect to the outcome of a particular voting matter (such as a case in which varied ownership interests in two companies involved in a merger result in different stakes in the outcome). We also may split votes at times based on differing views of portfolio managers.
We may abstain from or vote against matters for which disclosure is inadequate.
A. Routine Matters.
We generally support routine management proposals. The following are examples of routine management proposals:
Approval of financial statements and auditor reports if delivered with an unqualified auditor’s opinion.
 
General updating/corrective amendments to the charter, articles of association or bylaws, unless we believe that such amendments would diminish shareholder rights.
 
Most proposals related to the conduct of the annual meeting, with the following exceptions. We generally oppose proposals that relate to “the transaction of such other business which may come before the meeting,” and open-ended requests for adjournment. However, where management specifically states the reason for requesting an adjournment and the requested adjournment would facilitate passage of a proposal that would otherwise be supported under this Policy (i.e., an uncontested corporate transaction), the adjournment request will be supported. We do not support proposals that allow companies to call a special meeting with a short (generally two weeks or less) time frame for review.
 
We generally support shareholder proposals advocating confidential voting procedures and independent tabulation of voting results.
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B. Board of Directors.
1 Election of Directors: Votes on board nominees can involve balancing a variety of considerations. In vote decisions, we may take into consideration whether the company has a majority voting policy in place that we believe makes the director vote more meaningful. In the absence of a proxy contest, we generally support the board’s nominees for director except as follows:
a We consider withholding support from or voting against a nominee if we believe a direct conflict exists between the interests of the nominee and the public shareholders, including failure to meet fiduciary standards of care and/or loyalty. We may oppose directors where we conclude that actions of directors are unlawful, unethical or negligent. We consider opposing individual board members or an entire slate if we believe the board is entrenched and/or dealing inadequately with performance problems; if we believe the board is acting with insufficient independence between the board and management; or if we believe the board has not been sufficiently forthcoming with information on key governance or other material matters.
b We consider withholding support from or voting against interested directors if the company’s board does not meet market standards for director independence, or if otherwise we believe board independence is insufficient. We refer to prevalent market standards as promulgated by a stock exchange or other authority within a given market (e.g., New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq rules for most U.S. companies, and The Combined Code on Corporate Governance in the United Kingdom). Thus, for an NYSE company with no controlling shareholder, we would expect that at a minimum a majority of directors should be independent as defined by NYSE. Where we view market standards as inadequate, we may withhold votes based on stronger independence standards. Market standards notwithstanding, we generally do not view long board tenure alone as a basis to classify a director as non-independent.
i At a company with a shareholder or group that controls the company by virtue of a majority economic interest in the company, we have a reduced expectation for board independence, although we believe the presence of independent directors can be helpful, particularly in staffing the audit committee, and at times we may withhold support from or vote against a nominee on the view the board or its committees are not sufficiently independent. In markets where board independence is not the norm (e.g. Japan), however, we consider factors including whether a board of a controlled company includes independent members who can be expected to look out for interests of minority holders.
ii We consider withholding support from or voting against a nominee if he or she is affiliated with a major shareholder that has representation on a board disproportionate to its economic interest.
c Depending on market standards, we consider withholding support from or voting against a nominee who is interested and who is standing for election as a member of the company’s compensation/remuneration, nominating/governance or audit committee.
d We consider withholding support from or voting against nominees if the term for which they are nominated is excessive. We consider this issue on a market-specific basis.
e We consider withholding support from or voting against nominees if in our view there has been insufficient board renewal (turnover), particularly in the context of extended poor company performance. Also, if the board has failed to consider diversity, including but not limited to, gender and ethnicity, in its board composition.
f We consider withholding support from or voting against a nominee standing for election if the board has not taken action to implement generally accepted governance practices for which there is a “bright line” test. For example, in the context of the U.S. market, failure to eliminate a dead hand or slow hand poison pill would be seen as a basis for opposing one or more incumbent nominees.
g In markets that encourage designated audit committee financial experts, we consider voting against members of an audit committee if no members are designated as such. We also consider voting against the audit committee members if the company has faced financial reporting issues and/or does not put the auditor up for ratification by shareholders.
h We believe investors should have the ability to vote on individual nominees, and may abstain or vote against a slate of nominees where we are not given the opportunity to vote on individual nominees.
i We consider withholding support from or voting against a nominee who has failed to attend at least 75% of the nominee’s board and board committee meetings within a given year without a reasonable excuse. We also consider opposing nominees if the company does not meet market standards for disclosure on attendance.
j We consider withholding support from or voting against a nominee who appears overcommitted, particularly through service on an excessive number of boards. Market expectations are incorporated into this analysis; for U.S. boards, we generally oppose election of a nominee who serves on more than five public company boards (excluding investment companies), or public company CEOs that serve on more than two outside boards given level of time commitment required in their primary job.
k We consider withholding support from or voting against a nominee where we believe executive remuneration practices are poor, particularly if the company does not offer shareholders a separate “say-on-pay” advisory vote on pay.
 
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2 Discharge of Directors’ Duties: In markets where an annual discharge of directors’ responsibility is a routine agenda item, we generally support such discharge. However, we may vote against discharge or abstain from voting where there are serious findings of fraud or other unethical behavior for which the individual bears responsibility. The annual discharge of responsibility represents shareholder approval of disclosed actions taken by the board during the year and may make future shareholder action against the board difficult to pursue.
3 Board Independence: We generally support U.S. shareholder proposals requiring that a certain percentage (up to 66⅔%) of the company’s board members be independent directors, and promoting all-independent audit, compensation and nominating/governance committees.
4 Board Diversity: We generally support shareholder proposals urging diversity of board membership with respect to gender, race or other factors where we believe the board has failed to take these factors into account. We will also consider not supporting the re-election of the nomination committee and/or chair (or other resolutions when the nomination chair is not up for re- election) where we perceive limited progress in gender diversity, with the expectation where feasible and with consideration of any idiosyncrasies of individual markets, that female directors represent not less than a third of the board, unless there is evidence that the company has made significant progress in this area. In markets where information on director ethnicity is available, and it is legal to obtain it, and where it is relevant, we will generally also consider not supporting the re-election of the nomination committee chair (or other resolutions when the nomination chair is not up for re-election) if the board lacks ethnic diversity and has not outlined a credible diversity strategy.
5 Majority Voting: We generally support proposals requesting or requiring majority voting policies in election of directors, so long as there is a carve-out for plurality voting in the case of contested elections.
6 Proxy Access: We consider proposals on procedures for inclusion of shareholder nominees and to have those nominees included in the company’s proxy statement and on the company’s proxy ballot on a case-by-case basis. Considerations include ownership thresholds, holding periods, the number of directors that shareholders may nominate and any restrictions on forming a group
7 Reimbursement for Dissident Nominees: We generally support well-crafted U.S. shareholder proposals that would provide for reimbursement of dissident nominees elected to a board, as the cost to shareholders in electing such nominees can be factored into the voting decision on those nominees.
8 Proposals to Elect Directors More Frequently: In the U.S. public company context, we usually support shareholder and management proposals to elect all directors annually (to “declassify” the board), although we make an exception to this policy where we believe that long-term shareholder value may be harmed by this change given particular circumstances at the company at the time of the vote on such proposal. As indicated above, outside the United States, we generally support greater accountability to shareholders that comes through more frequent director elections, but recognize that many markets embrace longer term lengths, sometimes for valid reasons given other aspects of the legal context in electing boards.
9 Cumulative Voting: We generally support proposals to eliminate cumulative voting in the U.S. market context. (Cumulative voting provides that shareholders may concentrate their votes for one or a handful of candidates, a system that can enable a minority bloc to place representation on a board.) U.S. proposals to establish cumulative voting in the election of directors generally will not be supported.
10 Separation of Chairman and CEO Positions: We vote on shareholder proposals to separate the Chairman and CEO positions and/or to appoint an independent Chairman based in part on prevailing practice in particular markets, since the context for such a practice varies. In many non-U.S. markets, we view separation of the roles as a market standard practice, and support division of the roles in that context. In the United States, we consider such proposals on a case-by-case basis, considering, among other things, the existing board leadership structure, company performance, and any evidence of entrenchment or perceived risk that power is overly concentrated in a single individual.
11 Director Retirement Age and Term Limits: Proposals setting or recommending director retirement ages or director term limits are voted on a case-by-case basis that includes consideration of company performance, the rate of board renewal, evidence of effective individual director evaluation processes, and any indications of entrenchment.
12 Proposals to Limit Directors’ Liability and/or Broaden Indemnification of Officers and Directors: Generally, we will support such proposals provided that an individual is eligible only if he or she has not acted in bad faith, with gross negligence or with reckless disregard of their duties.
 
C. Statutory Auditor Boards
The statutory auditor board, which is separate from the main board of directors, plays a role in corporate governance in several markets. These boards are elected by shareholders to provide assurance on compliance with legal and accounting standards and the company’s articles of association. We generally vote for statutory auditor nominees if they meet independence standards. In markets that require disclosure on attendance by internal statutory auditors, however, we consider voting against nominees for these positions who failed to attend at least 75% of meetings in the previous year. We also consider opposing nominees if the company does not meet market standards for disclosure on attendance.
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D. Corporate Transactions and Proxy Fights.
We examine proposals relating to mergers, acquisitions and other special corporate transactions (i.e., takeovers, spin-offs, sales of assets, reorganizations, restructurings and recapitalizations) on a case-by-case basis in the interests of each  fund or other account. Proposals for mergers or other significant transactions that are friendly and approved by the Research Providers usually are supported if there is no portfolio manager objection. We also analyze proxy contests on a case-by-case basis.
E. Changes in Capital Structure.
1 We generally support the following:
Management and shareholder proposals aimed at eliminating unequal voting rights, assuming fair economic treatment of classes of shares we hold.
U.S. management proposals to increase the authorization of existing classes of common stock (or securities convertible into common stock) if: (i) a clear business purpose is stated that we can support and the number of shares requested is reasonable in relation to the purpose for which authorization is requested; and/or (ii) the authorization does not exceed 100% of shares currently authorized and at least 30% of the total new authorization will be outstanding. (We consider proposals that do not meet these criteria on a case-by-case basis.)
U.S. management proposals to create a new class of preferred stock or for issuances of preferred stock up to 50% of issued capital, unless we have concerns about use of the authority for anti-takeover purposes.
Proposals in non-U.S. markets that in our view appropriately limit potential dilution of existing shareholders. A major consideration is whether existing shareholders would have preemptive rights for any issuance under a proposal for standing share issuance authority. We generally consider market-specific guidance in making these decisions; for example, in the U.K. market we usually follow Association of British Insurers’ (“ABI”) guidance, although company-specific factors may be considered and for example, may sometimes lead us to voting against share authorization proposals even if they meet ABI guidance.
Management proposals to authorize share repurchase plans, except in some cases in which we believe there are insufficient protections against use of an authorization for anti-takeover purposes.
Management proposals to reduce the number of authorized shares of common or preferred stock, or to eliminate classes of preferred stock.
Management proposals to effect stock splits.
Management proposals to effect reverse stock splits if management proportionately reduces the authorized share amount set forth in the corporate charter. Reverse stock splits that do not adjust proportionately to the authorized share amount generally will be approved if the resulting increase in authorized shares coincides with the proxy guidelines set forth above for common stock increases.
Management dividend payout proposals, except where we perceive company payouts to shareholders as inadequate.
2 We generally oppose the following (notwithstanding management support):
Proposals to add classes of stock that would substantially dilute the voting interests of existing shareholders.
Proposals to increase the authorized or issued number of shares of existing classes of stock that are unreasonably dilutive, particularly if there are no preemptive rights for existing shareholders. However, depending on market practices, we consider voting for proposals giving general authorization for issuance of shares not subject to preemptive rights if the authority is limited.
Proposals that authorize share issuance at a discount to market rates, except where authority for such issuance is de minimis, or if there is a special situation that we believe justifies such authorization (as may be the case, for example, at a company under severe stress and risk of bankruptcy).
Proposals relating to changes in capitalization by 100% or more.
 
We consider on a case-by-case basis shareholder proposals to increase dividend payout ratios, in light of market practice and perceived market weaknesses, as well as individual company payout history and current circumstances. For example, currently we perceive low payouts to shareholders as a concern at some Japanese companies, but may deem a low payout ratio as appropriate for a growth company making good use of its cash, notwithstanding the broader market concern.
F. Takeover Defenses and Shareholder Rights
1 Shareholder Rights Plans: We generally support proposals to require shareholder approval or ratification of shareholder rights plans (poison pills). In voting on rights plans or similar takeover defenses, we consider on a case-by-case basis whether the company has demonstrated a need for the defense in the context of promoting long-term share value; whether provisions of the defense are in line with generally accepted governance principles in the market (and specifically the presence of an adequate
 
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qualified offer provision that would exempt offers meeting certain conditions from the pill); and the specific context if the proposal is made in the midst of a takeover bid or contest for control.
2 Supermajority  Voting Requirements: We generally oppose requirements for supermajority votes to amend the charter or bylaws, unless the provisions protect minority shareholders where there is a large shareholder. In line with this view, in the absence of a large shareholder we support reasonable shareholder proposals to limit such supermajority voting requirements. Also, we oppose provisions that do not allow shareholders any right to amend the charter of bylaws.
3 Shareholders Right to Call a Special Meeting: We consider proposals to enhance a shareholder’s rights to call meetings on a case-by-case basis. At large-cap U.S. companies, we generally support efforts to establish the right of holders of 10% or more of shares to call special meetings, unless the board or state law has set a policy or law establishing such rights at a threshold that we believe to be acceptable.
4 Written Consent Rights: In the U.S. context, we examine proposals for shareholder written consent rights on a case-by-case basis.
5 Reincorporation: We consider management and shareholder proposals to reincorporate to a different jurisdiction on a case-by-case basis. We oppose such proposals if we believe the main purpose is to take advantage of laws or judicial precedents that reduce shareholder rights.
6 Anti-greenmail Provisions: Proposals relating to the adoption of anti-greenmail provisions will be supported, provided that the proposal: (i) defines greenmail; (ii) prohibits buyback offers to large block holders (holders of at least 1% of the outstanding shares and in certain cases, a greater amount) not made to all shareholders or not approved by disinterested shareholders; and (iii) contains no anti-takeover measures or other provisions restricting the rights of shareholders.
7 Bundled Proposals: We may consider opposing or abstaining on proposals if disparate issues are “bundled” and presented for a single vote.
 
G. Auditors
We generally support management proposals for selection or ratification of independent auditors. However, we may consider opposing such proposals with reference to incumbent audit firms if the company has suffered from serious accounting irregularities and we believe rotation of the audit firm is appropriate, or if fees paid to the auditor for non-audit-related services are excessive. Generally, to determine if non-audit fees are excessive, a 50% test will be applied (i.e., non-audit-related fees should be less than 50% of the total fees paid to the auditor). We generally vote against proposals to indemnify auditors.
H. Executive and Director Remuneration
1 We generally support the following:
Proposals for employee equity compensation plans and other employee ownership plans, provided that our research does not indicate that approval of the plan would be against shareholder interest. Such approval may be against shareholder interest if it authorizes excessive dilution and shareholder cost, particularly in the context of high usage (“run rate”) of equity compensation in the recent past; or if there are objectionable plan design and provisions.
Proposals relating to fees to outside directors, provided the amounts are not excessive relative to other companies in the country or industry, and provided that the structure is appropriate within the market context. While stock-based compensation to outside directors is positive if moderate and appropriately structured, we are wary of significant stock option awards or other performance-based awards for outside directors, as well as provisions that could result in significant forfeiture of value on a director’s decision to resign from a board (such forfeiture can undercut director independence).
Proposals for employee stock purchase plans that permit discounts, but only for grants that are part of a broad-based employee plan, including all non-executive employees, and only if the discounts are limited to a reasonable market standard or less.
Proposals for the establishment of employee retirement and severance plans, provided that our research does not indicate that approval of the plan would be against shareholder interest.
2 We generally oppose retirement plans and bonuses for non-executive directors and independent statutory auditors.
3 In the U.S. context, we generally vote against shareholder proposals requiring shareholder approval of all severance agreements, but we generally support proposals that require shareholder approval for agreements in excess of three times the annual compensation (salary and bonus) or proposals that require companies to adopt a provision requiring an executive to receive accelerated vesting of equity awards if there is a change of control and the executive is terminated. We generally oppose shareholder proposals that would establish arbitrary caps on pay. We consider on a case-by-case basis shareholder proposals that seek to limit Supplemental Executive Retirement Plans (SERPs), but support such shareholder proposals where we consider SERPs excessive.
4 Shareholder proposals advocating stronger and/or particular pay-for-performance models will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, with consideration of the merits of the individual proposal within the context of the particular company and its labor
 
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markets, and the company’s current and past practices. While we generally support emphasis on long-term components of senior executive pay and strong linkage of pay to performance, we consider factors including whether a proposal may be overly prescriptive, and the impact of the proposal, if implemented as written, on recruitment and retention.
5 We generally support proposals advocating reasonable senior executive and director stock ownership guidelines and holding requirements for shares gained in executive equity compensation programs.
6 We generally support shareholder proposals for reasonable “claw-back” provisions that provide for company recovery of senior executive bonuses to the extent they were based on achieving financial benchmarks that were not actually met in light of subsequent restatements.
7 Management proposals effectively to re-price stock options are considered on a case-by-case basis. Considerations include the company’s reasons and justifications for a re-pricing, the company’s competitive position, whether senior executives and outside directors are excluded, potential cost to shareholders, whether the re-pricing or share exchange is on a value-for-value basis, and whether vesting requirements are extended.
8 Say-on-Pay: We consider proposals relating to an advisory vote on remuneration on a case-by-case basis. Considerations include a review of the relationship between executive remuneration and performance based on operating trends and total shareholder return over multiple performance periods. In addition, we review remuneration structures and potential poor pay practices, including relative magnitude of pay, discretionary bonus awards, tax gross ups, change-in-control features, internal pay equity and peer group construction. As long-term investors, we support remuneration policies that align with long-term shareholder returns.
 
I. Social and Environmental Issues. Shareholders in the United States and certain other markets submit proposals encouraging changes in company disclosure and practices related to particular social and environmental matters. MSIM believes that relevant social and environmental issues, including principal adverse sustainability impacts, can influence risk and return. Consequently, we  consider how to vote on proposals related to social and environmental issues on a case-by-case basis by determining the relevance of social and environmental issues identified in the proposal and their likely impacts on shareholder value. In reviewing proposals on social and environmental issues, we consider a company’s current disclosures and our understanding of the company’s management of material social and environmental issues in comparison to peers. We seek to balance concerns on reputational and other risks that lie behind a proposal against costs of implementation, while considering appropriate shareholder and management prerogatives. We may abstain from voting on proposals that do not have a readily determinable financial impact on shareholder value and we may oppose proposals that intrude excessively on management prerogatives and/or board discretion. We generally vote against proposals requesting reports or actions that we believe are duplicative, related to matters not material to the business, or that would impose unnecessary or excessive costs. We consider proposals on these sustainability risks, opportunities and impacts on a case-by-case basis but generally support proposals that seek to enhance useful disclosure. We focus on understanding the company’s business and commercial context and recognise that there is no one size fits all that can apply to all companies. In assessing and prioritising proposals, we carefully reflect on the materiality of the issues as well as the sector and geography in which the company operates. We also consider the explanation companies provide where they may depart from best practice to assess the adequacy and appropriateness of measures that are in place.
Environmental Issues
We generally support proposals that, if implemented, would enhance useful disclosure on climate, biodiversity, and other environmental risks such as disclosures aligned with SASB (Sustainability Accounting Standards Board) and the TCFD (Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures). We also generally support proposals that aim to meaningfully reduce or mitigate a company’s impact on the global climate. We generally will support reasonable proposals to reduce negative environmental impacts and ameliorate a company’s overall environmental footprint, including any threats to biodiversity in ecologically sensitive areas. We generally will also support proposals asking companies to report on their environmental practices, policies and impacts, including environmental damage and health risks resulting from operations, and the impact of environmental liabilities on shareholder value.
Social Issues
We generally support proposals that, if implemented, would enhance useful disclosure on employee and board diversity, including gender, race, and other factors. We consider proposals on other social issues on a case-by-case basis but generally support proposals that:
Seek to enhance useful disclosure or improvements on material issues such as human rights risks, supply chain management. workplace safety, human capital management and pay equity.
 
Encourage policies to eliminate gender-based violence and other forms of harassment from the workplace.
 
We may consider withholding support where we have material concerns in relation to a company’s involvement/remediation of a breach of global conventions such as UN Global Compact Principles on Human Rights, Labour Standards, Environment and Business Malpractice
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J. Funds of Funds. Certain MS Funds advised by an MSIM Affiliate invest only in other MS Funds. If an underlying fund has a shareholder meeting, in order to avoid any potential conflict of interest, such proposals will be voted in the same proportion as the votes of the other shareholders of the underlying fund, unless otherwise determined by the Proxy Review Committee. In markets where proportional voting is not available we will not vote at the meeting, unless otherwise determined by the Proxy Review Committee. Other MS Funds invest in unaffiliated funds. If an unaffiliated underlying fund has a shareholder meeting and the MS Fund owns more than 25% of the voting shares of the underlying fund, the MS Fund will vote its shares in the unaffiliated underlying fund in the same proportion as the votes of the other shareholders of the underlying fund to the extent possible.
Voting Conditions Triggered Under Rule 12d1-4
Rule 12d1-4 sets forth the conditions under which a registered fund (“acquiring fund”) may invest in excess of the statutory limits of Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act (for example by owning more than 3% of the total outstanding voting stock) in another registered fund (“acquired fund”). In the event that a Morgan Stanley “acquiring fund” invests in an “acquired fund” in reliance on Rule 12d1-4 under the 1940 Act, and the MS Fund and its “advisory group” (as defined in Rule 12d1-4) hold more than (i) 25% of the total outstanding voting stock of a particular open-end fund (including ETFs) or (ii) 10% of the total outstanding voting stock of a particular closed-end fund, the Morgan Stanley “acquiring fund” and its “advisory group” will be required to vote all shares of the open- or closed-end fund held by the fund and its “advisory group” in the same proportion as the votes of the other shareholders of the open- or closed-end fund.
Because MSIM and Eaton Vance are generally considered part of the same “advisory group,” an Eaton Vance “acquiring fund” that is required to comply with the voting conditions set forth in Rule 12d1-4 could potentially implicate voting conditions for a MS Fund invested in the same open- or closed-end fund as the Eaton Vance “acquiring fund.” The Committee will be notified by Compliance if the conditions are triggered for a particular open- or closed-end fund holding in an MS Fund. In the event that the voting conditions in Rule 12d1-4 are triggered, please refer to the Morgan Stanley Funds Fund of Funds Investment Policy for specific information on Rule 12d1-4 voting requirements and exceptions.
III. ADMINISTRATION OF THE POLICY
The MSIM Proxy Review Committee (the “Committee”) has overall responsibility for the Policy. The Committee consists of investment professionals who represent the different investment disciplines and geographic locations of MSIM, and is chaired by the director of the Global Stewardship Team (“GST”). Because proxy voting is an investment responsibility and may affect shareholder value, and because of their knowledge of companies and markets as well as their understanding of their clients’ objectives, portfolio managers and other members of investment staff play a key role in proxy voting, and the GST will consult with investment teams ahead of decisions on proxy votes. Consequently, there may be instances where we may split votes at times based on differing views of portfolio managers and / or different client objectives. The GST administers and implements the Policy, as well as monitoring services provided by the proxy advisory firms, third-party proxy engagements and other research providers used in the proxy voting process. As noted above, certain ETFs will follow Calvert’s Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures, which is administered by Calvert’s Proxy Voting and Engagement Department and overseen by Calvert’s Proxy Voting and Engagement Committee. The GST periodically monitors Calvert’s proxy voting with respect to securities held by the ETFs.
The GST Director is responsible for identifying issues that require Committee deliberation or ratification. The GST, working with advice of investment teams and the Committee, is responsible for voting on routine items and on matters that can be addressed in line with these Policy guidelines. The GST has responsibility for voting case-by-case where guidelines and precedent provide adequate guidance.
The Committee may periodically review and has the authority to amend, as necessary, the Policy and establish and direct voting positions consistent with the Client Proxy Standard.
GST and members of the Committee may take into account Research Providers’ recommendations and research as well as any other relevant information they may request or receive, including portfolio manager and/or analyst comments and research, as applicable. Generally, proxies related to securities held in client accounts that are managed pursuant to quantitative, index or index-like strategies (“Index Strategies”) will be voted in the same manner as those held in actively managed accounts, unless economic interests or investment guidelines of the accounts differ. Because accounts managed using Index Strategies are passively managed accounts, research from portfolio managers and/or analysts related to securities held in these accounts may not be available. If the affected securities are held only in accounts that are managed pursuant to Index Strategies, and the proxy relates to a matter that is not described in this Policy, the GST will consider all available information from the Research Providers, and to the extent that the holdings are significant, from the portfolio managers and/or analysts.
A. Committee Procedures
The Committee meets at least quarterly, and reviews and considers changes to the Policy at least annually. Through meetings and/or written communications, the Committee is responsible for monitoring and ratifying material “split votes” (i.e., allowing certain shares of the same issuer that are the subject of the same proxy solicitation and held by one or more MSIM portfolios to be voted
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differently than other shares) and/or “override voting” (i.e., voting all MSIM portfolio shares in a manner contrary to the Policy). The Committee will review developing issues and approve upcoming votes, as appropriate, for matters as requested by GST.
The Committee reserves the right to review voting decisions at any time and to make voting decisions as necessary to ensure the independence and integrity of the votes.
B. Material Conflicts of Interest
In addition to the procedures discussed above, if the GST Director determines that an issue raises a material conflict of interest, the GST Director may request a special committee (“Special Committee”) to review, and recommend a course of action with respect to, the conflict(s) in question.
A potential material conflict of interest could exist in the following situations, among others:
1 The issuer soliciting the vote is a client of MSIM or an affiliate of MSIM and the vote is on a matter that materially affects the issuer.
2 The proxy relates to Morgan Stanley common stock or any other security issued by Morgan Stanley or its affiliates except if echo voting is used, as with MS Funds, as described herein.
3 Morgan Stanley has a material pecuniary interest in the matter submitted for a vote (e.g., acting as a financial advisor to a party to a merger or acquisition for which Morgan Stanley will be paid a success fee if completed).  
4 One of Morgan Stanley’s independent directors or one of MS Funds’ directors also serves on the board of directors or is a nominee for election to the board of directors of a company held by an MS Fund or affiliate.
 
If the GST Director determines that an issue raises a potential material conflict of interest, depending on the facts and circumstances, the issue will be addressed as follows:
1 If the matter relates to a topic that is discussed in this Policy, the proposal will be voted as per the Policy.
2 If the matter is not discussed in this Policy or the Policy indicates that the issue is to be decided case-by-case, the proposal will be voted in a manner consistent with the Research Providers, provided that all the Research Providers consulted have the same recommendation, no portfolio manager objects to that vote, and the vote is consistent with MSIM’s Client Proxy Standard.
3 If the Research Providers’ recommendations differ, the GST Director will refer the matter to a Special Committee to vote on the proposal, as appropriate.
 
Any Special Committee shall be comprised of the GST Director, and at least two portfolio managers (preferably members of the Committee), as approved by the Committee. The GST Director may request non-voting participation by MSIM’s General Counsel or his/her designee and the Chief Compliance Officer or his/her designee. In addition to the research provided by Research Providers, the Special Committee may request analysis from MSIM Affiliate investment professionals and outside sources to the extent it deems appropriate.
C. Proxy Voting Reporting
The CGT will document in writing all Committee and Special Committee decisions and actions, which documentation will be maintained by the GST for a period of at least six years. To the extent these decisions relate to a security held by an MS Fund, the GST will report the decisions to each applicable Board of Trustees/Directors of those MS Funds (the “Board”) at each Board’s next regularly scheduled Board meeting. The report will contain information concerning decisions made during the most recently ended calendar quarter immediately preceding the Board meeting.
In addition, to the extent that Committee and Special Committee decisions and actions relate to a security held by other pooled investment vehicles, the GST will report the decisions to the relevant governing board of the pooled investment vehicle.
MSIM will promptly provide a copy of this Policy to any client requesting it. MSIM will also, upon client request, promptly provide a report indicating how each proxy was voted with respect to securities held in that client’s account.
MSIM’s Legal Department, in conjunction with GST and GST IT for MS Fund reporting and with the AIP investment team for AIP Closed-End 40 Act Fund reporting, is responsible for filing an annual Form N-PX on behalf of each MS Fund and AIP Closed-End 40 Act Fund for which such filing is required, indicating how all proxies were voted with respect to each such fund’s holdings.
Also, MSIM maintains voting records of individual agenda items a company meetings in a searchable database on its website on a rolling 12-month basis.
In addition, ISS provides vote execution, reporting and recordkeeping services to MSIM.
IV. RECORDKEEPING
Records are retained in accordance with Morgan Stanley’s Global Information Management Policy, which establishes general Firm-wide standards and procedures regarding the retention, handling, and destruction of official books and records and other information
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of legal or operational significance. The Global Information Management Policy incorporates Morgan Stanley’s Master Retention Schedule, which lists various record classes and associated retention periods on a global basis.
Approved by the Board September 2015, September 27-28, 2016, September 27-28, 2017, October 3-4, 2018, September 24-25, 2019, September 30-October 1, 2020, March 1-2, 2022; December 7-8, 2022.
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APPENDIX A
Appendix A applies to the following accounts managed by Morgan Stanley AIP GP LP (i) closed-end funds registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended; (ii) discretionary separate accounts; (iii) unregistered funds; and (iv) non-discretionary accounts offered in connection with AIP’s Custom Advisory Portfolio Solutions service.
Generally, AIP will follow the guidelines set forth in Section II of MSIM’s Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures. To the extent that such guidelines do not provide specific direction, or AIP determines that consistent with the Client Proxy Standard, the guidelines should not be followed, the Proxy Review Committee has delegated the voting authority to vote securities held by accounts managed by AIP to the Fund of Hedge Funds investment team, the Private Markets investment team or the Portfolio Solutions team of AIP. A summary of decisions made by the applicable investment teams will be made available to the Proxy Review Committee for its information at the next scheduled meeting of the Proxy Review Committee.
In certain cases, AIP may determine to abstain from determining (or recommending) how a proxy should be voted (and therefore abstain from voting such proxy or recommending how such proxy should be voted), such as where the expected cost of giving due consideration to the proxy does not justify the potential benefits to the affected account(s) that might result from adopting or rejecting (as the case may be) the measure in question.
Waiver of Voting Rights
For regulatory reasons, AIP may either 1) invest in a class of securities of an underlying fund (the “Fund”) that does not provide for voting rights; or 2) waive 100% of its voting rights with respect to the following:
1 Any rights with respect to the removal or replacement of a director, general partner, managing member or other person acting in a similar capacity for or on behalf of the Fund (each individually a “Designated Person,” and collectively, the “Designated Persons”), which may include, but are not limited to, voting on the election or removal of a Designated Person in the event of such Designated Person’s death, disability, insolvency, bankruptcy, incapacity, or other event requiring a vote of interest holders of the Fund to remove or replace a Designated Person; and
2 Any rights in connection with a determination to renew, dissolve, liquidate, or otherwise terminate or continue the Fund, which may include, but are not limited to, voting on the renewal, dissolution, liquidation, termination or continuance of the Fund upon the occurrence of an event described in the Fund’s organizational documents; provided, however, that, if the Fund’s organizational documents require the consent of the Fund’s general partner or manager, as the case may be, for any such termination or continuation of the Fund to be effective, then AIP may exercise its voting rights with respect to such matter.
 
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APPENDIX B — DESCRIPTION OF RATINGS
Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services
An S&P Global Ratings issue credit rating is a forward-looking opinion about the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to a specific financial obligation, a specific class of financial obligations, or a specific financial program (including ratings on medium-term note programs and commercial paper programs). It takes into consideration the creditworthiness of guarantors, insurers, or other forms of credit enhancement on the obligation and takes into account the currency in which the obligation is denominated. The opinion reflects S&P Global Ratings’ view of the obligor’s capacity and willingness to meet its financial commitments as they come due, and this opinion may assess terms, such as collateral security and subordination, which could affect ultimate payment in the event of default.
Issue credit ratings can be either long-term or short-term. Short-term ratings are generally assigned to those obligations considered short-term in the relevant market. Short-term ratings are also used to indicate the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to put features on long-term obligations. Medium-term notes are assigned long-term ratings.
I. S&P’s Long-Term Issue Credit Ratings
AAA: An obligation rated ‘AAA’ has the highest rating assigned by S&P Global Ratings. The obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation is extremely strong.
AA: An obligation rated ‘AA’ differs from the highest-rated obligations only to a small degree. The obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation is very strong.
A: An obligation rated ‘A’ is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher-rated categories. However, the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation is still strong.
BBB: An obligation rated ‘BBB’ exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to weaken the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation.
BB; B; CCC; CC; and C: Obligations rated ‘BB’, ‘B’, ‘CCC’, ‘CC’, and ‘C’ are regarded as having significant speculative characteristics. ‘BB’ indicates the least degree of speculation and ‘C’ the highest. While such obligations will likely have some quality and protective characteristics, these may be outweighed by large uncertainties or major exposure to adverse conditions.
BB: An obligation rated ‘BB’ is less vulnerable to nonpayment than other speculative issues. However, it faces major ongoing uncertainties or exposure to adverse business, financial, or economic conditions that could lead to the obligor’s inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation.
B: An obligation rated ‘B’ is more vulnerable to nonpayment than obligations rated ‘BB’, but the obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation. Adverse business, financial, or economic conditions will likely impair the obligor’s capacity or willingness to meet its financial commitments on the obligation.
CCC: An obligation rated ‘CCC’ is currently vulnerable to nonpayment and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitments on the obligation. In the event of adverse business, financial, or economic conditions, the obligor is not likely to have the capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation.
CC: An obligation rated ‘CC’ is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment. The ‘CC’ rating is used when a default has not yet occurred but S&P Global Ratings expects default to be a virtual certainty, regardless of the anticipated time to default.
C:  An obligation rated ‘C’ is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment, and the obligation is expected to have lower relative seniority or lower ultimate recovery compared with obligations that are rated higher.
D:  An obligation rated ‘D’ is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the ‘D’ rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless S&P Global Ratings believes that such payments will be made within five business days in the absence of a stated grace period or within the earlier of the stated grace period or 30 calendar days. The ‘D’ rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions.  A rating on an obligation is lowered to ‘D’ if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer.
NR:  Indicates that a rating has not been assigned or is no longer assigned.
Note: Ratings from ‘AA’ to ‘CCC’ may be modified by the addition of a plus (+) or minus (-) sign to show relative standing within the rating categories.
II. S&P’s Short-Term Issue Credit Ratings
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A-1: A short-term obligation rated ‘A-1’ is rated in the highest category by S&P Global Ratings. The obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation is strong. Within this category, certain obligations are designated with a plus sign (+). This indicates that the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitments on these obligations is extremely strong.
A-2: A short-term obligation rated ‘A-2’ is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher rating categories. However, the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation is satisfactory.
A-3: A short-term obligation rated ‘A-3’ exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to weaken an obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation.
B: A short-term obligation rated ‘B’ is regarded as vulnerable and has significant speculative characteristics. The obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitments; however, it faces major ongoing uncertainties that could lead to the obligor’s inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitments.
C: A short-term obligation rated ‘C’ is currently vulnerable to nonpayment and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitments on the obligation.
D: A short-term obligation rated ‘D’ is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the ‘D’ rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless S&P Global Ratings believes that such payments will be made within any stated grace period. However, any stated grace period longer than five business days will be treated as five business days. The ‘D’ rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of a similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions.  A rating on an obligation is lowered to ‘D’ if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer.
NR: Indicates that a rating has not been assigned or is no longer assigned.
III. Municipal Short-Term Note Ratings
SP-1: Strong capacity to pay principal and interest. An issue determined to possess a very strong capacity to pay debt service is given a plus (+) designation.
SP-2: Satisfactory capacity to pay principal and interest, with some vulnerability to adverse financial and economic changes over the term of the notes.
SP-3: Speculative capacity to pay principal and interest.
D: ‘D’ is assigned upon failure to pay the note when due, completion of a distressed exchange offer, or the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of similar action anywhere default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example, due to automatic stay provisions.
Moody’s Investors, Inc.
Ratings assigned on Moody’s global long-term and short-term rating scales are forward-looking opinions of the relative credit risks of financial obligations issued by non-financial corporates, financial institutions, structured finance vehicles, project finance vehicles, and public sector entities. Long-term ratings are assigned to issuers or obligations with an original maturity of one year or more and reflect both on the likelihood of a default on contractually promised payments and the expected financial loss suffered in the event of default. Short-term ratings are assigned to obligations with an original maturity of thirteen months or less and reflect both on the likelihood of a default on contractually promised payments and the expected financial loss suffered in the event of default.
I. Moody’s Global Long-Term Rating Scale
Aaa: Obligations rated Aaa are judged to be of the highest quality, subject to the lowest level of credit risk.
Aa: Obligations rated Aa are judged to be of high quality and are subject to very low credit risk.
A: Obligations rated A are judged to be upper-medium grade and are subject to low credit risk.
Baa: Obligations rated Baa are judged to be medium-grade and subject to moderate credit risk and as such may possess certain speculative characteristics.
Ba: Obligations rated Ba are judged to be speculative and are subject to substantial credit risk.
B: Obligations rated B are considered speculative and are subject to high credit risk.
Caa: Obligations rated Caa are judged to be speculative of poor standing and are subject to very high credit risk.
Ca: Obligations rated Ca are highly speculative and are likely in, or very near, default, with some prospect of recovery of principal and interest.
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C: Obligations rated C are the lowest rated and are typically in default, with little prospect for recovery of principal or interest.
Note: Moody’s appends numerical modifiers 1, 2, and 3 to each generic rating classification from Aa through Caa. The modifier 1 indicates that the obligation ranks in the higher end of its generic rating category; the modifier 2 indicates a mid-range ranking; and the modifier 3 indicates a ranking in the lower end of that generic rating category. Additionally, a “(hyb)” indicator is appended to all ratings of hybrid securities issued by banks, insurers, finance companies, and securities firms.
II. Moody’s Global Short-Term Rating Scale
P-1: Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-1 have a superior ability to repay short-term debt obligations.
P-2: Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-2 have a strong ability to repay short-term debt obligations.
P-3: Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-3 have an acceptable ability to repay short-term obligations.
NP: Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Not Prime do not fall within any of the Prime rating categories.
Fitch Ratings Inc.
Fitch Ratings’ credit ratings relating to issuers are an opinion on the relative ability of an entity to meet financial commitments, such as interest, preferred dividends, repayment of principal, insurance claims or counterparty obligations. Credit ratings relating to securities and obligations of an issuer can include a recovery expectation. Credit ratings are used by investors as indications of the likelihood of receiving the money owed to them in accordance with the terms on which they invested. The agency’s credit ratings cover the global spectrum of corporate, sovereign financial, bank, insurance, and public finance entities (including supranational and sub-national entities) and the securities or other obligations they issue, as well as structured finance securities backed by receivables or other financial assets.
I. Fitch’s Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating Scale
AAA: Highest credit quality. ‘AAA’ ratings denote the lowest expectation of default risk. They are assigned only in cases of exceptionally strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is highly unlikely to be adversely affected by foreseeable events.
AA: Very high credit quality. ‘AA’ ratings denote expectations of very low default risk. They indicate very strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is not significantly vulnerable to foreseeable events.
A: High credit quality. ‘A’ ratings denote expectations of low default risk. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered strong. This capacity may, nevertheless, be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic conditions than is the case for higher ratings.
BBB: Good credit quality. ‘BBB’ ratings indicate that expectations of default risk are currently low. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered adequate, but adverse business or economic conditions are more likely to impair this capacity.
BB: Speculative. ‘BB’ ratings indicate an elevated vulnerability to default risk, particularly in the event of adverse changes in business or economic conditions over time; however, business or financial flexibility exists that supports the servicing of financial commitments.
B: Highly speculative. ‘B’ ratings indicate that material default risk is present, but a limited margin of safety remains. Financial commitments are currently being met; however, capacity for continued payment is vulnerable to deterioration in the business and economic environment.
CCC: Substantial credit risk. Default is a real possibility.
CC: Very high levels of credit risk. Default of some kind appears probable.
C:  Near default.  A default or default-like process has begun, or the issuer is in standstill, or for a closed funding vehicle, payment capacity is irrevocably impaired. Conditions that are indicative of a ‘C’ category rating for an issuer include: a. the issuer has entered into a grace or cure period following non-payment of a material financial obligation; b. the issuer has entered into a temporary negotiated waiver or standstill agreement following a payment default on a material financial obligation; c. the formal announcement by the issuer or their agent of a distressed debt exchange; d. a closed financing vehicle where payment capacity is irrevocably impaired such that it is not expected to pay interest and/or principal in full during the life of the transaction, but where no payment default is imminent.
RD: Restricted default.  ‘RD’ ratings indicate an issuer that in Fitch’s opinion has experienced: a. an uncured payment default or distressed debt exchange on a bond, loan or other material financial obligation, but b. has not entered into bankruptcy filings, administration, receivership, liquidation, or other formal winding-up procedure, and c. has not otherwise ceased operating. This would include: i. the selective payment default on a specific class or currency of debt; ii. the uncured expiry of any applicable grace period, cure period or default forbearance period following a payment default on a bank loan, capital markets security or other
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material financial obligation; iii. the extension of multiple waivers or forbearance periods upon a payment default on one or more material financial obligations, either in series or in parallel; ordinary execution of a distressed debt exchange on one or more material financial obligations.
D: Default. ‘D’  ratings indicate an issuer that in Fitch’s opinion has entered into bankruptcy filings, administration, receivership, liquidation or other formal winding-up procedure or that has otherwise ceased business.
Default ratings are not assigned prospectively to entities or their obligations; within this context, non-payment on an instrument that contains a deferral feature or grace period will generally not be considered a default until after the expiration of the deferral or grace period, unless a default is otherwise driven by bankruptcy or other similar circumstance, or by a distressed debt exchange.
Imminent default, categorized under ‘C’, typically refers to the occasion where a payment default has been intimated by the issuer and is all but inevitable. This may, for example, be where an issuer has missed a scheduled payment but (as is typical) has a grace period during which it may cure the payment default. Another alternative would be where an issuer has formally announced a distressed debt exchange, but the date of the exchange still lies several days or weeks in the immediate future.
In all cases, the assignment of a default rating reflects the agency’s opinion as to the most appropriate rating category consistent with the rest of its universe of ratings and may differ from the definition of default under the terms of an issuer’s financial obligations or local commercial practice.
Note: The modifiers “+” or “-“ may be appended to a rating to denote relative status within major rating categories. Such suffixes are not added to ‘AAA’ ratings and ratings below the ‘CCC’ category.
II. Fitch’s Short-Term Ratings Assigned to Issuers or Obligations in Corporate, Public and Structure Finance
F1: Highest Short-Term Credit Quality. Indicates the strongest intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments; may have an added “+” to denote any exceptionally strong credit feature.
F2: Good Short-Term Credit Quality. Good intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments.
F3: Fair Short-Term Credit Quality. The intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments is adequate.
B: Speculative Short-Term Credit Quality. Minimal capacity for timely payment of financial commitments, plus heightened vulnerability to near term adverse changes in financial and economic conditions.
C: High Short-Term Default Risk. Default is a real possibility.
RD: Restricted Default. Indicates an entity that has defaulted on one or more of its financial commitments, although it continues to meet other financial obligations. Typically applicable to entity ratings only.
D: Default. Indicates a broad-based default event for an entity, or the default of a short-term obligation.
Note:  The modifiers “+” or “-“ may be appended to a rating to denote relative status within major rating categories.  For the short-term rating category of ‘F1’, a ‘+’ may be appended.
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