N-CSR 1 y02289nvcsr.htm FORM N-CSR nvcsr
 
 
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM N-CSR
CERTIFIED SHAREHOLDER REPORT OF REGISTERED
MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES
Investment Company Act file number: 811-08265
Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund
(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)
     
522 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York   10036
(Address of principal executive offices)   (Zip code)
Randy Takian
522 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10036
(Name and address of agent for service)
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: 212-296-6990
Date of fiscal year end: August 31, 2009
Date of reporting period: August 31, 2009
 
 
Item 1 — Report to Shareholders

 


 

     
     
INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT
  [MORGAN STANLEY LOGO]
 
 
Welcome, Shareholder:
 
In this report, you’ll learn about how your investment in Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund performed during the annual period. We will provide an overview of the market conditions, and discuss some of the factors that affected performance during the reporting period. In addition, this report includes the Fund’s financial statements and a list of Fund investments.
 
 
This material must be preceded or accompanied by a prospectus for the fund being offered.
 
 
Market forecasts provided in this report may not necessarily come to pass. There is no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. The Fund is subject to market risk, which is the possibility that market values of securities owned by the Fund will decline and, therefore, the value of the Fund’s shares may be less than what you paid for them. Accordingly, you can lose money investing in this Fund. Please see the prospectus for more complete information on investment risks.


 

 
Fund Report
 
For the year ended August 31, 2009

 
Total Return for the 12 Months Ended August 31, 2009
 
                               
 
                              Lipper
                              S&P 500
                        S&P 500®
    Objective
Class A     Class B     Class C     Class I     Index1     Funds Index2
–18.43%
    –19.06%     –19.01%     –18.22%     –18.25%     –18.33%
                               
 
The performance of the Fund’s four share classes varies because each has different expenses. The Fund’s total returns assume the reinvestment of all distributions but do not reflect the deduction of any applicable sales charges. Such costs would lower performance. See Performance Summary for standardized performance and benchmark information.
 
Market Conditions
 
 
The 12-month period ended August 31, 2009 began with the collapse of Lehman Brothers and its aftermath in the financial sector, which through credit tightening eventually spilled over into the real economy. Significant declines in economic activity have been observed across all sectors and segments of the economy. Unemployment rose, while consumer confidence and spending collapsed. The ensuing recession, spreading beyond the U.S. into developed European countries and emerging markets as well, has been the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.
 
However, the global response has been truly unprecedented. In the U.S., vigorous government intervention included pumping liquidity into the system as well as stimulus packages and direct support for some financial and non-financial companies. In the first half of 2009 so-called “green shoots” — tentative signs of improvement in quite a few economic indicators — began to appear. Late summer saw a stabilization of housing prices and a decline in inventories. Furthermore, industrial production was positive and manufacturing PMI numbers (a measure of the health of the manufacturing sector) were strong. Markets generally rallied after March, following a slow stream of positive news; year-to-date through August, the S&P 500® Index was up 14.97 percent. Although unemployment was still high (at 9.7 percent in August), the consensus at the end of the period seemed to be that the global economy may be in the early stage of upturn and the recession is over.
 
Performance Analysis
 
 
Class A, Class B and Class C shares of Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund underperformed and Class I shares outperformed the S&P 500® Index (the “Index”) and the Lipper S&P 500 Objective Funds Index for the 12 months ended August 31, 2009, assuming no deduction of applicable sales charges.
 
Within the Index and therefore the Fund, the events of the second half of 2008 still dominated performance, causing all ten sectors to have negative absolute returns during the 12-month period. The financial markets seizure and resulting lack of credit, rising unemployment, downward spiraling commodity prices and a severe housing market situation led to underperformance across the board. The worst performing sectors for the period were financials, energy, industrials and materials. The sectors with the smallest declines were consumer staples and information technology.
 
The underperformance was pervasive, affecting all styles and market capitalization segments as

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investors tried to move out of equities into relatively safer assets. On an individual stock basis, the largest detractors in the overall portfolio were dominated by financial stocks.
 
There is no guarantee that any sectors mentioned will continue to perform as discussed herein or that securities in such sectors will be held by the Fund in the future.
 
“Standard & Poor’s®,” “S&P®,” “S&P 500®,” “Standard & Poor’s 500®” and “500” are trademarks of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. and have been licensed for use by the Fund. The Fund is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by S&P, and S&P makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing in the Fund.
         
TOP 10 HOLDINGS as of 08/31/09    
Exxon Mobil Corp. 
    3 .7%
Microsoft Corp.
    2 .1
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
    1 .9
Johnson & Johnson
    1 .8
Procter & Gamble Co. (The)
    1 .7
International Business Machines Corp.
    1 .7
AT&T, Inc. 
    1 .7
Bank of America Corp.
    1 .7
Apple, Inc. 
    1 .6
General Electric Co.
    1 .6
 
         
TOP FIVE INDUSTRIES as of 08/31/09    
Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels
    9 .7%
Pharmaceuticals
    7 .1
Computers & Peripherals
    5 .6
Diversified Financial Services
    4 .7
Software
    4 .0
 
Subject to change daily. Provided for informational purposes only and should not be deemed as a recommendation to buy or sell the securities mentioned above. Top 10 holdings and top five industries are as a percentage of net assets. Morgan Stanley is a full-service securities firm engaged in securities trading and brokerage activities, investment banking, research and analysis, financing and financial advisory services.

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Investment Strategy
 
 
The Fund will normally invest at least 80 percent of its assets in common stocks of companies included in the S&P 500® Index. The “Investment Adviser,” Morgan Stanley Investment Advisors Inc., “passively” manages the Fund’s assets by investing in stocks in approximately the same proportion as they are represented in the S&P 500 Index. For example, if the common stock of a specific company represents five percent of the S&P 500 Index, the Investment Adviser typically will invest the same percentage of the Fund’s assets in that stock. The S&P 500 Index is a well-known stock market index that includes common stocks of 500 companies representing a significant portion of the market value of all common stocks publicly traded in the United States. The Fund may invest in foreign companies, including those that are in emerging market countries, that are included in the S&P 500 Index.
 
For More Information About Portfolio Holdings
 
 
Each Morgan Stanley fund provides a complete schedule of portfolio holdings in its semiannual and annual reports within 60 days of the end of the fund’s second and fourth fiscal quarters. The semiannual reports and the annual reports are filed electronically with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Form N-CSRS and Form N-CSR, respectively. Morgan Stanley also delivers the semiannual and annual reports to fund shareholders and makes these reports available on its public web site, www.morganstanley.com. Each Morgan Stanley fund also files a complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the SEC for the fund’s first and third fiscal quarters on Form N-Q. Morgan Stanley does not deliver the reports for the first and third fiscal quarters to shareholders, nor are the reports posted to the Morgan Stanley public web site. You may, however, obtain the Form N-Q filings (as well as the Form N-CSR and N-CSRS filings) by accessing the SEC’s web site, http://www.sec.gov. You may also review and copy them at the SEC’s public reference room in Washington, DC. Information on the operation of the SEC’s public reference room may be obtained by calling the SEC at (800) SEC-0330. You can also request copies of these materials, upon payment of a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the SEC’s e-mail address (publicinfo@sec.gov) or by writing the public reference section of the SEC, Washington, DC 20549-0102.
 
Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures and Proxy Voting Record
 
 
You may obtain a copy of the Fund’s Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures without charge, upon request, by calling toll free (800) 869-NEWS or by visiting the Mutual Fund Center on our Web site at www.morganstanley.com. It is also available on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Web site at http://www.sec.gov.
 
You may obtain information regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent twelve-month period ended June 30 without charge by visiting the Mutual Fund Center on our Web site at www.morganstanley.com. This information is also available on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Web site at http://www.sec.gov.

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Householding Notice
 
 
To reduce printing and mailing costs, the Fund attempts to eliminate duplicate mailings to the same address. The Fund delivers a single copy of certain shareholder documents, including shareholder reports, prospectuses and proxy materials, to investors with the same last name who reside at the same address. Your participation in this program will continue for an unlimited period of time unless you instruct us otherwise. You can request multiple copies of these documents by calling (800) 869-NEWS, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., ET. Once our Customer Service Center has received your instructions, we will begin sending individual copies for each account within 30 days.

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Performance Summary

 
Performance of $10,000 Investment — Class B
 
Over 10 Years
 
LINE GRAPH

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Average Annual Total Returns — Period Ended August 31, 2009
 
                                 
                                 
      Class A Shares *     Class B Shares **     Class C Shares     Class I Shares ††
      (since 09/26/97 )     (since 09/26/97 )     (since 09/26/97 )     (since 09/26/97 )
Symbol
    SPIAX       SPIBX       SPICX       SPIDX  
1 Year
    –18.43 %3     –19.06 %3     –19.01 %3     –18.22 %3
      –22.71  4     –23.06  4     –19.81  4     —   
                                 
5 Years
    0.01  3     –0.74  3     –0.70  3     0.26  3
      –1.06  4     –1.12  4     –0.70  4     —   
10 Years
    –1.36  3     –1.97  3     –2.10  3     –1.13  3
      –1.89  4     –1.97  4     –2.10  4     —   
                                 
Since Inception
    1.79  3     1.27  3     1.02  3     2.03  3
      1.33  4     1.27  4     1.02  4     —   
 
Performance data quoted represents past performance, which is no guarantee of future results and current performance may be lower or higher than the figures shown. For most recent month-end performance figures, please visit www.morganstanley.com/im or speak with your Financial Advisor. Investment returns and principal value will fluctuate and fund shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. The graph and table do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on fund distributions or the redemption of fund shares. Performance for Class A, Class B, Class C, and Class I shares will vary due to differences in sales charges and expenses. See the Fund’s current prospectus for complete details on fees and sales charges.
 
* The maximum front-end sales charge for Class A is 5.25%.
 
** The maximum contingent deferred sales charge (CDSC) for Class B is 5.0%. The CDSC declines to 0% after six years. Effective April 2005, Class B shares will generally convert to Class A shares approximately eight years after the end of the calendar month in which the shares were purchased. Performance for periods greater than eight years reflects this conversion.
 
The maximum contingent deferred sales charge for Class C is 1.0% for shares redeemed within one year of purchase.
 
†† Class I has no sales charge.
 
(1) The Standard & Poor’s 500® Index (S&P 500®) measures the performance of the large cap segment of the U.S. equities market, covering approximately 75% of the U.S. equities market. The Index includes 500 leading companies in leading industries of the U.S. economy. The Index is unmanaged and its returns do not include any sales charges or fees. Such costs would lower performance. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.
 
(2) The Lipper S&P 500 Objective Funds Index is an equally weighted performance index of the largest qualifying funds (based on net assets) in the Lipper S&P 500 Objective Funds classification. The Index, which is adjusted for capital gains distributions and income dividends, is unmanaged and should not be considered an investment. There are currently 30 funds represented in this Index. The Fund was in the Lipper S&P 500 Objective Funds classification as of the date of this report.
 
(3) Figure shown assumes reinvestment of all distributions and does not reflect the deduction of any sales charges.
 
(4) Figure shown assumes reinvestment of all distributions and the deduction of the maximum applicable sales charge. See the Fund’s current prospectus for complete details on fees and sales charges.
 
Ending value assuming a complete redemption on August 31, 2009.

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Expense Example

 
As a shareholder of the Fund, you incur two types of costs: (1) transaction costs, including sales charges (loads) on purchase payments and redemption fees; and (2) ongoing costs, including advisory fees; distribution and service (12b-1) fees; and other Fund expenses. This example is intended to help you understand your ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in the Fund and to compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other mutual funds.
 
The example is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the period and held for the entire period 03/01/09 – 08/31/09.
 
Actual Expenses
 
 
The first line of the table below provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information in this line, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number in the first line under the heading entitled “Expenses Paid During Period” to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this period.
 
Hypothetical Example for Comparison Purposes
 
 
The second line of the table below provides information about hypothetical expenses based on the Fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed rate of return of 5% per year before expenses, which is not the Fund’s actual return. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. You may use this information to compare the ongoing cost of investing in the Fund and other funds. To do so, compare this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of the other funds.
 
Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs, such as sales charges (loads) and redemption fees. Therefore, the second line of the table is useful in comparing ongoing costs, and will not help you determine the relative total cost of owning different funds. In addition, if these transactional costs were included, your costs would have been higher.
 
                         
    Beginning
  Ending
  Expenses Paid
    Account Value   Account Value   During Period@
            03/01/09 –
    03/01/09   08/31/09   08/31/09
Class A
                       
Actual (40.38% return)
  $ 1,000.00     $ 1,403.80     $ 3.57  
Hypothetical (5% annual return before expenses)
  $ 1,000.00     $ 1,022.23     $ 3.01  
Class B
                       
Actual (39.74% return)
  $ 1,000.00     $ 1,397.40     $ 8.10  
Hypothetical (5% annual return before expenses)
  $ 1,000.00     $ 1,018.45     $ 6.82  
Class C
                       
Actual (39.84% return)
  $ 1,000.00     $ 1,398.40     $ 8.10  
Hypothetical (5% annual return before expenses)
  $ 1,000.00     $ 1,018.45     $ 6.82  
Class I
                       
Actual (40.53% return)
  $ 1,000.00     $ 1,405.30     $ 2.06  
Hypothetical (5% annual return before expenses)
  $ 1,000.00     $ 1,023.49     $ 1.73  
@ Expenses are equal to the Fund’s annualized expense ratios of 0.59%, 1.34%, 1.34% and 0.34% for Class A, Class B, Class C and Class I shares, respectively, multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by 184/365 (to reflect the one-half year period). If the Fund had borne all of its expenses, the annualized expense ratios would have been 0.72%, 1.47%, 1.47% and 0.47% for Class A, Class B, Class C and Class I shares, respectively.

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Investment Advisory Agreement Approval

 
Nature, Extent and Quality of Services
 
 
The Board reviewed and considered the nature and extent of the investment advisory services provided by the Investment Adviser (as defined herein) under the advisory agreement, including portfolio management, investment research and fixed income securities trading. The Board also reviewed and considered the nature and extent of the non-advisory, administrative services provided by the Fund’s Administrator (as defined herein) under the administration agreement, including accounting, clerical, bookkeeping, compliance, business management and planning, and the provision of supplies, office space and utilities at the Investment Adviser’s expense. (The Investment Adviser and the Administrator together are referred to as the “Adviser” and the advisory and administration agreements together are referred to as the “Management Agreement.”) The Board also compared the nature of the services provided by the Adviser with similar services provided by non-affiliated advisers as reported to the Board by Lipper Inc. (“Lipper”).
 
The Board reviewed and considered the qualifications of the portfolio managers, the senior administrative managers and other key personnel of the Adviser who provide the advisory and administrative services to the Fund. The Board determined that the Adviser’s portfolio managers and key personnel are well qualified by education and/or training and experience to perform the services in an efficient and professional manner. The Board concluded that the nature and extent of the advisory and administrative services provided were necessary and appropriate for the conduct of the business and investment activities of the Fund. The Board also concluded that the overall quality of the advisory and administrative services was satisfactory.
 
Performance, Fees and Expenses of the Fund
 
 
The Board reviewed the performance, fees and expenses of the Fund compared to its peers, as determined by Lipper, and to appropriate benchmarks where applicable. The Board discussed with the Adviser the performance goals and the actual results achieved in managing the Fund. When considering a fund’s performance, the Board and the Adviser place emphasis on trends and longer-term returns (focusing on one-year, three-year and five-year performance, as of December 31, 2008, as applicable). When a fund underperforms its benchmark and/or its peer group average, the Board and the Adviser discuss the causes of such underperformance and, where necessary, they discuss specific changes to investment strategy or investment personnel. The Board noted that the Fund’s performance was better than its peer group average for the one- and three-year periods, but below the peer group average for the five-year period. The Board discussed with the Adviser the level of the advisory and administration fees (together, the “management fee”) for this Fund relative to comparable funds advised by the Adviser and compared to its peers as determined by Lipper. In addition to the management fee, the Board also reviewed the Fund’s total expense ratio. The Board noted that the management fee and total expense ratio were lower than the peer group average. After

9


 

discussion, the Board concluded that the Fund’s management fee, total expense ratio and performance were competitive with the peer group average.
 
Economies of Scale
 
 
The Board considered the size and growth prospects of the Fund and how that relates to the Fund’s total expense ratio and particularly the Fund’s management fee rate, which includes a breakpoint. In conjunction with its review of the Adviser’s profitability, the Board discussed with the Adviser how a change in assets can affect the efficiency or effectiveness of managing the Fund and whether the management fee level is appropriate relative to current and projected asset levels and/or whether the management fee structure reflects economies of scale as asset levels change. The Board has determined that its review of the actual and potential economies of scale of the Fund support its decision to approve the Management Agreement.
 
Profitability of the Adviser and Affiliates
 
 
The Board considered information concerning the costs incurred and profits realized by the Adviser and its affiliates during the last year from their relationship with the Fund and during the last two years from their relationship with the Morgan Stanley Fund Complex and reviewed with the Adviser the cost allocation methodology used to determine the profitability of the Adviser and affiliates. The Board has determined that its review of the analysis of the Adviser’s expenses and profitability supports its decision to approve the Management Agreement.
 
Other Benefits of the Relationship
 
 
The Board considered other benefits to the Adviser and its affiliates derived from their relationship with the Fund and other funds advised by the Adviser. These benefits may include, among other things, “float” benefits derived from handling of checks for purchases and sales, research received by the Adviser generated from commission dollars spent on funds’ portfolio trading and fees for distribution and/or shareholder servicing. The Board reviewed with the Adviser each of these arrangements and the reasonableness of its costs relative to the services performed. The Board has determined that its review of the other benefits received by the Adviser or its affiliates supports its decision to approve the Management Agreement.
 
Resources of the Adviser and Historical Relationship Between the Fund and the Adviser
 
 
The Board considered whether the Adviser is financially sound and has the resources necessary to perform its obligations under the Management Agreement. The Board also reviewed and considered the historical relationship between the Fund and the Adviser, including the organizational structure of the Adviser, the policies and procedures formulated and adopted by the Adviser for managing the Fund’s operations and the

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Board’s confidence in the competence and integrity of the senior managers and key personnel of the Adviser. The Board concluded that the Adviser has the financial resources necessary to fulfill its obligations under the Management Agreement and that it is beneficial for the Fund to continue its relationship with the Adviser.
 
Other Factors and Current Trends
 
 
The Board considered the controls and procedures adopted and implemented by the Adviser and monitored by the Fund’s Chief Compliance Officer and concluded that the conduct of business by the Adviser indicates a good faith effort on its part to adhere to high ethical standards in the conduct of the Fund’s business.
 
General Conclusion
 
 
After considering and weighing all of the above factors, the Board concluded that it would be in the best interest of the Fund and its shareholders to approve renewal of the Management Agreement for another year. In reaching this conclusion the Board did not give particular weight to any single factor referenced above. The Board considered these factors over the course of numerous meetings, some of which were in executive session with only the Independent Board members and their counsel present. It is possible that individual Board members may have weighed these factors differently in reaching their individual decisions to approve the Management Agreement.

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Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund
Portfolio of Investments - August 31, 2009
 
                           
NUMBER OF
           
SHARES           VALUE
        Common Stocks (99.0%)        
       
Aerospace & Defense (2.7%)
       
  45,484    
Boeing Co. (The)
  $ 2,259,190  
  23,444    
General Dynamics Corp. 
    1,387,650  
  8,420    
Goodrich Corp. 
    464,447  
  44,177    
Honeywell International, Inc. 
    1,623,947  
  10,229    
ITT Corp. 
    512,268  
  6,926    
L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc. 
    515,295  
  20,036    
Lockheed Martin Corp. 
    1,502,299  
  20,343    
Northrop Grumman Corp. 
    992,942  
  8,362    
Precision Castparts Corp. 
    763,283  
  24,554    
Raytheon Co. 
    1,158,458  
  10,828    
Rockwell Collins, Inc. 
    498,521  
  56,914    
United Technologies Corp. 
    3,378,415  
                 
                        15,056,715  
                           
       
Air Freight & Logistics (1.0%)
       
  9,759    
CH Robinson Worldwide, Inc. 
    549,042  
  14,505    
Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. 
    473,733  
  19,696    
FedEx Corp. 
    1,353,312  
  61,956    
United Parcel Service, Inc. (Class B)
    3,312,168  
                 
                        5,688,255  
                           
       
Airlines (0.1%)
       
  50,598    
Southwest Airlines Co. 
    413,892  
                 
       
Auto Components (0.2%)
       
  16,504    
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (The) (a)
    272,151  
  36,025    
Johnson Controls, Inc. 
    892,339  
                 
                        1,164,490  
                           
       
Automobiles (0.3%)
       
  194,981    
Ford Motor Co. (a)
    1,481,856  
  15,925    
Harley-Davidson, Inc. 
    381,881  
                 
                        1,863,737  
                           
       
Beverages (2.4%)
       
  6,708    
Brown-Forman Corp. (Class B)
    299,982  
  123,237    
Coca-Cola Co. (The)
    6,010,268  
  21,694    
Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc. 
    438,436  
  13,315    
Constellation Brands, Inc. (Class A) (a)
    196,929  
  17,352    
Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. (a)
    458,787  
  10,180    
Molson Coors Brewing Co. (Class B)
    482,328  
  9,243    
Pepsi Bottling Group, Inc. 
    330,252  
  94,662    
PepsiCo, Inc. 
    5,364,496  
                 
                        13,581,478  
                           
       
Biotechnology (1.7%)
       
  61,291    
Amgen, Inc. (a)
    3,661,524  
  18,641    
Biogen Idec, Inc. (a)
    935,965  
  27,762    
Celgene Corp. (a)
    1,448,343  
  4,682    
Cephalon, Inc. (a)
    266,546  
  17,277    
Genzyme Corp. (a)
    962,502  
  54,466    
Gilead Sciences, Inc. (a)
    2,454,238  
                 
                        9,729,118  
                           
       
Building Products (0.1%)
       
  24,617    
Masco Corp. 
    356,454  
                 
       
Capital Markets (2.9%)
       
  14,815    
Ameriprise Financial, Inc. 
    444,894  
  74,188    
Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (The)
    2,196,707  
  58,356    
Charles Schwab Corp. (The)
    1,053,909  
  38,492    
E*Trade Financial Corp. (a)
    67,746  
  6,059    
Federated Investors, Inc. (Class B)
    159,049  
  8,932    
Franklin Resources, Inc. 
    833,624  
  30,588    
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The)
    5,061,090  
  26,332    
Invesco Ltd. 
    546,389  
  10,797    
Janus Capital Group, Inc. 
    137,338  
  9,708    
Legg Mason, Inc. 
    279,202  
  83,725    
Morgan Stanley (Note 6)
    2,424,676  
  15,430    
Northern Trust Corp. 
    902,038  
  30,434    
State Street Corp. 
    1,597,176  
  15,360    
T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. 
    696,115  
                 
                        16,399,953  
                           
       
Chemicals (1.9%)
       
  12,884    
Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. 
    966,687  
  2,528    
CF Industries Holdings, Inc. 
    206,436  
  63,635    
Dow Chemical Co. (The)
    1,354,789  
  4,962    
Eastman Chemical Co. 
    258,818  
 
See Notes to Financial Statements

12


 

Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund
Portfolio of Investments - August 31, 2009 continued
 
                           
NUMBER OF
           
SHARES           VALUE
  9,025    
Ecolab, Inc. 
  $ 381,667  
  54,640    
EI Du Pont de Nemours & Co. 
    1,744,655  
  4,434    
FMC Corp. 
    211,502  
  5,379    
International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc. 
    191,600  
  33,443    
Monsanto Co. 
    2,805,199  
  9,253    
PPG Industries, Inc. 
    512,616  
  18,498    
Praxair, Inc. 
    1,417,317  
  6,707    
Sigma-Aldrich Corp. 
    340,716  
                 
                        10,392,002  
                           
       
Commercial Banks (2.8%)
       
  38,854    
BB&T Corp. 
    1,085,581  
  10,293    
Comerica, Inc. 
    274,514  
  43,681    
Fifth Third Bancorp
    477,870  
  14,643    
First Horizon National Corp. (a)
    195,923  
  25,038    
Huntington Bancshares, Inc. 
    114,173  
  44,961    
Keycorp
    299,440  
  5,281    
M&T Bank Corp. 
    326,155  
  17,805    
Marshall & Ilsley Corp. 
    126,772  
  27,790    
PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. 
    1,183,576  
  61,329    
Regions Financial Corp. 
    359,388  
  27,989    
SunTrust Banks, Inc. 
    654,103  
  117,172    
US Bancorp
    2,650,431  
  284,023    
Wells Fargo & Co. 
    7,816,313  
  7,890    
Zions BanCorp. 
    139,416  
                 
                        15,703,655  
                           
       
Commercial Services & Supplies (0.6%)
       
  7,270    
Avery Dennison Corp. 
    224,643  
  8,988    
Cintas Corp. 
    246,631  
  12,293    
Iron Mountain, Inc. (a)
    360,062  
  14,099    
Pitney Bowes, Inc. 
    315,113  
  18,082    
Republic Services, Inc. 
    463,080  
  14,022    
RR Donnelley & Sons Co. 
    250,152  
  5,853    
Stericycle, Inc. (a)
    289,841  
  31,021    
Waste Management, Inc. 
    928,458  
                 
                        3,077,980  
                           
       
Communications Equipment (2.6%)
  6,178    
Ciena Corp. (a)
    82,785  
  351,727    
Cisco Systems, Inc. (a)
    7,597,303  
  9,206    
Harris Corp. 
    319,724  
  15,038    
JDS Uniphase Corp. (a)
    103,311  
  33,412    
Juniper Networks, Inc. (a)
    770,815  
  139,037    
Motorola, Inc. 
    998,286  
  100,479    
QUALCOMM, Inc. 
    4,664,235  
  27,225    
Tellabs, Inc. (a)
    172,607  
                 
                        14,709,066  
                           
       
Computers & Peripherals (5.6%)
       
  54,470    
Apple, Inc. (a)
    9,162,399  
  109,998    
Dell, Inc. (a)
    1,741,268  
  122,116    
EMC Corp. (a)
    1,941,644  
  145,338    
Hewlett-Packard Co. 
    6,524,223  
  80,705    
International Business Machines Corp. 
    9,527,225  
  5,363    
Lexmark International, Inc. (Class A) (a)
    101,039  
  18,321    
NetApp, Inc. (a)
    416,803  
  8,750    
QLogic Corp. (a)
    138,337  
  15,461    
SanDisk Corp. (a)
    273,660  
  45,128    
Seagate Technology, Inc. (Escrow) (b)
    0  
  50,520    
Sun Microsystems, Inc. (a)
    468,826  
  12,039    
Teradata Corp. (a)
    324,210  
  14,286    
Western Digital Corp. (a)
    489,724  
                 
                        31,109,358  
                           
       
Construction & Engineering (0.2%)
       
  10,366    
Fluor Corp. 
    548,361  
  8,404    
Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc. (a)
    369,608  
  12,499    
Quanta Services, Inc. (a)
    276,478  
                 
                        1,194,447  
                           
       
Construction Materials (0.1%)
       
  7,534    
Vulcan Materials Co. 
    377,001  
                 
       
Consumer Finance (0.7%)
       
  71,224    
American Express Co. 
    2,408,796  
  26,790    
Capital One Financial Corp. 
    998,999  
  32,827    
Discover Financial Services
    451,371  
  31,963    
SLM Corp. (a)
    284,471  
                 
                        4,143,637  
                           
 
See Notes to Financial Statements

13


 

Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund
Portfolio of Investments - August 31, 2009 continued
 
                           
NUMBER OF
           
SHARES           VALUE
       
Containers & Packaging (0.2%)
       
  6,470    
Ball Corp. 
  $ 313,536  
  6,818    
Bemis Co., Inc. 
    181,291  
  11,412    
Owens-Illinois, Inc. (a)
    387,323  
  8,987    
Pactiv Corp. (a)
    223,327  
  10,799    
Sealed Air Corp. 
    204,209  
                 
                        1,309,686  
                           
       
Distributors (0.1%)
       
  10,906    
Genuine Parts Co. 
    403,958  
                 
       
Diversified Consumer Services (0.2%)
  7,288    
Apollo Group, Inc. (Class A) (a)
    472,408  
  3,905    
DeVry, Inc. 
    199,545  
  23,184    
H&R Block, Inc. 
    400,620  
                 
                        1,072,573  
                           
       
Diversified Financial Services (4.7%)
  527,587    
Bank of America Corp. 
    9,280,255  
  706,608    
Citigroup, Inc. (Note 6)
    3,533,040  
  4,182    
CME Group, Inc. 
    1,217,129  
  4,942    
IntercontinentalExchange, Inc. (a)
    463,560  
  238,338    
JPMorgan Chase & Co. 
    10,358,168  
  12,107    
Leucadia National Corp. (a)
    301,101  
  13,286    
Moody’s Corp. 
    361,911  
  9,312    
NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (The) (a)
    204,398  
  14,855    
NYSE Euronext
    420,991  
                 
                        26,140,553  
                           
       
Diversified Telecommunication Services (2.9%)
       
  360,256    
AT&T, Inc. 
    9,384,669  
  17,229    
CenturyTel, Inc. 
    555,291  
  21,294    
Frontier Communications Corp. 
    151,400  
  100,203    
Qwest Communications International, Inc. 
    359,729  
  172,728    
Verizon Communications, Inc. 
    5,361,477  
  30,057    
Windstream Corp. 
    257,588  
                 
                        16,070,154  
                           
       
Electric Utilities (2.2%)
       
  11,563    
Allegheny Energy, Inc. 
    305,379  
  30,574    
American Electric Power Co., Inc. 
    960,941  
  81,678    
Duke Energy Corp. 
    1,265,192  
  19,193    
Edison International
    641,238  
  11,949    
Entergy Corp. 
    943,971  
  41,213    
Exelon Corp. 
    2,061,474  
  19,256    
FirstEnergy Corp. 
    869,023  
  24,760    
FPL Group, Inc. 
    1,391,017  
  10,232    
Northeast Utilities
    243,419  
  14,789    
Pepco Holdings, Inc. 
    211,927  
  6,896    
Pinnacle West Capital Corp. 
    226,947  
  23,085    
PPL Corp. 
    678,699  
  17,995    
Progress Energy, Inc. 
    711,342  
  47,217    
Southern Co. 
    1,473,171  
                 
                        11,983,740  
                           
       
Electrical Equipment (0.4%)
       
  8,948    
Cooper Industries Ltd. (Class A) (Bermuda)
    288,573  
  46,961    
Emerson Electric Co. 
    1,731,452  
  9,679    
Rockwell Automation, Inc. 
    405,066  
                 
                        2,425,091  
                           
       
Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components (0.5%)
  19,246    
Agilent Technologies, Inc. (a)
    494,237  
  9,151    
Amphenol Corp. (Class A)
    319,919  
  92,025    
Corning, Inc. 
    1,387,737  
  9,493    
FLIR Systems, Inc. (a)
    218,529  
  14,409    
Jabil Circuit, Inc. 
    157,779  
  9,634    
Molex, Inc. 
    175,435  
                 
                        2,753,636  
                           
       
Energy Equipment & Services (1.8%)
       
  18,454    
Baker Hughes, Inc. 
    635,740  
  19,968    
BJ Services Co. 
    320,686  
  11,866    
Cameron International Corp. (a)
    423,735  
  4,608    
Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. 
    412,047  
  9,701    
ENSCO International, Inc. 
    357,967  
  6,507    
FMC Technologies, Inc. (a)
    310,384  
  56,777    
Halliburton Co. 
    1,346,183  
  19,465    
Nabors Industries Ltd. (Bermuda) (a)
    344,141  
  25,957    
National Oilwell Varco, Inc. (a)
    943,537  
  7,730    
Rowan Cos., Inc. 
    160,088  
 
See Notes to Financial Statements

14


 

Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund
Portfolio of Investments - August 31, 2009 continued
 
                           
NUMBER OF
           
SHARES           VALUE
  72,470    
Schlumberger Ltd. (Netherlands Antilles)
  $ 4,072,814  
  14,970    
Smith International, Inc. 
    412,723  
                 
                        9,740,045  
                           
       
Food & Staples Retailing (3.0%)
       
  25,544    
Costco Wholesale Corp. 
    1,302,233  
  90,511    
CVS Caremark Corp. 
    3,395,973  
  41,296    
Kroger Co. (The)
    891,581  
  23,719    
Safeway, Inc. 
    451,847  
  14,484    
SUPERVALU, Inc. 
    207,845  
  37,831    
Sysco Corp. 
    964,312  
  136,022    
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. 
    6,919,439  
  61,718    
Walgreen Co. 
    2,091,006  
  9,598    
Whole Foods Market, Inc. (a)
    279,110  
                 
                        16,503,346  
                           
       
Food Products (1.7%)
       
  41,027    
Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. 
    1,182,808  
  10,713    
Campbell Soup Co. 
    335,960  
  25,636    
ConAgra Foods, Inc. 
    526,307  
  10,530    
Dean Foods Co. (a)
    191,014  
  19,938    
General Mills, Inc. 
    1,190,897  
  11,345    
Hershey Co. (The)
    445,064  
  19,369    
HJ Heinz Co. 
    745,707  
  4,616    
Hormel Foods Corp. 
    170,561  
  8,101    
JM Smucker Co. (The)
    423,439  
  15,469    
Kellogg Co. 
    728,435  
  88,529    
Kraft Foods, Inc. (Class A)
    2,509,797  
  8,892    
McCormick & Co., Inc. 
    289,613  
  38,881    
Sara Lee Corp. 
    376,757  
  20,664    
Tyson Foods, Inc. (Class A)
    247,761  
                 
                        9,364,120  
                           
       
Gas Utilities (0.2%)
       
  8,951    
EQT Corp. 
    355,086  
  3,091    
Nicor, Inc. 
    111,956  
  11,863    
Questar Corp. 
    400,495  
                 
                        867,537  
                           
       
Health Care Equipment & Supplies (1.9%)
       
  36,800    
Baxter International, Inc. 
    2,094,656  
  13,896    
Becton Dickinson and Co. 
    967,439  
  92,796    
Boston Scientific Corp. (a)
    1,090,353  
  5,363    
CR Bard, Inc. 
    432,151  
  10,188    
DENTSPLY International, Inc. 
    343,437  
  10,917    
Hospira, Inc. (a)
    426,746  
  2,082    
Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (a)
    463,682  
  67,218    
Medtronic, Inc. 
    2,574,449  
  21,518    
St Jude Medical, Inc. (a)
    829,304  
  14,189    
Stryker Corp. 
    588,276  
  8,499    
Varian Medical Systems, Inc. (a)
    366,052  
  13,362    
Zimmer Holdings, Inc. (a)
    632,691  
                 
                        10,809,236  
                           
       
Health Care Providers & Services (2.1%)
       
  28,355    
Aetna, Inc. 
    808,117  
  16,081    
AmerisourceBergen Corp. 
    342,686  
  22,317    
Cardinal Health, Inc. 
    771,722  
  14,987    
CIGNA Corp. 
    441,067  
  10,190    
Coventry Health Care, Inc. (a)
    222,448  
  7,100    
DaVita, Inc. (a)
    367,141  
  16,490    
Express Scripts, Inc. (a)
    1,190,908  
  11,540    
Humana, Inc. (a)
    411,978  
  5,859    
Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings (a)
    408,900  
  17,112    
McKesson Corp. 
    972,988  
  29,407    
Medco Health Solutions, Inc. (a)
    1,623,855  
  6,237    
Patterson Cos., Inc. (a)
    169,834  
  9,072    
Quest Diagnostics, Inc. 
    489,525  
  28,396    
Tenet Healthcare Corp. (a)
    132,325  
  73,234    
UnitedHealth Group, Inc. 
    2,050,552  
  28,729    
WellPoint, Inc. (a)
    1,518,328  
                 
                        11,922,374  
                           
       
Health Care Technology (0.0%)
       
  12,440    
IMS Health, Inc. 
    172,418  
                 
       
Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure (1.5%)
       
  26,616    
Carnival Corp. (Panama) (Units) (c)
    778,518  
  9,489    
Darden Restaurants, Inc. 
    312,473  
  20,158    
International Game Technology
    421,705  
  20,208    
Marriott International, Inc. (Class A)
    482,978  
 
See Notes to Financial Statements

15


 

Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund
Portfolio of Investments - August 31, 2009 continued
 
                           
NUMBER OF
           
SHARES           VALUE
  66,782    
McDonald’s Corp. 
  $ 3,755,820  
  44,332    
Starbucks Corp. (a)
    841,865  
  12,519    
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. 
    372,816  
  12,129    
Wyndham Worldwide Corp. 
    183,754  
  4,214    
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (a)
    228,104  
  28,783    
Yum! Brands, Inc. 
    985,818  
                 
                        8,363,851  
                           
       
Household Durables (0.5%)
       
  4,110    
Black & Decker Corp. 
    181,333  
  18,844    
DR Horton, Inc. 
    252,698  
  10,254    
Fortune Brands, Inc. 
    408,212  
  4,005    
Harman International Industries, Inc. 
    120,110  
  5,149    
KB Home
    93,763  
  10,684    
Leggett & Platt, Inc. 
    194,983  
  9,665    
Lennar Corp. (Class A)
    146,425  
  18,961    
Newell Rubbermaid, Inc. 
    263,937  
  14,618    
Pulte Homes, Inc. 
    186,818  
  3,929    
Snap-On, Inc. 
    146,630  
  5,390    
Stanley Works (The)
    220,613  
  5,028    
Whirlpool Corp. 
    322,848  
                 
                        2,538,370  
                           
       
Household Products (2.5%)
       
  7,785    
Clorox Co. 
    460,016  
  29,929    
Colgate-Palmolive Co. 
    2,175,838  
  24,942    
Kimberly-Clark Corp. 
    1,507,993  
  177,990    
Procter & Gamble Co. (The)
    9,631,039  
                 
                        13,774,886  
                           
       
Independent Power Producers & Energy Traders (0.2%)
       
  37,834    
AES Corp. (The) (a)
    517,191  
  12,204    
Constellation Energy Group, Inc. 
    386,256  
  34,593    
Dynegy, Inc. (Class A) (a)
    65,727  
                 
                        969,174  
                           
       
Industrial Conglomerates (2.2%)
       
  42,589    
3M Co. 
    3,070,667  
  646,531    
General Electric Co. (d)
    8,986,781  
  16,491    
Textron, Inc. 
    253,302  
                 
                        12,310,750  
                           
       
Insurance (2.7%)
       
  28,677    
Aflac, Inc. 
    1,164,860  
  32,724    
Allstate Corp. (The)
    961,758  
  9,195    
American International Group, Inc. 
    416,809  
  16,838    
AON Corp. 
    703,155  
  8,045    
Assurant, Inc. 
    240,948  
  22,545    
Chubb Corp. 
    1,113,497  
  11,107    
Cincinnati Financial Corp. 
    285,672  
  29,627    
Genworth Financial, Inc. (Class A)
    312,861  
  20,609    
Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. 
    488,845  
  17,502    
Lincoln National Corp. 
    441,750  
  21,272    
Loews Corp. 
    726,439  
  30,829    
Marsh & McLennan Cos., Inc. 
    725,715  
  12,886    
MBIA, Inc. (a)
    86,594  
  48,785    
MetLife, Inc. 
    1,842,122  
  17,739    
Principal Financial Group, Inc. 
    503,788  
  40,381    
Progressive Corp. (The) (a)
    667,094  
  28,072    
Prudential Financial, Inc. 
    1,419,882  
  5,816    
Torchmark Corp. 
    247,820  
  35,317    
Travelers Cos., Inc. (The)
    1,780,683  
  17,807    
Unum Group
    401,192  
  22,626    
XL Capital Ltd. (Class A) (Cayman Islands)
    392,561  
                 
                        14,924,045  
                           
       
Internet & Catalog Retail (0.3%)
       
  19,503    
Amazon.com, Inc. (a)
    1,583,449  
  14,328    
Expedia, Inc. (a)
    330,260  
                 
                        1,913,709  
                           
       
Internet Software & Services (1.8%)
       
  11,568    
Akamai Technologies, Inc. (a)
    204,059  
  67,138    
eBay, Inc. (a)
    1,486,435  
  14,631    
Google, Inc. (Class A) (a)
    6,754,694  
  13,272    
VeriSign, Inc. (a)
    281,234  
  82,072    
Yahoo!, Inc. (a)
    1,199,072  
                 
                        9,925,494  
                           
       
IT Services (1.0%)
       
  6,673    
Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (Class A) (a)
    298,950  
  29,874    
Automatic Data Processing, Inc. 
    1,145,668  
 
See Notes to Financial Statements

16


 

Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund
Portfolio of Investments - August 31, 2009 continued
 
                           
NUMBER OF
           
SHARES           VALUE
  16,476    
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (Class A) (a)
  $ 574,683  
  8,214    
Computer Sciences Corp. (a)
    401,254  
  8,349    
Convergys Corp. (a)
    90,503  
  12,996    
Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. 
    319,182  
  8,742    
Fiserv, Inc. (a)
    421,802  
  4,481    
Mastercard, Inc. (Class A)
    907,985  
  18,321    
Paychex, Inc. 
    518,301  
  13,463    
Total System Services, Inc. 
    205,445  
  43,199    
Western Union Co. (The)
    779,310  
                 
                        5,663,083  
                           
       
Leisure Equipment & Products (0.1%)
  18,363    
Eastman Kodak Co. 
    97,691  
  8,474    
Hasbro, Inc. 
    240,577  
  24,517    
Mattel, Inc. 
    441,061  
                 
                        779,329  
                           
       
Life Sciences Tools & Services (0.4%)
  9,546    
Life Technologies Corp. (a)
    425,083  
  3,778    
Millipore Corp. (a)
    250,217  
  8,079    
PerkinElmer, Inc. 
    147,442  
  26,748    
Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. (a)
    1,209,277  
  6,725    
Waters Corp. (a)
    338,133  
                 
                        2,370,152  
                           
       
Machinery (1.4%)
       
  35,780    
Caterpillar, Inc. 
    1,621,192  
  11,315    
Cummins, Inc. 
    512,796  
  16,151    
Danaher Corp. 
    980,527  
  26,520    
Deere & Co. 
    1,156,272  
  12,720    
Dover Corp. 
    439,985  
  9,294    
Eaton Corp. 
    501,411  
  3,867    
Flowserve Corp. 
    333,529  
  24,407    
Illinois Tool Works, Inc. 
    1,020,701  
  22,185    
PACCAR, Inc. 
    802,432  
  8,077    
Pall Corp. 
    240,129  
  8,905    
Parker Hannifin Corp. 
    433,317  
                 
                        8,042,291  
                           
       
Media (2.6%)
       
  36,435    
CBS Corp. (Class B)
    377,102  
  178,912    
Comcast Corp. (Class A)
    2,740,932  
  33,873    
DIRECTV Group, Inc. (The) (a)
    838,695  
  15,603    
Gannett Co., Inc. 
    134,810  
  32,596    
Interpublic Group of Cos., Inc. (a)
    205,029  
  18,606    
McGraw-Hill Cos., Inc. (The)
    625,348  
  2,472    
Meredith Corp. 
    68,425  
  7,967    
New York Times Co. (The) (Class A)
    60,629  
  145,167    
News Corp. (Class A)
    1,556,190  
  18,320    
Omnicom Group, Inc. 
    665,382  
  6,160    
Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. (Class A)
    200,015  
  20,030    
Time Warner Cable, Inc. 
    739,508  
  74,643    
Time Warner, Inc. 
    2,083,286  
  36,841    
Viacom, Inc. (Class B) (a)
    922,499  
  115,305    
Walt Disney Co. (The)
    3,002,542  
  410    
Washington Post Co. (The) (Class B)
    178,088  
                 
                        14,398,480  
                           
       
Metals & Mining (0.9%)
       
  7,662    
AK Steel Holding Corp. 
    155,692  
  56,706    
Alcoa, Inc. 
    683,307  
  6,587    
Allegheny Technologies, Inc. 
    200,047  
  25,925    
Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, Inc. 
    1,632,756  
  28,727    
Newmont Mining Corp. 
    1,154,538  
  19,438    
Nucor Corp. 
    865,769  
  5,821    
Titanium Metals Corp. 
    47,849  
  7,952    
United States Steel Corp. 
    348,139  
                 
                        5,088,097  
                           
       
Multi-Utilities (1.4%)
       
  14,464    
Ameren Corp. 
    390,094  
  23,541    
Centerpoint Energy, Inc. 
    291,908  
  15,473    
CMS Energy Corp. 
    207,493  
  16,157    
Consolidated Edison, Inc. 
    649,350  
  34,621    
Dominion Resources, Inc. 
    1,145,263  
  11,151    
DTE Energy Co. 
    387,832  
  5,227    
Integrys Energy Group, Inc. 
    179,443  
  18,758    
NiSource, Inc. 
    247,793  
  22,873    
PG&E Corp. 
    928,415  
  32,069    
Public Service Enterprise Group, Inc. 
    1,015,625  
  8,030    
SCANA Corp. 
    278,480  
 
See Notes to Financial Statements

17


 

Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund
Portfolio of Investments - August 31, 2009 continued
 
                           
NUMBER OF
           
SHARES           VALUE
  14,960    
Sempra Energy
  $ 750,543  
  14,555    
TECO Energy, Inc. 
    193,873  
  7,997    
Wisconsin Energy Corp. 
    363,624  
  25,739    
Xcel Energy, Inc. 
    508,345  
                 
                        7,538,081  
                           
       
Multi-Line Retail (0.9%)
       
  5,617    
Big Lots, Inc. (a)
    142,784  
  9,557    
Family Dollar Stores, Inc. 
    289,386  
  15,198    
JC Penney Co., Inc. 
    456,548  
  18,867    
Kohl’s Corp. (a)
    973,348  
  28,767    
Macy’s, Inc. 
    446,464  
  10,902    
Nordstrom, Inc. 
    305,692  
  3,806    
Sears Holdings Corp. (a)
    241,491  
  45,721    
Target Corp. 
    2,148,887  
                 
                        5,004,600  
                           
       
Office Electronics (0.1%)
       
  46,715    
Xerox Corp. 
    404,085  
                 
       
Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels (9.8%)
       
  30,680    
Anadarko Petroleum Corp. 
    1,622,052  
  20,490    
Apache Corp. 
    1,740,625  
  7,069    
Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. 
    249,182  
  32,323    
Chesapeake Energy Corp. 
    738,257  
  122,340    
Chevron Corp. 
    8,556,460  
  89,761    
ConocoPhillips
    4,041,938  
  9,748    
Consol Energy, Inc. 
    364,673  
  13,116    
Denbury Resources, Inc. (a)
    199,625  
  26,803    
Devon Energy Corp. 
    1,645,168  
  47,963    
El Paso Corp. 
    442,698  
  15,734    
EOG Resources, Inc. 
    1,132,848  
  298,924    
Exxon Mobil Corp. 
    20,670,594  
  18,072    
Hess Corp. 
    914,262  
  41,725    
Marathon Oil Corp. 
    1,288,051  
  5,823    
Massey Energy Co. 
    157,687  
  11,350    
Murphy Oil Corp. 
    646,950  
  10,213    
Noble Energy, Inc. 
    617,478  
  49,016    
Occidental Petroleum Corp. 
    3,583,070  
  16,373    
Peabody Energy Corp. 
    535,070  
  8,050    
Pioneer Natural Resources Co. 
    233,128  
  8,496    
Range Resources Corp. 
    410,951  
  21,317    
Southwestern Energy Co. (a)
    785,745  
  41,796    
Spectra Energy Corp. 
    786,601  
  7,993    
Sunoco, Inc. 
    215,012  
  9,471    
Tesoro Corp. 
    133,352  
  36,582    
Valero Energy Corp. 
    685,547  
  33,380    
Williams Cos., Inc. (The)
    548,767  
  34,880    
XTO Energy, Inc. 
    1,346,368  
                 
                        54,292,159  
                           
       
Paper & Forest Products (0.2%)
       
  24,763    
International Paper Co. 
    568,311  
  11,684    
MeadWestvaco Corp. 
    256,464  
  11,656    
Weyerhaeuser Co. 
    435,818  
                 
                        1,260,593  
                           
       
Personal Products (0.2%)
       
  25,473    
Avon Products, Inc. 
    811,825  
  7,925    
Estee Lauder Cos., Inc. (The) (Class A)
    284,111  
                 
                        1,095,936  
                           
       
Pharmaceuticals (7.1%)
       
  95,316    
Abbott Laboratories
    4,311,143  
  19,093    
Allergan, Inc. 
    1,067,681  
  121,192    
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. 
    2,681,979  
  63,481    
Eli Lilly & Co. 
    2,124,074  
  16,775    
Forest Laboratories, Inc. (a)
    491,004  
  168,349    
Johnson & Johnson
    10,175,014  
  16,859    
King Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (a)
    174,996  
  127,768    
Merck & Co., Inc. 
    4,143,516  
  20,842    
Mylan, Inc. (a)
    305,752  
  411,032    
Pfizer, Inc. 
    6,864,234  
  98,016    
Schering-Plough Corp. 
    2,762,091  
  7,155    
Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (a)
    252,500  
  82,142    
Wyeth
    3,930,495  
                 
                        39,284,479  
                           
                 
       
Professional Services (0.2%)
       
  3,688    
Dun & Bradstreet Corp. 
    269,372  
  8,640    
Equifax, Inc. 
    238,810  
  8,428    
Monster Worldwide, Inc. (a)
    136,702  
  10,612    
Robert Half International, Inc. 
    278,989  
                 
                        923,873  
                           
 
See Notes to Financial Statements

18


 

Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund
Portfolio of Investments - August 31, 2009 continued
 
                           
NUMBER OF
           
SHARES           VALUE
       
Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) (1.0%)
       
  7,955    
Apartment Investment & Management Co. (Class A)
  $ 96,812  
  5,441    
AvalonBay Communities, Inc. 
    350,564  
  8,263    
Boston Properties, Inc. 
    500,572  
  14,833    
Equity Residential
    405,089  
  17,282    
HCP, Inc. 
    492,191  
  6,732    
Health Care REIT, Inc. 
    287,524  
  35,743    
Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. 
    356,358  
  16,163    
Kimco Realty Corp. 
    202,846  
  11,409    
Plum Creek Timber Co., Inc. 
    345,579  
  21,792    
ProLogis
    242,327  
  7,168    
Public Storage
    505,702  
  16,577    
Simon Property Group, Inc. 
    1,054,629  
  9,796    
Ventas, Inc. 
    384,101  
  9,658    
Vornado Realty Trust
    555,528  
                 
                        5,779,822  
                           
       
Real Estate Management & Development (0.0%)
       
  15,253    
CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc. (Class A) (a)
    180,596  
                 
       
Road & Rail (1.0%)
       
  16,446    
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. 
    1,365,347  
  23,933    
CSX Corp. 
    1,017,152  
  22,950    
Norfolk Southern Corp. 
    1,052,716  
  3,804    
Ryder System, Inc. 
    144,552  
  30,555    
Union Pacific Corp. 
    1,827,495  
                 
                        5,407,262  
                           
       
Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment (2.7%)
  41,621    
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (a)
    181,468  
  20,340    
Altera Corp. 
    390,731  
  16,228    
Analog Devices, Inc. 
    458,441  
  83,700    
Applied Materials, Inc. 
    1,103,166  
  25,676    
Broadcom Corp. (Class A) (a)
    730,482  
  340,150    
Intel Corp. 
    6,911,848  
  11,550    
Kla-Tencor Corp. 
    360,360  
  15,166    
Linear Technology Corp. 
    402,961  
  44,124    
LSI Corp. (a)
    229,886  
  15,353    
MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc. (a)
    244,880  
  12,441    
Microchip Technology, Inc. 
    330,309  
  52,242    
Micron Technology, Inc. (a)
    385,024  
  13,343    
National Semiconductor Corp. 
    202,413  
  6,680    
Novellus Systems, Inc. (a)
    127,989  
  36,735    
Nvidia Corp. (a)
    533,392  
  11,579    
Teradyne, Inc. (a)
    95,527  
  78,210    
Texas Instruments, Inc. 
    1,923,184  
  18,735    
Xilinx, Inc. 
    416,666  
                 
                        15,028,727  
                           
       
Software (4.0%)
       
  32,254    
Adobe Systems, Inc. (a)
    1,013,421  
  15,478    
Autodesk, Inc. (a)
    362,649  
  9,983    
BMC Software, Inc. (a)
    355,894  
  22,026    
CA, Inc. 
    490,959  
  12,425    
Citrix Systems, Inc. (a)
    443,324  
  16,860    
Compuware Corp. (a)
    121,561  
  21,948    
Electronic Arts, Inc. (a)
    399,892  
  18,340    
Intuit, Inc. (a)
    509,302  
  10,450    
McAfee, Inc. (a)
    415,701  
  467,817    
Microsoft Corp. 
    11,531,689  
  23,616    
Novell, Inc. (a)
    102,730  
  230,158    
Oracle Corp. 
    5,033,555  
  12,056    
Red Hat, Inc. (a)
    276,806  
  7,177    
Salesforce.com, Inc. (a)
    372,271  
  51,865    
Symantec Corp. (a)
    784,199  
                 
                        22,213,953  
                           
       
Specialty Retail (2.0%)
       
  5,953    
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (Class A)
    192,222  
  7,379    
AutoNation, Inc. (a)
    140,053  
  2,139    
AutoZone, Inc. (a)
    314,968  
  15,258    
Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc. (a)
    556,612  
  20,748    
Best Buy Co., Inc. 
    752,738  
  11,202    
GameStop Corp. (Class A) (a)
    266,608  
  25,912    
Gap, Inc. (The)
    509,171  
  102,190    
Home Depot, Inc. 
    2,788,765  
  90,806    
Lowe’s Cos., Inc. 
    1,952,329  
  18,508    
Ltd. Brands, Inc. 
    276,139  
  8,850    
O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. (a)
    338,778  
  18,802    
Office Depot, Inc. (a)
    98,147  
 
See Notes to Financial Statements

19


 

Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund
Portfolio of Investments - August 31, 2009 continued
 
                           
NUMBER OF
           
SHARES           VALUE
  8,555    
RadioShack Corp. 
  $ 129,437  
  6,717    
Sherwin-Williams Co. (The)
    404,363  
  44,208    
Staples, Inc. 
    955,335  
  8,421    
Tiffany & Co. 
    306,356  
  25,295    
TJX Cos., Inc. 
    909,355  
                 
                        10,891,376  
                           
       
Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods (0.4%)
  18,852    
Coach, Inc. 
    533,323  
  23,169    
NIKE, Inc. (Class B)
    1,283,331  
  3,848    
Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. 
    255,430  
  6,023    
VF Corp. 
    418,960  
                 
                        2,491,044  
                           
       
Thrifts & Mortgage Finance (0.1%)
  28,114    
Hudson City Bancorp, Inc. 
    368,856  
  23,788    
People’s United Financial, Inc. 
    382,035  
                 
                        750,891  
                           
       
Tobacco (1.6%)
       
  129,695    
Altria Group, Inc. 
    2,370,825  
  10,143    
Lorillard, Inc. 
    738,106  
  119,320    
Philip Morris International, Inc. 
    5,454,117  
  9,170    
Reynolds American, Inc. 
    419,161  
                 
                        8,982,209  
                           
       
Trading Companies & Distributors (0.1%)
       
  8,839    
Fastenal Co. 
    319,972  
  3,284    
WW Grainger, Inc. 
    287,251  
                 
                        607,223  
                           
       
Wireless Telecommunication Services (0.3%)
       
  24,599    
American Tower Corp. (Class A) (a)
    778,558  
  11,978    
MetroPCS Communications, Inc. (a)
    95,345  
  174,884    
Sprint Nextel Corp. (a)
    640,076  
                 
                        1,513,979  
                           
        Total Common Stocks
(Cost $578,452,495)
    551,212,304  
                 
                           
NUMBER OF
           
SHARES (000)           VALUE
        Short-Term Investment (1.0%)
       
Investment Company
       
  5,596    
Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Funds – Money Market Portfolio – Institutional Class (Cost $5,595,756) (See Note 6)
  $ 5,595,756  
                 
Total Investments
(Cost $584,048,251) (e) (f)
    100.0   %     556,808,060  
Other Assets in Excess of Liabilities     (0.0 )       165,203  
                   
Net Assets     100.0   %   $ 556,973,263  
                   
     
(a)
  Non-income producing security.
(b)
  Security with a total market value equal to $0 has been valued at its fair value as determined in good faith under procedures established by and under the general supervision of the Fund’s Trustees.
(c)
  Consist of one or more class of securities traded together as a unit; stocks with attached trust shares.
(d)
  A portion of this security has been physically segregated in connection with open futures contracts.
(e)
  Securities have been designated as collateral in connection with open futures contracts.
(f)
  The aggregate cost for federal income tax purposes is $611,477,503. The aggregate gross unrealized appreciation is $109,747,550 and the aggregate gross unrealized depreciation is $164,416,993 resulting in net unrealized depreciation of $54,669,443.
 
See Notes to Financial Statements

20


 

Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund
Portfolio of Investments - August 31, 2009 continued
 
 
Futures Contracts Open at August 31, 2009:
 
 
                             
NUMBER OF
      DESCRIPTION, DELIVERY
  UNDERLYING FACE
  UNREALIZED
CONTRACTS   LONG/SHORT   MONTH AND YEAR   AMOUNT AT VALUE   APPRECIATION
  126     Long   S&P 500 E-MINI,
September 2009
  $ 6,424,110     $ 240,957  
                             
 
Summary of Investments
                   
        PERCENT OF
        TOTAL
SECTOR   VALUE   INVESTMENTS
Information Technology
  $ 101,807,402       18.3   %
Financials
    84,023,152       15.1    
Health Care
    74,287,777       13.3    
Energy
    64,032,204       11.5    
Consumer Staples
    63,301,975       11.4    
Industrials
    55,504,233       10.0    
Consumer Discretionary
    50,885,517       9.1    
Utilities
    21,358,532       3.8    
Materials
    18,427,379       3.3    
Telecommunication Services
    17,584,133       3.2    
Investment Company
    5,595,756       1.0    
                 
    $ 556,808,060 ++     100.0   %
                 
++ Does not include open futures contracts with an underlying face amount of $6,424,110 with unrealized appreciation of $240,957.
 
See Notes to Financial Statements

21


 

Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund
Financial Statements
Statement of Assets and Liabilities
August 31, 2009
         
Assets:
       
Investments in securities, at value (cost $563,729,657)
  $ 545,254,588  
Investments in affiliates, at value (cost $20,318,594)
    11,553,472  
Cash
    3,621  
Receivable for:
       
Dividends
    1,360,185  
Shares of beneficial interest sold
    104,454  
Investments sold
    59,254  
Dividends from affiliate
    481  
Prepaid expenses and other assets
    95,879  
         
Total Assets
    558,431,934  
         
Liabilities:        
Payable for:
       
Shares of beneficial interest redeemed
    982,899  
Distribution fee
    231,101  
Transfer agent fee
    69,034  
Variation margin
    53,365  
Administration fee
    37,910  
Investment advisory fee
    26,151  
Accrued expenses and other payables
    58,211  
         
Total Liabilities
    1,458,671  
         
Net Assets
  $ 556,973,263  
         
Composition of Net Assets:        
Paid-in-capital
  $ 655,479,335  
Net unrealized depreciation
    (26,999,234 )
Accumulated undistributed net investment income
    8,473,456  
Accumulated net realized loss
    (79,980,294 )
         
Net Assets
  $ 556,973,263  
         
Class A Shares:        
Net Assets
  $ 349,379,605  
Shares Outstanding (unlimited shares authorized, $.01 par value)
    31,503,329  
Net Asset Value Per Share
    $11.09  
         
Maximum Offereing Price Per Share,
(net asset value plus 5.54% of net asset value)
    $11.70  
         
Class B Shares:        
Net Assets
  $ 110,230,575  
Shares Outstanding (unlimited shares authorized, $.01 par value)
    10,177,731  
Net Asset Value Per Share
    $10.83  
         
Class C Shares:        
Net Assets
    $74,206,237  
Shares Outstanding (unlimited shares authorized, $.01 par value)
    6,910,206  
Net Asset Value Per Share
    $10.74  
         
Class I Shares:        
Net Assets
    $23,156,846  
Shares Outstanding (unlimited shares authorized, $.01 par value)
    2,067,336  
Net Asset Value Per Share
    $11.20  
         
 
Statement of Operations
For the year ended August 31, 2009
 
         
Net Investment Income:
       
Income
       
Dividends (net of $312 foreign withholding tax)
  $ 14,584,202  
Dividends from affiliates
    80,136  
         
Total Income
    14,664,338  
         
Expenses
       
Investment advisory fee
    651,672  
Distribution fee (Class A shares)
    792,608  
Distribution fee (Class B shares)
    1,270,845  
Distribution fee (Class C shares)
    702,518  
Transfer agent fees and expenses
    1,189,903  
Administration fee
    434,448  
Shareholder reports and notices
    90,769  
Professional fees
    74,301  
Registration fees
    44,799  
Custodian fees
    39,782  
Trustees’ fees and expenses
    12,973  
Other
    99,502  
         
Total Expenses
    5,404,120  
Less: amounts waived/reimbursed
    (789,446 )
Less: rebate from Morgan Stanley affiliated cash sweep (Note 6)
    (2,763 )
         
Net Expenses
    4,611,911  
         
Net Investment Income
    10,052,427  
         
Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss)
       
Realized Loss on:
       
Investments
    (34,717,156 )
Futures contracts
    (1,684,399 )
Investments in affiliates
    (166,255 )
Forward foreign currency contracts
    (44 )
Foreign currency translation
    (2,454 )
         
Net Realized Loss
    (36,570,308 )
         
Change in Unrealized Appreciation/Depreciation on:
       
Investments
    (137,859,272 )
Investments in affiliates
    (9,122,037 )
Futures contracts
    181,719  
Foreign currency translation
    200  
         
Net Change in Unrealized Appreciation/Depreciation
    (146,799,390 )
         
Net Loss
    (183,369,698 )
         
Net Decrease   $ (173,317,271 )
         
 
 
See Notes to Financial Statements

22


 

Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund
Financial Statements continued
 
 
Statements of Changes in Net Assets
                 
    FOR THE YEAR
  FOR THE YEAR
    ENDED
  ENDED
    AUGUST 31, 2009   AUGUST 31, 2008
 
Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets:
               
Operations:
               
Net investment income
  $ 10,052,427     $ 11,992,341  
Net realized gain (loss)
    (36,570,308 )     41,859,012  
Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation
    (146,799,390 )     (174,746,432 )
                 
Net Decrease
    (173,317,271 )     (120,895,079 )
                 
Dividends to Shareholders from Net Investment Income:
               
Class A shares
    (7,399,930 )     (8,115,403 )
Class B shares
    (1,543,020 )     (2,159,933 )
Class C shares
    (998,587 )     (1,058,326 )
Class I shares
    (558,487 )     (1,666,374 )
                 
Total Dividends
    (10,500,024 )     (13,000,036 )
                 
Net decrease from transactions in shares of beneficial interest
    (98,923,340 )     (151,973,614 )
                 
Net Decrease
    (282,740,635 )     (285,868,729 )
Net Assets:
               
Beginning of period
    839,713,898       1,125,582,627  
                 
End of period
(including accumulated undistributed net investment income of $8,473,456 and $9,094,905, respectively)
  $ 556,973,263     $ 839,713,898  
                 
 
See Notes to Financial Statements

23


 

Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund
Notes to Financial Statements - August 31, 2009
 
1. Organization and Accounting Policies
Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund (the “Fund”) is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Act”), as a diversified, open-end management investment company. The Fund’s investment objective is to provide investment results that, before expenses, correspond to the total return of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Composite Stock Price Index (the “S&P 500 Index”). The Fund was organized as a Massachusetts business trust on June 18, 1997 and commenced operations on September 26, 1997.
 
The Fund offers Class A shares, Class B shares, Class C shares and Class I shares. The four classes are substantially the same except that most Class A shares are subject to a sales charge imposed at the time of purchase and some Class A shares, and most Class B shares and Class C shares are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge imposed on shares redeemed within eighteen months, six years and one year, respectively. Class I shares are not subject to a sales charge. Additionally, Class A shares, Class B shares and Class C shares incur distribution expenses.
 
For the period September 1, 2008 to January 20, 2009, the Fund assessed a 2% redemption fee, on Class A shares, Class B shares, Class C shares, and Class I shares, which was paid directly to the Fund, for shares redeemed or exchanged within seven days of purchase, subject to certain exceptions. The redemption fee was designed to protect the Fund and its remaining shareholders from the effects of short-term trading. The Board of Trustees approved the elimination of redemption fees, effective January 21, 2009.
 
The following is a summary of significant accounting policies:
 
A. Valuation of Investments — (1) an equity portfolio security listed or traded on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) or American Stock Exchange or other exchange is valued at its latest sale price prior to the time when assets are valued; if there were no sales that day, the security is valued at the mean between the last reported bid and ask price; (2) an equity portfolio security listed or traded on the Nasdaq is valued at the Nasdaq Official Closing Price; if there were no sales that day, the security is valued at the mean between the last reported bid and ask price; (3) all other portfolio securities for which over-the-counter market quotations are readily available are valued at the mean between the last reported bid and ask price. In cases where a security is traded on more than one exchange, the security is valued on the exchange designated as the primary market; (4) for equity securities traded on foreign exchanges, the last reported sale price or the latest bid price may be used if there were no sales on a particular day; (5) futures are valued at the latest price published by the commodities exchange on which they trade; (6) when market quotations are not readily available including circumstances under which Morgan Stanley Investment Advisors Inc. (the “Investment Adviser”) determines that the latest sale price, the bid price or the mean between the last reported bid and ask price do not reflect a security’s market value, portfolio securities are valued at their fair value as determined in good faith under procedures established by and under the general

24


 

Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund
Notes to Financial Statements - August 31, 2009 continued
 
supervision of the Fund’s Trustees. Occasionally, developments affecting the closing prices of securities and other assets may occur between the times at which valuations of such securities are determined (that is, close of the foreign market on which the securities trade) and the close of business on the NYSE. If developments occur during such periods that are expected to materially affect the value of such securities, such valuations may be adjusted to reflect the estimated fair value of such securities as of the close of the NYSE, as determined in good faith by the Fund’s Trustees or by the Investment Adviser using a pricing service and/or procedures approved by the Trustees of the Fund; (7) investments in open-end mutual funds, including the Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Funds, are valued at the net asset value as of the close of each business day; and (8) short-term debt securities having a maturity date of more than sixty days at time of purchase are valued on a mark-to-market basis until sixty days prior to maturity and thereafter at amortized cost based on their value on the 61st day. Short-term debt securities having a maturity date of sixty days or less at the time of purchase are valued at amortized cost, which approximates market value.
 
B. Accounting for Investments — Security transactions are accounted for on the trade date (date the order to buy or sell is executed). Realized gains and losses on security transactions are determined by the identified cost method. Dividend income and other distributions are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Discounts are accreted and premiums are amortized over the life of the respective securities and are included in interest income. Interest income is accrued daily as earned.
 
C. Multiple Class Allocations — Investment income, expenses (other than distribution fees), and realized and unrealized gains and losses are allocated to each class of shares based upon the relative net asset value on the date such items are recognized. Distribution fees are charged directly to the respective class.
 
D. Futures — A futures contract is an agreement between two parties to buy and sell financial instruments or contracts based on financial indices at a set price on a future date. Upon entering into such a contract, the Fund is required to pledge to the broker cash, U.S. Government securities or other liquid portfolio securities equal to the minimum initial margin requirements of the applicable futures exchange. Pursuant to the contract, the Fund agrees to receive from or pay to the broker an amount of cash equal to the daily fluctuation in the value of the contract. Such receipts or payments known as variation margin are recorded by the Fund as unrealized gains and losses. Upon closing of the contract, the Fund realizes a gain or loss equal to the difference between the value of the contract at the time it was opened and the value at the time it was closed.
 
E. Foreign Currency Translation and Forward Currency Contracts — The books and records of the Fund are maintained in U.S. dollars as follows: (1) the foreign currency market value of investment securities, other assets and liabilities and forward foreign currency contracts (“forward contracts”) are translated at the exchange rates prevailing at the end of the period; and (2) purchases, sales, income and expenses are translated at the exchange rates prevailing on the respective dates of such transactions. The resultant

25


 

Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund
Notes to Financial Statements - August 31, 2009 continued
 
exchange gains and losses are recorded as realized and unrealized gains/losses on forward foreign currency contracts and foreign currency translation. Pursuant to U.S. federal income tax regulations, certain foreign exchange gains/losses included in realized and unrealized gains/losses are included in or are a reduction of ordinary income for federal income tax purposes. The Fund does not isolate that portion of the results of operations arising as a result of changes in the foreign exchange rates from the changes in the market prices of the securities. Forward contracts are valued daily at the appropriate exchange rates. The resultant unrealized exchange gains and losses are recorded as unrealized foreign currency gains or losses. The Fund records realized gains or losses on delivery of the currency or at the time the forward contract is extinguished (compensated) by entering into a closing transaction prior to delivery.
 
F. Federal Income Tax Policy — It is the Fund’s policy to comply with the requirements of Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code applicable to regulated investment companies and to distribute substantially all of its taxable income to its shareholders. Therefore, no federal income tax provision is required. The Fund files tax returns with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, New York State and New York City. The Fund follows the provisions of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Interpretation No. 48 Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes (“FIN 48”). FIN 48 sets forth a minimum threshold for financial statement recognition of the benefit of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. There are no unrecognized tax benefits in the accompanying financial statements. If applicable, the Fund recognizes interest accrued related to unrecognized tax benefits in interest expense and penalties in other expenses in the Statement of Operations. Each of the tax years in the four year period ended August 31, 2009, remains subject to examination by taxing authorities.
 
G. Dividends and Distributions to Shareholders — Dividends and distributions to shareholders are recorded on the ex-dividend date.
 
H. Use of Estimates — The preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts and disclosures. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
 
I. Subsequent Events — The Fund considers events or transactions that occur after the date of the Statement of Assets and Liabilities but before the financial statements are issued to provide additional evidence relative to certain estimates or to identify matters that require additional disclosure. Subsequent events have been evaluated through October 27, 2009, the date of issuance of these financial statements.
2. Fair Valuation Measurements
The Fund adopted FASB Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 157, Fair Value Measurements (“SFAS 157”), effective September 1, 2008. In accordance with SFAS 157, fair value is defined as the price that the Fund would receive to sell an investment or pay to transfer a liability in a timely transaction with an

26


 

Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund
Notes to Financial Statements - August 31, 2009 continued
 
independent buyer in the principal market, or in the absence of a principal market the most advantageous market for the investment or liability. SFAS 157 establishes a three-tier hierarchy to distinguish between (1) inputs that reflect the assumptions market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability developed based on market data obtained from sources independent of the reporting entity (observable inputs) and (2) inputs that reflect the reporting entity’s own assumptions about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability developed based on the best information available in the circumstances (unobservable inputs) and to establish classification of fair value measurements for disclosure purposes. Various inputs are used in determining the value of the Fund’s investments. The inputs are summarized in the three broad levels listed below.
 
  •  Level 1 — unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical investments
 
  •  Level 2 — other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar investments, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, etc.)
 
  •  Level 3 — significant unobservable inputs (including the Fund’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments)
 
The inputs or methodology used for valuing securities are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in those securities and the determination of the significance of a particular input to the fair value measurement in its entirety requires judgment and considers factors specific to each security.
 
The following is a summary of the inputs used as of August 31, 2009 in valuing the Fund’s investments carried at value:
 
                                 
        FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS AT AUGUST 31, 2009 USING
        UNADJUSTED
       
        QUOTED PRICES IN
  SIGNIFICANT
  SIGNIFICANT
        ACTIVE MARKET FOR
  OTHER OBSERVABLE
  UNOBSERVABLE
        IDENTICAL INVESTMENTS
  INPUTS
  INPUTS
INVESTMENT TYPE   TOTAL   (LEVEL 1)   (LEVEL 2)   (LEVEL 3)
Common Stocks
                               
Aerospace & Defense
  $ 15,056,715     $ 15,056,715             —                   —        
Air Freight & Logistics
    5,688,255       5,688,255             —                   —        
Airlines
    413,892       413,892             —                   —        
Auto Components
    1,164,490       1,164,490             —                   —        
Automobiles
    1,863,737       1,863,737             —                   —        
Beverages
    13,581,478       13,581,478             —                   —        
Biotechnology
    9,729,118       9,729,118             —                   —        
Building Products
    356,454       356,454             —                   —        
Capital Markets
    16,399,953       16,399,953             —                   —        
Chemicals
    10,392,002       10,392,002             —                   —        
Commercial Banks
    15,703,655       15,703,655             —                   —        
Commercial Services & Supplies
    3,077,980       3,077,980             —                   —        

27


 

Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund
Notes to Financial Statements - August 31, 2009 continued
 
                                 
        FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS AT AUGUST 31, 2009 USING
        UNADJUSTED
       
        QUOTED PRICES IN
  SIGNIFICANT
  SIGNIFICANT
        ACTIVE MARKET FOR
  OTHER OBSERVABLE
  UNOBSERVABLE
        IDENTICAL INVESTMENTS
  INPUTS
  INPUTS
INVESTMENT TYPE   TOTAL   (LEVEL 1)   (LEVEL 2)   (LEVEL 3)
Communications Equipment
  $ 14,709,066     $ 14,709,066             —                   —        
Computers & Peripherals
    31,109,358       31,109,358             —                   $ 0        
Construction & Engineering
    1,194,447       1,194,447             —                   —        
Construction Materials
    377,001       377,001             —                   —        
Consumer Finance
    4,143,637       4,143,637             —                   —        
Containers & Packaging
    1,309,686       1,309,686             —                   —        
Distributors
    403,958       403,958             —                   —        
Diversified Consumer Services
    1,072,573       1,072,573             —                   —        
Diversified Financial Services
    26,140,553       26,140,553             —                   —        
Diversified Telecommunication Services
    16,070,154       16,070,154             —                   —        
Electric Utilities
    11,983,740       11,983,740             —                   —        
Electrical Equipment
    2,425,091       2,425,091             —                   —        
Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components
    2,753,636       2,753,636             —                   —        
Energy Equipment & Services
    9,740,045       9,740,045             —                   —        
Food & Staples Retailing
    16,503,346       16,503,346             —                   —        
Food Products
    9,364,120       9,364,120             —                   —        
Gas Utilities
    867,537       867,537             —                   —        
Health Care Equipment & Supplies
    10,809,236       10,809,236             —                   —        
Health Care Providers & Services
    11,922,374       11,922,374             —                   —        
Health Care Technology
    172,418       172,418             —                   —        
Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure
    8,363,851       8,363,851             —                   —        
Household Durables
    2,538,370       2,538,370             —                   —        
Household Products
    13,774,886       13,774,886             —                   —        
Independent Power Producers & Energy Traders
    969,174       969,174             —                   —        
Industrial Conglomerates
    12,310,750       12,310,750             —                   —        
Insurance
    14,924,045       14,924,045             —                   —        
Internet & Catalog Retail
    1,913,709       1,913,709             —                   —        
Internet Software & Services
    9,925,494       9,925,494             —                   —        
IT Services
    5,663,083       5,663,083             —                   —        
Leisure Equipment & Products
    779,329       779,329             —                   —        
Life Sciences Tools & Services
    2,370,152       2,370,152             —                   —        
Machinery
    8,042,291       8,042,291             —                   —        
Media
    14,398,480       14,398,480             —                   —        
Metals & Mining
    5,088,097       5,088,097             —                   —        
Multi-Utilities
    7,538,081       7,538,081             —                   —        
Multi-Line Retail
    5,004,600       5,004,600             —                   —        
Office Electronics
    404,085       404,085             —                   —        
Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels
    54,292,159       54,292,159             —                   —        
Paper & Forest Products
    1,260,593       1,260,593             —                   —        
Personal Products
    1,095,936       1,095,936             —                   —        

28


 

Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund
Notes to Financial Statements - August 31, 2009 continued
 
                                 
        FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS AT AUGUST 31, 2009 USING
        UNADJUSTED
       
        QUOTED PRICES IN
  SIGNIFICANT
  SIGNIFICANT
        ACTIVE MARKET FOR
  OTHER OBSERVABLE
  UNOBSERVABLE
        IDENTICAL INVESTMENTS
  INPUTS
  INPUTS
INVESTMENT TYPE   TOTAL   (LEVEL 1)   (LEVEL 2)   (LEVEL 3)
Pharmaceuticals
  $ 39,284,479     $ 39,284,479             —                   —        
Professional Services
    923,873       923,873             —                   —        
Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)
    5,779,822       5,779,822             —                   —        
Real Estate Management & Development
    180,596       180,596             —                   —        
Road & Rail
    5,407,262       5,407,262             —                   —        
Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment
    15,028,727       15,028,727             —                   —        
Software
    22,213,953       22,213,953             —                   —        
Specialty Retail
    10,891,376       10,891,376             —                   —        
Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods
    2,491,044       2,491,044             —                   —        
Thrifts & Mortgage Finance
    750,891       750,891             —                   —        
Tobacco
    8,982,209       8,982,209             —                   —        
Trading Companies & Distributors
    607,223       607,223             —                   —        
Wireless Telecommunication Services
    1,513,979       1,513,979             —                   —        
                                 
Total Common Stocks
    551,212,304       551,212,304             —                    0        
                                 
Short-Term Investment — Investment Company
    5,595,756       5,595,756             —                   —        
Futures
    240,957       240,957             —                   —        
                                 
Total
  $ 557,049,017     $ 557,049,017       —                   $ 0        
                                 
 
The Fund held one level 3 security with a value of $0 for the entire period.
 
On April 9, 2009, FASB issued Staff Position No. 157-4, Determining Fair Value When the Volume and Level of Activity for the Asset or Liability Have Significantly Decreased and Identifying Transactions That Are Not Orderly (“FSP 157-4”). FSP 157-4 provides additional guidance for estimating fair value in accordance with SFAS 157, when the volume and level of activity for the asset or liability have significantly decreased. FSP 157-4 also requires additional disaggregation of the current SFAS 157 required disclosures. FSP 157-4 is effective for interim and annual reporting periods ending after June 15, 2009. The Fund has adopted the provisions of FSP 157-4 as of August 31, 2009 and it did not have a material impact on the Fund’s financial statements.
3. Derivative Financial Instruments
The Fund adopted FASB Standard No. 161, Disclosures about Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities (“SFAS 161”), effective March 1, 2009. SFAS 161 is intended to improve financial reporting about derivative instruments by requiring enhanced disclosures to enable investors to better understand how and why the Fund uses derivative instruments, how these derivative instruments are accounted for and their effects on the Fund’s financial position and results of operations.

29


 

Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund
Notes to Financial Statements - August 31, 2009 continued
 
A derivative financial instrument in very general terms refers to a security whose value is “derived” from the value of an underlying asset, reference rate or index.
 
The Fund may use derivative instruments for a variety of reasons, such as to attempt to protect the Fund against possible changes in the market value of its portfolio or to manage the Fund’s foreign currency exposure or to generate potential gain. All of the Fund’s portfolio holdings, including derivative instruments, are marked-to-market each day with the change in value reflected in unrealized appreciation/depreciation. Upon disposition, a realized gain or loss is recognized accordingly, except when taking delivery of a security underlying a contract. In these instances, the recognition of gain or loss is postponed until the disposal of the security underlying the contract. Risk may arise as a result of the potential inability of the counterparties to meet the terms of their contracts.
 
Summarized below is a specific type of derivative financial instrument used by the Fund.
 
Futures  The Fund may purchase and sell stock index futures (“futures contracts”) for the following reasons: to simulate full investment in the S&P 500 Index while retaining a cash balance for fund management purposes; to facilitate trading; to reduce transaction costs; or to seek higher investment returns when a futures contract is priced more attractively than stocks comprising the S&P 500 Index. These futures contracts involve elements of market risk in excess of the amount reflected in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. The Fund bears the risk of an unfavorable change in the value of the underlying securities. Risks may also arise upon entering into these contracts from the potential inability of the counterparties to meet the terms of their contracts.
 
Transactions in futures contracts for the year ended August 31, 2009, were as follows:
 
         
    NUMBER OF
    CONTRACTS
Futures contracts, outstanding at beginning of the period
    64  
Futures contracts opened
    2,659  
Futures contracts closed
    (2,597 )
         
Futures contracts, outstanding at end of the period
    126  
         
 
Forward Foreign Currency Contracts  The Fund may enter into forward contracts for many purposes, including to facilitate settlement of foreign currency denominated portfolio transactions or to manage foreign currency exposure associated with foreign currency denominated securities. Forward contracts involve elements of market risk in excess of the amount reflected in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. The Fund bears the risk of an unfavorable change in the foreign exchange rates underlying the forward contracts. Risks may also arise upon entering into these contracts from the potential inability of the counterparties to meet the terms of their contracts.

30


 

Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund
Notes to Financial Statements - August 31, 2009 continued
 
During the year ended August 31, 2009, the cost of purchases and the proceeds from sales of forward foreign currency contracts were $0 and $13,425, respectively.
 
The following table sets forth the fair value of the Fund’s derivative contracts by primary risk exposure as of August 31, 2009.
 
                             
    ASSET DERIVATIVES
      LIABILITY DERIVATIVES
   
PRIMARY RISK EXPOSURE
 
BALANCE SHEET LOCATION
 
FAIR VALUE
 
BALANCE SHEET LOCATION
 
FAIR VALUE
 
Equity Risk
  Variation margin   $ 240,957     Variation margin   $  
                           
Includes cumulative appreciation of futures contracts as reported in the Portfolio of Investments. Only current day’s variation margin is reported within the Statement of Assets and Liabilities.
 
The following tables set forth by primary risk exposure the Fund’s realized gains (losses) and change in unrealized gains (losses) by type of derivative contract for the year ended August 31, 2009 in accordance with SFAS 161.
 
                 
AMOUNT OF REALIZED GAIN (LOSS) ON DERIVATIVE CONTRACTS
PRIMARY RISK EXPOSURE
 
FUTURES
  FORWARD FOREIGN CURRENCY
 
Equity Risk
  $ (1,684,399 )   $  
Foreign Exchange Risk
          (44 )
                 
    $ (1,684,399 )   $ (44 )
                 
 
                 
CHANGE IN UNREALIZED APPRECIATION (DEPRECIATION) ON DERIVATIVE CONTRACTS
PRIMARY RISK EXPOSURE
 
FUTURES
   
 
Equity Risk
  $ 181,719          
                 
4. Investment Advisory/Administration Agreements
Pursuant to an Investment Advisory Agreement, the Fund pays the Investment Adviser an advisory fee, accrued daily and payable monthly, by applying the following annual rates to the net assets of the Fund determined as of the close of each business day: 0.12% to the portion of the daily net assets not exceeding $2 billion and 0.10% to the portion of the daily net assets in excess of $2 billion.
 
Pursuant to an Administration Agreement with Morgan Stanley Services Company Inc. (the “Administrator”), an affiliate of the Investment Adviser, the Fund pays an administration fee, accrued daily and payable monthly, by applying the annual rate of 0.08% to the Fund’s daily net assets.
 
The Investment Adviser has voluntarily agreed to cap the Fund’s operating expenses (except for brokerage and 12b-1 fees) by assuming the Fund’s “other expenses” and/or waiving the Fund’s advisory fees, and the Administrator has agreed to waive the Fund’s administrative fees, to the extent that such operating expenses

31


 

Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund
Notes to Financial Statements - August 31, 2009 continued
 
exceed 0.34% of the average daily net assets of the Fund on an annualized basis. This voluntary expense cap may be terminated at any time without notice.
 
Under an agreement between the Administrator and State Street Bank and Trust Company (“State Street”), State Street provides certain administrative services to the Fund. For such services, the Administrator pays State Street a portion of the fee the Administrator receives from the Fund.
5. Plan of Distribution
Shares of the Fund are distributed by Morgan Stanley Distributors Inc. (the “Distributor”), an affiliate of the Investment Adviser and Administrator. The Fund has adopted a Plan of Distribution (the “Plan”) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Act. The Plan provides that the Fund will pay the Distributor a fee which is accrued daily and paid monthly at the following annual rates: (i) Class A — up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets of Class A shares; (ii) Class B — up to 1.0% of the average daily net assets of Class B shares; and (iii) Class C — up to 1.0% of the average daily net assets of Class C shares.
 
In the case of Class B shares, provided that the Plan continues in effect, any cumulative expenses incurred by the Distributor but not yet recovered may be recovered through the payment of future distribution fees from the Fund pursuant to the Plan and contingent deferred sales charges paid by investors upon redemption of Class B shares. Although there is no legal obligation for the Fund to pay expenses incurred in excess of payments made to the Distributor under the Plan and the proceeds of contingent deferred sales charges paid by investors upon redemption of shares, if for any reason the Plan is terminated, the Trustees will consider at that time the manner in which to treat such expenses. The Distributor has advised the Fund that such excess amounts totaled $19,848,030 at August 31, 2009.
 
In the case of Class A shares and Class C shares, expenses incurred pursuant to the Plan in any calendar year in excess of 0.25% or 1.0% of the average daily net assets of Class A or Class C, respectively, will not be reimbursed by the Fund through payments in any subsequent year, except that expenses representing a gross sales credit to Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors and other authorized financial representatives at the time of sale may be reimbursed in the subsequent calendar year. For the year ended August 31, 2009, the distribution fee was accrued for Class A shares and Class C shares at the annual rate of 0.25% and 1.0%, respectively.
 
The Distributor has informed the Fund that for the year ended August 31, 2009, it received contingent deferred sales charges from certain redemptions of the Fund’s Class A shares, Class B shares and Class C shares of $1,402, $211,592 and $9,337, respectively and received $127,099 in front-end sales charges from sales of the Fund’s Class A shares. The respective shareholders pay such charges which are not an expense of the Fund.

32


 

Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund
Notes to Financial Statements - August 31, 2009 continued
 
6. Security Transactions and Transactions with Affiliates
The Fund invests in Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Funds – Money Market Portfolio – Institutional Class, an open-end management investment company managed by an affiliate of the Investment Adviser. Investment advisory fees paid by the Fund are reduced by an amount equal to the advisory and administrative service fees paid by Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Funds – Money Market Portfolio – Institutional Class with respect to assets invested by the Fund in Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Funds – Money Market Portfolio – Institutional Class. For year ended August 31, 2009, advisory fees paid were reduced by $2,763 relating to the Fund’s investment in Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Funds – Money Market Portfolio – Institutional Class. Income distributions earned by the Fund are recorded as “dividends from affiliates” in the Statement of Operations and totaled $30,761 for year ended August 31, 2009. During the year ended August 31, 2009, cost of purchases and sales of investments in Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Funds – Money Market Portfolio – Institutional Class aggregated $100,689,008 and $97,586,902, respectively.
 
The cost of purchases and proceeds from sales of portfolio securities, excluding short-term investments, for the year ended August 31, 2009 aggregated $39,010,327, and $140,947,230, respectively. Included in the aforementioned are purchases and sales of Morgan Stanley Common Stock, an affiliate of the Investment Adviser, Administrator and Distributor, of $506,023 and $390,029, respectively, including net realized losses of $166,255.
 
Morgan Stanley Trust, an affiliate of the Investment Adviser, Administrator and Distributor, is the Fund’s transfer agent.
 
The Fund had the following transactions with Citigroup, Inc., an affiliate of the Investment Adviser, Administrator and Distributor for the period June 1, 2009 (the date which Citigroup, Inc. became an affiliate) through August 31, 2009:
 
                           
    SALES/
  NET REALIZED
       
PURCHASES
  MATURITIES   GAIN (LOSS)   INCOME   VALUE
$1,451,618
                  $3,533,040
 
The Fund has an unfunded Deferred Compensation Plan (the “Compensation Plan”) which allows each independent Trustee to defer payment of all, or a portion, of the fees he or she receives for serving on the Board of Trustees. 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 Compensation Plan. Appreciation/depreciation and distributions received from these investments are recorded with an offsetting increase/decrease in the deferred compensation obligation and do not affect the net asset value of the Fund.

33


 

Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund
Notes to Financial Statements - August 31, 2009 continued
 
7. Shares of Beneficial Interest
Transactions in shares of beneficial interest were as follows:
 
                                 
    FOR THE YEAR
  FOR THE YEAR
    ENDED
  ENDED
    AUGUST 31, 2009   AUGUST 31, 2008
    SHARES   AMOUNT   SHARES   AMOUNT
CLASS A SHARES
                               
Sold
    6,646,915     $ 64,439,524       4,162,157     $ 61,384,007  
Conversion from Class B
    436,272       4,262,377       2,528,705       39,365,539  
Reinvestment of dividends
    788,953       7,274,152       473,534       7,552,862  
Redeemed
    (8,240,060 )     (80,705,634 )     (7,867,799 )     (118,172,030 )
                                 
Net decrease – Class A
    (367,920 )     (4,729,581 )     (703,403 )     (9,869,622 )
                                 
CLASS B SHARES 
                               
Sold
    616,503       5,827,518       630,230       9,267,121  
Conversion to Class A
    (446,198 )     (4,262,377 )     (2,600,424 )     (39,365,539 )
Reinvestment of dividends
    164,097       1,485,074       124,336       1,935,904  
Redeemed
    (6,211,635 )     (59,812,812 )     (6,376,953 )     (92,522,861 )
                                 
Net decrease – Class B
    (5,877,233 )     (56,762,597 )     (8,222,811 )     (120,685,375 )
                                 
CLASS C SHARES
                               
Sold
    838,920       7,834,836       433,443       6,253,547  
Reinvestment of dividends
    108,883       976,681       62,645       969,743  
Redeemed
    (1,767,363 )     (16,865,136 )     (1,283,848 )     (18,728,199 )
                                 
Net decrease – Class C
    (819,560 )     (8,053,619 )     (787,760 )     (11,504,909 )
                                 
CLASS I SHARES
                               
Sold
    382,657       3,893,883       441,457       6,530,657  
Reinvestment of dividends
    59,756       555,732       95,394       1,533,941  
Redeemed
    (3,630,056 )     (33,827,158 )     (1,192,112 )     (17,978,306 )
                                 
Net decrease – Class I
    (3,187,643 )     (29,377,543 )     (655,261 )     (9,913,708 )
                                 
                                 
Net decrease in Fund
    (10,252,356 )   $ (98,923,340 )     (10,369,235 )   $ (151,973,614 )
                                 
8. Expense Offset
The expense offset represents a reduction of the fees and expenses for interest earned on cash balances maintained by the Fund with the transfer agent. For the year ended August 31, 2009, the Fund did not have an expense offset.
9. Federal Income Tax Status
The amount of dividends and distributions from net investment income and net realized capital gains are determined in accordance with federal income tax regulations which may differ from generally accepted accounting principles. These “book/tax” differences are either considered temporary or permanent in nature. To the extent these differences are permanent in nature, such amounts are reclassified within the capital

34


 

Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund
Notes to Financial Statements - August 31, 2009 continued
 
accounts based on their federal tax-basis treatment; temporary differences do not require reclassification. Dividends and distributions which exceed net investment income and net realized capital gains for tax purposes are reported as distributions of paid-in-capital.
 
The tax character of distributions paid was as follows:
 
                 
    FOR THE YEAR
  FOR THE YEAR
    ENDED
  ENDED
    AUGUST 31, 2009   AUGUST 31, 2008
Ordinary income
  $ 10,500,024     $ 13,000,036  
                 
 
As of August 31, 2009, the tax-basis components of accumulated losses were as follows:
 
                 
Undistributed ordinary income
  $ 8,409,738          
Undistributed long-term gains
             
                 
Net accumulated earnings
    8,409,738          
Capital loss carryforward
    (32,605,773 )        
Post-October losses
    (19,638,405 )        
Temporary differences
    (2,189 )        
Net unrealized depreciation
    (54,669,443 )        
                 
Total accumulated losses
  $ (98,506,072 )        
                 
 
As of August 31, 2009, the Fund had a net capital loss carryforward of $32,605,773, to offset future capital gains to the extent provided by regulations, which will expire according to the following schedule.
 
             
AMOUNT   EXPIRATION
$ 20,294,770       August 31, 2012  
  12,311,003       August 31, 2017  
 
As of August 31, 2009, the Fund had temporary book/tax differences primarily attributable to post-October losses (capital and foreign currency losses incurred after October 31 within the taxable year which are deemed to arise on the first business day of the Fund’s next taxable year), capital loss deferrals on wash sales and mark-to-market of open futures contracts.
 
Permanent differences, primarily due to tax adjustments on real estate investment trusts held by the Fund, resulted in the following reclassifications among the Fund’s components of net assets at August 31, 2009:
 
                     
ACCUMULATED
       
UNDISTRIBUTED
  ACCUMULATED
   
NET INVESTMENT
  NET REALIZED
   
INCOME   LOSS   PAID-IN-CAPITAL
$ (173,852 )   $ 196,561     $ (22,709 )
                     

35


 

Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund
Notes to Financial Statements - August 31, 2009 continued
 
10. Accounting Pronouncements
In May 2009, FASB issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 165, Subsequent Events (“SFAS 165”), which is intended to establish general standards of accounting for and disclosure of events that occur after the balance sheet date but before financial statements are issued or are available to be issued. SFAS 165 is effective for interim or annual financial periods ending after June 15, 2009. The Fund has adopted the provisions of SFAS 165 as of August 31, 2009. Although the adoption of SFAS 165 did not materially impact its financial position, results of operations or changes in net assets, the Fund is now required to provide additional disclosures, which are included in Note 1.
 
In June 2009, FASB issued SFAS No. 168, The FASB Accounting Standards Codification and the Hierarchy of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles — a replacement of FASB Statement No. 162 (“SFAS 168”). SFAS 168 will become the source of authoritative U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles recognized by the FASB to be applied by nongovernmental entities. Once in effect, all of the Codification’s content will carry the same level of authority, effectively superseding FASB Statement No. 162. SFAS 168 is effective for financial statements issued for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. The Fund does not anticipate that SFAS 168 will have a material impact on its financial statements.
11. Subsequent Event
Morgan Stanley announced on October 19, 2009 that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell substantially all of its retail asset management business to Invesco Ltd. (“Invesco”), a leading global investment management company. As a result, the Investment Adviser expects to propose to the Board of Trustees of the Fund that it approve a reorganization of the Fund into a newly organized mutual fund advised by an affiliate of Invesco. It is the Investment Adviser’s current expectation that the newly organized Invesco fund would be managed by the same portfolio management team which currently manages the Fund. If approved by the Board, the reorganization would be submitted to the shareholders for their approval.

36


 

Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund
Financial Highlights
 
Selected ratios and per share data for a share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout each period:
 
                                                   
    FOR THE YEAR ENDED AUGUST 31,
    2009   2008   2007   2006   2005
Class A Shares
                                                 
Selected Per Share Data:
                                                 
Net asset value, beginning of period
    $13.94         $16.01         $14.17         $13.27         $12.03    
                                         
Income (loss) from investment operations:
                                                 
Net investment income(1)
    0.21         0.23         0.21         0.18         0.19    
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)
    (2.83 )       (2.05 )       1.85         0.91         1.23    
                                         
Total income (loss) from investment operations
    (2.62 )       (1.82 )       2.06         1.09         1.42    
                                         
Less dividends from net investment income
    (0.23 )       (0.25 )       (0.22 )       (0.19 )       (0.18 )  
                                         
Net asset value, end of period
    $11.09         $13.94         $16.01         $14.17         $13.27    
                                         
Total Return(2)
    (18.43 ) %     (11.55 ) %     14.60   %     8.24   %     11.81   %
Ratios to Average Net Assets:(3)(4)
                                                 
Total expenses (before expense offset)
     0.59%(5 )        0.59%(5 )        0.58%(5 )        0.62   %      0.64   %
Net investment income
    2.11%(5 )       1.50%(5 )       1.37%(5 )       1.32   %     1.52   %
Rebate from Morgan Stanley affiliate
    0.00%(6 )       0.00%(6 )       0.00%(6 )                  
Supplemental Data:
                                                 
Net assets, end of period, in millions
    $349         $444         $521         $452         $401    
Portfolio turnover rate
    7   %     10   %     3   %     4   %     3   %
(1) The per share amounts were computed using an average number of shares outstanding during the period.
(2) Does not reflect the deduction of sales charge. Calculated based on the net asset value as of the last business day of the period.
(3) Reflects overall Fund ratios for investment income and non-class specific expenses.
(4) If the Fund had borne all expenses that were reimbursed or waived by the Investment Adviser and Administrator, the annualized expense and net investment income ratios, before expense offset, would have been as follows:
 
                 
    EXPENSE
  NET INVESTMENT
PERIOD ENDED:
  RATIO   INCOME RATIO
August 31, 2009
    0.74 %     1.96 %
August 31, 2008
    0.66       1.43  
August 31, 2007
    0.65       1.30  
August 31, 2006
    0.66       1.28  
August 31, 2005
    0.65       1.51  
 
(5) The ratios reflect the rebate of certain Fund expenses in connection with investments in a Morgan Stanley affiliate during the period. The effect of the rebate on the ratios is disclosed in the above table as “Rebate from Morgan Stanley affiliate”.
(6) Amount is less than 0.005%.
 
 
See Notes to Financial Statements

37


 

Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund
Financial Highlights continued
 
                                                   
    FOR THE YEAR ENDED AUGUST 31,
    2009   2008   2007   2006   2005
Class B Shares
                                                 
Selected Per Share Data:
                                                 
Net asset value, beginning of period
    $13.54         $15.52         $13.72         $12.83         $11.62    
                                         
Income (loss) from investment operations:
                                                 
Net investment income(1)
    0.13         0.11         0.09         0.07         0.10    
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)
    (2.73 )       (1.99 )       1.79         0.87         1.18    
                                         
Total income (loss) from investment operations
    (2.60 )       (1.88 )       1.88         0.94         1.28    
                                         
Less dividends from net investment income
    (0.11 )       (0.10 )       (0.08 )       (0.05 )       (0.07 )  
                                         
Net asset value, end of period
    $10.83         $13.54         $15.52         $13.72         $12.83    
                                         
Total Return(2)
    (19.06 ) %     (12.20 ) %     13.76   %     7.35   %     11.04   %
Ratios to Average Net Assets:(3)(4)
                                                 
Total expenses (before expense offset)
    1.34%(5 )       1.34%(5 )       1.34%(5 )       1.38   %     1.40   %
Net investment income
    1.36%(5 )       0.75%(5 )       0.61%(5 )       0.56   %     0.76   %
Rebate from Morgan Stanley affiliate
    0.00%(6 )       0.00%(6 )       0.00%(6 )                  
Supplemental Data:
                                                 
Net assets, end of period, in millions
     $110          $217          $377          $534          $815    
Portfolio turnover rate
    7   %     10   %     3   %     4   %     3   %
(1) The per share amounts were computed using an average number of shares outstanding during the period.
(2) Does not reflect deduction of sales charge. Calculated based on the net asset value as of the last business day of the period.
(3) Reflects overall Fund ratios for investment income and non-class specific expenses.
(4) If the Fund had borne all expenses that were reimbursed or waived by the Investment Adviser and Administrator, the annualized expense and net investment income ratios, before expense offset, would have been as follows:
 
                 
    EXPENSE
  NET INVESTMENT
PERIOD ENDED:
  RATIO   INCOME RATIO
August 31, 2009
    1.49 %     1.21 %
August 31, 2008
    1.41       0.68  
August 31, 2007
    1.41       0.54  
August 31, 2006
    1.42       0.52  
August 31, 2005
    1.41       0.75  
 
(5) The ratios reflect the rebate of certain Fund expenses in connection with investments in a Morgan Stanley affiliate during the period. The effect of the rebate on the ratios is disclosed in the above table as “Rebate from Morgan Stanley affiliate”.
(6) Amount is less than 0.005%.
 
 
See Notes to Financial Statements

38


 

Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund
Financial Highlights continued
 
                                                   
    FOR THE YEAR ENDED AUGUST 31,
    2009   2008   2007   2006   2005
Class C Shares
                                                 
Selected Per Share Data:
                                                 
Net asset value, beginning of period
    $13.46         $15.46         $13.70         $12.83         $11.61    
                                         
Income (loss) from investment operations:
                                                 
Net investment income(1)
    0.13         0.11         0.09         0.08         0.10    
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)
    (2.72 )       (1.98 )       1.78         0.87         1.20    
                                         
Total income (loss) from investment operations
    (2.59 )       (1.87 )       1.87         0.95         1.30    
                                         
Less dividends from net investment income
    (0.13 )       (0.13 )       (0.11 )       (0.08 )       (0.08 )  
                                         
Net asset value, end of period
    $10.74         $13.46         $15.46         $13.70         $12.83    
                                         
Total Return(2)
    (19.01 ) %     (12.21 ) %     13.68   %     7.45   %     11.18   %
Ratios to Average Net Assets:(3)(4)
                                                 
Total expenses (before expense offset)
    1.34%(5 )       1.33%(5 )       1.33%(5 )       1.34   %     1.34   %
Net investment income
    1.36%(5 )       0.76%(5 )       0.62%(5 )       0.60   %     0.82   %
Rebate from Morgan Stanley affiliate
    0.00%(6 )       0.00%(6 )       0.00%(6 )                  
Supplemental Data:
                                                 
Net assets, end of period, in millions
     $74          $104          $132          $132          $154    
Portfolio turnover rate
    7   %     10   %     3   %     4   %     3   %
(1) The per share amounts were computed using an average number of shares outstanding during the period.
(2) Does not reflect deduction of sales charge. Calculated based on the net asset value as of the last business day of the period.
(3) Reflects overall Fund ratios for investment income and non-class specific expenses.
(4) If the Fund had borne all expenses that were reimbursed or waived by the Investment Adviser and Administrator, the annualized expense and net investment income ratios, before expense offset, would have been as follows:
 
                 
    EXPENSE
  NET INVESTMENT
PERIOD ENDED:
  RATIO   INCOME RATIO
August 31, 2009
    1.49 %     1.21 %
August 31, 2008
    1.40       0.69  
August 31, 2007
    1.40       0.55  
August 31, 2006
    1.38       0.56  
August 31, 2005
    1.35       0.81  
 
(5) The ratios reflect the rebate of certain Fund expenses in connection with investments in a Morgan Stanley affiliate during the period. The effect of the rebate on the ratios is disclosed in the above table as “Rebate from Morgan Stanley affiliate”.
(6) Amount is less than 0.005%.
 
 
See Notes to Financial Statements

39


 

Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund
Financial Highlights continued
 
                                                   
    FOR THE YEAR ENDED AUGUST 31,
    2009   2008   2007   2006   2005
 
Class I Shares
                                                 
Selected Per Share Data:
                                                 
Net asset value, beginning of period
    $14.09         $16.17         $14.31         $13.40         $12.14    
                                         
Income (loss) from investment operations:
                                                 
Net investment income(1)
    0.25         0.27         0.25         0.21         0.23    
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)
    (2.87 )       (2.06 )       1.86         0.92         1.24    
                                         
Total income (loss) from investment operations
    (2.62 )       (1.79 )       2.11         1.13         1.47    
                                         
Less dividends from net investment income
    (0.27 )       (0.29 )       (0.25 )       (0.22 )       (0.21 )  
                                         
Net asset value, end of period
    $11.20         $14.09         $16.17         $14.31         $13.40    
                                         
Total Return(2)
    (18.22 ) %     (11.28 ) %     14.86   %     8.46   %     12.11   %
Ratios to Average Net Assets:(3)(4)
                                                 
Total expenses (before expense offset)
    0.34%(5 )       0.34%(5 )       0.34%(5 )       0.38   %     0.40   %
Net investment income
    2.36%(5 )       1.75%(5 )       1.61%(5 )       1.56   %     1.76   %
Rebate from Morgan Stanley affiliate
    0.00%(6 )       0.00%(6 )       0.00%(6 )                  
Supplemental Data:
                                                 
Net assets, end of period, in millions
    $23         $74         $96         $99         $188    
Portfolio turnover rate
    7   %     10   %     3   %     4   %     3   %
(1) The per share amounts were computed using an average number of shares outstanding during the period.
(2) Calculated based on the net asset value as of the last business day of the period.
(3) Reflects overall Fund ratios for investment income and non-class specific expenses.
(4) If the Fund had borne all expenses that were reimbursed or waived by the Investment Adviser and Administrator, the annualized expense and net investment income ratios, before expense offset, would have been as follows:
 
                 
    EXPENSE
  NET INVESTMENT
PERIOD ENDED:
  RATIO   INCOME RATIO
August 31, 2009
    0.49 %     2.21 %
August 31, 2008
    0.41       1.68  
August 31, 2007
    0.41       1.54  
August 31, 2006
    0.42       1.52  
August 31, 2005
    0.41       1.75  
 
(5) The ratios reflect the rebate of certain Fund expenses in connection with investments in a Morgan Stanley affiliate during the period. The effect of the rebate on the ratios is disclosed in the above table as “Rebate from Morgan Stanley affiliate”.
(6) Amount is less than 0.005%.
 
See Notes to Financial Statements

40


 

Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
 
To the Shareholders and Board of Trustees of
Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund:
 
 
We have audited the accompanying statement of assets and liabilities of Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund (the “Fund”), including the portfolio of investments, as of August 31, 2009, and the related statement of operations for the year then ended, the statement of changes in net assets for each of the two years in the period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the five years in the period then ended. These financial statements and financial highlights are the responsibility of the Fund’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and financial highlights based on our audits.
 
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements and financial highlights are free of material misstatement. The Fund is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. Our audits included consideration of internal control over financial reporting as a basis for designing audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Fund’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion. An audit also includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. Our procedures included confirmation of securities owned as of August 31, 2009, by correspondence with the custodian and brokers; where replies were not received from brokers, we performed other auditing procedures. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
 
In our opinion, the financial statements and financial highlights referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund as of August 31, 2009, the results of its operations for the year then ended, the changes in its net assets for each of the two years in the period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the five years in the period then ended, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
 
Deloitte & Touche LLP
New York, New York
October 27, 2009

41


 

Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund
An Important Notice Concerning Our U.S. Privacy Policy (unaudited)
 
We are required by federal law to provide you with a copy of our privacy policy (“Policy”) annually.
 
This Policy applies to current and former individual clients of Morgan Stanley Distributors Inc., as well as current and former individual investors in Morgan Stanley mutual funds and related companies.
 
This Policy is not applicable to partnerships, corporations, trusts or other non-individual clients or account holders, nor is this Policy applicable to individuals who are either beneficiaries of a trust for which we serve as trustee or participants in an employee benefit plan administered or advised by us. This Policy is, however, applicable to individuals who select us to be a custodian of securities or assets in individual retirement accounts, 401(k) accounts, 529 Educational Savings Accounts, accounts subject to the Uniform Gifts to Minors Act, or similar accounts. We may amend this Policy at any time, and will inform you of any changes to this Policy as required by law.
 
We Respect Your Privacy
We appreciate that you have provided us with your personal financial information and understand your concerns about safeguarding such information. We strive to maintain the privacy of such information while we help you achieve your financial objectives. This Policy describes what nonpublic personal information we collect about you, how we collect it, when we may share it with others, and how others may use it. It discusses the steps you may take to limit our sharing of information about you with affiliated Morgan Stanley companies (“affiliated companies”). It also discloses how you may limit our affiliates’ use of shared information for marketing purposes. Throughout this Policy, we refer to the nonpublic information that personally identifies you or your accounts as “personal information.”
 
1. What Personal Information Do We Collect About You?
To better serve you and manage our business, it is important that we collect and maintain accurate information about you. We obtain this information from applications and other forms you submit to us, from your dealings with us, from consumer reporting agencies, from our websites and from third parties and other sources.
 
For example:
•  We collect information such as your name, address, e-mail address, telephone/fax numbers, assets, income and investment objectives through application forms you submit to us.
 
•  We may obtain information about account balances, your use of account(s) and the types of products and services you prefer to receive from us through your dealings and transactions with us and other sources.
 
•  We may obtain information about your creditworthiness and credit history from consumer reporting agencies.
 
•  We may collect background information from and through third-party vendors to verify representations you have made and to comply with various regulatory requirements.

42


 

Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund
An Important Notice Concerning Our U.S. Privacy Policy (unaudited) continued
 
 
•  If you interact with us through our public and private Web sites, we may collect information that you provide directly through online communications (such as an e-mail address). We may also collect information about your Internet service provider, your domain name, your computer’s operating system and Web browser, your use of our Web sites and your product and service preferences, through the use of “cookies.” “Cookies” recognize your computer each time you return to one of our sites, and help to improve our sites’ content and personalize your experience on our sites by, for example, suggesting offerings that may interest you. Please consult the Terms of Use of these sites for more details on our use of cookies.
 
2. When Do We Disclose Personal Information We Collect About You?
To provide you with the products and services you request, to better serve you, to manage our business and as otherwise required or permitted by law, we may disclose personal information we collect about you to other affiliated companies and to nonaffiliated third parties.
 
A. Information We Disclose to Our Affiliated Companies.  In order to manage your account(s) effectively, including servicing and processing your transactions, to let you know about products and services offered by us and affiliated companies, to manage our business, and as otherwise required or permitted by law, we may disclose personal information about you to other affiliated companies. Offers for products and services from affiliated companies are developed under conditions designed to safeguard your personal information.
 
B. Information We Disclose to Third Parties.  We do not disclose personal information that we collect about you to nonaffiliated third parties except to enable them to provide marketing services on our behalf, to perform joint marketing agreements with other financial institutions, and as otherwise required or permitted by law. For example, some instances where we may disclose information about you to third parties include: for servicing and processing transactions, to offer our own products and services, to protect against fraud, for institutional risk control, to respond to judicial process or to perform services on our behalf. When we share personal information with a nonaffiliated third party, they are required to limit their use of personal information about you to the particular purpose for which it was shared and they are not allowed to share personal information about you with others except to fulfill that limited purpose or as may be required by law.
 
3.  How Do We Protect The Security and Confidentiality Of Personal Information We Collect About You?
We maintain physical, electronic and procedural security measures to help safeguard the personal information we collect about you. We have internal policies governing the proper handling of client information. Third parties that provide support or marketing services on our behalf may also receive personal information about you, and we require them to adhere to confidentiality standards with respect to such information.

43


 

Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund
An Important Notice Concerning Our U.S. Privacy Policy (unaudited) continued
 
4.  How Can You Limit Our Sharing of Certain Personal Information About You With Our Affiliated Companies For Eligibility Determination?
We respect your privacy and offer you choices as to whether we share with our affiliated companies personal information that was collected to determine your eligibility for products and services such as credit reports and other information that you have provided to us or that we may obtain from third parties (“eligibility information”). Please note that, even if you direct us not to share certain eligibility information with our affiliated companies, we may still share your personal information, including eligibility information, with those companies under circumstances that are permitted under applicable law, such as to process transactions or to service your account. We may also share certain other types of personal information with affiliated companies — such as your name, address, telephone number, e-mail address and account number(s), and information about your transactions and experiences with us.
 
5.  How Can You Limit the Use of Certain Personal Information About You by our Affiliated Companies for Marketing?
You may limit our affiliated companies from using certain personal information about you that we may share with them for marketing their products or services to you. This information includes our transactions and other experiences with you such as your assets and account history. Please note that, even if you choose to limit our affiliated companies from using certain personal information about you that we may share with them for marketing their products and services to you, we may still share such personal information about you with them, including our transactions and experiences with you, for other purposes as permitted under applicable law.
 
6.  How Can You Send Us an Opt-Out Instruction?
If you wish to limit our sharing of certain personal information about you with our affiliated companies for “eligibility purposes” and for our affiliated companies’ use in marketing products and services to you as described in this notice, you may do so by:
 
•  Calling us at (800) 869-6397
Monday-Friday between 8a.m. and 8p.m. (EST)
 
•  Writing to us at the following address:
Morgan Stanley Privacy Department
Harborside Financial Center, Plaza Two, 3rd Floor
Jersey City, NJ 07311
 
If you choose to write to us, your written request should include: your name, address, telephone number and account number(s) to which the opt-out applies and should not be sent with any other correspondence. In order to process your request, we require that the request be provided by you directly and not through a

44


 

Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund
An Important Notice Concerning Our U.S. Privacy Policy (unaudited) continued
 
third party. Once you have informed us about your privacy preferences, your opt-out preference will remain in effect with respect to this Policy (as it may be amended) until you notify us otherwise. If you are a joint account owner, we will accept instructions from any one of you and apply those instructions to the entire account. Please allow approximately 30 days from our receipt of your opt-out for your instructions to become effective.
 
Please understand that if you opt-out, you and any joint account holders may not receive certain Morgan Stanley or our affiliated companies’ products and services that could help you manage your financial resources and achieve your investment objectives.
 
If you have more than one account with us or our affiliates, you may receive multiple privacy policies from us, and would need to follow the directions stated in each particular policy for each account you have with us.
 
Special Notice To Residents Of Vermont
This section supplements our Policy with respect to our individual clients who have a Vermont address and supersedes anything to the contrary in the above Policy with respect to those clients only.
 
The State of Vermont requires financial institutions to obtain your consent prior to sharing personal information that they collect about you with affiliated companies and nonaffiliated third parties other than in certain limited circumstances. Except as permitted by law, we will not share personal information we collect about you with nonaffiliated third parties or other affiliated companies unless you provide us with your written consent to share such information (“opt-in”).
 
If you wish to receive offers for investment products and services offered by or through other affiliated companies, please notify us in writing at the following address:
 
Morgan Stanley Privacy Department
Harborside Financial Center, Plaza Two, 3rd Floor
Jersey City, NJ 07311
 
Your authorization should include: your name, address, telephone number and account number(s) to which the opt-in applies and should not be sent with any other correspondence. In order to process your authorization, we require that the authorization be provided by you directly and not through a third-party.

45


 

Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund
Trustee and Officer Information (unaudited)
 
 
Independent Trustees:
 
                         
                Number of
   
                Portfolios
   
                in Fund
   
        Term of
      Complex
   
        Office and
      Overseen
   
    Position(s)
  Length of
      by
   
Name, Age and Address of
  Held with
  Time
  Principal Occupation(s)
  Independent
  Other Directorships
Independent Trustee   Registrant   Served*   During Past 5 Years   Trustee**   Held by Independent Trustee
 
Frank L. Bowman (64)
c/o Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP
Counsel to the Independent Trustees
1177 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036
  Trustee   Since
August 2006
  President, Strategic Decisions, LLC (consulting) (since February 2009); Director or Trustee of various Retail Funds and Institutional Funds (since August 2006); Chairperson of the Insurance Sub-Committee of the Compliance and Insurance Committee (since February 2007); served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Nuclear Energy Institute (policy organization) through November 2008; retired as Admiral, U.S. Navy in January 2005 after serving over 8 years as Director of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program and Deputy Administrator–Naval Reactors in the National Nuclear Security Administration at the U.S. Department of Energy (1996-2004), Knighted as Honorary Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire; Awarded the Officer de l’Orde National du Mérite by the French Government.     168     Director of the Armed Services YMCA of the USA; member, BP America External Advisory Council (energy); member, National Academy of Engineers.
                         
Michael Bozic (68)
c/o Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP Counsel to the Independent Trustees
1177 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036
  Trustee   Since
April 1994
  Private investor; Chairperson of the Compliance and Insurance Committee (since October 2006); Director or Trustee of the Retail Funds (since April 1994) and Institutional Funds (since July 2003); formerly, Chairperson of the Insurance Committee (July 2006-September 2006); Vice Chairman of Kmart Corporation (December 1998-October 2000), Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Levitz Furniture Corporation (November 1995-November 1998) and President and Chief Executive Officer of Hills Department Stores (May 1991-July 1995); variously Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, President and Chief Operating Officer (1987-1991) of the Sears Merchandise Group of Sears, Roebuck & Co.     170     Director of various business organizations.

46


 

Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund
Trustee and Officer Information (unaudited) continued
 
                         
                Number of
   
                Portfolios
   
                in Fund
   
        Term of
      Complex
   
        Office and
      Overseen
   
    Position(s)
  Length of
      by
   
Name, Age and Address of
  Held with
  Time
  Principal Occupation(s)
  Independent
  Other Directorships
Independent Trustee   Registrant   Served*   During Past 5 Years   Trustee**   Held by Independent Trustee
 
                         
Kathleen A. Dennis (56)
c/o Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP Counsel to the Independent Trustees
1177 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036
  Trustee   Since
August 2006
  President, Cedarwood Associates (mutual fund and investment management consulting) (since July 2006); Chairperson of the Money Market and Alternatives Sub-Committee of the Investment Committee (since October 2006) and Director or Trustee of various Retail Funds and Institutional Funds (since August 2006); formerly, Senior Managing Director of Victory Capital Management (1993-2006).     168     Director of various non-profit organizations.
                         
Dr. Manuel H. Johnson (60)
c/o Johnson Smick Group, Inc.
888 16th Street, N.W.
Suite 740
Washington, D.C. 20006
  Trustee   Since
July 1991
  Senior Partner, Johnson Smick International, Inc. (consulting firm); Chairperson of the Investment Committee (since October 2006) and Director or Trustee of the Retail Funds (since July 1991) and Institutional Funds (since July 2003); 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.     170     Director of NVR, Inc. (home construction); Director of Evergreen Energy.
                         
Joseph J. Kearns (67)
c/o Kearns & Associates LLC
PMB754
23852 Pacific Coast Highway
Malibu, CA 90265
  Trustee   Since
August 1994
  President, Kearns & Associates LLC (investment consulting); Chairperson of the Audit Committee (since October 2006) and Director or Trustee of the Retail Funds (since July 2003) and Institutional Funds (since August 1994); formerly, Deputy Chairperson of the Audit Committee (July 2003-September 2006) and Chairperson of the Audit Committee of Institutional Funds (October 2001-July 2003); CFO of the J. Paul Getty Trust.     171     Director of Electro Rent Corporation (equipment leasing) and The Ford Family Foundation.
 

47


 

Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund
Trustee and Officer Information (unaudited) continued
 
                         
                Number of
   
                Portfolios
   
                in Fund
   
        Term of
      Complex
   
        Office and
      Overseen
   
    Position(s)
  Length of
      by
   
Name, Age and Address of
  Held with
  Time
  Principal Occupation(s)
  Independent
  Other Directorships
Independent Trustee   Registrant   Served*   During Past 5 Years   Trustee**   Held by Independent Trustee
 
Michael F. Klein (50)
c/o Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP
Counsel to the Independent Trustees
1177 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036
  Trustee   Since
August 2006
  Managing Director, Aetos Capital, LLC (since March 2000) and Co-President, Aetos Alternatives Management, LLC (since January 2004); Chairperson of the Fixed Income Sub-Committee of the Investment Committee (since October 2006) and Director or Trustee of various Retail Funds and Institutional Funds (since August 2006); formerly, Managing Director, Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc. and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Investment Management, President, Morgan Stanley Institutional Funds (June 1998-March 2000) and Principal, Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc. and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Investment Management (August 1997-December 1999).     168     Director of certain investment funds managed or sponsored by Aetos Capital, LLC. Director of Sanitized AG and Sanitized Marketing AG (specialty chemicals).
                         
Michael E. Nugent (73)
c/o Triumph Capital, L.P.
445 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10022
  Chairperson of the Board and Trustee   Chairperson of the Boards
since
July 2006
and Trustee
since
July 1991
  General Partner, Triumph Capital, L.P. (private investment partnership); Chairperson of the Boards of the Retail Funds and Institutional Funds (since July 2006); Director or Trustee of the Retail Funds (since July 1991) and Institutional Funds (since July 2001); formerly, Chairperson of the Insurance Committee (until July 2006).     170     None.
                         
W. Allen Reed (62)†
c/o Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP
Counsel to the Independent Trustees
1177 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036
  Trustee   Since
August 2006
  Chairperson of the Equity Sub-Committee of the Investment Committee (since October 2006) and Director or Trustee of various Retail Funds and Institutional Funds (since August 2006); formerly, President and CEO 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).     168     Director of Temple-Inland Industries (packaging and forest products); Director of Legg Mason, Inc. and Director of the Auburn University Foundation.

48


 

Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund
Trustee and Officer Information (unaudited) continued
 
                         
                Number of
   
                Portfolios
   
                in Fund
   
        Term of
      Complex
   
        Office and
      Overseen
   
    Position(s)
  Length of
      by
   
Name, Age and Address of
  Held with
  Time
  Principal Occupation(s)
  Independent
  Other Directorships
Independent Trustee   Registrant   Served*   During Past 5 Years   Trustee**   Held by Independent Trustee
 
                         
Fergus Reid (77)
c/o Lumelite Plastics Corporation
85 Charles Colman Blvd.
Pawling, NY 12564
  Trustee   Since
June 1992
  Chairman of Lumelite Plastics Corporation; Chairperson of the Governance Committee and Director or Trustee of the Retail Funds (since July 2003) and Institutional Funds (since June 1992).     171     Trustee and Director of certain investment companies in the JPMorgan Funds complex managed by JP Morgan Investment Management Inc.
 
Interested Trustee:
 
                         
                Number of
   
                Portfolios
   
                in Fund
   
        Term of
      Complex
   
        Office and
      Overseen
   
    Position(s)
  Length of
      by
   
Name, Age and Address of
  Held with
  Time
  Principal Occupation(s)
  Interested
  Other Directorships
Interested Trustee   Registrant   Served*   During Past 5 Years   Trustee**   Held by Interested Trustee
 
James F. Higgins (61)
c/o Morgan Stanley Trust 
Harborside Financial Center
Plaza Two
Jersey City, NJ 07311
  Trustee   Since
June 2000
  Director or Trustee of the Retail Funds (since June 2000) and Institutional Funds (since July 2003); Senior Advisor of Morgan Stanley (since August 2000).     169     Director of AXA Financial, Inc. and The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States (financial services).
* This is the earliest date the Trustee began serving the funds advised by Morgan Stanley Investment Advisors Inc. (the “Investment Adviser”) (the “Retail Funds”) or the funds advised by Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc. and Morgan Stanley AIP GP LP (the “Institutional Funds”).
** The Fund Complex includes all open-end and closed-end funds (including all of their portfolios) advised by the Investment Adviser and any funds that have an investment adviser that is an affiliated person of the Investment Adviser (including, but not limited to, Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc.).
For the period September 26, 2008 through February 5, 2009, W. Allen Reed was an interested Trustee. At all other times covered by this report, Mr. Reed was an Independent Trustee.

49


 

Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund
Trustee and Officer Information (unaudited) continued
 
Executive Officers:
 
             
        Term of
   
        Office and
   
    Position(s)
  Length of
   
Name, Age and Address of
  Held with
  Time
   
Executive Officer   Registrant   Served*   Principal Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years
 
             
Randy Takian (35)
522 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10036
  President and Principal Executive Officer   Since September 2008   President and Principal Executive Officer (since September 2008) of funds in the Fund Complex; President and Chief Executive Officer of Morgan Stanley Services Company Inc. (since September 2008). President of the Investment Adviser (since July 2008). Head of the Retail and Intermediary business within Morgan Stanley Investment Management (since July 2008). Head of Liquidity and Bank Trust business (since July 2008) and the Latin American franchise (since July 2008) at Morgan Stanley Investment Management. Managing Director, Director and/or Officer of the Investment Adviser and various entities affiliated with the Investment Adviser. Formerly Head of Strategy and Product Development for the Alternatives Group and Senior Loan Investment Management. Formerly with Bank of America (July 1996-March 2006), most recently as Head of the Strategy, Mergers and Acquisitions team for Global Wealth and Investment Management.
             
Kevin Klingert (47)
522 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10036
  Vice President   Since June 2008   Global Head, Chief Operating Officer and acting Chief Investment Officer of the Global Fixed Income Group of Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc. and the Investment Adviser (since March 2008). Head of Global Liquidity Portfolio Management and co-Head of Liquidity Credit Research of Morgan Stanley Investment Management (since December 2007). Managing Director of Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc. and the Investment Adviser (since December 2007). Previously, Managing Director on the Management Committee and head of Municipal Portfolio Management and Liquidity at BlackRock (October 1991 to January 2007).
             
Carsten Otto (45)
522 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10036
  Chief Compliance Officer   Since October 2004   Managing Director and Global Head of Compliance for Morgan Stanley Investment Management (since April 2007) and Chief Compliance Officer of the Retail Funds and Institutional Funds (since October 2004). Formerly, U.S. Director of Compliance (October 2004-April 2007) and Assistant Secretary and Assistant General Counsel of the Retail Funds.
             
Stefanie V. Chang Yu (42)
522 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10036
  Vice President   Since December 1997   Managing Director and Secretary of the Investment Adviser and various entities affiliated with the Investment Adviser; Vice President of the Retail Funds (since July 2002) and Institutional Funds (since December 1997).

50


 

Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund
Trustee and Officer Information (unaudited) continued
 
             
        Term of
   
        Office and
   
    Position(s)
  Length of
   
Name, Age and Address of
  Held with
  Time
   
Executive Officer   Registrant   Served*   Principal Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years
 
             
Francis J. Smith (44)
c/o Morgan Stanley Trust 
Harborside Financial Center
Plaza Two
Jersey City, NJ 07311
  Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer   Treasurer since July 2003 and Chief Financial Officer since September 2002   Executive Director of the Investment Adviser and various entities affiliated with the Investment Adviser; Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of the Retail Funds (since July 2003).
             
Mary E. Mullin (42)
522 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10036
  Secretary   Since June 1999   Executive Director of the Investment Adviser and various entities affiliated with the Investment Adviser; Secretary of the Retail Funds (since July 2003) and Institutional Funds (since June 1999).
 
* This is the earliest date the Officer began serving the Retail Funds or Institutional Funds.
 
 
2009 Federal Tax Notice (unaudited)
 
For Federal income tax purposes, the following information is furnished with respect to the distributions paid by the Fund during its taxable year ended August 31, 2009. For corporate shareholders, 100% of the dividends qualified for the dividend received deduction.
 
For Federal income tax purposes, the following information is furnished with respect to the Fund’s earnings for its taxable year ended August 31, 2009. When distributed, certain earnings may be subject to a maximum tax rate of 15% as provided for by the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003. The Fund designated up to a maximum of $14,151,609 as taxable at this lower rate.
 
In January, the Fund provides tax information to shareholders for the preceding calendar year.

51


 

Trustees
 
Frank L. Bowman
Michael Bozic
Kathleen A. Dennis
James F. Higgins
Dr. Manuel H. Johnson
Joseph J. Kearns
Michael F. Klein
Michael E. Nugent
W. Allen Reed
Fergus Reid
 
Officers
 
Michael E. Nugent
Chairperson of the Board
 
Randy Takian
President and Principal Executive Officer
 
Kevin Klingert
Vice President
 
Carsten Otto
Chief Compliance Officer
 
Stefanie V. Chang Yu
Vice President
 
Francis J. Smith
Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer
 
Mary E. Mullin
Secretary
 
Transfer Agent
 
Morgan Stanley Trust
Harborside Financial Center, Plaza Two
Jersey City, New Jersey 07311
 
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
 
Deloitte & Touche LLP
Two World Financial Center
New York, New York 10281
 
Legal Counsel
 
Dechert LLP
1095 Avenue of the Americas
New York, New York 10036
 
Counsel to the Independent Trustees
 
Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP
1177 Avenue of the Americas
New York, New York 10036
 
Investment Adviser
 
Morgan Stanley Investment Advisors Inc.
522 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York 10036
 
 
This report is submitted for the general information of the shareholders of the Fund. For more detailed information about the Fund, its fees and expenses and other pertinent information, please read its Prospectus. The Fund’s Statement of Additional Information contains additional information about the Fund, including its trustees. It is available, without charge, by calling (800) 869-NEWS.
 
This report is not authorized for distribution to prospective investors in the Fund unless preceded or accompanied by an effective Prospectus. Read the Prospectus carefully before investing.
 
Morgan Stanley Distributors Inc., member FINRA.
 
 
(c)  2009 Morgan Stanley
 
 
[MORGAN STANLEY LOGO]
[MORGAN STANLEY LOGO]
 
 
INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT
Morgan Stanley
S&P 500 Index Fund
 
(Morgan Stanley Graphic)
Annual Report
 
August 31, 2009

SPIANN
IU09-04463P-Y08/09


 

Item 2. Code of Ethics.
(a) The Fund has adopted a code of ethics (the “Code of Ethics”) that applies to its principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller, or persons performing similar functions, regardless of whether these individuals are employed by the Fund or a third party.
(b) No information need be disclosed pursuant to this paragraph.
(c) Not applicable.
(d) Not applicable.
(e) Not applicable.
(f)
  (1)   The Fund’s Code of Ethics is attached hereto as Exhibit 12 A.
 
  (2)   Not applicable.
 
  (3)   Not applicable.
Item 3. Audit Committee Financial Expert.
The Fund’s Board of Trustees has determined that Joseph J. Kearns, an “independent” Trustee, is an “audit committee financial expert” serving on its audit committee. Under applicable securities laws, a person who is determined to be an audit committee financial expert will not be deemed an “expert” for any purpose, including without limitation for the purposes of Section 11 of the Securities Act of 1933, as a result of being designated or identified as an audit committee financial expert. The designation or identification of a person as an audit committee financial expert does not impose on such person any duties, obligations, or liabilities that are greater than the duties, obligations, and liabilities imposed on such person as a member of the audit committee and Board of Trustees in the absence of such designation or identification

2


 

Item 4. Principal Accountant Fees and Services.
(a)(b)(c)(d) and (g). Based on fees billed for the periods shown:
     2009
                 
    Registrant   Covered Entities(1)
Audit Fees
  $ 31,250       N/A  
 
               
Non-Audit Fees
               
Audit-Related Fees
  $ (2)   $ 6,418,000 (2)
Tax Fees
  $ 6,063 (3)   $ 881,000 (4)
All Other Fees
  $  —     $  —  
Total Non-Audit Fees
  $ 6,063     $ 7,299,000  
 
               
Total
  $ 37,313     $ 7,299,000  
     2008
                 
    Registrant   Covered Entities(1)
Audit Fees
  $ 31,250       N/A  
 
               
Non-Audit Fees
               
Audit-Related Fees
  $ 325 (2)   $ 4,555,000 (2)
Tax Fees
  $ 6,063 (3)   $ 747,000 (4)
All Other Fees
  $       $   (5)
Total Non-Audit Fees
  $ 6,388     $ 5,302,000  
 
               
Total
  $ 37,638     $ 5,302,000  
N/A- Not applicable, as not required by Item 4.
 
(1)   Covered Entities include the Adviser (excluding sub-advisors) and any entity controlling, controlled by or under common control with the Adviser that provides ongoing services to the Registrant.
 
(2)   Audit-Related Fees represent assurance and related services provided that are reasonably related to the performance of the audit of the financial statements of the Covered Entities’ and funds advised by the Adviser or its affiliates, specifically data verification and agreed-upon procedures related to asset securitizations and agreed-upon procedures engagements.
 
(3)   Tax Fees represent tax compliance, tax planning and tax advice services provided in connection with the preparation and review of the Registrant’s tax returns.
 
(4)   Tax Fees represent tax compliance, tax planning and tax advice services provided in connection with the review of Covered Entities’ tax returns.
 
(5)   All other fees represent project management for future business applications and improving business and operational processes.

3


 

(e)(1) The audit committee’s pre-approval policies and procedures are as follows:
APPENDIX A
AUDIT COMMITTEE
AUDIT AND NON-AUDIT SERVICES
PRE-APPROVAL POLICY AND PROCEDURES
OF THE
MORGAN STANLEY RETAIL AND INSTITUTIONAL FUNDS
AS ADOPTED AND AMENDED JULY 23, 2004,1
     1. Statement of Principles
The Audit Committee of the Board is required to review and, in its sole discretion, pre-approve all Covered Services to be provided by the Independent Auditors to the Fund and Covered Entities in order to assure that services performed by the Independent Auditors do not impair the auditor’s independence from the Fund.
The SEC has issued rules specifying the types of services that an independent auditor may not provide to its audit client, as well as the audit committee’s administration of the engagement of the independent auditor. The SEC’s rules establish two different approaches to pre-approving services, which the SEC considers to be equally valid. Proposed services either: may be pre-approved without consideration of specific case-by-case services by the Audit Committee (“general pre-approval”); or require the specific pre-approval of the Audit Committee or its delegate (“specific pre-approval”). The Audit Committee believes that the combination of these two approaches in this Policy will result in an effective and efficient procedure to pre-approve services performed by the Independent Auditors. As set forth in this Policy, unless a type of service has received general pre-approval, it will require specific pre-approval by the Audit Committee (or by any member of the Audit Committee to which pre-approval authority has been delegated) if it is to be provided by the Independent Auditors. Any proposed services exceeding pre-approved cost levels or budgeted amounts will also require specific pre-approval by the Audit Committee.
The appendices to this Policy describe the Audit, Audit-related, Tax and All Other services that have the general pre-approval of the Audit Committee. The term of any general pre-approval is 12 months from the date of pre-approval, unless the Audit Committee considers and provides a different period and states otherwise. The Audit Committee will annually review and pre-approve the services that may be provided by the Independent Auditors without obtaining specific pre-approval from the Audit Committee. The Audit Committee will add to or subtract from the list of general pre-approved services from time to time, based on subsequent determinations.
 
1   This Audit Committee Audit and Non-Audit Services Pre-Approval Policy and Procedures (the “Policy”), adopted as of the date above, supersedes and replaces all prior versions that may have been adopted from time to time.

4


 

The purpose of this Policy is to set forth the policy and procedures by which the Audit Committee intends to fulfill its responsibilities. It does not delegate the Audit Committee’s responsibilities to pre-approve services performed by the Independent Auditors to management.
The Fund’s Independent Auditors have reviewed this Policy and believes that implementation of the Policy will not adversely affect the Independent Auditors’ independence.
     2. Delegation
As provided in the Act and the SEC’s rules, the Audit Committee may delegate either type of pre-approval authority to one or more of its members. The member to whom such authority is delegated must report, for informational purposes only, any pre-approval decisions to the Audit Committee at its next scheduled meeting.
     3. Audit Services
The annual Audit services engagement terms and fees are subject to the specific pre-approval of the Audit Committee. Audit services include the annual financial statement audit and other procedures required to be performed by the Independent Auditors to be able to form an opinion on the Fund’s financial statements. These other procedures include information systems and procedural reviews and testing performed in order to understand and place reliance on the systems of internal control, and consultations relating to the audit. The Audit Committee will approve, if necessary, any changes in terms, conditions and fees resulting from changes in audit scope, Fund structure or other items.
In addition to the annual Audit services engagement approved by the Audit Committee, the Audit Committee may grant general pre-approval to other Audit services, which are those services that only the Independent Auditors reasonably can provide. Other Audit services may include statutory audits and services associated with SEC registration statements (on Forms N-1A, N-2, N-3, N-4, etc.), periodic reports and other documents filed with the SEC or other documents issued in connection with securities offerings.
The Audit Committee has pre-approved the Audit services in Appendix B.1. All other Audit services not listed in Appendix B.1 must be specifically pre-approved by the Audit Committee (or by any member of the Audit Committee to which pre-approval has been delegated).
     4. Audit-related Services
Audit-related services are assurance and related services that are reasonably related to the performance of the audit or review of the Fund’s financial statements and, to the extent they are Covered Services, the Covered Entities or that are traditionally performed by the Independent Auditors. Because the Audit Committee believes that the provision of Audit-related services does not impair the independence of the auditor and is consistent with the SEC’s rules on auditor independence, the Audit Committee may grant general pre-approval to Audit-related services. Audit-related services include, among others, accounting consultations related to accounting, financial reporting or disclosure matters

5


 

not classified as “Audit services”; assistance with understanding and implementing new accounting and financial reporting guidance from rulemaking authorities; agreed-upon or expanded audit procedures related to accounting and/or billing records required to respond to or comply with financial, accounting or regulatory reporting matters; and assistance with internal control reporting requirements under Forms N-SAR and/or N-CSR.
The Audit Committee has pre-approved the Audit-related services in Appendix B.2. All other Audit-related services not listed in Appendix B.2 must be specifically pre-approved by the Audit Committee (or by any member of the Audit Committee to which pre-approval has been delegated).
     5. Tax Services
The Audit Committee believes that the Independent Auditors can provide Tax services to the Fund and, to the extent they are Covered Services, the Covered Entities, such as tax compliance, tax planning and tax advice without impairing the auditor’s independence, and the SEC has stated that the Independent Auditors may provide such services.
Pursuant to the preceding paragraph, the Audit Committee has pre-approved the Tax Services in Appendix B.3. All Tax services in Appendix B.3 must be specifically pre-approved by the Audit Committee (or by any member of the Audit Committee to which pre-approval has been delegated).
     6. All Other Services
The Audit Committee believes, based on the SEC’s rules prohibiting the Independent Auditors from providing specific non-audit services, that other types of non-audit services are permitted. Accordingly, the Audit Committee believes it may grant general pre-approval to those permissible non-audit services classified as All Other services that it believes are routine and recurring services, would not impair the independence of the auditor and are consistent with the SEC’s rules on auditor independence.
The Audit Committee has pre-approved the All Other services in Appendix B.4. Permissible All Other services not listed in Appendix B.4 must be specifically pre-approved by the Audit Committee (or by any member of the Audit Committee to which pre-approval has been delegated).
     7. Pre-Approval Fee Levels or Budgeted Amounts
Pre-approval fee levels or budgeted amounts for all services to be provided by the Independent Auditors will be established annually by the Audit Committee. Any proposed services exceeding these levels or amounts will require specific pre-approval by the Audit Committee. The Audit Committee is mindful of the overall relationship of fees for audit and non-audit services in determining whether to pre-approve any such services.
     8. Procedures
All requests or applications for services to be provided by the Independent Auditors that do not require specific approval by the Audit Committee will be submitted to the Fund’s Chief Financial Officer and must include a detailed description of the services to be

6


 

rendered. The Fund’s Chief Financial Officer will determine whether such services are included within the list of services that have received the general pre-approval of the Audit Committee. The Audit Committee will be informed on a timely basis of any such services rendered by the Independent Auditors. Requests or applications to provide services that require specific approval by the Audit Committee will be submitted to the Audit Committee by both the Independent Auditors and the Fund’s Chief Financial Officer, and must include a joint statement as to whether, in their view, the request or application is consistent with the SEC’s rules on auditor independence.
The Audit Committee has designated the Fund’s Chief Financial Officer to monitor the performance of all services provided by the Independent Auditors and to determine whether such services are in compliance with this Policy. The Fund’s Chief Financial Officer will report to the Audit Committee on a periodic basis on the results of its monitoring. Both the Fund’s Chief Financial Officer and management will immediately report to the chairman of the Audit Committee any breach of this Policy that comes to the attention of the Fund’s Chief Financial Officer or any member of management.
     9. Additional Requirements
The Audit Committee has determined to take additional measures on an annual basis to meet its responsibility to oversee the work of the Independent Auditors and to assure the auditor’s independence from the Fund, such as reviewing a formal written statement from the Independent Auditors delineating all relationships between the Independent Auditors and the Fund, consistent with Independence Standards Board No. 1, and discussing with the Independent Auditors its methods and procedures for ensuring independence.
     10. Covered Entities
Covered Entities include the Fund’s investment adviser(s) and any entity controlling, controlled by or under common control with the Fund’s investment adviser(s) that provides ongoing services to the Fund(s). Beginning with non-audit service contracts entered into on or after May 6, 2003, the Fund’s audit committee must pre-approve non-audit services provided not only to the Fund but also to the Covered Entities if the engagements relate directly to the operations and financial reporting of the Fund. This list of Covered Entities would include:
Morgan Stanley Retail Funds
Morgan Stanley Investment Advisors Inc.
Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated
Morgan Stanley DW Inc.
Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc.
Morgan Stanley Investment Management Limited
Morgan Stanley Investment Management Private Limited
Morgan Stanley Asset & Investment Trust Management Co., Limited
Morgan Stanley Investment Management Company
Van Kampen Asset Management
Morgan Stanley Services Company, Inc.
Morgan Stanley Distributors Inc.
Morgan Stanley Trust FSB

7


 

Morgan Stanley Institutional Funds
Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc.
Morgan Stanley Investment Advisors Inc.
Morgan Stanley Investment Management Limited
Morgan Stanley Investment Management Private Limited
Morgan Stanley Asset & Investment Trust Management Co., Limited
Morgan Stanley Investment Management Company
Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated
Morgan Stanley Distribution, Inc.
Morgan Stanley AIP GP LP
Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners LP
(e)(2) Beginning with non-audit service contracts entered into on or after May 6, 2003, the audit committee also is required to pre-approve services to Covered Entities to the extent that the services are determined to have a direct impact on the operations or financial reporting of the Registrant. 100% of such services were pre-approved by the audit committee pursuant to the Audit Committee’s pre-approval policies and procedures (attached hereto).
(f) Not applicable.
(g) See table above.
(h) The audit committee of the Board of Trustees has considered whether the provision of services other than audit services performed by the auditors to the Registrant and Covered Entities is compatible with maintaining the auditors’ independence in performing audit services.
Item 5. Audit Committee of Listed Registrants.
  (a)   The Fund has a separately-designated standing audit committee established in accordance with Section 3(a)(58)(A) of the Exchange Act whose members are: Joseph Kearns, Michael Nugent and Allen Reed.
(b) Not applicable.
Item 6. Schedule of Investments
(a) Refer to Item 1.
(b) Not applicable.

8


 

Item 7. Disclosure of Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures for Closed-End Management Investment Companies.
Applicable only to reports filed by closed-end funds.
Item 8. Portfolio Managers of Closed-End Management Investment Companies
Applicable only to reports filed by closed-end funds.
Item 9. Closed-End Fund Repurchases
Applicable only to reports filed by closed-end funds.
Item 10. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
Not applicable.
Item 11. Controls and Procedures
(a) The Fund’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer have concluded that the Fund’s disclosure controls and procedures are sufficient to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Fund in this Form N-CSR was recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules and forms, based upon such officers’ evaluation of these controls and procedures as of a date within 90 days of the filing date of the report.
(b) There were no changes in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the second fiscal quarter of the period covered by this report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.
Item 12. Exhibits
(a) The Code of Ethics for Principal Executive and Senior Financial Officers is attached hereto.
(b) A separate certification for each principal executive officer and principal financial officer of the registrant are attached hereto as part of EX-99.CERT.

9


 

SIGNATURES
     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Index Fund
/s/ Randy Takian
Randy Takian
Principal Executive Officer
October 22, 2009
     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
/s/ Randy Takian
Randy Takian
Principal Executive Officer
October 22, 2009
/s/ Francis Smith
Francis Smith
Principal Financial Officer
October 22, 2009

10