Fund Evaluator:
Morgan Stanley Inst Asia Opp A (MSAUX)
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Best Performing in Pacific/Asia ex-Japan Stk Over the Last Year
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Fund Details
Morgan Stanley Inst Asia Opp A Overview
Morgan Stanley Inst Asia Opp A (MSAUX) is an actively managed International Equity Pacific/Asia ex-Japan Stk fund. Morgan Stanley launched the fund in 2015.
The investment seeks long-term capital appreciation. Under normal market conditions, the Adviser seeks to achieve the fund’s investment objective by investing primarily in equity securities of issuers located in Asia, excluding Japan. In selecting securities for investment, the Adviser seeks high quality established and emerging companies that the Adviser believes are undervalued at the time of purchase. For purposes of maintaining exposure of at least 80% of the fund's assets to equity securities of issuers located in Asia, the fund may also invest in ADRs, GDRs and other types of depositary receipts with respect to issuers located in Asia.
About Morgan Stanley Inst Asia Opp A (MSAUX)
There are 4 members of the management team with an average tenure of 6.18 years: Alastair Pang (2022), Jeremy Wu (2023), Anil Agarwal (2020), Kristian Heugh (2015). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 1 primary benchmark: MSCI AC Asia Ex Japan NR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Morgan Stanley Inst Asia Opp A has 36 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 58.3% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The fund is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.
Morgan Stanley Inst Asia Opp A is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the International Equity fund group. Morgan Stanley Inst Asia Opp A has 94.5% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 5.1%. There is 94.5% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 0.0% (0.0% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Morgan Stanley Inst Asia Opp A has 0.4% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $17 million in total assets, which is below the $289 million average for the Pacific/Asia ex-Japan Stk category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.
MSAUX Performance and Fees
The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The Morgan Stanley Inst Asia Opp A expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Pacific/Asia ex-Japan Stk category. Morgan Stanley Inst Asia Opp A has an expense ratio of 1.45%, which is 19% higher than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a D. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.
High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. Morgan Stanley Inst Asia Opp A has a portfolio turnover rate of 20%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.1 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 79% for the Pacific/Asia ex-Japan Stk category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, Morgan Stanley Inst Asia Opp A returned -2.8%, which earned it a grade of B, as the Pacific/Asia ex-Japan Stk category had an average return of -6.2%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all funds in that category.
Morgan Stanley Inst Asia Opp A has a trailing yield of 2.69%, which is above the 0.82% category average. The fund normally distributes its income semi-annually.
It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.
Morgan Stanley Inst Asia Opp A Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 12.4%, 7.6 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of F. The fund has returned 9.7% over the past year (grade of F), 8.1% over the past three years (grade of F) and -0.7% per year over the past five years (grade of F) and 9.8% per year over the past 10 years (grade of C).
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MSAUX Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 7/31/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| MSAUX Return (NAV) | -2.8% | 7.9% | 9.7% | 8.1% | -0.7% | 9.8% |
| MSAUX Grade | B | A | F | F | F | C |
| +/- Category | 3.4% | 4.7% | -24.0% | -9.6% | -5.8% | -0.5% |
| Pacific/Asia ex-Japan Stk Avg | -6.2% | 3.3% | 33.7% | 17.8% | 5.1% | 10.3% |
| MSAUX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 1.2% | 0.6% | 0.4% | 0.4% |
MSAUX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| MSAUX Return (NAV) | 12.4% | 5.2% | 19.4% | -7.2% | -22.2% | -20.7% | 52.2% | 44.2% | -13.9% | 76.2% | -1.7% |
| MSAUX Grade | F | F | B | F | C | F | C | A | C | A | F |
| +/- Category | -7.6% | -22.2% | 6.6% | -9.0% | 0.4% | -11.6% | 5.7% | 16.9% | -0.4% | 31.9% | -5.0% |
| Pacific/Asia ex-Japan Stk Avg | 20.0% | 27.4% | 12.7% | 1.8% | -22.6% | -9.1% | 46.5% | 27.3% | -13.5% | 44.3% | 3.3% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 19.6% |
| Total Risk Index: | 1.60 - High |
| Category Risk Index: | 1.03 - Average |
| Category Risk Grade: | C (58% Rank) |
| Beta: | 0.94 |
| R-Squared: | 45% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | Large-Cap Growth |
| Bond Investment Style: | na |
| Yield: | 2.7% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Semi-Annually |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | |
| Total Assets: | $100 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 17 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | A |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 20% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 4 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 10.6 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 6.2 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Heugh Kristian (2015), Agarwal Anil (2020), Pang Alastair (2022), Wu Jeremy (2023) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 3/31/26)
| # of Holdings: | 36 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 58.3% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 94.5% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 5.1% |
| Foreign Stock: | 94.5% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Bond: | 0.0% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 0.4% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Morgan Stanley |
| Phone Number: | 800-869-6397 |
| Website: | www.morganstanley.com/im |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | December 29, 2015 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $1,000 |
| Min. Initial IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
| True No-Load: | No |
| Front Load Maximum: | 5.25% |
| Deferred Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Redemption Charge Maximum: | 2.00% |
| 12b-1 Fee: | 0.25% |
Expenses and Fees | |
| Expense Ratio (%): | 1.45% ( Rating : High ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 1.22% |
| Share Class: | Morgan Stanley Inst Asia Opp R6 |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 0 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
