Fund Evaluator:
Morgan Stanley Inst Inception A (MSSMX)
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Best Performing in Small Growth Over the Last Year
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Fund Details
Morgan Stanley Inst Inception A Overview
Morgan Stanley Inst Inception A (MSSMX) is an actively managed U.S. Equity Small Growth fund. Morgan Stanley launched the fund in 1996.
The investment seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing primarily in growth-oriented equity securities of small capitalization companies. The fund will, under normal circumstances, seek to achieve its investment objective by investing primarily in established and emerging companies with capitalizations within the range of companies included in the Russell 2000® Growth Index. The Adviser emphasizes a bottom-up stock selection process, seeking attractive investments on an individual company basis. The Adviser may invest up to 25% of the fund's total assets in foreign securities.
About Morgan Stanley Inst Inception A (MSSMX)
There are 5 members of the management team with an average tenure of 21.38 years: Alexander Norton (2005), Jason Yeung (2007), Armistead Nash (2008), Dennis Lynch (1999), Sandeep (Sam) Chainani (2004). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: Russell 3000 TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and Russell 2000 Growth TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Morgan Stanley Inst Inception A has 67 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 51.2% 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 Inception A is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the U.S. Equity fund group. Morgan Stanley Inst Inception A has 8.9% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 84.5%. There is 8.9% allocated to foreign stock, and 2.2% 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 Inception A has 4.4% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $87 million in total assets, which is below the $454 million average for the Small Growth 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.
MSSMX 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 Inception A expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Small Growth category. Morgan Stanley Inst Inception A has an expense ratio of 1.35%, which is 15% 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 Inception A has a portfolio turnover rate of 97%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 76% for the Small Growth category.
Recently, in the month of June 2026, Morgan Stanley Inst Inception A returned -3.1%, which earned it a grade of F, as the Small Growth category had an average return of 6.5%. 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 Inception A has a trailing yield of 0.00%, which is below the 0.07% category average. The fund normally distributes its income annually and its capital gains 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 Inception A Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 6.6%, 15.5 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of F. The fund has returned 3.5% over the past year (grade of F), 14.4% over the past three years (grade of D) and -9.5% per year over the past five years (grade of F) and 13.3% per year over the past 10 years (grade of B).
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MSSMX Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 6/30/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| MSSMX Return (NAV) | -3.1% | 24.2% | 3.5% | 14.4% | -9.5% | 13.3% |
| MSSMX Grade | F | C | F | D | F | B |
| +/- Category | -9.5% | -0.5% | -30.2% | -1.9% | -14.1% | 0.8% |
| Small Growth Avg | 6.5% | 24.7% | 33.7% | 16.4% | 4.6% | 12.5% |
| MSSMX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 0.0% | 0.2% | 2.2% | 3.7% |
MSSMX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 6/30/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| MSSMX Return (NAV) | 6.6% | 0.8% | 29.1% | 54.2% | -59.6% | -3.7% | 149.9% | 36.7% | 0.0% | 21.6% | -0.7% |
| MSSMX Grade | F | F | A | A | F | F | A | A | B | D | F |
| +/- Category | -15.5% | -7.3% | 13.6% | 37.5% | -31.6% | -14.2% | 108.0% | 6.8% | 4.1% | -2.5% | -10.9% |
| Small Growth Avg | 22.1% | 8.0% | 15.5% | 16.7% | -27.9% | 10.5% | 41.8% | 29.9% | -4.1% | 24.1% | 10.2% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 31.7% |
| Total Risk Index: | 2.61 - High |
| Category Risk Index: | 1.59 - High |
| Category Risk Grade: | F (101% Rank) |
| Beta: | 1.74 |
| R-Squared: | 52% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | Small-Cap Blend |
| Bond Investment Style: | na |
| Yield: | 0.0% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Annually |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Annually |
| Total Assets: | $282 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 87 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | A |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 97% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 5 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 27.4 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 21.4 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Lynch Dennis (1999), Chainani Sandeep (Sam) (2004), Norton Alexander (2005), Yeung Jason (2007), Nash Armistead (2008) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 3/31/26)
| # of Holdings: | 67 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 51.2% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 8.9% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 84.5% |
| Foreign Stock: | 8.9% |
| Preferred Stock: | 2.2% |
| Domestic Bond: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Bond: | 0.0% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 4.4% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Morgan Stanley |
| Phone Number: | 800-869-6397 |
| Website: | www.morganstanley.com/im |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | January 2, 1996 |
| 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 (%): | 1.35% ( Rating : High ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 1.18% |
| Share Class: | Morgan Stanley Inst Inception I |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 0 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
