FIXED INCOMEINVESTMENT IDEA GLOBAL FIXED INCOME TEAM JUNE 30, 2020

SYMBOLS

Class A MSYPX

Class C MSHDX

Class I MSYIX

Class IS MSHYX

MORGAN STANLEY INSTITUTIONAL FUND TRUST (MSIFT)

High Yield PortfolioAt Morgan Stanley Investment Management, our Global Fixed Income Team strives to uncover solutions that go beyond the traditional. In today’s economic environment, consider the MSIFT High Yield portfolio to get exposure to an attractively priced asset class.

Diversify your high yield portfolio Often overlooked in favor of their larger peers, middle market high yield issuers—which we define as companies with $150 million to $1 billion of total bonds outstanding—are typically under-researched and their credit ratings frequently do not reflect their most recent credit profiles. This enables a diligent investment manager to identify issuers with stronger credit metrics and potentially benefit from the additional yield.We believe that with the right disciplined and diversified approach, the middle market can provide a “sweet spot” for investors within the high yield sector and be a valuable component of a high yield portfolio.

Middle market: higher returns with lower volatility – an overlooked market segment1

Jun ’02 Jun ’06 Jun ’10 Jun ’14 Jun '18 Jun '20

300%

225%

150%

75%

28%

24%

12%

16%

8%

4%

0%0%

-75% -4%

375%

20%

US HY < $1 billion (price vol.)

US HY ≥ $1 billion (price vol.)

US HY < $1 billion (cum. returns)

US HY ≥ $1 billion (cum. returns)

1 Source: MSIM. Bloomberg Barclays. As of June 30, 2020. We define middle market as companies with $150 million to $1 billion in total bonds outstanding at the time of investment. Before 2001, the total number of unique large-market tickers to the total number of unique tickers in the index was very low. Due to sample size, we chose to start at December 31, 2000. Cumulative returns shown are compounded. Price volatility shown is annualized rolling 3 month daily price volatility. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Provided for informational purposes only and is not intended to predict or represent the performance of any Morgan Stanley investment or strategy. 2 Source: MSIM and Bloomberg Barclays. Based on historical analysis of the Bloomberg Barclays High Yield Index.NOT FDIC INSURED | OFFER NO BANK GUARANTEE | MAY LOSE VALUE | NOT INSURED BY ANY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY | NOT A DEPOSIT

MSIFT High Yield PortfolioMiddle market focusUp to 80 percent of the Fund may be invested in middle market high yield issuers. These issuers make up 61 percent of the U.S. high yield market in terms of issuer count and nearly a quarter of the market by par amount outstanding, but they tend to be overlooked by investors because of their smaller issuance size. Middle market issues have also historically offered investors higher returns while exhibiting lower volatility.1

1

2Yield advantageMiddle market issuers have typically offered a yield advantage of 100 to 150 basis points over larger issuers,2 while exhibiting similar historical default rates.

3Credit intensive approachAs an asset class with the potential for high defaults, avoiding defaults is key to outperformance. Our approach concentrates on generating returns through a bottom-up, credit intensive approach, with a top-down macro and valuation framework to help control the overall risk profile.

© 2020 Morgan Stanley. All rights reserved. Morgan Stanley Distribution, Inc. CRC 3138987 Exp. 06/30/2021 9870849_CH_0720 Lit-Link: HYINVIDEA

3 Returns are net of fees and assume the reinvestment of all dividends and income. Returns for less than one year are cumulative (unannualized). Performance of other share classes will vary.4 The Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Corporate High Yield Index covers the universe of fixed rate, non-investment grade bonds. The index includes both corporate and noncorporate sectors. The index is unmanaged and should not be considered an investment. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.Beta is a measure of a portfolio’s sensitivity to market movements. By definition, the Beta of the stock market is 1.00. Therefore, a portfolio with a Beta of 1.10 is expected to perform 10% better than the stock market in “up” markets and 10% worse in “down” markets. Average maturity is the weighting the maturity of each security in the portfolio by the market value of the security, then averaging these weighted figures. Duration is an approximate measure of the portfolio’s sensitivity to a parallel shift in interest rates. For example, a portfolio with a duration of five years would gain 5% in market value if interest rates declined by 1%. SEC 30-day yield is a measure of the income generated by the portfolio’s underlying assets over the trail-ing 30 days, relative to the asset base of the portfolio itself. The SEC 30-day yield - Subsidized (Sub.) reflects current fee waivers in effect. Absent such fee waivers, the yield would have been lower. The SEC 30-day yield - Unsubsidized (Unsub.) does not reflect the fee waivers currently in effect. One basis point = 0.01%.This material is a general communication, which is not impartial and all informa-tion provided has been prepared solely for informational and educational purposes and does not constitute an offer or a recommendation to buy or sell any particular security or to adopt any specific investment strategy. The information herein has not been based on a consideration of any individual investor circumstances and is not investment advice, nor should it be construed in any way as tax, accounting, legal or regulatory advice. To that end, investors should seek independent legal and financial advice, including advice as to tax consequences, before making any invest-ment decision.RISK CONSIDERATIONS There is no assurance that a Portfolio will achieve its investment objective. Portfolios are subject to market risk, which is the possibility that the market values of securities owned by the Portfolio will decline and that the value of Portfolio shares may therefore be less than what you paid for them. Market values can change daily due to economic and other events (e.g. natural disasters, health crises, terrorism, conflicts and social unrest) that affect markets, countries,

companies or governments. It is difficult to predict the timing, duration, and potential adverse effects (e.g. portfolio liquidity) of events. Accordingly, you can lose money investing in this Portfolio. Please be aware that this Portfolio may be subject to certain additional risks. Diversification does not eliminate the risk of loss. Fixed-income securities are subject to the ability of an issuer to make timely principal and interest payments (credit risk), changes in interest rates (interest-rate risk), the creditworthiness of the issuer and general market liquidity (market risk). In a rising interest-rate environment, bond prices may fall and may result in periods of volatil-ity and increased portfolio redemptions. In a declining interest-rate environment, the portfolio may generate less income. Longer-term securities may be more sensitive to interest rate changes. High yield securities (“junk bonds”) are lower rated securi-ties that may have a higher degree of credit and liquidity risk. Public bank loans are subject to liquidity risk and the credit risks of lower rated securities. In general, eq-uity securities’ values also fluctuate in response to activities specific to a company. The strategy may invest in restricted and illiquid securities, which may be difficult for the strategy to sell at a reasonable price. (Liquidity Risk). Derivative instru-ments may disproportionately increase losses and have a significant impact on per-formance. They also may be subject to counterparty, liquidity, valuation, correlation and market risks. Distressed and defaulted securities are speculative and involve substantial risks in addition to the risks of investing in junk bonds. The Portfolio will generally not receive interest payments on the distressed securities and the principal may also be at risk. These securities may present a substantial risk of default or may be in default at the time of investment, requiring the portfolio to incur additional costs. Preferred securities are subject to interest rate risk and generally decreases in value if interest rates rise and increase in value if interest rates fall. Mezzanine investments are subordinated debt securities, thus they carry the risk that the issuer will not be able to meet its obligations and they may lose value. Foreign securities are subject to currency, political, economic and market risks. The risks of investing in emerging market countries are greater than risks associated with investments in foreign developed countries.

Please consider the investment objective, risks, charges and expenses of the fund carefully before investing. The prospectus contains this and other information about the fund. To obtain a prospectus, download one at morganstanley.com/im or call 1-800-548-7786. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing.

Investment performance – Class I (% net of fees)3

Average annual total return for periods ending June 30, 2020

2Q20 YTD 1 YR 3 YR 5 YR

Since Inception

(2/7/2012)

MSIFT High Yield Portfolio 10.05 -7.58 -3.70 2.26 3.74 6.35

Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Corporate High Yield Index4

10.18 -3.80 0.03 3.33 4.79 5.68

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 the most recent month end performance figures, please visit morganstanley.com/im or call 1-800-548-7786. Investment returns and princi-pal value will fluctuate and fund shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost.

The gross expense ratio is 0.98% for Class I shares and the net expense ratio is 0.65%. Where the net expense ratio is lower than the gross expense ratio, cer-tain fees have been waived and/or expenses reimbursed. These waivers and/or reimbursements will continue for at least one year from the date of the appli-cable fund’s current prospectus (unless otherwise noted in the applicable pro-spectus) or until such time as the fund’s Board of Trustees acts to discontinue all or a portion of such waivers and/or reimbursements. Absent such waivers and/or reimbursements, returns would have been lower. Expenses are based on the fund’s current prospectus. The minimum initial investment is $5,000,000.

Investment TeamThe Morgan Stanley Institutional Fund Trust High Yield Portfolio is managed by senior members of the Global Fixed Income team.

Team members may change, without notice, from time to time.

RICHARD LINDQUIST, Managing DirectorJoined the firm in 2011, with 38 years of financial industry experience.

JACK CIMAROSA, Executive DirectorJoined the firm in 2012, with 15 years of financial industry experience.

Portfolio characteristics – Class I

SEC 30-day yield subsidized (%) 6.58

SEC 30-day yield unsubsidized (%) 6.19

Average maturity (years) 4.78

Duration (years) 3.93

Source: MSIM, Bloomberg Barclays.