Several Morgan Stanley Investment Management funds were recently recognized for strong performance by notable publications including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Barron's, Bloomberg, Associated Press and by Lipper's annual Mutual Funds Awards.

The April 12 New York Times' "Quarterly Mutual Fund Report" ranked the Morgan Stanley FX Alpha Plus, Class A shares the top "12-Month Leader" for performance in 2008. Additionally, the Times named seven of the Firm's Growth Funds among the top 20 best funds for the 1Q 2009. Funds named included:

Van Kampen Equity Growth Fund, Class A shares (#2)

Morgan Stanley Capital Opportunities, Class A shares (#3)

Morgan Stanley Focus Growth, Class I shares (#6)

ING Van Kampen Capital Growth, Class I shares (#12)

Van Kampen Capital Growth, Class I shares  (#13)

Morgan Stanley Institutional Capital Growth, Class I shares (#16)

Van Kampen Enterprise, Class A shares (#17)

As reported by Bloomberg on April 2, Chicago-based Morningstar rated the Van Kampen Equity Growth Fund the top-performing U.S. stock fund from January to March 2009. Similarly, the Associated Press cited Van Kampen Equity Growth as the quarter's top performing large-cap growth fund, according to fund-tracker Lipper Inc.

The Van Kampen Equity Growth Fund was highlighted in the April 6 Barron's "Quarterly Mutual Fund Review" as the leading large-cap growth offering. Speaking with Barron's, Executive Director Kristian Heugh, who oversees the fund said, "The companies that made a difference in our portfolio were either high-return companies that didn't need to access the capital markets to grow, or companies with high exposure to China's recovery." He added, "We're already seeing signs of economic improvement deep within the supply chain in Asia."

The April 6 Wall Street Journal's "Investing in Funds: Quarterly Analysis - Winners and Losers" table listed the Van Kampen Exchange fund as a top performing Large-Cap Core based on one-year total return performance as of March 31, 2009.

Demonstrating strong long-term performance, on April 2 four of the Firm's funds were recognized by the Lipper Mutual Fund Awards 2009.

The Lipper Fund Awards highlights funds that have excelled in delivering consistently strong risk-adjusted performance, relative to peers. Funds recognized for performance ending December 31, 2008 included: 

Van Kampen Small Cap Growth Fund, three-year and five-year performance period

Morgan Stanley Global Dividend Growth Fund, three-year and five-year performance period

Morgan Stanley Health Sciences Trust, three-year and 10-year performance period

Morgan Stanley Pacific Growth Fund, three-year performance period