MS INVF US Advantage B

Analyst Report
Morningstar's Take
|03/03/2025

by Robby Greengold
Morgan Stanley Institutional Advantage’s outstanding investment team makes its perennially bold posture worthwhile for its cheaper share classes. A drop in the Morningstar Medalist Rating of five share classes isn’t attributable to reduced conviction in the fund’s People or Process ratings but instead reflects a change in the way Morningstar calculates the excess return opportunity for funds. The strategy includes Luxembourg-domiciled MS INVF US Advantage.

The strategy epitomizes active management. Unlike broad-based growth indexes that tilt toward well-established giants that pervade peer funds’ portfolios, this portfolio is built around companies still in their formative years—businesses with short public histories, breakneck revenue growth, highly uncertain futures, and paltry current earnings. These features enable its occasionally exhilarating highs but also set the stage for gut-wrenching lows. Its steep losses during 2022’s global equity market selloff provided a stark reminder of the latter.

Since that painful stretch, the strategy has regained its footing. It climbed 35% or more in both 2023 and 2024, comfortably beating the Russell 1000 Growth Index. And it did so largely without many of the usual suspects—mega-caps and chipmakers riding the artificial intelligence wave. Instead, its high-conviction positions in DoorDash and Cloudflare fared well and showcased the team’s knack for spotting companies with underappreciated competitive advantages and room to grow.

Lately, however, this strategy’s leadership has invested beyond businesses that generate sales and the prospect of plentiful free cash flow. As of September 2024, the portfolio had a 7% allocation to plays on bitcoin, a virtual asset with no intrinsic value and extreme volatility. So far, this bet has paid off amid a fresh wave of enthusiasm for cryptocurrencies. But it adds another layer of risk to an already volatile strategy.

Steering it successfully demands unique insights and skills, qualities this investment team has in abundance. Dennis Lynch, the fund’s longtime manager, leads a deep and experienced team that thrives on unconventional thinking. They do not follow rigid sector-based research assignments, nor do they take an entirely generalist approach. Some members specialize in specific industries, while others focus on broad, disruptive trends that cut across sectors. This flexible, collaborative structure allows them to spot emerging opportunities that more traditional frameworks might miss.

This is not a strategy for the faint of heart. But for those with the patience and temperament to endure its swings, it has the potential to deliver exceptional rewards over the long haul.
 
Morningstar Medalist Rating™Daring.
To find out how Morningstar rates a fund click here.
Morningstar Pillars
PeopleHigh
ParentAverage
ProcessAbove Average
 
Morningstar Medalist RatingMorningstar assigns the Medalist Rating to funds that are qualitatively and quantitatively assessed through manager research and algorithmic processes. The assessment turns on three key “pillars” – People, Process, and Parent – that yield an estimate of how well a fund will perform before fees but after adjusting for risk.
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