# Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (MSDL): Mutual Fund Facts & Distributions > Markdown mirror of https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/msdl for AI agents. Same live data as the HTML page, regenerated on the same refresh cycle. Not investment advice. - Issuer: Morgan Stanley · Asset class: Equity - Strategy: Thematic · Inception: 2024-01-24 Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund functions as a business development company (BDC) specializing in finance, primarily providing capital to mid-sized enterprises. Its investment strategy focuses on directly originating and funding senior secured term loans, encompassing both first-lien and second-lien security interests. This entity commenced operations on May 30, 2019, and maintains its principal headquarters in New York City. ## Key Facts | Metric | Value | |---|---| | Price | $13.64 | | Expense Ratio | — | | Assets Under Management | $1.15B | | NAV | — | | Holdings Count | — | | Distribution Yield (TTM) | 13.56% | | Annual Distribution (TTM) | $1.85 /share | | Distribution Frequency | Quarterly | | 52-Week Range | $12.71 – $17.91 | | Beta | 0.68 | ## Latest Distribution - Amount: $0.4500 /share - Ex-date: 2026-09-30 - Pay date: 2026-10-23 ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What does MSDL invest in? Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund functions as a business development company (BDC) specializing in finance, primarily providing capital to mid-sized enterprises. Its investment strategy focuses on directly originating and funding senior secured term loans, encompassing both first-lien and second-lien security interests. This entity commenced operations on May 30, 2019, and maintains its principal headquarters in New York City. ### What is the expense ratio of MSDL? An expense ratio for Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (MSDL) is not available from our data sources. Neither our market-data feed nor the SEC's structured prospectus and annual-report datasets report one for this share class. The fund's prospectus on the issuer's site carries the authoritative fee. ### How big is MSDL? Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (MSDL) manages $1.15B in total assets. AUM determines bid-ask liquidity and the fund's vulnerability to closure. Funds below ~$50M are at higher risk of liquidation. ### Is MSDL actively managed or an index fund? MSDL's management style is described in the fund's prospectus. See the description on the Summary tab for the published strategy. ### When was MSDL launched? Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (MSDL) launched in January 2024 and is managed by Morgan Stanley. ### How has MSDL performed? MSDL's total return (price change plus reinvested distributions) is charted at the top of this page. Switch the price chart to Total Return and pick a 1-year, 3-year, 5-year, or 10-year window to read the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over each horizon. ### Does MSDL pay a dividend? Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (MSDL) currently distributes little or no income. Trailing-twelve-month yield is 13.56%. Investors looking for income should consider income-focused alternatives. See the Peers tab. ### How often does MSDL pay dividends? Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund pays dividends Quarterly. Each ex-dividend date, record date, and payment date is listed in the dividend history table on this page. ### What is MSDL's dividend yield? MSDL's trailing-twelve-month yield is 13.56%, calculated from the sum of dividends over the past year divided by the current price. ### When is MSDL's next ex-dividend date? The most recently announced ex-dividend date for MSDL was 2026-09-30. The next ex-date typically follows Quarterly; once announced it appears at the top of the dividend history table on this page. ### Why is MSDL's expense ratio not shown? Neither our market-data feed nor the SEC's structured filing datasets (prospectus fee tables and Form N-CEN annual reports, which we re-check monthly) report an expense ratio for Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (MSDL). That usually means the fund family doesn't register this share class's ticker in the SEC's machine-readable data, or the vehicle reports fees outside the standard fund forms. Rather than estimate, we leave it blank; the prospectus on the issuer's site carries the authoritative number. ### How does MSDL charge its expense ratio? The expense ratio is deducted in tiny daily slices from MSDL's net asset value (NAV). You never see a bill. The price quoted on every exchange is already net of fees. There's no "fee day" to avoid; the cost is continuous and built into the trading price. ## More on Dividend Data - Overview (HTML): https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/msdl - Distribution history: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/msdl/dividend - Holdings & diversification: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/msdl/diversification - Fees & cheaper alternatives: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/msdl/expenses - Peer comparison: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/msdl/peers Data sourced from primary filings and market data providers; see https://www.dividenddata.com/methodology.