2010 News Releases

Firm expands core value choices with adoption of Robeco Boston Partners’ fund  

Boston – John Hancock Funds has completed the adoption of the Robeco Boston Partners Mid Cap Value Fund and has launched it as the newly established John Hancock Disciplined Value Mid Cap Fund (JVMAX).    The reorganization was effective after the close of business on July 9. The John Hancock Disciplined Value Mid Cap Fund is now available for sale to retail investors through their financial advisers.

“We’re pleased to launch Disciplined Value Mid Cap as a way to offer investors a distinct mid cap value offering with a strong long term track record and attractive risk-adjusted returns,” said 

Keith F. Hartstein, President & CEO, John Hancock Funds.   “This new Fund is an extension of our existing exclusive partnership with Robeco Boston Partners, which further supports our strategy of offering shareholders access to institutional expertise and products that would not otherwise be available to retail investors.”

He added:  “Disciplined Value Mid Cap marks our 11^th fund adoption in eight years. Adoptions have played a key role in recent years in our growth strategy, and will continue to be important for us going forward.”

“Our new Disciplined Value Mid Cap fund is a further complement to our product line,” said Andrew Arnott, Executive Vice President. “The new Fund is a fundamental value approach and   differs from our other mid cap value offering, the John Hancock Value Opportunities Fund, sub-advised by GMO, which is based on a quantitative methodology.” 

Robeco Boston Partners also manages the John Hancock Disciplined Value Fund (JVLAX) which was adopted in 2008. 

Mark Donovan, Chairman of the Robeco Boston Partners Equity Strategy Committee and the firm’s Co-CEO said, “Partnering with Hancock has enabled us to remain focused on our core strength, value investing, while having the benefits of their strong and experienced distribution capabilities.” He noted that the John Hancock Disciplined Value Fund has seen an increase in assets from around $40 million when the Fund was adopted 18 months ago to about $655 million today.

The John Hancock Disciplined Value Mid Cap Fund seeks to provide long-term growth of capital by investing at least 80 percent of its net assets in a diversified portfolio of equity securities of issuers with medium market capitalizations and identified by Robeco Boston Partners as having value characteristics. A medium market capitalization issuer generally is considered to be one whose market capitalization is, at the time the Fund makes the investment, similar to the market capitalization of companies in the Russell Midcap Value Index, which is comprised of those companies in the Russell Midcap^® Index with lower price to book ratios and lower forecasted growth values and with a market capitalization range, as of March 31, 2010, between $223 million and $17.95 billion. The Fund’s portfolio will be managed on a day-to-day basis by Robeco Boston Partners.

John Hancock Funds embarked on its fund adoption strategy in 2002. Its most recent adoption was Fiduciary Management Associates LLC’s FMA Small Company Portfolio, which it re-launched as the John Hancock Small Company Fund (JCSAX) in December of 2009.

About Robeco Boston Partners

Robeco Boston Partners is a premier provider of value equity investment products that are firmly rooted in fundamental research and are based on a disciplined investment philosophy and process. The firm was started in 1995 by 34 investment professionals who had worked together for many years and shared a common focus on value investing and providing superior client service. In 2002, the firm was acquired by Robeco Groep N.V., a large Netherlands-based asset management firm and became an integral part of Robeco Investment Management, Inc., the Groep’s U.S.-based investment operation and the John Hancock Disciplined Value Mid Cap Fund’s sub-adviser.

Robeco Investment Management manages approximately $18 billion through its three divisions: Robeco Boston Partners, Robeco-Sage and Robeco Weiss, Peck & Greer. Products include U.S. equities, fund- of-hedge funds and alternatives. Additionally, the firm offers global and international equity strategies, including emerging markets, as well as fixed income products through its European affiliates, which include SAM (Sustainable Asset Management), a global leader in sustainability investing.

About John Hancock Funds

The Boston-based mutual fund business unit of John Hancock Financial, John Hancock Funds manages more than $57.9 billion in open-end funds, closed-end funds, private accounts, retirement plans and related party assets for individual and institutional investors as at March 31, 2010.  

About John Hancock Financial and Manulife Financial Corporation

John Hancock Financial is a unit of Manulife Financial Corporation, a leading Canadian-based financial services group serving millions of customers in 22 countries and territories worldwide. Operating as Manulife Financial in Canada and in most of Asia, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States, Manulife Financial Corporation offers clients a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services through its extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners. For more than 120 years, clients have looked to Manulife for strong, reliable, trustworthy and forward-thinking solutions for their most significant financial decisions. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were Cdn$446 billion (US$440 billion) as at March 31, 2010.

Manulife Financial Corporation trades as ‘MFC’ on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under ‘945’ on the SEHK. Manulife Financial may be found on the Internet at www.manulife.com.

The John Hancock unit, through its insurance companies, comprises one of the largest life insurers in the United States. John Hancock offers a broad range of financial products and services, including life insurance, fixed and variable annuities, fixed products, mutual funds, 401(k) plans, long-term care insurance, college savings, and other forms of business insurance. Additional information about John Hancock may be found at www.johnhancock.com.

Media Contact:     
Beth McGoldrick
(617) 663-4751
bmcgoldrick@jhancock.com