2005 News Releases

• Portfolios launch with more than $15 billion in assets, offer diverse fund manager line-up
• New Portfolios draw upon John Hancock’s 9-year experience in managing lifestyle products

Boston– John Hancock Funds today announced the launch of five Lifestyle Portfolios available to retail mutual fund investors. These five Portfolios are a series of asset allocation fund-of-funds that provide investors with a choice of varying degrees of investment risk, from aggressive to conservative. John Hancock has been managing lifestyle assets for 401(k) plan participants and variable annuity contract holders since 1996 and, as of September 30, 2005, is the third largest provider of lifestyle products in the United States, according to Strategic Insight.

Keith F. Hartstein, chief executive officer of John Hancock Funds, said, “In what has become a rather crowded lifestyle/lifecycle marketplace, with more and more financial services companies jumping on the bandwagon, we believe our Lifestyle Portfolios stand out because of several unique characteristics. First, these Portfolios come to market with more than $15 billion of assets from our existing lifestyle assets. Additionally, they draw on our firm’s extensive experience in managing lifestyle products.

“This $15 billion launch makes us one of the largest providers of lifestyle products in the non-propriety distribution channel. Furthermore, we are not simply offering a blend of proprietary funds. Rather, we are making available a virtual “who’s who” of the investment management industry with our multi-manager, multi-style and multi-asset approach. Our Lifestyle Portfolios may invest currently in 47 underlying funds managed by 25 of the most well-known brands in the asset management industry today.”

The five John Hancock Lifestyle Portfolios are:

• John Hancock Lifestyle Conservative Portfolio (20% equity funds, 80% fixed-income funds)
• John Hancock Lifestyle Moderate Portfolio (40% equity funds, 60% fixed-income funds)
• John Hancock Lifestyle Balanced Portfolio (60% equity funds, 40% fixed-income funds)
• John Hancock Lifestyle Growth Portfolio (80% equity funds, 20% fixed-income funds)
• John Hancock Lifestyle Aggressive Portfolio (100% equity funds)

Bob Boyda, senior vice president of John Hancock Investment Management Services, said, “Our Lifestyle Portfolios are distinct, as we employ a rigorous, four-step process in their creation. Our process includes fund manager selection, asset class selection, fund manager optimization and ongoing monitoring. And, unlike many of our competitors, we include funds that reflect several non-traditional asset classes including real estate securities, natural resources stocks, international small-cap equities, high-yield bonds, emerging markets debt and Treasury inflation-protected securities.

“A survey of our 401(k) plan participants that recently was conducted by Burgess + Associates, an independent market research firm, revealed that investors in lifestyle products have earned higher investment returns than those who picked their own investments. The Burgess + Associates “Outcomes of Participant Investment Strategies 2000 – 2004” study examines the investment performance of portfolios of retirement plan participants contributing to their employer’s defined contribution plans from 2000 through 2004 through an ARA group annuity contract issued by John Hancock Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.). The returns earned by 120,048 participants were analyzed. A total of 25,536 participants were classified as Lifestyle Participants and 94,512 were classified as Non-Lifestyle Participants.

With today’s launch, John Hancock presently offers 43 retail open-end mutual funds, and advises 13 closed-end funds. The new Lifestyle Portfolios all offer Class A shares with a maximum front-end sales charge of 5.0 percent, Class B shares with no front-end sales charge and a maximum contingent deferred sales charge of 5.0 percent, and Class C shares with no front-end sales charge and a maximum contingent deferred sales charge of 1.0 percent. The minimum initial investment is $1,000 for regular accounts or $500 for retirement accounts. To obtain additional information or a prospectus, investors should call 800-225-5291 or visit www.jhfunds.com.

John Hancock Funds manages more than $33.8 billion in open-end funds, closed-end funds, private accounts, retirement plans and related party assets for individual and institutional investors as of June 30, 2005.

John Hancock, 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 fixed and variable annuities, long-term care insurance, mutual funds, college savings products, life insurance and various forms of business insurance. Additional information about John Hancock can be found on the website: www.johnhancock.com.

About John Hancock and Manulife Financial
John Hancock is a unit of Manulife Financial Corporation, a leading Canadian-based financial services group serving millions of customers in 19 countries and territories worldwide. Operating as Manulife Financial in Canada and Asia, and primarily through John Hancock in the United States, the Company offers clients a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services through its extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were Cdn$364 billion (US$297 billion) as at June 30, 2005.

Manulife Financial Corporation trades as ‘MFC’ on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under ‘0945’ on the SEHK. Manulife Financial can be found on the Internet at www.manulife.com.

The Portfolios’ investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses should be considered carefully before investing. The prospectus contains this and other important information about the Portfolios. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing or sending money. The prospectus may be obtained by calling John Hancock Funds, LLC at the telephone number below.

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