2005 News Releases

Boston– At its regular meeting last week, the board of trustees of the series of funds managed by John Hancock Advisers appointed Ronald R. Dion as its independent chairman. Mr. Dion has served as an independent trustee of these 53 funds for the past 7 years.

Keith F. Hartstein, chief executive officer of John Hancock Funds, said, "Since Ron joined the board he has been a steady force working on behalf of our shareholders. We are confident that he will continue to do so as independent chairman and we congratulate him on his appointment."

Mr. Dion said, "I look forward to continue serving the investors in the John Hancock family of funds. Since joining in 1998, this board has held itself to the highest standards. I aim to continue in that tradition."

In addition to his responsibilities at John Hancock, Mr. Dion is the chairman and chief executive officer of R.M. Bradley & Co., Inc., a Boston-based full service real estate company. He also serves on several other boards, including BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc., Cramer, Emmanuel College, and the Advisory Board of the Carroll Graduate School of Management at Boston College. Additionally, Mr. Dion is a governor of the Boston Stock Exchange.

Mr. Dion replaces Charles L. Ladner who, after serving for 2 ½ years as lead independent trustee and as independent chairman, is continuing as one of the board's eight independent trustees.

Also at last week's meeting, James R. Boyle was named to the board as an interested trustee. Mr. Boyle is the president of John Hancock Annuities, and has overall general management responsibility for Manulife Financial Corporation's U.S. individual fixed and variable annuity business, including business strategy, sales, marketing, product development and service operations. He also oversees the company's college savings business unit.

About John Hancock Funds
John Hancock Funds, a Boston-based investment management organization, 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. Additional information about John Hancock Funds can be found on the website: www.jhfunds.com.

About John Hancock
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 (the Company), 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.

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Liz Kennedy
(617) 663-42880