Prospectus
John
Hancock
Infrastructure Fund
Infrastructure Fund
Alternative
March 1, 2024
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JEEBX |
JEEFX |
JEEIX |
JEEDX |
As with all
mutual funds, the Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or
disapproved these securities or passed upon the adequacy of this prospectus. Any
representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
The summary
section is a concise look at the investment objective, fees and expenses,
principal investment strategies, principal risks, past performance, and
investment management.
Fund
details
More about
topics covered in the summary section, including descriptions of the investment
strategies and various risk factors that investors should understand before
investing.
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18 |
Your
account
How to place
an order to buy, sell, or exchange shares, as well as information about the
business policies and any distributions that may be paid.
For more
information See
back cover
Fund
summary
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Maximum
front-end sales charge (load) on purchases, as a % of purchase
price |
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Maximum
deferred sales charge (load) as a % of purchase or sale price, whichever
is less |
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(on certain
purchases,
including those of
$1 million or
more) |
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Small
account fee (for fund account balances under $1,000)
($) |
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R6 |
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Management
fee |
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Distribution
and service (Rule 12b-1) fees |
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Other
expenses |
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Total
annual fund operating expenses |
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Contractual
expense reimbursement |
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Total
annual fund operating expenses after expense
reimbursements |
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1
Fund
summary
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Expenses
($) |
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R6 |
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1
year |
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3
years |
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5
years |
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10
years |
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The fund’s main risks are
listed below in alphabetical order, not in order of importance. Before
investing, be sure to read the additional descriptions of these risks beginning
on page 7 of the prospectus.
2
Fund
summary
3
Fund
summary
4
Fund
summary
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1
year |
5
year |
10
year |
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Class
A
(before tax) |
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after
tax on distributions |
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after
tax on distributions, with sale |
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Class
C |
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Class
I |
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Class
R6 |
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MSCI
ACWI (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes, except foreign
withholding taxes on dividends) |
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Investment
management
Investment
advisor
John Hancock
Investment Management LLC
Subadvisor
Wellington
Management Company LLP
Portfolio
management
The following
individuals are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management
of the fund’s portfolio.
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Timothy
J. Casaletto, CFA |
G.
Thomas Levering |
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Managing
Director and Global Industry Analyst
Managed
the fund since 2023 |
Senior
Managing Director and Global Industry Analyst
Managed
the fund since 2013 |
Purchase
and sale of fund shares
The minimum
initial investment requirement for Class A and Class C shares is $1,000 ($250
for group investments), except that there is no minimum for certain group
retirement plans, certain fee-based or wrap accounts, or certain other eligible
investment product platforms. The minimum initial investment requirement for
Class I shares is $250,000, except that the fund may waive the minimum for any
category of investors at the fund’s sole discretion. The minimum initial
investment requirement for Class R6 shares is $1 million, except that there is
no minimum for: qualified and nonqualified plan investors; certain eligible
qualifying investment product platforms; Trustees, employees of the advisor or
its affiliates, employees of the subadvisor, members of the fund’s portfolio
management team and the spouses and children (under age 21) of the
aforementioned. There are no subsequent minimum investment
requirements.
Class A, Class
C, Class I, and Class R6 shares may be redeemed on any business day by mail:
John Hancock Signature Services, Inc., P.O. Box 219909, Kansas City, MO
64121-9909; or for most account types through our website: jhinvestments.com; or
by telephone: 800-225-5291 (Class A and Class C); 888-972-8696 (Class I and
Class R6).
Taxes
The fund’s
distributions are taxable, and will be taxed as ordinary income and/or capital
gains, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a
401(k) plan or individual retirement account. Withdrawals from such tax-deferred
arrangements may be subject to tax at a later date.
5
Fund
summary
Payments
to broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries
If you
purchase the fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such
as a bank, registered investment advisor, financial planner, or retirement plan
administrator), the fund and its related companies may pay the broker-dealer or
other intermediary for the sale of fund shares and related services. These
payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or
other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the fund over another
investment. These payments are not applicable to Class R6 shares. Ask your
salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more
information.
6
Fund
details
Principal
investment strategies
Investment
Objective:
The fund seeks
total return from capital appreciation and income, with an emphasis on absolute
returns over a full market cycle.
The Board of
Trustees can change the fund’s investment objective and strategies without
shareholder approval. The fund will provide written notice to shareholders at
least 60 days prior to a change in its 80% investment policy.
The fund
pursues its objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of
its net assets (plus borrowings for investment purposes) in global securities of
companies with infrastructure-related assets. Because the fund normally invests
more than 25% of its assets in global securities of infrastructure-related
assets, the fund is considered to be “concentrated” in industries represented by
infrastructure companies. For purposes of this policy, global securities
include: common stock, depositary receipts, real estate securities (including
real estate investment trusts (REITs)), master limited partnerships (MLPs) (up
to a maximum of 25% of the fund’s net assets), preferred stock, rights,
warrants, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and debt securities (up to a maximum of
20% of the fund’s net assets). Also for purposes of this policy,
infrastructure-related assets are long-lived physical assets that are held by
companies, including financial holding companies, that engage in the ownership,
management, construction, development, renovation, operation, use or financing
of infrastructure assets, or that provide the services and raw materials
necessary for the construction and maintenance of infrastructure assets.
Infrastructure assets are the physical structures, networks and systems which
provide necessary services for the function, growth and development of society,
including but not limited to utilities, pipelines, toll roads, airports,
railroads, ports, telecommunications and other infrastructure
companies.
The fund
typically invests in companies with long-lived physical assets. Companies with
long-lived physical assets are those that the manager believes possess an
advantageous competitive position based upon regulatory, contractual, or
physical qualities due to typically having multidecade operational lives, being
resilient in the face of technological advances, having rising replacement
costs, and enjoying limited substitution risk. The manager believes investment
in these types of companies can contribute to attractive, long-term absolute
returns. The fund also seeks to mitigate losses during periods of unfavorable
equity market conditions through a portfolio that will generally exhibit lower
beta, or volatility, relative to the broader universe of global equity
securities. While not managed explicitly for yield, the securities in which the
fund invests may often provide higher dividend yields than the broader equity
market. The fund is not managed to track a benchmark index.
The fund may
invest in debt securities, including convertible bonds, without any maturity
limit and of any credit quality, including high-yield securities (i.e., junk
bonds). The fund may also invest in cash, cash equivalents, and derivative
instruments, all as deemed by the manager to be consistent with the fund’s
investment objective. Derivatives transactions that the fund may engage in
include exchange- and over-the-counter-traded transactions in swaps, forward
contracts, options, currency derivatives (including currency forwards, futures,
options, and
spot transactions), and similar derivative instruments or combinations thereof
for the purpose of reducing risk, obtaining efficient market exposure, and/or
enhancing investment returns. Country and regional weights are a result of
bottom-up security selection and are typically unconstrained; however, the fund
will generally be diversified regionally across global equity markets, including
emerging markets. The fund invests in companies across the market-capitalization
spectrum. The maximum position in any individual security will typically be less
than 10% of the fund’s net assets. Generally, less than 10% of the fund’s net
assets will be invested in cash and cash equivalents, but can be as high as
20%.
The manager
considers environmental, social, and/or governance (ESG) factors, alongside
other relevant factors, as part of its investment process. ESG factors may
include, but are not limited to, matters regarding board diversity, climate
change policies, and supply chain and human rights policies. The ESG
characteristics utilized in the fund’s investment process may change over time
and one or more characteristics may not be relevant with respect to all issuers
that are eligible fund investments.
The fund seeks
to outperform global equity markets during periods of flat or negative market
performance. Conversely, the fund may underperform during periods of strong
market performance. Although the fund seeks positive total returns over time,
the fund’s investment returns may be volatile over short periods of time and
there can be no assurance that the fund’s returns over time, or during any
period, will be positive.
The fund may
invest in cash or money market instruments for the purpose of meeting redemption
requests or making other anticipated cash payments.
The fund may
deviate from its principal investment strategies during transition periods,
which may include the reassignment of portfolio management, a change in
investment objective or strategy, a reorganization or liquidation, or the
occurrence of large inflows or outflows.
Temporary
defensive investing
The fund may
invest up to 100% of its assets in cash, money market instruments, or other
investment-grade short-term securities for the purpose of protecting the fund in
the event the manager determines that market, economic, political, or other
conditions warrant a defensive posture.
To the extent
that the fund is in a defensive position, its ability to achieve its
investment objective will be limited.
Principal
risks of investing
An investment
in the fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The fund’s
shares will go up and down in price, meaning that you could lose money by
investing in the fund. Many factors influence a fund’s performance. The fund's
investment strategy may not produce the intended results.
Instability in
the financial markets has led many governments, including the U.S. government,
to take a number of unprecedented actions
7
Fund
details
designed to
support certain financial institutions and segments of the financial markets
that have experienced extreme volatility and, in some cases, a lack of
liquidity. Federal, state, and other governments, and their regulatory agencies
or self-regulatory organizations, may take actions that affect the regulation of
the instruments in which the fund invests, or the issuers of such instruments,
in ways that are unforeseeable. Legislation or regulation may also change the
way in which the fund itself is regulated. Such legislation or regulation could
limit or preclude the fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective. In
addition, political events within the United States and abroad could negatively
impact financial markets and the fund’s performance. Further, certain
municipalities of the United States and its territories are financially strained
and may face the possibility of default on their debt obligations, which could
directly or indirectly detract from the fund’s performance.
Governments or
their agencies may also acquire distressed assets from financial institutions
and acquire ownership interests in those institutions. The implications of
government ownership and disposition of these assets are unclear, and such a
program may have positive or negative effects on the liquidity, valuation, and
performance of the fund’s portfolio holdings. Furthermore, volatile financial
markets can expose the fund to greater market and liquidity risk, increased
transaction costs, and potential difficulty in valuing portfolio instruments
held by the fund.
The principal
risks of investing in the fund are summarized in its fund summary above. Below
are descriptions of the main factors that may play a role in shaping the fund’s
overall risk profile. The descriptions appear in alphabetical order, not in
order of importance. For further details about fund risks, including additional
risk factors that are not discussed in this prospectus because they are not
considered primary factors, see the fund's Statement of Additional Information
(SAI).
Cash
and cash equivalents risk
Under certain
market conditions, such as during a rising stock market, rising interest rate or
rising credit spread markets, the use of cash and/or cash equivalents, including
money market instruments, could have a negative effect on the fund’s ability to
achieve its investment objective and may negatively impact the fund’s
performance. To the extent that the fund invests in a money market fund, the
fund will indirectly bear a proportionate share of the money market fund’s
expenses, in addition to the operating expenses of the fund, which are borne
directly by fund shareholders. In addition, while money market funds seek to
maintain a stable net asset value, the value of a money market fund is not
guaranteed and investors in money market funds can lose money, which could
detract from the fund’s performance.
Commodity
risk
The market price of commodity
investments may be volatile due to fluctuating demand, supply disruption,
speculation, and other factors. Certain commodity investments may have no active
trading market at times. The value of commodities investments will generally be
affected by overall market movements and factors specific to a particular
industry or commodity, which may include weather, pandemics, epidemics,
embargoes, tariffs, and health, political, international and regulatory
developments. Economic and other events (whether real or perceived) can reduce
the demand for commodities, which may reduce market prices and cause the value
of shares of the fund to fall. Exposure to
commodities
and commodities markets may subject the fund to greater volatility than
investments in traditional securities. Certain types of commodities instruments
(such as total return swaps and commodity-linked notes) are subject to the risk
that the counterparty to the instrument will not perform or will be unable to
perform in accordance with the terms of the instrument.
Concentration
risk
When a fund’s
investments are focused in one or more industries or sectors of the economy,
they are less broadly invested across industries or sectors than other funds.
This means that concentrated funds tend to be more volatile than other funds,
and the values of their investments tend to go up and down more rapidly. In
addition, a fund that invests in particular industries or sectors is
particularly susceptible to the impact of market, economic, political,
regulatory, and other conditions and risks affecting those industries or
sectors. From time to time, a small number of companies may represent a large
portion of a single industry or sector or a group of related industries or
sectors as a whole.
Credit
and counterparty risk
This is the
risk that the issuer or guarantor of a fixed-income security, the counterparty
to an over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives contract (see “Hedging, derivatives,
and other strategic transactions risk”), or a borrower of a fund’s securities
will be unable or unwilling to make timely principal, interest, or settlement
payments, or otherwise honor its obligations. Credit risk associated with
investments in fixed-income securities relates to the ability of the issuer to
make scheduled payments of principal and interest on an obligation. A fund that
invests in fixed-income securities is subject to varying degrees of risk that
the issuers of the securities will have their credit ratings downgraded or will
default, potentially reducing the fund’s share price and income level. Nearly
all fixed-income securities are subject to some credit risk, which may vary
depending upon whether the issuers of the securities are corporations, domestic
or foreign governments, or their subdivisions or instrumentalities. When a
fixed-income security is not rated, a manager may have to assess the risk of the
security itself. Asset-backed securities, whose principal and interest payments
are supported by pools of other assets, such as credit card receivables and
automobile loans, are subject to further risks, including the risk that the
obligors of the underlying assets default on payment of those
assets.
Funds that
invest in below-investment-grade securities, also called junk bonds (e.g.,
fixed-income securities rated Ba or lower by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. or
BB or lower by S&P Global Ratings or Fitch Ratings, as applicable, at the
time of investment, or determined by a manager to be of comparable quality to
securities so rated) are subject to increased credit risk. The sovereign debt of
many foreign governments, including their subdivisions and instrumentalities,
falls into this category. Below-investment-grade securities offer the potential
for higher investment returns than higher-rated securities, but they carry
greater credit risk: their issuers’ continuing ability to meet principal and
interest payments is considered speculative, they are more susceptible to real
or perceived adverse economic and competitive industry conditions, and they may
be less liquid than higher-rated securities.
In addition, a
fund is exposed to credit risk to the extent that it makes use of OTC
derivatives (such as forward foreign currency contracts and/or
8
Fund
details
swap
contracts) and engages to a significant extent in the lending of fund securities
or the use of repurchase agreements. OTC derivatives transactions can be closed
out with the other party to the transaction. If the counterparty defaults, a
fund will have contractual remedies, but there is no assurance that the
counterparty will be able to meet its contractual obligations or that, in the
event of default, a fund will succeed in enforcing them. A fund, therefore,
assumes the risk that it may be unable to obtain payments owed to it under OTC
derivatives contracts or that those payments may be delayed or made only after
the fund has incurred the costs of litigation. While the manager intends to
monitor the creditworthiness of contract counterparties, there can be no
assurance that the counterparty will be in a position to meet its obligations,
especially during unusually adverse market conditions.
Economic
and market events risk
Events in certain sectors
historically have resulted, and may in the future result, in an unusually high
degree of volatility in the financial markets, both domestic and foreign. These
events have included, but are not limited to: bankruptcies, corporate
restructurings, and other similar events; bank failures; governmental efforts to
limit short selling and high frequency trading; measures to address U.S. federal
and state budget deficits; social, political, and economic instability in
Europe; economic stimulus by the Japanese central bank; dramatic changes in
energy prices and currency exchange rates; and China’s economic slowdown.
Interconnected global economies and financial markets increase the possibility
that conditions in one country or region might adversely impact issuers in a
different country or region. Both domestic and foreign equity markets have
experienced increased volatility and turmoil, with issuers that have exposure to
the real estate, mortgage, and credit markets particularly affected. Financial
institutions could suffer losses as interest rates rise or economic conditions
deteriorate.
In addition,
relatively high market volatility and reduced liquidity in credit and
fixed-income markets may adversely affect many issuers worldwide. Actions taken
by the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) or foreign central banks to stimulate or
stabilize economic growth, such as interventions in currency markets, could
cause high volatility in the equity and fixed-income markets. Reduced liquidity
may result in less money being available to purchase raw materials, goods, and
services from emerging markets, which may, in turn, bring down the prices of
these economic staples. It may also result in emerging-market issuers having
more difficulty obtaining financing, which may, in turn, cause a decline in
their securities prices.
Beginning in
March 2022, the Fed began increasing interest rates and has signaled the
potential for further increases. As a result, risks associated with rising
interest rates are currently heightened. It is difficult to accurately predict
the pace at which the Fed will increase interest rates any further, or the
timing, frequency or magnitude of any such increases, and the evaluation of
macro-economic and other conditions could cause a change in approach in the
future. Any such increases generally will cause market interest rates to rise
and could cause the value of a fund’s investments, and the fund’s net asset
value (NAV), to decline, potentially suddenly and significantly. As a result,
the fund may experience high redemptions and, as a result, increased portfolio
turnover, which could increase the costs that the fund incurs and may negatively
impact the fund’s performance.
In addition,
as the Fed increases the target Fed funds rate, any such rate increases, among
other factors, could cause markets to experience continuing high volatility. A
significant increase in interest rates may cause a decline in the market for
equity securities. These events and the possible resulting market volatility may
have an adverse effect on the fund.
Political
turmoil within the United States and abroad may also impact the fund. Although
the U.S. government has honored its credit obligations, it remains possible that
the United States could default on its obligations. While it is impossible to
predict the consequences of such an unprecedented event, it is likely that a
default by the United States would be highly disruptive to the U.S. and global
securities markets and could significantly impair the value of the fund’s
investments. Similarly, political events within the United States at times have
resulted, and may in the future result, in a shutdown of government services,
which could negatively affect the U.S. economy, decrease the value of many fund
investments, and increase uncertainty in or impair the operation of the U.S. or
other securities markets. In recent years, the U.S. renegotiated many of its
global trade relationships and imposed or threatened to impose significant
import tariffs. These actions could lead to price volatility and overall
declines in U.S. and global investment markets.
Uncertainties surrounding the
sovereign debt of a number of European Union (EU) countries and the viability of
the EU have disrupted and may in the future disrupt markets in the United States
and around the world. If one or more countries leave the EU or the EU dissolves,
the global securities markets likely will be significantly disrupted. On January
31, 2020, the United Kingdom (UK) left the EU, commonly referred to as “Brexit,”
the UK ceased to be a member of the EU, and the UK and EU entered into a Trade
and Cooperation Agreement. While the full impact of Brexit is unknown, Brexit
has already resulted in volatility in European and global markets. There remains
significant market uncertainty regarding Brexit’s ramifications, and the range
and potential implications of possible political, regulatory, economic, and
market outcomes are difficult to predict.
A widespread health crisis
such as a global pandemic could cause substantial market volatility, exchange
trading suspensions and closures, which may lead to less liquidity in certain
instruments, industries, sectors or the markets generally, and may ultimately
affect fund performance. For example, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has
resulted and may continue to result in significant disruptions to global
business activity and market volatility due to disruptions in market access,
resource availability, facilities operations, imposition of tariffs, export
controls and supply chain disruption, among others. While many countries have
lifted some or all restrictions related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) and the
United States ended the public health emergency and national emergency
declarations relating to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on May 11, 2023,
the continued impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) and related variants is
uncertain. The impact of a health crisis and other epidemics and pandemics that
may arise in the future, could affect the global economy in ways that cannot
necessarily be foreseen at the present time. A health crisis may exacerbate
other pre-existing political, social and economic risks. Any such impact could
adversely affect the fund’s performance, resulting in losses to your
investment.
9
Fund
details
Political and
military events, including in Ukraine, North Korea, Russia, Venezuela, Iran,
Syria, and other areas of the Middle East, and nationalist unrest in Europe and
South America, also may cause market disruptions.
As a result of continued
political tensions and armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of
Ukraine commencing in February of 2022, the extent and ultimate result of which
are unknown at this time, the United States and the EU, along with the
regulatory bodies of a number of countries, have imposed economic sanctions on
certain Russian corporate entities and individuals, and certain sectors of
Russia’s economy, which may result in, among other things, the continued
devaluation of Russian currency, a downgrade in the country’s credit rating,
and/or a decline in the value and liquidity of Russian securities, property or
interests. These sanctions could also result in the immediate freeze of Russian
securities and/or funds invested in prohibited assets, impairing the ability of
a fund to buy, sell, receive or deliver those securities and/or assets. These
sanctions or the threat of additional sanctions could also result in Russia
taking counter measures or retaliatory actions, which may further impair the
value and liquidity of Russian securities. The United States and other nations
or international organizations may also impose additional economic sanctions or
take other actions that may adversely affect Russia-exposed issuers and
companies in various sectors of the Russian economy. Any or all of these
potential results could lead Russia’s economy into a recession. Economic
sanctions and other actions against Russian institutions, companies, and
individuals resulting from the ongoing conflict may also have a substantial
negative impact on other economies and securities markets both regionally and
globally, as well as on companies with operations in the conflict region, the
extent to which is unknown at this time. The United States and the EU have also
imposed similar sanctions on Belarus for its support of Russia’s invasion of
Ukraine. Additional sanctions may be imposed on Belarus and other countries that
support Russia. Any such sanctions could present substantially similar risks as
those resulting from the sanctions imposed on Russia, including substantial
negative impacts on the regional and global economies and securities
markets.
In addition, there is a risk
that the prices of goods and services in the United States and many foreign
economies may decline over time, known as deflation. Deflation may have an
adverse effect on stock prices and creditworthiness and may make defaults on
debt more likely. If a country’s economy slips into a deflationary pattern, it
could last for a prolonged period and may be difficult to reverse. Further,
there is a risk that the present value of assets or income from investments will
be less in the future, known as inflation. Inflation rates may change frequently
and drastically as a result of various factors, including unexpected shifts in
the domestic or global economy, and a fund’s investments may be affected, which
may reduce a fund’s performance. Further, inflation may lead to the rise in
interest rates, which may negatively affect the value of debt instruments held
by the fund, resulting in a negative impact on a fund’s performance. Generally,
securities issued in emerging markets are subject to a greater risk of
inflationary or deflationary forces, and more developed markets are better able
to use monetary policy to normalize markets.
Equity
securities risk
Common and
preferred stocks represent equity ownership in a company. Stock markets are
volatile. The price of equity securities will fluctuate,
and can
decline and reduce the value of a fund investing in equities. The price of
equity securities fluctuates based on changes in a company’s financial condition
and overall market and economic conditions. The value of equity securities
purchased by a fund could decline if the financial condition of the companies in
which the fund is invested declines, or if overall market and economic
conditions deteriorate. An issuer’s financial condition could decline as a
result of poor management decisions, competitive pressures, technological
obsolescence, undue reliance on suppliers, labor issues, shortages, corporate
restructurings, fraudulent disclosures, irregular and/or unexpected trading
activity among retail investors, or other factors. Changes in the financial
condition of a single issuer can impact the market as a whole.
Even a fund
that invests in high-quality, or blue chip, equity securities, or securities of
established companies with large market capitalizations (which generally have
strong financial characteristics), can be negatively impacted by poor overall
market and economic conditions. Companies with large market capitalizations may
also have less growth potential than smaller companies and may be less able to
react quickly to changes in the marketplace.
The fund
generally does not attempt to time the market. Because of its exposure to
equities, the possibility that stock market prices in general will decline over
short or extended periods subjects the fund to unpredictable declines in the
value of its investments, as well as periods of poor
performance.
ESG
integration risk
The manager
considers ESG factors that it deems relevant or additive, along with other
material factors and analysis, when managing the fund. The portion of the fund’s
investments for which the manager considers these ESG factors may vary, and
could increase or decrease over time. In certain situations, the extent to which
these ESG factors may be applied according to the manager’s integrated
investment process may not include U.S. Treasuries, government securities, or
other asset classes. ESG factors may include, but are not limited to, matters
regarding board diversity, climate change policies, and supply chain and human
rights policies. Incorporating ESG criteria and making investment decisions
based on certain ESG characteristics, as determined by the manager, carries the
risk that the fund may perform differently, including underperforming, funds
that do not utilize ESG criteria, or funds that utilize different ESG criteria.
Integration of ESG factors into the fund’s investment process may result in a
manager making different investments for the fund than for a fund with a similar
investment universe and/or investment style that does not incorporate such
considerations in its investment strategy or processes, and the fund’s
investment performance may be affected. Because ESG factors are one of many
considerations for the fund, the manager may nonetheless include companies with
low ESG characteristics or exclude companies with high ESG characteristics in
the fund’s investments.
The ESG
characteristics utilized in the fund’s investment process may change over time,
and different ESG characteristics may be relevant to different investments.
Although the manager has established its own structure to oversee ESG
integration in accordance with the fund’s investment objective and strategies,
successful integration of ESG factors will depend on the manager’s skill in
researching, identifying, and
10
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applying these
factors, as well as on the availability of relevant data. The method of
evaluating ESG factors and subsequent impact on portfolio composition,
performance, proxy voting decisions and other factors, is subject to the
interpretation of the manager in accordance with the fund’s investment objective
and strategies. ESG factors may be evaluated differently by different managers,
and may not carry the same meaning to all investors and managers. The manager
may employ active shareowner engagement to raise ESG issues with the management
of select portfolio companies. The regulatory landscape with respect to ESG
investing in the United States is evolving and any future rules or regulations
may require the fund to change its investment process with respect to ESG
integration.
Exchange-traded
funds (ETFs) risk
ETFs are a
type of investment company bought and sold on a securities exchange. A fund
could purchase shares of an ETF to gain exposure to a portion of the U.S. or a
foreign market. The risks of owning shares of an ETF include the risks of
directly owning the underlying securities and other instruments the ETF holds. A
lack of liquidity in an ETF (e.g., absence of an active trading market) could
result in the ETF being more volatile than its underlying securities. The
existence of extreme market volatility or potential lack of an active trading
market for an ETF’s shares could result in the ETF’s shares trading at a
significant premium or discount to its net asset value (NAV). An ETF has its own
fees and expenses, which are indirectly borne by the fund. A fund may also incur
brokerage and other related costs when it purchases and sells ETFs. Also, in the
case of passively-managed ETFs, there is a risk that an ETF may fail to closely
track the index or market segment that it is designed to track due to delays in
the ETF’s implementation of changes to the composition of the index or other
factors.
Financial
services sector risk
A fund
investing principally in securities of companies in the financial services
sector is particularly vulnerable to events affecting that sector. Companies in
the financial services sector may include, but are not limited to, commercial
and industrial banks, savings and loan associations and their holding companies,
consumer and industrial finance companies, diversified financial services
companies, investment banking, securities brokerage and investment advisory
companies, leasing companies, and insurance companies. The types of companies
that compose the financial services sector may change over time. These companies
are all subject to extensive regulation, rapid business changes, volatile
performance dependent upon the availability and cost of capital, prevailing
interest rates, and significant competition. General economic conditions
significantly affect these companies. Credit and other losses resulting from the
financial difficulty of borrowers or other third parties have a potentially
adverse effect on companies in this sector. Investment banking, securities
brokerage, and investment advisory companies are particularly subject to
government regulation and the risks inherent in securities trading and
underwriting activities. In addition, certain financial services companies face
shrinking profit margins due to new competitors, the cost of new technology, and
the pressure to compete globally.
Fixed-income
securities risk
Fixed-income
securities are generally subject to two principal types of risk, as well as
other risks described below: (1) interest-rate risk and (2) credit quality
risk.
Interest-rate
risk.
Fixed-income
securities are affected by changes in interest rates. When interest rates
decline, the market value of fixed-income securities generally can be expected
to rise. Conversely, when interest rates rise, the market value of fixed-income
securities generally can be expected to decline. The longer the duration or
maturity of a fixed-income security, the more susceptible it is to interest-rate
risk. Duration is a measure of the price sensitivity of a debt security, or a
fund that invests in a portfolio of debt securities, to changes in interest
rates, whereas the maturity of a security measures the time until final payment
is due. Duration measures sensitivity more accurately than maturity because it
takes into account the time value of cash flows generated over the life of a
debt security. Recent and potential future changes in government monetary policy
may affect interest rates.
Beginning in
March 2022, the Federal Reserve Board (Fed) began increasing interest rates and
has signaled the potential for further increases. It is difficult to accurately
predict the pace at which the Fed will increase interest rates any further, or
the timing, frequency or magnitude of any such increases, and the evaluation of
macro-economic and other conditions could cause a change in approach in the
future. Any such increases generally will cause market interest rates to rise
and could cause the value of a fund’s investments, and the fund’s net asset
value (NAV), to decline, potentially suddenly and significantly. As a result,
the fund may experience high redemptions and, as a result, increased portfolio
turnover, which could increase the costs that the fund incurs and may negatively
impact the fund’s performance.
In response to
certain
economic
disruptions, governmental authorities and regulators typically respond with
significant fiscal and monetary policy changes, including considerably lowering
interest rates, which, in some cases could result in negative interest rates.
These actions, including their reversal or potential ineffectiveness, could
further increase volatility in securities and other financial markets and reduce
market liquidity. To the extent the fund has a bank deposit or holds a debt
instrument with a negative interest rate to maturity, the fund would generate a
negative return on that investment. Similarly, negative rates on investments by
money market funds and similar cash management products could lead to losses on
investments, including on investments of the fund’s uninvested
cash.
Credit
quality risk.
Fixed-income
securities are subject to the risk that the issuer of the security will not
repay all or a portion of the principal borrowed and will not make all interest
payments. If the credit quality of a fixed-income security deteriorates after a
fund has purchased the security, the market value of the security may decrease
and lead to a decrease in the value of the fund’s investments. An issuer’s
credit quality could deteriorate as a result of poor management decisions,
competitive pressures, technological obsolescence, undue reliance on suppliers,
labor issues, shortages, corporate restructurings, fraudulent disclosures, or
other factors. Funds that may invest in lower-rated fixed-income securities,
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commonly
referred to as junk securities, are riskier than funds that may invest in
higher-rated fixed-income securities.
Investment-grade
fixed-income securities in the lowest rating category risk.
Investment-grade
fixed-income securities in the lowest rating category (such as Baa by Moody’s
Investors Service, Inc. or BBB by S&P Global Ratings or Fitch Ratings, as
applicable, and comparable unrated securities) involve a higher degree of risk
than fixed-income securities in the higher rating categories. While such
securities are considered investment-grade quality and are deemed to have
adequate capacity for payment of principal and interest, such securities lack
outstanding investment characteristics and have speculative characteristics as
well. For example, changes in economic conditions or other circumstances are
more likely to lead to a weakened capacity to make principal and interest
payments than is the case with higher-grade securities.
Prepayment
of principal risk.
Many types of
debt securities, including floating-rate loans, are subject to prepayment risk.
Prepayment risk is the risk that, when interest rates fall, certain types of
obligations will be paid off by the borrower more quickly than originally
anticipated and the fund may have to invest the proceeds in securities with
lower yields. Securities subject to prepayment risk can offer less potential for
gains when the credit quality of the issuer improves.
Foreign
securities risk
Funds that
invest in securities traded principally in securities markets outside the United
States are subject to additional and more varied risks, as the value of foreign
securities may change more rapidly and extremely than the value of U.S.
securities. Less information may be publicly available regarding foreign
issuers, including foreign government issuers. Foreign securities may be subject
to foreign taxes and may be more volatile than U.S. securities. Currency
fluctuations and political and economic developments may adversely impact the
value of foreign securities. The securities markets of many foreign countries
are relatively small, with a limited number of companies representing a small
number of industries. Additionally, issuers of foreign securities may not be
subject to the same degree of regulation as U.S. issuers. Reporting, accounting,
and auditing standards of foreign countries differ, in some cases significantly,
from U.S. standards. There are generally higher commission rates on foreign
portfolio transactions, transfer taxes, higher custodial costs, and the
possibility that foreign taxes will be charged on dividends and interest payable
on foreign securities, some or all of which may not be reclaimable. Also,
adverse changes in investment or exchange control regulations (which may include
suspension of the ability to transfer currency or assets from a country);
political changes; or diplomatic developments could adversely affect a fund’s
investments. In the event of nationalization, expropriation, confiscatory
taxation, or other confiscation, the fund could lose a substantial portion of,
or its entire investment in, a foreign security. Some of the foreign securities
risks are also applicable to funds that invest a material portion of their
assets in securities of foreign issuers traded in the United States.
Depositary receipts are
subject to most of the risks associated with investing in foreign securities
directly because the value of a depositary receipt is dependent upon the market
price of the underlying foreign
equity
security. Depositary receipts are also subject to liquidity risk. Additionally,
the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (HFCAA) could cause securities of
foreign companies, including American depositary receipts, to be delisted from
U.S. stock exchanges if the companies do not allow the U.S. government to
oversee the auditing of their financial information. Although the requirements
of the HFCAA apply to securities of all foreign issuers, the SEC has thus far
limited its enforcement efforts to securities of Chinese companies. If
securities are delisted, a fund’s ability to transact in such securities will be
impaired, and the liquidity and market price of the securities may decline. The
fund may also need to seek other markets in which to transact in such
securities, which could increase the fund’s costs.
Emerging-market
risk.
Investments in
the securities of issuers based in countries with emerging-market economies are
subject to greater levels of risk and uncertainty than investments in
more-developed foreign markets, since emerging-market securities may present
market, credit, currency, liquidity, legal, political, and other risks greater
than, or in addition to, the risks of investing in developed foreign countries.
These risks include high currency exchange-rate fluctuations; increased risk of
default (including both government and private issuers); greater social,
economic, and political uncertainty and instability (including the risk of war);
more substantial governmental involvement in the economy; less governmental
supervision and regulation of the securities markets and participants in those
markets; controls on foreign investment and limitations on repatriation of
invested capital and on a fund’s ability to exchange local currencies for U.S.
dollars; unavailability of currency hedging techniques in certain
emerging-market countries; the fact that companies in emerging-market countries
may be newly organized, smaller, and less seasoned; the difference in, or lack
of, auditing and financial reporting requirements or standards, which may result
in the unavailability of material information about issuers; different clearance
and settlement procedures, which may be unable to keep pace with the volume of
securities transactions or otherwise make it difficult to engage in such
transactions; difficulties in obtaining and/or enforcing legal judgments against
non-U.S. companies and non-U.S. persons, including company directors and
officers, in foreign jurisdictions; and significantly smaller market
capitalizations of emerging-market issuers. In addition, shareholders of
emerging market issuers, such as the fund, often have limited rights and few
practical remedies in emerging markets. Finally, the risks associated with
investments in emerging markets often are significant, and vary from
jurisdiction to jurisdiction and company to company.
Currency
risk.
Currency risk
is the risk that fluctuations in exchange rates may adversely affect the U.S.
dollar value of a fund’s investments. Currency risk includes both the risk that
currencies in which a fund’s investments are traded, or currencies in which a
fund has taken an active investment position, will decline in value relative to
the U.S. dollar and, in the case of hedging positions, that the U.S. dollar will
decline in value relative to the currency being hedged. Currency rates in
foreign countries may fluctuate significantly for a number of reasons, including
the forces of supply and demand in the foreign exchange markets, actual or
perceived changes in interest rates, intervention (or the failure to intervene)
by U.S. or foreign
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governments or central banks,
or currency controls or political developments in the United States or abroad.
Certain funds may engage in proxy hedging of currencies by entering into
derivative transactions with respect to a currency whose value is expected to
correlate to the value of a currency the fund owns or wants to own. This
presents the risk that the two currencies may not move in relation to one
another as expected. In that case, the fund could lose money on its investment
and also lose money on the position designed to act as a proxy hedge. Certain
funds may also take active currency positions and may cross-hedge currency
exposure represented by their securities into another foreign currency. This may
result in a fund’s currency exposure being substantially different than that
suggested by its securities investments. All funds with foreign currency
holdings and/or that invest or trade in securities denominated in foreign
currencies or related derivative instruments may be adversely affected by
changes in foreign currency exchange rates. Derivative foreign currency
transactions (such as futures, forwards, and swaps) may also involve leveraging
risk, in addition to currency risk. Leverage may disproportionately increase a
fund’s portfolio losses and reduce opportunities for gain when interest rates,
stock prices, or currency rates are changing.
Greater
China risk.
Although they
are larger and/or more established than many emerging markets, the markets of
the Greater China region function in many ways as emerging markets and carry the
high levels of risks associated with emerging market economies. In addition,
there are risks particular to the region, including less developed trading
markets, acute political risks such as possible negative repercussions resulting
from China’s relationship with Taiwan or Hong Kong, and restrictions on monetary
repatriation or other adverse government actions. In addition, investments in
Taiwan could be adversely affected by its political relationship with China and
because Taiwan does not exercise the same level of control over its economy as
the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) does with respect to
Mainland China’s economy, changes to its political and economic relationship
with the PRC could adversely impact a fund’s investments.
Further, the
attitude of the PRC toward growth and capitalism is uncertain, and the markets
of Hong Kong and Mainland China could be hurt significantly by any government
interference or any material change in government policy. For example, a
government may restrict investment in companies or industries considered
important to national interests, or intervene in the financial markets, such as
by imposing trading restrictions, or banning or curtailing short selling. A
small number of companies and industries may represent a relatively large
portion of the Greater China market as a whole. All of these factors combined
mean that the fund is more likely to experience greater price volatility and
lower liquidity than a portfolio that invests substantially in equity securities
of U.S. issuers.
Hedging,
derivatives, and other strategic transactions risk
The ability of a fund to
utilize hedging, derivatives, and other strategic transactions to benefit the
fund will depend in part on its manager’s ability to predict pertinent market
movements and market risk, counterparty risk, credit risk, interest-rate risk,
and other risk factors, none of which can be assured. The skills required to
utilize hedging and
other strategic transactions
are different from those needed to select a fund’s securities. Even if the
manager only uses hedging and other strategic transactions in a fund primarily
for hedging purposes or to gain exposure to a particular securities market, if
the transaction does not have the desired outcome, it could result in a
significant loss to a fund. The amount of loss could be more than the principal
amount invested. These transactions may also increase the volatility of a fund
and may involve a small investment of cash relative to the magnitude of the
risks assumed, thereby magnifying the impact of any resulting gain or loss. For
example, the potential loss from the use of futures can exceed a fund’s initial
investment in such contracts. In addition, these transactions could result in a
loss to a fund if the counterparty to the transaction does not perform as
promised.
A fund may invest in
derivatives, which are financial contracts with a value that depends on, or is
derived from, the value of underlying assets, reference rates, or indexes.
Derivatives may relate to stocks, bonds, interest rates, currencies or currency
exchange rates, and related indexes. A fund may use derivatives for many
purposes, including for hedging and as a substitute for direct investment in
securities or other assets. Derivatives may be used in a way to efficiently
adjust the exposure of a fund to various securities, markets, and currencies
without a fund actually having to sell existing investments and make new
investments. This generally will be done when the adjustment is expected to be
relatively temporary or in anticipation of effecting the sale of fund assets and
making new investments over time. Further, since many derivatives have a
leverage component, adverse changes in the value or level of the underlying
asset, reference rate, or index can result in a loss substantially greater than
the amount invested in the derivative itself. Certain derivatives have the
potential for unlimited loss, regardless of the size of the initial investment.
When a fund uses derivatives for leverage, investments in that fund will tend to
be more volatile, resulting in larger gains or losses in response to market
changes. To limit risks associated with leverage, a fund is required to comply
with Rule 18f-4 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the
Derivatives Rule) as outlined below. For a description of the various derivative
instruments the fund may utilize, refer to the SAI.
The regulation of the U.S. and
non-U.S. derivatives markets has undergone substantial change in recent years
and such change may continue. In particular, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform
and Consumer Protection Act, and regulations promulgated or proposed thereunder
require many derivatives to be cleared and traded on an exchange, expand entity
registration requirements, impose business conduct requirements on dealers that
enter into swaps with a pension plan, endowment, retirement plan or government
entity, and required banks to move some derivatives trading units to a
non-guaranteed affiliate separate from the deposit-taking bank or divest them
altogether. Although the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has
released final rules relating to clearing, reporting, recordkeeping and
registration requirements under the legislation, many of the provisions are
subject to further final rule making, and thus its ultimate impact remains
unclear. New regulations could, among other things, restrict the fund’s ability
to engage in derivatives transactions (for example, by making certain types of
derivatives transactions no longer available to the fund) and/or increase the
costs of such derivatives transactions (for
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example, by
increasing margin or capital requirements), and the fund may be unable to fully
execute its investment strategies as a result. Limits or restrictions applicable
to the counterparties with which the fund engages in derivative transactions
also could prevent the fund from using these instruments or affect the pricing
or other factors relating to these instruments, or may change the availability
of certain investments.
The
Derivatives Rule mandates that a fund adopt and/or implement: (i) value-at-risk
limitations (VaR); (ii) a written derivatives risk management program; (iii) new
Board oversight responsibilities; and (iv) new reporting and recordkeeping
requirements. In the event that a fund’s derivative exposure is 10% or less of
its net assets, excluding certain currency and interest rate hedging
transactions, it can elect to be classified as a limited derivatives user
(Limited Derivatives User) under the Derivatives Rule, in which case the fund is
not subject to the full requirements of the Derivatives Rule. Limited
Derivatives Users are excepted from VaR testing, implementing a derivatives risk
management program, and certain Board oversight and reporting requirements
mandated by the Derivatives Rule. However, a Limited Derivatives User is still
required to implement written compliance policies and procedures reasonably
designed to manage its derivatives risks.
The
Derivatives Rule also provides special treatment for reverse repurchase
agreements, similar financing transactions and unfunded commitment agreements.
Specifically, a fund may elect whether to treat reverse repurchase agreements
and similar financing transactions as “derivatives transactions” subject to the
requirements of the Derivatives Rule or as senior securities equivalent to bank
borrowings for purposes of Section 18 of the Investment Company Act of 1940. In
addition, when-issued or forward settling securities transactions that
physically settle within 35-days are deemed not to involve a senior
security.
At any time after the date of
this prospectus, legislation may be enacted that could negatively affect the
assets of the fund. Legislation or regulation may change the way in which the
fund itself is regulated. The advisor cannot predict the effects of any new
governmental regulation that may be implemented, and there can be no assurance
that any new governmental regulation will not adversely affect the fund’s
ability to achieve its investment objectives.
The use of derivative
instruments may involve risks different from, or potentially greater than, the
risks associated with investing directly in securities and other, more
traditional assets. In particular, the use of derivative instruments exposes a
fund to the risk that the counterparty to an OTC derivatives contract will be
unable or unwilling to make timely settlement payments or otherwise honor its
obligations. OTC derivatives transactions typically can only be closed out with
the other party to the transaction, although either party may engage in an
offsetting transaction that puts that party in the same economic position as if
it had closed out the transaction with the counterparty or may obtain the other
party’s consent to assign the transaction to a third party. If the counterparty
defaults, the fund will have contractual remedies, but there is no assurance
that the counterparty will meet its contractual obligations or that, in the
event of default, the fund will succeed in enforcing them. For example, because
the contract for each OTC derivatives transaction is individually negotiated
with a specific counterparty, a fund is subject to the risk that a counterparty
may
interpret contractual terms
(e.g., the definition of default) differently than the fund when the fund seeks
to enforce its contractual rights. If that occurs, the cost and unpredictability
of the legal proceedings required for the fund to enforce its contractual rights
may lead it to decide not to pursue its claims against the counterparty. The
fund, therefore, assumes the risk that it may be unable to obtain payments owed
to it under OTC derivatives contracts or that those payments may be delayed or
made only after the fund has incurred the costs of litigation. While a manager
intends to monitor the creditworthiness of counterparties, there can be no
assurance that a counterparty will meet its obligations, especially during
unusually adverse market conditions. To the extent a fund contracts with a
limited number of counterparties, the fund’s risk will be concentrated and
events that affect the creditworthiness of any of those counterparties may have
a pronounced effect on the fund. Derivatives are also subject to a number of
other risks, including market risk, liquidity risk and operational risk. Since
the value of derivatives is calculated and derived from the value of other
assets, instruments, or references, there is a risk that they will be improperly
valued. Derivatives also involve the risk that changes in their value may not
correlate perfectly with the assets, rates, or indexes they are designed to
hedge or closely track. Suitable derivatives transactions may not be available
in all circumstances. The fund is also subject to the risk that the counterparty
closes out the derivatives transactions upon the occurrence of certain
triggering events. In addition, a manager may determine not to use derivatives
to hedge or otherwise reduce risk exposure. Government legislation or regulation
could affect the use of derivatives transactions and could limit a fund’s
ability to pursue its investment strategies.
A detailed
discussion of various hedging and other strategic transactions appears in the
SAI. To the extent that the fund utilizes the following list of certain
derivatives and other strategic transactions, it will be subject to associated
risks. The main risks of each appear below.
Foreign
currency forward contracts.
Counterparty
risk, liquidity risk (i.e., the inability to enter into closing transactions),
foreign currency risk, and risk of disproportionate loss are the principal risks
of engaging in transactions involving foreign currency forward
contracts.
Futures
contracts.
Counterparty
risk, liquidity risk (i.e., the inability to enter into closing transactions),
and risk of disproportionate loss are the principal risks of engaging in
transactions involving futures contracts.
Options.
Counterparty
risk, liquidity risk (i.e., the inability to enter into closing transactions),
and risk of disproportionate loss are the principal risks of engaging in
transactions involving options. Counterparty risk does not apply to
exchange-traded options.
Swaps.
Counterparty
risk, liquidity risk (i.e., the inability to enter into closing transactions),
interest-rate risk, settlement risk, risk of default of the underlying reference
obligation, and risk of disproportionate loss are the principal risks of
engaging in transactions involving swaps.
Large
company risk
Larger, more
established companies may be unable to respond quickly to new competitive
challenges such as changes in technology and consumer tastes. Many larger
companies also may not be able to attain
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the high
growth rate of successful smaller companies, especially during extended periods
of economic expansion. For purposes of the fund’s investment policies, the
market capitalization of a company is based on its capitalization at the time
the fund purchases the company’s securities. Market capitalizations of companies
change over time. The fund is not obligated to sell a company’s security simply
because, subsequent to its purchase, the company’s market capitalization has
changed to be outside the capitalization range, if any, in effect for the
fund.
Liquidity
risk
The extent (if
at all) to which a security may be sold or a derivative position closed without
negatively impacting its market value may be impaired by reduced market activity
or participation, legal restrictions, or other economic and market impediments.
Funds with principal investment strategies that involve investments in
securities of companies with smaller market capitalizations, foreign securities,
derivatives, or securities with substantial market and/or credit risk tend to
have the greatest exposure to liquidity risk. Exposure to liquidity risk may be
heightened for funds that invest in securities of emerging markets and related
derivatives that are not widely traded, and that may be subject to purchase and
sale restrictions.
The capacity
of traditional dealers to engage in fixed-income trading has not kept pace with
the bond market’s growth. As a result, dealer inventories of corporate bonds,
which indicate the ability to “make markets,” i.e., buy or sell a security at
the quoted bid and ask price, respectively, are at or near historic lows
relative to market size. Because market makers provide stability to fixed-income
markets, the significant reduction in dealer inventories could lead to decreased
liquidity and increased volatility, which may become exacerbated during periods
of economic or political stress.
Lower-rated
and high-yield fixed-income securities risk
Lower-rated
fixed-income securities are defined as securities rated below investment grade
(such as Ba and below by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. and BB and below by
S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings, as applicable) (also called junk
bonds). The general risks of investing in these securities are as
follows:
Risk
to principal and income.
Investing in
lower-rated fixed-income securities is considered speculative. While these
securities generally provide greater income potential than investments in
higher-rated securities, there is a greater risk that principal and interest
payments will not be made. Issuers of these securities may even go into default
or become bankrupt.
Price
volatility.
The price of
lower-rated fixed-income securities may be more volatile than securities in the
higher-rated categories. This volatility may increase during periods of economic
uncertainty or change. The price of these securities is affected more than
higher-rated fixed-income securities by the market’s perception of their credit
quality, especially during times of adverse publicity. In the past, economic
downturns or increases in interest rates have, at times, caused more defaults by
issuers of these securities and may do so in the future. Economic downturns and
increases in interest rates have an even greater effect on highly leveraged
issuers of these securities.
Liquidity.
The market for
lower-rated fixed-income securities may have more limited trading than the
market for investment-grade fixed-income securities. Therefore, it may be more
difficult to sell these securities, and these securities may have to be sold at
prices below their market value in order to meet redemption requests or to
respond to changes in market conditions.
Dependence
on manager’s own credit analysis.
While a
manager may rely on ratings by established credit rating agencies, it will also
supplement such ratings with its own independent review of the credit quality of
the issuer. Therefore, the assessment of the credit risk of lower-rated
fixed-income securities is more dependent on the manager’s evaluation than the
assessment of the credit risk of higher-rated securities.
Additional
risks regarding lower-rated corporate fixed-income securities.
Lower-rated
corporate fixed-income securities (and comparable unrated securities) tend to be
more sensitive to individual corporate developments and changes in economic
conditions than higher-rated corporate fixed-income securities. Issuers of
lower-rated corporate fixed-income securities may also be highly leveraged,
increasing the risk that principal and income will not be
repaid.
Additional
risks regarding lower-rated foreign government fixed-income
securities.
Lower-rated
foreign government fixed-income securities are subject to the risks of investing
in foreign countries described under “Foreign securities risk.” In addition, the
ability and willingness of a foreign government to make payments on debt when
due may be affected by the prevailing economic and political conditions within
the country. Emerging-market countries may experience high inflation, interest
rates, and unemployment, as well as exchange-rate fluctuations which adversely
affect trade and political uncertainty or instability. These factors increase
the risk that a foreign government will not make payments when
due.
Master
limited partnership (MLP) risk
Investing in
MLPs involves certain risks related to investing in the underlying assets of
MLPs and risks associated with pooled investment vehicles. MLPs holding
credit-related investments are subject to interest-rate risk and the risk of
default on payment obligations by debt securities. In addition, investments in
the debt and securities of MLPs involve certain other risks, including risks
related to limited control and limited rights to vote on matters affecting MLPs,
risks related to potential conflicts of interest between an MLP and the MLP’s
general partner, cash flow risks, dilution risks and risks related to the
general partner’s right to require unit-holders to sell their common units at an
undesirable time or price. The fund’s investments in MLPs may be subject to
legal and other restrictions on resale or may be less liquid than publicly
traded securities. Certain MLP securities may trade in lower volumes due to
their smaller capitalizations, and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic
price movements and may lack sufficient market liquidity to enable the fund to
effect sales at an advantageous time or without a substantial drop in price. If
the fund is one of the largest investors in an MLP, it may be more difficult for
the fund to buy and sell significant amounts of such investments without an
unfavorable impact on prevailing market prices. Larger purchases or sales of MLP
investments by the fund in a short period of time may cause abnormal movements
in the market price of these investments. As a result, these investments may be
difficult to
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dispose of at an advantageous
price when the fund desires to do so. During periods of interest rate
volatility, these investments may not provide attractive returns, which may
adversely impact the overall performance of the fund.
MLPs in which the fund may
invest operate oil, natural gas, petroleum, or other facilities within the
energy sector. As a result, the fund will be susceptible to adverse economic,
environmental, or regulatory occurrences impacting the energy sector. MLPs and
other companies operating in the energy sector are subject to specific risks,
including, among others, fluctuations in commodity prices; reduced consumer
demand for commodities such as oil, natural gas, or petroleum products; reduced
availability of natural gas or other commodities for transporting, processing,
storing, or delivering; slowdowns in new construction; extreme weather or other
natural disasters; and threats of attack by terrorists on energy assets.
Additionally, changes in the regulatory environment for energy companies may
adversely impact their profitability. Over time, depletion of natural gas
reserves and other energy reserves may also affect the profitability of energy
companies.
Global oil prices declined
significantly at the beginning of 2020
and have
experienced significant price volatility, including a period where an oil-price
futures contract fell into negative territory for the first time in history, as
demand for oil slowed and oil storage facilities reached their storage
capacities. Varying levels of demand and production and continued oil price
volatility may continue to adversely impact MLPs and energy infrastructure
companies.
Midstream
energy infrastructure sector risk
Midstream
energy infrastructure companies, such as companies that provide crude oil,
refined product, and natural gas services, are subject to supply-and-demand
fluctuations in the markets they serve, which may be impacted by a wide range of
factors. These factors include fluctuating commodity prices, weather, increased
conservation or use of alternative fuel sources, increased governmental or
environmental regulation, depletion, rising interest rates, declines in domestic
or foreign production, accidents or catastrophic events, and economic
conditions, among others.
Natural
resources industry risk
The natural
resources industry can be significantly affected by events relating to
international political and economic developments, energy conservation, the
success of exploration projects, natural disasters or other extreme weather
conditions, commodity prices, and taxes and other governmental
regulations.
Operational
and cybersecurity risk
With the
increased use of technologies, such as mobile devices and “cloud”-based service
offerings and the dependence on the internet and computer systems to perform
necessary business functions, the fund’s service providers are susceptible to
operational and information or cybersecurity risks that could result in losses
to the fund and its shareholders. Intentional cybersecurity breaches include
unauthorized access to systems, networks, or devices (such as through “hacking”
activity or “phishing”); infection from computer viruses or other malicious
software code; and attacks that shut down, disable, slow, or otherwise disrupt
operations, business processes, or website access or
functionality. Cyber-attacks
can also be carried out in a manner that does not require gaining unauthorized
access, such as causing denial-of-service attacks on the service providers’
systems or websites rendering them unavailable to intended users or via
“ransomware” that renders the systems inoperable until appropriate actions are
taken. In addition, unintentional incidents can occur, such as the inadvertent
release of confidential information (possibly resulting in the violation of
applicable privacy laws).
A
cybersecurity breach could result in the loss or theft of customer data or
funds, loss or theft of proprietary information or corporate data, physical
damage to a computer or network system, or costs associated with system repairs.
Such incidents could cause a fund, the advisor, a manager, or other service
providers to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional
compliance costs, litigation costs or financial loss. In addition, such
incidents could affect issuers in which a fund invests, and thereby cause the
fund’s investments to lose value.
Cyber-events have the
potential to materially affect the fund and the advisor’s relationships with
accounts, shareholders, clients, customers, employees, products, and service
providers. The fund has established risk management systems reasonably designed
to seek to reduce the risks associated with cyber-events. There is no guarantee
that the fund will be able to prevent or mitigate the impact of any or all
cyber-events.
The fund is
exposed to operational risk arising from a number of factors, including, but not
limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the
fund’s service providers, counterparties, or other third parties, failed or
inadequate processes and technology or system failures.
In addition, other disruptive
events, including (but not limited to) natural disasters and public health
crises may adversely affect the fund’s ability to conduct business, in
particular if the fund’s employees or the employees of its service providers are
unable or unwilling to perform their responsibilities as a result of any such
event. Even if the fund’s employees and the employees of its service providers
are able to work remotely, those remote work arrangements could result in the
fund’s business operations being less efficient than under normal circumstances,
could lead to delays in its processing of transactions, and could increase the
risk of cyber-events.
Preferred
and convertible securities risk
Unlike
interest on debt securities, preferred stock dividends are payable only if
declared by the issuer’s board. Also, preferred stock may be subject to optional
or mandatory redemption provisions. The market values of convertible securities
tend to fall as interest rates rise and rise as interest rates fall. The value
of convertible preferred stock can depend heavily upon the value of the security
into which such convertible preferred stock is converted, depending on whether
the market price of the underlying security exceeds the conversion
price.
Real
estate investment trust (REIT) risk
REITs are
subject to risks associated with the ownership of real estate. Some REITs
experience market risk and liquidity risk due to investment in a limited number
of properties, in a narrow geographic area, or in a single property type, which
increases the risk that such REIT could be unfavorably affected by the poor
performance of a single investment or
16
Fund
details
investment
type. These companies are also sensitive to factors such as changes in real
estate values and property taxes, interest rates, cash flow of underlying real
estate assets, supply and demand, and the management skill and creditworthiness
of the issuer. Borrowers could default on or sell investments that a REIT holds,
which could reduce the cash flow needed to make distributions to investors. In
addition, REITs may also be affected by tax and regulatory requirements
impacting the REITs’ ability to qualify for preferential tax treatments or
exemptions. REITs require specialized management and pay management expenses.
REITs also are subject to physical risks to real property, including weather,
natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, or other events that destroy real
property.
REITs include
equity REITs and mortgage REITs. Equity REITs may be affected by changes in the
value of the underlying property owned by the trusts, while mortgage REITs may
be affected by the quality of any credit extended. Further, equity and mortgage
REITs are dependent upon management skills and generally may not be diversified.
Equity and mortgage REITs are also subject to heavy cash flow dependency,
defaults by borrowers or lessees, and self-liquidations. In addition, equity and
mortgage REITs could possibly fail to qualify for tax-free pass-through of
income under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code), or to
maintain their exemptions from registration under the Investment Company Act of
1940, as amended. The above factors may also adversely affect a borrower’s or a
lessee’s ability to meet its obligations to the REIT. In the event of a default
by a borrower or lessee, the REIT may experience delays in enforcing its rights
as a mortgagee or lessor and may incur substantial costs associated with
protecting its investments. In addition, even many of the larger REITs in the
industry tend to be small to medium-sized companies in relation to the equity
markets as a whole. Moreover, shares of REITs may trade less frequently and,
therefore, are subject to more erratic price movements than securities of larger
issuers.
Real
estate securities risk
Investing in
securities of companies in the real estate industry subjects a fund to the risks
associated with the direct ownership of real estate.
These risks include:
These risks include:
•
Declines in
the value of real estate
•
Risks related
to general and local economic conditions
•
Possible lack
of availability of mortgage funds
•
Overbuilding
•
Extended
vacancies of properties
•
Increased
competition
•
Increases in
property taxes and operating expenses
•
Changes in
zoning laws
•
Losses due to
costs resulting from the cleanup of environmental problems
•
Liability to
third parties for damages resulting from environmental problems
•
Casualty or
condemnation losses
•
Limitations on
rents
•
Changes in
neighborhood values and the appeal of properties to tenants
•
Changes in
interest rates and
•
Liquidity
risk
Therefore, for
a fund investing a substantial amount of its assets in securities of companies
in the real estate industry, the value of the fund’s shares may change at
different rates compared with the value of shares of a fund with investments in
a mix of different industries.
Securities of companies in the
real estate industry have been and may continue to be negatively affected by
widespread health
crises
such as a global
pandemic. Potential impacts on the real estate market may include lower
occupancy rates, decreased lease payments, defaults and foreclosures, among
other consequences. These impacts could adversely affect corporate borrowers and
mortgage lenders, the value of mortgage-backed securities, the bonds of
municipalities that depend on tax revenues and tourist dollars generated by such
properties, and insurers of the property and/or of corporate, municipal or
mortgage-backed securities. It is not known how long such impacts, or any future
impacts of other significant events, will last.
Securities of
companies in the real estate industry include equity REITs and mortgage REITs.
Equity REITs may be affected by changes in the value of the underlying property
owned by the REIT, while mortgage REITs may be affected by the quality of any
credit extended. Further, equity and mortgage REITs are dependent upon
management skills and generally may not be diversified. Equity and mortgage
REITs are also subject to heavy cash flow dependency, defaults by borrowers or
lessees, and self-liquidations. In addition, equity and mortgage REITs could
possibly fail to qualify for tax-free pass through of income under the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 (the Code) or to maintain their exemptions from
registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. The above
factors may also adversely affect a borrower’s or a lessee’s ability to meet its
obligations to a REIT. In the event of a default by a borrower or lessee, a REIT
may experience delays in enforcing its rights as a mortgagee or lessor and may
incur substantial costs associated with protecting its investments.
In addition,
even the larger REITs in the industry tend to be small to medium-sized companies
in relation to the equity markets as a whole. Moreover, shares of REITs may
trade less frequently and, therefore, are subject to more erratic price
movements than securities of larger issuers.
Small
and mid-sized company risk
Market risk
and liquidity risk may be pronounced for securities of companies with
medium-sized market capitalizations and are particularly pronounced for
securities of companies with smaller market capitalizations. These companies may
have limited product lines, markets, or financial resources, or they may depend
on a few key employees. The securities of companies with medium and smaller
market capitalizations may trade less frequently and in lesser volume than more
widely held securities, and their value may fluctuate more sharply than those
securities. They may also trade in the OTC market or on a regional exchange, or
may otherwise have limited liquidity. Investments in less-seasoned companies
with medium and smaller market capitalizations may present greater opportunities
for growth and capital
17
Fund
details
appreciation,
but also involve greater risks than are customarily associated with more
established companies with larger market capitalizations. These risks apply to
all funds that invest in the securities of companies with smaller- or
medium-sized market capitalizations. For purposes of the fund’s investment
policies, the market capitalization of a company is based on its capitalization
at the time the fund purchases the company’s securities. Market capitalizations
of companies change over time. The fund is not obligated to sell a company’s
security simply because, subsequent to its purchase, the company’s market
capitalization has changed to be outside the capitalization range, if any, in
effect for the fund.
Telecommunications
sector risk
Companies in
the telecommunications sector are subject to the additional risks of rapid
obsolescence, lack of standardization or compatibility with existing
technologies, an unfavorable regulatory environment, and a dependency on patent
and copyright protection. The prices of the securities of companies in the
telecommunications sector may fluctuate widely due to both federal and state
regulations governing rates of return and services that may be offered, fierce
competition for market share, and competitive challenges in the United States
from foreign competitors engaged in strategic joint ventures with U.S. companies
and in foreign markets from both U.S. and foreign competitors. In addition,
recent industry consolidation trends may lead to increased regulation of
telecommunications companies in their primary markets.
Transportation
sector risk
The
transportation sector, including airports, airlines, ports, and other
transportation facilities, can be significantly affected by changes in the
economy, fuel prices, maintenance, labor relations, insurance costs, and
government regulation. The stock prices of companies in the transportation
sector are affected by both supply and demand for their specific products and
services.
Utilities
sector risk
Issuers in the
utilities sector are subject to many risks, including: increases in fuel and
other operating costs; increased costs and delays as a result of environmental
and safety regulations; difficulty in obtaining approval of rate increases; the
negative impact of regulation; the potential impact of natural and man-made
disaster; and technological innovations that may render existing plants,
equipment, or products obsolete. Because utility companies are faced with the
same obstacles, issues, and regulatory burdens, their securities may react
similarly and more in unison to these or other market
conditions.
Warrants
risk
Warrants are
rights to purchase securities at specific prices and are valid for a specific
period of time. Warrant prices do not necessarily move parallel to the prices of
the underlying securities, and warrant holders receive no dividends and have no
voting rights or rights with respect to the assets of an issuer. The price of a
warrant may be more volatile than the price of its underlying security, and a
warrant may offer greater potential for capital appreciation as well as capital
loss. Warrants cease to have value if not exercised prior to the expiration
date. These factors can make warrants more speculative than other types of
investments.
Who’s
who
The following
are the names of the various entities involved with the fund’s investment and
business operations, along with brief descriptions of the role each entity
performs.
Board
of Trustees
The Trustees
oversee the fund’s business activities and retain the services of the various
firms that carry out the fund's operations.
Investment
advisor
The investment
advisor manages the fund's business and investment activities.
John
Hancock Investment Management LLC
200 Berkeley Street
Boston, MA 02116
200 Berkeley Street
Boston, MA 02116
Founded in
1968, the advisor is an indirect principally owned subsidiary of John Hancock
Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.), which in turn is a subsidiary of Manulife
Financial Corporation.
The advisor’s parent company
has been helping individuals and institutions work toward their financial goals
since 1862. The advisor offers investment solutions managed by leading
institutional money managers, taking a disciplined team approach to portfolio
management and research, leveraging the expertise of seasoned investment
professionals. As of December 31, 2023 the advisor had total assets under
management of approximately $153.7 billion.
Subject to
general oversight by the Board of Trustees, the advisor manages and supervises
the investment operations and business affairs of the fund. The advisor selects,
contracts with and compensates one or more subadvisors to manage all or a
portion of the fund’s portfolio assets, subject to oversight by the advisor. In
this role, the advisor has supervisory responsibility for managing the
investment and reinvestment of the fund's portfolio assets through proactive
oversight and monitoring of the subadvisor and the fund, as described in further
detail below. The advisor is responsible for developing overall investment
strategies for the fund and overseeing and implementing the fund's continuous
investment programs and provides a variety of advisory oversight and investment
research services. The advisor also provides management and transition services
associated with certain fund events (e.g., strategy, portfolio manager, or
subadvisor changes) and coordinates and oversees services provided under other
agreements.
The advisor
has ultimate responsibility to oversee a subadvisor and recommend to the Board
of Trustees its hiring, termination, and replacement. In this capacity, the
advisor, among other things: (i) monitors on a daily basis the compliance of the
subadvisor with the investment objectives and related policies of the fund; (ii)
monitors significant changes that may impact the subadvisor's overall business
and regularly performs due diligence reviews of the subadvisor; (iii) reviews
the performance of the subadvisor; and (iv) reports periodically on such
performance to the Board of Trustees. The advisor employs a team of investment
professionals who provide these ongoing research and monitoring
services.
18
Fund
details
The fund
relies on an order from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) permitting
the advisor, subject to approval by the Board of Trustees, to appoint a
subadvisor or change the terms of a subadvisory agreement without obtaining
shareholder approval. The fund, therefore, is able to change subadvisors or the
fees paid to a subadvisor, from time to time, without the expense and delays
associated with obtaining shareholder approval of the change. This order does
not, however, permit the advisor to appoint a subadvisor that is an affiliate of
the advisor or the fund (other than by reason of serving as a subadvisor to the
fund), or to increase the subadvisory fee of an affiliated subadvisor, without
the approval of the shareholders.
Management
fee
The fund pays
the advisor a management fee for its services to the fund. The advisor in turn
pays the fees of the subadvisor. The management fee is stated as an annual
percentage of the aggregate net assets of the fund (together with the assets of
any other applicable fund identified in the advisory agreement) determined in
accordance with the following schedule, and that rate is applied to the average
daily net assets of the fund.
|
Average
daily net assets ($) |
Annual
rate (%) |
|
First
250 million |
0.800 |
|
Excess
over 250 million |
0.750 |
During its
most recent fiscal period, the fund paid the advisor a management fee equal to
0.76% of average daily net assets (including any waivers and/or
reimbursements).
The basis for
the Board of Trustees’ approval of the advisory fees, and of the investment
advisory agreement overall, including the subadvisory agreement, is discussed in
the fund’s most recent annual shareholder report for the period ended October
31.
Additional
information about fund expenses
The fund’s
annual operating expenses will likely vary throughout the period and from year
to year. The fund’s expenses for the current fiscal year may be higher than the
expenses listed in the fund’s “Annual fund operating expenses” table, for some
of the following reasons: (i) a significant decrease in average net assets may
result in a higher advisory fee rate if any advisory fee breakpoints are not
achieved; (ii) a significant decrease in average net assets may result in an
increase in the expense ratio because certain fund expenses do not decrease as
asset levels decrease; or (iii) fees may be incurred for extraordinary events
such as fund tax expenses.
The advisor
contractually agrees to reduce its management fee or, if necessary, make payment
to Class A, Class C, Class I, and Class R6 shares, in an amount equal to the
amount by which the expenses of Class A, Class C, Class I, and Class R6 shares
exceed 1.31%, 2.01%, 1.00%, and 0.92%, respectively, of the average daily net
assets attributable to the class. For purposes of this agreement, “expenses of
Class A, Class C, Class I, and Class R6 shares” means all expenses of the class
(including fund expenses attributable to such class), excluding (a) taxes; (b)
portfolio brokerage commissions; (c) interest expense; (d) litigation and
indemnification expenses and other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the
ordinary course of the fund’s business; (e)
acquired fund fees and
expenses paid indirectly; (f) borrowing costs; (g) prime brokerage fees; and (h)
short dividend expense. This agreement expires on February 28, 2025, unless
renewed by mutual agreement of the fund and the advisor based upon a
determination that this is appropriate under the circumstances at that
time.
The advisor
voluntarily agrees to reduce its management fee for the fund, or if necessary
make payment to the fund, in an amount equal to the amount by which the “other
expenses” of the fund exceed 0.25% of the average daily net assets of the fund.
For purposes of this agreement, “other expenses” means all the expenses of the
fund, excluding (a) taxes, (b) brokerage commissions, (c) interest expense, (d)
litigation and indemnification expenses and other extraordinary expenses not
incurred in the ordinary course of the fund’s business, (e) investment
management fees, (f) class-specific expenses, (g) borrowing costs, (h) prime
brokerage fees, (i) acquired fund fees and expenses paid indirectly, and (j)
short dividend expense. The advisor may terminate this voluntary waiver at any
time upon notice to the fund.
Subadvisor
The subadvisor
handles the fund's portfolio management activities, subject to oversight by the
advisor.
Wellington
Management Company LLP
280 Congress Street
Boston, MA 02210
280 Congress Street
Boston, MA 02210
Wellington Management Company
LLP (Wellington Management) is a Delaware limited liability partnership.
Wellington Management is a professional investment counseling firm which
provides investment services to investment companies, employee benefit plans,
endowments, foundations, and other institutions. Wellington Management and its
predecessor organizations have provided investment advisory services for over 90
years. Wellington Management is owned by the partners of Wellington Management
Group LLP, a Massachusetts limited liability partnership. As of December 31,
2023, Wellington Management and its investment advisory affiliates had
investment management authority with respect to approximately $1.2
trillion in
assets.
The following
are brief biographical profiles of the leaders of the fund’s investment
management team, in alphabetical order. These managers are jointly and primarily
responsible for the day-to-day management of the fund’s portfolio. These
managers are employed by Wellington Management. For more details about these
individuals, including information about their compensation, other accounts they
manage, and any investments they may have in the fund, see the
SAI.
Timothy
J. Casaletto, CFA
•
Managing
Director and Global Industry Analyst
•
Managed the
fund since 2023
•
Joined
Wellington Management in 2014
•
Began business
career in 2010
G.
Thomas Levering
•
Senior
Managing Director and Global Industry Analyst
•
Managed the
fund since 2013
•
Joined
Wellington Management in 2000
19
Fund
details
•
Began business
career in 1993
Custodian
The custodian
holds the fund's assets, settles all portfolio trades, and collects most of the
valuation data required for calculating the fund’s net asset
value.
State
Street Bank and Trust Company
One Congress Street, Suite 1
Boston, MA 02114
One Congress Street, Suite 1
Boston, MA 02114
Principal
distributor
The principal
distributor markets the fund and distributes shares through selling brokers,
financial planners, and other financial professionals.
John
Hancock Investment Management Distributors LLC
200 Berkeley Street
Boston, MA 02116
200 Berkeley Street
Boston, MA 02116
Transfer
agent
The transfer
agent handles shareholder services, including recordkeeping and statements,
distribution of dividends, and processing of buy-and-sell requests.
John
Hancock Signature Services, Inc.
P.O. Box 219909
Kansas City, MO 64121-9909
P.O. Box 219909
Kansas City, MO 64121-9909
Additional
information
The fund has
entered into contractual arrangements with various parties that provide services
to the fund, which may include, among others, the advisor, subadvisor,
custodian, principal distributor, and transfer agent, as described above and in
the SAI. Fund shareholders are not parties to, or intended or “third-party”
beneficiaries of, any of these contractual arrangements. These contractual
arrangements are not intended to, nor do they, create in any individual
shareholder or group of shareholders any right, either directly or on behalf of
the fund, to either: (a) enforce such contracts against the service providers;
or (b) seek any remedy under such contracts against the service
providers.
The advisor
internally credits a portion of its profits to an affiliated business, John
Hancock Retirement (JHR), which is the record keeper for certain 401(k) plans
that invest in Class R6 shares. JHR may reduce the record keeping fees paid to
it by such 401(k) plans by a commensurate amount. JHR may discontinue this
practice with adequate notice to plan sponsors.
This
prospectus provides information concerning the fund that you should consider in
determining whether to purchase shares of the fund. Each of this prospectus, the
SAI, or any contract that is an exhibit to the fund's registration statement, is
not intended to, nor does it, give rise to an agreement or contract between the
fund and any investor. Each such document also does not give rise to any
contract or create rights in any individual shareholder, group of shareholders,
or other person. The foregoing disclosure should not be read to suggest any
waiver of any rights conferred by federal or state securities laws.
20
Fund
details
Financial
highlights
These tables detail the
financial performance of each share class described in this prospectus,
including total return information showing how much an investment in the fund
has increased or decreased for the periods shown below (assuming reinvestment of
all dividends and distributions). Certain information reflects financial results
for a single fund share.
The financial statements of
the fund as of October 31, 2023, have been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
(PwC), the fund's independent registered public accounting firm. The report of
PwC, along with the fund's financial statements in the fund’s annual report for
the fiscal period ended October 31, 2023, has been incorporated by reference
into the SAI. Copies of the fund’s most recent annual report are available upon
request.
|
Infrastructure
Fund Class A Shares | |||||
|
Per
share operating performance Period
ended |
10-31-23 |
10-31-22 |
10-31-21 |
10-31-20 |
10-31-19 |
|
Net
asset value, beginning of period |
$12.07 |
$15.03 |
$11.99 |
$13.39 |
$11.60 |
|
Net
investment income1 |
0.26 |
0.22 |
0.19 |
0.19 |
0.21 |
|
Net
realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments |
(0.14
) |
(2.27
) |
3.11 |
(1.00
) |
2.02 |
|
Total
from investment operations |
0.12 |
(2.05
) |
3.30 |
(0.81
) |
2.23 |
|
Less
distributions |
|
|
|
|
|
|
From
net investment income |
(0.24
) |
(0.42
) |
(0.20
) |
(0.19
) |
(0.20
) |
|
From
net realized gain |
— |
(0.49
) |
(0.06
) |
(0.40
) |
(0.24
) |
|
Total
distributions |
(0.24
) |
(0.91
) |
(0.26
) |
(0.59
) |
(0.44
) |
|
Net
asset value, end of period |
$11.95 |
$12.07 |
$15.03 |
$11.99 |
$13.39 |
|
Total
return (%)2,3 |
0.95 |
(14.26
) |
27.67 |
(6.23
) |
19.69 |
|
Ratios
and supplemental data |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
assets, end of period (in millions) |
$55 |
$64 |
$63 |
$33 |
$24 |
|
Ratios
(as a percentage of average net assets): |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Expenses
before reductions |
1.27 |
1.25 |
1.29 |
1.32 |
1.35 |
|
Expenses
including reductions |
1.27 |
1.25 |
1.28 |
1.31 |
1.31 |
|
Net
investment income |
2.04 |
1.63 |
1.35 |
1.55 |
1.66 |
|
Portfolio
turnover (%) |
20 |
33 |
27 |
34 |
26 |
|
1 |
Based
on average daily shares outstanding. |
|
2 |
Total
returns would have been lower had certain expenses not been reduced during
the period. |
|
3 |
Does
not reflect the effect of sales charges, if
any. |
21
Fund
details
|
Infrastructure
Fund Class C Shares | |||||
|
Per
share operating performance Period
ended |
10-31-23 |
10-31-22 |
10-31-21 |
10-31-20 |
10-31-19 |
|
Net
asset value, beginning of period |
$11.91 |
$14.85 |
$11.86 |
$13.26 |
$11.50 |
|
Net
investment income1 |
0.17 |
0.13 |
0.09 |
0.11 |
0.12 |
|
Net
realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments |
(0.14
) |
(2.24
) |
3.07 |
(1.00
) |
2.01 |
|
Total
from investment operations |
0.03 |
(2.11
) |
3.16 |
(0.89
) |
2.13 |
|
Less
distributions |
|
|
|
|
|
|
From
net investment income |
(0.16
) |
(0.34
) |
(0.11
) |
(0.11
) |
(0.13
) |
|
From
net realized gain |
— |
(0.49
) |
(0.06
) |
(0.40
) |
(0.24
) |
|
Total
distributions |
(0.16
) |
(0.83
) |
(0.17
) |
(0.51
) |
(0.37
) |
|
Net
asset value, end of period |
$11.78 |
$11.91 |
$14.85 |
$11.86 |
$13.26 |
|
Total
return (%)2,3 |
0.23 |
(14.85
) |
26.81 |
(6.92
) |
18.93 |
|
Ratios
and supplemental data |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
assets, end of period (in millions) |
$9 |
$11 |
$12 |
$6 |
$6 |
|
Ratios
(as a percentage of average net assets): |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Expenses
before reductions |
1.97 |
1.95 |
1.99 |
2.02 |
2.05 |
|
Expenses
including reductions |
1.97 |
1.95 |
1.98 |
2.01 |
2.01 |
|
Net
investment income |
1.32 |
0.99 |
0.66 |
0.89 |
0.94 |
|
Portfolio
turnover (%) |
20 |
33 |
27 |
34 |
26 |
|
1 |
Based
on average daily shares outstanding. |
|
2 |
Total
returns would have been lower had certain expenses not been reduced during
the period. |
|
3 |
Does
not reflect the effect of sales charges, if
any. |
|
Infrastructure
Fund Class I Shares | |||||
|
Per
share operating performance Period
ended |
10-31-23 |
10-31-22 |
10-31-21 |
10-31-20 |
10-31-19 |
|
Net
asset value, beginning of period |
$12.09 |
$15.05 |
$12.00 |
$13.41 |
$11.61 |
|
Net
investment income1 |
0.30 |
0.26 |
0.24 |
0.23 |
0.26 |
|
Net
realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments |
(0.15
) |
(2.27
) |
3.11 |
(1.01
) |
2.02 |
|
Total
from investment operations |
0.15 |
(2.01
) |
3.35 |
(0.78
) |
2.28 |
|
Less
distributions |
|
|
|
|
|
|
From
net investment income |
(0.28
) |
(0.46
) |
(0.24
) |
(0.23
) |
(0.24
) |
|
From
net realized gain |
— |
(0.49
) |
(0.06
) |
(0.40
) |
(0.24
) |
|
Total
distributions |
(0.28
) |
(0.95
) |
(0.30
) |
(0.63
) |
(0.48
) |
|
Net
asset value, end of period |
$11.96 |
$12.09 |
$15.05 |
$12.00 |
$13.41 |
|
Total
return (%)2 |
1.17 |
(13.96
) |
28.12 |
(5.99
) |
20.13 |
|
Ratios
and supplemental data |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
assets, end of period (in millions) |
$386 |
$445 |
$463 |
$246 |
$213 |
|
Ratios
(as a percentage of average net assets): |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Expenses
before reductions |
0.97 |
0.95 |
0.99 |
1.02 |
1.05 |
|
Expenses
including reductions |
0.97 |
0.95 |
0.98 |
1.00 |
1.00 |
|
Net
investment income |
2.33 |
1.93 |
1.67 |
1.85 |
2.08 |
|
Portfolio
turnover (%) |
20 |
33 |
27 |
34 |
26 |
|
1 |
Based
on average daily shares outstanding. |
|
2 |
Total
returns would have been lower had certain expenses not been reduced during
the period. |
22
Fund
details
|
Infrastructure
Fund Class R6 Shares | |||||
|
Per
share operating performance Period
ended |
10-31-23 |
10-31-22 |
10-31-21 |
10-31-20 |
10-31-19 |
|
Net
asset value, beginning of period |
$12.11 |
$15.08 |
$12.02 |
$13.43 |
$11.63 |
|
Net
investment income1 |
0.32 |
0.23 |
0.25 |
0.25 |
0.27 |
|
Net
realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments |
(0.16
) |
(2.23
) |
3.12 |
(1.02
) |
2.02 |
|
Total
from investment operations |
0.16 |
(2.00
) |
3.37 |
(0.77
) |
2.29 |
|
Less
distributions |
|
|
|
|
|
|
From
net investment income |
(0.29
) |
(0.48
) |
(0.25
) |
(0.24
) |
(0.25
) |
|
From
net realized gain |
— |
(0.49
) |
(0.06
) |
(0.40
) |
(0.24
) |
|
Total
distributions |
(0.29
) |
(0.97
) |
(0.31
) |
(0.64
) |
(0.49
) |
|
Net
asset value, end of period |
$11.98 |
$12.11 |
$15.08 |
$12.02 |
$13.43 |
|
Total
return (%)2 |
1.28 |
(13.91
) |
28.28 |
(5.88
) |
20.18 |
|
Ratios
and supplemental data |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
assets, end of period (in millions) |
$82 |
$112 |
$77 |
$53 |
$50 |
|
Ratios
(as a percentage of average net assets): |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Expenses
before reductions |
0.86 |
0.85 |
0.88 |
0.91 |
0.94 |
|
Expenses
including reductions |
0.86 |
0.84 |
0.87 |
0.90 |
0.92 |
|
Net
investment income |
2.47 |
1.68 |
1.75 |
1.97 |
2.11 |
|
Portfolio
turnover (%) |
20 |
33 |
27 |
34 |
26 |
|
1 |
Based
on average daily shares outstanding. |
|
2 |
Total
returns would have been lower had certain expenses not been reduced during
the period. |
23
Your
account
Choosing
an eligible share class
Class A and
Class C shares have a Rule 12b-1 plan that allows the class to pay fees for the
sale, distribution, and service of its shares. Class I and Class R6 shares do
not have a Rule 12b-1 plan. Your financial professional can help you decide
which share class you are eligible to buy and is best for you. Each class’s
eligibility guidelines are described below.
Class
A shares
Class A shares
are not available to group retirement plans that do not currently hold Class A
shares of the fund and that are eligible to invest in Class I shares or any of
the R share classes, except as provided below. Such group retirement plans
include defined benefit plans, 401(k) plans, 457 plans, 403(b)(7) plans, pension
and profit-sharing plans, and nonqualified deferred compensation plans.
Individual retirement accounts (IRAs), Roth IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, individual
(“solo” or “single”) 401(k) plans, individual profit sharing plans, individual
403(b) plans, individual defined benefit plans, simplified employee pensions
(SEPs), SAR-SEPs, 529 tuition programs and Coverdell Educational Savings
Accounts are not considered group retirement plans and are not subject to this
restriction on the purchase of Class A shares.
Investment in
Class A shares by such group retirement plans will be permitted in the following
circumstances:
•
The plan
currently holds assets in Class A shares of the fund or any John Hancock
fund;
•
Class A shares
of the fund or any other John Hancock fund were established as an investment
option under the plan prior to January 1, 2013, and the fund’s representatives
have agreed that the plan may invest in Class A shares after that
date;
•
Class A shares
of the fund or any other John Hancock fund were established as a part of an
investment model prior to January 1, 2013, and the fund’s representatives have
agreed that plans utilizing such model may invest in Class A shares after that
date; and
•
Such group
retirement plans offered through an intermediary brokerage platform that does
not require payments relating to the provisions of services to the fund, such as
providing omnibus account services, transaction-processing services, or
effecting portfolio transactions for the fund, that are specific to assets held
in such group retirement plans and vary from such payments otherwise made for
such services with respect to assets held in non-group retirement plan
accounts.
Class
C shares
The maximum
amount you may invest in Class C shares with any single purchase is $999,999.99.
John Hancock Signature Services, Inc. (Signature Services), the transfer agent
for the fund, may accept a purchase request for Class C shares for $1,000,000 or
more when the purchase is pursuant to the reinstatement privilege (see “Sales
charge reductions and waivers”). Class C shares automatically convert to Class A
shares after eight years, provided that the fund or the financial intermediary
through which a shareholder purchased or holds Class C shares has records
verifying that the Class C shares have been held for at least eight years. Group
retirement plan recordkeeping platforms of certain intermediaries that hold
Class C shares with the fund in an omnibus account do not track participant
level share lot aging and, as
such, these
Class C shares would not satisfy the conditions for the automatic Class C to
Class A conversion.
Class
I shares
Class I shares
are offered without any sales charge to the following types of investors if they
also meet the minimum initial investment requirement for purchases of Class I
shares (see “Opening an account”):
•
Clients of
financial intermediaries who: (i) charge such clients a fee for advisory,
investment, consulting, or similar services; (ii) have entered into an agreement
with the distributor to offer Class I shares through a no-load program or
investment platform; or (iii) have entered into an agreement with the
distributor to offer Class I shares to clients on certain brokerage platforms
where the intermediary is acting solely as an agent for the investor who may be
required to pay a commission and/or other forms of compensation to the
intermediary. Other share classes of the fund have different fees and
expenses.
•
Retirement and
other benefit plans
•
Endowment
funds, foundations, donor advised funds, and other charitable
entities
•
Any state,
county, or city, or its instrumentality, department, authority, or
agency
•
Accounts
registered to insurance companies, trust companies, and bank trust
departments
•
Any entity
that is considered a corporation for tax purposes
•
Investment
companies, both affiliated and not affiliated with the advisor
•
Trustees,
employees of the advisor or its affiliates, employees of the subadvisor, members
of the fund’s portfolio management team and the spouses and children (under age
21) of the aforementioned
Class
R6 shares
Class R6
shares are offered without any sales charge and are generally made available to
the following types of investors if they also meet the minimum initial
investment requirement for purchases of Class R6 shares. (See “Opening an
account.”)
•
Qualified
401(a) plans (including 401(k) plans, Keogh plans, profit-sharing pension plans,
money purchase pension plans, target benefit plans, defined benefit pension
plans, and Taft-Hartley multi-employer pension plans) (collectively, qualified
plans)
•
Endowment
funds and foundations
•
Any state,
county, or city, or its instrumentality, department, authority, or
agency
•
403(b) plans
and 457 plans, including 457(a) governmental entity plans and tax-exempt
plans
•
Accounts
registered to insurance companies, trust companies, and bank trust
departments
•
Investment
companies, both affiliated and not affiliated with the advisor
•
Any entity
that is considered a corporation for tax purposes, including corporate
nonqualified deferred compensation plans of such corporations
•
Trustees,
employees of the advisor or its affiliates, employees of the
24
Your
account
subadvisor,
members of the fund’s portfolio management team and the spouses and children
(under age 21) of the aforementioned
•
Financial
intermediaries utilizing fund shares in certain eligible qualifying investment
product platforms under a signed agreement with the distributor
Class R6
shares may not be available through certain investment dealers.
The
availability of Class R6 shares for qualified plan investors will depend upon
the policies of your financial intermediary and/or the recordkeeper for your
qualified plan.
Class R6
shares also are generally available only to qualified plan investors where plan
level or omnibus accounts are held on the books of the fund.
Class R6
shares are not available to retail non-retirement accounts, Traditional and Roth
individual retirement accounts (IRAs), Coverdell Education Savings Accounts,
SEPs, SARSEPs, SIMPLE IRAs, and 529 college savings plans.
Class
cost structure
Class
A shares
•
A front-end
sales charge, as described in the section “How sales charges for Class A and
Class C shares are calculated”
•
Distribution
and service (Rule 12b-1) fees of 0.30%
•
A 1.00% CDSC
on certain shares sold within one year of purchase
Class
C shares
•
No front-end
sales charge; all your money goes to work for you right away
•
Rule 12b-1
fees of 1.00%
•
A 1.00% CDSC
on shares sold within one year of purchase
•
Automatic
conversion to Class A shares after eight years, thus reducing future annual
expenses (certain exclusions may apply)
Class
I shares
•
No front-end
or deferred sales charges; however, if you purchase Class I shares through a
broker acting solely as an agent on behalf of its customers, you may be required
to pay a commission to the broker
•
No Rule 12b-1
fees
Class
R6 shares
•
No front-end
or deferred sales charges; all your money goes to work for you right
away
•
No Rule 12b-1
fees
Rule
12b-1 fees
Rule 12b-1
fees will be paid to the fund’s distributor, John Hancock Investment Management
Distributors LLC, and may be used by the distributor for expenses relating to
the sale, distribution of, and shareholder or administrative services for
holders of the shares of the class, and for the payment of service fees that
come within Rule 2341 of the Conduct Rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory
Authority (FINRA).
Because
Rule 12b-1 fees are paid out of the fund’s assets on an ongoing basis, over time
they will increase the cost of your investment and may cost shareholders more
than other types of sales charges.
Your
broker-dealer or agent may charge you a fee to effect transactions in fund
shares. Other share classes of the fund, which have their own expense structure,
may be offered in separate prospectuses.
Additional
payments to financial intermediaries
Class A and
Class C shares of the fund are primarily sold through financial intermediaries,
such as brokers, banks, registered investment advisors, financial planners, and
retirement plan administrators. These firms may be compensated for selling
shares of the fund in two principal ways:
•
directly, by
the payment of sales commissions, if any; and
•
indirectly, as
a result of the fund paying Rule 12b-1 fees.
Class I shares
do not carry sales commissions or pay Rule 12b-1 fees. However, if you purchase
Class I shares through a broker acting solely as an agent on behalf of its
customers, you may be required to pay a commission to the
broker.
No dealer
compensation is paid from fund assets on sales of Class R6 shares. Class R6
shares do not carry sales commissions, pay Rule 12b-1 fees, or make payments to
financial intermediaries to assist in the distributor’s efforts to promote the
sale of the fund’s shares. Neither the fund nor its affiliates make any type of
administrative or service payments in connection with investments in Class R6
shares.
Except with
respect to Class R6 shares, certain firms may request, and the distributor may
agree to make, payments in addition to sales commissions and Rule 12b-1 fees, if
applicable, out of the distributor’s own resources.
These
additional payments are sometimes referred to as revenue sharing. These payments
assist in the distributor’s efforts to promote the sale of the fund’s shares.
The distributor agrees with the firm on the methods for calculating any
additional compensation, which may include the level of sales or assets
attributable to the firm. Not all firms receive additional compensation, and the
amount of compensation varies. These payments could be significant to a firm.
The distributor determines which firms to support and the extent of the payments
it is willing to make. The distributor generally chooses to compensate firms
that have a strong capability to distribute shares of the fund and that are
willing to cooperate with the distributor’s promotional
efforts.
The
distributor hopes to benefit from revenue sharing by increasing the fund’s net
assets, which, as well as benefiting the fund, would result in additional
management and other fees for the advisor and its affiliates. In consideration
for revenue sharing, a firm may feature the fund in its sales system or give
preferential access to members of its sales force or management. In addition,
the firm may agree to participate in the distributor’s marketing efforts by
allowing the distributor or its affiliates to participate in conferences,
seminars, or other programs attended by the intermediary’s sales force. Although
an intermediary may seek revenue-sharing payments to offset costs incurred by
the firm in servicing its clients who have invested in the fund, the
intermediary may
25
Your
account
earn a profit
on these payments. Revenue-sharing payments may provide your firm with an
incentive to favor the fund.
The SAI
discusses the distributor’s revenue-sharing arrangements in more detail. Your
intermediary may charge you additional fees other than those disclosed in this
prospectus. You can ask your firm about any payments it receives from the
distributor or the fund, as well as about fees and/or commissions it
charges.
The
distributor, advisor, and their affiliates may have other relationships with
your firm relating to the provisions of services to the fund, such as providing
omnibus account services, transaction-processing services, or effecting
portfolio transactions for the fund. If your intermediary provides these
services, the advisor or the fund may compensate the intermediary for these
services. In addition, your intermediary may have other compensated
relationships with the advisor or its affiliates that are not related to the
fund.
How
sales charges for Class A and Class C shares are calculated
Class
A sales charges are as follows:
|
Your
investment ($) |
As
a % of
offering
price* |
As
a % of
your
investment |
|
Up
to 49,999 |
5.00 |
5.26 |
|
50,000–99,999 |
4.50 |
4.71 |
|
100,000–249,999 |
3.50 |
3.63 |
|
250,000–499,999 |
2.50 |
2.56 |
|
500,000–999,999 |
2.00 |
2.04 |
|
1,000,000
and over |
See
below |
|
*
Offering
price is the net asset value per share plus any initial sales
charge.
You may
qualify for a reduced Class A sales charge if you own or are purchasing Class A,
Class C, Class I, Class R2, Class R4, Class R5, or Class R6 shares of a John
Hancock open-end mutual fund. To
receive the reduced sales charge, you must tell your broker or financial
professional at the time you purchase the fund’s Class A shares about any other
John Hancock mutual funds held by you, your spouse, or your children under the
age of 21. This
includes investments held in an individual retirement account, in an employee
benefit plan, or with a broker or financial professional other than the one
handling your current purchase. John Hancock will credit the combined value, at
the current offering price, of all eligible accounts to determine whether you
qualify for a reduced sales charge on your current purchase. You may need to
provide documentation for these accounts, such as an account statement. For more
information about sales charges, reductions, and waivers, you may visit the
fund’s website at jhinvestments.com, which includes hyperlinks to facilitate
access to this information. You may also consult your broker or financial
professional, or refer to the section entitled “Sales Charges on Class A and
Class C Shares” in the fund’s SAI. You may request an SAI from your broker or
financial professional by accessing the fund’s website at jhinvestments.com or
by calling Signature Services at 800-225-5291.
Investments
of $1 million or more
Class A shares
are available with no front-end sales charge on investments of $1 million or
more. There is a CDSC on any Class A shares
upon which a
commission or finder’s fee was paid that are sold within one year of purchase,
as follows:
Class
A deferred charges on investments of $1 million or more
|
Years
after purchase |
CDSC
(%) |
|
1st
year |
1.00 |
|
After
1st
year |
None |
For
purposes of this CDSC, all purchases made during a calendar month are counted as
having been made on the first day of that month.
The CDSC is
based on the lesser of the original purchase cost or the current market value of
the shares being sold, and is not charged on shares you acquired by reinvesting
your dividends. To keep your CDSC as low as possible, each time you place a
request to sell shares, we will first sell any shares in your account that are
not subject to a CDSC.
Class
C shares
Shares are
offered at their net asset value per share, without any initial sales
charge.
A CDSC may be
charged if a commission has been paid and you sell Class C shares within a
certain time after you bought them, as described in the table below. There is no
CDSC on shares acquired through reinvestment of dividends. The CDSC is based on
the original purchase cost or the current market value of the shares being sold,
whichever is less. The CDSC is as follows:
Class
C deferred charges
|
Years
after purchase |
CDSC
(%) |
|
1st
year |
1.00 |
|
After
1st
year |
None |
For
purposes of this CDSC, all purchases made during a calendar month are counted as
having been made on the first day of that month.
To
keep your CDSC as low as possible, each time you place a request to sell shares,
we will first sell any shares in your account that carry no
CDSC.
Sales
charge reductions and waivers
The
availability of certain sales charge waivers and discounts will depend on
whether you purchase your shares directly from the fund or through a financial
intermediary. Intermediaries may have different policies and procedures
regarding the availability of front-end sales charge waivers or CDSC waivers
(See Appendix 1 - Intermediary sales charge waivers, which includes information
about specific sales charge waivers applicable to the intermediaries identified
therein).
Reducing
your Class A sales charges
There are
several ways you can combine multiple purchases of shares of John Hancock funds
to take advantage of the breakpoints in the sales charge schedule. The first
three ways can be combined in any manner.
•
Accumulation
privilege—lets you add the value of any class of shares of any John Hancock
open-end fund you already own to the amount of your next Class A investment for
purposes of calculating the sales
26
Your
account
charge.
However, Class A shares of money market funds will not qualify unless you have
already paid a sales charge on those shares.
•
Letter of
intention—lets you purchase Class A shares of a fund over a 13-month period and
receive the same sales charge as if all shares had been purchased at once. You
can use a letter of intention to qualify for reduced sales charges if you plan
to invest at least to the first breakpoint level (generally $50,000 or $100,000
depending on the specific fund) in a John Hancock fund’s Class A shares during
the next 13 months. Completing a letter of intention does not obligate you to
purchase additional shares. However, if you do not buy enough shares to qualify
for the lower sales charges by the earlier of the end of the 13-month period or
when you sell your shares, your sales charges will be recalculated to reflect
your actual amount purchased. It is your responsibility to tell John Hancock
Signature Services Inc. or your financial professional when you believe you have
purchased shares totaling an amount eligible for reduced sales charges, as
stated in your letter of intention. Further information is provided in the
SAI.
•
Combination
privilege—lets you combine shares of all funds for purposes of calculating the
Class A sales charge.
To utilize
any reduction, you must complete the appropriate section of your application, or
contact your financial professional or Signature Services. Consult the SAI for
additional details (see the back cover of this prospectus).
Group
investment program
A group may be
treated as a single purchaser under the accumulation and combination privileges.
Each investor has an individual account, but the group’s investments are lumped
together for sales charge purposes, making the investors potentially eligible
for reduced sales charges. There is no charge or obligation to invest (although
initial investments per account opened must satisfy minimum initial investment
requirements specified in the section entitled “Opening an account”), and
individual investors may close their accounts at any time.
To
utilize this program, you must contact your financial professional or Signature
Services to find out how to qualify. Consult the SAI for additional details (see
the back cover of this prospectus).
CDSC
waivers
As long as
Signature Services is notified at the time you sell, any CDSC for Class A or
Class C shares will be waived in the following cases, as applicable:
•
to make
payments through certain systematic withdrawal plans
•
redemptions
pursuant to the fund’s right to liquidate an account that is below the minimum
account value stated below in “Dividends and account policies,” under the
subsection “Small accounts”
•
redemptions of
Class A shares by a group retirement plan that continues to offer the same or
another John Hancock mutual fund as an investment to its
participants
•
redemptions
made under certain liquidation, merger or acquisition transactions involving
other investment companies or personal holding companies
•
to make
certain distributions from a retirement plan
•
because of
shareholder death or disability
•
rollovers,
contract exchanges, or transfers of John Hancock custodial 403(b)(7) account
assets required by John Hancock as a result of its decision to discontinue
maintaining and administering 403(b)(7) accounts
To
utilize a waiver, you must contact your financial professional or Signature
Services. Consult the SAI for additional details (see the back cover of this
prospectus). Please note, these waivers are distinct from those described in
Appendix 1, “Intermediary sales charge waivers.”
Reinstatement
privilege
If you sell
shares of a John Hancock fund, you may reinvest some or all of the proceeds back
into the same share class of the same fund and account from which it was
removed, within 120 days without a sales charge, subject to fund minimums, as
long as Signature Services or your financial professional is notified before you
reinvest. If you paid a CDSC when you sold your shares, you will be credited
with the amount of the CDSC. Consult the SAI for additional details.
To
utilize this privilege, you must contact your financial professional or
Signature Services. Consult the SAI for additional details (see the back cover
of this prospectus).
Waivers
for certain investors
Class A shares
may be offered without front-end sales charges or CDSCs to the following
individuals and institutions:
•
Selling
brokers and their employees and sales representatives (and their Immediate
Family, as defined in the SAI)
•
Financial
intermediaries utilizing fund shares in eligible retirement platforms,
fee-based, or wrap investment products
•
Financial
intermediaries who offer shares to self-directed investment brokerage accounts
that may or may not charge a transaction fee to their customers
•
Fund Trustees
and other individuals who are affiliated with these or other John Hancock funds,
including employees of John Hancock companies or Manulife Financial Corporation
(and their Immediate Family, as defined in the SAI)
•
Individuals
exchanging shares held in an eligible fee-based program for Class A shares,
provided however, subsequent purchases in Class A shares will be subject to
applicable sales charges
•
Individuals
transferring assets held in a SIMPLE IRA, SEP, or SARSEP invested in John
Hancock funds directly to an IRA
•
Individuals
converting assets held in an IRA, SIMPLE IRA, SEP, or SARSEP invested in John
Hancock funds directly to a Roth IRA
•
Individuals
recharacterizing assets from an IRA, Roth IRA, SEP, SARSEP, or SIMPLE IRA
invested in John Hancock funds back to the original account type from which they
were converted
•
Participants
in group retirement plans that are eligible and permitted to purchase Class A
shares as described in the “Choosing an eligible share class” section above.
This waiver is contingent upon the group retirement plan being in a
recordkeeping arrangement and does not apply to group retirement plans
transacting business with the fund through a brokerage relationship in which
sales charges are customarily imposed, unless such brokerage relationship
qualifies for a sales charge waiver as described. In addition, this waiver does
not apply to a group retirement plan that leaves its current recordkeeping
27
Your
account
arrangement
and subsequently transacts business with the fund through a brokerage
relationship in which sales charges are customarily imposed. Whether a sales
charge waiver is available to your group retirement plan through its record
keeper depends upon the policies and procedures of your intermediary. Please
consult your financial professional for further information
•
Terminating participants in a
pension, profit-sharing, or other plan qualified under Section 401(a) of the
Code, or described in Section 457(b) of the Code, (i) that is funded by certain
John Hancock group annuity contracts, (ii) for which John Hancock Trust Company
serves as trustee or custodian, or (iii) the trustee or custodian of which has
retained John Hancock Retirement Plan Services (“RPS”) as a service provider,
rolling over assets (directly or within 60 days after distribution) from such a
plan (or from a John Hancock Managed IRA or John Hancock Annuities IRA into
which such assets have already been rolled over) to a John Hancock custodial IRA
or John Hancock custodial Roth IRA or other John Hancock branded IRA offered
through Manulife | John Hancock Brokerage Services LLC that invests in John
Hancock funds, or the subsequent establishment of or any rollover into a new
John Hancock fund account by such terminating participants and/or their
Immediate Family (as defined in the SAI), including subsequent investments into
such accounts, and that are held directly at John Hancock funds or at the John
Hancock Personal Financial Services (“PFS”) Financial Center
•
Participants in a terminating
pension, profit-sharing, or other plan qualified under Section 401(a) of the
Code, or described in Section 457(b) of the Code (the assets of which,
immediately prior to such plan's termination, were (a) held in certain John
Hancock group annuity contracts, (b) in trust or custody by John Hancock Trust
Company, or (c) by a trustee or custodian which has retained John Hancock RPS as
a service provider, but have been transferred from such contracts or trust funds
and are held either: (i) in trust by a distribution processing organization; or
(ii) in a custodial IRA or custodial Roth IRA sponsored by an authorized
third-party trust company and made available through John Hancock), rolling over
assets (directly or within 60 days after distribution) from such a plan to a
John Hancock custodial IRA or John Hancock custodial Roth IRA or other John
Hancock branded IRA offered through Manulife | John Hancock Brokerage Services
LLC that invests in John Hancock funds, or the subsequent establishment of or
any rollover into a new John Hancock fund account by such participants and/or
their Immediate Family (as defined in the SAI), including subsequent investments
into such accounts, and that are held directly at John Hancock funds or at the
PFS Financial Center
•
Participants actively enrolled
in a John Hancock RPS plan account (or an account the trustee of which has
retained John Hancock RPS as a service provider) rolling over or transferring
assets into a new John Hancock custodial IRA or John Hancock custodial Roth IRA
or other John Hancock branded IRA offered through Manulife | John Hancock
Brokerage Services LLC that invests in John Hancock funds through John Hancock
PFS (to the extent such assets are otherwise prohibited from rolling over or
transferring into such participant's John Hancock RPS plan account), including
subsequent investments into such accounts, and that are held directly at John
Hancock funds or at the John Hancock PFS Financial Center
•
Individuals
rolling over assets held in a John Hancock custodial 403(b)(7) account into a
John Hancock custodial IRA account
•
Former
employees/associates of John Hancock, its affiliates, or agencies rolling over
(directly or indirectly within 60 days after
distribution)
to a new John Hancock custodial IRA or John Hancock custodial Roth IRA from the
John Hancock Employee Investment-Incentive Plan (TIP), John Hancock Savings
Investment Plan (SIP), or the John Hancock Pension Plan, and such participants
and their Immediate Family (as defined in the SAI) subsequently establishing or
rolling over assets into a new John Hancock account through the John Hancock PFS
Group, including subsequent investments into such accounts, and that are held
directly at John Hancock funds or at the John Hancock PFS Financial
Center
•
A member of a
class action lawsuit against insurance companies who is investing settlement
proceeds
To
utilize a waiver, you must contact your financial professional or Signature
Services. Consult the SAI for additional details (see the back cover of this
prospectus). Please note, these waivers are distinct from those described in
Appendix 1, “Intermediary sales charge waivers.”
Other
waivers
Front-end
sales charges and CDSCs are not imposed in connection with the following
transactions:
•
Exchanges from
one John Hancock fund to the same class of any other John Hancock fund (see
“Transaction policies” in this prospectus for additional details)
•
Dividend
reinvestments (see “Dividends and account policies” in this prospectus for
additional details)
•
In addition,
the availability of certain sales charge waivers and discounts will depend on
whether you purchase your shares directly from the fund or through a financial
intermediary. Intermediaries may have different policies and procedures
regarding the availability of front-end sales charge waivers or CDSC waivers
(See Appendix 1 - Intermediary sales charge waivers, which includes information
about specific sales charge waivers applicable to the intermediaries identified
therein). In all instances, it is the purchaser’s responsibility to notify the
fund or the purchaser’s financial intermediary at the time of purchase of any
relationship or other facts qualifying the purchaser for sales charge waivers or
discounts. For
waivers and discounts not available through a particular intermediary,
shareholders will have to purchase fund shares directly from the fund or through
another intermediary to receive these waivers or discounts.
Opening
an account
1
Read this
prospectus carefully.
2
Determine if
you are eligible by referring to “Choosing an eligible share class.”
3
Determine how
much you want to invest. The minimum initial investments for Class A, Class C,
Class I, and Class R6 shares are described below. There are no subsequent
minimum investment requirements for these share classes.
28
Your
account
|
Share
Class |
Minimum
initial investment |
|
Class
A and Class C |
$1,000
($250 for group investments). However, there is
no
minimum initial investment for certain group
retirement
plans using salary deduction or similar group
methods
of payment, for fee-based or wrap accounts of
selling
firms that have executed a fee-based or wrap
agreement
with the distributor, or for certain other
eligible
investment product platforms. |
|
Class
I |
$250,000.
However, the minimum initial investment
requirement
may be waived, at the fund’s sole discretion,
for
investors in certain fee-based, wrap, or other
investment
platform programs, or in certain brokerage
platforms
where the intermediary is acting solely as an
agent
for the investor. The fund also may waive the
minimum
initial investment for other categories of
investors
at its discretion, including for Trustees,
employees
of the advisor or its affiliates, employees of
the
subadvisor, members of the fund’s portfolio
management
team and the spouses and children (under
age
21) of the aforementioned. |
|
Class
R6 |
$1
million. However, there is no minimum initial
investment
requirement for: (i) qualified and
nonqualified
plan investors; (ii) certain eligible qualifying
investment
product platforms; or (iii) Trustees,
employees
of the advisor or its affiliates, employees of
the
subadvisor, members of the fund’s portfolio
management
team and the spouses and children (under
age
21) of the aforementioned. |
4
All
shareholders must complete the account application, carefully following the
instructions. If you have any questions, please contact your financial
professional or call Signature Services at 800-225-5291 for Class A and Class C
shares or 888-972-8696 for Class I and Class R6 shares.
5
For Class A
and Class C shares, complete the appropriate parts of the account privileges
application. By applying for privileges now, you can avoid the delay and
inconvenience of having to file an additional application if you want to add
privileges later.
6
Make your
initial investment using the instructions under “Buying shares.” You and your
financial professional can initiate any purchase, exchange, or sale of
shares.
Important
information about opening a new account
To help the
government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, the
Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to
Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act) requires all
financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies
each person or entity that opens an account.
For
individual investors opening an account.
When you open
an account, you will be asked for your name, residential address, date of birth,
and Social Security number.
For
investors other than individuals.
When you open
an account, you will be asked for the name of the entity, its principal place of
business, and taxpayer identification number (TIN), and you may be requested to
provide information on persons with authority or control over the account,
including, but not limited to, name, residential address, date of birth, and
Social Security number. You may also be asked to provide documents, such as
articles of incorporation, trust instruments, or
partnership
agreements, and other information that will help Signature Services identify the
entity. Please see the mutual fund account application for more
details.
Information
for plan participants
Plan
participants generally must contact their plan service provider to purchase,
redeem, or exchange shares. The administrator of a retirement plan or employee
benefits office can provide participants with detailed information on how to
participate in the plan, elect a fund as an investment option, elect different
investment options, alter the amounts contributed to the plan, or change
allocations among investment options. For questions about participant accounts,
participants should contact their employee benefits office, the plan
administrator, or the organization that provides recordkeeping services for the
plan.
Financial
service firms may provide some of the shareholder servicing and account
maintenance services required by retirement plan accounts and their plan
participants, including transfers of registration, dividend payee changes, and
generation of confirmation statements, and may arrange for plan administrators
to provide other investment or administrative services. Financial service firms
may charge retirement plans and plan participants transaction fees and/or other
additional amounts for such services. Similarly, retirement plans may charge
plan participants for certain expenses. These fees and additional amounts could
reduce an investment return in the fund.
29
Your
account
Buying
shares
Class
A and Class C shares
|
Opening
an account |
Adding
to an account |
|
By
check | |
|
•Make
out a check for the investment amount, payable to “John Hancock
Signature
Services, Inc.”
•Deliver
the check and your completed application to your financial
professional
or mail them to Signature Services (address below). |
•Make
out a check for the investment amount, payable to “John Hancock
Signature
Services, Inc.”
•Include
a note specifying the fund name, the share class, your account
number,
and the name(s) in which the account is registered.
•Deliver
the check and your investment slip or note to your financial
professional,
or mail them to Signature Services (address
below). |
|
By
exchange | |
|
•Call
your financial professional or Signature Services to request an
exchange. |
•Log
on to the website below to process exchanges between funds.
•Call
EASI-Line for automated service.
•Call
your financial professional or Signature Services to request an
exchange. |
|
By
wire | |
|
•Deliver
your completed application to your financial professional or
mail
it to Signature Services.
•Obtain
your account number by calling your financial professional or
Signature
Services.
•Obtain
wiring instructions by calling Signature Services.
•Instruct
your bank to wire the amount of your investment. Specify the
fund
name, the share class, your account number, and the name(s) in
which
the account is registered. Your bank may charge a fee to wire
funds. |
•Obtain
wiring instructions by calling Signature Services.
•Instruct
your bank to wire the amount of your investment. Specify the
fund
name, the share class, your account number, and the name(s) in
which
the account is registered. Your bank may charge a fee to wire
funds. |
|
By
internet | |
|
•See
“By exchange” and “By wire.” |
•Verify
that your bank or credit union is a member of the Automated
Clearing
House (ACH) system.
•Complete
the “Bank information” section on your account application.
•Log
on to the website below to initiate purchases using your authorized
bank
account. |
|
By
phone | |
|
•See
“By exchange” and “By wire.” |
•Verify
that your bank or credit union is a member of the ACH system.
•Complete
the “To purchase, exchange, or redeem shares via telephone”
and
“Bank information” sections on your account application.
•Call
EASI-Line for automated service.
•Call
your financial professional or call Signature Services between
8:00 a.m. and
7:00 p.m.,
Monday–Thursday, and on Friday, between
8:00 a.m. and
6:00 p.m.,
Eastern time. |
|
To
add to an account using the Monthly Automatic Accumulation Program,
see
“Additional investor
services.” | |
|
Regular
mail |
Express
delivery |
Website |
EASI-Line |
Signature
Services, Inc. |
|
John
Hancock Signature
Services,
Inc.
P.O.
Box 219909
Kansas
City, MO 64121-9909 |
John
Hancock Signature
Services,
Inc.
430
W 7th Street
Suite
219909
Kansas
City, MO 64105-1407 |
jhinvestments.com |
(24/7
automated service)
800-338-8080 |
800-225-5291 |
30
Your
account
Buying
shares
Class
I shares
|
Opening
an account |
Adding
to an account |
|
By
check | |
|
•Make
out a check for the investment amount, payable to “John Hancock
Signature
Services, Inc.”
•Deliver
the check and your completed application to your financial
professional
or mail them to Signature Services (address below). |
•Make
out a check for the investment amount, payable to “John Hancock
Signature
Services, Inc.”
•Include
a note specifying the fund name, the share class, your account
number,
and the name(s) in which the account is registered.
•Deliver
the check and your investment slip or note to your financial
professional,
or mail them to Signature Services (address
below). |
|
By
exchange | |
|
•Call
your financial professional or Signature Services to request an
exchange. |
•Log
on to the website below to process exchanges between funds.
•You
may exchange Class I shares for other Class I shares or John
Hancock
Money Market Fund Class A shares.
•Call
your financial professional or Signature Services to request an
exchange. |
|
By
wire | |
|
•Deliver
your completed application to your financial professional or
mail
it to Signature Services.
•Obtain
your account number by calling your financial professional or
Signature
Services.
•Obtain
wiring instructions by calling Signature Services.
•Instruct
your bank to wire the amount of your investment. Specify the
fund
name, the share class, your account number, and the name(s) in
which
the account is registered. Your bank may charge a fee to wire
funds. |
•Obtain
wiring instructions by calling Signature Services.
•Instruct
your bank to wire the amount of your investment. Specify the
fund
name, the share class, your account number, and the name(s) in
which
the account is registered. Your bank may charge a fee to wire
funds. |
|
By
internet | |
|
•See
“By exchange” and “By wire.” |
•Verify
that your bank or credit union is a member of the Automated
Clearing
House (ACH) system.
•Complete
the “Bank information” section on your account application.
•Log
on to the website below to initiate purchases using your authorized
bank
account. |
|
By
phone | |
|
•See
“By exchange” and “By wire.” |
•Verify
that your bank or credit union is a member of the ACH system.
•Complete
the “To purchase, exchange, or redeem shares via telephone”
and
“Bank information” sections on your account application.
•Call
your financial professional or call Signature Services between
8:30 a.m. and
5:00 p.m.,
Eastern time, on most business
days. |
|
Regular
mail |
Express
delivery |
Website |
Signature
Services, Inc. |
|
John
Hancock Signature Services, Inc.
P.O.
Box 219909
Kansas
City, MO 64121-9909 |
John
Hancock Signature Services, Inc.
430
W 7th Street
Suite
219909
Kansas
City, MO 64105-1407 |
jhinvestments.com |
888-972-8696 |
31
Your
account
Buying
shares
Class
R6 shares
|
Opening
an account |
Adding
to an account |
|
By
check | |
|
•Make
out a check for the investment amount, payable to “John Hancock
Signature
Services, Inc.”
•Deliver
the check and your completed application to your financial
professional
or mail them to Signature Services (address below). |
•Make
out a check for the investment amount, payable to “John Hancock
Signature
Services, Inc.”
•Include
a note specifying the fund name, the share class, your account
number,
and the name(s) in which the account is registered.
•Deliver
the check and your investment slip or note to your financial
professional,
or mail them to Signature Services (address
below). |
|
By
exchange | |
|
•Call
your financial professional or Signature Services to request an
exchange. |
•Log
on to the website below to process exchanges between funds.
•You
may exchange Class R6 shares for other Class R6 shares or John
Hancock
Money Market Fund Class A shares.
•Call
your financial professional or Signature Services to request an
exchange. |
|
By
wire | |
|
•Deliver
your completed application to your financial professional or
mail
it to Signature Services.
•Obtain
your account number by calling your financial professional or
Signature
Services.
•Obtain
wiring instructions by calling Signature Services.
•Instruct
your bank to wire the amount of your investment. Specify the
fund
name, the share class, your account number, and the name(s) in
which
the account is registered. Your bank may charge a fee to wire
funds. |
•Obtain
wiring instructions by calling Signature Services.
•Instruct
your bank to wire the amount of your investment. Specify the
fund
name, the share class, your account number, and the name(s) in
which
the account is registered. Your bank may charge a fee to wire
funds. |
|
By
internet | |
|
•See
“By exchange” and “By wire.” |
•Verify
that your bank or credit union is a member of the Automated
Clearing
House (ACH) system.
•Complete
the “Bank information” section on your account application.
•Log
on to the website below to initiate purchases using your authorized
bank
account. |
|
By
phone | |
|
•See
“By exchange” and “By wire.” |
•Verify
that your bank or credit union is a member of the ACH system.
•Complete
the “To purchase, exchange, or redeem shares via telephone”
and
“Bank information” sections on your account application.
•Call
your financial professional or call Signature Services between
8:30 a.m. and
5:00 p.m.,
Eastern time, on most business
days. |
|
Regular
mail |
Express
delivery |
Website |
Signature
Services, Inc. |
|
John
Hancock Signature Services, Inc.
P.O.
Box 219909
Kansas
City, MO 64121-9909 |
John
Hancock Signature Services, Inc.
430
W 7th Street
Suite
219909
Kansas
City, MO 64105-1407 |
jhinvestments.com |
888-972-8696 |
32
Your
account
Selling
shares
Class
A and Class C shares
|
|
To
sell some or all of your shares |
|
By
letter | |
|
•Accounts
of any type
•Sales
of any amount |
•Write
a letter of instruction or complete a stock power indicating the
fund
name, the share class, your account number, the name(s) in which
the
account is registered, and the dollar value or number of shares you
wish
to sell.
•Include
all signatures and any additional documents that may be
required
(see the next page).
•Mail
the materials to Signature Services (address below).
•A
check will be mailed to the name(s) and address in which the account
is
registered, or otherwise according to your letter of
instruction. |
|
By
internet | |
|
•Most
accounts
•Sales
of up to $100,000 |
•Log
on to the website below to initiate redemptions from your
fund. |
|
By
phone | |
|
•Most
accounts
•Sales
of up to $100,000 |
•Call
EASI-Line for automated service.
•Call
your financial professional or call Signature Services between
8:00 a.m.
and 7:00 p.m.,
Monday–Thursday, and on Friday, between
8:00 a.m.
and 6:00 p.m.,
Eastern time. |
|
By
wire or electronic funds transfer (EFT) | |
|
•Requests
by letter to sell any amount
•Requests
by internet or phone to sell up to $100,000 |
•To
verify that the internet or telephone redemption privilege is in place
on
an account, or to request the form to add it to an existing account,
call
Signature Services.
•A
$4 fee will be deducted from your account. Your bank may also
charge
a fee for this service. |
|
By
exchange | |
|
•Accounts
of any type
•Sales
of any amount |
•Obtain
a current prospectus for the fund into which you are exchanging
by
accessing the fund’s website or by calling your financial professional
or
Signature Services.
•Log
on to the website below to process exchanges between your
funds.
•Call
EASI-Line for automated service.
•Call
your financial professional or Signature Services to request an
exchange. |
|
To
sell shares through a systematic withdrawal plan, see “Additional
investor
services.” | |
|
Regular
mail |
Express
delivery |
Website |
EASI-Line |
Signature
Services, Inc. |
|
John
Hancock Signature
Services,
Inc.
P.O.
Box 219909
Kansas
City, MO 64121-9909 |
John
Hancock Signature
Services,
Inc.
430
W 7th Street
Suite
219909
Kansas
City, MO 64105-1407 |
jhinvestments.com |
(24/7
automated service)
800-338-8080 |
800-225-5291 |
33
Your
account
Selling
shares in writing
Class
A and Class C shares
In certain
circumstances, you will need to make your request to sell shares in writing. You
may need to include additional items with your request, unless they were
previously provided to Signature Services and are still accurate. These items
are shown in the table below. You may also need to include a signature
guarantee, which protects you against fraudulent orders. You will need a
signature guarantee if:
•
your address has been changed
within the past 30 days or bank of record has changed within the past 15 days,
and you would like the payment to be sent to your new address or
bank,
•
you are
selling more than $100,000 worth of shares (this requirement is waived for
certain entities operating under a signed fax trading agreement with John
Hancock), or
•
you are
requesting payment other than by a check mailed to the address/bank of record
and payable to the registered owner(s).
You will need
to obtain your signature guarantee from a member of the Medallion Signature
Guarantee Program. Most broker-dealers, banks, credit unions, and securities
exchanges are members of this program. A notary public CANNOT provide a
signature guarantee. Signature Services may make exceptions to any of the
signature guarantee requirements.
|
Seller |
Requirements
for written requests |
|
Owners
of individual, joint, or UGMA/UTMA accounts (custodial accounts
for
minors) |
•Letter
of instruction
•On
the letter, the signatures and titles of all persons authorized to sign
for
the account, exactly as the account is registered
•Medallion
signature guarantee, if applicable (see above) |
|
Owners
of corporate, sole proprietorship, general partner, or association
accounts |
•Letter
of instruction
•Corporate
business/organization resolution, certified within the past
12
months, or a John Hancock business/organization certification
form
•On
the letter and the resolution, the signature of the person(s)
authorized
to sign for the account
•Medallion
signature guarantee, if applicable (see above) |
|
Owners
or trustees of trust accounts |
•Letter
of instruction
•On
the letter, the signature(s) of the trustee(s)
•Copy
of the trust document, certified within the past 12 months, or a
John
Hancock trust certification form
•Medallion
signature guarantee, if applicable (see above) |
|
Joint
tenancy shareholders with rights of survivorship with deceased
co-tenant(s) |
•Letter
of instruction signed by surviving tenant(s)
•Copy
of the death certificate
•Medallion
signature guarantee, if applicable (see above)
•Inheritance
tax waiver, if applicable |
|
Executors
of shareholder estates |
•Letter
of instruction signed by the executor
•Copy
of the order appointing executor, certified within the past
12
months
•Medallion
signature guarantee, if applicable (see above)
•Inheritance
tax waiver, if applicable |
|
Administrators,
conservators, guardians, and other sellers, or account
types
not listed above |
•Call
Signature Services for
instructions |
|
Regular
mail |
Express
delivery |
Website |
EASI-Line |
Signature
Services, Inc. |
|
John
Hancock Signature
Services,
Inc.
P.O.
Box 219909
Kansas
City, MO 64121-9909 |
John
Hancock Signature
Services,
Inc.
430
W 7th Street
Suite
219909
Kansas
City, MO 64105-1407 |
jhinvestments.com |
(24/7
automated service)
800-338-8080 |
800-225-5291 |
34
Your
account
Selling
shares
Class
I shares
|
|
To
sell some or all of your shares |
|
By
letter | |
|
•Sales
of any amount |
•Write
a letter of instruction or complete a stock power indicating the
fund
name, the share class, your account number, the name(s) in which
the
account is registered, and the dollar value or number of shares you
wish
to sell.
•Include
all signatures and any additional documents that may be
required
(see the next page).
•Mail
the materials to Signature Services (address below).
•A
check will be mailed to the name(s) and address in which the account
is
registered, or otherwise according to your letter of
instruction.
•Certain
requests will require a Medallion signature guarantee. Please
refer
to “Selling shares in writing” on the next page. |
|
By
internet | |
|
•Most
accounts
•Sales
of up to $100,000 |
•Log
on to the website below to initiate redemptions from your
fund. |
|
By
phone | |
|
Amounts
up to $100,000: |
•Redemption
proceeds of up to $100,000 may be sent by wire or by
check.
A check will be mailed to the exact name(s) and address on the
account.
•To
place your request with a representative at John Hancock, call
Signature
Services between 8:30 a.m.
and 5:00 p.m.,
Eastern time, on
most
business days, or contact your financial professional.
•Redemption
proceeds exceeding $100,000 will be wired to your
designated
bank account, unless a Medallion signature guaranteed
letter
is provided requesting payment by check. Please refer to “Selling
shares
in writing.” |
|
•Most
accounts | |
|
Amounts
up to $5 million: | |
|
•Available
to the following types of accounts: custodial accounts held by
banks,
trust companies, or broker-dealers; endowments and
foundations;
corporate accounts; group retirement plans; and pension
accounts
(excluding IRAs, 403(b) plans, and all John Hancock
custodial
retirement accounts) | |
|
By
wire or electronic funds transfer (EFT) | |
|
•Requests
by letter to sell any amount
•Qualified
requests by phone to sell to $5 million (accounts with
telephone
redemption privileges) |
•To
verify that the telephone redemption privilege is in place on an
account,
or to request the form to add it to an existing account, call
Signature
Services.
•Amounts
up to $100,000 may be sent by EFT or by check. Your bank
may
charge a fee for this service.
•Amounts
of $5 million or more will be sent by wire. |
|
By
exchange | |
|
•Sales
of any amount |
•Obtain
a current prospectus for the fund into which you are exchanging
by
accessing the fund’s website, or by calling your financial
professional
or Signature Services.
•You
may only exchange Class I shares for other Class I shares or John
Hancock
Money Market Fund Class A shares.
•Call
your financial professional or Signature Services to request an
exchange. |
|
Regular
mail |
Express
delivery |
Website |
Signature
Services, Inc. |
|
John
Hancock Signature Services, Inc.
P.O.
Box 219909
Kansas
City, MO 64121-9909 |
John
Hancock Signature Services, Inc.
430
W 7th Street
Suite
219909
Kansas
City, MO 64105-1407 |
jhinvestments.com |
888-972-8696 |
35
Your
account
Selling
shares in writing
Class
I shares
In certain
circumstances, you will need to make your request to sell shares in writing. You
may need to include additional items with your request, unless they were
previously provided to Signature Services and are still accurate. These items
are shown in the table below. You may also need to include a signature
guarantee, which protects you against fraudulent orders. You will need a
signature guarantee if:
•
your address has been changed
within the past 30 days or bank of record has changed within the past 15 days,
and you would like the payment to be sent to your new address or
bank;
•
you are
selling more than $100,000 worth of shares and are requesting payment by check
(this requirement is waived for certain entities operating under a signed fax
trading agreement with John Hancock);
•
you are
selling more than $5 million worth of shares from the following types of
accounts: custodial accounts held by banks, trust companies, or broker-dealers;
endowments and foundations; corporate accounts; group retirement plans; and
pension accounts (excluding IRAs, 403(b) plans, and all John Hancock custodial
retirement accounts); or
•
you are
requesting payment other than by a check mailed to the address/bank of record
and payable to the registered owner(s).
You will need
to obtain your signature guarantee from a member of the Medallion Signature
Guarantee Program. Most broker-dealers, banks, credit unions, and securities
exchanges are members of this program. A notary public CANNOT provide a
signature guarantee. Signature Services may make exceptions to any of the
signature guarantee requirements.
|
Seller |
Requirements
for written requests |
|
Owners
of individual, joint, or UGMA/UTMA accounts (custodial accounts
for
minors) |
•Letter
of instruction
•On
the letter, the signatures and titles of all persons authorized to sign
for
the account, exactly as the account is registered
•Medallion
signature guarantee, if applicable (see above) |
|
Owners
of corporate, sole proprietorship, general partner, or association
accounts |
•Letter
of instruction
•Corporate
business/organization resolution, certified within the past
12
months, or a John Hancock business/organization certification
form
•On
the letter and the resolution, the signature of the person(s)
authorized
to sign for the account
•Medallion
signature guarantee, if applicable (see above) |
|
Owners
or trustees of trust accounts |
•Letter
of instruction
•On
the letter, the signature(s) of the trustee(s)
•Copy
of the trust document, certified within the past 12 months, or a
John
Hancock trust certification form
•Medallion
signature guarantee, if applicable (see above) |
|
Joint
tenancy shareholders with rights of survivorship with deceased
co-tenant(s) |
•Letter
of instruction signed by surviving tenant(s)
•Copy
of the death certificate
•Medallion
signature guarantee, if applicable (see above)
•Inheritance
tax waiver, if applicable |
|
Executors
of shareholder estates |
•Letter
of instruction signed by the executor
•Copy
of the order appointing executor, certified within the past
12
months
•Medallion
signature guarantee, if applicable (see above)
•Inheritance
tax waiver, if applicable |
|
Administrators,
conservators, guardians, and other sellers, or account
types
not listed above |
•Call
Signature Services for
instructions |
|
Regular
mail |
Express
delivery |
Website |
Signature
Services, Inc. |
|
John
Hancock Signature Services, Inc.
P.O.
Box 219909
Kansas
City, MO 64121-9909 |
John
Hancock Signature Services, Inc.
430
W 7th Street
Suite
219909
Kansas
City, MO 64105-1407 |
jhinvestments.com |
888-972-8696 |
36
Your
account
Selling
shares
Class
R6 shares
|
|
To
sell some or all of your shares |
|
By
letter | |
|
•Sales
of any amount |
•Write
a letter of instruction or complete a stock power indicating the
fund
name, the share class, your account number, the name(s) in which
the
account is registered, and the dollar value or number of shares you
wish
to sell.
•Include
all signatures and any additional documents that may be
required
(see the next page).
•Mail
the materials to Signature Services (address below).
•A
check will be mailed to the name(s) and address in which the account
is
registered, or otherwise according to your letter of
instruction.
•Certain
requests will require a Medallion signature guarantee. Please
refer
to “Selling shares in writing” on the next page. |
|
By
internet | |
|
•Most
accounts
•Sales
of up to $100,000 |
•Log
on to the website below to initiate redemptions from your
fund. |
|
By
phone | |
|
Amounts
up to $5 million:
•Available
to the following types of accounts: custodial accounts held by
banks,
trust companies, or broker-dealers; endowments and
foundations;
corporate accounts; and group retirement plans |
•Redemption
proceeds of up to $100,000 may be sent by wire or by
check.
A check will be mailed to the exact name(s) and address on the
account.
•To
place your request with a representative at John Hancock, call
Signature
Services between 8:30 a.m.
and 5:00 p.m.,
Eastern time, on
most
business days, or your financial professional.
•Redemption
proceeds exceeding $100,000 will be wired to your
designated
bank account, unless a Medallion signature guaranteed
letter
is provided requesting payment by check. Please refer to “Selling
shares
in writing.” |
|
By
wire or electronic funds transfer (EFT) | |
|
•Requests
by letter to sell any amount
•Qualified
requests by phone to sell to $5 million (accounts with
telephone
redemption privileges) |
•To
verify that the telephone redemption privilege is in place on an
account,
or to request the form to add it to an existing account, call
Signature
Services.
•Amounts
of $5 million or more will be sent by wire.
•Amounts
up to $100,000 may be sent by EFT or by check. Your bank
may
charge a fee for this service. |
|
By
exchange | |
|
•Sales
of any amount |
•Obtain
a current prospectus for the fund into which you are exchanging
by
accessing the fund’s website, or by calling your financial
professional
or Signature Services.
•You
may only exchange Class R6 shares for other Class R6 shares or
John
Hancock Money Market Fund Class A shares.
•Call
your financial professional or Signature Services to request an
exchange. |
|
Regular
mail |
Express
delivery |
Website |
Signature
Services, Inc. |
|
John
Hancock Signature Services, Inc.
P.O.
Box 219909
Kansas
City, MO 64121-9909 |
John
Hancock Signature Services, Inc.
430
W 7th Street
Suite
219909
Kansas
City, MO 64105-1407 |
jhinvestments.com |
888-972-8696 |
37
Your
account
Selling
shares in writing
Class
R6 shares
In certain
circumstances, you will need to make your request to sell shares in writing. You
may need to include additional items with your request, unless they were
previously provided to Signature Services and are still accurate. These items
are shown in the table below. You may also need to include a signature
guarantee, which protects you against fraudulent orders. You will need a
signature guarantee if:
•
your address has been changed
within the past 30 days or bank of record has changed within the past 15 days,
and you would like the payment to be sent to your new address or
bank;
•
you are
selling more than $100,000 worth of shares and are requesting payment by check
(this requirement is waived for certain entities operating under a signed fax
trading agreement with John Hancock);
•
you are
selling more than $5 million worth of shares from the following types of
accounts: custodial accounts held by banks, trust companies, or broker-dealers;
endowments and foundations; corporate accounts; and group retirement plans;
or
•
you are
requesting payment other than by a check mailed to the address/bank of record
and payable to the registered owner(s).
You will need
to obtain your signature guarantee from a member of the Medallion Signature
Guarantee Program. Most broker-dealers, banks, credit unions, and securities
exchanges are members of this program. A notary public CANNOT provide a
signature guarantee. Signature Services may make exceptions to any of the
signature guarantee requirements.
|
Seller |
Requirements
for written requests |
|
Owners
of individual, joint, or UGMA/UTMA accounts (custodial accounts
for
minors) |
•Letter
of instruction
•On
the letter, the signatures and titles of all persons authorized to sign
for
the account, exactly as the account is registered
•Medallion
signature guarantee, if applicable (see above) |
|
Owners
of corporate, sole proprietorship, general partner, or association
accounts |
•Letter
of instruction
•Corporate
business/organization resolution, certified within the past
12
months, or a John Hancock business/organization certification
form
•On
the letter and the resolution, the signature of the person(s)
authorized
to sign for the account
•Medallion
signature guarantee, if applicable (see above) |
|
Owners
or trustees of trust accounts |
•Letter
of instruction
•On
the letter, the signature(s) of the trustee(s)
•Copy
of the trust document, certified within the past 12 months, or a
John
Hancock trust certification form
•Medallion
signature guarantee, if applicable (see above) |
|
Joint
tenancy shareholders with rights of survivorship with deceased
co-tenant(s) |
•Letter
of instruction signed by surviving tenant(s)
•Copy
of the death certificate
•Medallion
signature guarantee, if applicable (see above)
•Inheritance
tax waiver, if applicable |
|
Executors
of shareholder estates |
•Letter
of instruction signed by the executor
•Copy
of the order appointing executor, certified within the past
12
months
•Medallion
signature guarantee, if applicable (see above)
•Inheritance
tax waiver, if applicable |
|
Administrators,
conservators, guardians, and other sellers, or account
types
not listed above |
•Call
Signature Services for
instructions |
|
Regular
mail |
Express
delivery |
Website |
Signature
Services, Inc. |
|
John
Hancock Signature Services, Inc.
P.O.
Box 219909
Kansas
City, MO 64121-9909 |
John
Hancock Signature Services, Inc.
430
W 7th Street
Suite
219909
Kansas
City, MO 64105-1407 |
jhinvestments.com |
888-972-8696 |
38
Your
account
Transaction
policies
Valuation
of shares
The net asset
value (NAV) for each class of shares of the fund is normally determined once
daily as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
(typically 4:00 p.m., Eastern
time, on each business day that the NYSE is open). In case of emergency or other
disruption resulting in the NYSE not opening for trading or the NYSE closing at
a time other than the regularly scheduled close, the NAV may be determined as of
the regularly scheduled close of the NYSE pursuant to the advisor’s Valuation
Policies and Procedures. The time at which shares and transactions are priced
and until which orders are accepted may vary to the extent permitted by the
Securities and Exchange Commission and applicable regulations. On holidays or
other days when the NYSE is closed, the NAV is not calculated and the fund does
not transact purchase or redemption requests. Trading of securities that are
primarily listed on foreign exchanges may take place on weekends and U.S.
business holidays on which the fund’s NAV is not calculated. Consequently, the
fund’s portfolio securities may trade and the NAV of the fund’s shares may be
significantly affected on days when a shareholder will not be able to purchase
or redeem shares of the fund.
Each class of
shares of the fund has its own NAV, which is computed by dividing the total
assets, minus liabilities, allocated to each share class by the number of fund
shares outstanding for that class. The current NAV of the fund is available on
our website at jhinvestments.com.
Valuation
of securities
The Board has
designated the fund's advisor as the valuation designee to perform fair value
functions for the fund in accordance with the advisor’s valuation policies and
procedures. As valuation designee, the advisor will determine the fair value, in
good faith, of securities and other assets held by the fund for which market
quotations are not readily available and, among other things, will assess and
manage material risks associated with fair value determinations, select, apply
and test fair value methodologies, and oversee and evaluate pricing services and
other valuation agents used in valuing the fund’s investments. The advisor is
subject to Board oversight and reports to the Board information regarding the
fair valuation process and related material matters. The advisor carries out its
responsibilities as valuation designee through its Pricing
Committee.
Portfolio
securities are valued by various methods that are generally described below.
Portfolio securities also may be fair valued by the advisor’s Pricing Committee
in certain instances pursuant to procedures established by the advisor and
adopted by the Board of Trustees. Equity securities are generally valued at the
last sale price or, for certain markets, the official closing price as of the
close of the relevant exchange. Securities not traded on a particular day are
valued using last available bid prices. A security that is listed or traded on
more than one exchange is typically valued at the price on the exchange where
the security was acquired or most likely will be sold. In certain instances, the
Pricing Committee may determine to value equity securities using prices obtained
from another exchange or market if trading on the exchange or market on which
prices are typically obtained did not open for trading as scheduled, or if
trading closed earlier than scheduled, and trading
occurred as normal on another
exchange or market. Equity securities traded principally in foreign markets are
typically valued using the last sale price or official closing price in the
relevant exchange or market, as adjusted by an independent pricing vendor to
reflect fair value as of the close of the NYSE. On any day a foreign market is
closed and the NYSE is open, any foreign securities will typically be valued
using the last price or official closing price obtained from the relevant
exchange on the prior business day adjusted based on information provided by an
independent pricing vendor to reflect fair value as of the close of the NYSE.
Debt obligations are typically valued based on evaluated prices provided by an
independent pricing vendor. The value of securities denominated in foreign
currencies is converted into U.S. dollars at the exchange rate supplied by an
independent pricing vendor. Forward foreign currency contracts are valued at the
prevailing forward rates which are based on foreign currency exchange spot rates
and forward points supplied by an independent pricing vendor. Exchange-traded
options are valued at the mid-price of the last quoted bid and ask prices.
Futures contracts whose settlement prices are determined as of the close of the
NYSE are typically valued based on the settlement price, while other futures
contracts are typically valued at the last traded price on the exchange on which
they trade as of the close of the NYSE. Foreign equity index futures that trade
in the electronic trading market subsequent to the close of regular trading may
be valued at the last traded price in the electronic trading market as of the
close of the NYSE, or may be fair valued based on fair value adjustment factors
provided by an independent pricing vendor in order to adjust for events that may
occur between the close of foreign exchanges or markets and the close of the
NYSE. Swaps and unlisted options are generally valued using evaluated prices
obtained from an independent pricing vendor. Shares of other open-end investment
companies that are not exchange-traded funds (underlying funds) are valued based
on the NAVs of such underlying funds.
Pricing
vendors may use matrix pricing or valuation models that utilize certain inputs
and assumptions to derive values, including transaction data, broker-dealer
quotations, credit quality information, general market conditions, news, and
other factors and assumptions. The fund may receive different prices when it
sells odd-lot positions than it would receive for sales of institutional round
lot positions. Pricing vendors generally value securities assuming orderly
transactions of institutional round lot sizes, but a fund may hold or transact
in such securities in smaller, odd lot sizes.
The Pricing
Committee engages in oversight activities with respect to pricing vendors, which
includes, among other things, monitoring significant or unusual price
fluctuations above predetermined tolerance levels from the prior day,
back-testing of pricing vendor prices against actual trades, conducting periodic
due diligence meetings and reviews, and periodically reviewing the inputs,
assumptions and methodologies used by these vendors. Nevertheless, market
quotations, official closing prices, or information furnished by a pricing
vendor could be inaccurate, which could lead to a security being valued
incorrectly.
If market
quotations, official closing prices, or information furnished by a pricing
vendor are not readily available or are otherwise deemed unreliable or not
representative of the fair value of such security because of market- or
issuer-specific events, a security will be valued at its fair value as
determined in good faith by the Board’s valuation designee, the
39
Your
account
advisor. In
certain instances, therefore, the Pricing Committee may determine that a
reported valuation does not reflect fair value, based on additional information
available or other factors, and may accordingly determine in good faith the fair
value of the assets, which may differ from the reported valuation.
Fair value
pricing of securities is intended to help ensure that a fund’s NAV reflects the
fair market value of the fund’s portfolio securities as of the close of regular
trading on the NYSE (as opposed to a value that no longer reflects market value
as of such close), thus limiting the opportunity for aggressive traders or
market timers to purchase shares of the fund at deflated prices reflecting stale
security valuations and promptly sell such shares at a gain, thereby diluting
the interests of long-term shareholders. However, a security’s valuation may
differ depending on the method used for determining value, and no assurance can
be given that fair value pricing of securities will successfully eliminate all
potential opportunities for such trading gains.
The use of
fair value pricing has the effect of valuing a security based upon the price the
fund might reasonably expect to receive if it sold that security in an orderly
transaction between market participants, but does not guarantee that the
security can be sold at the fair value price. Further, because of the inherent
uncertainty and subjective nature of fair valuation, a fair valuation price may
differ significantly from the value that would have been used had a readily
available market price for the investment existed and these differences could be
material.
Regarding the
fund’s investment in an underlying fund that is not an ETF, which (as noted
above) is valued at such underlying fund’s NAV, the prospectus for such
underlying fund explains the circumstances and effects of fair value pricing for
that underlying fund.
Buy
and sell prices
When you buy
shares, you pay the NAV, plus any applicable sales charges, as described
earlier. When you sell shares, you receive the NAV, minus any applicable
deferred sales charges.
Execution
of requests
The fund is
open for business when the NYSE is open, typically 9:30 a.m. to
4:00 p.m. Eastern time,
Monday through Friday. A purchase or redemption order received in good order by
the fund prior to the close of regular trading on the NYSE, on a day the fund is
open for business, will be effected at that day’s NAV. An order received in good
order after the fund close will generally be effected at the NAV determined on
the next business day. In case of emergency or other disruption resulting in the
NYSE not opening for trading or the NYSE closing at a time other than the
regularly scheduled close, the time until which orders are accepted may vary to
the extent permitted by the Securities and Exchange Commission and applicable
regulations. This may result in the fund closing for business prior to the time
at which the fund’s NAV is determined. In this case, orders submitted after the
fund closing may receive the NAV determined on the next business
day.
At times of
peak activity, it may be difficult to place requests by telephone, if available
for your share class. During these times, consider using EASI-Line (if available
for your share class), accessing jhinvestments.com, or sending your request in
writing.
The fund
typically expects to mail or wire redemption proceeds between 1 and 3 business
days following the receipt of the shareholder’s redemption request. Processing
time is not dependent on the chosen delivery method. In unusual circumstances,
the fund may temporarily suspend the processing of sell requests or may postpone
payment of proceeds for up to three business days or longer, as allowed by
federal securities laws.
Under normal
market conditions, the fund typically expects to meet redemption requests
through holdings of cash or cash equivalents or through sales of portfolio
securities, and may access other available liquidity facilities. In unusual or
stressed market conditions, such as, for example, during a period of time in
which a foreign securities exchange is closed, in addition to the methods used
in normal market conditions, the fund may meet redemption requests through the
use of its line of credit, interfund lending facility, redemptions in kind, or
such other liquidity means or facilities as the fund may have in place from time
to time.
Telephone
transactions
For your
protection, telephone requests may be recorded in order to verify their
accuracy. Also for your protection, telephone redemption transactions are not
permitted on accounts in which a name, mailing address, or recorded bank has
changed within the past 30 days. Proceeds from telephone transactions can only
be sent to the address or bank on record.
Exchanges
and conversions
You may
exchange Class A or Class C shares of one John Hancock fund for shares of the
same class of any other John Hancock fund that is then offering that class,
generally without paying any sales charges, if applicable.
You may
exchange Class I or Class R6 shares of one John Hancock fund for shares of the
same class of any other John Hancock fund or for John Hancock Money Market Fund
Class A shares.
The
registration for both accounts involved in an exchange must be
identical.
Note: Once
exchanged into John Hancock Money Market Fund Class A shares, shares may only be
exchanged back into the original class from which the shares were
exchanged.
As applicable,
shares acquired in an exchange will be subject to the CDSC rate and holding
schedule of the fund in which such shares were originally purchased if and when
such shares are redeemed. For purposes of determining the holding period for
calculating the CDSC, shares will continue to age from their original purchase
date.
Provided the
fund’s eligibility requirements are met, and to the extent the referenced share
class is offered by the fund, an investor in the fund pursuant to a fee-based,
wrap, or other investment platform program of certain firms, as determined by
the fund, may be afforded an opportunity to make a conversion of (i) Class A
shares and/or Class C shares (not subject to a CDSC) also owned by the investor
in the same fund to Class I shares or Class R6 shares of that fund; or (ii)
Class I shares also owned by the investor to Class R6 shares of the same fund.
Investors that no longer participate in a fee-based, wrap, or other investment
platform program of certain firms may be afforded an opportunity to make a
conversion to
40
Your
account
Class A shares
of the same fund. Class C shares may be converted to Class A at the request of
the applicable financial intermediary after the expiration of the CDSC period,
provided that the financial intermediary through which a shareholder purchased
or holds Class C shares has records verifying that the Class C share CDSC period
has expired and the position is held in an omnibus or dealer-controlled account.
The fund may in its sole discretion permit a conversion of one share class to
another share class of the same fund in certain circumstances other than those
described above.
In addition,
Trustees, employees of the advisor or its affiliates, employees of the
subadvisor, members of the fund’s portfolio management team and the spouses and
children (under age 21) of the aforementioned, may make a conversion of Class A
or Class I shares also owned by the investor in the same fund to Class R6
shares. If Class R6 shares are unavailable, such investors may make a conversion
of Class A shares in the same fund to Class I shares.
The conversion
of one share class to another share class of the same fund in these particular
circumstances should not cause the investor to realize taxable gain or loss. For
further details, see “Additional information concerning taxes” in the SAI for
information regarding taxation upon the redemption or exchange of shares of the
fund (see the back cover of this prospectus).
The fund may
change or cancel its exchange policies at any time, upon 60 days’ written notice
to its shareholders. For further details, see “Additional services and programs”
in the SAI (see the back cover of this prospectus).
Excessive
trading
The fund is
intended for long-term investment purposes only and does not knowingly accept
shareholders who engage in market timing or other types of excessive short-term
trading. Short-term trading into and out of the fund can disrupt portfolio
investment strategies and may increase fund expenses for all shareholders,
including long-term shareholders who do not generate these
costs.
Right
to reject or restrict purchase and exchange orders
Purchases and
exchanges should be made primarily for investment purposes. The fund reserves
the right to restrict, reject, or cancel (with respect to cancellations within
one day of the order), for any reason and without any prior notice, any purchase
or exchange order, including transactions representing excessive trading and
transactions accepted by any shareholder’s financial intermediary. For example,
the fund may, in its discretion, restrict, reject, or cancel a purchase or
exchange order even if the transaction is not subject to a specific limitation
on exchange activity, as described below, if the fund or its agent determines
that accepting the order could interfere with the efficient management of the
fund’s portfolio, or otherwise not be in the fund’s best interest in light of
unusual trading activity related to your account. In the event that the fund
rejects or cancels an exchange request, neither the redemption nor the purchase
side of the exchange will be processed. If you would like the redemption request
to be processed even if the purchase order is rejected, you should submit
separate redemption and purchase orders rather than placing an exchange order.
The fund reserves the right to delay for up to one business day, consistent with
applicable law, the
processing of
exchange requests in the event that, in the fund’s judgment, such delay would be
in the fund’s best interest, in which case both the redemption and purchase side
of the exchange will receive the fund’s NAV at the conclusion of the delay
period. The fund, through its agents in their sole discretion, may impose these
remedial actions at the account holder level or the underlying shareholder
level.
Exchange
limitation policies
The Board of
Trustees has adopted the following policies and procedures by which the fund,
subject to the limitations described below, takes steps reasonably designed to
curtail excessive trading practices.
Limitation
on exchange activity
The fund or
its agent may reject or cancel a purchase order, suspend or terminate the
exchange privilege, or terminate the ability of an investor to invest in John
Hancock funds if the fund or its agent determines that a proposed transaction
involves market timing or disruptive trading that it believes is likely to be
detrimental to the fund. The fund or its agent cannot ensure that it will be
able to identify all cases of market timing or disruptive trading, although it
attempts to have adequate procedures in place to do so. The fund or its agent
may also reject or cancel any purchase order (including an exchange) from an
investor or group of investors for any other reason. Decisions to reject or
cancel purchase orders (including exchanges) in the fund are inherently
subjective and will be made in a manner believed to be in the best interest of
the fund’s shareholders. The fund does not have any arrangement to permit market
timing or disruptive trading.
Exchanges made
on the same day in the same account are aggregated for purposes of counting the
number and dollar amount of exchanges made by the account holder. The exchange
limits referenced above will not be imposed or may be modified under certain
circumstances. For example, these exchange limits may be modified for accounts
held by certain retirement plans to conform to plan exchange limits, ERISA
considerations, or U.S. Department of Labor regulations. Certain automated or
preestablished exchange, asset allocation, and dollar-cost-averaging programs
are not subject to these exchange limits. These programs are excluded from the
exchange limitation since the fund believes that they are advantageous to
shareholders and do not offer an effective means for market timing or excessive
trading strategies. These investment tools involve regular and predetermined
purchase or redemption requests made well in advance of any knowledge of events
affecting the market on the date of the purchase or redemption.
These exchange
limits are subject to the fund’s ability to monitor exchange activity, as
discussed under “Limitation on the ability to detect and curtail excessive
trading practices” below. Depending upon the composition of the fund’s
shareholder accounts, and in light of the limitations on the ability of the fund
to detect and curtail excessive trading practices, a significant percentage of
the fund’s shareholders may not be subject to the exchange limitation policy
described above. In applying the exchange limitation policy, the fund considers
information available to it at the time and reserves the right to consider
trading activity in a single account or multiple accounts under common
ownership, control, or influence.
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account
Limitation
on the ability to detect and curtail excessive trading practices
Shareholders
seeking to engage in excessive trading practices sometimes deploy a variety of
strategies to avoid detection and, despite the efforts of the fund to prevent
excessive trading, there is no guarantee that the fund or its agent will be able
to identify such shareholders or curtail their trading practices. The ability of
the fund and its agent to detect and curtail excessive trading practices may
also be limited by operational systems and technological limitations. Because
the fund will not always be able to detect frequent trading activity, investors
should not assume that the fund will be able to detect or prevent all frequent
trading or other practices that disadvantage the fund. For example, the ability
of the fund to monitor trades that are placed by omnibus or other nominee
accounts is severely limited in those instances in which the financial
intermediary, including a financial advisor, broker, retirement plan
administrator, or fee-based program sponsor, maintains the records of the fund’s
underlying beneficial owners. Omnibus or other nominee account arrangements are
common forms of holding shares of the fund, particularly among certain financial
intermediaries, such as financial advisors, brokers, retirement plan
administrators, or fee-based program sponsors. These arrangements often permit
the financial intermediary to aggregate its clients’ transactions and ownership
positions and do not identify the particular underlying shareholder(s) to the
fund. However, the fund will work with financial intermediaries as necessary to
discourage shareholders from engaging in abusive trading practices and to impose
restrictions on excessive trades. In this regard, the fund has entered into
information-sharing agreements with financial intermediaries pursuant to which
these intermediaries are required to provide to the fund, at the fund’s request,
certain information relating to their customers investing in the fund through
omnibus or other nominee accounts. The fund will use this information to attempt
to identify excessive trading practices. Financial intermediaries are
contractually required to follow any instructions from the fund to restrict or
prohibit future purchases from shareholders that are found to have engaged in
excessive trading in violation of the fund’s policies. The fund cannot guarantee
the accuracy of the information provided to it from financial intermediaries and
so cannot ensure that it will be able to detect abusive trading practices that
occur through omnibus or other nominee accounts. As a consequence, the fund’s
ability to monitor and discourage excessive trading practices in these types of
accounts may be limited.
Excessive
trading risk
To the extent
that the fund or its agent is unable to curtail excessive trading practices in
the fund, these practices may interfere with the efficient management of the
fund’s portfolio and may result in the fund engaging in certain activities to a
greater extent than it otherwise would, such as maintaining higher cash
balances, using its line of credit, and engaging in increased portfolio
transactions. Increased portfolio transactions and use of the line of credit
would correspondingly increase the fund’s operating costs and decrease the
fund’s investment performance. Maintenance of higher levels of cash balances
would likewise result in lower fund investment performance during periods of
rising markets.
While
excessive trading can potentially occur in the fund, certain types of funds are
more likely than others to be targets of excessive trading. For
example:
•
A fund that
invests a significant portion of its assets in small- or mid-capitalization
stocks or securities in particular industries that may trade infrequently or are
fair valued as discussed under “Valuation of securities” entails a greater risk
of excessive trading, as investors may seek to trade fund shares in an effort to
benefit from their understanding of the value of those types of securities
(referred to as price arbitrage).
•
A fund that
invests a material portion of its assets in securities of foreign issuers may be
a potential target for excessive trading if investors seek to engage in price
arbitrage based upon general trends in the securities markets that occur
subsequent to the close of the primary market for such securities.
•
A fund that
invests a significant portion of its assets in below-investment-grade (junk)
bonds that may trade infrequently or are fair valued as discussed under
“Valuation of securities” incurs a greater risk of excessive trading, as
investors may seek to trade fund shares in an effort to benefit from their
understanding of the value of those types of securities (referred to as price
arbitrage).
Any frequent
trading strategies may interfere with efficient management of a fund’s portfolio
and raise costs. A fund that invests in the types of securities discussed above
may be exposed to this risk to a greater degree than a fund that invests in
highly liquid securities. These risks would be less significant, for example, in
a fund that primarily invests in U.S. government securities, money market
instruments, investment-grade corporate issuers, or large-capitalization U.S.
equity securities. Any successful price arbitrage may cause dilution in the
value of the fund shares held by other shareholders.
Account
information
The fund is
required by law to obtain information for verifying an account holder’s
identity. For example, an individual will be required to supply his or her name,
residential address, date of birth, and Social Security number. If you do not
provide the required information, we may not be able to open your account. If
verification is unsuccessful, the fund may close your account, redeem your
shares at the next NAV, minus any applicable sales charges, and take any other
steps that it deems reasonable.
Certificated
shares
The fund does
not issue share certificates. Shares are electronically
recorded.
Sales
in advance of purchase payments
When you place
a request to sell shares for which the purchase money has not yet been
collected, the request will be executed in a timely fashion, but the fund will
not release the proceeds to you until your purchase payment clears. This may
take up to 10 business days after the purchase.
42
Your
account
Dividends
and account policies
Account
statements
For Class A
and Class C shares, in general, you will receive account statements as
follows:
•
after every
transaction (except a dividend reinvestment, automatic investment, or systematic
withdrawal) that affects your account balance
•
after any
changes of name or address of the registered owner(s)
•
in all other
circumstances, every quarter
For Class I
and Class R6 shares, in general, you will receive account statements as
follows:
•
after every
transaction (except a dividend reinvestment) that affects your account
balance
•
after any
changes of name or address of the registered owner(s)
•
in all other
circumstances, every quarter
Every year you
should also receive, if applicable, a Form 1099 tax information statement,
mailed by February 15.
Dividends
The fund typically declares
and pays income dividends quarterly. Capital gains, if any, are typically
distributed at least annually, typically after the end of the fund’s fiscal
year.
Dividend
reinvestments
Most investors
have their dividends reinvested in additional shares of the same class of the
same fund. If you choose this option, or if you do not indicate any choice, your
dividends will be reinvested. Alternatively, you may choose to have your
dividends and capital gains sent directly to your bank account or a check may be
mailed if your combined dividend and capital gains amount is $10 or more.
However, if the check is not deliverable or the combined dividend and capital
gains amount is less than $10, your proceeds will be reinvested. If five or more
of your dividend or capital gains checks remain uncashed after 180 days, all
subsequent dividends and capital gains will be reinvested. No front-end sales
charge or CDSC will be imposed on shares derived from reinvestment of dividends
or capital gains distributions.
Taxability
of dividends
For investors
who are not exempt from federal income taxes, dividends you receive from the
fund, whether reinvested or taken as cash, are generally considered taxable.
Dividends from the fund’s short-term capital gains are taxable as ordinary
income. Dividends from the fund’s long-term capital gains are taxable at a lower
rate. Whether gains are short-term or long-term depends on the fund’s holding
period. Some dividends paid in January may be taxable as if they had been paid
the previous December.
The Form 1099
that is mailed to you every February, if applicable, details your dividends and
their federal tax category, although you should verify your tax liability with
your tax professional.
Returns
of capital
If the fund’s
distributions exceed its taxable income and capital gains realized during a
taxable year, all or a portion of the distributions made in
the same
taxable year may be recharacterized as a return of capital to shareholders. A
return of capital distribution will generally not be taxable, but will reduce
each shareholder’s cost basis in the fund and result in a higher reported
capital gain or lower reported capital loss when those shares on which the
distribution was received are sold.
Taxability
of transactions
Any time you
sell or exchange shares, it is considered a taxable event for you if you are not
exempt from federal income taxes. Depending on the purchase price and the sale
price of the shares you sell or exchange, you may have a gain or a loss on the
transaction. You are responsible for any tax liabilities generated by your
transactions.
Small
accounts
If the value
of your account of Class A or Class C shares is less than $1,000, you may be
asked to purchase more shares within 30 days. If you do not take action, the
fund may close out your account and mail you the proceeds. Alternatively, the
fund may charge you $20 a year to maintain your account. You will not be charged
a CDSC if your account is closed for this reason.
Additional
investor services
Monthly
Automatic Accumulation Program (MAAP)
MAAP lets you
set up regular investments from paychecks or bank accounts to the John Hancock
fund(s) to purchase Class A and Class C shares. Investors determine the
frequency and amount of investments ($25 minimum per month), and they can
terminate the program at any time. To establish, you must satisfy the minimum
initial investment requirements specified in the section “Opening an account”
and complete the appropriate parts of the account
application.
Systematic
withdrawal plan
This plan may
be used for routine bill payments or periodic withdrawals from your account of
Class A and Class C shares. To establish:
•
Make sure you
have at least $5,000 worth of shares in your account.
•
Make sure you
are not planning to invest more money in this account (buying shares during a
period when you are also selling shares of the same fund is not advantageous to
you because of sales charges).
•
Specify the
payee(s). The payee may be yourself or any other party, and there is no limit to
the number of payees you may have, as long as they are all on the same payment
schedule.
•
Determine the
schedule: monthly, quarterly, semiannually, annually, or in certain selected
months.
•
Fill out the
relevant part of the account application. To add a systematic withdrawal plan to
an existing account, contact your financial professional or Signature
Services.
Retirement
plans
John Hancock
funds offer a range of retirement plans, including Traditional and Roth IRAs,
Coverdell ESAs, SIMPLE plans, and SEPs. Using these plans, you can invest in any
John Hancock fund. To find out more, call Signature Services at
800-225-5291.
John Hancock
does not accept requests to establish new John Hancock custodial 403(b)(7)
accounts, does not accept requests for exchanges or
43
Your
account
transfers into
your existing John Hancock custodial 403(b)(7) accounts, and requires additional
disclosure documentation if you direct John Hancock to exchange or transfer some
or all of your John Hancock custodial 403(b)(7) account assets to another
403(b)(7) contract or account. In addition, the fund no longer accepts salary
deferrals into 403(b)(7) accounts. Please refer to the SAI for more information
regarding these restrictions.
Disclosure
of fund holdings
The following
information for the fund is posted on the website, jhinvestments.com, generally
on the fifth business day after month end: top 10 holdings; top 10 sector
analysis; total return/yield; top 10 countries; average quality/maturity;
beta/alpha; and top 10 portfolio composition. All of the holdings of the fund
will be posted to the website no earlier than 15 days after each calendar month
end, and will remain posted on the website for six months. All of the fund's
holdings as of the end of the third month of every fiscal quarter will be
disclosed on Form N-PORT within 60 days of the end of the fiscal quarter. All of
the fund's holdings as of the end of the second and fourth fiscal quarters will
be disclosed on Form N-CSR within 70 days of the end of such fiscal quarters. A
description of the fund’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure
of its portfolio securities is available in the SAI.
44
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Appendix
1 - Intermediary sales charge waivers
Merrill
Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (Merrill Lynch)
Effective June
30, 2020, shareholders purchasing fund shares through a Merrill Lynch platform
or account are eligible only for the following load waivers (front-end sales
charge waivers and contingent deferred, or back-end, sales charge waivers) and
discounts, which may differ from those disclosed elsewhere in this fund’s
prospectus or SAI:
Front-end
Sales Load Waivers on Class A shares available at Merrill Lynch
•
Employer-sponsored
retirement, deferred compensation and employee benefit plans (including health
savings accounts) and trusts used to fund those plans, provided that the shares
are not held in a commission-based brokerage account and shares are held for the
benefit of the plan
•
Shares
purchased by a 529 Plan (does not include 529 Plan units or 529-specific share
classes or equivalents)
•
Shares
purchased through a Merrill Lynch affiliated investment advisory
program
•
Shares
exchanged due to the holdings moving from a Merrill Lynch affiliated investment
advisory program to a Merrill Lynch brokerage (non-advisory) account pursuant to
Merrill Lynch’s policies relating to sales load discounts and
waivers
•
Shares
purchased by third party investment advisors on behalf of their advisory clients
through Merrill Lynch’s platform
•
Shares of
funds purchased through the Merrill Edge Self-Directed platform (if
applicable)
•
Shares
purchased through reinvestment of capital gains distributions and dividend
reinvestment when purchasing shares of the same fund (but not any other fund
within the fund family)
•
Shares
exchanged from Class C (i.e. level-load) shares of the same fund pursuant to
Merrill Lynch’s policies relating to sales load discounts and
waivers
•
Employees and
registered representatives of Merrill Lynch or its affiliates and their family
members
•
Directors or
Trustees of the fund, and employees of the fund’s investment adviser or any of
its affiliates, as described in the prospectus
•
Eligible
shares purchased from the proceeds of redemptions within the same fund family,
provided (1) the repurchase occurs within 90 days following the redemption, (2)
the redemption and purchase occur in the same account, and (3) redeemed shares
were subject to a front-end or deferred sales load (known as Rights of
Reinstatement). Automated transactions (i.e. systematic purchases and
withdrawals) and purchases made after shares are automatically sold to pay
Merrill Lynch’s account maintenance fees are not eligible for
reinstatement
CDSC
Waivers on Class A and Class C shares available at Merrill Lynch
•
Death or
disability of the shareholder
•
Shares sold as
part of a systematic withdrawal plan as described in the fund’s
prospectus
•
Return of
excess contributions from an IRA Account
•
Shares sold as
part of a required minimum distribution for IRA and retirement accounts pursuant
to the Internal Revenue Code
•
Shares sold to
pay Merrill Lynch fees but only if the transaction is initiated by Merrill
Lynch
•
Shares
acquired through a Right of Reinstatement
•
Shares held in
retirement brokerage accounts, that are exchanged for a lower cost share class
due to transfer to certain fee based accounts or platforms (applicable to Class
A and Class C shares only)
•
Shares
received through an exchange due to the holdings moving from a Merrill Lynch
affiliated investment advisory program to a Merrill Lynch brokerage
(non-advisory) account pursuant to Merrill Lynch’s policies relating to sales
load discounts and waivers
Front-end
Load Discounts Available at Merrill Lynch; Breakpoints, Rights of Accumulation
& Letters of Intent
•
Breakpoints as
described in the fund’s prospectus
•
Rights of
Accumulation (ROA) which entitle shareholders to breakpoint discounts as
described in the fund’s prospectus will be automatically calculated based on the
aggregated holding of fund family assets held by accounts (including 529 program
holdings where applicable) within the purchaser’s household at Merrill Lynch.
Eligible fund family assets not held at Merrill Lynch may be included in the ROA
calculation only if the shareholder notifies his or her financial professional
about such assets
•
Letters of
Intent (LOI) which allow for breakpoint discounts based on anticipated purchases
within a fund family, through Merrill Lynch, over a 13-month period of time (if
applicable)
Ameriprise
Financial Services, Inc. (Ameriprise Financial)
The
following information applies to Class A shares purchases if you have an account
with or otherwise purchase fund shares through Ameriprise Financial:
Effective
January 15, 2021, shareholders purchasing fund shares through an Ameriprise
Financial retail brokerage account are eligible for the following front-end
sales charge waivers, which may differ from those disclosed elsewhere in this
fund’s prospectus or SAI:
Class
A Shares Front-End Sales Charge Waivers Available at Ameriprise
Financial
•
Employer-sponsored
retirement plans (e.g., 401(k) plans, 457 plans, employer-sponsored 403(b)
plans, profit sharing and money purchase pension plans and defined benefit
plans). For purposes of this provision, employer-sponsored retirement plans do
not include SEP IRAs, Simple IRAs or SAR-SEPs
•
Shares
purchased through reinvestment of capital gains distributions and dividend
reinvestment when purchasing shares of the same fund (but not any other fund
within the same fund family)
•
Shares
exchanged from Class C shares of the same fund in the month of or following the
7-year anniversary of the purchase date. To the extent that this prospectus
elsewhere provides for a waiver with respect to exchanges of Class C shares or
conversion of Class C shares following a shorter holding period, that waiver
will apply
•
Employees and
registered representatives of Ameriprise Financial or its affiliates and their
immediate family members
45
Your
account
•
Shares
purchased by or through qualified accounts (including IRAs, Coverdell Education
Savings Accounts, 401(k)s, 403(b) TSCAs subject to ERISA and defined benefit
plans) that are held by a covered family member, defined as an Ameriprise
financial advisor and/or the advisor’s spouse, advisor’s lineal ascendant
(mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, great grandmother, great
grandfather), advisor’s lineal descendant (son, step-son, daughter,
step-daughter, grandson, granddaughter, great grandson, great granddaughter) or
any spouse of a covered family member who is a lineal descendant
•
Shares
purchased from the proceeds of redemptions within the same fund family, provided
(1) the repurchase occurs within 90 days following the redemption, (2) the
redemption and purchase occur in the same account, and (3) redeemed shares were
subject to a front-end or deferred sales load (i.e. Rights of
Reinstatement)
In addition,
shareholders purchasing fund shares that are available through an Ameriprise
Financial Advisory account are eligible for front-end sales charge waivers,
which may differ from those disclosed elsewhere in this fund’s prospectus or
SAI.
Morgan
Stanley Smith Barney (Morgan Stanley)
Effective July
1, 2018, shareholders purchasing fund shares through a Morgan Stanley Wealth
Management transactional brokerage account which is not held directly at the
fund are eligible only for the following front-end sales charge waivers with
respect to Class A shares, which may differ from and may be more limited than
those disclosed elsewhere in this fund’s Prospectus or SAI:
Front-end
Sales Charge Waivers on Class A Shares available at Morgan Stanley Wealth
Management
•
Employer-sponsored
retirement plans (e.g., 401(k) plans, 457 plans, employer-sponsored 403(b)
plans, profit sharing and money purchase pension plans and defined benefit
plans). For purposes of this provision, employer-sponsored retirement plans do
not include SEP IRAs, Simple IRAs, SAR-SEPs or Keogh plans
•
Morgan Stanley
employee and employee-related accounts according to Morgan Stanley’s account
linking rules
•
Shares
purchased through reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions when
purchasing shares of the same fund
•
Shares
purchased through a Morgan Stanley self-directed brokerage account
•
Class C (i.e.,
level-load) shares that are no longer subject to a contingent deferred sales
charge and are converted to Class A shares of the same fund by Morgan Stanley
Wealth Management pursuant to its share class conversion program
•
Shares
purchased from the proceeds of redemptions within the same fund family, provided
(i) the repurchase occurs within 90 days following the redemption, (ii) the
redemption and purchase occur in the same account, and (iii) redeemed shares
were subject to a front-end or deferred sales charge
Raymond
James & Associates, Inc., Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. and each
entity’s affiliates (Raymond James)
Effective
March 1, 2019, shareholders purchasing fund shares through a Raymond James
platform or account, or through an introducing broker-dealer or independent
registered investment adviser for which
Raymond James
provides trade execution, clearance, and/or custody services, are eligible only
for the following load waivers (front-end sales charge waivers and contingent
deferred, or back-end, sales charge waivers) and discounts, which may differ
from those disclosed elsewhere in this fund’s prospectus or SAI.
Front-end
sales load waivers on Class A shares available at Raymond James
•
Shares
purchased in an investment advisory program
•
Shares
purchased within the same fund family through a systematic reinvestment of
capital gains distributions and dividend reinvestment when purchasing shares of
the same fund
•
Employees and
registered representatives of Raymond James or its affiliates and their family
members as designated by Raymond James
•
Shares
purchased from the proceeds of redemptions within the same fund family, provided
(1) the repurchase occurs within 90 days following the redemption, (2) the
redemption and purchase occur in the same account, and (3) redeemed shares were
subject to a front-end or deferred sales load (known as Rights of
Reinstatement)
•
A shareholder
in the fund’s Class C shares will have their shares converted at net asset value
to Class A shares (or the appropriate share class) of the fund if the shares are
no longer subject to a CDSC and the conversion is in line with the policies and
procedures of Raymond James
CDSC
Waivers on Class A and Class C shares available at Raymond James
•
Death or
disability of the shareholder
•
Shares sold as
part of a systematic withdrawal plan as described in the fund’s
prospectus
•
Return of
excess contributions from an IRA Account
•
Shares sold as
part of a required minimum distribution for IRA and retirement accounts due to
the shareholder reaching the qualified age based on applicable IRS regulations
as described in the fund’s prospectus
•
Shares sold to
pay Raymond James fees but only if the transaction is initiated by Raymond
James
•
Shares
acquired through a right of reinstatement
Front-end
load discounts available at Raymond James: breakpoints, and/or rights of
accumulation, and/or letters of intent
•
Breakpoints as
described in the fund’s prospectus
•
Rights of
accumulation which entitle shareholders to breakpoint discounts will be
automatically calculated based on the aggregated holding of fund family assets
held by accounts within the purchaser’s household at Raymond James. Eligible
fund family assets not held at Raymond James may be included in the calculation
of rights of accumulation only if the shareholder notifies his or her financial
professional about such assets
•
Letters of
intent which allow for breakpoint discounts based on anticipated purchases
within a fund family, over a 13-month time period. Eligible fund family assets
not held at Raymond James may be included in the calculation of letters of
intent only if the shareholder notifies his or her financial professional about
such assets
46
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Edward
D. Jones & Co., L.P. (Edward Jones)
Effective on or after January
1, 2024, the following information supersedes prior information with respect to
transactions and positions held in fund shares through an Edward Jones system.
Clients of Edward Jones (also referred to as “shareholders”) purchasing fund
shares on the Edward Jones commission and fee-based platforms are eligible only
for the following sales charge discounts (also referred to as “breakpoints”) and
waivers, which can differ from discounts and waivers described elsewhere in the
mutual fund prospectus or statement of additional information (SAI) or through
another broker-dealer. In all instances, it is the shareholder's responsibility
to inform Edward Jones at the time of purchase of any relationship, holdings of
John Hancock Investment Management, or other facts qualifying the purchaser for
discounts or waivers. Edward Jones can ask for documentation of such
circumstance. Shareholders should contact Edward Jones if they have questions
regarding their eligibility for these discounts and waivers.
Front-end
Sales Charge Waivers on Class A shares available at Edward Jones
Sales charges are waived for
the following shareholders and in the following situations:
•
Associates of Edward Jones and
its affiliates and their family members who are in the same pricing group (as
determined by Edward Jones under its policies and procedures) as the associate.
This waiver will continue for the remainder of the associate’s life if the
associate retires from Edward Jones in good-standing and remains in good
standing pursuant to Edward Jones’ policies and procedures
•
Shares purchased in an Edward
Jones fee-based program
•
Shares purchased through
reinvestment of capital gains distributions and dividend
reinvestment
•
Shares purchased from the
proceeds of redeemed shares of the same fund family so long as the following
conditions are met: 1) the proceeds are from the sale of shares within 60 days
of the purchase, and 2) the sale and purchase are made from a share class that
charges a front load and one of the following:
•
The redemption and repurchase
occur in the same account
•
The redemption proceeds are
used to process an: IRA contribution, excess contributions, conversion,
recharacterizing of contributions, or distribution, and the repurchase is done
in an account within the same Edward Jones grouping for Rights of Accumulation
(ROA)
•
Shares exchanged into Class A
shares from another share class so long as the exchange is into the same fund
and was initiated at the discretion of Edward Jones. Edward Jones is responsible
for any remaining CDSC due to the fund company, if applicable. Any future
purchases are subject to the applicable sales charge as disclosed in the
prospectus
•
Exchanges from Class C shares
to Class A shares of the same fund, generally, in the 84th month following the
anniversary of the purchase date or earlier at the discretion of Edward
Jones
CDSC
Waivers on Class A and Class C shares available at Edward Jones
If the shareholder purchases
shares that are subject to a CDSC and those shares are redeemed before the CDSC
is expired, the shareholder is responsible to pay the CDSC except in the
following conditions:
•
The death or disability of the
shareholder
•
Systematic withdrawals with up
to 10% per year of the account value
•
Return of excess contributions
from an Individual Retirement Account (IRA)
•
Shares redeemed as part of a
required minimum distribution for IRA and retirement accounts if the redemption
is taken in or after the year the shareholder reaches qualified age based on
applicable IRS regulations
•
Shares redeemed to pay Edward
Jones fees or costs in such cases where the transaction is initiated by Edward
Jones
•
Shares exchanged in an Edward
Jones fee-based program
•
Shares acquired through NAV
reinstatement
•
Shares redeemed at the
discretion of Edward Jones for Minimum Balances, as described below
Front-end
Load Discounts Available at Edward Jones; Breakpoints, Rights of Accumulation
& Letter of Intent
•
Breakpoint pricing, otherwise
known as volume pricing, at dollar thresholds, as described in this
prospectus
•
Rights of Accumulation (ROA).
The applicable sales charge on a purchase of Class A shares is determined by
taking into account all share classes (except certain money market funds and any
assets held in group retirement plans) of John Hancock Investment Management
held by the shareholder or in an account grouped by Edward Jones with other
accounts for the purpose of providing certain pricing considerations (pricing
groups). If grouping assets as a shareholder, this includes all share classes
held on the Edward Jones platform and/or held on another platform. The inclusion
of eligible fund family assets in the ROA calculation is dependent on the
shareholder notifying Edward Jones of such assets at the time of calculation.
Money market funds are included only if such shares were sold with a sales
charge at the time of purchase or acquired in exchange for shares purchased with
a sales charge.
•
The employer maintaining a SEP
IRA plan and/or SIMPLE IRA plan may elect to establish or change ROA for the IRA
accounts associated with the plan to a plan-level grouping as opposed to
including all share classes at a shareholder or pricing group level.
•
ROA is determined by
calculating the higher of cost minus redemptions or market value (current shares
x NAV)
•
Letter of Intent (LOI).
Through a LOI, shareholders can receive the sales charge and breakpoint
discounts for purchases shareholders intend to make over a 13-month period from
the date Edward Jones receives the LOI. The LOI is determined by calculating the
higher of cost or market value of qualifying holdings at LOI initiation in
combination with the value that the shareholder intends to buy over a 13-month
period to calculate the front-end sales charge and any breakpoint discounts.
Each purchase the shareholder makes during that 13-month period will receive the
sales charge and breakpoint discount that applies to the total amount. The
inclusion of eligible fund family assets in the LOI calculation is dependent on
the shareholder notifying Edward Jones of such assets at the time of
calculation. Purchases made before the LOI is received by Edward Jones are not
adjusted under the LOI and will not reduce the sales charge previously paid.
Sales charges will be adjusted if LOI is not met.
•
If the employer maintaining a
SEP IRA plan and/or SIMPLE IRA plan has elected to establish or change ROA for
the IRA accounts
47
Your
account
associated with the plan to a
plan-level grouping, LOIs will also be at the plan-level and may only be
established by the employer
Other
Important Information Regarding Transactions Through Edward Jones
Minimum
Purchase Amounts
•
Initial purchase minimum:
$250
•
Subsequent purchase minimum:
none
Minimum
Balances
•
Edward Jones has the right to
redeem at its discretion fund holdings with a balance of $250 or less. The
following are examples of accounts that are not included in this
policy:
•
A fee-based account held on an
Edward Jones platform
•
A 529 account held on an
Edward Jones platform
•
An account with an active
systematic investment plan or LOI
Exchanging
Share Classes
•
At any time it deems
necessary, Edward Jones has the authority to exchange at NAV a shareholder’s
holdings in a fund to Class A shares of the same fund
Janney
Montgomery Scott LLC (Janney)
Effective May
1, 2020, if you purchase fund shares through a Janney brokerage account, you
will be eligible for the following load waivers (front-end sales charge waivers
and contingent deferred sales charge (CDSC), or back-end sales charge, waivers)
and discounts, which may differ from those disclosed elsewhere in this fund’s
prospectus or SAI.
Front-end
sales charge* waivers on Class A shares available at Janney
•
Shares
purchased through reinvestment of capital gains distributions and dividend
reinvestment when purchasing shares of the same fund (but not any other fund
within the fund family)
•
Shares
purchased by employees and registered representatives of Janney or its
affiliates and their family members as designated by Janney
•
Shares purchased from the
proceeds of redemptions within the same fund family, provided (1) the repurchase
occurs within ninety (90) days following the redemption, (2) the redemption and
purchase occur in the same account, and (3) redeemed shares were subject to a
front-end or deferred sales load (i.e., right of reinstatement)
•
Employer-sponsored
retirement plans (e.g., 401(k) plans, 457 plans, employer-sponsored 403(b)
plans, profit sharing and money purchase pension plans and defined benefit
plans). For purposes of this provision, employer-sponsored retirement plans do
not include SEP IRAs, Simple IRAs, SAR-SEPs or Keogh plans
•
Shares
acquired through a right of reinstatement
•
Class C shares
that are no longer subject to a contingent deferred sales charge and are
converted to Class A shares of the same fund pursuant to Janney’s policies and
procedures
CDSC
waivers on Class A and Class C shares available at Janney
•
Shares sold
upon the death or disability of the shareholder
•
Shares sold as
part of a systematic withdrawal plan as described in the fund’s
prospectus
•
Shares
purchased in connection with a return of excess contributions from an IRA
account
•
Shares sold as
part of a required minimum distribution for IRA and retirement accounts if the
redemption is taken in or after the year the shareholder reaches qualified age
based on applicable IRS regulations
•
Shares sold to
pay Janney fees but only if the transaction is initiated by Janney
•
Shares
acquired through a right of reinstatement
•
Shares
exchanged into the same share class of a different fund
Front-end
sales charge* discounts available at Janney: breakpoints, rights of
accumulation, and/or letters of intent
•
Breakpoints as
described in the fund’s prospectus
•
Rights of
accumulation (ROA), which entitle shareholders to breakpoint discounts, will be
automatically calculated based on the aggregated holding of fund family assets
held by accounts within the purchaser’s household at Janney. Eligible fund
family assets not held at Janney may be included in the ROA calculation only if
the shareholder notifies his or her financial professional about such
assets
•
Letters of
intent which allow for breakpoint discounts based on anticipated purchases
within a fund family, over a 13-month time period. Eligible fund family assets
not held at Janney may be included in the calculation of letters of intent only
if the shareholder notifies his or her financial professional about such
assets
*Also referred to as an
“initial sales charge.”
Robert
W. Baird & Co. (Baird)
Effective June
15, 2020, shareholders purchasing fund shares through a Baird platform or
account will only be eligible for the following sales charge waivers (front-end
sales charge waivers and contingent deferred sales charge (CDSC) waivers) and
discounts, which may differ from those disclosed elsewhere in this prospectus or
the SAI.
Front-End
Sales Charge Waivers on Class A shares Available at Baird
•
Shares
purchased through reinvestment of capital gains distributions and dividend
reinvestment when purchasing shares of the same fund
•
Shares
purchased by employees and registered representatives of Baird or its affiliates
and their family members as designated by Baird
•
Shares
purchased from the proceeds of redemptions within the same fund family, provided
(1) the repurchase occurs within 90 days following the redemption, (2) the
redemption and purchase occur in the same account, and (3) redeemed shares were
subject to a front-end or deferred sales charge (known as rights of
reinstatement)
•
Class C shares
will be converted at net asset value to Class A shares of the same fund if the
shares are no longer subject to CDSC and the conversion is in line with the
policies and procedures of Baird
•
Employer-sponsored
retirement plans or charitable accounts in a transactional brokerage account at
Baird, including 401(k) plans, 457 plans, employer-sponsored 403(b) plans,
profit sharing and money purchase pension plans and defined benefit plans. For
purposes of this provision, employer-sponsored retirement plans do not include
SEP IRAs, Simple IRAs or SAR-SEPs
48
Your
account
CDSC
Waivers on Class A and Class C shares Available at Baird
•
Shares sold
due to death or disability of the shareholder
•
Shares sold as
part of a systematic withdrawal plan as described in the fund’s
prospectus
•
Shares bought
due to returns of excess contributions from an IRA Account
•
Shares sold as
part of a required minimum distribution for IRA and retirement accounts due to
the shareholder reaching the qualified age based on applicable IRS regulations
as described in the fund’s prospectus
•
Shares sold to
pay Baird fees but only if the transaction is initiated by Baird
•
Shares
acquired through a right of reinstatement
Front-End
Sales Charge Discounts Available at Baird: Breakpoints and/or Rights of
Accumulations
•
Breakpoints as
described in this prospectus
•
Rights of
accumulations which entitle shareholders to breakpoint discounts will be
automatically calculated based on the aggregated holdings of fund family assets
held by accounts within the purchaser’s household at Baird. Eligible fund family
assets not held at Baird may be included in the rights of accumulations
calculation only if the shareholder notifies his or her financial advisor about
such assets
•
Letters of
Intent (LOI) allow for breakpoint discounts based on anticipated purchases
within the fund family through Baird, over a 13-month period of
time
Stifel,
Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated (Stifel)
Effective July
1, 2020, shareholders purchasing fund shares through a Stifel platform or
account or who own shares for which Stifel or an affiliate is the broker-dealer
of record are eligible for the following additional sales charge
waiver.
Front-end
Sales Load Waiver on Class A Shares
•
Class C shares
that have been held for more than seven (7) years converted to Class A shares of
the same fund pursuant to Stifel’s policies and procedures.
All other
sales charge waivers and reductions described elsewhere in the fund’s prospectus
or SAI still apply.
J.P.
MORGAN SECURITIES LLC
Effective October 1, 2023, if
you purchase or hold fund shares through an applicable J.P. Morgan Securities
LLC brokerage account, you will be eligible for the following sales charge
waivers (front-end sales charge waivers and contingent deferred sales charge
(CDSC), or back-end sales charge, waivers), share class conversion policy and
discounts, which may differ from those disclosed elsewhere in this fund’s
prospectus or Statement of Additional Information (SAI).
Front-end
sales charge waivers on Class A shares available at J.P. Morgan Securities
LLC
•
Shares exchanged from Class C
(i.e., level-load) shares that are no longer subject to a CDSC and are exchanged
into Class A shares of the same fund pursuant to J.P. Morgan Securities LLC’s
share class exchange policy.
•
Qualified employer-sponsored
defined contribution and defined benefit retirement plans, nonqualified deferred
compensation plans, other employee benefit plans and trusts used to fund those
plans. For purposes of this provision, such plans do not include SEP IRAs,
SIMPLE IRAs, SAR-SEPs or 501(c)(3) accounts.
•
Shares of funds purchased
through J.P. Morgan Securities LLC Self-Directed Investing accounts.
•
Shares purchased through
rights of reinstatement.
•
Shares purchased through
reinvestment of capital gains distributions and dividend reinvestment when
purchasing shares of the same fund (but not any other fund within the fund
family).
•
Shares purchased by employees
and registered representatives of J.P. Morgan Securities LLC or its affiliates
and their spouse or financial dependent as defined by J.P. Morgan Securities
LLC.
Class C to
Class A share conversion
•
A shareholder in the fund’s
Class C shares will have their shares converted by J.P. Morgan Securities LLC to
Class A shares (or the appropriate share class) of the same fund if the shares
are no longer subject to a CDSC and the conversion is consistent with J.P.
Morgan Securities LLC’s policies and procedures.
CDSC
waivers on Class A and C shares available at J.P. Morgan Securities
LLC
•
Shares sold upon the death or
disability of the shareholder.
•
Shares sold as part of a
systematic withdrawal plan as described in the fund’s prospectus.
•
Shares purchased in connection
with a return of excess contributions from an IRA account.
•
Shares sold as part of a
required minimum distribution for IRA and retirement accounts pursuant to the
Internal Revenue Code.
•
Shares acquired through a
right of reinstatement.
Front-end
load discounts available at J.P. Morgan Securities LLC: breakpoints, rights of
accumulation & letters of intent
•
Breakpoints as described in
the prospectus.
•
Rights of Accumulation (ROA)
which entitle shareholders to breakpoint discounts as described in the fund’s
prospectus will be automatically calculated based on the aggregated holding of
fund family assets held by accounts within the purchaser’s household at J.P.
Morgan Securities LLC. Eligible fund family assets not held at J.P. Morgan
Securities LLC may be included in the ROA calculation only if the shareholder
notifies their financial advisor about such assets.
•
Letters of Intent (LOI) which
allow for breakpoint discounts based on anticipated purchases within a fund
family, through J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, over a 13-month period of time (if
applicable).
All other sales charge waivers
and reductions described elsewhere in each fund’s prospectus or SAI still
apply.
49
Appendix
2 - Related performance information of the subadvisor
Historical
Performance of the Wellington Management Company LLP Enduring Assets
Composite1
John Hancock
Infrastructure Fund (the fund) commenced operations on December 20, 2013. The
fund is subadvised by Wellington Management Company LLP (Wellington Management).
Wellington Management manages portfolios with investment styles, objectives,
policies, and strategies substantially similar to those that are used to manage
the fund. These portfolios are included in a composite, the performance of which
is presented in this Appendix (Composite). The fund's performance is also
included in the Composite. The Composite’s performance is presented in U.S.
dollars. The same subadvisor has been responsible for the day-to-day management
of the accounts for all periods shown in the Appendix. Performance presented in
the Composite has been generated on an asset-weighted basis and includes the
reinvestment of dividends.
This Appendix presents
historical performance information for the Composite as a whole. Because of the
similarities between the fund and the Composite, this information may help
provide an indication of the fund’s risks by showing how a similar Composite has
performed historically. The performance of the Composite, however, is not the
performance of the fund, and you should not assume that the fund will have the
same performance as the Composite. The performance of the fund may be greater or
less than the performance of the Composite due to, among other things, the
number of the holdings in and composition of the fund’s portfolio, as well as
the asset size and cash flow differences between the fund and the Composite. The
portfolios in the Composite are not subject to the investment limitations,
diversification requirements, and other restrictions of the Investment Company
Act of 1940, as amended, and the Internal Revenue Code, which, if they had
applied, might have adversely affected the portfolios’ performance results. The
inception date of the Composite is June 30, 2010.
This Appendix includes the
MSCI ACWI to show broad market performance for the purposes of providing a
comparison to the performance of the Composite.
Performance information—bar
chart and table—is presented on the following page for the Composite. The bar
chart shows how the Composite’s total return has varied over time, and the table
shows the Composite’s performance over the last year, three (3) years, five (5)
years, and ten (10) years as of December 31, 2023 (as compared with a
broad-based market index for reference). The past performance of the Composite
is no guarantee of future results in managing the fund. The
information in this Appendix does not represent the performance of the fund or
any predecessor to it and is no indication of how it would have performed in the
past or will perform in the future.
The past performance of the
Composite has been calculated net of actual fees and expenses. The Composite’s
returns would be lower if it reflected the fees and expenses of the fund. Class
A and Class C shares of the fund have front-end or deferred sales charges. The
accounts in the Composite do not have such charges or expenses. The other
expenses of each share class of the fund, including any Rule 12b-1 fees, are
higher than those of the Composite. The performance of the Composite would be
lower if adjusted to reflect the sales charges of Class A or Class C shares of
the fund, or the overall expenses of a class of shares.
An index is
unmanaged and it is not possible to invest directly in an index. As such,
year-by-year index figures do not account for any sales charges, fees, or fund
expenses. As indicated above, past performance does not indicate future
results.
The Composite performance
information presented herein has been calculated and provided by the fund’s
subadvisor. Although the Composite performance is believed to be reliable, John
Hancock Investment Management LLC does not guarantee or make any warranty,
express or implied, as to the accuracy, adequacy or completeness of such
information.
1
The Composite
is composed of all portfolios (including the fund) with an investment style,
objectives, policies, and strategies substantially similar to those that are
used to manage the fund by Wellington Management Company LLP.
50
Wellington
Management Company LLP Enduring Assets Composite
Net assets
of Composite as of December 31, 2023: $2.2
billion
Calendar
year total returns—Composite (%)
|
Best
quarter: |
Q4
2020 |
11.73% |
|
Worst
quarter: |
Q1
2020 |
–15.72% |
|
Composite
average annual total returns (%) |
1
year |
3
years |
5
years |
10
years |
|
For
periods ended December 31, 2023 |
|
|
|
|
|
Composite |
5.26 |
3.57 |
7.19 |
6.38 |
|
MSCI
ACWI (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes, except foreign
withholding taxes on dividends) |
22.20 |
5.75 |
11.72 |
7.92 |
MSCI
ACWI
is a free
float-adjusted market-capitalization-weighted index that is designed to measure
the equity market performance of developed and emerging markets. The index
consists of 50 country indexes comprising 23 developed and 27 emerging-market
country indexes.
51
For
more information
Annual/semiannual
reports to shareholders
Additional
information about the fund’s investments is available in the fund’s annual and
semiannual reports to shareholders. In the fund’s annual report, you will find a
discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly
affected the fund’s performance during its last fiscal year.
As of January
1, 2021, paper copies of the fund's shareholder reports are no longer sent by
mail. Instead, the reports are made available on jhinvestments.com, and you will
be notified and provided with a link each time a report is posted to the
website. You may request to receive paper reports from the fund or from your
financial intermediary, free of charge, at any time. You may also request to
receive documents through eDelivery.
Statement
of Additional Information (SAI)
The SAI
contains more detailed information on all aspects of the fund and includes a
summary of the fund’s policy regarding disclosure of its portfolio holdings, as
well as legal and regulatory matters. A current SAI has been filed with the SEC
and is incorporated by reference into (and is legally a part of) this
prospectus.
To
obtain a free copy of these documents or request other
information
There are
several ways you can get a current annual/semiannual report, prospectus, or SAI
from John Hancock, request other information, or make
inquiries:
Online:
jhinvestments.com
By
mail:
John Hancock
Signature Services, Inc.
P.O. Box 219909
Kansas City, MO 64121-9909
P.O. Box 219909
Kansas City, MO 64121-9909
By
EASI-Line:
800-338-8080
for Class A and Class C shares
By
phone:
800-225-5291
for Class A and Class C shares; 888-972-8696 for Class I and Class R6
shares
By
TTY:
888-999-4721
for Class A, Class C, Class I, and Class R6 shares
You can also
view or obtain copies of these documents through the SEC:
Online:
sec.gov
© 2024 John Hancock Investment
Management Distributors LLC, Member FINRA, SIPC
200 Berkeley Street Boston, MA 02116
800-225-5291, jhinvestments.com
200 Berkeley Street Boston, MA 02116
800-225-5291, jhinvestments.com
Manulife,
Manulife Investment Management, Stylized M Design, and Manulife Investment
Management & Stylized M Design are trademarks of The Manufacturers Life
Insurance Company and are used by its affiliates under license.
SEC file number:
811-00560
4380PN 3/1/24
4380PN 3/1/24