John Hancock Funds Honored at 2012 Lipper Fund Awards

BOSTON, March 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- John Hancock Funds won four awards at the 2012 Lipper Fund Awards event last night in New York City.  The firm received a Group Award Trophy in the Mixed Assets, Large Company category. It also was honored for its John Hancock Lifecycle 2010 and John Hancock Lifecycle 2015 Portfolios, R5 shares, in their respective 2010 and 2015 Mixed Asset Target Date Fund categories, for their five-year performance records.  The John Hancock Active Bond Fund, NAV, won an award for three-year performance among General Bond Funds.

"We are pleased to receive this important recognition from Lipper," said Steven Medina, Senior Portfolio Manager and Co-head of Global Asset Allocation for John Hancock Asset Management (JHAM).  "Ultimately the goal of every member of our investment team is to deliver solid results for our shareholders. This award is a great reflection of their hard work and dedication toward achieving that goal."

"John Hancock has a lengthy track record in offering mixed-asset funds that encompass multi-asset, multi-manager, and multi-style portfolios," said Bob Boyda, Senior Portfolio Manager and Co-head of Global Asset Allocation, JHAM.  "This breadth of experience is a major reason we have been a leader in this category. Our mixed-asset core products include 10 target-risk funds, including five mutual funds and five insurance-dedicated funds, as well as two suites of target-date funds, with total assets in these asset allocation products of $76 billion at December 31, 2011."

For the John Hancock Lifecycle 2010 and 2015 Portfolios, the investment adviser is John Hancock Investment Management Services, LLC (IMS), and John Hancock Asset Management is subadviser. John Hancock IMS oversees more than $180 billion in assets across John Hancock and Manulife investment platforms in the U.S. and Asia. John Hancock Asset Management is a division of Manulife Asset Management, the global asset management arm of Manulife Financial.

"Our John Hancock Lifecycle Funds have been designed as complete investment solutions for investors saving for retirement," said Andrew Arnott, Executive Vice President, John Hancock IMS. "The combination of our sophisticated asset allocation processes and multi-manager approach provides the strong foundation for success."

The John Hancock Active Bond Fund, NAV, is managed by a team of portfolio managers at JHAM. The Fund's management team includes Barry Evans, CFA; Howard Greene, CFA; and Jeffrey Given, CFA.

About John Hancock Funds

The Boston-based mutual fund business unit of John Hancock Financial, John Hancock Funds manages more than $66.3 billion in open-end funds, closed-end funds, private accounts, retirement plans and related party assets for individual and institutional investors as at December 31, 2011.   

About Manulife Asset Management and John Hancock Asset Management
Manulife Asset Management™ is the global asset management arm of Manulife Financial. Manulife Asset Management provides comprehensive asset management solutions for institutional investors and investment funds in key markets around the world. Manulife Asset Management also provides investment management services to affiliates' retail clients through product offerings of Manulife and John Hancock. This investment expertise extends across a full range of asset classes including equity, fixed income and alternative investments such as real estate, timber, farmland, as well as asset allocation strategies.

Manulife Asset Management has offices with full investment capabilities in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines. In addition, it has a joint venture asset management business in China, Manulife TEDA. It also has operations in Australia, New Zealand, Brazil and Uruguay. John Hancock Asset Management, Hancock Natural Resource Group and Declaration Management and Research are units of Manulife Asset Management. John Hancock Asset Management is a division of Manulife Asset Management that provides investment management services related to John Hancock products sold in the United States. 

As at December 31, 2011 assets under management were Cdn$211 billion (US$208 billion). Additional information about Manulife Asset Management can be found at www.manulifeam.com.

About John Hancock Financial and Manulife Financial Corporation

John Hancock Financial is a unit of Manulife Financial Corporation, a leading Canada-based financial services group serving millions of customers in 21 countries and territories worldwide. In 2012, John Hancock celebrates 150 years of serving clients across the United States, while Manulife celebrates its 125^th anniversary. Operating as Manulife Financial in Canada and in most of Asia, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States, Manulife Financial Corporation offers clients a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services through its extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were C$500 billion (US$491 billion) as at December 31, 2011. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under '945' on the SEHK. Manulife Financial can be found on the Internet at manulife.com.  The John Hancock unit, through its insurance companies, comprises one of the largest life insurers in the United States. John Hancock offers a broad range of financial products and services, including life insurance, annuities, fixed products, mutual funds, 401(k) plans, long-term care insurance, college savings, and other forms of business insurance. Additional information about John Hancock may be found at johnhancock.com.

SOURCE John Hancock Funds