John Hancock Investment Management and the Education Trust of Alaska award $20,000 scholarship to MLK Scholar

Celebrate 20th anniversary of the John Hancock Freedom 529 plan

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BOSTON, Dec. 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - John Hancock Investment Management, a company of Manulife Investment Management, today announced that Sarah Xu, a freshman at Boston University and a graduate of Boston Latin School, was awarded the John Hancock Freedom 529 20^th Anniversary MLK Scholars Scholarship Award. Sponsored by John Hancock Investment Management and funded by the Education Trust of Alaska, the $20,000 scholarship will be awarded as a contribution into a John Hancock Freedom 529 education savings account. The assets in the account may be used for qualified education expenses of the winner at any eligible institution of higher education that meets specific federal accreditation standards.

The John Hancock Freedom 529 plan has been available to help American families save toward higher education since 2001. The plan design offers multiple investment strategies from multiple asset managers and is overseen by the Education Trust of Alaska, John Hancock Investment Management, and T. Rowe Price, giving the plan additional investment oversight.

The $20,000 John Hancock Freedom 529 20^th Anniversary MLK Scholars Scholarship Award was funded by the Education Trust of Alaska this year in celebration and recognition of the 20-year anniversary of the John Hancock Freedom 529 education savings plan and the more than 100,000 students the plan has helped save and pay for college. The scholarship award was available to students who participated in John Hancock's MLK Scholars program this past summer who met additional eligibility requirements.

The most comprehensive corporate summer jobs program of its kind in the country, MLK Scholars provides summer employment for more than 600 of Boston's youth. The John Hancock Freedom 529 20^th Anniversary MLK Scholars Scholarship Award was open to students participating in the MLK Scholars Program year 2021 who were a junior in high school, senior in high school, or a freshman in college by September 2021 and legal U.S. residents.

"Congratulations to Sarah!" said Tammi Weaver, trust administrator for the Education Trust of Alaska. "We truly believe in making higher education a realistic goal for families and felt that the scholarship—awarded in recognition of the 20^th anniversary of the John Hancock Freedom 529 education savings plan—helps to highlight a tool that families may want to use in pursuit of their students' educational aspirations."

"Well done, Sarah! We're thrilled to have had the opportunity to offer the John Hancock Freedom 529 20^th Anniversary MLK Scholars Scholarship Award this year in celebration of the long-standing partnership we've had with the Education Trust of Alaska and T. Rowe Price in bringing the John Hancock Freedom 529 education savings plan to families for 20 years," said Andrew G. Arnott, CEO, John Hancock Investment Management, and head of wealth and asset management, Manulife Investment Management, United States and Europe. "The costs of college only continue to grow; in fact, data from the last 20 years suggests the average cost of college tuition and fees at public 4-year institutions has increased at an annual rate of 9.0%. We're especially pleased to have a hardworking and deserving MLK Scholar benefit from this scholarship."

"Sarah's application exemplifies what we hope to see in all of the MLK Scholars: an awareness and a commitment to improve themselves and their communities and a responsibility to empower those around them through education and mutual respect," added Annie Duong-Turner, director of community investment at John Hancock.

The MLK Scholars who were interested in applying for the scholarship were asked to create a short video addressed to their future self that responded to these questions:

• How did you live out Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy of leadership?
• How did you make a positive change in your community or the world?
• How did your education help enable you to pursue your passion and make a change?

Scholars were required to create a video on YouTube and submit a link to the video on the online application form. Ms. Xu's winning video can be found here.

About John Hancock Investment Management
A company of Manulife Investment Management, we serve investors through a unique multimanager approach, complementing our extensive in-house capabilities with an unrivaled network of specialized asset managers, backed by some of the most rigorous investment oversight in the industry. The result is a diverse lineup of time-tested investments from a premier asset manager with a heritage of financial stewardship.

About Manulife Investment Management
Manulife Investment Management is the global brand for the global wealth and asset management segment of Manulife Financial Corporation. We draw on more than a century of financial stewardship and the full resources of our parent company to serve individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. Headquartered in Toronto, our leading capabilities in public and private markets are strengthened by an investment footprint that spans 18 geographies. We complement these capabilities by providing access to a network of unaffiliated asset managers from around the world. We're committed to investing responsibly across our businesses. We develop innovative global frameworks for sustainable investing, collaboratively engage with companies in our securities portfolios, and maintain a high standard of stewardship where we own and operate assets, and we believe in supporting financial well-being through our workplace retirement plans. Today, plan sponsors around the world rely on our retirement plan administration and investment expertise to help their employees plan for, save for, and live a better retirement.

As of 9/30/21, Manulife Investment Management's assets under management and administration, including assets managed for Manulife's other segments, totaled CAD$1.1 trillion (US$835 billion). Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit manulifeim.com.

About the Education Trust of Alaska

The Education Trust of Alaska helps families provide for the increasing cost of education through tax advantaged savings and investments in accordance with the provisions of Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code. The University of Alaska serves as trustee and T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. serves as program manager. The Trust offers three separately marketed 529 savings plans: Alaska 529, marketed directly to investors within Alaska; the T. Rowe Price College Savings Plan, marketed directly to investors nationwide; and the John Hancock Freedom 529, marketed nationally through financial advisers. To learn more, visit educationtrustAK.com.

If your state or your designated beneficiary's state offers a 529 plan, you may want to consider what, if any, potential state income-tax or other state benefits it offers, such as financial aid, scholarship funds, and protection from creditors, before investing. State tax or other benefits should be one of many factors to be considered prior to making an investment decision. Please consult with your financial, tax, or other professional about how these state benefits, if any, may apply to your specific circumstances. You may also contact your state 529 plan or any other 529 education savings plan to learn more about their features. Please contact your financial professional or call 866-222-7498 to obtain a Plan Disclosure Document or prospectus for any of the underlying funds. The Plan Disclosure Document contains complete details on investment objectives, risks, fees, charges, and expenses, as well as more information about municipal fund securities and the underlying investment companies that should be considered before investing. Please read the Plan Disclosure Document carefully prior to investing.

John Hancock Freedom 529 is an education savings plan offered by the Education Trust of Alaska, managed by T. Rowe Price, and distributed by John Hancock Distributors LLC through other broker-dealers that have a selling agreement with John Hancock Distributors LLC. John Hancock Distributors LLC is a member of FINRA and is listed with the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB). © 2021 John Hancock. All rights reserved.

YouTube LLC is not affiliated with John Hancock or formally involved with this award in any way.

"Average Cost of College by Year" educationdata.org, 7/12/21, https://educationdata.org/average-cost-of-college-by-year

SOURCE John Hancock Investment Management