John Hancock Investment Management Grows Active Fixed Income ETF Suite with Core and Core Plus Bond ETFs

$ unless otherwise stated

TSX/NYSE/PSE: MFC     SEHK: 945

BOSTON, Dec. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ - John Hancock Investment Management, a company of Manulife Wealth and Asset Management, announced today that it has launched John Hancock Core Bond ETF and John Hancock Core Plus Bond ETF. The new ETFs are actively managed and subadvised by Manulife Investment Management (US) LLC, John Hancock Investment Management's affiliated asset manager.

"We're excited to expand our active ETFs and leverage the expertise of the Manulife IM (US) team. They will apply a similar investment process and philosophy to these ETFs as they do with their other strategies," said Kristie Feinberg, President and CEO of John Hancock Investment Management. "We believe investors are still seeking diverse income sources and will continue to find ways to mitigate potential volatility and prepare for interest rate changes in the coming year."

The investment objective of John Hancock Core Bond ETF (NYSE Arca: JHCR) is to seek a high level of current income consistent with preservation of capital and maintenance of liquidity. The investment objective of John Hancock Core Plus Bond ETF (NYSE Arca: JHCP) is to seek a high level of current income consistent with prudent investment risk. Both ETFs are managed by the U.S. Core and Core-Plus Fixed Income team. The team includes Jeffrey N. Given, CFA, Howard C. Greene, CFA, co-heads of the U.S. Core and Core-Plus team, Connor Minnaar, CFA, and Pranay Sonalkar, CFA. The portfolio managers have nearly 50 years of combined experience managing U.S. core and core-plus strategies at Manulife Investment Management. 

"We are optimistic about many of the dynamics that will impact investor portfolios this coming year," said Jeff Given. "Inflation has cooled materially, and a more balanced labor market should also dampen inflationary momentum to ease investors' concerns into 2025, however we believe bottom-up security analysis during any market cycle will help to position and provide a framework to identify portfolio leaders and laggards and these strategies are built to identify these opportunities in pursuit of income."

With this announcement, John Hancock Investment Management's ETFs total 16 funds, with over $7.3 billion in assets under management¹, including preferred income, mortgage-backed securities, core and core-plus bond, corporate bond, municipal bond, and U.S. and international equity portfolios.

Core Bond ETF

Investing involves risks, including the potential loss of principal. There is no guarantee that a fund's investment strategy will be successful. It's possible that an active trading market for fund shares will not develop, which may hurt your ability to buy or sell fund shares, particularly in times of market stress. Trading securities actively can increase transactions costs, therefore lowering performance and taxable distributions. Fixed-income investments are subject to interest-rate and credit risk; their value will normally decline as interest rates rise or if an issuer is unable or unwilling to make principal or interest payments. Mortgage- and asset-backed securities may be sensitive to changes in interest rates, and may be subject to early repayment and the market's perception of issuer creditworthiness. Liquidity—the extent to which a security may be sold or a derivative position closed without negatively affecting its market value, if at all—may be impaired by reduced trading volume, heightened volatility, rising interest rates, and other market conditions. The use of hedging and derivatives could produce disproportionate gains or losses and may increase costs. Fund distributions generally depend on income from underlying investments and may vary or cease altogether in the future. Shares may trade at a premium or discount to their NAV in the secondary market. These variations may be greater when markets are volatile or subject to unusual conditions. Please see the fund's prospectus for additional risks.

Core Bond Plus ETF

Investing involves risks, including the potential loss of principal. There is no guarantee that a fund's investment strategy will be successful. It's possible that an active trading market for fund shares will not develop, which may hurt your ability to buy or sell fund shares, particularly in times of market stress. Trading securities actively can increase transactions costs, therefore lowering performance and taxable distributions. Fixed-income investments are subject to interest-rate and credit risk; their value will normally decline as interest rates rise or if an issuer is unable or unwilling to make principal or interest payments. Investments in higher-yielding, lower-rated securities include a higher risk of default. Foreign investing, especially in emerging markets, has additional risks, such as currency and market volatility and political and social instability. Mortgage- and asset-backed securities may be sensitive to changes in interest rates, and may be subject to early repayment and the market's perception of issuer creditworthiness. Liquidity—the extent to which a security may be sold or a derivative position closed without negatively affecting its market value, if at all—may be impaired by reduced trading volume, heightened volatility, rising interest rates, and other market conditions. The use of hedging and derivatives could produce disproportionate gains or losses and may increase costs. Fund distributions generally depend on income from underlying investments and may vary or cease altogether in the future. Shares may trade at a premium or discount to their NAV in the secondary market. These variations may be greater when markets are volatile or subject to unusual conditions. Please see the fund's prospectus for additional risks.

Request a prospectus or summary prospectus from your financial professional, by visiting jhinvestments.com/etf, or by calling us at 800-225-6020. The prospectus  and summary prospectus include investment objectives, risks, fees, expenses, and other information about the fund that you should consider carefully before investing.  Please read the prospectus and summary prospectus carefully before investing.

This press release is not an offer to sell these securities and is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.

John Hancock ETFs are distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC in the United States, and are subadvised by Boston Partners, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP, Marathon Asset Management, or our affiliate Manulife Investment Management (US) LLC. Foreside is not affiliated with John Hancock Investment Management Distributors LLC, Manulife Investment Management (US) LLC, Boston Partners, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP, or Marathon Asset Management

Shares of the ETF are not redeemable with the ETF other than in creation unit aggregations. Instead, investors must buy or sell the ETF shares in the secondary market at market price (not NAV) through a broker-dealer. In doing so, the investor may incur brokerage commissions and may pay more than net asset value when buying and may receive less than net asset value when selling.

Statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined by the United States securities laws. You should exercise caution in interpreting and relying on forward-looking statements because they are subject to uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond the ETF's control and could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.

NOT FDIC INSURED. MAY LOSE VALUE. NO BANK GUARANTEE. NOT INSURED BY ANY GOVERNMENT AGENCY.

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 Wealth & Asset Management

As part of Manulife Financial Corporation, Manulife Wealth & Asset Management provides global investment, financial advice, and retirement plan services to 19 million individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. Our mission is to make decisions easier and lives better by empowering people today to invest for a better tomorrow. As a committed partner to our clients and as a responsible steward of investor capital, we offer a heritage of risk management, deep expertise across public and private markets, and comprehensive retirement plan services. We seek to provide better investment and impact outcomes and to help people confidently save and invest for a more secure financial future. Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit manulifeim.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 it, and by its affiliates under license.

JHS-657943-2024-12-17  12/24

SOURCE John Hancock Investment Management