John Hancock Launches New Small Company Fund

BOSTON, Dec. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- John Hancock Funds has completed the adoption of Fiduciary Management Associates' FMA Small Company Portfolio, and has launched it as the new John Hancock Small Company Fund (JCSAX). The reorganization was effective on December 11. The fund is now available for sale to retail investors through their financial advisers. "We are pleased to launch our new Small Company Fund, marking our tenth fund adoption in the past seven years," said Keith F. Hartstein, President & CEO of John Hancock Funds. "Adoptions continue to be a key element in our strategy as we've expanded our product line at John Hancock in recent years, and will continue to be important for us going forward. The new Small Company Fund is more value-oriented than our other small cap offerings and so presents a good complement to our lineup." Andrew Arnott, Chief Operating Officer of John Hancock Funds, said:  "With the new fund, our shareholders and their advisers have more choices in the small cap space, and we continue to offer them access to top-tier institutional managers, with the addition of Fiduciary Management Associates to our group of sub-advisers."  The John Hancock Small Company Fund seeks maximum, long-term total return, consistent with reasonable risk to principal, by investing in common stocks of smaller companies in terms of revenues and/or market capitalization. The fund's strategy emphasizes a relative value approach, seeking to identify investment opportunities that are trading at attractive valuations and have opportunities to expand their earnings and cash flow prospects. The fund managers seek to achieve attractive risk-adjusted returns, consistent outperformance over a market cycle and participation in rising markets while protecting capital in down markets.  "In today's market environment, we believe the investment characteristics of the Small Company Fund will be increasingly attractive to investors," said Kathryn A. Vorisek, Senior Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer, Fiduciary Management Associates. "We are pleased to partner with John Hancock in expanding our distribution capabilities in the retail market, beyond our predominantly institutional client base." The Fund's portfolio will be managed on a day-to-day basis by Fiduciary Management Associates LLC. Ms. Vorisek and Leo Harmon, CFA, are co-portfolio managers.  Ms. Vorisek has served as the small cap team leader at FMA since 1998, while Mr. Harmon serves as associate team leader and research analyst for small cap products. John Hancock Funds embarked on its fund adoption strategy in 2002. Its most recent transaction was the adoption of the four-star Robeco Boston Partners Large Cap Value Fund, which was relaunched as the John Hancock Disciplined Value Fund (JVLAX) in January of 2009.  About Fiduciary Management AssociatesFiduciary Management Associates is an employee-owned independent investment manager founded in 1980.  FMA manages both equity and fixed income strategies for a diversified institutional client base including public, Taft-Hartley and corporate pension plans.   For more information, please visit www.fmausa.com.About John Hancock FundsThe Boston-based mutual fund business unit of John Hancock Financial, John Hancock Funds manages more than $50.5 billion in open-end funds, closed-end funds, private accounts, retirement plans and related party assets for individual and institutional investors at September 30, 2009. About John Hancock Financial and Manulife Financial CorporationJohn Hancock Financial is a unit of Manulife Financial Corporation, a leading Canadian-based financial services group serving millions of customers in 22 countries and territories worldwide. 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 Cdn$437 billion (US$407 billion) at September 30, 2009. 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 www.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, fixed and variable 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 www.johnhancock.com. SOURCE John Hancock Funds