JOHN HANCOCK RE-OPENS GROWTH TRENDS FUND TO NEW INVESTORS
BOSTON, October 30, 2000 - John Hancock Funds announced today that it willre-open its Growth Trends Fund to new investors on November 1. In the mostsuccessful fund launch in the company's history, the innovative fund, whichinvests in the financial services, health care and technology sectors,raised over $270 million in assets during an indication of interest periodbetween August 28 and September 22, 2000."Response to the Growth Trends Fund has been tremendous," saidKeith Hartstein, senior vice president of sales and marketing for the firm."The success of the initial launch clearly signifies that investors areexcited about a fund that takes some of the guess-work out of sectorinvesting," he added.
The launch was structured as an initial offering to help the fund reach acritical mass of assets more quickly, which allowed the fund managers toinvest a more stable pool of assets and allowed shareholders to beginenjoying the benefits of a larger fund.
The Growth Trends Fund seeks long-term growth of capital byinvesting approximately one-third of its assets in each of the three sectorsthat have emerged over the past decade as the main growth engines of theU.S. economy: financial services, health care and technology. Catalystslike the Financial Services Modernization Act, the Human Genome Project andthe Internet demonstrate the potential for continued growth in theseindustries.
As another unique feature, the fund brings together three distinct,experienced investment management teams. John Hancock Advisers, Inc., theinvestment management arm of John Hancock Funds, is responsible for the financial portion of the fund. The team is led by James K. Schmidt, CFA, who also leads the portfolio management teams of the John Hancock Regional Bank Fund and the John Hancock Financial Industries Fund.
Mercury Advisors,* which serves as the investment adviser to Mercury Funds,is responsible for the fund's health care component. The team is led byJordan Schreiber, CFA, who leads the portfolio management team of theMerrill Lynch Healthcare Fund.
American Fund Advisors, Inc. is responsible for the technology portion.Barry Gordon, Marc Klee, CFA, and Alan Loewenstein, CFA, lead the team,which manages the John Hancock Technology Fund.
John Hancock Growth Trends Fund offers Class A shares with a maximumfront-end sales charge of 5%, Class B shares with a maximum deferred salescharge of 5%, and Class C shares with maximum front-end and deferred salescharges of 1%. The minimum initial investment is $1,000 for regularaccounts or $250 for retirement accounts. (Please see table below for fundsymbols.)
John Hancock Funds, a global investment management firm, manages more than$30 billion in open-end funds, closed-end funds, private accounts, variableannuities and retirement plans for individual and institutional investors. John Hancock Funds is a subsidiary of John Hancock Life Insurance Company,which is wholly owned by John Hancock Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE: JHF).John Hancock and its affiliated companies provide a broad array of insuranceand investment products and services to retail and institutional customers.As of June 30, 2000, John Hancock and its subsidiaries had total assetsunder management of $126.9 billion.
| FUND NAME | TICKER | NEWSPAPER |
| John Hancock Growth Trends Fund, Class A | JGTAX | GTrendA |
| John Hancock Growth Trends Fund, Class B | JGTBX | GTrendB |
| John Hancock Growth Trends Fund, Class C | JGTCX | GTrendC |
Investments concentrated in a few sectors may fluctuate more widely thaninvestments diversified across many sectors.
For more complete information on any John Hancock fund, including chargesand expenses, please call 1-800-225-5291 for a prospectus. Please read itcarefully before you invest or send money.
John Hancock Funds, Inc., Boston, MA 02199. Member NASD.
*Fund Asset Management, L.P. does business as Mercury Advisors.
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