John Hancock Announces Refinancing and Redemption of All Outstanding Preferred Shares...

John Hancock Announces Refinancing and Redemption of All Outstanding Preferred
Shares of John Hancock Income Securities Trust (JHS)
Seventh and last closed-end fund completes ARPS refinancing

BOSTON, June 6 /PRNewswire/ -- John Hancock Funds announced that it has
restructured $89 million of leverage employed by the John Hancock Income
Securities Trust (JHS), a leveraged closed-end bond fund. A senior secured
credit facility provided by a commercial bank will be used to redeem and
replace 100 percent of the outstanding Auction Rate Preferred Securities
(ARPS) issued by Income Securities Trust, and to change the form of leverage
from ARPS to debt.
Income Securities Trust is the seventh and final John Hancock leveraged
closed-end fund to be completely refinanced.
On May 7, John Hancock Funds announced the refinancing of five leveraged
closed-end taxable equity funds, and the redemption of approximately
$1.6 billion of outstanding preferred shares issued by those funds:
Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income (HTD), Preferred Income (HPI), Preferred Income
II (HPF), Preferred Income III (HPS), and Patriot Premium Dividend II (PDT).
On May 20, John Hancock Funds announced the refinancing of $86 million of
ARPS issued by John Hancock Investors Trust (JHI), a leveraged closed-end bond
fund.
"Our goal throughout this process has been to ensure that we solved the
ARPS illiquidity problem in a manner consistent with the interests of both our
common and preferred shareholders, and I am pleased to report that we have
achieved that goal," said Keith F. Hartstein, President and CEO of John
Hancock Funds. "We are grateful for the efforts of dozens of people, including
our fund board and the highest levels of management at both John Hancock and
our parent company Manulife Financial, who worked diligently to find a
solution."
Redemption of the ARPS for JHS will be on a tranche by tranche basis.
Along with additional information about John Hancock ARPS, the redemption
schedule has been posted on the John Hancock Funds web site,
http://www.jhfunds.com.
The schedule is as follows:

John Hancock
Closed-end
Fund Name Ticker Series ARPS CUSIP Shares Redemption Date

Income Securities
Trust JHS A 410123202 1,780 6/26/08
Income Securities
Trust JHS B 410123301 1,780 6/27/08

About John Hancock Funds
The Boston-based mutual fund business unit of John Hancock Financial
Services, John Hancock Funds manages more than $54.1 billion in open-end
funds, closed-end funds, private accounts, retirement plans and related party
assets for individual and institutional investors at March 31, 2008. John
Hancock Funds are distributed by John Hancock Funds, LLC, member FINRA. For
more information, please visit http://www.jhfunds.com.
John Hancock Financial Services is a unit of Manulife Financial
Corporation, a leading Canadian-based financial services group serving
millions of customers in 19 countries and territories worldwide. Operating as
Manulife Financial in Canada and Asia, and primarily through John Hancock in
the United States, the company 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$400 billion
(US$389 billion) at March 31, 2008. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as
'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under '0945' on the SEHK. Manulife
Financial may be found on the Internet at http://www.manulife.com.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements made in this release are forward-looking statements.
Actual future results or occurrences may differ significantly from those
anticipated in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. These
include, but are not limited to: changes in securities or financial markets or
general economic conditions, including changes in interest rates for
borrowings, and other risks discussed from time to time in the fund's filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission. John Hancock and the closed-end
funds managed by John Hancock and its affiliates undertake no responsibility
to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements.
SOURCE John Hancock Funds

Beth McGoldrick of John Hancock Funds, +1-617-663-4751,
bmcgoldrick@jhancock.com