John Hancock Funds Launches New Disciplined Value Fund

Firm builds out core value offerings with adoption of four-star fund from
Robeco Boston Partners

BOSTON, Jan. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- John Hancock Funds has completed the
adoption of the Robeco Boston Partners Large Cap Value Fund and has launched
it as the newly established John Hancock Disciplined Value Fund (JVLAX).

"Fund adoptions have been a key element in our strategy as we've expanded our
product line at John Hancock Funds in recent years, and will continue to be
important for us going forward. We're pleased to launch Disciplined Value, a
core value fund with broad sector representation, and a consistent top
quartile performer across all standardized timeframes. Disciplined Value
offers advisors and investors an alternative to the more concentrated approach
of the John Hancock Classic Value Fund," said Keith F. Hartstein, President
and CEO.

"In much the same way, we have balanced our core fund offerings on the growth
side as well," Mr. Hartstein continued. "Last April we added the John Hancock
Rainier Growth Fund (RGROX), a four-star large cap growth fund that is a
broad-based alternative to our other funds, including the more focused John
Hancock US Global Leaders Growth (USGLX). Now, our shareholders have more
choices among the growth and value anchors of a portfolio, through our
exclusive partnerships with pre-eminent institutional investment managers such
as Rainier Investments and our newest partner, Robeco Boston Partners."

"We are delighted to partner with John Hancock Funds to deliver our
time-proven investment strategy to the shareholders of the Disciplined Value
Fund," said Mark Donovan, chair of the Robeco Boston Partners Equity Strategy
Committee and the fund's lead portfolio manager. "We are dedicated value
investors, sticking to our process of choosing stocks of fundamentally good
businesses that are undervalued and poised for recovery. John Hancock offers a
very strong and experienced distribution network that complements our focus as
an investment organization."

The John Hancock Disciplined Value Fund seeks to provide long-term growth of
capital primarily through investment in equity securities. Current income is
a secondary objective. The Fund pursues its objectives by investing, under
normal circumstances, at least 80 percent of its net assets in a diversified
portfolio consisting primarily of equity securities of issuers with a market
capitalization of $1 billion or greater that are identified by Robeco Boston
Partners as having value characteristics.

The Fund's portfolio will be managed on a day-to-day basis by Robeco Boston
Partners. Mr. Donovan, CFA, one of the Boston Partners' founders, has been a
portfolio manager on the Boston Partners' Fund since inception in 1997 and
David J. Pyle, CFA, has been a portfolio manager since 2005.
About Robeco Boston Partners
Robeco Boston Partners, a value equities specialist, is part of Robeco
Investment Management, Inc. (www.robecoinvest.com), the U.S. asset management
arm of Rotterdam-based global fund manager Robeco Group. Robeco Investment
Management is comprised of three divisions: Robeco Boston Partners,
Robeco-Sage and Robeco Weiss, Peck & Greer. Products include U.S. equity, U.S.
fixed income, fund of hedge funds and alternatives. Additionally, the firm
offers global and international equity, including emerging markets, and fixed
income products through its European affiliates, including Sustainable Asset
Management Group ("SAM"), a global leader in sustainability investing.

About John Hancock Funds
The Boston-based mutual fund business unit of John Hancock Financial, John
Hancock Funds manages more than $47.9 billion in open-end funds, closed-end
funds, private accounts, retirement plans and related party assets for
individual and institutional investors at September 30, 2008. John Hancock
Funds are distributed by John Hancock Funds, LLC, member FINRA | SIPC. For
more information, please visit www.jhfunds.com.

About John Hancock Financial and Manulife Financial Corporation
John Hancock Financial is a unit of Manulife Financial Corporation (the
Company), a leading Canadian-based financial services group serving millions
of customers in 19 countries and territories worldwide. Operating as Manulife
Financial in Canada and in most of Asia, and primarily as 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$385 billion (US$364
billion) as at September 30, 2008.

Manulife Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and
under '0945' 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

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