BOSTON, March 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- John Hancock Tax-Advantaged Global Shareholder Yield Fund declared its quarterly dividend today as follows:
Declaration date: March 3, 2008 Ex-dividend date: March 10, 2008 Record date: March 12, 2008 Payment date: March 31, 2008 Distribution amount: $0.4500
This dividend equates to an annualized yield of 11.52 percent, based on the fund's closing market price as of February 29, 2008.
The John Hancock Global Shareholder Yield Fund is a newly organized, diversified, closed-end fund. The Fund's investment objective is to provide a high level of total return consisting of a high level of current income and gains and long term capital appreciation. The Fund will seek to achieve favorable after-tax returns for its shareholders by seeking to minimize the federal income tax consequences on income and gains generated by the Fund. Under normal market condition, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its total assets in a diversified portfolio of dividend-paying stocks of issuers located throughout the world. The Fund also intends to write call options on a variety of both U.S. and non-U.S. broad-based indices.
About Manulife Financial and John Hancock
John Hancock Funds, the mutual fund business unit of John Hancock Financial Services, offers a broad array of investment products, including open-end and closed-end funds, privately managed accounts, 529 plans and retirement accounts to retail and institutional investors. As of December 31, 2007, investors entrusted John Hancock Funds with approximately $56.8 billion in assets. Additional information about John Hancock Funds can be found on the website: http://www.jhfunds.com/.
John Hancock 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$396 billion (US$401 billion) as of December 31, 2007. 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 http://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, mutual funds, 401(k) plans, long term care insurance, college savings, and other forms of business insurance.
