e485bpos

Investment objective

To seek long term total return.

Fees and expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund. You may qualify for sales charge discounts on Class A shares if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in the John Hancock family of funds. More information about these and other discounts is available on pages 15 to 16 of the prospectus under “Sales charge reductions and waivers” or pages 62 to 65 of the fund’s statement of additional information under “Initial Sales Charge on Class A Shares.”


Shareholder fees (%) (fees paid directly from your investment)	Class A

Maximum front-end sales charge (load) on purchases as a % of purchase price		5.00

Maximum deferred sales charge (load) as a % of purchase or sale price, whichever is less		1.00 (on certain purchases, including those of $1 million or more	)


Annual fund operating expenses (%)
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)¹	Class A

Management fee		1.28

Distribution and service (12b-1) fees		0.30

Other expenses		0.38

Total annual fund operating expenses		1.96

Contractual expense reimbursement²		−0.01

Total annual fund operating expenses after expense reimbursements		1.95


1		“Annual fund operating expenses” have been estimated for the fund’s first year of operations.
2		The adviser has contractually agreed to waive all or a portion of its management fee and reimburse or pay operating expenses of the fund to the extent necessary to maintain the fund’s total operating expenses at 1.95% for Class A shares, excluding certain expenses such as taxes, brokerage commissions, interest expense, litigation and indemnification expenses and other extraordinary expenses, acquired fund fees and expenses paid indirectly and short dividend expense. The current expense limitation agreement expires on December 31, 2012, unless renewed by mutual agreement of the fund and the adviser based upon a determination that this is appropriate under the circumstances at the time.

Expense example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. Please see below a hypothetical example showing the expenses of a $10,000 investment in the fund for the time periods indicated (Kept column) and then assuming a redemption of all of your shares at the end of those periods (Sold column). The example assumes a 5% average annual return. The example assumes fund expenses will not change over the periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:


Expenses ($)	Class A

Shares		Sold	Kept

1 Year		688	688

3 Years		1,084	1,084

Portfolio turnover

The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund’s performance. Because the fund had not commenced operations as of the date of this prospectus, there is no portfolio turnover to report.

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund summary

Principal investment strategies

The fund has a broad investment mandate that permits it to use an extensive range of investment strategies and to invest in a wide spectrum of equity and fixed-income securities, as well as derivative instruments, in pursuing its investment objective.

The fund invests in equity securities of U.S. and foreign companies of various market capitalizations. The fund also invests in fixed-income securities, which are not subject to any credit rating or maturity limitations, issued by companies and government and supranational entities around the world, including high yield non-investment grade securities (i.e., junk bonds). The fund may invest in emerging as well as developed markets and may invest a significant portion of its assets in the securities of companies in particular economic sectors.

The fund also may invest extensively in derivative instruments, which are generally financial contracts whose value depends upon, or is derived from, the value of an underlying asset, reference rate, or index, and may relate to equity securities, fixed-income securities, interest rates, total return rates, currencies or currency exchange rates, and related indexes. Under normal market conditions, at least 40% of the value of the fund’s net assets will be invested in or exposed to obligations of issuers or obligors located outside of the United States.

The subadviser employs a “global multi-asset strategy” and seeks to achieve total return by delivering a diversified global portfolio that makes use of multiple strategies across various asset classes. It aims to exploit market cyclicality and a diverse array of inefficiencies across and within global markets to maximize risk adjusted absolute return, by investing in listed equity, equity-related and debt securities, and derivatives or other instruments, both for investment and hedging purposes. The fund invests in derivative instruments (which will be used routinely), including futures, options, swaps (including credit default swaps and variance swaps), and foreign currency forward contracts.

The subadviser manages the fund’s investment strategies dynamically over time, and will actively modify investment strategies and develop new strategies in response to additional research, changing market conditions, or other factors. The fund’s strategies seek to deliver returns commensurate with reasonable levels of risk and tangible diversification benefits, while having both sufficient liquidity and capacity to benefit the fund in a significant way. The fund also may hold cash or invest its cash balances in cash equivalents and short-term investments, including money market funds, in order to cover the derivative transactions or otherwise in its discretion.

Principal risks

An investment in the fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The fund’s shares will go up and down in price, meaning that you could lose money by investing in the fund. In addition, although the subadviser aims to maximize absolute return, there is no guarantee that the fund will generate positive returns. Many factors influence a mutual fund’s performance.

Instability in the financial markets has led many governments, including the United States government, to take a number of unprecedented actions designed to support certain financial institutions and segments of the financial markets that have experienced extreme volatility and, in some cases, a lack of liquidity. Federal, state and other governments, and their regulatory agencies or self-regulatory organizations, may take actions that affect the regulation of the instruments in which the fund invests, or the issuers of such instruments, in ways that are unforeseeable. Legislation or regulation may also change the way in which the fund itself is regulated. Such legislation or regulation could limit or preclude the fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective.

Governments or their agencies may also acquire distressed assets from financial institutions and acquire ownership interests in those institutions. The implications of government ownership and disposition of these assets are unclear, and such a program may have positive or negative effects on the liquidity, valuation and performance of the fund’s portfolio holdings. Furthermore, volatile financial markets can expose the fund to greater market and liquidity risk and potential difficulty in valuing portfolio instruments held by the fund.

The fund’s main risk factors are listed below in alphabetical order. Before investing, be sure to read the additional descriptions of these risks beginning on page 6 of the prospectus.

Active management risk The subadviser’s investment strategy may fail to produce the intended result.

Credit and counterparty risk The issuer or guarantor of a fixed-income security, the counterparty to an over-the-counter derivatives contract or a borrower of a fund’s securities may be unable or unwilling to make timely principal, interest or settlement payments, or otherwise honor its obligations. Funds that invest in fixed-income securities are subject to varying degrees of risk that the issuers of the securities will have their credit rating downgraded or will default, potentially reducing a fund’s share price and income level.

Currency risk Fluctuations in exchange rates may adversely affect the U.S. dollar value of a fund’s investments. Currency risk includes both the risk that currencies in which a fund’s investments are traded, or currencies in which a fund has taken an active position, will decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar.

Economic and market events risk Events in the financial markets have resulted, and may continue to result, in an unusually high degree of volatility in the financial markets, both domestic and foreign. In addition, reduced liquidity in credit and fixed-income markets may adversely affect issuers worldwide. Banks and financial services companies could suffer losses if interest rates were to rise or economic conditions deteriorate.

Emerging markets risk The risks of investing in foreign securities are greater for investments in emerging markets. Emerging market countries may experience higher inflation, interest rates and unemployment as well as greater social, economic, regulatory and political uncertainties than more developed countries.

Equity securities risk The value of a company’s equity securities is subject to changes in the company’s financial condition, and overall market and economic conditions.

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund summary

changes. There is the possibility that the issuer of the security will not repay all or a portion of the principal borrowed and will not make all interest payments.

Foreign securities risk As compared to U.S. companies, there may be less publicly available information relating to foreign companies. Foreign securities may be subject to foreign taxes. The value of foreign securities is subject to currency fluctuations and adverse political and economic developments. Investments in emerging-market countries are subject to greater levels of foreign investment risk.

Hedging, derivatives and other strategic transactions risk Hedging and other strategic transactions may increase the volatility of a fund and, if the transaction is not successful, could result in a significant loss to a fund. The use of derivative instruments could produce disproportionate gains or losses, more than the principal amount invested. Investing in derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other traditional investments and, in a down market, could become harder to value or sell at a fair price. The following is a list of certain derivatives and other strategic transactions in which the fund intends to invest and the main risks associated with each of them:

Credit default swaps Counterparty risk, liquidity risk (i.e., the inability to enter into closing transactions), interest-rate risk, risk of default of the underlying reference obligation and risk of disproportionate loss are the principal risks of engaging in transactions involving credit default swaps.

Foreign currency forward contracts Counterparty risk, liquidity risk (i.e., the inability to enter into closing transactions), foreign currency risk and risk of disproportionate loss are the principal risks of engaging in transactions involving foreign currency forward contracts.

Futures contracts Counterparty risk, liquidity risk (i.e., the inability to enter into closing transactions) and risk of disproportionate loss are the principal risks of engaging in transactions involving futures contracts.

Options Counterparty risk, liquidity risk (i.e., the inability to enter into closing transactions) and risk of disproportionate loss are the principal risks of engaging in transactions involving options. Counterparty risk does not apply to exchange-traded options.

Swaps Counterparty risk, liquidity risk (i.e., the inability to enter into closing transactions), interest-rate risk, settlement risk, risk of default of the underlying reference obligation and risk of disproportionate loss are the principal risks of engaging in transactions involving swaps.

High portfolio turnover risk Actively trading securities can increase transaction costs (thus lowering performance) and taxable distributions.

Industry or sector risk Because the fund may focus on one or more industry or sector of the economy, its performance depends in large part on the performance of those sectors or industries. As a result, the value of your investment may fluctuate more widely than it would in a fund that is diversified across industries and sectors.

Issuer risk An issuer of a security may perform poorly and, therefore, the value of its stocks and bonds may decline. An issuer of securities held by the fund could default or have its credit rating downgraded.

Large company risk Large-capitalization stocks as a group could fall out of favor with the market, causing the fund to underperform investments that focus on small- or medium-capitalization stocks. Larger, more established companies may be slow to respond to challenges and may grow more slowly than smaller companies. For purposes of the fund’s investment policies, the market capitalization of a company is based on its market capitalization at the time the fund purchases the company’s securities. Market capitalizations of companies change over time.

Liquidity risk Exposure exists when trading volume, lack of a market maker or legal restrictions impair the ability to sell particular securities or close derivative positions at an advantageous price.

Lower-rated fixed-income securities risk and high-yield securities risk Lower-rated fixed-income securities and high-yield fixed-income securities (commonly known as “junk bonds”) are subject to greater credit quality risk and risk of default than higher-rated fixed-income securities. These securities may be considered speculative and the value of these securities can be more volatile due to increased sensitivity to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments and can be difficult to resell.

Medium and smaller company risk The prices of medium and smaller company stocks can change more frequently and dramatically than those of large company stocks. For purposes of the fund’s investment policies, the market capitalization of a company is based on its market capitalization at the time the fund purchases the company’s securities. Market capitalizations of companies change over time.

Past performance

This section normally shows how the fund’s total return has varied from year to year, along with a broad-based market index for reference. Because the fund had not commenced operations as of the date of this prospectus, there is no past performance to report.

Investment management

Investment adviser John Hancock Investment Management Services, LLC

Subadviser Standard Life Investments (Corporate Funds) Limited

Portfolio management


David Millar Investment Director, Multi-Asset Investing Managed fund since inception		Euan Munro Director of Multi-Asset Investing & Fixed Income Managed fund since inception		Guy Stern Investment Director, Multi-Asset Investing Managed fund since inception

Purchase and sale of fund shares

The minimum initial investment requirement for Class A shares of the fund is $2,500, except for Coverdell ESAs, which is $2,000, and for group investments, which is $250. There are no subsequent investment requirements. You may redeem shares of the fund on any business day through our

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund summary

Fund details

Investment objective: To seek long term total return.

The Board of Trustees can change the fund’s investment objective and strategy without shareholder approval.

Temporary defensive investing

The fund may invest up to 100% of its assets in cash or money market instruments for the purpose of:


•	meeting redemption requests,


•	making other anticipated cash payments, or


•	protecting the fund in the event the subadviser determines that market, economic, political or other conditions warrant a defensive posture.

To the extent that the fund is in a defensive position, its ability to achieve its investment goal will be limited. In abnormal circumstances, the fund may temporarily invest extensively in investment-grade short-term securities. In these and other cases, the fund might not achieve its investment objective.

Below are descriptions of the main factors that may play a role in shaping the fund’s overall risk profile. The descriptions appear in alphabetical order, not in order of importance. For further details about fund risks, including additional risk factors that are not discussed in this prospectus because they are not considered primary factors, see the fund’s Statement of Additional Information (SAI).

Active management risk

A fund that relies on the manager’s ability to pursue the fund’s investment objective is subject to active management risk. The manager will apply investment techniques and risk analyses in making investment decisions for a fund and there can be no guarantee that these will produce the desired results. A fund generally does not attempt to time the market and instead generally stays fully invested in the relevant asset class, such as domestic equities or foreign equities. Notwithstanding its benchmark, a fund may buy securities not included in its benchmark or hold securities in very different proportions than its benchmark. To the extent a fund invests in those securities, its performance depends on the ability of the manager to choose securities that perform better than securities that are included in the benchmark.

Credit and counterparty risk

This is the risk that the issuer or guarantor of a fixed-income security, the counterparty to an over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives contract (see “Hedging, derivatives and other strategic transactions risk”) or a borrower of a fund’s securities will be unable or unwilling to make timely principal, interest or settlement payments or to otherwise honor its obligations. Credit risk associated with investments in fixed-income securities relates to the ability of the issuer to make scheduled payments of principal and interest on an obligation. A fund that invests in fixed-income securities is subject to varying degrees of risk that the issuers of the securities will have their credit ratings downgraded or will default, potentially reducing the fund’s share price and income level. Nearly all fixed-income securities are subject to some credit risk, which may vary depending upon whether the issuers of the securities are corporations, domestic or foreign governments or their subdivisions or instrumentalities. U.S. government securities are subject to varying degrees of credit risk depending upon whether the securities are supported by the full faith and credit of the United States, supported by the ability to borrow from the U.S. Treasury, supported only by the credit of the issuing U.S. government agency, instrumentality or corporation or otherwise supported by the United States. For example, issuers of many types of U.S. government securities (e.g., the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and Federal Home Loan Banks), although chartered or sponsored by Congress, are not funded by congressional appropriations, and their fixed-income securities, including asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities, are neither guaranteed nor insured by the U.S. government. An agency of the U.S. government has placed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into conservatorship, a statutory process with the objective of returning the entities to normal business operations. It is

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund details

unclear what effect this conservatorship will have on the securities issued or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. As a result, these securities are subject to more credit risk than U.S. government securities that are supported by the full faith and credit of the United States (e.g., U.S. Treasury bonds). When a fixed-income security is not rated, a subadviser may have to assess the risk of the security itself. Asset-backed securities, whose principal and interest payments are supported by pools of other assets, such as credit card receivables and automobile loans, are subject to further risks, including the risk that the obligors of the underlying assets default on payment of those assets.

Funds that invest in below-investment-grade securities (also called junk bonds), which are fixed-income securities rated “Ba” or lower by Moody’s or “BB” or lower by S&P at the time of investment, or determined by a subadviser to be of comparable quality to securities so rated, are subject to increased credit risk. The sovereign debt of many foreign governments, including their subdivisions and instrumentalities, falls into this category. Below-investment-grade securities offer the potential for higher investment returns than higher-rated securities, but they carry greater credit risk: their issuers’ continuing ability to meet principal and interest payments is considered speculative, they are more susceptible to real or perceived adverse economic and competitive industry conditions and they may be less liquid than higher-rated securities.

In addition, a fund is exposed to credit risk to the extent it makes use of OTC derivatives (such as forward foreign currency contracts and/or swap contracts) and engages to a significant extent in the lending of fund securities or the use of repurchase agreements. OTC derivatives transactions can be closed out with the other party to the transaction. If the counterparty defaults, a fund will have contractual remedies, but there is no assurance that the counterparty will be able to meet its contractual obligations or that, in the event of default, a fund will succeed in enforcing them. A fund, therefore, assumes the risk that it may be unable to obtain payments owed to it under OTC derivatives contracts or that those payments may be delayed or made only after the fund has incurred the costs of litigation. While the subadviser intends to monitor the creditworthiness of contract counterparties, there can be no assurance that the counterparty will be in a position to meet its obligations, especially during unusually adverse market conditions.

Economic and market events risk

Events in the financial sector have resulted, and may continue to result, in an unusually high degree of volatility in the financial markets, both domestic and foreign. These events have included, but are not limited to, the U.S. government’s placement of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac under conservatorship, the bankruptcy filings of Lehman Brothers, Chrysler and General Motors, the sale of Merrill Lynch to Bank of America, the U.S. government support of American International Group and Citigroup, the sale of Wachovia to Wells Fargo, reports of credit and liquidity issues involving certain money market mutual funds, emergency measures by the U.S. and foreign governments banning short-selling, measures to address U.S. federal and state budget deficits, debt crises in the eurozone and S&P’s downgrade of the U.S. long-term sovereign debt. Both domestic and foreign equity markets have been experiencing increased volatility and turmoil, with issuers that have exposure to the real estate, mortgage and credit markets particularly affected, and it is uncertain whether or for how long these conditions will continue.

In addition to the unprecedented volatility in financial markets, the reduced liquidity in credit and fixed-income markets may adversely affect many issuers worldwide. This reduced liquidity may result in less money being available to purchase raw materials, goods and services from emerging markets, which may, in turn, bring down the prices of these economic staples. It may also result in emerging-market issuers having more difficulty obtaining financing, which may, in turn, cause a decline in their stock prices. These events and possible continuing market volatility may have an adverse effect on the fund.

Equity securities risk

Common and preferred stocks represent equity ownership in a company. Stock markets are volatile. The price of equity securities will fluctuate, and can decline and reduce the value of a fund investing in equities. The price of equity securities fluctuates based on changes in a company’s financial condition, and overall market and economic conditions. The value of equity securities purchased by a fund could decline if the financial condition of the companies in which the fund is invested declines, or if overall market and economic conditions deteriorate. Even a fund that invests in high-quality or “blue chip” equity securities, or securities of established companies with large market capitalizations (which generally have strong financial characteristics), can be negatively impacted by poor overall market and economic conditions. Companies with large market capitalizations may also have less growth potential than smaller companies and may be less able to react quickly to changes in the marketplace.

The fund may maintain substantial exposure to equities and generally does not attempt to time the market. Because of this exposure, the possibility that stock market prices in general will decline over short or extended periods subjects the fund to unpredictable declines in the value of its investments, as well as periods of poor performance.

Fixed-income securities risk

Fixed-income securities are generally subject to two principal types of risks: (a) interest-rate risk and (b) credit quality risk.

Interest-rate risk. Fixed-income securities are affected by changes in interest rates. When interest rates decline, the market value of fixed-income securities generally can be expected to rise. Conversely, when interest rates rise, the market value of fixed-income securities generally can be expected to decline. The longer the duration or maturity of a fixed-income security, the more susceptible it is to interest-rate risk.

Credit quality risk. Fixed-income securities are subject to the risk that the issuer of the security will not repay all or a portion of the principal borrowed and will not make all interest payments. If the credit quality of a fixed-income security deteriorates after a fund has purchased the security, the market value of the security may decrease and lead to a decrease in the value of the fund’s investments. Funds that may invest in lower-rated fixed-income securities, commonly referred to as “junk” securities, are riskier than funds that may invest in higher-rated fixed-income securities. Additional information on the risks of investing in investment-grade fixed-income securities in the lowest rating category and lower-rated fixed-income securities is set forth below.

Investment-grade fixed-income securities in the lowest rating category risk. Investment-grade fixed-income securities in the lowest rating category (rated “Baa” by Moody’s or “BBB” by S&P and comparable unrated securities) involve a higher degree of risk than fixed-income securities in the higher rating categories. While such securities are considered investment-grade quality and are deemed to have adequate capacity for payment of principal and interest, such securities lack outstanding investment characteristics and have speculative characteristics as well. For example, changes in economic conditions or other circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity to make principal and interest payments than is the case with higher-grade securities.

Prepayment of principal. Many types of debt securities, including floating-rate loans, are subject to prepayment risk. Prepayment risk occurs when the issuer of a security can repay principal prior to the

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund details

security’s maturity. Securities subject to prepayment risk can offer less potential for gains when the credit quality of the issuer improves.

Foreign securities risk

Funds that invest in securities traded principally in securities markets outside the United States are subject to additional and more varied risks, as the value of foreign securities may change more rapidly and extremely than the value of U.S. securities. The securities markets of many foreign countries are relatively small, with a limited number of companies representing a small number of industries. Additionally, issuers of foreign securities may not be subject to the same degree of regulation as U.S. issuers. Reporting, accounting and auditing standards of foreign countries differ, in some cases significantly, from U.S. standards. There are generally higher commission rates on foreign portfolio transactions, transfer taxes, higher custodial costs and the possibility that foreign taxes will be charged on dividends and interest payable on foreign securities, some or all of which may not be reclaimable. Also, for lesser-developed countries, nationalization, expropriation or confiscatory taxation, adverse changes in investment or exchange control regulations (which may include suspension of the ability to transfer currency or assets from a country), political changes or diplomatic developments could adversely affect a fund’s investments. In the event of nationalization, expropriation or other confiscation, the fund could lose its entire investment in a foreign security. All funds that invest in foreign securities are subject to these risks. Some of the foreign risks are also applicable to funds that invest a material portion of their assets in securities of foreign issuers traded in the U.S.

Emerging markets risk. Funds that invest a significant portion of their assets in the securities of issuers based in countries with “emerging market” economies are subject to greater levels of foreign investment risk than funds investing primarily in more-developed foreign markets, since emerging market securities may present market, credit, currency, liquidity, legal, political and other risks greater than, or in addition to, the risks of investing in developed foreign countries. These risks include: high currency exchange-rate fluctuations; increased risk of default (including both government and private issuers); greater social, economic and political uncertainty and instability (including the risk of war); more substantial governmental involvement in the economy; less governmental supervision and regulation of the securities markets and participants in those markets; controls on foreign investment and limitations on repatriation of invested capital and on a fund’s ability to exchange local currencies for U.S. dollars; unavailability of currency hedging techniques in certain emerging market countries; the fact that companies in emerging market countries may be newly organized, smaller and less seasoned; the difference in, or lack of, auditing and financial reporting standards, which may result in the unavailability of material information about issuers; different clearance and settlement procedures, which may be unable to keep pace with the volume of securities transactions or otherwise make it difficult to engage in such transactions; difficulties in obtaining and/or enforcing legal judgments in foreign jurisdictions; and significantly smaller market capitalizations of emerging market issuers.

Currency risk. Currency risk is the risk that fluctuations in exchange rates may adversely affect the U.S. dollar value of a fund’s investments. Currency risk includes both the risk that currencies in which a fund’s investments are traded, or currencies in which a fund has taken an active investment position, will decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar and, in the case of hedging positions, that the U.S. dollar will decline in value relative to the currency being hedged. Currency rates in foreign countries may fluctuate significantly for a number of reasons, including the forces of supply and demand in the foreign exchange markets, actual or perceived changes in interest rates and intervention (or the failure to intervene) by U.S. or foreign governments or central banks or by currency controls or political developments in the U.S. or abroad. Certain funds may engage in proxy hedging of currencies by entering into derivative transactions with respect to a currency whose value is expected to correlate to the value of a currency the fund owns or wants to own. This presents the risk that the two currencies may not move in relation to one another as expected. In that case, the fund could lose money on its investment and also lose money on the position designed to act as a proxy hedge. Certain funds may also take active currency positions and may cross-hedge currency exposure represented by their securities into another foreign currency. This may result in a fund’s currency exposure being substantially different than that suggested by its securities investments. All funds with foreign currency holdings and/or that invest or trade in securities denominated in foreign currencies or related derivative instruments may be adversely affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates. Derivative foreign currency transactions (such as futures, forwards and swaps) may also involve leveraging risk, in addition to currency risk. Leverage may disproportionately increase a fund’s portfolio losses and reduce opportunities for gain when interest rates, stock prices or currency rates are changing.

Hedging, derivatives and other strategic transactions risk

The ability of a fund to utilize hedging, derivatives and other strategic transactions successfully will depend in part on its subadviser’s ability to predict pertinent market movements and market risk, counterparty risk, credit risk, interest-rate risk and other risk factors, none of which can be assured. The skills required to successfully utilize hedging and other strategic transactions are different from those needed to select a fund’s securities. Even if the subadviser only uses hedging and other strategic transactions in a fund primarily for hedging purposes or to gain exposure to a particular securities market, if the transaction is not successful, it could result in a significant loss to a fund. The amount of loss could be more than the principal amount invested. These transactions may also increase the volatility of a fund and may involve a small investment of cash relative to the magnitude of the risks assumed, thereby magnifying the impact of any resulting gain or loss. For example, the potential loss from the use of futures can exceed a fund’s initial investment in such contracts. In addition, these transactions could result in a loss to a fund if the counterparty to the transaction does not perform as promised.

A fund may invest in derivatives, which are financial contracts with a value that depends on, or is derived from, the value of underlying assets, reference rates or indexes. Derivatives may relate to stocks, bonds, interest rates, currencies or currency exchange rates and related indexes. A fund may use derivatives for many purposes, including for hedging, and as a substitute for direct investment in securities or other assets. Derivatives may be used in a way to efficiently adjust the exposure of a fund to various securities, markets and currencies without a fund actually having to sell existing investments and make new investments. This generally will be done when the adjustment is expected to be relatively temporary or in anticipation of effecting the sale of fund assets and making new investments over time. Further, since many derivatives have a leverage component, adverse changes in the value or level of the underlying asset, reference rate or index can result in a loss substantially greater than the amount invested in the derivative itself. Certain derivatives have the potential for unlimited loss, regardless of the size of the initial investment. When a fund uses derivatives for leverage, investments in that fund will tend to be more volatile, resulting in larger gains or losses in response to market changes. To limit leverage risk, a fund may segregate assets determined to be liquid or, as permitted by applicable regulation, enter into certain offsetting positions to cover its obligations under derivative instruments. For a description of the various derivative instruments the fund may utilize, refer to the SAI.

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund details

The use of derivative instruments may involve risks different from, or potentially greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other more traditional assets. In particular, the use of derivative instruments exposes a fund to the risk that the counterparty to an over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives contract will be unable or unwilling to make timely settlement payments or otherwise to honor its obligations. OTC derivatives transactions typically can only be closed out with the other party to the transaction, although either party may engage in an offsetting transaction that puts that party in the same economic position as if it had closed out the transaction with the counterparty or may obtain the other party’s consent to assign the transaction to a third party. If the counterparty defaults, the fund will have contractual remedies, but there is no assurance that the counterparty will meet its contractual obligations or that, in the event of default, the fund will succeed in enforcing them. For example, because the contract for each OTC derivatives transaction is individually negotiated with a specific counterparty, a fund is subject to the risk that a counterparty may interpret contractual terms (e.g., the definition of default) differently than the fund when the fund seeks to enforce its contractual rights. If that occurs, the cost and unpredictability of the legal proceedings required for the fund to enforce its contractual rights may lead it to decide not to pursue its claims against the counterparty. The fund, therefore, assumes the risk that it may be unable to obtain payments owed to it under OTC derivatives contracts or that those payments may be delayed or made only after the fund has incurred the costs of litigation. While a subadviser intends to monitor the creditworthiness of counterparties, there can be no assurance that a counterparty will meet its obligations, especially during unusually adverse market conditions. To the extent a fund contracts with a limited number of counterparties, the fund’s risk will be concentrated and events that affect the creditworthiness of any of those counterparties may have a pronounced effect on the fund. Derivatives also are subject to a number of other risks, including market risk and liquidity risk. Since the value of derivatives is calculated and derived from the value of other assets, instruments or references, there is a risk that they will be improperly valued. Derivatives also involve the risk that changes in their value may not correlate perfectly with the assets, rates or indexes they are designed to hedge or closely track. Suitable derivatives transactions may not be available in all circumstances. The fund is also subject to the risk that the counterparty closes out the derivatives transactions upon the occurrence of certain triggering events. In addition, a subadviser may determine not to use derivatives to hedge or otherwise reduce risk exposure. A detailed discussion of various hedging and other strategic transactions appears in the SAI.


	•	Credit default swaps Counterparty risk, liquidity risk (i.e., the inability to enter into closing transactions), interest-rate risk, risk of default of the underlying reference obligation and risk of disproportionate loss are the principal risks of engaging in transactions involving credit default swaps.


	•	Foreign currency forward contracts Counterparty risk, liquidity risk (i.e., the inability to enter into closing transactions), foreign currency risk and risk of disproportionate loss are the principal risks of engaging in transactions involving foreign currency forward contracts.


	•	Futures contracts Counterparty risk, liquidity risk (i.e., the inability to enter into closing transactions) and risk of disproportionate loss are the principal risks of engaging in transactions involving futures contracts.


	•	Options Counterparty risk, liquidity risk (i.e., the inability to enter into closing transactions) and risk of disproportionate loss are the principal risks of engaging in transactions involving options. Counterparty risk does not apply to exchange-traded options.


	•	Swaps Counterparty risk, liquidity risk (i.e., the inability to enter into closing transactions), interest-rate risk, settlement risk, risk of default of the underlying reference obligation and risk of disproportionate loss are the principal risks of engaging in transactions involving swaps.

High portfolio turnover risk

A high fund portfolio turnover rate (over 100%) generally involves correspondingly greater brokerage commission expenses, which must be borne directly by a fund. The portfolio turnover rate of a fund may vary from year to year, as well as within a year.

Industry or sector risk

When a fund’s investments are focused in one or more particular industries or sectors of the economy, they are not as diversified as the investments of most mutual funds and are far less diversified than the broad securities markets. This means that focused funds tend to be more volatile than other mutual funds, and the values of their investments tend to go up and down more rapidly. In addition, a fund which invests in particular industries or sectors is particularly susceptible to the impact of market, economic, regulatory and other factors affecting those industries or sectors.

Issuer risk

An issuer of a security purchased by a fund may perform poorly and, therefore, the value of its stocks and bonds may decline and the issuer may default on its obligations. Poor performance may be caused by poor management decisions, competitive pressures, breakthroughs in technology, reliance on suppliers, labor problems or shortages, corporate restructurings, fraudulent disclosures or other factors.

Large company risk

Larger, more established companies may be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges such as changes in technology and consumer tastes. Many larger companies also may not be able to attain the high growth rate of successful smaller companies, especially during extended periods of economic expansion. For purposes of the fund’s investment policies, the market capitalization of a company is based on its capitalization at the time the fund purchases the company’s securities. Market capitalizations of companies change over time. The fund is not obligated to sell a company’s security simply because, subsequent to its purchase, the company’s market capitalization has changed to be outside the capitalization range for the fund.

Liquidity risk

A fund is exposed to liquidity risk when trading volume, lack of a market maker or legal restrictions impair the fund’s ability to sell particular securities or close derivative positions at an advantageous market price. Funds with principal investment strategies that involve investments in securities of companies with smaller market capitalizations, foreign securities, derivatives or securities with substantial market and/or credit risk tend to have the greatest exposure to liquidity risk. Exposure to liquidity risk may be heightened for funds that invest in emerging markets and related derivatives that are not widely traded, and that may be subject to purchase and sale restrictions.

Lower-rated fixed-income securities risk and high-yield securities risk

Lower-rated fixed-income securities are defined as securities rated below investment grade (rated “Ba” and below by Moody’s, and “BB” and below by S&P) (also called junk bonds). The general risks of investing in these securities are as follows:


	•	Risk to principal and income. Investing in lower-rated fixed-income securities is considered speculative. While these securities generally provide greater income potential than investments in

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund details


		higher-rated securities, there is a greater risk that principal and interest payments will not be made. Issuers of these securities may even go into default or become bankrupt.


	•	Price volatility. The price of lower-rated fixed-income securities may be more volatile than securities in the higher-rating categories. This volatility may increase during periods of economic uncertainty or change. The price of these securities is affected more than higher-rated fixed-income securities by the market’s perception of their credit quality, especially during times of adverse publicity. In the past, economic downturns or increases in interest rates have, at times, caused more defaults by issuers of these securities and may do so in the future. Economic downturns and increases in interest rates have an even greater effect on highly leveraged issuers of these securities.


	•	Liquidity. The market for lower-rated fixed-income securities may have more limited trading than the market for investment-grade fixed-income securities. Therefore, it may be more difficult to sell these securities, and these securities may have to be sold at prices below their market value in order to meet redemption requests or to respond to changes in market conditions.


	•	Dependence on subadviser’s own credit analysis. While a subadviser may rely on ratings by established credit-rating agencies, it will also supplement such ratings with its own independent review of the credit quality of the issuer. Therefore, the assessment of the credit risk of lower-rated fixed-income securities is more dependent on the subadviser’s evaluation than the assessment of the credit risk of higher-rated securities.

Additional risks regarding lower-rated corporate fixed-income securities. Lower-rated corporate fixed-income securities (and comparable unrated securities) tend to be more sensitive to individual corporate developments and changes in economic conditions than higher-rated corporate fixed-income securities. Issuers of lower-rated corporate fixed-income securities may also be highly leveraged, increasing the risk that principal and income will not be repaid.

Additional risks regarding lower-rated foreign government fixed-income securities. Lower-rated foreign government fixed-income securities are subject to the risks of investing in foreign countries described under “Foreign securities risk.” In addition, the ability and willingness of a foreign government to make payments on debt when due may be affected by the prevailing economic and political conditions within the country. Emerging-market countries may experience high inflation, interest rates and unemployment, as well as exchange-rate trade difficulties and political uncertainty or instability. These factors increase the risk that a foreign government will not make payments when due.

Medium and smaller company risk

Market risk and liquidity risk may be pronounced for securities of companies with medium-sized market capitalizations and are particularly pronounced for securities of companies with smaller market capitalizations. These companies may have limited product lines, markets or financial resources or they may depend on a few key employees. The securities of companies with medium and smaller market capitalizations may trade less frequently and in lesser volume than more widely held securities, and their value may fluctuate more sharply than those securities. They may also trade in the over-the-counter market or on a regional exchange, or may otherwise have limited liquidity. Investments in less-seasoned companies with medium and smaller market capitalizations may present greater opportunities for growth and capital appreciation, but also involve greater risks than customarily are associated with more established companies with larger market capitalizations. These risks apply to all funds that invest in the securities of companies with smaller market capitalizations, each of which primarily makes investments in companies with smaller- or medium-sized market capitalizations. For purposes of the fund’s investment policies, the market capitalization of a company is based on its capitalization at the time the fund purchases the company’s securities. Market capitalizations of companies change over time. The fund is not obligated to sell a company’s security simply because, subsequent to its purchase, the company’s market capitalization has changed to be outside the capitalization range for the fund.

Investing in Class A shares

The following are the names of the various entities involved with the fund’s investment and business operations, along with brief descriptions of the role each entity performs.

Trustees

Oversee the fund’s business activities and retain the services of the various firms that carry out the fund’s operations.

Investment adviser

Manages the fund’s business and investment activities.

John Hancock Investment Management Services, LLC
601 Congress Street
Boston, MA 02210-2805

The adviser administers the business and affairs of the fund and retains and compensates the investment subadviser to manage the assets of the fund. John Hancock is one of the most recognized and respected names in the financial services industry. The adviser’s parent company has been helping individuals and institutions work toward their financial goals since 1862. The adviser offers investment solutions managed by leading institutional money managers, taking a disciplined team approach to portfolio management and research, leveraging the expertise of seasoned investment professionals. As of September 30, 2011, the adviser had total assets under management of approximately $109.5 billion.

The adviser does not itself manage any of the fund’s portfolio assets but has ultimate responsibility to oversee the subadviser and recommend its hiring, termination and replacement. In this connection, the adviser: (i) monitors the compliance of the subadviser with the investment objectives and related policies of the fund, (ii) reviews the performance of the subadviser, and (iii) reports periodically on such performance to the Board of Trustees.

The fund relies on an order from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) permitting the adviser, subject to Board approval, to appoint a subadviser or change the terms of a subadvisory agreement without obtaining shareholder approval. The fund, therefore, is able to change subadvisers or the fees paid to a subadviser from time to time without the expense and delays associated with obtaining shareholder approval of the change. This order does not, however, permit the adviser to appoint a subadviser that is an affiliate of the adviser or the fund (other than by reason of serving as a subadviser to the fund), or to increase the subadvisory fee of an affiliated subadviser, without the approval of the shareholders.

Management fee

The fund pays the adviser a management fee for its services to the fund. The fee is stated as an annual percentage of the fund’s current value of the net assets of the fund determined in accordance with the following schedule, and that rate is applied to the average daily net assets of the fund.

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund details

If net assets are equal to or less than $500 million, the following fee schedule shall apply:


	Annual
Average Daily Net Assets	Rate




First $200 million		1	.30%

Next $300 million		1	.25%

If net assets exceed $500 million, the following fee schedule shall apply:


	Annual
Average Daily Net Assets	Rate




All asset levels		1	.20%

Out of these fees, the investment adviser in turn pays the fees of the subadviser.

The basis for the Trustees’ approval of the advisory fees and the subadvisory fees, and of the investment advisory agreement overall, including the subadvisory agreement, will be discussed in the fund’s first shareholder report.

Additional information about fund expenses

The fund’s annual operating expenses will likely vary throughout the period and from year to year. The fund’s expenses for the current fiscal year may be higher than the expenses listed in the fund’s “Annual fund operating expenses” table, for some of the following reasons: (i) a significant decrease in average net assets may result in a higher advisory fee rate if advisory fee breakpoints are not achieved; (ii) a significant decrease in average net assets may result in an increase in the expense ratio because certain fund expenses do not decrease as asset levels decrease; or (iii) fees may be incurred for extraordinary events such as fund tax expenses.

The adviser has contractually agreed to waive a portion of its management fee for certain funds (the participating funds) of John Hancock Funds II and John Hancock Variable Insurance Trust. The waiver equals, on an annualized basis, 0.01% of that portion of the aggregate net assets of all the participating funds that exceeds $75 billion but is less than $100 billion; and 0.015% of that portion of the aggregate net assets of all the participating funds that equals or exceeds $100 billion. The amount of the reimbursement is calculated daily and allocated among all the participating funds in proportion to the daily net assets of each fund. This arrangement may be amended or terminated at any time by the adviser upon notice to the funds and with the approval of the Board of Trustees.

The adviser has voluntarily agreed to reduce its management fee for the fund, or if necessary make payment to the fund, in an amount equal to the amount by which the “Other expenses” of the fund exceed 0.20% of average annual net assets (on an annualized basis) of the fund. “Other expenses” means all the expenses of the fund, excluding: (a) taxes, (b) brokerage commissions, (c) interest expense, (d) litigation and indemnification expenses and other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the fund’s business (e) advisory fees, (f) 12b-1 fees, (g) transfer agent fees and service fees, (h) blue-sky fees, (i) printing and postage, (j) acquired fund fees and expenses, (k) fees under any agreement or plan of the fund dealing with services for shareholders or others with beneficial interests in shares of the fund, and (l) short dividends. This voluntary expense reimbursement will continue in effect until terminated at any time by the adviser on notice to the fund.

The adviser may recapture operating expenses reimbursed or fees waived for a period of three years following the beginning of the month in which such reimbursement or waivers occurred.

Subadviser

Handles the fund’s day-to-day portfolio management.

Standard Life Investments (Corporate Funds) Limited
One Beacon Street, 34th Floor
Boston, MA 02108-3106

The head office of Standard Life Investments (Corporate Funds) Limited (Standard Life Investments) is located at 1 George Street, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK, EH2 2LL, and its U.S. office is located in Boston, Massachusetts, at the address noted above. As of September 30, 2011, the wider Standard Life Investments group had approximately $233.4 billion in assets under management. Standard Life Investments’ sole business is asset management. Standard Life Investments manages assets on behalf of the Standard Life Group and a wide range of third party clients through a variety of investment vehicles. Standard Life Investments offers discretionary asset management services across a broad range of asset classes, delivered via a variety of product structures.

Standard Life Investments uses a team approach in its investment management decisions.

Following are brief biographical profiles of the leaders of the fund’s portfolio management team. For more about these individuals, including information about their compensation, other accounts they manage and any investments they may have in the fund, see the SAI.

David Millar


•	Investment Director, Multi-Asset Investing


•	Managed fund since inception


•	Head of Bond Strategy and Chair of the Bond Policy Group (2003-2008) and fixed-income fund manager (1995-2003), Scottish Widows Investment Partnership


•	Joined Standard Life Investments in 2008


•	22 years of investment industry experience

Euan Munro


•	Director of Multi-Asset Investing & Fixed Income


•	Managed fund since inception


•	Joined Standard Life Investments in 1995


•	19 years of investment industry experience

Guy Stern


•	Investment Director, Multi-Asset Investing


•	Managed fund since inception


•	Chief Investment Officer, Credit Suisse Asset Management (2002-2008)


•	Joined Standard Life Investments in 2008


•	27 years of investment industry experience

Custodian

Holds the fund’s assets, settles all portfolio trades and collects most of the valuation data required for calculating the fund’s net asset value.

State Street Bank and Trust Company
Lafayette Corporate Center
Two Avenue de Lafayette
Boston, MA 02111

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund details

Your account

Class A shares’ cost structure includes a Rule 12b-1 plan that allows it to pay fees for the sale, distribution and service of its shares.

Class A


•	A front-end sales charge, as described in the section “How sales charges are calculated.”


•	Distribution and service (Rule 12b-1) fees of 0.30%.

Rule 12b-1 fees

Rule 12b-1 fees will be paid to the fund’s distributor, John Hancock Funds, LLC, and may be used by the distributor for expenses relating to the distribution of, and shareholder or administrative services for holders of, the shares of the class and for the payment of service fees that come within Rule 2830(d)(5) of the Conduct Rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

Because Rule 12b-1 fees are paid out of the fund’s assets on an ongoing basis, over time they will increase the cost of your investment and may cost shareholders more than other types of sales charges.

Other classes of shares of the fund, which have their own expense structure, may be offered in separate prospectuses.

Your broker-dealer or agent may charge you a fee to effect transactions in fund shares.

Additional payments to financial intermediaries

Shares of the fund are primarily sold through financial intermediaries, such as brokers, banks, registered investment advisers, financial planners and retirement plan administrators. These firms may be compensated for selling shares of the fund in two principal ways:


•	directly, by the payment of sales commissions, if any; and


•	indirectly, as a result of the fund paying Rule 12b-1 fees.

Certain firms may request, and the distributor may agree to make, payments in addition to sales commissions and Rule 12b-1 fees out of the distributor’s own resources. These additional payments are sometimes referred to as “revenue sharing.” These payments assist in the distributor’s efforts to promote the sale of the fund’s shares. The distributor agrees with the firm on the methods for calculating any additional compensation, which may include the level of sales or assets attributable to the firm. Not all firms receive additional compensation and the amount of compensation varies. These payments could be significant to a firm. The distributor determines which firms to support and the extent of the payments it is willing to make. The distributor generally chooses to compensate firms that have a strong capability to distribute shares of the fund and that are willing to cooperate with the distributor’s promotional efforts.

The distributor hopes to benefit from revenue sharing by increasing the fund’s net assets, which, as well as benefiting the fund, would result in additional management and other fees for the adviser and its affiliates. In consideration for revenue sharing, a firm may feature the fund in its sales system or give preferential access to members of its sales force or management. In addition, the firm may agree to participate in the distributor’s marketing efforts by allowing the distributor or its affiliates to participate in conferences, seminars or other programs attended by the intermediary’s sales force. Although an intermediary may seek revenue-sharing payments to offset costs incurred by the firm in servicing its clients who have invested in the fund, the intermediary may earn a profit on these payments. Revenue-sharing payments may provide your firm with an incentive to favor the fund.

The SAI discusses the distributor’s revenue-sharing arrangements in more detail. Your intermediary may charge you additional fees other than those disclosed in this prospectus. You can ask your firm about any payments it receives from the distributor or the fund, as well as about fees and/or commissions it charges.

The distributor, adviser and their affiliates may have other relationships with your firm relating to the provisions of services to the fund, such as providing omnibus account services, transaction-processing services or effecting portfolio transactions for the fund. If your intermediary provides these services, the adviser or the fund may compensate the intermediary for these services. In addition, your intermediary may have other compensated relationships with the adviser or its affiliates that are not related to the fund.

Rollover program compensation

The broker-dealer of record for a pension, profit-sharing or other plan qualified under Section 401(a), or described in Section 457(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code), that is funded by certain group annuity contracts issued by John Hancock insurance companies, is eligible to receive ongoing compensation (Rollover Compensation) when a plan participant terminates from the qualified plan and rolls over assets into a John Hancock-sponsored custodial IRA or a John Hancock custodial Roth IRA invested in shares of John Hancock funds. The Rollover Compensation is paid from a fund’s Rule 12b-1 fees to the plan’s broker-dealer of record at an annual rate not expected to exceed 0.25% of the average daily net eligible assets held in John Hancock funds (0.15% for John Hancock Money Market Fund) under the rollover program. Rollover Compensation is made in the first year and continues thereafter, quarterly in arrears. A John Hancock insurance company may also pay the third-party administrator for the plan a one-time nominal fee not expected to exceed $25 per participant rollover into a John Hancock fund for facilitating the transaction.

How sales charges are calculated

Class A sales charges are as follows:


	As a % of			As a % of
Your investment	offering price*			your investment




Up to $49,999		5	.00%		5	.26%

$50,000 – $99,999		4	.50%		4	.71%

$100,000 – $249,999		3	.50%		3	.63%

$250,000 – $499,999		2	.50%		2	.56%

$500,000 – $999,999		2	.00%		2	.04%

$1,000,000 and over		See below


*		Offering price is the net asset value per share plus any initial sales charge.

You may qualify for a reduced Class A sales charge if you own or are purchasing Class A, B, C, T, ADV, all R, I2 or I shares of a John Hancock open-end mutual fund. To receive the reduced sales charge, you must tell your broker or financial representative at the time you purchase the fund’s Class A shares about any other John Hancock mutual funds held by you, your spouse or your children under the age of 21 living in the same household. This includes investments held in an individual retirement account, an employee

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Your account

benefit plan or with a broker or financial representative other than the one handling your current purchase. John Hancock will credit the combined value, at the current offering price, of all eligible accounts to determine whether you qualify for a reduced sales charge on your current purchase. You may need to provide documentation for these accounts, such as an account statement. For more information about these reduced sales charges, you may visit the fund’s Web site at www.jhfunds.com. You may also consult your broker or financial adviser, or refer to the section entitled “Initial Sales Charge on Class A Shares” in the fund’s SAI. You may request an SAI from your broker or financial adviser by accessing the fund’s Web site at www.jhfunds.com or by calling Signature Services at 1-800-225-5291.

Investments of $1 million or more

Class A shares are available with no front-end sales charge on investments of $1 million or more. There is a contingent deferred sales charge (CDSC) on any Class A shares upon which a commission or finder’s fee was paid that are sold within one year of purchase, as follows:

Class A deferred charges on investments of $1 million or more


Years after purchase	CDSC




1^st year		1	.00%

After 1^st year		None

For purposes of this CDSC, all purchases made during a calendar month are counted as having been made on the first day of that month.

The CDSC is based on the lesser of the original purchase cost or the current market value of the shares being sold, and is not charged on shares you acquired by reinvesting your dividends. To keep your CDSC as low as possible, each time you place a request to sell shares we will first sell any shares in your account that are not subject to a CDSC.

Sales charge reductions and waivers

Reducing your Class A sales charges

There are several ways you can combine multiple purchases of shares of John Hancock funds to take advantage of the breakpoints in the sales charge schedule. The first three ways can be combined in any manner.


•	Accumulation Privilege — lets you add the value of any class of shares of any John Hancock open-end fund you already own to the amount of your next Class A investment for purposes of calculating the sales charge. However, Class A shares of money market funds will not qualify unless you have already paid a sales charge on those shares.

•

Letter of Intention — lets you purchase Class A shares of a fund over a 13-month period and receive the same sales charge as if all shares had been purchased at once. You can use a Letter of Intention to qualify for reduced sales charges if you plan to invest at least $50,000 in a John Hancock fund’s Class A and Class T shares during the next 13 months. The calculation of this amount would include accumulations and combinations as well as your current holdings of all classes of John Hancock funds, which include any reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions. However, Class A shares of money market funds will be excluded unless you have already paid a sales charge. When you sign this letter, the fund agrees to charge you the reduced sales charges. Completing a Letter of Intention does not obligate you to purchase additional shares. However, if you do not buy enough shares to qualify for the lower sales charges by the earlier of the end of the 13-month period or when you sell your shares, your sales charges will be recalculated to reflect your actual purchase level. Also available for individual retirement plan investors is a 48-month Letter of Intention, described in the SAI.


•	Combination Privilege — lets you combine shares of all funds for purposes of calculating the Class A sales charge.

To utilize any reduction, you must complete the appropriate section of your application, or contact your financial representative or Signature Services. Consult the SAI for additional details (see the back cover of this prospectus).

Group investment program

A group may be treated as a single purchaser under the accumulation and combination privileges. Each investor has an individual account, but the group’s investments are lumped together for sales charge purposes, making the investors potentially eligible for reduced sales charges. There is no charge or obligation to invest (although initial investments per account opened must satisfy minimum initial investment requirements specified in the section entitled “Opening an account”), and individual investors may close their accounts at any time.

To utilize this program, you must contact your financial representative or Signature Services to find out how to qualify. Consult the SAI for additional details (see the back cover of this prospectus).

CDSC waivers

As long as Signature Services is notified at the time you sell, the Class A CDSC will be waived in the following cases:


•	certain retirement plans participating in Merrill Lynch, The Princeton Retirement Group, Inc. or PruSolutions^SM programs


•	redemptions pursuant to the fund’s right to liquidate an account that is below the minimum account value stated below in “Dividends and account policies,” under the subsection “Small accounts”


•	redemptions of Class A shares made after one year from the inception of a retirement plan at John Hancock


•	to make certain distributions from a retirement plan


•	because of shareholder death or disability


•	rollovers, contract exchanges or transfers of John Hancock custodial 403(b)(7) account assets required by John Hancock as a result of its decision to discontinue maintaining and administering 403(b)(7) accounts

To utilize a waiver, you must contact your financial representative or Signature Services. Consult the SAI for additional details (see the back cover of this prospectus).

Reinstatement privilege

If you sell shares of a John Hancock fund, you may reinvest some or all of the proceeds back into the same share class of the same fund and account from which it was removed, within 120 days without a sales charge, subject to fund minimums, as long as Signature Services or your financial representative is notified before you reinvest. If you paid a CDSC when you sold your shares, you will be credited with the amount of the CDSC. Consult the SAI for additional details.

To utilize this privilege, you must contact your financial representative or Signature Services. Consult the SAI for additional details (see the back cover of this prospectus).

Waivers for certain investors

Class A shares may be offered without front-end sales charges or CDSCs to the following individuals and institutions:


•	selling brokers and their employees and sales representatives (and their Immediate Family, as defined in the SAI)

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Your account


•	financial representatives utilizing fund shares in certain eligible retirement platforms, fee-based or wrap investment products under a signed agreement with the distributor


•	fund trustees and other individuals who are affiliated with these or other John Hancock funds, including employees of John Hancock companies or Manulife Financial Corporation (and their Immediate Family, as defined in the SAI)


•	individuals transferring assets held in a SIMPLE IRA, SEP or SAR-SEP invested in John Hancock funds directly to an IRA


•	individuals converting assets held in an IRA, SIMPLE IRA, SEP or SAR-SEP invested in John Hancock funds directly to a Roth IRA


•	individuals recharacterizing assets from an IRA, Roth IRA, SEP, SAR-SEP or SIMPLE IRA invested in John Hancock funds back to the original account type from which it was converted


•	participants in certain 529 plans that have a signed agreement with the distributor (one-year CDSC may apply)


•	participants in certain retirement plans with at least 100 eligible employees (one-year CDSC applies)


•	certain retirement plans participating in Merrill Lynch, The Princeton Retirement Group, Inc. or PruSolutions^SM programs

•

terminating participants rolling over (directly or within 60 days after distribution) assets held in a pension, profit sharing or other plan qualified under Section 401(a) of the Code, or described in Section 457(b) of the Code, that is funded by certain John Hancock group annuity contracts, to a John Hancock custodial IRA or John Hancock custodial Roth IRA that invests in John Hancock funds, such participants and their Immediate Family (as defined in the SAI) subsequently establishing or rolling over assets into a new John Hancock custodial IRA or John Hancock custodial Roth IRA through John Hancock’s Retirement Income and Rollover Solutions (RIRS) Group, including subsequent investments into such IRAs

•

participants rolling over (directly or within 60 days after distribution) from a terminating pension, profit sharing or other plan qualified under Section 401(a) of the Code, or described in Section 457(b) of the Code (the assets of which, immediately prior to its termination, were held in certain John Hancock group annuity contracts but are now transferred from such contracts and held either: (i) in trust by a distribution processing organization; or (ii) in a custodial IRA or custodial Roth IRA sponsored by an authorized third party trust company and made available through John Hancock), to a John Hancock custodial IRA or John Hancock custodial Roth IRA that invests in John Hancock funds, such participants and their Immediate Family (as defined in the SAI) subsequently establishing or rolling over assets into a new John Hancock custodial IRA or John Hancock custodial Roth IRA through the John Hancock RIRS Group, including subsequent investments into such IRAs


•	individuals rolling over assets held in a John Hancock custodial 403(b)(7) account into a John Hancock custodial IRA account


•	former employees/associates of John Hancock, its affiliates or agencies rolling over (directly or indirectly within 60 days after distribution) to a new John Hancock custodial IRA or John Hancock custodial Roth IRA from the John Hancock Employee Investment-Incentive Plan (TIP), John Hancock Savings Investment Plan (SIP) or the John Hancock Pension Plan and subsequent investments into such IRAs

To utilize a waiver, you must contact your financial representative or Signature Services. Consult the SAI for additional details (see the back cover of this prospectus).

Other waivers

Front-end sales charges and CDSCs are not imposed in connection with the following transactions:


•	exchanges from one John Hancock fund to the same class of any other John Hancock fund (see “Transaction policies” in this prospectus for additional details)


•	dividend reinvestments (see “Dividends and account policies” in this prospectus for additional details)


1	Read this prospectus carefully.


2	Determine how much you want to invest. The minimum initial investment for Class A shares of the fund is $2,500 except as follows:


	•	Coverdell ESAs: $2,000 (or such other minimum contribution requirement set forth in the Internal Revenue Code)


	•	there is no minimum initial investment for certain group retirement plans using salary deduction or similar group methods of payment


	•	group investments: $250


	•	there is no minimum initial investment for fee-based or wrap accounts of selling firms that have executed a fee-based or wrap agreement with the distributor


3	All shareholders must complete the account application, carefully following the instructions. If you have any questions, contact your financial representative or call Signature Services at 1-800-225-5291.


4	Complete the appropriate parts of the account privileges application. By applying for privileges now, you can avoid the delay and inconvenience of having to file an additional application if you want to add privileges later.


5	Make your initial investment using the instructions under “Buying shares.” You and your financial representative can initiate any purchase, exchange or sale of shares.

Important information about opening a new account

To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act) requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify and record information that identifies each person or entity that opens an account.

For individual investors opening an account When you open an account, you will be asked for your name, residential address, date of birth and Social Security number.

For investors other than individuals When you open an account, you will be asked for the name of the entity, its principal place of business and taxpayer identification number (TIN) and may be requested to provide information on persons with authority or control over the account, such as name, residential address, date of birth and Social Security number. You may also be asked to provide documents, such as articles of incorporation, trust instruments or partnership agreements and other information that will help Signature Services identify the entity. Please see the Mutual Fund Account Application for more details.

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Your account


Opening an account		Adding to an account

By check
• Make out a check for the investment amount, payable to “John Hancock Signature Services, Inc.” • Deliver the check and your completed application to your financial representative or mail them to Signature Services (address below).		• Make out a check for the investment amount, payable to “John Hancock Signature Services, Inc.” • Fill out the detachable investment slip from an account statement. If no slip is available, include a note specifying the fund name, the share class, your account number and the name(s) in which the account is registered. • Deliver the check and your investment slip or note to your financial representative, or mail them to Signature Services (address below).




By exchange
• Call your financial representative or Signature Services to request an exchange.		• Log on to the Web site below to process exchanges between funds. • Call EASI-Line for automated service. • Call your financial representative or Signature Services to request an exchange.




By wire
• Deliver your completed application to your financial representative or mail it to Signature Services. • Obtain your account number by calling your financial representative or Signature Services. • Obtain wiring instructions by calling Signature Services. • Instruct your bank to wire the amount of your investment. Specify the fund name, the share class, your account number and the name(s) in which the account is registered. Your bank may charge a fee to wire funds.		• Obtain wiring instructions by calling Signature Services. • Instruct your bank to wire the amount of your investment. Specify the fund name, the share class, your account number and the name(s) in which the account is registered. Your bank may charge a fee to wire funds.




By Internet
• See “By exchange” and “By wire.”		• Verify that your bank or credit union is a member of the Automated Clearing House (ACH) system. • Complete the “Bank information” section on your account application. • Log on to the Web site below to initiate purchases using your authorized bank account.




By phone
• See “By exchange” and “By wire.”		• Verify that your bank or credit union is a member of the ACH system. • Complete the “To purchase, exchange or redeem shares via telephone” and “Bank information” sections on your account application. • Call EASI-Line for automated service. • Call your financial representative or call Signature Services between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on most business days. To add to an account using the Monthly Automatic Accumulation Program, see “Additional investor services.”



Regular mail	Express delivery	Web site	EASI-Line	Signature Services, Inc.
Mutual Fund Operations John Hancock Signature Services, Inc. P.O. Box 55913 Boston, MA 02205-5913	Mutual Fund Operations John Hancock Signature Services, Inc. 30 Dan Road Canton, MA 02021	www.jhfunds.com	(24/7 automated service) 1-800-338-8080	1-800-225-5291

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Your account


		To sell some or all of your shares

By letter
• Accounts of any type. • Sales of any amount.		• Write a letter of instruction or complete a stock power indicating the fund name, the share class, your account number, the name(s) in which the account is registered and the dollar value or number of shares you wish to sell. • Include all signatures and any additional documents that may be required (see next page). • Mail the materials to Signature Services (address below). • A check will be mailed to the name(s) and address in which the account is registered, or otherwise according to your letter of instruction.




By Internet
• Most accounts. • Sales of up to $100,000.		• Log on to the Web site below to initiate redemptions from your fund.




By phone
• Most accounts. • Sales of up to $100,000.		• Call EASI-Line for automated service. • Call your financial representative or call Signature Services between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on most business days.




By wire or electronic funds transfer (EFT)
• Requests by letter to sell any amount. • Requests by Internet or phone to sell up to $100,000.		• To verify that the Internet or telephone redemption privilege is in place on an account, or to request the form to add it to an existing account, call Signature Services. • Funds requested by wire will generally be wired the next business day. A $4 fee will be deducted from your account. Your bank may also charge you a fee for this service. • Funds requested by EFT are generally available by the second business day. Your bank may charge you a fee for this service.




By exchange
• Accounts of any type. • Sales of any amount.		• Obtain a current prospectus for the fund into which you are exchanging by accessing the fund’s Web site by Internet, or by calling your financial representative or Signature Services. • Log on to the Web site below to process exchanges between your funds. • Call EASI-Line for automated service. • Call your financial representative or Signature Services to request an exchange. To sell shares through a systematic withdrawal plan, see “Additional investor services.”



Regular mail	Express delivery	Web site	EASI-Line	Signature Services, Inc.
Mutual Fund Operations John Hancock Signature Services, Inc. P.O. Box 55913 Boston, MA 02205-5913	Mutual Fund Operations John Hancock Signature Services, Inc. 30 Dan Road Canton, MA 02021	www.jhfunds.com	(24/7 automated service) 1-800-338-8080	1-800-225-5291

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Your account

Selling shares in writing

In certain circumstances, you will need to make your request to sell shares in writing. You may need to include additional items with your request, unless they were previously provided to Signature Services and are still accurate. These items are shown in the table below. You may also need to include a signature guarantee, which protects you against fraudulent orders. You will need a signature guarantee if:


•	your address of record has changed within the past 30 days;


•	you are selling more than $100,000 worth of shares (this requirement is waived for certain entities operating under a signed fax trading agreement with John Hancock); or


•	you are requesting payment other than by a check mailed to the address/bank of record and payable to the registered owner(s).

You will need to obtain your signature guarantee from a member of the Medallion Signature Guarantee Program. Most broker-dealers, banks, credit unions and securities exchanges are members of this program. A notary public CANNOT provide a signature guarantee.


Seller		Requirements for written requests

Owners of individual, joint or UGMA/UTMA accounts (custodial accounts for minors)		• Letter of instruction. • On the letter, the signatures and titles of all persons authorized to sign for the account, exactly as the account is registered. • Medallion Signature Guarantee, if applicable (see above).




Owners of corporate, sole proprietorship, general partner or association accounts		• Letter of instruction. • Corporate business/organization resolution, certified within the past 12 months, or a John Hancock business/organization certification form. • On the letter and the resolution, the signature of the person(s) authorized to sign for the account. • Medallion Signature Guarantee, if applicable (see above).




Owners or trustees of trust accounts		• Letter of instruction. • On the letter, the signature(s) of the trustee(s). • Copy of the trust document, certified within the past 12 months, or a John Hancock trust certification form. • Medallion Signature Guarantee, if applicable (see above).




Joint tenancy shareholders with rights of survivorship with deceased co-tenant(s)		• Letter of instruction signed by surviving tenant(s). • Copy of death certificate. • Medallion Signature Guarantee, if applicable (see above). • Inheritance tax waiver, if applicable.




Executors of shareholder estates		• Letter of instruction signed by executor. • Copy of order appointing executor, certified within the past 12 months. • Medallion Signature Guarantee, if applicable (see above). • Inheritance tax waiver, if applicable.




Administrators, conservators, guardians and other sellers or account types not listed above		• Call Signature Services for instructions.



Regular mail	Express delivery	Web site	EASI-Line	Signature Services, Inc.
Mutual Fund Operations John Hancock Signature Services, Inc. P.O. Box 55913 Boston, MA 02205-5913	Mutual Fund Operations John Hancock Signature Services, Inc. 30 Dan Road Canton, MA 02021	www.jhfunds.com	(24/7 automated service) 1-800-338-8080	1-800-225-5291

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Your account

Valuation of shares

The net asset value (NAV) for each class of shares of the fund is determined once daily as of the close of regular trading of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) (typically 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time) on each business day that the NYSE is open. On holidays or other days when the NYSE is closed, the NAV is not calculated and the fund does not transact purchase or redemption requests. The time at which shares are priced and until which purchase and redemption orders are accepted may be changed as permitted by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Each class of shares of the fund has its own NAV, which is computed by dividing the total assets, minus liabilities, allocated to each share class by the number of fund shares outstanding for that class.

Valuation of securities

Except as noted below, securities held by the fund are primarily valued on the basis of market quotations or official closing prices. Certain short-term debt instruments are valued on the basis of amortized cost. Shares of other open-end investment companies held by the fund are valued based on the NAVs of those investment companies.

If market quotations or official closing prices are not readily available or do not accurately reflect fair value for a security, or if a security’s value has been materially affected by events occurring before the fund’s pricing time but after the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded, the security will be valued at its fair value as determined in good faith by the Trustees. The Trustees have delegated the responsibility to fair value securities to the fund’s Pricing Committee, and the actual calculation of a security’s fair value may be made by persons acting pursuant to the direction of the Trustees.

In deciding whether to fair value a security, the fund’s Pricing Committee may review a variety of factors, including:

in the case of foreign securities:


	•	developments in foreign markets,


	•	the performance of U.S. securities markets after the close of trading in the market and


	•	the performance of instruments trading in U.S. markets that represent foreign securities or baskets of foreign securities.

in the case of fixed-income securities:


	•	actions by the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee and other significant trends in U.S. fixed-income markets.

in the case of all securities:


	•	political or other developments affecting the economy or markets in which an issuer conducts its operations or its securities are traded,


	•	announcements relating to the issuer of the security concerning matters such as trading suspensions, acquisitions, recapitalizations, litigation developments, a natural disaster affecting the issuer’s operations or regulatory changes or market developments affecting the issuer’s industry and


	•	events affecting the securities markets in general (such as market disruptions or closings and significant fluctuations in U.S. and/or foreign markets).

Fair value pricing of securities is intended to help ensure that a fund’s NAV reflects the fair market value of the fund’s portfolio securities as of the close of regular trading on the NYSE (as opposed to a value that no longer reflects market value as of such close), thus limiting the opportunity for aggressive traders or market timers to purchase shares of the fund at deflated prices reflecting stale security valuations and promptly sell such shares at a gain, thereby diluting the interests of long-term shareholders. However, a security’s valuation may differ depending on the method used for determining value, and no assurance can be given that fair value pricing of securities will successfully eliminate all potential opportunities for such trading gains. The use of fair value pricing has the effect of valuing a security based upon the price the fund might reasonably expect to receive if it sold that security in an orderly transaction between market participants, but does not guarantee that the security can be sold at the fair value price. Further, because of the inherent uncertainty and subjective nature of fair valuation, a fair valuation price may differ significantly from the value that would have been used had a readily available market price for the investment existed and these differences could be material. With respect to any portion of a fund’s assets that is invested in another open-end investment company, that portion of the fund’s NAV is calculated based on the NAV of that investment company. The prospectus for the other investment company explains the circumstances and effects of fair value pricing for that other investment company.

If the fund has portfolio securities that are primarily listed on foreign exchanges that trade on weekends or other days when the fund does not price its shares, the NAV of the fund’s shares may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or redeem the fund’s shares.

Buy and sell prices

When you buy shares, you pay the NAV, plus any applicable sales charges, as described earlier. When you sell shares, you receive the NAV, minus any applicable deferred sales charges.

Execution of requests

The fund is open on those days when the NYSE is open, typically Monday through Friday. Buy and sell requests are executed at the next NAV to be calculated after Signature Services receives your request in good order. In unusual circumstances, the fund has the right to redeem in kind.

At times of peak activity, it may be difficult to place requests by telephone. During these times, consider using EASI-Line, accessing www.jhfunds.com or sending your request in writing.

In unusual circumstances, the fund may temporarily suspend the processing of sell requests or may postpone payment of proceeds for up to three business days or longer, as allowed by federal securities laws.

Telephone transactions

For your protection, telephone requests may be recorded in order to verify their accuracy. Also for your protection, telephone redemption transactions are not permitted on accounts in which names or mailing addresses have changed within the past 30 days. Proceeds from telephone transactions can only be mailed to the address of record.

Exchanges

You may exchange shares of a class of the fund for shares of the same class of any other John Hancock fund that is then offering that class, generally without paying any sales charges. The registration for both accounts must be identical.

Provided the fund’s eligibility requirements are met, an investor in the fund pursuant to a fee-based, wrap or other investment platform program of certain firms, as determined by the fund, may be afforded an opportunity to make a conversion of Class A and Class C shares (not subject to a CDSC) shares also owned by the investor in the same fund to Class I shares of that fund. Conversion of Class A shares and Class C

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Your account

shares to Class I shares of the same fund in these particular circumstances does not cause the investor to realize taxable gain or loss. For further details, see “Additional Information Concerning Taxes” in the SAI for information regarding taxation upon the redemption or exchange of shares of the fund (see the back cover of this prospectus).

The fund may change or cancel its exchange policies at any time, upon 60 days’ written notice to its shareholders. For further details, see “Additional Services and Programs” in the SAI (see the back cover of this prospectus).

Excessive trading

The fund is intended for long-term investment purposes only and does not knowingly accept shareholders who engage in market timing or other types of excessive short-term trading. Short-term trading into and out of the fund can disrupt portfolio investment strategies and may increase fund expenses for all shareholders, including long-term shareholders who do not generate these costs.

Right to reject or restrict purchase and exchange orders

Purchases and exchanges should be made primarily for investment purposes. The fund reserves the right to restrict, reject or cancel (with respect to cancellations within one day of the order), for any reason and without any prior notice, any purchase or exchange order, including transactions representing excessive trading and transactions accepted by any shareholder’s financial intermediary. For example, the fund may, in its discretion, restrict, reject or cancel a purchase or exchange order even if the transaction is not subject to a specific limitation on exchange activity, as described below, if the fund or its agent determines that accepting the order could interfere with the efficient management of the fund’s portfolio, or otherwise not be in the fund’s best interest in light of unusual trading activity related to your account. In the event that the fund rejects or cancels an exchange request, neither the redemption nor the purchase side of the exchange will be processed. If you would like the redemption request to be processed even if the purchase order is rejected, you should submit separate redemption and purchase orders rather than placing an exchange order. The fund reserves the right to delay for up to one business day, consistent with applicable law, the processing of exchange requests in the event that, in the fund’s judgment, such delay would be in the fund’s best interest, in which case both the redemption and purchase side of the exchange will receive the fund’s NAV at the conclusion of the delay period. The fund, through its agents in their sole discretion, may impose these remedial actions at the account holder level or the underlying shareholder level.

Exchange limitation policies

The Board of Trustees has adopted the following policies and procedures by which the fund, subject to the limitations described below, takes steps reasonably designed to curtail excessive trading practices.

Limitation on exchange activity

The fund or its agent may reject or cancel a purchase order, suspend or terminate the exchange privilege or terminate the ability of an investor to invest in John Hancock funds if the fund or its agent determines that a proposed transaction involves market timing or disruptive trading that it believes is likely to be detrimental to the fund. The fund or its agent cannot ensure that it will be able to identify all cases of market timing or disruptive trading, although it attempts to have adequate procedures in place to do so. The fund or its agent may also reject or cancel any purchase order (including an exchange) from an investor or group of investors for any other reason. Decisions to reject or cancel purchase orders (including exchanges) in the fund are inherently subjective and will be made in a manner believed to be in the best interest of the fund’s shareholders. The fund does not have any arrangement to permit market timing or disruptive trading.

Exchanges made on the same day in the same account are aggregated for purposes of counting the number and dollar amount of exchanges made by the account holder. The exchange limits referenced above will not be imposed or may be modified under certain circumstances. For example, these exchange limits may be modified for accounts held by certain retirement plans to conform to plan exchange limits, ERISA considerations or Department of Labor regulations. Certain automated or pre-established exchange, asset-allocation and dollar-cost-averaging programs are not subject to these exchange limits. These programs are excluded from the exchange limitation since the fund believes that they are advantageous to shareholders and do not offer an effective means for market timing or excessive trading strategies. These investment tools involve regular and predetermined purchase or redemption requests made well in advance of any knowledge of events affecting the market on the date of the purchase or redemption.

These exchange limits are subject to the fund’s ability to monitor exchange activity, as discussed under “Limitation on the ability to detect and curtail excessive trading practices” below. Depending upon the composition of the fund’s shareholder accounts, and in light of the limitations on the ability of the fund to detect and curtail excessive trading practices, a significant percentage of the fund’s shareholders may not be subject to the exchange limitation policy described above. In applying the exchange limitation policy, the fund considers information available to it at the time and reserves the right to consider trading activity in a single account or multiple accounts under common ownership, control or influence.

Limitation on the ability to detect and curtail excessive trading practices

Shareholders seeking to engage in excessive trading practices sometimes deploy a variety of strategies to avoid detection and, despite the efforts of the fund to prevent excessive trading, there is no guarantee that the fund or its agent will be able to identify such shareholders or curtail their trading practices. The ability of the fund and its agent to detect and curtail excessive trading practices may also be limited by operational systems and technological limitations. Because the fund will not always be able to detect frequent trading activity, investors should not assume that the fund will be able to detect or prevent all frequent trading or other practices that disadvantage the fund. For example, the ability of the fund to monitor trades that are placed by omnibus or other nominee accounts is severely limited in those instances in which the financial intermediary, including a financial adviser, broker, retirement plan administrator or fee-based program sponsor, maintains the records of the fund’s underlying beneficial owners. Omnibus or other nominee account arrangements are common forms of holding shares of the fund, particularly among certain financial intermediaries, such as financial advisers, brokers, retirement plan administrators or fee-based program sponsors. These arrangements often permit the financial intermediary to aggregate its clients’ transactions and ownership positions and do not identify the particular underlying shareholder(s) to the fund. However, the fund will work with financial intermediaries as necessary to discourage shareholders from engaging in abusive trading practices and to impose restrictions on excessive trades. In this regard, the fund has entered into information-sharing agreements with financial intermediaries pursuant to which these intermediaries are required to provide to the fund, at the fund’s request, certain information relating to their customers investing in the fund through omnibus or other nominee accounts. The fund will use this information to attempt to identify excessive trading practices. Financial intermediaries are contractually required to follow any instructions from the fund to restrict or prohibit future purchases from shareholders that are found to have engaged in excessive trading in violation of the fund’s policies. The fund

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Your account

cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information provided to it from financial intermediaries and so cannot ensure that it will be able to detect abusive trading practices that occur through omnibus or other nominee accounts. As a consequence, the fund’s ability to monitor and discourage excessive trading practices in these types of accounts may be limited.

Excessive trading risk

To the extent that the fund or its agent is unable to curtail excessive trading practices in the fund, these practices may interfere with the efficient management of the fund’s portfolio and may result in the fund engaging in certain activities to a greater extent than it otherwise would, such as maintaining higher cash balances, using its line of credit and engaging in increased portfolio transactions. Increased portfolio transactions and use of the line of credit would correspondingly increase the fund’s operating costs and decrease the fund’s investment performance. Maintenance of higher levels of cash balances would likewise result in lower fund investment performance during periods of rising markets.

While excessive trading can potentially occur in the fund, certain types of funds are more likely than others to be targets of excessive trading. For example:

•

A fund that invests a significant portion of its assets in small- or mid-capitalization stocks or securities in particular industries that may trade infrequently or are fair valued as discussed under “Valuation of securities” entails a greater risk of excessive trading, as investors may seek to trade fund shares in an effort to benefit from their understanding of the value of those types of securities (referred to as price arbitrage).


•	A fund that invests a material portion of its assets in securities of foreign issuers may be a potential target for excessive trading if investors seek to engage in price arbitrage based upon general trends in the securities markets that occur subsequent to the close of the primary market for such securities.

•

A fund that invests a significant portion of its assets in below-investment-grade (junk) bonds that may trade infrequently or are fair valued as discussed under “Valuation of securities” incurs greater risk of excessive trading, as investors may seek to trade fund shares in an effort to benefit from their understanding of the value of those types of securities (referred to as price arbitrage).

Any frequent trading strategies may interfere with efficient management of a fund’s portfolio and raise costs. A fund that invests in the types of securities discussed above may be exposed to this risk to a greater degree than a fund that invests in highly liquid securities. These risks would be less significant, for example, in a fund that primarily invests in U.S. government securities, money market instruments, investment-grade corporate issuers or large-capitalization U.S. equity securities. Any successful price arbitrage may cause dilution in the value of the fund shares held by other shareholders.

Account information

The fund is required by law to obtain information for verifying an account holder’s identity. For example, an individual will be required to supply his or her name, residential address, date of birth and Social Security number. If you do not provide the required information, we may not be able to open your account. If verification is unsuccessful, the fund may close your account, redeem your shares at the next NAV minus any applicable sales charges and take any other steps that it deems reasonable.

Certificated shares

The fund does not issue share certificates. Shares are electronically recorded.

Sales in advance of purchase payments

When you place a request to sell shares for which the purchase money has not yet been collected, the request will be executed in a timely fashion, but the fund will not release the proceeds to you until your purchase payment clears. This may take up to ten business days after the purchase.

Additional investor services

Account statements

In general, you will receive account statements as follows:


•	after every transaction (except a dividend reinvestment, automatic investment or systematic withdrawal) that affects your account balance


•	after any changes of name or address of the registered owner(s)


•	in all other circumstances, every quarter

Every year you should also receive, if applicable, a Form 1099 tax information statement, mailed by January 31.

Dividends

The fund typically declares and pays income dividends and capital gains, if any, at least annually.

Dividend reinvestments

Most investors have their dividends reinvested in additional shares of the same class of the same fund. If you choose this option, or if you do not indicate any choice, your dividends will be reinvested. Alternatively, you may choose to have your dividends and capital gains sent directly to your bank account or a check may be mailed if your combined dividend and capital gains amount is $10 or more. However, if the check is not deliverable or the combined dividend and capital gains amount is less than $10, your proceeds will be reinvested. If five or more of your dividend or capital gains checks remain uncashed after 180 days, all subsequent dividends and capital gains will be reinvested. No front-end sales charge or CDSC will be imposed on shares derived from reinvestment of dividends or capital gains distributions.

Taxability of dividends

For investors who are not exempt from federal income taxes, dividends you receive from the fund, whether reinvested or taken as cash, are generally considered taxable. Dividends from the fund’s short-term capital gains are taxable as ordinary income. Dividends from the fund’s long-term capital gains are taxable at a lower rate. Whether gains are short-term or long-term depends on the fund’s holding period. Some dividends paid in January may be taxable as if they had been paid the previous December.

The Form 1099 that is mailed to you every January, if applicable, details your dividends and their federal tax category, although you should verify your tax liability with your tax professional.

Returns of capital

If the fund’s distributions exceed its taxable income and capital gains realized during a taxable year, all or a portion of the distributions made in the same taxable year may be recharacterized as a return of capital to shareholders. A return of capital distribution will generally not be taxable, but will reduce each shareholder’s cost basis in the fund and

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Your account

result in a higher reported capital gain or lower reported capital loss when those shares on which the distribution was received are sold.

Taxability of transactions

Any time you sell or exchange shares, it is considered a taxable event for you if you are not exempt from federal income taxes. Depending on the purchase price and the sale price of the shares you sell or exchange, you may have a gain or a loss on the transaction. You are responsible for any tax liabilities generated by your transactions.

Small accounts

If the value of your account is less than $2,500, you may be asked to purchase more shares within 30 days. If you do not take action, the fund may close out your account and mail you the proceeds. Alternatively, the fund may charge you $20 a year to maintain your account. You will not be charged a CDSC if your account is closed for this reason.

Monthly Automatic Accumulation Program

MAAP lets you set up regular investments from paychecks or bank accounts to the John Hancock fund(s). Investors determine the frequency and amount of investments ($25 minimum per month), and they can terminate the program at any time. To establish, you must satisfy the minimum initial investment requirements specified in the section “Opening an account” and complete the appropriate parts of the account application.

Systematic withdrawal plan

This plan may be used for routine bill payments or periodic withdrawals from your account. To establish:


•	Make sure you have at least $5,000 worth of shares in your account.


•	Make sure you are not planning to invest more money in this account (buying shares during a period when you are also selling shares of the same fund is not advantageous to you because of sales charges).


•	Specify the payee(s). The payee may be yourself or any other party, and there is no limit to the number of payees you may have, as long as they are all on the same payment schedule.


•	Determine the schedule: monthly, quarterly, semiannually, annually or in certain selected months.


•	Fill out the relevant part of the account application. To add a systematic withdrawal plan to an existing account, contact your financial representative or Signature Services.

Retirement plans

John Hancock funds offer a range of retirement plans, including traditional and Roth IRAs, Coverdell ESAs, SIMPLE plans and SEPs. Using these plans, you can invest in any John Hancock fund (except tax-free income funds). To find out more, call Signature Services at 1-800-225-5291.

John Hancock does not accept requests to establish new John Hancock custodial 403(b)(7) accounts; does not accept requests for exchanges or transfers into your existing John Hancock custodial 403(b)(7) accounts; and requires additional disclosure documentation if you direct John Hancock to exchange or transfer some or all of your John Hancock custodial 403(b)(7) account assets to another 403(b)(7) contract or account. In addition, the fund no longer accepts salary deferrals into 403(b)(7) accounts. Please refer to the SAI for more information regarding these restrictions.

Disclosure of fund holdings

The following information for the fund is posted on the Web site, www.jhfunds.com, generally 1 month after month end: portfolio holdings allocations and market exposures based on synthetic instruments. The holdings of the fund will be posted to the Web site no earlier than 30 days after each calendar month end. The holdings of the fund are also disclosed quarterly to the SEC on Form N-Q as of the end of the first and third quarters of the fund’s fiscal year and on Form N-CSR as of the second and fourth quarters of the fund’s fiscal year. A description of the fund’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of its portfolio securities is available in the SAI.

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Your account

Related Performance Information

Historical Performance of the Standard Life Investments Global Absolute Return Strategy Composite

John Hancock Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund (the fund) is expected to commence operations on or about December 16, 2011, and, as a result, performance information for this fund is not presented in the prospectus. The fund is subadvised by Standard Life Investments (Corporate Funds) Limited (“Standard Life Investments”). Standard Life Investments and its related investment adviser manage portfolios in an investment style and strategy substantially similar to those that will be used to manage the fund. All of such portfolios are included in a composite, the performance of which is presented in this Appendix (the “Composite”). The portfolios have been managed by one or more of the portfolio managers disclosed in the fund’s prospectus and have been managed by entities that are subsidiaries of a single parent company. The Composite is comprised of portfolios that have been managed in foreign-currency denominations and, for performance reporting reasons, have been converted into U.S. dollars. The performance presented in the Composite has been generated on a performance asset-weighted basis and includes the reinvestment of dividends.

This Appendix presents historical performance information for the Composite as a whole. Because of the similarities between the fund and the Composite, this information may help provide an indication of the fund’s risks by showing how a similar Composite has performed historically. The performance of the Composite, however, is not the performance of the fund, and you should not assume that the fund will have the same performance as the Composite. The performance of the fund may be greater or less than the performance of the Composite due to, among other things, the number of the holdings in and composition of the fund’s portfolio, as well as the asset size and cash flow differences between the fund and Composite. The inception date of the Composite is July 1, 2006.

This Appendix includes two indices for purposes of comparing performance of the Composite. The BofA Merrill Lynch US Dollar 1-Month LIBID Average Index, the Composite’s benchmark (the “Benchmark”), reflects the investment strategies and performance target of the accounts underlying the Composite. The MSCI World Index is also included to show broad market performance.

This Appendix also presents standard deviation information relating to the Composite, the Benchmark and the MSCI World Index . Standard deviation data is shown in order to provide you with supplemental information relating to Standard Life Investments’ management of the Composite’s strategy over time. Standard deviation is calculated as the amount by which individual returns differ or vary from the average return over a specified period of time, and is used to measure the overall level of volatility of returns — or risk — of an investment portfolio. Generally, the higher the standard deviation, the greater the expected volatility of returns and potentially higher risk. These measures of past risk are not completely or necessarily representative of future risk and cannot predict the fund’s performance. In addition, the volatility of the fund’s returns to those of the Benchmark and MSCI World Index may be greater or less than that of the Composite due to, among other things, the number of holdings in and composition of the portfolio and Standard Life Investments’ management of the fund.

Performance information — bar chart and table — are presented on the following page for the Composite. The bar chart shows how the Composite’s total return has varied over the last four calendar years, and the table shows the Composite’s performance over the last one, three, five years and since inception (as compared with a broad-based market index for reference).

The past performance of the Composite is no guarantee of future results in managing the fund. The information in this Appendix does not represent the performance of the fund or any predecessor to it and is no indication of how it would have performed in the past or future.

The past performance of the Composite has been calculated net of fees and expenses. The Composite’s returns would be lower if it reflected the fees and expenses of the fund. Class A and Class C shares of the fund have front-end or deferred sales charges. The Composite does not have such charges or reflect expenses. The other expenses of Class A and Class C shares of the fund, including Rule 12b-1 fees, are, for each share class, are higher than those of the Composite. The performance of the Composite would be lower if adjusted to reflect the sales charges and expenses of Class A or Class C shares of the fund.

An index is unmanaged and it is not possible to invest directly in an index. As such, year-by-year index figures do not account for any sales charges, fees or fund expenses. As indicated above, past performance does not indicate future results.

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Appendix

Global Absolute Return Strategy Composite

Corresponding to John Hancock Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund

Net assets of Composite as of August 31, 2011: $13,906,729,409

Calendar year total returns — Composite (%)

Best quarter: 3Q ’09, 11.19% Worst quarter: 1Q ’08, –4.79%

2007

2008

2009

2010

7.29

–7.28

18.07

9.66


Global Absolute Return Strategy Composite							Since
average annual total returns (%)	1 Year		3 Years		5 Years		Inception

for periods ended August 31, 2011

Composite		–3.51		6.68		5.49		6.01

BofA Merrill Lynch US Dollar 1-Month LIBID Average Index (Benchmark)¹		0.12		0.43		2.06		2.17

MSCI World Index²		15.06		–0.71		0.35		0.97


							Since
Annualized Standard Deviation	1 Year		3 Years		5 Years		Inception

for periods ended August 31, 2011

Composite		3.41		6.85		6.17		6.12

BofA Merrill Lynch US Dollar 1-Month LIBID Average Index (Benchmark)¹		0.01		0.23		0.64		0.65

MSCI World Index²		16.08		23.06		19.66		19.36

The BofA Merrill Lynch US Dollar 1-Month LIBID Average Index tracks the performance of a basket of synthetic assets paying Libid to a stated maturity. The index purchases a new instrument each day, priced at par, having exactly its stated maturity and with a coupon equal to that day’s fixing rate. All issues are held to maturity. Therefore each day the index is comprised of a basket of securities. The index is not marked to market. The returns of the index represent the accrued income generated by the equally weighted average of all the coupons in the basket for a given day.


²	The MSCI World Index is a free-float-adjusted market capitalization weighted index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets.

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Appendix

For more information

Two documents are available that offer further information on the fund:

Annual/Semiannual report to shareholders

Includes financial statements, a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected performance, as well as the auditors’ report (in annual report only).

Statement of Additional Information

The SAI contains more detailed information on all aspects of the fund and includes a summary of the fund’s policy regarding disclosure of its portfolio holdings, as well as legal and regulatory matters. A current SAI has been filed with the SEC and is incorporated by reference into (and is legally a part of) this prospectus.

To obtain a free copy of these documents

There are several ways you can get a current annual/semiannual report, prospectus or SAI from John Hancock:

Online: www.jhfunds.com


By mail:	John Hancock Signature Services, Inc. P.O. Box 55913 Boston, MA 02205-5913

By EASI-Line: 1-800-338-8080

By phone: 1-800-225-5291

By TDD: 1-800-554-6713

You can also view or obtain copies of these documents through the SEC:

Online: www.sec.gov

By e-mail (duplicating fee required): publicinfo@sec.gov


By mail (duplicating fee required):	Public Reference Section Securities and Exchange Commission Washington, DC 20549-0102

In person: at the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C.
For access to the Reference Room call 1-800-732-0330.

John Hancock Funds, LLC

MEMBER FINRA | SIPC

601 Congress Street

Boston, MA 02210-2805

www.jhfunds.com

Electronic delivery now available at

www.jhfunds.com/edelivery

Fund summary

John Hancock

Investment objective

To seek long term total return.

Fees and expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund.


Shareholder fees (%) (fees paid directly from your investment)	Class C

Maximum front-end sales charge (load) on purchases as a % of purchase price		None

Maximum deferred sales charge (load) as a % of purchase or sale price, whichever is less		1.00


Annual fund operating expenses (%)
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)¹	Class C

Management fee		1.28

Distribution and service (12b-1) fees		1.00

Other expenses		15.35

Total annual fund operating expenses		17.63

Contractual expense reimbursement²		−14.98

Total annual fund operating expenses after expense reimbursements		2.65


1		“Annual fund operating expenses” have been estimated for the fund’s first year of operations.
2		The adviser has contractually agreed to waive all or a portion of its management fee and reimburse or pay operating expenses of the fund to the extent necessary to maintain the fund’s total operating expenses at 2.65% for Class C shares, excluding certain expenses such as taxes, brokerage commissions, interest expense, litigation and indemnification expenses and other extraordinary expenses, acquired fund fees and expenses paid indirectly and short dividend expense. The current expense limitation agreement expires on December 31, 2012, unless renewed by mutual agreement of the fund and the adviser based upon a determination that this is appropriate under the circumstances at the time.

Expense example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. Please see below a hypothetical example showing the expenses of a $10,000 investment at the end of the various time frames indicated. The example assumes a 5% average annual return. The example assumes fund expenses will not change over the periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:


Expenses ($)	Class C

Shares		Sold	Kept

1 Year		368	268

3 Years		3,436	3,436

Portfolio turnover

Principal investment strategies

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund summary

Principal risks

The fund’s main risk factors are listed below in alphabetical order. Before investing, be sure to read the additional descriptions of these risks beginning on page 5 of the prospectus.

Active management risk The subadviser’s investment strategy may fail to produce the intended result.

Equity securities risk The value of a company’s equity securities is subject to changes in the company’s financial condition, and overall market and economic conditions.

Fixed-income securities risk Fixed-income securities are affected by changes in interest rates and credit quality. A rise in interest rates typically causes bond prices to fall. The longer the average maturity of the bonds held by the fund, the more sensitive the fund is likely to be to interest-rate changes. There is the possibility that the issuer of the security will not repay all or a portion of the principal borrowed and will not make all interest payments.

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund summary

price. The following is a list of certain derivatives and other strategic transactions in which the fund intends to invest and the main risks associated with each of them:

High portfolio turnover risk Actively trading securities can increase transaction costs (thus lowering performance) and taxable distributions.

Past performance

Investment management

Investment adviser John Hancock Investment Management Services, LLC

Subadviser Standard Life Investments (Corporate Funds) Limited

Portfolio management


David Millar Investment Director, Multi-Asset Investing Managed fund since inception		Euan Munro Director of Multi-Asset Investing & Fixed Income Managed fund since inception		Guy Stern Investment Director, Multi-Asset Investing Managed fund since inception

Purchase and sale of fund shares

The minimum initial investment requirement for Class C shares of the fund is $2,500, except for Coverdell ESAs, which is $2,000, and for group investments, which is $250 . There are no subsequent investment requirements. You may redeem shares of the fund on any business day through our Web site: www.jhfunds.com; by mail: Mutual Fund Operations, John Hancock Signature Services, Inc., P.O. Box 55913, Boston, Massachusetts 02205-5913; or by telephone: 1-800-225-5291.

Taxes

The fund’s distributions are taxable, and will be taxed as ordinary income and/or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account. Withdrawals from such tax-deferred arrangements may be subject to tax at a later date.

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund summary

Fund details

Investment objective: To seek long term total return.

The Board of Trustees can change the fund’s investment objective and strategy without shareholder approval.

Temporary defensive investing

The fund may invest up to 100% of its assets in cash or money market instruments for the purpose of:


•	meeting redemption requests,


•	making other anticipated cash payments, or


•	protecting the fund in the event the subadviser determines that market, economic, political or other conditions warrant a defensive posture.

Active management risk

Credit and counterparty risk

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund details

Economic and market events risk

Equity securities risk

Fixed-income securities risk

Fixed-income securities are generally subject to two principal types of risks: (a) interest-rate risk and (b) credit quality risk.

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund details

security’s maturity. Securities subject to prepayment risk can offer less potential for gains when the credit quality of the issuer improves.

Foreign securities risk

Hedging, derivatives and other strategic transactions risk

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund details


	•	Credit default swaps Counterparty risk, liquidity risk (i.e., the inability to enter into closing transactions), interest-rate risk, risk of default of the underlying reference obligation and risk of disproportionate loss are the principal risks of engaging in transactions involving credit default swaps.


	•	Foreign currency forward contracts Counterparty risk, liquidity risk (i.e., the inability to enter into closing transactions), foreign currency risk and risk of disproportionate loss are the principal risks of engaging in transactions involving foreign currency forward contracts.


	•	Futures contracts Counterparty risk, liquidity risk (i.e., the inability to enter into closing transactions) and risk of disproportionate loss are the principal risks of engaging in transactions involving futures contracts.


	•	Options Counterparty risk, liquidity risk (i.e., the inability to enter into closing transactions) and risk of disproportionate loss are the principal risks of engaging in transactions involving options. Counterparty risk does not apply to exchange-traded options.


	•	Swaps Counterparty risk, liquidity risk (i.e., the inability to enter into closing transactions), interest-rate risk, settlement risk, risk of default of the underlying reference obligation and risk of disproportionate loss are the principal risks of engaging in transactions involving swaps.

High portfolio turnover risk

Industry or sector risk

Issuer risk

Large company risk

Liquidity risk

Lower-rated fixed-income securities risk and high-yield securities risk


	•	Risk to principal and income. Investing in lower-rated fixed-income securities is considered speculative. While these securities generally provide greater income potential than investments in

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund details


		higher-rated securities, there is a greater risk that principal and interest payments will not be made. Issuers of these securities may even go into default or become bankrupt.


	•	Price volatility. The price of lower-rated fixed-income securities may be more volatile than securities in the higher-rating categories. This volatility may increase during periods of economic uncertainty or change. The price of these securities is affected more than higher-rated fixed-income securities by the market’s perception of their credit quality, especially during times of adverse publicity. In the past, economic downturns or increases in interest rates have, at times, caused more defaults by issuers of these securities and may do so in the future. Economic downturns and increases in interest rates have an even greater effect on highly leveraged issuers of these securities.


	•	Liquidity. The market for lower-rated fixed-income securities may have more limited trading than the market for investment-grade fixed-income securities. Therefore, it may be more difficult to sell these securities, and these securities may have to be sold at prices below their market value in order to meet redemption requests or to respond to changes in market conditions.


	•	Dependence on subadviser’s own credit analysis. While a subadviser may rely on ratings by established credit-rating agencies, it will also supplement such ratings with its own independent review of the credit quality of the issuer. Therefore, the assessment of the credit risk of lower-rated fixed-income securities is more dependent on the subadviser’s evaluation than the assessment of the credit risk of higher-rated securities.

Medium and smaller company risk

Investing in Class C shares

The following are the names of the various entities involved with the fund’s investment and business operations, along with brief descriptions of the role each entity performs.

Trustees

Oversee the fund’s business activities and retain the services of the various firms that carry out the fund’s operations.

Investment adviser

Manages the fund’s business and investment activities.

John Hancock Investment Management Services, LLC
601 Congress Street
Boston, MA 02210-2805

Management fee

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund details

If net assets are equal to or less than $500 million, the following fee schedule shall apply:


	Annual
Average Daily Net Assets	Rate




First $200 million		1	.30%

Next $300 million		1	.25%

If net assets exceed $500 million, the following fee schedule shall apply:


	Annual
Average Daily Net Assets	Rate




All asset levels		1	.20%

Out of these fees, the investment adviser in turn pays the fees of the subadviser.

Additional information about fund expenses

The adviser has voluntarily agreed to reduce its management fee for the fund, or if necessary make payment to the fund, in an amount equal to the amount by which the “Other expenses” of the fund exceed 0.20% of average annual net assets (on an annualized basis) of the fund. “Other expenses” means all the expenses of the fund, excluding: (a) taxes, (b) brokerage commissions, (c) interest expense, (d) litigation and indemnification expenses and other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the fund’s business, (e) advisory fees, (f) 12b-1 fees, (g) transfer agent fees and service fees, (h) blue-sky fees, (i) printing and postage, (j) acquired fund fees and expenses, (k) fees under any agreement or plan of the fund dealing with services for shareholders or others with beneficial interests in shares of the fund, and (l) short dividends. This voluntary expense reimbursement will continue in effect until terminated at any time by the adviser on notice to the fund.

The adviser may recapture operating expenses reimbursed or fees waived for a period of three years following the beginning of the month in which such reimbursement or waivers occurred.

Subadviser

Handles the fund’s day-to-day portfolio management.

Standard Life Investments (Corporate Funds) Limited
One Beacon Street, 34th Floor
Boston, MA 02108-3106

David Millar


•	Investment Director, Multi-Asset Investing


•	Managed fund since inception


•	Head of Bond Strategy and Chair of the Bond Policy Group (2003-2008) and fixed-income fund manager (1995-2003), Scottish Widows Investment Partnership


•	Joined Standard Life Investments in 2008


•	22 years of investment industry experience

Euan Munro


•	Director of Multi-Asset Investing & Fixed Income


•	Managed fund since inception


•	Joined Standard Life Investments in 1995


•	19 years of investment industry experience

Guy Stern


•	Investment Director, Multi-Asset Investing


•	Managed fund since inception


•	Chief Investment Officer, Credit Suisse Asset Management (2002-2008)


•	Joined Standard Life Investments in 2008


•	27 years of investment industry experience

Custodian

Holds the fund’s assets, settles all portfolio trades and collects most of the valuation data required for calculating the fund’s net asset value.

State Street Bank and Trust Company
Lafayette Corporate Center
Two Avenue de Lafayette
Boston, MA 02111

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund details

Your account

Class C shares’ cost structure includes a Rule 12b-1 plan that allows it to pay fees for the sale, distribution and service of its shares.

Class C


•	No front-end sales charge; all your money goes to work right away for you.


•	Distribution and service (Rule 12b-1) fees of 1.00%.


•	A 1.00% CDSC on shares sold within one year of purchase.


•	No automatic conversion to Class A shares, so annual expenses continue at the Class C level throughout the life of your investment.

The maximum amount you may invest in Class C shares with any single purchase is $999,999.99. John Hancock Signature Services, Inc. (Signature Services), the transfer agent for the fund, may accept a purchase request for Class C shares for $1,000,000 or more when the purchase is pursuant to the Reinstatement Privilege (see “Sales charge reductions and waivers”).

Rule 12b-1 fees

Other classes of shares of the fund, which have their own expense structure, may be offered in separate prospectuses.

Your broker-dealer or agent may charge you a fee to effect transactions in fund shares.

Additional payments to financial intermediaries


•	directly, by the payment of sales commissions, if any; and


•	indirectly, as a result of the fund paying Rule 12b-1 fees.

Rollover program compensation

How sales charges are calculated

Class C

Shares are offered at their net asset value per share, without any initial sales charge.

A CDSC may be charged if a commission has been paid and you sell Class C shares within a certain time after you bought them, as described in the table below. There is no CDSC on shares acquired through reinvestment of dividends. The CDSC is based on the original

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Your account

purchase cost or the current market value of the shares being sold, whichever is less. The CDSCas follows:

Class C deferred charges


Years after purchase	CDSC




1^st year		1	.00%

After 1^st year		None

For purposes of these CDSCs, all purchases made during a calendar month are counted as having been made on the first day of that month.

To keep your CDSC as low as possible, each time you place a request to sell shares, we will first sell any shares in your account that carry no CDSC. If there are not enough of these shares to meet your request, we will sell those shares that have the lowest CDSC.

Sales charge reductions and waivers

CDSC waivers

As long as Signature Services is notified at the time you sell, the Class C CDSC will be waived in the following cases:


•	to make payments through certain systematic withdrawal plans


•	certain retirement plans participating in Merrill Lynch, The Princeton Retirement Group, Inc. or PruSolutions^SM programs


•	redemptions pursuant to the fund’s right to liquidate an account that is below the minimum account value stated below in “Dividends and account policies,” under the subsection “Small accounts”


•	to make certain distributions from a retirement plan


•	because of shareholder death or disability


•	rollovers, contract exchanges or transfers of John Hancock custodial 403(b)(7) account assets required by John Hancock as a result of its decision to discontinue maintaining and administering 403(b)(7) accounts

To utilize a waiver, you must contact your financial representative or Signature Services. Consult the SAI for additional details (see the back cover of this prospectus).

Reinstatement privilege

To utilize this privilege, you must contact your financial representative or Signature Services. Consult the SAI for additional details (see the back cover of this prospectus).

Other waivers

Front-end sales charges and CDSCs are not imposed in connection with the following transactions:


•	exchanges from one John Hancock fund to the same class of any other John Hancock fund (see “Transaction policies” in this prospectus for additional details)


•	dividend reinvestments (see “Dividends and account policies” in this prospectus for additional details)


1	Read this prospectus carefully.


2	Determine how much you want to invest. The minimum initial investments for the Class C shares of the fund is $2,500 except as follows:


	•	Coverdell ESAs: $2,000 (or such other contribution limit as set forth under the Internal Revenue Code)


	•	there is no minimum initial investment for certain group retirement plans using salary deduction or similar group methods of payment


	•	group investments: $250


	•	there is no minimum initial investment for fee-based or wrap accounts of selling firms that have executed a fee-based or wrap agreement with the distributor


3	All shareholders must complete the account application, carefully following the instructions. If you have any questions, contact your financial representative or call Signature Services at 1-800-225-5291.


4	Complete the appropriate parts of the account privileges application. By applying for privileges now, you can avoid the delay and inconvenience of having to file an additional application if you want to add privileges later.


5	Make your initial investment using the instructions under “Buying shares.” You and your financial representative can initiate any purchase, exchange or sale of shares.

Important information about opening a new account

For individual investors opening an account When you open an account, you will be asked for your name, residential address, date of birth and Social Security number.

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Your account


Opening an account		Adding to an account

By check
• Make out a check for the investment amount, payable to “John Hancock Signature Services, Inc.” • Deliver the check and your completed application to your financial representative or mail them to Signature Services (address below).		• Make out a check for the investment amount, payable to “John Hancock Signature Services, Inc.” • Fill out the detachable investment slip from an account statement. If no slip is available, include a note specifying the fund name, the share class, your account number and the name(s) in which the account is registered. • Deliver the check and your investment slip or note to your financial representative, or mail them to Signature Services (address below).




By exchange
• Call your financial representative or Signature Services to request an exchange.		• Log on to the Web site below to process exchanges between funds. • Call EASI-Line for automated service. • Call your financial representative or Signature Services to request an exchange.




By wire
• Deliver your completed application to your financial representative or mail it to Signature Services. • Obtain your account number by calling your financial representative or Signature Services. • Obtain wiring instructions by calling Signature Services. • Instruct your bank to wire the amount of your investment. Specify the fund name, the share class, your account number and the name(s) in which the account is registered. Your bank may charge a fee to wire funds.		• Obtain wiring instructions by calling Signature Services. • Instruct your bank to wire the amount of your investment. Specify the fund name, the share class, your account number and the name(s) in which the account is registered. Your bank may charge a fee to wire funds.




By Internet
• See “By exchange” and “By wire.”		• Verify that your bank or credit union is a member of the Automated Clearing House (ACH) system. • Complete the “Bank information” section on your account application. • Log on to the Web site below to initiate purchases using your authorized bank account.




By phone
• See “By exchange” and “By wire.”		• Verify that your bank or credit union is a member of the ACH system. • Complete the “To purchase, exchange or redeem shares via telephone” and “Bank information” sections on your account application. • Call EASI-Line for automated service. • Call EASI-Line for account balance, fund inquiry and transaction processing on some account types. • Call your financial representative or call Signature Services between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on most business days. To add to an account using the Monthly Automatic Accumulation Program, see “Additional investor services.”

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Your account


		To sell some or all of your shares

By letter
• Accounts of any type. • Sales of any amount.		• Write a letter of instruction or complete a stock power indicating the fund name, the share class, your account number, the name(s) in which the account is registered and the dollar value or number of shares you wish to sell. • Include all signatures and any additional documents that may be required (see next page). • Mail the materials to Signature Services (address below). • A check will be mailed to the name(s) and address in which the account is registered, or otherwise according to your letter of instruction.




By Internet
• Most accounts. • Sales of up to $100,000.		• Log on to the Web site below to initiate redemptions from your fund.




By phone
• Most accounts. • Sales of up to $100,000.		• Call EASI-Line for automated service. • Call your financial representative or call Signature Services between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on most business days.




By wire or electronic funds transfer (EFT)
• Requests by letter to sell any amount. • Requests by Internet or phone to sell up to $100,000.		• To verify that the Internet or telephone redemption privilege is in place on an account, or to request the form to add it to an existing account, call Signature Services. • Funds requested by wire will generally be wired the next business day. A $4 fee will be deducted from your account. Your bank may also charge you a fee for this service. • Funds requested by EFT are generally available by the second business day. Your bank may charge you a fee for this service.




By exchange
• Accounts of any type. • Sales of any amount.		• Obtain a current prospectus for the fund into which you are exchanging by accessing the fund’s Web site by Internet, or by calling your financial representative or Signature Services. • Log on to the Web site below to process exchanges between your funds. • Call EASI-Line for automated service. • Call your financial representative or Signature Services to request an exchange. To sell shares through a systematic withdrawal plan, see “Additional investor services.”

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Your account

Selling shares in writing


•	your address of record has changed within the past 30 days;


•	you are selling more than $100,000 worth of shares (this requirement is waived for certain entities operating under a signed fax trading agreement with John Hancock); or


•	you are requesting payment other than by a check mailed to the address/bank of record and payable to the registered owner(s).


Seller		Requirements for written requests

Owners of individual, joint or UGMA/UTMA accounts (custodial accounts for minors)		• Letter of instruction. • On the letter, the signatures and titles of all persons authorized to sign for the account, exactly as the account is registered. • Medallion Signature Guarantee, if applicable (see above).




Owners of corporate, sole proprietorship, general partner or association accounts		• Letter of instruction. • Corporate business/organization resolution, certified within the past 12 months, or a John Hancock business/organization certification form. • On the letter and the resolution, the signature of the person(s) authorized to sign for the account. • Medallion Signature Guarantee, if applicable (see above).




Owners or trustees of trust accounts		• Letter of instruction. • On the letter, the signature(s) of the trustee(s). • Copy of the trust document, certified within the past 12 months, or a John Hancock trust certification form. • Medallion Signature Guarantee, if applicable (see above).




Joint tenancy shareholders with rights of survivorship with deceased co-tenant(s)		• Letter of instruction signed by surviving tenant(s). • Copy of death certificate. • Medallion Signature Guarantee, if applicable (see above). • Inheritance tax waiver, if applicable.




Executors of shareholder estates		• Letter of instruction signed by executor. • Copy of order appointing executor, certified within the past 12 months. • Medallion Signature Guarantee, if applicable (see above). • Inheritance tax waiver, if applicable.




Administrators, conservators, guardians and other sellers or account types not listed above		• Call Signature Services for instructions.

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Your account

Valuation of shares

Valuation of securities

In deciding whether to fair value a security, the fund’s Pricing Committee may review a variety of factors, including:

in the case of foreign securities:


	•	developments in foreign markets,


	•	the performance of U.S. securities markets after the close of trading in the market and


	•	the performance of instruments trading in U.S. markets that represent foreign securities or baskets of foreign securities.

in the case of fixed-income securities:


	•	actions by the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee and other significant trends in U.S. fixed-income markets.

in the case of all securities:


	•	political or other developments affecting the economy or markets in which an issuer conducts its operations or its securities are traded,


	•	announcements relating to the issuer of the security concerning matters such as trading suspensions, acquisitions, recapitalizations, litigation developments, a natural disaster affecting the issuer’s operations or regulatory changes or market developments affecting the issuer’s industry and


	•	events affecting the securities markets in general (such as market disruptions or closings and significant fluctuations in U.S. and/or foreign markets).

Buy and sell prices

When you buy shares, you pay the NAV. When you sell shares, you receive the NAV, minus any applicable deferred sales charges.

Execution of requests

At times of peak activity, it may be difficult to place requests by telephone. During these times, consider using EASI-Line, accessing www.jhfunds.com or sending your request in writing.

Telephone transactions

Exchanges

Class C shares will continue to age from the original date and will retain the same CDSC rate. A CDSC rate that has increased will drop again with a future exchange into a fund with a lower rate.

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Your account

an opportunity to make a conversion of Class A and Class C shares (not subject to a CDSC) shares also owned by the investor in the same fund to Class I shares of that fund. Conversion of Class A shares and Class C shares to Class I shares of the same fund in these particular circumstances does not cause the investor to realize taxable gain or loss. For further details, see “Additional Information Concerning Taxes” in the SAI for information regarding taxation upon the redemption or exchange of shares of the fund (see the back cover of this prospectus).

Excessive trading

Right to reject or restrict purchase and exchange orders

Exchange limitation policies

Limitation on exchange activity

Limitation on the ability to detect and curtail excessive trading practices

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Your account

prohibit future purchases from shareholders that are found to have engaged in excessive trading in violation of the fund’s policies. The fund cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information provided to it from financial intermediaries and so cannot ensure that it will be able to detect abusive trading practices that occur through omnibus or other nominee accounts. As a consequence, the fund’s ability to monitor and discourage excessive trading practices in these types of accounts may be limited.

Excessive trading risk

While excessive trading can potentially occur in the fund, certain types of funds are more likely than others to be targets of excessive trading. For example:

•


•	A fund that invests a material portion of its assets in securities of foreign issuers may be a potential target for excessive trading if investors seek to engage in price arbitrage based upon general trends in the securities markets that occur subsequent to the close of the primary market for such securities.

•

Account information

Certificated shares

The fund does not issue share certificates. Shares are electronically recorded.

Sales in advance of purchase payments

Additional investor services

Account statements

In general, you will receive account statements as follows:


•	after every transaction (except a dividend reinvestment, automatic investment or systematic withdrawal) that affects your account balance


•	after any changes of name or address of the registered owner(s)


•	in all other circumstances, every quarter

Every year you should also receive, if applicable, a Form 1099 tax information statement, mailed by January 31.

Dividends

The fund typically declares and pays income dividends and capital gains, if any, at least annually.

Dividend reinvestments

Taxability of dividends

The Form 1099 that is mailed to you every January, if applicable, details your dividends and their federal tax category, although you should verify your tax liability with your tax professional.

Returns of capital

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Your account

result in a higher reported capital gain or lower reported capital loss when those shares on which the distribution was received are sold.

Taxability of transactions

Small accounts

Monthly Automatic Accumulation Program

Systematic withdrawal plan

This plan may be used for routine bill payments or periodic withdrawals from your account. To establish:


•	Make sure you have at least $5,000 worth of shares in your account.


•	Make sure you are not planning to invest more money in this account (buying shares during a period when you are also selling shares of the same fund is not advantageous to you because of sales charges).


•	Specify the payee(s). The payee may be yourself or any other party, and there is no limit to the number of payees you may have, as long as they are all on the same payment schedule.


•	Determine the schedule: monthly, quarterly, semiannually, annually or in certain selected months.


•	Fill out the relevant part of the account application. To add a systematic withdrawal plan to an existing account, contact your financial representative or Signature Services.

Retirement plans

Disclosure of fund holdings

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Your account

Related Performance Information

Historical Performance of the Standard Life Investments Global Absolute Return Strategy Composite

This Appendix also presents standard deviation information relating to the Composite, the Benchmark and the MSCI World Index. Standard deviation data is shown in order to provide you with supplemental information relating to Standard Life Investments’ management of the Composite’s strategy over time. Standard deviation is calculated as the amount by which individual returns differ or vary from the average return over a specified period of time, and is used to measure the overall level of volatility of returns — or risk — of an investment portfolio. Generally, the higher the standard deviation, the greater the expected volatility of returns and potentially higher risk. These measures of past risk are not completely or necessarily representative of future risk and cannot predict the fund’s performance. In addition, the volatility of the fund’s returns to those of the Benchmark and MSCI World Index may be greater or less than that of the Composite due to, among other things, the number of holdings in and composition of the portfolio and Standard Life Investments’ management of the fund.

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Appendix

Global Absolute Return Strategy Composite

Corresponding to John Hancock Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund

Net assets of Composite as of August 31, 2011: $13,906,729,409

Calendar year total returns — Composite (%)

Best quarter: 3Q ’09, 11.19% Worst quarter: 1Q ’08, –4.79%

2007

2008

2009

2010

7.29

–7.28

18.07

9.66


Global Absolute Return Strategy Composite							Since
average annual total returns (%)	1 Year		3 Years		5 Years		Inception

for periods ended August 31, 2011

Composite		–3.51		6.68		5.49		6.01

BofA Merrill Lynch US Dollar 1-Month LIBID Average Index (Benchmark)¹		0.12		0.43		2.06		2.17

MSCI World Index²		15.06		–0.71		0.35		0.97


							Since
Annualized Standard Deviation	1 Year		3 Years		5 Years		Inception

for periods ended August 31, 2011

Composite		3.41		6.85		6.17		6.12

BofA Merrill Lynch US Dollar 1-Month LIBID Average Index (Benchmark)¹		0.01		0.23		0.64		0.65

MSCI World Index²		16.08		23.06		19.66		19.36


²	The MSCI World Index is a free-float-adjusted market capitalization weighted index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets.

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Appendix

For more information

Two documents are available that offer further information on the fund:

Annual/Semiannual report to shareholders

Includes financial statements, a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected performance, as well as the auditors’ report (in annual report only).

Statement of Additional Information

To obtain a free copy of these documents

There are several ways you can get a current annual/semiannual report, prospectus or SAI from John Hancock:

Online: www.jhfunds.com


By mail:	John Hancock Signature Services, Inc. P.O. Box 55913 Boston, MA 02205-5913

By EASI-Line: 1-800-338-8080

By phone: 1-800-225-5291

By TDD: 1-800-554-6713

You can also view or obtain copies of these documents through the SEC:

Online: www.sec.gov

By e-mail (duplicating fee required): publicinfo@sec.gov


By mail (duplicating fee required):	Public Reference Section Securities and Exchange Commission Washington, DC 20549-0102

In person: at the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C.
For access to the Reference Room call 1-800-732-0330.

John Hancock Funds, LLC

MEMBER FINRA | SIPC

601 Congress Street

Boston, MA 02210-2805

www.jhfunds.com

Electronic delivery now available at

www.jhfunds.com/edelivery

Fund summary

John Hancock

Investment objective

To seek long term total return.

Fees and expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund.


Shareholder fees (%) (fees paid directly from your investment)	Class I

Maximum front-end sales charge (load) on purchases as a % of purchase price		None

Maximum deferred sales charge (load) as a % of purchase or sale price, whichever is less		None


Annual fund operating expenses (%)
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)¹	Class I

Management fee		1.28

Other expenses		0.29

Total annual fund operating expenses		1.57


1		“Annual fund operating expenses” have been estimated for the fund’s first year of operations.

Expense example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. Please see below a hypothetical example showing the expenses of a $10,000 investment at the end of the various time frames indicated. The example assumes a 5% average annual return. The example assumes fund expenses will not change over the periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:


Expenses ($)	Class I

1 Year		160

3 Years		496

Portfolio turnover

Principal investment strategies

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund summary

Principal risks

The fund’s main risk factors are listed below in alphabetical order. Before investing, be sure to read the additional descriptions of these risks beginning on page 5 of the prospectus.

Active management risk The subadviser’s investment strategy may fail to produce the intended result.

Equity securities risk The value of a company’s equity securities is subject to changes in the company’s financial condition, and overall market and economic conditions.

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund summary

High portfolio turnover risk Actively trading securities can increase transaction costs (thus lowering performance) and taxable distributions.

Past performance

Investment management

Investment adviser John Hancock Investment Management Services, LLC

Subadviser Standard Life Investments (Corporate Funds) Limited

Portfolio management


David Millar Investment Director, Multi-Asset Investing Managed fund since inception		Euan Munro Director of Multi-Asset Investing & Fixed Income Managed fund since inception		Guy Stern Investment Director, Multi-Asset Investing Managed fund since inception

Purchase and sale of fund shares

The minimum initial investment requirement for Class I shares of the fund is $250,000. There are no subsequent investment requirements. You may redeem shares of the fund on any business day by mail: Mutual Fund Operations, John Hancock Signature Services, Inc., P.O. Box 55913, Boston, Massachusetts 02205-5913; or for most account types through our Web site: www.jhfunds.com or by telephone: 1-888-972-8696.

Taxes

Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries

If you purchase the fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank, registered investment adviser, financial planner or retirement plan administrator), the fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s Web site for more information.

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund summary

Fund details

Investment objective: To seek long term total return.

The Board of Trustees can change the fund’s investment objective and strategy without shareholder approval.

Temporary defensive investing

The fund may invest up to 100% of its assets in cash or money market instruments for the purpose of:


•	meeting redemption requests,


•	making other anticipated cash payments, or


•	protecting the fund in the event the subadviser determines that market, economic, political or other conditions warrant a defensive posture.

Active management risk

Credit and counterparty risk

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund details

Economic and market events risk

Equity securities risk

Fixed-income securities risk

Fixed-income securities are generally subject to two principal types of risks: (a) interest-rate risk and (b) credit quality risk.

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund details

security’s maturity. Securities subject to prepayment risk can offer less potential for gains when the credit quality of the issuer improves.

Foreign securities risk

Hedging, derivatives and other strategic transactions risk

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund details


	•	Credit default swaps Counterparty risk, liquidity risk (i.e., the inability to enter into closing transactions), interest-rate risk, risk of default of the underlying reference obligation and risk of disproportionate loss are the principal risks of engaging in transactions involving credit default swaps.


	•	Foreign currency forward contracts Counterparty risk, liquidity risk (i.e., the inability to enter into closing transactions), foreign currency risk and risk of disproportionate loss are the principal risks of engaging in transactions involving foreign currency forward contracts.


	•	Futures contracts Counterparty risk, liquidity risk (i.e., the inability to enter into closing transactions) and risk of disproportionate loss are the principal risks of engaging in transactions involving futures contracts.


	•	Options Counterparty risk, liquidity risk (i.e., the inability to enter into closing transactions) and risk of disproportionate loss are the principal risks of engaging in transactions involving options. Counterparty risk does not apply to exchange-traded options.


	•	Swaps Counterparty risk, liquidity risk (i.e., the inability to enter into closing transactions), interest-rate risk, settlement risk, risk of default of the underlying reference obligation and risk of disproportionate loss are the principal risks of engaging in transactions involving swaps.

High portfolio turnover risk

Industry or sector risk

Issuer risk

Large company risk

Liquidity risk

Lower-rated fixed-income securities risk and high-yield securities risk


	•	Risk to principal and income. Investing in lower-rated fixed-income securities is considered speculative. While these securities generally provide greater income potential than investments in

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund details


		higher-rated securities, there is a greater risk that principal and interest payments will not be made. Issuers of these securities may even go into default or become bankrupt.


	•	Price volatility. The price of lower-rated fixed-income securities may be more volatile than securities in the higher-rating categories. This volatility may increase during periods of economic uncertainty or change. The price of these securities is affected more than higher-rated fixed-income securities by the market’s perception of their credit quality, especially during times of adverse publicity. In the past, economic downturns or increases in interest rates have, at times, caused more defaults by issuers of these securities and may do so in the future. Economic downturns and increases in interest rates have an even greater effect on highly leveraged issuers of these securities.


	•	Liquidity. The market for lower-rated fixed-income securities may have more limited trading than the market for investment-grade fixed-income securities. Therefore, it may be more difficult to sell these securities, and these securities may have to be sold at prices below their market value in order to meet redemption requests or to respond to changes in market conditions.


	•	Dependence on subadviser’s own credit analysis. While a subadviser may rely on ratings by established credit-rating agencies, it will also supplement such ratings with its own independent review of the credit quality of the issuer. Therefore, the assessment of the credit risk of lower-rated fixed-income securities is more dependent on the subadviser’s evaluation than the assessment of the credit risk of higher-rated securities.

Medium and smaller company risk

The following are the names of the various entities involved with the fund’s investment and business operations, along with brief descriptions of the role each entity performs.

Trustees

Oversee the fund’s business activities and retain the services of the various firms that carry out the fund’s operations.

Investment adviser

Manages the fund’s business and investment activities.

John Hancock Investment Management Services, LLC
601 Congress Street
Boston, MA 02210-2805

Management fee

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund details

If net assets are equal to or less than $500 million, the following fee schedule shall apply:


	Annual
Average Daily Net Assets	Rate




First $200 million		1	.30%

Next $300 million		1	.25%

If net assets exceed $500 million, the following fee schedule shall apply:


	Annual
Average Daily Net Assets	Rate




All asset levels		1	.20%

Out of these fees, the investment adviser in turn pays the fees of the subadviser.

Additional information about fund expenses

The adviser has voluntarily agreed to reduce its management fee for the fund, or if necessary make payment to the fund, in an amount equal to the amount by which the “Other expenses” of the fund exceed 0.20% of average annual net assets (on an annualized basis) of the fund. “Other expenses” means all the expenses of the fund, excluding: (a) taxes, (b) brokerage commissions, (c) interest expense, (d) litigation and indemnification expenses and other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the fund’s business, (e) advisory fees, (f) 12b-1 fees, (g) transfer agent fees and service fees, (h) blue-sky fees, (i) printing and postage, (j) acquired fund fees and expenses, (k) fees under any agreement or plan of the fund dealing with services for shareholders or others with beneficial interests in shares of the fund, and (l) short dividends. This voluntary expense reimbursement will continue in effect until terminated at any time by the adviser on notice to the fund.

The adviser has contractually agreed to waive all or a portion of its management fee and reimburse or pay operating expenses of the fund to the extent necessary to maintain the fund’s total operating expenses at 1.59% for Class I shares, excluding certain expenses such as taxes, brokerage commissions, interest expense, litigation and indemnification expenses and other extraordinary expenses, acquired fund fees and expenses paid indirectly and short dividend expense. The current expense limitation agreement expires on December 31, 2012, unless renewed by mutual agreement of the fund and the Adviser based upon a determination that this is appropriate under the circumstances at the time.

The adviser may recapture operating expenses reimbursed or fees waived for a period of three years following the beginning of the month in which such reimbursement or waivers occurred.

Subadviser

Handles the fund’s day-to-day portfolio management.

Standard Life Investments (Corporate Funds) Limited
One Beacon Street, 34th Floor
Boston, MA 02108-3106

David Millar


•	Investment Director, Multi-Asset Investing


•	Managed fund since inception


•	Head of Bond Strategy and Chair of the Bond Policy Group (2003-2008) and fixed-income fund manager (1995-2003), Scottish Widows Investment Partnership


•	Joined Standard Life Investments in 2008


•	22 years of investment industry experience

Euan Munro


•	Director of Multi-Asset Investing & Fixed Income


•	Managed fund since inception


•	Joined Standard Life Investments in 1995


•	19 years of investment industry experience

Guy Stern


•	Investment Director, Multi-Asset Investing


•	Managed fund since inception


•	Chief Investment Officer, Credit Suisse Asset Management (2002-2008)


•	Joined Standard Life Investments in 2008


•	27 years of investment industry experience

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund details

Your account

Who can buy shares

Class I shares are offered without any sales charge to the following types of investors if they also meet the minimum initial investment requirement for purchases of Class I shares (see “Opening an account”):


•	Clients of financial intermediaries who: (i) charge such clients a fee for advisory, investment, consulting or similar services; or (ii) have entered into an agreement with John Hancock Funds to offer Class I shares through a no-load program or investment platform.


•	Retirement and other benefit plans


•	Endowment funds and foundations


•	Any state, county or city, or its instrumentality, department, authority or agency


•	Accounts registered to insurance companies, trust companies and bank trust departments


•	Any entity that is considered a corporation for tax purposes


•	Investment companies, both affiliated and not affiliated with the adviser


•	Fund trustees and other individuals who are affiliated with the fund and other John Hancock funds

Your broker-dealer or agent may charge you a fee to effect transactions in fund shares.

Other share classes of the fund, which have their own expense structure, may be offered in separate prospectuses.

Additional payments to financial intermediaries

Class I shares do not carry sales commissions or pay Rule 12b-1 fees. However, certain financial intermediaries may request, and the distributor may agree to make, payments out of the distributor’s own resources. These additional payments are sometimes referred to as “revenue sharing.” These payments assist in the distributor’s efforts to promote the sale of the fund’s shares. The distributor agrees with the firm on the methods for calculating any additional compensation, which may include the level of sales or assets attributable to the firm. Not all firms receive additional compensation and the amount of compensation varies. These payments could be significant to a firm. The distributor determines which firms to support and the extent of the payments it is willing to make. The distributor generally chooses to compensate firms that have a strong capability to distribute shares of the fund and that are willing to cooperate with the distributor’s promotional efforts.


1	Read this prospectus carefully.


2	Determine if you are eligible by referring to “Who can buy shares.”

Determine how much you want to invest. The minimum initial investment is $250,000. The minimum initial investment requirement may be waived, in the fund’s sole discretion, for investors in certain fee-based, wrap or other investment platform programs that do not require the fund to pay any type of administrative payments per shareholder account to any third party. The fund may waive the minimum initial investment for other categories of investors at its discretion. There are no minimum investment requirements for subsequent purchases to existing accounts.


4	All shareholders must complete the account application, carefully following the instructions. If you have any questions, please contact your financial representative or call John Hancock Signature Services, Inc. (Signature Services) at 1-888-972-8696.


5	Make your initial investment using the instructions on the next page.

Important information about opening a new account

For individual investors opening an account When you open an account, you will be asked for your name, residential address, date of birth and Social Security number.

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Your account


Opening an account		Adding to an account

By check
• Make out a check for the investment amount, payable to “John Hancock Signature Services, Inc.” • Deliver the check and your completed application to your financial representative or mail them to Signature Services (address below).		• Make out a check for the investment amount, payable to “John Hancock Signature Services, Inc.” • If your account statement has a detachable investment slip, please complete it in its entirety. If no slip is available, include a note specifying the fund name, your share class, your account number and the name(s) in which the account is registered. • Deliver the check and your investment slip or note to your financial representative, or mail them to Signature Services (address below).




By exchange
• Call your financial representative or Signature Services to request an exchange.		• Log on to the Web site below to process exchanges between funds. • Call EASI-Line for account balance, fund inquiry and transaction processing on some account types. • You may exchange Class I shares for other Class I shares or John Hancock Money Market Fund Class A shares. • Call your financial representative or Signature Services to request an exchange.




By wire
• Deliver your completed application to your financial representative or mail it to Signature Services. • Obtain your account number by calling your financial representative or Signature Services. • Obtain wiring instructions by calling Signature Services. • Instruct your bank to wire the amount of your investment. Specify the fund name, the share class, your account number and the name(s) in which the account is registered. Your bank may charge a fee to wire funds.		• Obtain wiring instructions by calling Signature Services. • Instruct your bank to wire the amount of your investment. Specify the fund name, the share class, your account number and the name(s) in which the account is registered. Your bank may charge a fee to wire funds.




By phone
• See “By exchange” and “By wire.”		• Verify that your bank or credit union is a member of the ACH system. • Complete the “To purchase, exchange or redeem shares via telephone” and “Bank information” sections on your account application. • Call EASI-Line for account balance, fund inquiry and transaction processing on some account types. • Call your financial representative or call Signature Services between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on most business days.



Regular mail	Express delivery	Web site	EASI-Line	Signature Services, Inc.
Mutual Fund Operations John Hancock Signature Services, Inc. P.O. Box 55913 Boston, MA 02205-5913	Mutual Fund Operations John Hancock Signature Services, Inc. 30 Dan Road Canton, MA 02021	www.jhfunds.com	(24/7 automated service) 1-800-597-1897	1-888-972-8696

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Your account


		To sell some or all of your shares

By letter
• Sales of any amount.		• Write a letter of instruction or complete a stock power indicating the fund name, the share class, your account number, the name(s) in which the account is registered and the dollar value or number of shares you wish to sell. • Include all signatures and any additional documents that may be required (see next page). • Mail the materials to Signature Services (address below). • A check will be mailed to the name(s) and address in which the account is registered, or otherwise according to your letter of instruction. • Certain requests will require a Medallion Signature Guarantee. Please refer to “Selling shares in writing” on the next page.




By phone
Amounts up to $100,000: • Most accounts. Amounts up to $5 million: • Available to the following types of accounts: custodial accounts held by banks, trust companies or broker-dealers; endowments and foundations; corporate accounts; group retirement plans; and pension accounts (excluding IRAs, 403(b) plans and all John Hancock custodial retirement accounts).		• Call EASI-Line for account balance, general fund inquiry and transaction processing on some account types. • Redemption proceeds of up to $100,000 may be sent by wire or by check. A check will be mailed to the exact name(s) and address on the account. • To place your request with a representative at John Hancock, call Signature Services between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on most business days, or your financial representative. • Redemption proceeds exceeding $100,000 will be wired to your designated bank account, unless a Medallion Signature Guaranteed letter is provided requesting payment by check. Please refer to “Selling shares in writing.”




By wire or electronic funds transfer (EFT)
• Requests by letter to sell any amount. • Qualified requests by phone to sell to $5 million (accounts with telephone redemption privileges).		• To verify that the telephone redemption privilege is in place on an account, or to request the form to add it to an existing account, call Signature Services. • Amounts of $5 million or more will be wired on the next business day. • Amounts up to $100,000 may be sent by EFT or by check. Funds from EFT transactions are generally available by the second business day. Your bank may charge a fee for this service.




By exchange
• Sales of any amount.		• Obtain a current prospectus for the fund into which you are exchanging by accessing the fund’s Web site by Internet, or by calling your financial representative or Signature Services. • Call EASI-Line for account balance, general fund inquiry and transaction processing on some account types. • You may only exchange Class I shares for other Class I shares or John Hancock Money Market Fund Class A shares. • Call your financial representative or Signature Services to request an exchange.



Regular mail	Express delivery	Web site	EASI-Line	Signature Services, Inc.
Mutual Fund Operations John Hancock Signature Services, Inc. P.O. Box 55913 Boston, MA 02205-5913	Mutual Fund Operations John Hancock Signature Services, Inc. 30 Dan Road Canton, MA 02021	www.jhfunds.com	(24/7 automated service) 1-800-597-1897	1-888-972-8696

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Your account

Selling shares in writing


•	your address of record has changed within the past 30 days;


•	you are selling more than $100,000 worth of shares and are requesting payment by check (this requirement is waived for certain entities operating under a signed fax trading agreement with John Hancock);


•	you are selling more than $5 million worth of shares from the following types of accounts: custodial accounts held by banks, trust companies or broker-dealers; endowments and foundations; corporate accounts; group retirement plans; and pension accounts (excluding IRAs, 403(b) plans and all John Hancock custodial retirement accounts); or


•	you are requesting payment other than by a check mailed to the address/bank of record and payable to the registered owner(s).


Seller		Requirements for written requests

Owners of individual, joint or UGMA/UTMA accounts (custodial accounts for minors)		• Letter of instruction. • On the letter, the signatures and titles of all persons authorized to sign for the account, exactly as the account is registered. • Medallion Signature Guarantee, if applicable (see above).




Owners of corporate, sole proprietorship, general partner or association accounts		• Letter of instruction. • Corporate business/organization resolution, certified within the past 12 months, or a John Hancock business/organization certification form. • On the letter and the resolution, the signature of the person(s) authorized to sign for the account. • Medallion Signature Guarantee, if applicable (see above).




Owners or trustees of trust accounts		• Letter of instruction. • On the letter, the signature(s) of the trustee(s). • Copy of the trust document, certified within the past 12 months, or a John Hancock trust certification form. • Medallion Signature Guarantee, if applicable (see above).




Joint tenancy shareholders with rights of survivorship with deceased co-tenant(s)		• Letter of instruction signed by surviving tenant(s). • Copy of death certificate. • Medallion Signature Guarantee, if applicable (see above). • Inheritance tax waiver, if applicable.




Executors of shareholder estates		• Letter of instruction signed by executor. • Copy of order appointing executor, certified within the past 12 months. • Medallion Signature Guarantee, if applicable (see above). • Inheritance tax waiver, if applicable.




Administrators, conservators, guardians and other sellers or account types not listed above		• Call Signature Services for instructions.



Regular mail	Express delivery	Web site	EASI-Line	Signature Services, Inc.
Mutual Fund Operations John Hancock Signature Services, Inc. P.O. Box 55913 Boston, MA 02205-5913	Mutual Fund Operations John Hancock Signature Services, Inc. 30 Dan Road Canton, MA 02021	www.jhfunds.com	(24/7 automated service) 1-800-597-1897	1-888-972-8696

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Your account

Valuation of shares

Valuation of securities

In deciding whether to fair value a security, the fund’s Pricing Committee may review a variety of factors, including:

in the case of foreign securities:


	•	developments in foreign markets,


	•	the performance of U.S. securities markets after the close of trading in the market and


	•	the performance of instruments trading in U.S. markets that represent foreign securities or baskets of foreign securities.

in the case of fixed-income securities:


	•	actions by the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee and other significant trends in U.S. fixed-income markets.

in the case of all securities:


	•	political or other developments affecting the economy or markets in which an issuer conducts its operations or its securities are traded,


	•	announcements relating to the issuer of the security concerning matters such as trading suspensions, acquisitions, recapitalizations, litigation developments, a natural disaster affecting the issuer’s operations or regulatory changes or market developments affecting the issuer’s industry and


	•	events affecting the securities markets in general (such as market disruptions or closings and significant fluctuations in U.S. and/or foreign markets).

Buy and sell prices

When you buy shares, you pay the NAV. When you sell shares, you receive the NAV.

Execution of requests

At times of peak activity, it may be difficult to place requests by telephone. During these times, consider using EASI-Line, accessing www.jhfunds.com or sending your request in writing.

Telephone transactions

Exchanges

You may exchange Class I shares of one John Hancock fund for Class I shares of any other John Hancock fund or for John Hancock Money Market Fund Class A shares. The registration for both accounts involved must be identical. Note: Once exchanged into John Hancock Money Market Fund Class A shares, shares may only be exchanged back to Class I shares.

Provided a fund’s eligibility requirements are met, an investor in the fund pursuant to a fee-based, wrap or other investment platform program of certain firms, as determined by the fund, may be afforded an opportunity to make a conversion of Class A and Class C shares (not subject to a CDSC) shares also owned by the investor in the same fund

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Your account

to Class I shares of that fund. Conversion of Class A shares and Class C shares to Class I shares of the same fund in these particular circumstances does not cause the investor to realize taxable gain or loss. For further details, see “Additional Information Concerning Taxes” in the SAI for information regarding taxation upon the redemption or exchange of shares of a fund (see the back cover of this prospectus).

Excessive trading

Right to reject or restrict purchase and exchange orders

Exchange limitation policies

Limitation on exchange activity

Limitation on the ability to detect and curtail excessive trading practices

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Your account

discourage excessive trading practices in these types of accounts may be limited.

Excessive trading risk

While excessive trading can potentially occur in the fund, certain types of funds are more likely than others to be targets of excessive trading. For example:

•


•	A fund that invests a material portion of its assets in securities of foreign issuers may be a potential target for excessive trading if investors seek to engage in price arbitrage based upon general trends in the securities markets that occur subsequent to the close of the primary market for such securities.

•

Account information

Certificated shares

The fund does not issue share certificates. Shares are electronically recorded.

Sales in advance of purchase payments

Account statements

In general, you will receive account statements as follows:


•	after every transaction (except a dividend reinvestment) that affects your account balance


•	after any changes of name or address of the registered owner(s)


•	in all other circumstances, every quarter

Every year you should also receive, if applicable, a Form 1099 tax information statement, mailed by January 31.

Dividends

The fund typically declares and pays income dividends and capital gains, if any, at least annually.

Dividend reinvestments

Taxability of dividends

The Form 1099 that is mailed to you every January, if applicable, details your dividends and their federal tax category, although you should verify your tax liability with your tax professional.

Returns of capital

Taxability of transactions

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Your account

Related Performance Information

Historical Performance of the Standard Life Investments Global Absolute Return Strategy Composite

The past performance of the Composite has been calculated net of fees and expenses. The Composite’s returns would be lower if it reflected the fees and expenses of the fund.

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Appendix

Global Absolute Return Strategy Composite

Corresponding to John Hancock Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund

Net assets of Composite as of August 31, 2011: $13,906,729,409

Calendar year total returns — Composite (%)

Best quarter: 3Q ’09, 11.19% Worst quarter: 1Q ’08, -4.79%

2007

2008

2009

2010

7.29

–7.28

18.07

9.66


Global Absolute Return Strategy Composite							Since
average annual total returns (%)	1 Year		3 Years		5 Years		Inception

for periods ended August 31, 2011

Composite		–3.51		6.68		5.49		6.01

BofA Merrill Lynch US Dollar 1-Month LIBID Average Index Benchmark¹		0.12		0.43		2.06		2.17

MSCI World Index²		15.06		–0.71		0.35		0.97


							Since
Annualized Standard Deviation	1 Year		3 Years		5 Years		Inception

for periods ended August 31, 2011

Composite		3.41		6.85		6.17		6.12

BofA Merrill Lynch US Dollar 1-Month LIBID Average Index (Benchmark)¹		0.01		0.23		0.64		0.65

MSCI World Index²		16.08		23.60		19.66		19.36


²	The MSCI World Index is a free-float-adjusted market capitalization weighted index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets.

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Appendix

For more information

Two documents are available that offer further information on the fund:

Annual/Semiannual report to shareholders

Includes financial statements, a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected performance, as well as the auditors’ report (in annual report only).

Statement of Additional Information

To obtain a free copy of these documents

There are several ways you can get a current annual/semiannual report, prospectus or SAI from John Hancock:

Online: www.jhfunds.com


By mail:	John Hancock Signature Services, Inc. P.O. Box 55913 Boston, MA 02205-5913

By phone: 1-888-972-8696

By TDD: 1-800-554-6713

By EASI-Line: 1-800-597-1897

You can also view or obtain copies of these documents through the SEC:

Online: www.sec.gov

By e-mail (duplicating fee required): publicinfo@sec.gov


By mail (duplicating fee required):	Public Reference Section Securities and Exchange Commission Washington, DC 20549-0102

In person: at the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C.
For access to the Reference Room call 1-800-732-0330.

John Hancock Funds, LLC

MEMBER FINRA | SIPC

601 Congress Street

Boston, MA 02210-2805

www.jhfunds.com

Electronic delivery now available at

www.jhfunds.com/edelivery

Fund summary

John Hancock

Investment objective

To seek long term total return.

Fees and expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund.


Shareholder fees (%) (fees paid directly from your investment)	Class NAV

Maximum front-end sales charge (load) on purchases as a % of purchase price		None

Maximum deferred sales charge (load) as a % of purchase or sale price, whichever is less		None


Annual fund operating expenses (%)
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)¹	Class NAV

Management fee		1.28

Other expenses		0.12

Total annual fund operating expenses		1.40


1		“Annual fund operating expenses” have been estimated for the fund’s first year of operations.

Expense example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. Please see below a hypothetical example showing the expenses of a $10,000 investment at the end of the various time frames indicated. The example assumes a 5% average annual return. The example assumes fund expenses will not change over the periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:


Expenses ($)	Class NAV

1 Year		143

3 Years		443

Portfolio turnover

Principal investment strategies

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund summary

Principal risks

The fund’s main risk factors are listed below in alphabetical order. Before investing, be sure to read the additional descriptions of these risks beginning on page 5 of the prospectus.

Active management risk The subadviser’s investment strategy may fail to produce the intended result.

Equity securities risk The value of a company’s equity securities is subject to changes in the company’s financial condition, and overall market and economic conditions.

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund summary

High portfolio turnover risk Actively trading securities can increase transaction costs (thus lowering performance) and taxable distributions.

Past performance

Investment management

Investment adviser John Hancock Investment Management Services, LLC

Subadviser Standard Life Investments (Corporate Funds) Limited

Portfolio management


David Millar Investment Director, Multi-Asset Investing Managed fund since inception		Euan Munro Director of Multi-Asset Investing & Fixed Income Managed fund since inception		Guy Stern Investment Director, Multi-Asset Investing Managed fund since inception

Purchase and sale of fund shares

There are no minimum initial or subsequent investment requirements for Class NAV shares of the fund.

Taxes

Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund summary

Fund details

Investment objective: To seek long term total return.

The Board of Trustees can change the fund’s investment objective and strategy without shareholder approval.

Temporary defensive investing

The fund may invest up to 100% of its assets in cash or money market instruments for the purpose of:


•	meeting redemption requests,


•	making other anticipated cash payments, or


•	protecting the fund in the event the subadviser determines that market, economic, political or other conditions warrant a defensive posture.

Active management risk

Credit and counterparty risk

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund details

Economic and market events risk

Equity securities risk

Fixed-income securities risk

Fixed-income securities are generally subject to two principal types of risks: (a) interest-rate risk and (b) credit quality risk.

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund details

security’s maturity. Securities subject to prepayment risk can offer less potential for gains when the credit quality of the issuer improves.

Foreign securities risk

Hedging, derivatives and other strategic transactions risk

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund details


	•	Credit default swaps Counterparty risk, liquidity risk (i.e., the inability to enter into closing transactions), interest-rate risk, risk of default of the underlying reference obligation and risk of disproportionate loss are the principal risks of engaging in transactions involving credit default swaps.


	•	Foreign currency forward contracts Counterparty risk, liquidity risk (i.e., the inability to enter into closing transactions), foreign currency risk and risk of disproportionate loss are the principal risks of engaging in transactions involving foreign currency forward contracts.


	•	Futures contracts Counterparty risk, liquidity risk (i.e., the inability to enter into closing transactions) and risk of disproportionate loss are the principal risks of engaging in transactions involving futures contracts.


	•	Options Counterparty risk, liquidity risk (i.e., the inability to enter into closing transactions) and risk of disproportionate loss are the principal risks of engaging in transactions involving options. Counterparty risk does not apply to exchange-traded options.


	•	Swaps Counterparty risk, liquidity risk (i.e., the inability to enter into closing transactions), interest-rate risk, settlement risk, risk of default of the underlying reference obligation and risk of disproportionate loss are the principal risks of engaging in transactions involving swaps.

High portfolio turnover risk

Industry or sector risk

Issuer risk

Large company risk

Liquidity risk

Lower-rated fixed-income securities risk and high-yield securities risk


	•	Risk to principal and income. Investing in lower-rated fixed-income securities is considered speculative. While these securities generally provide greater income potential than investments in

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund details


		higher-rated securities, there is a greater risk that principal and interest payments will not be made. Issuers of these securities may even go into default or become bankrupt.


	•	Price volatility. The price of lower-rated fixed-income securities may be more volatile than securities in the higher-rating categories. This volatility may increase during periods of economic uncertainty or change. The price of these securities is affected more than higher-rated fixed-income securities by the market’s perception of their credit quality, especially during times of adverse publicity. In the past, economic downturns or increases in interest rates have, at times, caused more defaults by issuers of these securities and may do so in the future. Economic downturns and increases in interest rates have an even greater effect on highly leveraged issuers of these securities.


	•	Liquidity. The market for lower-rated fixed-income securities may have more limited trading than the market for investment-grade fixed-income securities. Therefore, it may be more difficult to sell these securities, and these securities may have to be sold at prices below their market value in order to meet redemption requests or to respond to changes in market conditions.


	•	Dependence on subadviser’s own credit analysis. While a subadviser may rely on ratings by established credit-rating agencies, it will also supplement such ratings with its own independent review of the credit quality of the issuer. Therefore, the assessment of the credit risk of lower-rated fixed-income securities is more dependent on the subadviser’s evaluation than the assessment of the credit risk of higher-rated securities.

Medium and smaller company risk

The following are the names of the various entities involved with the fund’s investment and business operations, along with brief descriptions of the role each entity performs.

Trustees

Oversee the fund’s business activities and retain the services of the various firms that carry out the fund’s operations.

Investment adviser

Manages the fund’s business and investment activities.

John Hancock Investment Management Services, LLC
601 Congress Street
Boston, MA 02210-2805

Management fee

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund details

If net assets are equal to or less than $500 million, the following fee schedule shall apply:


	Annual
Average Daily Net Assets	Rate




First $200 million		1	.30%

Next $300 million		1	.25%

If net assets exceed $500 million, the following fee schedule shall apply:


	Annual
Average Daily Net Assets	Rate




All asset levels		1	.20%

Out of these fees, the investment adviser in turn pays the fees of the subadviser.

Additional information about fund expenses

The adviser has voluntarily agreed to reduce its management fee for the fund, or if necessary make payment to the fund, in an amount equal to the amount by which the “Other expenses” of the fund exceed 0.20% of average annual net assets (on an annualized basis) of the fund. “Other expenses” means all the expenses of the fund, excluding: (a) taxes, (b) brokerage commissions, (c) interest expense, (d) litigation and indemnification expenses and other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the fund’s business, (e) advisory fees, (f) 12b-1 fees, (g) transfer agent fees and service fees, (h) blue-sky fees, (i) printing and postage, (j) acquired fund fees and expenses, (k) fees under any agreement or plan of the fund dealing with services for shareholders or others with beneficial interests in shares of the fund, and (l) short dividends. This voluntary expense reimbursement will continue in effect until terminated at any time by the adviser on notice to the fund.

The adviser may recapture operating expenses reimbursed or fees waived for a period of three years following the beginning of the month in which such reimbursement or waivers occurred.

Subadviser

Handles the fund’s day-to-day portfolio management.

Standard Life Investments (Corporate Funds) Limited
One Beacon Street, 34th Floor
Boston, MA 02108-3106

David Millar


•	Investment Director, Multi-Asset Investing


•	Managed fund since inception


•	Head of Bond Strategy and Chair of the Bond Policy Group (2003-2008) and fixed-income fund manager (1995-2003), Scottish Widows Investment Partnership


•	Joined Standard Life Investments in 2008


•	22 years of investment industry experience

Euan Munro


•	Director of Multi-Asset Investing & Fixed Income


•	Managed fund since inception


•	Joined Standard Life Investments in 1995


•	19 years of investment industry experience

Guy Stern


•	Investment Director, Multi-Asset Investing


•	Managed fund since inception


•	Chief Investment Officer, Credit Suisse Asset Management (2002-2008)


•	Joined Standard Life Investments in 2008


•	27 years of investment industry experience

Custodian

Holds the fund’s assets, settles all portfolio trades and collects most of the valuation data required for calculating the fund’s net asset value.

State Street Bank and Trust Company
Lafayette Corporate Center
Two Avenue de Lafayette
Boston, MA 02111

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund details

Your account

Who can buy shares

Class NAV shares are sold to certain affiliated funds, each of which is a fund of funds that invests in various other funds. Class NAV shares are also sold to retirement plans and to certain institutional investors, including the Education Trust of Alaska, the issuer of interests in the John Hancock Freedom 529 plan.

Class cost structure


•	No sales charges


•	No distribution and service (Rule 12b-1) fees

Other share classes of the fund, which have their own expense structures, may be offered in separate prospectuses.

Your broker-dealer or agent may charge you a fee to effect transactions in fund shares.

Additional payments to financial intermediaries

Class NAV shares do not pay sales commissions or Rule 12b-1 fees. However, certain financial intermediaries (firms) may request, and the distributor may agree to make, payments out of the distributor’s own resources. These additional payments are sometimes referred to as “revenue sharing.” These payments assist in the distributor’s efforts to promote the sale of the fund’s shares. The distributor agrees with the firm on the methods for calculating any additional compensation, which may include the level of sales or assets attributable to the firm. Not all firms receive additional compensation and the amount of compensation varies. These payments could be significant to a firm. The distributor determines which firms to support and the extent of the payments it is willing to make. The distributor generally chooses to compensate firms that have a strong capability to distribute shares of the fund and that are willing to cooperate with the distributor’s promotional efforts.


1	Read this prospectus carefully.


2	Determine if you are eligible by referring to “Who can buy shares.”


3	Permitted entities generally may open an account and purchase Class NAV shares by contacting any broker-dealer, or other financial service firm authorized to sell Class NAV shares of the fund. There is no minimum initial investment for Class NAV shares.

Valuation of shares

Valuation of securities

In deciding whether to fair value a security, the fund’s Pricing Committee may review a variety of factors, including:

in the case of foreign securities:


	•	developments in foreign markets,


	•	the performance of U.S. securities markets after the close of trading in the market and


	•	the performance of instruments trading in U.S. markets that represent foreign securities or baskets of foreign securities.

in the case of fixed-income securities:

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Your account


	•	actions by the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee and other significant trends in U.S. fixed-income markets.

in the case of all securities:


	•	political or other developments affecting the economy or markets in which an issuer conducts its operations or its securities are traded,


	•	announcements relating to the issuer of the security concerning matters such as trading suspensions, acquisitions, recapitalizations, litigation developments, a natural disaster affecting the issuer’s operations or regulatory changes or market developments affecting the issuer’s industry and


	•	events affecting the securities markets in general (such as market disruptions or closings and significant fluctuations in U.S. and/or foreign markets).

Buy and sell prices

When you buy shares, you pay the NAV. When you sell shares, you receive the NAV.

Execution of requests

The fund is open on those days when the NYSE is open, typically Monday through Friday. Buy and sell requests are executed at the NAV to be calculated after receipt of your request in good order.

In unusual circumstances, any fund may temporarily suspend the processing of sell requests, or may postpone payment of proceeds for up to three business days or longer, as allowed by federal securities laws. The fund also reserves the right to redeem in kind.

Excessive trading

Right to reject or restrict purchase and exchange orders

Exchange limitation policies

Limitation on exchange activity

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Your account

made well in advance of any knowledge of events affecting the market on the date of the purchase or redemption.

Limitation on the ability to detect and curtail excessive trading practices

Excessive trading risk

While excessive trading can potentially occur in the fund, certain types of funds are more likely than others to be targets of excessive trading. For example:

•


•	A fund that invests a material portion of its assets in securities of foreign issuers may be a potential target for excessive trading if investors seek to engage in price arbitrage based upon general trends in the securities markets that occur subsequent to the close of the primary market for such securities.

•

Additional investor services

Account statements

In general, you will receive account statements from your plan’s recordkeeper. Every year you should also receive, if applicable, a Form 1099 tax information statement, mailed by January 31 by your plan’s recordkeeper.

Dividends

The fund typically declares and pays income dividends and capital gains, if any, at least annually.

Dividend reinvestments

Taxability of dividends

For investors who are not exempt from federal income taxes, dividends you receive from the fund, whether reinvested or taken as cash, are

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Your account

generally considered taxable. Dividends from the fund’s short-term capital gains are taxable as ordinary income. Dividends from the fund’s long-term capital gains are taxable at a lower rate. Whether gains are short-term or long-term depends on the fund’s holding period. Some dividends paid in January may be taxable as if they had been paid the previous December.

The Form 1099 that is mailed to you every January, if applicable, details your dividends and their federal tax category, although you should verify your tax liability with your tax professional.

Returns of capital

Taxability of transactions

Disclosure of fund holdings

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Your account

Related Performance Information

Historical Performance of the Standard Life Investments Global Absolute Return Strategy Composite

The past performance of the Composite has been calculated net of fees and expenses. The Composite’s returns would be lower if it reflected the fees and expenses of the fund.

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Appendix

Global Absolute Return Strategy Composite

Corresponding to John Hancock Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund

Net assets of Composite as of August 31, 2011: $13,906,729,409

Calendar year total returns — Composite (%)

Best quarter: 3Q ’09, 11.19% Worst quarter: 1Q ’08, –4.79%

2007

2008

2009

2010

7.29

–7.28

18.07

9.66


Global Absolute Return Strategy Composite							Since
average annual total returns (%)	1 Year		3 Years		5 Years		Inception

for periods ended August 31, 2011

Composite		–3.51		6.68		5.49		6.01

BofA Merrill Lynch US Dollar 1-Month LIBID Average Index (Benchmark)¹		0.12		0.43		2.06		2.17

MSCI World Index²		15.06		–0.71		0.35		0.97


							Since
Annualized Standard Deviation	1 Year		3 Years		5 Years		Inception

for periods ended August 31, 2011

Composite		3.41		6.85		6.17		6.12

BofA Merrill Lynch US Dollar 1-Month LIBID Average Index (Benchmark)¹		0.01		0.23		0.64		0.65

MSCI World Index²		16.08		23.60		19.60		19.36


²	The MSCI World Index is a free-float-adjusted market capitalization weighted index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets.

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Appendix

For more information

Two documents are available that offer further information on the fund:

Annual/Semiannual report to shareholders

Includes financial statements, a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected performance, as well as the auditors’ report (in annual report only).

Statement of Additional Information

To obtain a free copy of these documents

There are several ways you can get a current annual/semiannual report, prospectus or SAI from John Hancock:

Online: www.jhfunds.com


By mail:	John Hancock Funds 601 Congress Street Boston, MA 02210-2805

By phone: 1-800-344-1029

You can also view or obtain copies of these documents through the SEC:

Online: www.sec.gov

By e-mail (duplicating fee required): publicinfo@sec.gov


By mail (duplicating fee required):	Public Reference Section Securities and Exchange Commission Washington, DC 20549-0102

In person: at the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C.
For access to the Reference Room call 1-800-732-0330.

John Hancock Funds, LLC

MEMBER FINRA | SIPC

601 Congress Street

Boston, MA 02210-2805

www.jhfunds.com

Electronic delivery now available at

www.jhfunds.com/edelivery

Fund summary

John Hancock

Investment objective

To seek long term total return.

Fees and expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund.


Shareholder fees (%) (fees paid directly from your investment)	Class R6

Maximum front-end sales charge (load) on purchases as a % of purchase price		None

Maximum deferred sales charge (load) as a % of purchase or sale price, whichever is less		None


Annual fund operating expenses (%)
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)¹	Class R6

Management fee		1.28

Other expenses		15.19

Total annual fund operating expenses		16.47

Contractual expense reimbursement²		−14.97

Total annual fund operating expenses after expense reimbursements		1.50


1		“Annual fund operating expenses” have been estimated for the fund’s first year of operations.
2		The adviser has contractually agreed to waive all or a portion of its management fee and reimburse or pay operating expenses of the fund to the extent necessary to maintain the fund’s total operating expenses at 1.50% for Class R6 shares, excluding certain expenses such as taxes, brokerage commissions, interest expense, litigation and indemnification expenses and other extraordinary expenses, acquired fund fees and expenses paid indirectly and short dividend expense. The current expense limitation agreement expires on December 31, 2012, unless renewed by mutual agreement of the fund and the adviser based upon a determination that this is appropriate under the circumstances at the time.

Expense example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. Please see below a hypothetical example showing the expenses of a $10,000 investment at the end of the various time frames indicated. The example assumes a 5% average annual return. The example assumes fund expenses will not change over the periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:


Expenses ($)	Class R6

1 Year		153

3 Years		3,182

Portfolio turnover

Principal investment strategies

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund summary

currencies or currency exchange rates, and related indexes. Under normal market conditions, at least 40% of the value of the fund’s net assets will be invested in or exposed to obligations of issuers or obligors located outside of the United States.

Principal risks

The fund’s main risk factors are listed below in alphabetical order. Before investing, be sure to read the additional descriptions of these risks beginning on page 5 of the prospectus.

Active management risk The subadviser’s investment strategy may fail to produce the intended result.

Equity securities risk The value of a company’s equity securities is subject to changes in the company’s financial condition, and overall market and economic conditions.

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund summary

price. The following is a list of certain derivatives and other strategic transactions in which the fund intends to invest and the main risks associated with each of them:

High portfolio turnover risk Actively trading securities can increase transaction costs (thus lowering performance) and taxable distributions.

Past performance

Investment management

Investment adviser John Hancock Investment Management Services, LLC

Subadviser Standard Life Investments (Corporate Funds) Limited

Portfolio management


David Millar Investment Director, Multi-Asset Investing Managed fund since inception		Euan Munro Director of Multi-Asset Investing & Fixed Income Managed fund since inception		Guy Stern Investment Director, Multi-Asset Investing Managed fund since inception

Purchase and sale of fund shares

The minimum initial investment requirement for Class R6 shares of the fund is $1 million for all investors other than certain qualified plan investors. There is no minimum initial investment requirement for such qualified plan investors. There are no subsequent investment requirements. You may redeem shares of the fund on any business day by mail: Mutual Fund Operations, John Hancock Signature Services, Inc., P.O. Box 55913, Boston, Massachusetts 02205-5913; or for most account types through our Web site: www.jhfunds.com or by telephone: 1-888-972-8696.

Taxes

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund summary

Fund details

Investment objective: To seek long term total return.

The Board of Trustees can change the fund’s investment objective and strategy without shareholder approval.

Temporary defensive investing

The fund may invest up to 100% of its assets in cash or money market instruments for the purpose of:


•	meeting redemption requests,


•	making other anticipated cash payments, or


•	protecting the fund in the event the subadviser determines that market, economic, political or other conditions warrant a defensive posture.

Active management risk

Credit and counterparty risk

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund details

Economic and market events risk

Equity securities risk

Fixed-income securities risk

Fixed-income securities are generally subject to two principal types of risks: (a) interest-rate risk and (b) credit quality risk.

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund details

security’s maturity. Securities subject to prepayment risk can offer less potential for gains when the credit quality of the issuer improves.

Foreign securities risk

Hedging, derivatives and other strategic transactions risk

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund details


	•	Credit default swaps Counterparty risk, liquidity risk (i.e., the inability to enter into closing transactions), interest-rate risk, risk of default of the underlying reference obligation and risk of disproportionate loss are the principal risks of engaging in transactions involving credit default swaps.


	•	Foreign currency forward contracts Counterparty risk, liquidity risk (i.e., the inability to enter into closing transactions), foreign currency risk and risk of disproportionate loss are the principal risks of engaging in transactions involving foreign currency forward contracts.


	•	Futures contracts Counterparty risk, liquidity risk (i.e., the inability to enter into closing transactions) and risk of disproportionate loss are the principal risks of engaging in transactions involving futures contracts.


	•	Options Counterparty risk, liquidity risk (i.e., the inability to enter into closing transactions) and risk of disproportionate loss are the principal risks of engaging in transactions involving options. Counterparty risk does not apply to exchange-traded options.


	•	Swaps Counterparty risk, liquidity risk (i.e., the inability to enter into closing transactions), interest-rate risk, settlement risk, risk of default of the underlying reference obligation and risk of disproportionate loss are the principal risks of engaging in transactions involving swaps.

High portfolio turnover risk

Industry or sector risk

Issuer risk

Large company risk

Liquidity risk

Lower-rated fixed-income securities risk and high-yield securities risk


	•	Risk to principal and income. Investing in lower-rated fixed-income securities is considered speculative. While these securities generally provide greater income potential than investments in

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund details


		higher-rated securities, there is a greater risk that principal and interest payments will not be made. Issuers of these securities may even go into default or become bankrupt.


	•	Price volatility. The price of lower-rated fixed-income securities may be more volatile than securities in the higher-rating categories. This volatility may increase during periods of economic uncertainty or change. The price of these securities is affected more than higher-rated fixed-income securities by the market’s perception of their credit quality, especially during times of adverse publicity. In the past, economic downturns or increases in interest rates have, at times, caused more defaults by issuers of these securities and may do so in the future. Economic downturns and increases in interest rates have an even greater effect on highly leveraged issuers of these securities.


	•	Liquidity. The market for lower-rated fixed-income securities may have more limited trading than the market for investment-grade fixed-income securities. Therefore, it may be more difficult to sell these securities, and these securities may have to be sold at prices below their market value in order to meet redemption requests or to respond to changes in market conditions.


	•	Dependence on subadviser’s own credit analysis. While a subadviser may rely on ratings by established credit-rating agencies, it will also supplement such ratings with its own independent review of the credit quality of the issuer. Therefore, the assessment of the credit risk of lower-rated fixed-income securities is more dependent on the subadviser’s evaluation than the assessment of the credit risk of higher-rated securities.

Medium and smaller company risk

The following are the names of the various entities involved with the fund’s investment and business operations, along with brief descriptions of the role each entity performs.

Trustees

Oversee the fund’s business activities and retain the services of the various firms that carry out the fund’s operations.

Investment adviser

Manages the fund’s business and investment activities.

John Hancock Investment Management Services, LLC
601 Congress Street
Boston, MA 02210-2805

Management fee

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund details

If net assets are equal to or less than $500 million, the following fee schedule shall apply:


	Annual
Average Daily Net Assets	Rate




First $200 million		1	.30%

Next $300 million		1	.25%

If net assets exceed $500 million, the following fee schedule shall apply:


	Annual
Average Daily Net Assets	Rate




All asset levels		1	.20%

Out of these fees, the investment adviser in turn pays the fees of the subadviser.

Additional information about fund expenses

The adviser has voluntarily agreed to reduce its management fee for the fund, or if necessary make payment to the fund, in an amount equal to the amount by which the “Other expenses” of the fund exceed 0.20% of average annual net assets (on an annualized basis) of the fund. “Other expenses” means all the expenses of the fund, excluding (a) taxes, (b) brokerage commissions, (c) interest expense, (d) litigation and indemnification expenses and other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the fund’s business, (e) advisory fees, (f) 12b-1 fees, (g) transfer agent fees and service fees, (h) blue-sky fees, (i) printing and postage, (j) acquired fund fees and expenses, (k) fees under any agreement or plan of the fund dealing with services for shareholders or others with beneficial interests in shares of the fund, and (l) short dividends. This voluntary expense reimbursement will continue in effect until terminated at any time by the adviser on notice to the fund.

The adviser may recapture operating expenses reimbursed or fees waived for a period of three years following the beginning of the month in which such reimbursement or waivers occurred.

Subadviser

Handles the fund’s day-to-day portfolio management.

Standard Life Investments (Corporate Funds) Limited
One Beacon Street, 34th Floor
Boston, MA 02108-3106

David Millar


•	Investment Director, Multi-Asset Investing


•	Managed fund since inception


•	Head of Bond Strategy and Chair of the Bond Policy Group (2003-2008) and fixed-income fund manager (1995-2003), Scottish Widows Investment Partnership


•	Joined Standard Life Investments in 2008


•	22 years of investment industry experience

Euan Munro


•	Director of Multi-Asset Investing & Fixed Income


•	Managed fund since inception


•	Joined Standard Life Investments in 1995


•	19 years of investment industry experience

Guy Stern


•	Investment Director, Multi-Asset Investing


•	Managed fund since inception


•	Chief Investment Officer, Credit Suisse Asset Management (2002-2008)


•	Joined Standard Life Investments in 2008


•	27 years of investment industry experience

Custodian

Holds the fund’s assets, settles all portfolio trades and collects most of the valuation data required for calculating the fund’s net asset value.

State Street Bank and Trust Company
Lafayette Corporate Center
Two Avenue de Lafayette
Boston, MA 02111

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Fund details

Your account

Who can buy shares

Class R6 shares are offered without any sales charge and are generally made available to the following types of investors if they also meet the minimum initial investment requirement for purchases of Class R6 shares. (See “Opening an account.”)


•	Qualified 401(a) plans (including 401(k) plans, Keogh plans, profit-sharing pension plans, money purchase pension plans, target benefit plans, defined benefit pension plans and Taft-Hartley multi-employer pension plans) (collectively, Qualified Plans)


•	Endowment funds and foundations


•	Any state, county or city, or its instrumentality, department, authority or agency


•	457 Plans, including 457(a) governmental entity plans and tax-exempt plans


•	Accounts registered to insurance companies, trust companies and bank trust departments


•	Investment companies, both affiliated and not affiliated with the adviser


•	Any entity that is considered a corporation for tax purposes, including corporate non-qualified deferred compensation plans of such corporations


•	Fund trustees and other individuals who are affiliated with the fund and other John Hancock funds

Class R6 shares may not be available through certain investment dealers.

The availability of Class R6 shares for Qualified Plan investors will depend upon the policies of your financial intermediary and/or the recordkeeper for your Qualified Plan.

Class R6 shares also are generally available only to Qualified Plan investors where plan level or omnibus accounts are held on the books of the fund.

Class R6 shares are not available to retail nonretirement accounts, traditional and Roth individual retirement accounts (IRAs), Coverdell Education Savings Accounts, SEPs, SARSEPs, SIMPLE IRAs and 529 college savings plans.

Class R6 shares are also not available to retail, advisory fee-based wrap programs or to adviser-sold donor-advised funds.

Your broker-dealer or agent may charge you a fee to effect transactions in fund shares.

Other classes of shares of the fund, which have their own expense structure, may be offered in separate prospectuses.

Payments to financial intermediaries

No dealer compensation is paid from fund assets on sales of Class R6 shares. Class R6 shares do not carry sales commissions or pay Rule 12b-1 fees, or make payments to financial intermediaries to assist in the distributor’s efforts to promote the sale of the fund’s shares, sometimes referred to as “revenue sharing.” Neither the fund nor its affiliates make any type of administrative or service payments in connection with investments in Class R6 shares.


1	Read this prospectus carefully.


2	Determine if you are eligible by referring to “Who can buy shares.”

Determine how much you want to invest. The minimum initial investment is $1 million for all investors other than Qualified Plan investors. There is no minimum initial investment requirement for Qualified Plan investors that do not require the fund or its affiliates to pay any type of administrative payments. There are no minimum investment requirements for subsequent purchases to existing accounts.


4	All shareholders must complete the account application, carefully following the instructions. If you have any questions, please contact your financial representative or call John Hancock Signature Services, Inc. (Signature Services) at 1-888-972-8696.


5	Make your initial investment using the instructions on the next page.

Important information about opening a new account

When you open an account, you will be asked for the name of the entity, its principal place of business and taxpayer identification number (TIN) and may be requested to provide information on persons with authority or control over the account, such as name, residential address, date of birth and Social Security number. You may also be asked to provide documents, such as articles of incorporation, trust instruments or partnership agreements and other information that will help Signature Services identify the entity. Please see the Mutual Fund Account Application for more details.

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Your account


Opening an account		Adding to an account

By check
• Make out a check for the investment amount, payable to “John Hancock Signature Services, Inc.” • Deliver the check and your completed application to your financial representative or mail them to Signature Services (address below).		• Make out a check for the investment amount, payable to “John Hancock Signature Services, Inc.” • If your account statement has a detachable investment slip, please complete it in its entirety. If no slip is available, include a note specifying the fund name, your share class, your account number and the name(s) in which the account is registered. • Deliver the check and your investment slip or note to your financial representative, or mail them to Signature Services (address below).




By exchange
• Call your financial representative or Signature Services to request an exchange.		• Log on to the Web site below to process exchanges between funds. • Call EASI-Line for account balance, fund inquiry and transaction processing on some account types. • You may exchange Class R6 shares for other Class R6 shares or John Hancock Money Market Fund Class A shares. • Call your financial representative or Signature Services to request an exchange.




By wire
• Deliver your completed application to your financial representative or mail it to Signature Services. • Obtain your account number by calling your financial representative or Signature Services. • Obtain wiring instructions by calling Signature Services. • Instruct your bank to wire the amount of your investment. Specify the fund name, the share class, your account number and the name(s) in which the account is registered. Your bank may charge a fee to wire funds.		• Obtain wiring instructions by calling Signature Services. • Instruct your bank to wire the amount of your investment. Specify the fund name, the share class, your account number and the name(s) in which the account is registered. Your bank may charge a fee to wire funds.




By phone
• See “By exchange” and “By wire.”		• Verify that your bank or credit union is a member of the ACH system. • Complete the “To purchase, exchange or redeem shares via telephone” and “Bank information” sections on your account application. • Call EASI-Line for account balance, fund inquiry and transaction processing on some account types. • Call your financial representative or call Signature Services between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on most business days.



Regular mail	Express delivery	Web site	EASI-Line	Signature Services, Inc.
Mutual Fund Operations John Hancock Signature Services, Inc. P.O. Box 55913 Boston, MA 02205-5913	Mutual Fund Operations John Hancock Signature Services, Inc. 30 Dan Road Canton, MA 02021	www.jhfunds.com	(24/7 automated service) 1-800-597-1897	1-888-972-8696

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Your account


		To sell some or all of your shares

By letter
• Sales of any amount.		• Write a letter of instruction or complete a stock power indicating the fund name, the share class, your account number, the name(s) in which the account is registered and the dollar value or number of shares you wish to sell. • Include all signatures and any additional documents that may be required (see next page). • Mail the materials to Signature Services (address below). • A check will be mailed to the name(s) and address in which the account is registered, or otherwise according to your letter of instruction. • Certain requests will require a Medallion Signature Guarantee. Please refer to “Selling shares in writing” on the next page.




By phone
Amounts up to $5 million: • Available to the following types of accounts: custodial accounts held by banks, trust companies or broker-dealers; endowments and foundations; corporate accounts and group retirement plans.		• Call EASI-Line for account balance, general fund inquiry and transaction processing on some account types. • Redemption proceeds of up to $100,000 may be sent by wire or by check. A check will be mailed to the exact name(s) and address on the account. • To place your request with a representative at John Hancock, call Signature Services between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on most business days, or your financial representative. • Redemption proceeds exceeding $100,000 will be wired to your designated bank account, unless a Medallion Signature Guaranteed letter is provided requesting payment by check. Please refer to “Selling shares in writing.”




By wire or electronic funds transfer (EFT)
• Requests by letter to sell any amount. • Qualified requests by phone to sell to $5 million (accounts with telephone redemption privileges).		• To verify that the telephone redemption privilege is in place on an account, or to request the form to add it to an existing account, call Signature Services. • Amounts of $5 million or more will be wired on the next business day. • Amounts up to $100,000 may be sent by EFT or by check. Funds from EFT transactions are generally available by the second business day. Your bank may charge a fee for this service.




By exchange
• Sales of any amount.		• Obtain a current prospectus for the fund into which you are exchanging by accessing the fund’s Web site by Internet, or by calling your financial representative or Signature Services. • Call EASI-Line for account balance, general fund inquiry and transaction processing on some account types. • You may only exchange Class R6 shares for other Class R6 shares or for John Hancock Money Market Fund Class A shares. • Call your financial representative or Signature Services to request an exchange.



Regular mail	Express delivery	Web site	EASI-Line	Signature Services, Inc.
Mutual Fund Operations John Hancock Signature Services, Inc. P.O. Box 55913 Boston, MA 02205-5913	Mutual Fund Operations John Hancock Signature Services, Inc. 30 Dan Road Canton, MA 02021	www.jhfunds.com	(24/7 automated service) 1-800-597-1897	1-888-972-8696

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Your account

Selling shares in writing


•	your address of record has changed within the past 30 days;


•	you are selling more than $100,000 worth of shares and are requesting payment by check (this requirement is waived for certain entities operating under a signed fax trading agreement with John Hancock);


•	you are selling more than $5 million worth of shares from the following types of accounts: custodial accounts held by banks, trust companies or broker-dealers; endowments and foundations; corporate accounts; and group retirement plans; or


•	you are requesting payment other than by a check mailed to the address/bank of record and payable to the registered owner(s).


Seller		Requirements for written requests

Owners of individual, joint or UGMA/UTMA accounts (custodial accounts for minors)		• Letter of instruction. • On the letter, the signatures and titles of all persons authorized to sign for the account, exactly as the account is registered. • Medallion Signature Guarantee, if applicable (see above).




Owners of corporate, sole proprietorship, general partner or association accounts		• Letter of instruction. • Corporate business/organization resolution, certified within the past 12 months, or a John Hancock business/organization certification form. • On the letter and the resolution, the signature of the person(s) authorized to sign for the account. • Medallion Signature Guarantee, if applicable (see above).




Owners or trustees of trust accounts		• Letter of instruction. • On the letter, the signature(s) of the trustee(s). • Copy of the trust document, certified within the past 12 months, or a John Hancock trust certification form. • Medallion Signature Guarantee, if applicable (see above).




Joint tenancy shareholders with rights of survivorship with deceased co-tenant(s)		• Letter of instruction signed by surviving tenant(s). • Copy of death certificate. • Medallion Signature Guarantee, if applicable (see above). • Inheritance tax waiver, if applicable.




Executors of shareholder estates		• Letter of instruction signed by executor. • Copy of order appointing executor, certified within the past 12 months. • Medallion Signature Guarantee, if applicable (see above). • Inheritance tax waiver, if applicable.




Administrators, conservators, guardians and other sellers or account types not listed above		• Call Signature Services for instructions.



Regular mail	Express delivery	Web site	EASI-Line	Signature Services, Inc.
Mutual Fund Operations John Hancock Signature Services, Inc. P.O. Box 55913 Boston, MA 02205-5913	Mutual Fund Operations John Hancock Signature Services, Inc. 30 Dan Road Canton, MA 02021	www.jhfunds.com	(24/7 automated service) 1-800-597-1897	1-888-972-8696

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Your account

Valuation of shares

Valuation of securities

In deciding whether to fair value a security, the fund’s Pricing Committee may review a variety of factors, including:

in the case of foreign securities:


	•	developments in foreign markets,


	•	the performance of U.S. securities markets after the close of trading in the market and


	•	the performance of instruments trading in U.S. markets that represent foreign securities or baskets of foreign securities.

in the case of fixed-income securities:


	•	actions by the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee and other significant trends in U.S. fixed-income markets.

in the case of all securities:


	•	political or other developments affecting the economy or markets in which an issuer conducts its operations or its securities are traded,


	•	announcements relating to the issuer of the security concerning matters such as trading suspensions, acquisitions, recapitalizations, litigation developments, a natural disaster affecting the issuer’s operations or regulatory changes or market developments affecting the issuer’s industry and


	•	events affecting the securities markets in general (such as market disruptions or closings and significant fluctuations in U.S. and/or foreign markets).

Buy and sell prices

When you buy shares, you pay the NAV. When you sell shares, you receive the NAV.

Execution of requests

At times of peak activity, it may be difficult to place requests by telephone. During these times, consider using EASI-Line, accessing www.jhfunds.com or sending your request in writing.

Telephone transactions

Exchanges

You may exchange Class R6 shares of one John Hancock fund for Class R6 shares of any other John Hancock fund or for John Hancock Money Market Fund Class A shares. The registration for both accounts involved must be identical. Note: Once exchanged into John Hancock Money Market Fund Class A shares, shares may only be exchanged back to Class R6 shares.

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Your account

Excessive trading

Right to reject or restrict purchase and exchange orders

Exchange limitation policies

Limitation on exchange activity

Limitation on the ability to detect and curtail excessive trading practices

Excessive trading risk

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Your account

would, such as maintaining higher cash balances, using its line of credit and engaging in increased portfolio transactions. Increased portfolio transactions and use of the line of credit would correspondingly increase the fund’s operating costs and decrease the fund’s investment performance. Maintenance of higher levels of cash balances would likewise result in lower fund investment performance during periods of rising markets.

While excessive trading can potentially occur in the fund, certain types of funds are more likely than others to be targets of excessive trading. For example:

•


•	A fund that invests a material portion of its assets in securities of foreign issuers may be a potential target for excessive trading if investors seek to engage in price arbitrage based upon general trends in the securities markets that occur subsequent to the close of the primary market for such securities.

•

Account information

Certificated shares

The fund does not issue share certificates. Shares are electronically recorded.

Sales in advance of purchase payments

Account statements

In general, you will receive account statements as follows:


•	after every transaction (except a dividend reinvestment) that affects your account balance


•	after any changes of name or address of the registered owner(s)


•	in all other circumstances, every quarter

Every year you should also receive, if applicable, a Form 1099 tax information statement, mailed by January 31.

Dividends

The fund typically declares and pays income dividends and capital gains, if any, at least annually.

Dividend reinvestments

Taxability of dividends

The Form 1099 that is mailed to you every January, if applicable, details your dividends and their federal tax category, although you should verify your tax liability with your tax professional.

Returns of capital

Taxability of transactions

Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund – Your account