JOHN HANCOCK V.A. TECHNOLOGY FUND
(a series of John Hancock Declaration Trust)

101 Huntington Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts


May 1, 2000


John Hancock Advisers, Inc.
101 Huntington Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts  02199

Investment Management Contract


Ladies and Gentlemen:

	John Hancock Declaration Trust (the "Trust") of which John
Hancock V.A. Technology Fund (the "Fund") is a series, has been
organized as a business trust under the laws of the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts to engage in the business of an investment
company.  The Trust's shares of beneficial interest are currently
divided into fifteen series (including the Fund), each series
representing the entire undivided interest in a separate
portfolio of assets.  Series may be established or terminated
from time to time by action of the Board of Trustees of the
Trust.  This Agreement relates solely to the Fund.

	The Board of Trustees of the Trust (the "Trustees") has
selected John Hancock Advisers, Inc. (the "Adviser") to provide
overall investment advice and management for the Fund, and to
provide certain other services, as more fully set forth below,
and the Adviser is willing to provide such advice, management and
services under the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth.

	Accordingly, the Adviser and the Trust, on behalf of the
Fund, agree as follows:

1.	Delivery of Documents.  The Trust has furnished the
Adviser with copies, properly 	certified or otherwise
authenticated, of each of the following:

(a)	Declaration of Trust of the Trust, dated November 15,
1995, (the "Declaration of Trust");
(b)	By-Laws of the Trust as in effect on the date hereof;
(c)	Resolutions of the Trustees selecting the Adviser as
the investment adviser for the Fund and approving the
form of this Agreement; and
(d)	The Trust's Code of Ethics.

The Trust will furnish the Adviser from time to time with
copies, properly certified or otherwise authenticated, of
all amendments of or supplements to the foregoing, if any.

2.	Investment and Management Services.  The Adviser will
use its best efforts to provide to the Fund continuing and
suitable investment programs with respect to investments,
consistent with the investment objectives, policies and
restrictions of the Fund.  In the performance of the
Adviser's duties hereunder, subject always (x) to the
provisions contained in the documents delivered to the
Adviser pursuant to Section 1, as each of the same may from
time to time be amended or supplemented, and (y) to the
limitations set forth in the Fund's then-current Prospectus
and Statement of Additional Information included in the
registration statement of the Trust as in effect from time
to time under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and
the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940
Act"), the Adviser will, at its own expense:

(a)	furnish the Fund with advice and recommendations,
consistent with the investment objectives, policies and
restrictions of the Fund, with respect to the purchase,
holding and disposition of portfolio securities
including the purchase and sale of options, alone or in
consultation with any sub-adviser or sub-advisers
appointed pursuant to this Agreement and subject to the
provisions of any sub-investment management contract
respecting the responsibilities of such sub-adviser or
sub-advisers;
(b)	advise the Fund in connection with policy decisions to
be made by the Trustees or any committee thereof with
respect to the Fund's investments and, as requested,
furnish the Fund with research, economic and
statistical data in connection with the Fund's
investments and investment policies;
(c)	provide administration of the day-to-day investment
operations of the Fund;
(d)	submit such reports relating to the valuation of the
Fund's securities as the Trustees may reasonably
request;
(e)	assist the Fund in any negotiations relating to the
Fund's investments with issuers, investment banking
firms, securities brokers or dealers and other
institutions or investors;
(f)	consistent with provisions of Section 8 of this
Agreement, place orders for the purchase, sale or
exchange of portfolio securities with brokers or
dealers selected by the Adviser, provided that in
connection with the placing of such orders and the
selection of such brokers or dealers the Adviser shall
seek to obtain execution and pricing within the policy
guidelines determined by the Trustees and set forth in
the Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information
of the Fund as in effect from time to time;
(g)	provide office space and equipment and supplies, the
use of accounting equipment when required, and
necessary executive, clerical and secretarial personnel
for the administration of the affairs of the Fund;
(h)	from time to time or at any time requested by the
Trustees, make reports to the Fund of the Adviser's
performance of the foregoing services and furnish
advice and recommendations with respect to other
aspects of the business and affairs of the Fund;
(i)	maintain all books and records with respect to the
Fund's securities transactions required by the 1940
Act, including sub-paragraphs (b)(5), (6), (9) and (10)
and paragraph (f) of Rule 31a-1 thereunder (other than
those records being maintained by the Fund's custodian
or transfer agent) and preserve such records for the
periods prescribed therefor by Rule 31a-2 of the 1940
Act (the Adviser agrees that such records are the
property of the Fund and will be surrendered to the
Fund promptly upon request therefor);
(j)	obtain and evaluate such information relating to
economies, industries, businesses, securities markets
and securities as the Adviser may deem necessary or
useful in the discharge of the Adviser's duties
hereunder;
(k)	oversee and use the Adviser's best efforts to assure
the performance of the activities and services of the
custodian, transfer agent or other similar agents
retained by the Fund; and
(l)	give instructions to the Fund's custodian as to
deliveries of securities to and from such custodian and
transfer of payment of cash for the account of the
Fund.

3.	Sub-advisers.  The Adviser may engage one or more
investment advisers which are either registered as such or
specifically exempt from registration under the 1940 Act  to
act as sub-advisers to provide, with respect to the Fund,
certain services set forth in Section 2 of this Agreement,
all as shall be set forth in a written sub-advisory contract
to which the Trust and the Adviser shall be parties.  The
sub-advisory contract shall be subject to approval by the
vote of a majority of the Trustees of the Trust who are not
interested persons of the Adviser, the sub-adviser or of the
Trust, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of
voting on such approval and by the vote of a majority of the
outstanding voting securities of the Fund and otherwise
consistent with the terms of the 1940 Act.  Any fee,
compensation or expense to be paid to any sub-adviser shall
be paid by the Adviser, and no obligation to the sub-adviser
shall be incurred on the Fund's or Trust's behalf, except as
agreed upon by the Trustees of the Trust and otherwise
consistent with the terms of the 1940 Act.

4.	Expenses paid by the Adviser.  The Adviser will pay:

(a)	the compensation and expenses of all officers and
employees of the Fund;
(b)	the expenses of office, rent, telephone and other
utilities, office furniture, equipment, supplies and
other expenses of the Fund;
(c)	any other expenses incurred by the Adviser in
connection with the performance of its duties
hereunder; and
(d)	premiums for such insurance as may be agreed upon
between the Adviser and the Trustees.

5.	Expenses of the Fund Not Paid by the Adviser.  The
Adviser will not be required to pay any expenses which this
Agreement does not expressly make payable by it.  In
particular, and without limiting the generality of the
foregoing but subject to the provisions of Section 4, the
Adviser will not be required to pay under this Agreement:

(a)	the expenses of organizing the Trust and the Fund
(including without limitation legal, accounting and
auditing fees and expenses incurred in connection with
the matters referred to in this clause (a)), of
initially registering the shares of the Trust under the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and of qualifying
the shares for sale under state securities laws for the
initial offering and sale of shares;
(b)	the compensation and expenses of Trustees who are not
interested persons (as used in this Agreement such term
shall have the meaning specified in the 1940 Act) of
the Adviser, and of independent advisers, independent
contractors, consultants, managers and other
unaffiliated agents employed by the Fund other than
through the Adviser;
(c)	legal (including an allocable portion of the cost of
its employees rendering legal services to the Fund),
accounting and auditing fees and expenses of the Fund;
(d)	the fees and disbursements of custodians and
depositories of the Fund's assets, transfer agents,
disbursing agents, plan agents and registrars;
(e)	taxes and governmental fees assessed against the Fund's
assets and payable by the Fund;
(f)	the cost of preparing and mailing dividends,
distributions, reports, notices and proxy materials to
shareholders of the Fund;
(g)	brokers' commissions and underwriting fees; and
(h)	the expense of periodic calculations of the net asset
value of the shares of the Fund.

6.	Compensation of the Adviser.  For all services to be
rendered, facilities furnished and expenses paid or assumed
by the Adviser as herein provided, the Adviser shall be
entitled to a fee, paid monthly in arrears, equal to 0.80%
of the average daily net assets of the Fund.

The "average daily net assets" of the Fund shall be
determined on the basis set forth in the Fund's Prospectus
or otherwise consistent with the 1940 Act and the
regulations promulgated thereunder.  The Adviser will
receive a pro-rata portion of such monthly fee for any
periods in which the Adviser serves as investment adviser to
the Fund for less than a full month.  On any day that the
net asset value calculation is suspended as specified in the
Fund's Prospectus, the net asset value for purposes of
calculating the advisory fee shall be calculated as of the
date last determined.

In the event that normal operating expenses of the Fund,
exclusive of certain expenses prescribed by state law, are
in excess of any limitation imposed by the law of a state
where the Fund is registered to sell shares of beneficial
interest, the fee payable to the Adviser will be reduced to
the extent required by law, and the Adviser will make any
arrangements that the Adviser is required by law to make.

In addition, the Adviser may agree not to impose all or a
portion of its fee (in advance of the time its fee would
otherwise accrue) and/or undertake to make any other
payments or arrangements necessary to limit the fund's
expenses to any level the Adviser may specify.  Any fee
reduction or undertaking shall constitute a binding
modification of this agreement while it is in effect but may
be discontinued or modified prospectively by the adviser at
any time.

7.	Other Activities of the Adviser and Its Affiliates.
Nothing herein contained shall prevent the Adviser or any
affiliate or associate of the Adviser from engaging in any
other business or from acting as investment adviser or
investment manager for any other person or entity, whether
or not having investment policies or portfolios similar to
the Fund's; and it is specifically understood that officers,
directors and employees of the Adviser and those of its
parent company, John Hancock Life Insurance Company, or
other affiliates may continue to engage in providing
portfolio management services and advice to other investment
companies, whether or not registered, to other investment
advisory clients of the Adviser or of its affiliates and to
said affiliates themselves.

8.	Avoidance of Inconsistent Position.  In connection with
purchases or sales of portfolio securities for the account
of the Fund, neither the Adviser nor any of its investment
management subsidiaries, nor any of the Adviser's or such
investment management subsidiaries' directors, officers or
employees will act as principal or agent or receive any
commission except as may be permitted by the 1940 Act and
rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.  If any
occasions shall arise in which the Adviser advises persons
concerning the shares of the Fund, the Adviser will act
solely on its own behalf and not in any way on behalf of the
Fund.

Nothing herein contained shall limit or restrict the Adviser
or any of its officers, affiliates or employees from buying,
selling or trading in any securities for its or their own
account or accounts.  The Fund acknowledges that the Adviser
and its officers, affiliates, and employees, and its other
clients may at any time have, acquire, increase, decrease or
dispose of positions in investments which are at the same
time being acquired or disposed of hereunder.  The Adviser
shall have no obligation to acquire with respect to the Fund
a position in any investment which the Adviser, its
officers, affiliates or employees may acquire for its or
their own accounts or for the account of another client, if,
in the sole discretion of the Adviser, it is not feasible or
desirable to acquire a position in such investment on behalf
of the Fund.  Nothing herein contained shall prevent the
Adviser from purchasing or recommending the purchase of a
particular security for one or more funds or clients while
other funds or clients may be selling the same security.

9.	No Partnership or Joint Venture.  Neither the Trust,
the Fund, nor the Adviser are partners of or joint venturers
with each other and nothing herein shall be construed so as
to make them such partners or joint venturers or impose any
liability as such on any of them.

10.	Name of the Trust and Fund.  The Trust and the Fund may
use the name "John Hancock" or any name or names derived
from or similar to the names "John Hancock Advisers, Inc.,"
"John Hancock Life Insurance Company," or "John Hancock
Financial Services, Inc." only for so long as this Agreement
(or similar agreement with John Hancock Life Insurance
Company or any of its affiliates or subsidiaries) remains in
effect.  At such time as this Agreement or such other
agreement shall no longer be in effect, the Fund will (to
the extent that it lawfully can) cease to use such a name or
any other name indicating that the Fund is advised by or
otherwise connected with the Adviser.  The Fund acknowledges
that it has adopted the name "John Hancock V.A. Technology
Fund" through permission of John Hancock Life Insurance
Company, a Massachusetts insurance company, and agrees that
John Hancock Life Insurance Company reserves to itself and
to John Hancock Financial Services, Inc. and any successor
to its business the right to grant the non-exclusive right
to use the name "John Hancock" or any similar name or names
to any other corporation or entity, including but not
limited to any investment company of which John Hancock
Financial Services, Inc. or any subsidiary or affiliate
thereof shall be the investment adviser.

11.	Limitation of Liability of the Adviser.  The Adviser
shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of
law or for any loss suffered by the Fund in connection with
the matters to which this Agreement relates, except a loss
resulting from willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross
negligence on the part of the Adviser in the performance of
its duties or from reckless disregard by it of its
obligations and duties under this Agreement.  Any person,
even though also employed by the Adviser, who may be or
become an employee of and paid by the Fund shall be deemed,
when acting within the scope of his employment by the Fund,
to be acting in such employment solely for the Fund and not
as the Adviser's employee or agent.

12.	Duration and Termination of this Agreement.  This
Agreement shall remain in force until the second anniversary
of the date upon which this Agreement was executed by the
parties hereto, and from year to year thereafter, but only
so long as such continuance is specifically approved at
least annually by (a) a majority of the Trustees who are not
interested persons of the Adviser or (other than as Board
Members) of the Fund, cast in person at a meeting called for
the purpose of voting on such approval, and (b) either (i)
the Trustees or (ii) a majority of the outstanding voting
securities of the Fund.  This Agreement may, on 60 days'
written notice, be terminated at any time without the
payment of any penalty by the vote of a majority of the
outstanding voting securities of the Fund, by the Trustees
or by the Adviser.  Termination of this Agreement shall not
be deemed to terminate or otherwise invalidate any
provisions of any contract between the Adviser and any other
series of the Trust.  This Agreement shall automatically
terminate in the event of its assignment.  In interpreting
the provisions of this Section 12, the definitions contained
in Section 2(a) of the 1940 Act (particularly the
definitions of "assignment," "interested person" and "voting
security"), shall be applied.

13.	Amendment of this Agreement.  No provision of this
Agreement may be changed, waived, discharged or terminated
orally, but only by an instrument in writing signed by the
party against which enforcement of the change, waiver,
discharge or termination is sought, and no amendment,
transfer, assignment, sale, hypothecation or pledge of this
Agreement shall be effective until approved by (a) the
Trustees, including a majority of the Trustees who are not
interested persons of the Adviser or (other than as Board
Members) of the Fund, cast in person at a meeting called for
the purpose of voting on such approval, and (b) a majority
of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, as defined
in the 1940 Act.

14.	Governing Law.  This Agreement shall be governed and
construed in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts.

15.	Severability.  The provisions of this Agreement are
independent of and separable from each other, and no
provision shall be affected or rendered invalid or
unenforceable by virtue of the fact that for any reason any
other or others of them may be deemed invalid or
unenforceable in whole or in part.

16.	Miscellaneous.  The captions in this Agreement are
included for convenience of reference only and in no way
define or limit any of the provisions hereof or otherwise
affect their construction or effect.  This Agreement may be
executed simultaneously in two or more counterparts, each of
which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together
shall constitute one and the same instrument.  The name John
Hancock V.A. Technology Fund is a series designation of the
Trustees under the Trust's Declaration of Trust, dated
November 15, 1995, as amended from time to time.  The
Declaration of Trust has been filed with the Secretary of
State of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  The obligations
of the Fund are not personally binding upon, nor shall
resort be had to the private property of, any of the
Trustees, shareholders, officers, employees or agents of the
Fund, but only the Fund's property shall be bound.  The Fund
shall not be liable for the obligations of any other series
of the Trust and no other series shall be liable for the
Fund's obligations hereunder.


Yours very truly,

JOHN HANCOCK DECLARATION TRUST
on behalf of John Hancock V.A.
Technology Fund



By:________________________________
________
			Maureen R. Ford
			President

The foregoing contract is hereby agreed
to as of the date hereof.

JOHN HANCOCK ADVISERS, INC.



By:_____________________________________
	Susan S. Newton
	Vice President

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