497 1 sovbond.txt SOVEREIGN BOND FUND Supplement to the John Hancock Income Funds Prospectus dated September 15, 2005 Supplement to the John Hancock Tax-Free Income Funds Prospectus dated January 1, 2006 The following changes have been made to the "Your Account" section of the prospectus: Under "Choosing a Share Class," the following language has been deleted: Investors purchasing $1 million or more of Class B or Class C shares may want to consider the lower operating expenses of Class A shares. The deleted language has been replaced with the following: The maximum amount you may invest in Class B shares with any single purchase request is $99,999, and the maximum amount you may invest in Class C shares with any single purchase is $999,999. Signature Services may accept a purchase request for Class B shares for $100,000 or more or 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 below). In addition, the "Opening an account" section has been deleted and replaced with the following: OPENING AN ACCOUNT 1 Read this prospectus carefully. 2 Determine how much you want to invest. The minimum initial investments for the John Hancock funds are as follows: o non-retirement account: $1,000 o retirement account: $500 o group investments: $250 o Monthly Automatic Accumulation Plan (MAAP): $25 to open; you must invest at least $25 a month o there is no minimum initial investment for fee-based or wrap accounts of selling firms who have executed a fee-based or wrap agreement with John Hancock Funds, LLC 3 All shareholders must complete the account application, carefully following the instructions. If you have any questions, please 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 table on the next page. You and your financial representative can initiate any purchase, exchange or sale of shares. 6 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. March 14, 2006 MF0PS 3/06 Supplement to the John Hancock Income Funds Institutional Class I Prospectus dated September 15, 2005 The "Opening an Account" section has been deleted and replaced with the following: OPENING AN ACCOUNT 1 Read this prospectus carefully. 2 Determine if you are eligible, by referring to "Who can buy shares" on the left. 3 Determine how much you want to invest. The minimum initial investment is $10,000. There is no minimum investment for retirement plans with at least 350 eligible employees. 4 All shareholders must complete the account application, carefully following the instructions. If you have any questions, please contact your financial representative or call Signature Services at 1-888-972-8696. 5 Make your initial investment using the table on the next page. 6 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. March 14, 2006 KICPS 3/06