BOSTON, Jan. 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- John Hancock Funds announced that the new John Hancock Optimized Value Fund (JOVAX) is available for sale. The Optimized Value Fund incorporates a large cap value strategy that combines quantitative modeling with qualitative fundamental research. The new fund is sub-advised by MFC Global Investment Management, (U.S.A.) Limited, an institutional asset manager affiliated with John Hancock's parent company, Manulife Financial.

The new fund provides retail investors access for the first time to a large cap value strategy that has been offered since 2004 within John Hancock's Lifestyle Portfolios to participants in 401(k) plans and variable annuity contracts administered by John Hancock. The fund is available to retail investors through their financial advisors and also through John Hancock's separately managed account network.

Harpreet Singh, CFA, Vice President and head of US equities, leads the six-person portfolio management team. The deep value strategy focuses on 70 to 80 stocks out of a universe of 1,000 mostly US companies, but may include international companies traded on US exchanges. Proprietary screens measure valuation, earnings predictability, timeliness, price momentum, and risk profile characteristics. The team blends this quantitative research with fundamental analysis.

"We are pleased to leverage the core capabilities of our sister subsidiary, MFC Global Investment Management, by launching this large cap value strategy managed by Harpreet and his team into our separately managed account network. The same approach has been utilized in an open-end mutual fund within our Lifestyle portfolios and has performed quite well," said Keith F. Hartstein, President & CEO, John Hancock Funds.

"Harpreet is a top-performing manager to whom retail investors have not had access in the past, and we are happy to change that," said Andrew Arnott, Senior Vice President and head of product development, John Hancock Funds.

About John Hancock Funds

The Boston-based mutual fund business unit of John Hancock Financial Services, John Hancock Funds manages more than $59 billion in open-end funds, closed-end funds, private accounts, retirement plans and related party assets for individual and institutional investors at September 30, 2007. John Hancock Funds are distributed by John Hancock Funds, LLC, member FINRA. For more information, please visit http://www.jhfunds.com.

John Hancock Financial Services is a unit of Manulife Financial Corporation, a leading Canadian-based financial services group serving millions of customers in 19 countries and territories worldwide. Operating as Manulife Financial in Canada and Asia, and primarily through John Hancock in the United States, the company offers clients a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services through its extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were Cdn$399 billion (US$398 billion) at September 30, 2007. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under '0945' on the SEHK. Manulife Financial may be found on the Internet at http://www.manulife.com.