BOSTON, Dec. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Three John Hancock closed-end funds declared their monthly distributions today as follows: Declaration Date: December 1, 2008 Ex Date: December 11, 2008 Record Date: December 15, 2008 Payment Date: December 31, 2008 Annualized Rate Yield at Change from Ticker Fund Name Amount Market* Previous Month HPI Preferred Income Fund $0.1550 16.56% - HPF Preferred Income Fund II $0.1550 16.71% - HPS Preferred Income Fund III $0.1320 16.11% - About John Hancock Funds The Boston-based mutual fund business unit of John Hancock Financial Services, John Hancock Funds manages more than $47.9 billion in open-end funds, closed-end funds, private accounts, retirement plans and related party assets for individual and institutional investors at September 30, 2008. 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$385 billion (US$364 billion) at September 30, 2008. 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/. *Based on November 28, 2008 closing market price DATASOURCE: John Hancock Advisers, LLC CONTACT: Media, Kimberley Dietrich, +1-617-663-4217; or Investors, +1-800-843-0090 Web site: http://www.jhfunds.com/

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