ASCS American Crystal Sugar Company (CE)

As filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission on January 25, 2013, 1933 Act File No. 333-126293
1940 Act File No. 811-21779

 

 

REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940           þ
AMENDMENT NO. 90            þ

(CHECK APPROPRIATE BOX OR BOXES)

JOHN HANCOCK FUNDS II

(EXACT NAME OF REGISTRANT AS SPECIFIED IN CHARTER)

601 CONGRESS STREET, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02210

(ADDRESS OF PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE OFFICES) (ZIP CODE)

REGISTRANT’S TELEPHONE NUMBER, INCLUDING AREA CODE (617) 663-2844

THOMAS M. KINZLER
601 CONGRESS STREET, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02210

NAME AND ADDRESS (OF AGENT FOR SERVICE)

COPIES OF COMMUNICATIONS TO:

MARK P. GOSHKO, ESQ
K&L GATES LLP
ONE LINCOLN STREET
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02111

APPROXIMATE DATE OF PROPOSED PUBLIC OFFERING:

 It is proposed that this filing will become effective (check appropriate box):

o		immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b) of Rule 485
þ		on January 31, 2013 pursuant to paragraph (b) of Rule 485
o		60 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(1) of Rule 485
o		on (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)(1) of Rule 485
o		75 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of Rule 485
o		on (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of Rule 485

 If appropriate, check the following box:

o

this post-effective amendment designates a new effective date for a previously filed post-effective amendment.

This filing relates solely to International Growth Equity Fund. No information contained herein is intended to amend or supersede any prior filing relating to any other series of the Registrant.

 

 

 

John Hancock

International Growth Equity Fund

 

 

PROSPECTUS 1–31–13

 

Class A: JTIGX

 

As with all mutual funds, the Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved this fund or determined whether the information in this prospectus is adequate and accurate. Anyone who indicates otherwise is committing a federal crime.

 

 

 

An International Equity Fund

 

 

Table of contents

 

 

Fund summary

 

The summary section is a concise look at the investment objective, fees and expenses, principal investment strategies, principal risks, past performance and investment management.

 

Fund details

 

More about topics covered in the summary section, including descriptions of the investment strategies and various risk factors that investors should understand before investing.

 

Your account

 

How to place an order to buy, sell or exchange shares, as well as information about the business policies and any distributions that may be paid.

 

 

 Fund summary

 

 

John Hancock

 

Investment objective

 

To seek long-term capital appreciation.

 

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 12-13 of the prospectus under “Sales charge reductions and waivers” or pages 70-72 of the fund’s statement of additional information under “Initial Sales Charge on Class A Shares.”

 

 

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:

 

 

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. During the most recent fiscal year of the predecessor

 

 

 

International Growth Equity Fund – Fund summary

 

2

to the fund, the Turner International Growth Fund, a series of Turner Funds (the predecessor fund), the fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 138% of the average value of its portfolio.

 

Principal investment strategies

 

Under normal market conditions, the fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in equity securities of international non-U.S. companies with market capitalizations at the time of purchase greater than $2 billion that the subadviser believes have strong earnings growth potential. The fund may continue to hold securities of companies whose market capitalization was within such range at the time of purchase but whose current market capitalization may be outside of that range. The fund invests in securities of companies that are diversified across economic sectors, and attempts to maintain sector concentrations that approximate those of the MSCI World Growth ex-U.S. Index (World Growth ex-U.S. Index). Portfolio exposure is generally limited to 5% of assets in any single issuer, subject to exceptions for the most heavily weighted securities in the World Growth ex-U.S. Index. The fund will generally invest in securities of issuers based in the countries represented in the World Growth ex-U.S. Index, which includes both developed and emerging markets issuers. In addition, the fund may invest in initial public offerings (IPOs).

 

The subadviser pursues a bottom-up strategy that blends quantitative and qualitative analysis to find growth companies with superior earnings prospects, reasonable valuations and favorable trading-volume and price patterns. A stock becomes a sell candidate if the subadviser detects deterioration in the company’s earnings growth potential. The subadviser may also trim positions to adhere to capitalization or capacity constraints, or to adjust stock position size relative to the World Growth ex-U.S. Index.

 

The fund may buy and sell securities frequently as part of its investment strategy.

 

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. 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.

 

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.

 

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. The securities of growth companies are subject to greater price fluctuations than other types of stocks because their market prices tend to place greater emphasis on future earnings expectations.

 

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.

 

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

 

Initial public offerings risk IPO shares may have a magnified impact on fund performance and are frequently volatile in price. They can be held for a short period of time causing an increase in portfolio turnover.

 

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.

 

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.

 

Past performance

 

The following performance information in the bar chart and table below illustrates the variability of the fund’s returns and provides some indication of the risks of investing in the fund by showing changes in the fund’s performance from year to year. However, past performance (before and after

 

 

 

International Growth Equity Fund – Fund summary

 

3

taxes) does not indicate future results. All figures assume dividend reinvestment. Performance for the fund is updated daily, monthly and quarterly and may be obtained at our Web site: www.jhfunds.com/FundPerformance, or by calling 1-800-225-5291, Monday–Thursday between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. and on Fridays between 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. , Eastern Time.

 

 

Calendar year total returns These do not include sales charges and would have been lower if they did. Calendar year total returns are shown only for Class A shares and would be different for other share classes.

 

Average annual total returns Performance of a broad-based market index is included for comparison.

 

After-tax returns These are shown only for Class A shares and would be different for other classes. They reflect the highest individual federal marginal income tax rates in effect as of the date provided and do not reflect any state or local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns may be different. After-tax returns are not relevant to shares held in an IRA, 401(k) or other tax-advantaged investment plan.

 

The fund is the successor to the Turner International Growth Fund (the predecessor fund). The performance information shown below is the historical performance of the predecessor fund’s Investor class shares, which commenced operations on October 31, 2008. Periods prior to October 31, 2008 represent the performance of the predecessor fund’s Institutional class shares, which commenced operations on January 31, 2007. Performance for all periods shown has been recalculated to reflect the gross fees and expenses and sales charges of the fund’s Class A shares, which were first offered on January 14, 2013.

 

 

Best quarter: Q2 ’09, 25.86%

 

Worst quarter: Q3 ’08, -27.29%

 

 

Investment management

 

Investment adviser John Hancock Investment Management Services, LLC

Subadviser Turner Investments, L.P.

 

Portfolio management

 

 

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 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.

 

 

 

International Growth Equity Fund – Fund summary

 

4

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.

 

 

 

International Growth Equity Fund – Fund summary

 

5

 

 Fund details

 

 

 

The fund’s investment objective is to seek long-term capital appreciation. The Board of Trustees can change the fund’s investment objective and strategies without shareholder approval. The fund will provide 60 days’ written notice to shareholders prior to a change in its 80% investment strategy.

 

Under normal market conditions, the fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in equity securities of international non-U.S. companies with market capitalizations at the time of purchase greater than $2 billion that the subadviser believes have strong earnings growth potential. The term “equity securities” includes common, preferred and convertible preferred stocks and securities the values of which are tied to the price of stocks, such as rights, warrants and convertible debt securities, and securities convertible into or exchangeable for stocks. The fund may continue to hold securities of companies whose market capitalization was within such range at the time of purchase but whose current market capitalization may be outside of that range. The fund invests in securities of companies that are diversified across economic sectors, and attempts to maintain sector concentrations that approximate those of the MSCI World Growth ex-U.S. Index (World Growth ex-U.S. Index). Portfolio exposure is generally limited to 5% of assets in any single issuer, subject to exceptions for the most heavily weighted securities in the World Growth ex-U.S. Index. The fund will generally invest in securities of issuers based in the countries represented in the World Growth ex-U.S. Index, which includes both developed and emerging markets issuers. In addition, the fund may invest in initial public offerings (IPOs).

 

The subadviser pursues a bottom-up strategy that blends quantitative and qualitative analysis to find growth companies with superior earnings prospects, reasonable valuations and favorable trading-volume and price patterns. A stock becomes a sell candidate if the subadviser detects deterioration in the company’s earnings growth potential. The subadviser may also trim positions to adhere to capitalization or capacity constraints, or to adjust stock position size relative to the World Growth ex-U.S. Index. The fund may buy and sell securities frequently as part of its investment strategy.

 

Temporary defensive investing

 

The fund may invest up to 100% of its assets in cash, money market instruments, repurchase agreements or other short-term instruments for the purpose of:

 

 

To the extent that the fund is in a defensive position, its ability to achieve its investment goal will be limited.

 

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.

 

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.

 

Preferred and convertible securities risk. Unlike interest on debt securities, preferred stock dividends are payable only if declared by the issuer’s board. Also, preferred stock may be subject to optional or mandatory redemption provisions. The value of convertible preferred stock can depend heavily upon the value of the security into which such convertible preferred stock is converted, depending on whether the market price of the underlying security exceeds the conversion price.

 

Growth investing risk. Certain equity securities (generally referred to as growth securities) are purchased primarily because a subadviser believes that these securities will experience relatively rapid earnings growth. Growth securities typically trade at higher multiples of current earnings than other securities. Growth securities are often more sensitive to market fluctuations than other securities because their market prices are highly sensitive to future earnings expectations. At times when it appears that these expectations may not be met, growth stock prices typically fall.

 

Foreign securities risk

 

Funds that invest in securities traded principally in securities markets outside the United States are subject to additional and more varied

 

 

 

International Growth Equity Fund – Fund details

 

6

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.

 

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.

 

Initial public offerings (IPOs) risk

 

Certain funds may invest a portion of their assets in shares of IPOs. IPOs may have a magnified impact on the performance of a fund with a small asset base. The impact of IPOs on a fund’s performance likely will decrease as the fund’s asset size increases, which could reduce the fund’s returns. IPOs may not be consistently available to a fund for investing, particularly as the fund’s asset base grows. IPO shares frequently are volatile in price due to the absence of a prior public market, the small number of shares available for trading and limited information about the issuer. Therefore, a fund may hold IPO shares for a very short period of time. This may increase the turnover of a fund and may lead to increased expenses for a fund, such as commissions and transaction costs. In addition, IPO shares can experience an immediate drop in value if the demand for the securities does not continue to support the offering price.

 

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.

 

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 securities of emerging markets and related derivatives that are not widely traded, and that may be subject to purchase and sale restrictions.

 

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.

 

 

 

International Growth Equity Fund – Fund details

 

7

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, 2012, the adviser had total assets under management of approximately $129.99 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.

 

 

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 voluntarily agrees 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 “Expenses” of the fund exceed 0.25% of average annual net assets (on an annualized basis) of the fund. “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 agency fees and service fees, (h) blue sky fees, (i) printing and postage fees, (j) underlying fund expenses (“acquired fund fees”) and (k) short dividend expenses. 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.

 

Turner Investments, L.P.
1205 Westlakes Dr., Suite 100
Berwyn, Pennsylvania 19312

 

Turner Investments, L.P. (Turner) serves as the investment subadviser for the fund. As the fund’s subadviser, Turner makes investment decisions for the fund and continuously reviews, supervises and administers the fund’s investment programs. Turner was founded in 1990 and as of September 30, 2012, managed $11.6 billion in stock investments.

 

Below is a brief biographical profile of the leader of this subadviser’s investment management team. For more about this individual, including information about his compensation, other accounts he manages and any investments he may have in the funds, see the SAI.

 

 

 

International Growth Equity Fund – Fund details

 

8

Mark Turner

 

 

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

 

Principal distributor

 

Markets the fund and distributes shares through selling brokers, financial planners and other financial representatives.

 

John Hancock Funds, LLC
601 Congress Street
Boston, MA 02210-2805

 

Transfer agent

 

Handles shareholder services, including recordkeeping and statements, distribution of dividends and processing of buy and sell requests.

 

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

 

 

 

International Growth Equity Fund – Fund details

 

9

 

The financial highlights information in the following table for the fund’s Class A shares represents the financial highlights of the Turner International Growth Fund (the predecessor fund) Investor Class shares for the fiscal periods indicated. The predecessor fund was reorganized into the fund on January 11, 2013. “Total return” shows how much an investment in the predecessor fund’s shares would have increased (or decreased) during the period, assuming all dividends and distributions were reinvested. The financial highlights for the fiscal periods ended September 30, 2009 through September 30, 2012 were derived from the fund’s financial statements, which have been audited by KPMG LLP, the predecessor fund’s independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the predecessor fund’s financial statements, is included in the predecessor fund’s 2012 annual report, which is available upon request.

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Growth Equity Fund – Fund details

 

10

 

 Your account

 

 

 

Each share class has its own cost structure, including a Rule 12b-1 plan that allows it to pay fees for the sale, distribution and service of its shares. Effective January 1, 2013, Class A shares are not available to group retirement plans that do not currently hold Class A shares of the fund and that are eligible to invest in Class I or R share classes. Such plans generally include, but are not limited to, defined benefit plans, 401(k) plans, 457 plans, 403(b)(7) plans, pension and profit-sharing plans and non-qualified deferred compensation plans.

 

Class A

 

 

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.

 

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

 

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:

 

 

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.

 

Class A sales charges are as follows:

 

 

 

You may qualify for a reduced Class A sales charge if you own or are purchasing Class A, Class B, Class C, Class T, Class ADV, Class I, Class I2,

 

 

 

International Growth Equity Fund – Your account

 

11

Class R1, Class R2, Class R3, Class R4, Class R5 or Class R6 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 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

 

 

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.

 

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.

 

 

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 CDSC for each share class will be waived in the following cases:

 

 

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).

 

 

 

International Growth Equity Fund – Your account

 

12

Waivers for certain investors

 

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

 

 

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:

 

 

 

 

 

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.

 

 

 

International Growth Equity Fund – Your account

 

13

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.

 

 

 

International Growth Equity Fund – Your account

 

14

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Growth Equity Fund – Your account

 

15

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Growth Equity Fund – Your account

 

16

 

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:

 

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Growth Equity Fund – Your account

 

17

 

 

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. Trading of securities that are primarily listed on foreign exchanges may take place on weekends and U.S. business holidays on which the fund’s NAV is not calculated. Consequently, the fund’s portfolio securities may trade and the NAV of the fund’s shares may be significantly affected on days when a shareholder will not be able to purchase or redeem shares of the fund.

 

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

 

Portfolio securities are valued by various methods that are generally described below. Portfolio securities also may be fair valued by the fund’s Pricing Committee in certain instances. Equity securities are generally valued at the last quoted sale price or, for certain markets, the official closing price at the time the valuations are made. Securities not traded on a particular day are valued at the closing bid prices. A security that is listed or traded on more than one exchange is valued at the quotation on the exchange determined to be the primary market for such security. Debt securities with remaining maturities of one year or more at the time of acquisition are valued using prices provided by a pricing service, or by prices furnished by recognized dealers in such securities. Debt securities with remaining maturities of less than one year at the time of acquisition are generally valued at amortized cost. The value of securities denominated in foreign currencies is converted into U.S. dollars at the prevailing exchange rate at the close of the NYSE. Exchange-traded options are valued at the mean of the bid and ask prices. Futures contracts are valued at the most recent settlement price. Shares of other open-end investment companies (underlying funds) are valued based on the NAVs of those underlying funds.

 

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 certain instances, therefore, the Pricing Committee may determine that a reported valuation does not reflect fair value, based on additional information available or other factors, and may accordingly determine in good faith the fair value of the assets, which may differ from the reported valuation.

 

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.

 

Regarding the fund’s investment in an underlying fund, which (as noted above) is valued at the underlying fund’s NAV, the prospectus for such underlying fund explains the circumstances and effects of fair value pricing for that underlying fund.

 

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 shares also owned by the investor in the same fund to Class I shares of that fund. Conversion of Class A shares to Class I shares of the same fund in these particular circumstances does not cause the investor to realize a 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

 

 

 

International Growth Equity Fund – Your account

 

18

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 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

 

 

 

International Growth Equity Fund – Your account

 

19

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:

 

 

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.

 

Account statements

 

In general, you will receive account statements as follows:

 

 

Every year you should also receive, if applicable, a Form 1099 tax information statement, mailed by February 15.

 

Dividends

 

The fund typically declares and pays income dividends at least annually. Capital gains, if any, are typically distributed annually, typically after the end of the fund’s fiscal year.

 

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 February, 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 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.

 

 

 

International Growth Equity Fund – Your account

 

20

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:

 

 

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 on the fifth business day after month end: top ten holdings; top ten sector analysis; total return/yield; top ten countries; average quality/maturity; beta/alpha; and top ten portfolio composition. The holdings of the fund will be posted to the Web site no earlier than 15 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.

 

 

 

International Growth Equity Fund – Your account

 

21

 

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).

 

 

John Hancock

International Growth Equity Fund

 

Class I:		JTIIX

 

Prospectus

1–31–13

 

As with all mutual funds, the Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved this fund or determined whether the information in this prospectus is adequate and accurate. Anyone who indicates otherwise is committing a federal crime.

 

 

 

An International Equity Fund  

 

 

Table of contents

 

 

Fund summary

 

The summary section is a concise look at the investment objective, fees and expenses, principal investment strategies, principal risks, past performance and investment management.

 

Fund details

 

More about topics covered in the summary section, including descriptions of the investment strategies and various risk factors that investors should understand before investing.

 

Your account

 

How to place an order to buy, sell or exchange shares, as well as information about the business policies and any distributions that may be paid.

 

 

 Fund summary

 

 

John Hancock

 

Investment objective

 

To seek long-term capital appreciation.

 

Fees and expenses

 

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

 

 

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:

 

 

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. During the most recent fiscal year of the predecessor to the fund, the Turner International Growth Fund, a series of Turner Funds (the predecessor fund), the fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 138% of the average value of its portfolio.

 

Principal investment strategies

 

Under normal market conditions, the fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in equity securities of international non-U.S. companies with market capitalizations at the time of purchase greater than $2 billion that the subadviser believes have strong earnings growth potential. The fund may continue to hold securities of companies whose market capitalization was within such range at the time of purchase but whose current market capitalization may be outside of that range. The fund invests in securities of companies that are diversified across economic sectors, and attempts to maintain sector concentrations that approximate those of the MSCI World Growth ex-U.S. Index (World Growth ex-U.S. Index). Portfolio exposure is generally limited to 5% of assets in any single issuer, subject to exceptions for the most heavily weighted

 

 

 

International Growth Equity Fund – Fund summary

 

2

securities in the World Growth ex-U.S. Index. The fund will generally invest in securities of issuers based in the countries represented in the World Growth ex-U.S. Index, which includes both developed and emerging markets issuers. In addition, the fund may invest in initial public offerings (IPOs).

 

The subadviser pursues a bottom-up strategy that blends quantitative and qualitative analysis to find growth companies with superior earnings prospects, reasonable valuations and favorable trading-volume and price patterns. A stock becomes a sell candidate if the subadviser detects deterioration in the company’s earnings growth potential. The subadviser may also trim positions to adhere to capitalization or capacity constraints, or to adjust stock position size relative to the World Growth ex-U.S. Index.

 

The fund may buy and sell securities frequently as part of its investment strategy.

 

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. 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 5 of the prospectus.

 

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

 

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.

 

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. The securities of growth companies are subject to greater price fluctuations than other types of stocks because their market prices tend to place greater emphasis on future earnings expectations.

 

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.

 

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

 

Initial public offerings risk IPO shares may have a magnified impact on fund performance and are frequently volatile in price. They can be held for a short period of time causing an increase in portfolio turnover.

 

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.

 

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.

 

Past performance

 

The following performance information in the bar chart and table below illustrates the variability of the fund’s returns and provides some indication of the risks of investing in the fund by showing changes in the fund’s performance from year to year. However, past performance (before and after taxes) does not indicate future results. All figures assume dividend reinvestment. Performance for the fund is updated daily, monthly and quarterly and may be obtained at our Web site: www.jhfunds.com/InstitutionalPerformance, or by calling 1-888-972-8696 between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. , Eastern Time, on most business days.

 

 

 

Average annual total returns Performance of a broad-based market index is included for comparison.

 

After-tax returns They reflect the highest individual federal marginal income tax rates in effect as of the date provided and do not reflect any state or local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns may be different. After-tax returns are not relevant to shares held in an IRA, 401(k) or other tax-advantaged investment plan.

 

The fund is the successor to the Turner International Growth Fund (the predecessor fund). The performance information shown below is the historical performance of the predecessor fund’s Institutional Class shares.

 

 

 

International Growth Equity Fund – Fund summary

 

3

 

Best quarter: Q2 ’09, 26.28%

 

Worst quarter: Q3 ’08, -27.03%

 

 

Investment management

 

Investment adviser John Hancock Investment Management Services, LLC

Subadviser Turner Investments, L.P.

 

Portfolio management

 

 

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

 

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.

 

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.

 

 

 

International Growth Equity Fund – Fund summary

 

4

 

 Fund details

 

 

 

The fund’s investment objective is to seek long-term capital appreciation. The Board of Trustees can change the fund’s investment objective and strategies without shareholder approval. The fund will provide 60 days’ written notice to shareholders prior to a change in its 80% investment strategy.

 

Under normal market conditions, the fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in equity securities of international non-U.S. companies with market capitalizations at the time of purchase greater than $2 billion that the subadviser believes have strong earnings growth potential. The term “equity securities” includes common, preferred and convertible preferred stocks and securities the values of which are tied to the price of stocks, such as rights, warrants and convertible debt securities, and securities convertible into or exchangeable for stocks. The fund may continue to hold securities of companies whose market capitalization was within such range at the time of purchase but whose current market capitalization may be outside of that range. The fund invests in securities of companies that are diversified across economic sectors, and attempts to maintain sector concentrations that approximate those of the MSCI World Growth ex-U.S. Index (World Growth ex-U.S. Index). Portfolio exposure is generally limited to 5% of assets in any single issuer, subject to exceptions for the most heavily weighted securities in the World Growth ex-U.S. Index. The fund will generally invest in securities of issuers based in the countries represented in the World Growth ex-U.S. Index, which includes both developed and emerging markets issuers. In addition, the fund may invest in initial public offerings (IPOs).

 

The subadviser pursues a bottom-up strategy that blends quantitative and qualitative analysis to find growth companies with superior earnings prospects, reasonable valuations and favorable trading-volume and price patterns. A stock becomes a sell candidate if the subadviser detects deterioration in the company’s earnings growth potential. The subadviser may also trim positions to adhere to capitalization or capacity constraints, or to adjust stock position size relative to the World Growth ex-U.S. Index. The fund may buy and sell securities frequently as part of its investment strategy.

 

Temporary defensive investing

 

The fund may invest up to 100% of its assets in cash, money market instruments, repurchase agreements or other short-term instruments for the purpose of:

 

 

To the extent that the fund is in a defensive position, its ability to achieve its investment goal will be limited.

 

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.

 

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.

 

Preferred and convertible securities risk. Unlike interest on debt securities, preferred stock dividends are payable only if declared by the issuer’s board. Also, preferred stock may be subject to optional or mandatory redemption provisions. The value of convertible preferred stock can depend heavily upon the value of the security into which such convertible preferred stock is converted, depending on whether the market price of the underlying security exceeds the conversion price.

 

Growth investing risk. Certain equity securities (generally referred to as growth securities) are purchased primarily because a subadviser believes that these securities will experience relatively rapid earnings growth. Growth securities typically trade at higher multiples of current earnings than other securities. Growth securities are often more sensitive to market fluctuations than other securities because their market prices are highly sensitive to future earnings expectations. At times when it appears that these expectations may not be met, growth stock prices typically fall.

 

Foreign securities risk

 

Funds that invest in securities traded principally in securities markets outside the United States are subject to additional and more varied

 

 

 

International Growth Equity Fund – Fund details

 

5

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.

 

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.

 

Initial public offerings (IPOs) risk

 

Certain funds may invest a portion of their assets in shares of IPOs. IPOs may have a magnified impact on the performance of a fund with a small asset base. The impact of IPOs on a fund’s performance likely will decrease as the fund’s asset size increases, which could reduce the fund’s returns. IPOs may not be consistently available to a fund for investing, particularly as the fund’s asset base grows. IPO shares frequently are volatile in price due to the absence of a prior public market, the small number of shares available for trading and limited information about the issuer. Therefore, a fund may hold IPO shares for a very short period of time. This may increase the turnover of a fund and may lead to increased expenses for a fund, such as commissions and transaction costs. In addition, IPO shares can experience an immediate drop in value if the demand for the securities does not continue to support the offering price.

 

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.

 

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 securities of emerging markets and related derivatives that are not widely traded, and that may be subject to purchase and sale restrictions.

 

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.

 

 

 

International Growth Equity Fund – Fund details

 

6

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, 2012, the adviser had total assets under management of approximately $129.99 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.

 

 

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 voluntarily agrees 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 “Expenses” of the fund exceed 0.25% of average annual net assets (on an annualized basis) of the fund. “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 agency fees and service fees, (h) blue sky fees, (i) printing and postage fees, (j) underlying fund expenses (“acquired fund fees”) and (k) short dividend expenses. 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.

 

Turner Investments, L.P.
1205 Westlakes Dr., Suite 100
Berwyn, Pennsylvania 19312

 

Turner Investments, L.P. (Turner) serves as the investment subadviser for the fund. As the fund’s subadviser, Turner makes investment decisions for the fund and continuously reviews, supervises and administers the fund’s investment programs. Turner was founded in 1990 and as of September 30, 2012, managed $11.6 billion in stock investments.

 

Below is a brief biographical profile of the leader of this subadviser’s investment management team. For more about this individual, including information about his compensation, other accounts he manages and any investments he may have in the funds, see the SAI.

 

 

 

International Growth Equity Fund – Fund details

 

7

Mark Turner

 

 

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

 

Principal distributor

 

Markets the fund and distributes shares through selling brokers, financial planners and other financial representatives.

 

John Hancock Funds, LLC
601 Congress Street
Boston, MA 02210-2805

 

Transfer agent

 

Handles shareholder services, including recordkeeping and statements, distribution of dividends and processing of buy and sell requests.

 

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

 

 

 

International Growth Equity Fund – Fund details

 

8

 

The financial highlights information in the following table for the fund’s Class I shares represents the financial highlights of the Turner International Growth Fund (the predecessor fund) Institutional Class shares for the fiscal periods indicated. The predecessor fund was reorganized into the fund on January 11, 2013. “Total return” shows how much an investment in the predecessor fund’s shares would have increased (or decreased) during the period, assuming all dividends and distributions were reinvested. The financial highlights for the fiscal periods ended September 30, 2008 through September 30, 2012 were derived from the fund’s financial statements, which have been audited by KPMG LLP, the predecessor fund’s independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the predecessor fund’s financial statements, is included in the predecessor fund’s 2012 annual report, which is available upon request.

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Growth Equity Fund – Fund details

 

9

 

 Your account

 

 

 

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”):

 

 

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.

 

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.

 

 

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.

 

 

 

International Growth Equity Fund – Your account

 

10

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Growth Equity Fund – Your account

 

11

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Growth Equity Fund – Your account

 

12

 

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:

 

 

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.