James F. Carlin

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund is a closed-end diversified management investment fund. Its objective is to provide a high level of total return consisting of long-term capital appreciation and current income. The company was founded on August 23, 1994 and is headquartered in Boston, MA.

John Hancock Income Securities Trust operates as a closed-end investment fund. Its investment objective is to generate a high level of current income consistent with prudent investment risk. The company was founded on February 14, 1973 and is headquartered in Boston, MA.

John Hancock Investors Trust is a closed-end investment fund, which engages in investment activity. Its objective is to generate income for distribution to its shareholders. It also seeks capital appreciation. It invests in a diversified portfolio of corporate and government bonds. The company was founded on October 26, 1970 and is headquartered in Boston, MA.

John Hancock Patriot Premium Dividend Fund II (the Fund) is a diversified closed-end management investment company. The Fund invests in a diversified portfolio of dividend-paying preferred and common stocks. It invests at least 80% of its net assets in dividend-paying securities. The Fund will normally invest more than 65% of its total assets in securities of companies in the utilities industry. Its portfolio includes common stocks, preferred securities and short-term investments. The Fund invests in industries, such as multi-utilities, electric utilities, investment banking and brokerage, other diversified financial services, oil and gas exploration and production, gas utilities, consumer finance, life and health insurance, and integrated telecommunication services. John Hancock Patriot Premium Dividend Fund II’s investment advisor is John Hancock Advisers, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of John Hancock Financial Services, Inc., which is a subsidiary of Manulife Financial Corporation. The Fund’s sub-advisor is MFC Global Investment Management (U.S.), LLC.

John Hancock Patriot Select Dividend Trust operates as a Closed-End Investment Fund. Its shares are not redeemable but instead are traded in the secondary market and frequently trade at a discount to net asset value. The company is headquartered in Boston, MA.

BlackRock Massachusetts Tax-Exempt Trust operates as a closed-end investment trust. Its investment objective is to provide as high a level of current income exempt from both regular federal income taxes and Massachusetts personal income taxes as is consistent with the preservation of shareholders' capital. The company was founded on July 23, 1993 and is headquartered in Wilmington, DE.

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund operates as a closed-end investment fund/investment trust. It seeks to provide a high level of current income consistent with preservation of capital by investing its assets in preferred stocks or other preferred securities, including convertible preferred securities. The company was founded on August 27, 2002 and is headquartered in Boston, MA.

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II is a closed-end investment fund, which engages in reverse repurchase agreements and invests in derivatives to establish investment leverage or for temporary purposes. The company was founded on November 29, 2002 and is headquartered in Boston, MA.

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund III operates as a closed-end management investment company. It seeks to provide a high level of current income consistent with preservation of capital by investing in securities that, in the opinion of the Advisor, may be undervalued relative to similar securities in the marketplace. The company was founded on June 19, 2003 and is headquartered in Boston, MA.