John Hancock Tax-Advantaged Global Shareholder Yield Fund Renews Its Share Repurchase Plan
December 08 2009 - 5:34PM
PR Newswire (US)
BOSTON, Dec. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- John Hancock
Tax-Advantaged Global Shareholder Yield Fund (NYSE:HTY) (the
"Fund"), a closed-end fund managed by John Hancock Advisers, LLC,
announced today that its Board of Trustees, in evaluating strategic
options to enhance shareholder value and potentially decrease the
discount between the market price and the net asset value ("NAV")
of the Fund's common shares, has renewed the Fund's share
repurchase plan which is set to expire on December 31, 2009. As
renewed, the Fund may purchase, in the open market, up to an
additional 10% of its outstanding common shares between January 1,
2010 and December 31, 2010 (based on common shares outstanding as
of December 31, 2009). The share repurchase plan seeks to enhance
shareholder value and narrow the Fund's discount to NAV. The plan
allows the Fund to acquire its own shares in the open market at a
discount to NAV, which seeks to increase the NAV per share. It
could also have the benefit of providing additional liquidity in
the trading of the common shares. Since the plan commenced in
December 2008, the Fund has been repurchasing shares to seek to
enhance shareholder value, and through November 30, 2009 the Fund
has repurchased 17,400 shares, or 0.19% of total outstanding
shares. There is no assurance that the Fund will purchase shares at
any specific discount levels or in any specific amounts. The Fund's
repurchase activity will be disclosed in its shareholder report for
the relevant fiscal period. There is no assurance that the market
price of the Fund's shares, either absolutely or relative to net
asset value, will increase as a result of any share repurchases, or
that the plan will enhance shareholder value over the long-term.
Investment Team Commentary Epoch Investment Partners ("Epoch"), one
of the Fund's sub-advisers, believes that the portfolio is
well-positioned to benefit from a reappraisal of factors that have
driven the impressive rally in markets since March 2009. Epoch
believes that markets are discounting an overly rosy scenario for
prospects for the economy, and Epoch expects the momentum-led
equity market rally to give way to more somber realities as the
year winds down. The Fund's investment objective is to provide
total return consisting of a high level of current income and gains
and long term capital appreciation. The Fund will seek to achieve
favorable after-tax returns for its shareholders by seeking to
minimize the federal income tax consequences on income and gains
generated by the Fund. There can be no assurance that the Fund will
achieve its investment objective. Under normal market conditions,
the Fund will invest at least 80% of its total assets in a
diversified portfolio of dividend-paying stocks of issuers located
throughout the world. The Fund also intends to write call options
on a variety of broad-based securities indices. The views of the
Epoch Investment Partners investment team reflect its own opinions
and they are in no way guarantees of future events, and are not
intended to be used as an investment advice or a recommendation
regarding any specific security. They are also subject to change at
any time as market and other conditions warrant. Statements in this
press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking
statements as defined by the United States securities laws. You
should exercise caution in interpreting and relying on
forward-looking statements because they are subject to
uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond
the Fund's control and could cause actual results to differ
materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Before
investing, prospective investors should consider carefully the
Fund's objective, risks, and charges and expenses. For more
complete information about the Fund, please contact your financial
advisor. About John Hancock Funds The Boston-based mutual fund
business unit of John Hancock Financial, John Hancock Funds,
manages more than $50.5 billion in open-end funds, closed-end
funds, private accounts, retirement plans and related party assets
for individual and institutional investors at September 30, 2009.
About John Hancock Financial and Manulife Financial Corporation
John Hancock Financial is a unit of Manulife Financial Corporation,
a leading Canadian-based financial services group serving millions
of customers in 22 countries and territories worldwide. Operating
as Manulife Financial in Canada and in most of Asia, and primarily
as John Hancock in the United States, Manulife Financial
Corporation offers clients a diverse range of financial protection
products and wealth management services through its extensive
network of employees, agents and distribution partners. Funds under
management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were Cdn$437
billion (US$407 billion) at September 30, 2009. Manulife Financial
Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under
'945' on the SEHK. Manulife Financial can be found on the Internet
at http://www.manulife.com/. The John Hancock unit, through its
insurance companies, comprises one of the largest life insurers in
the United States. John Hancock offers a broad range of financial
products and services, including life insurance, fixed and variable
annuities, fixed products, mutual funds, 401(k) plans, long-term
care insurance, college savings, and other forms of business
insurance. Additional information about John Hancock may be found
at http://www.johnhancock.com/. DATASOURCE: John Hancock
Tax-Advantaged Global Shareholder Yield Fund CONTACT: Media, Alex
Chen, +1-617-663-2412, Investor Contact: 1-800-843-0090, John
Hancock Tax-Advantaged Global Shareholder Yield Fund Web Site:
http://www.johnhancock.com/
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