John Hancock Funds
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Massachusetts Tax-Free Income Fund (JHMAX)

Daily Price as of 9/9/10

12.77 0.00 0.00
 
POP Change ($) Change (%)
13.37 0.00 0.00

Management Team

No Photo Available
Dianne Sales, CFA

Joined team in 1995
Joined subadviser in 2005
Joined adviser in 1989
Began business career in 1984

No Photo Available
Frank Lucibella, CFA

Rejoined team in 2005
Joined subadviser in 2005
Rejoined adviser in 2005
Began business career in 1982

View Commentary

Top Issuers (%)

as of 8/31/10
Massachusetts Development Finance Agency 17.69
Massachusetts Health & Educational Facilities Authority 15.37
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority 8.67
Commonwealth of Massachusetts 5.46
Boston Housing Authority 4.81
Massachusetts St Water Pollution Abatement 4.35
Puerto Rico Sales Tax Financing Corp. 4.25
Massachusetts Water Resources Authority 3.86
Puerto Rico Highway & Transportation Authority 3.33
Massachusetts Industrial Finance Agency 3.31
The Fund’s holdings are subject to change at any time. Characteristics are expressed as a percentage of net assets.

All Funds (with the exception of the Money Market Fund) exclude cash and cash equivalent securities from Top holdings and Top issuers.

Goal and Strategy

The Fund seeks a high level of current income consistent with preservation of capital. To pursue this goal the Fund normally invests at least 80% of its assets in securities exempt from federal and Massachusetts state personal income taxes. In managing the portfolio, the management team utilizes a strategy designed to find undervalued bonds based on research into specific municipal issuers, their creditworthiness and the structure of their bonds.

Average Annual Total Returns1

Monthly Performance (%) as of 8/31/10
QTD YTD 1YR 3YR 5YR 10YR
(not annualized)
POP -1.30 1.33 4.20 3.98 3.25 4.83
Quarterly Performance (%) as of 6/30/10
QTD YTD 1YR 3YR 5YR 10YR
(not annualized)
POP -2.73 -1.97 4.07 2.87 2.74 4.78

Cumulative Returns

Monthly Performance (%) as of 8/31/10
QTD YTD 1YR 3YR 5YR 10YR
POP -1.30 1.33 4.20 12.42 17.36 60.30

The performance data shown represents past performance, which is not a guarantee of future results. Investment returns and principal value will fluctuate, so that investors' shares, when sold, may be worth more or less than their original cost. See performance data current to the most recent month-end, which may be higher or lower than that cited.

Performance figures assume that all distributions are reinvested. POP (public offering price) figures reflect maximum sales charge on Class A shares of 5% for equity funds and 4.5% for fixed-income funds with the exception of the Floating Rate Income fund and the Currency Strategies fund, which have a maximum sales charge of 3%. Performance quoted without sales charges would be reduced if the sales charges were applied. Performance for other share classes will vary. For money market funds, the yield quoted more closely reflect the current earnings of the fund than the total return performance shown. Sales charges do not apply to money market funds and as a result, those funds do not quote POP performance figures. The Fund operating expenses are 1.04%.

Risk Assessment

Morningstar Rating3

Overall Rating

As of 7/31/10 the Fund was rated 2 stars out of 74 funds, 2 stars out of 69 funds and 3 stars out of 59 funds for the 3-, 5- and 10-year periods, respectively.

Load-Waived Rating

As of 7/31/10 the Fund was rated 3 stars out of 74 funds, 3 stars out of 69 funds and 4 stars out of 59 funds for the 3-, 5- and 10-year periods, respectively.

Overall Rating is based on the 3-, 5- and 10-year Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Returns and accounts for variation in a fund's monthly performance. The overall rating includes effects of sales charges, loads and redemption fees, whereas the load-waived rating does not. Load-waived ratings for Class A shares should only be considered by investors who are not subject to a front-end sales charge. Contact your financial professional to determine whether you are eligible to purchase Class A shares without paying the front-end load. Other classes may be rated differently.

What You Should Know

The major factors in this Fund’s performance are interest rates and credit risk. When interest rates rise, bond prices usually fall. Generally, an increase in the Fund’s average maturity will make it more sensitive to interest-rate risk. A portion of the income may be subject to state and/or local taxes. Capital gains are fully taxable. Some investors may be subject to the federal Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT).

Getting Started

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The Value of a Financial
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Why John Hancock Funds

Copyright © 1999-2010 by John Hancock Funds, LLC and affiliated companies, Member FINRA | SIPC, 601 Congress Street, Boston, MA 02210. 

Click here to view prospectuses for Open-End, Retirement, and Institutional funds. A fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses should be considered carefully before investing. The prospectus contains this and other important information about the fund. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing or sending money. These products are available for sale only within the United States.

Please keep in mind that mutual fund shares: Are not FDIC insured | May lose value | Come with no bank guarantee | Are not insured by any government agency

1 These results reflect expense reductions that were terminated on 12/31/01. Without these reductions expenses increase and results would have been less favorable.
2 As of most recent month-end. Morningstar definitions: The Morningstar Style Box reveals the Fund’s investment strategy. For fixed-income funds, the vertical axis shows the average credit quality of the bonds owned and the horizontal axis shows interest-rate sensitivity as measured by a bond’s duration (short, intermediate or long).
3 Morningstar proprietary ratings reflect risk-adjusted performance through most recent month-end. The ratings are subject to change every month. For each fund with at least a 3-year history, Morningstar calculates a Morningstar Rating based on a Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return that accounts for variation in a fund’s monthly performance (including effects of sales charges, loads and redemption fees), placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. The top 10% of funds in each category, the next 22.5%, 35%, 22.5% and the bottom 10% receive 5, 4, 3, 2 or 1 star, respectively. (Each share class is counted as a fraction of 1 fund within this scale and rated separately, which may cause slight variations in the distribution percentages.) Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
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