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From their website.

"The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation with moderate income as a secondary objective. To pursue these goals, the Fund normally invests at least 80% of its assets in stocks of regional banks and lending companies, including commercial and industrial banks, savings and loan associations and bank holding companies."

The fund's long-time manager Jim Schmidt announced he was retiring and was interviewed in the February 12, 2007 Barron's.

"As it turned out, regional banks offered a good investment opportunity back in 1985. That was when Jim Schmidt launched the John Hancock Regional Bank Fund. Twenty-two years ago, there were about 14,500 commercial banks in the U.S., roughly twice as many as today's total. "The sheer number of banks gave you a tremendous opportunity to find value," says Schmidt."

Now, after years of witnessing-and capitalizing on-bank mergers and acquisitions, Schmidt is retiring. Lisa A. Welch, who has helped him run the fund in recent years, will take over.

The fund's assets peaked in 1998 at nearly $8 billion, versus about $2 billion today. In the late 1990s, as tech stocks dominated the market, "You could talk about bank stocks that grew earnings at 8%, but it sounded pretty dull," Schmidt recalls. Not so any more.

Here are the fund's top holdings

Current Returns:

1-Year: -12.00%
3-Year: 0.46%
5-Year: 7.88%

As of 10/31/07

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