Stull, Stull & Brody Announces Class Action Against American International Group, Inc. on Behalf of Purchasers of John Hancock Mutual Funds

Market Wire, May, 2006

Notice is hereby given that a class action lawsuit was filed on April 7, 2006 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York against American International Group, Inc. and certain of its affiliates, on behalf of those who purchased John Hancock mutual funds from the AIG Advisor Group (as defined below) during the period between June 30, 2000 and June 8, 2005, inclusive (the "Class Period").

During the Class Period, the AIG Advisor Group consisted of the following broker-dealers: Royal Alliance, Inc., SunAmerica Securities, Inc., FSC Securities Corp., Sentra Securities Corporation, Spelman & Co., Inc., and Advantage Capital Corp.

If you purchased John Hancock mutual funds or any funds participating in the AIG Advisor Group revenue sharing programs ("Shelf-Space Funds," as defined below) through an AIG Advisor Group broker-dealer between June 30, 2000 and June 8, 2005, inclusive, and sustained damages, you may, no later than June 6, 2006, file a motion with the Court requesting to be appointed as lead plaintiff. A lead plaintiff is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the Court must determine that the class member's claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member is most capable of adequately representing the interests of the other class members. Under certain circumstances, more than one class member may serve as "lead plaintiff." Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. You may retain Stull, Stull & Brody, or other counsel of your choice, to serve as your counsel in this action. Stull, Stull & Brody has litigated many class actions for violations of securities laws in federal courts over the past 30 years and has obtained court approval of substantial settlements on numerous occasions. Stull, Stull & Brody maintains offices in both New York and Los Angeles.

The John Hancock mutual funds and their respective symbols are as follows:

John Hancock Balanced (NASDAQ: SVBAX) (NASDAQ: SVBBX) (NASDAQ: SVBCX)
 (NASDAQ: SVBIX)
John Hancock Bond (NASDAQ: JHNBX) (NASDAQ: JHBBX) (NASDAQ: JHCBX)
 (NASDAQ: JHBIX) (NASDAQ: JHBRX)
John Hancock CA Tax-Free Income (NASDAQ: TACAX) (NASDAQ: TSCAX)
 (NASDAQ: TCCAX)
John Hancock Classic Value (NASDAQ: PZFVX) (NASDAQ: JCVBX) (NASDAQ: JCVCX)
 (NASDAQ: JCVIX) (NASDAQ: JCVRX)
John Hancock Core Equity (NASDAQ: JHDCX) (NASDAQ: JHIDX) (NASDAQ: JHCEX)
 (NASDAQ: JHCIX)
John Hancock Financial Industries (NASDAQ: FIDAX) (NASDAQ: FIDBX)
 (NASDAQ: FIDCX) (NASDAQ: FIDIX)
John Hancock Focused Equity (NASDAQ: JFVAX) (NASDAQ: JFVBX) (NASDAQ: JFVCX)
John Hancock Government Income (NASDAQ: JHGIX) (NASDAQ: TSGIX)
 (NASDAQ: TCGIX)
John Hancock Greater China Opp (NASDAQ: JCOAX) (NASDAQ: JCOBX)
 (NASDAQ: JCOCX) (NASDAQ: JCOIX)
John Hancock Growth Trends (NASDAQ: JGTAX) (NASDAQ: JGTBX) (NASDAQ: JGTCX)
John Hancock Health Sciences (NASDAQ: JHGRX) (NASDAQ: JHRBX)
 (NASDAQ: JHRCX)
John Hancock High Income (NASDAQ: JAHIX) (NASDAQ: JBHIX) (NASDAQ: JCHIX)
 (NASDAQ: JIHIX)
John Hancock High-Yield (NASDAQ: JHHBX) (NASDAQ: TSHYX) (NASDAQ: JHYCX)
John Hancock High-Yield Muni Bond (NASDAQ: JHTFX) (NASDAQ: TSHTX)
 (NASDAQ: JCTFX)
John Hancock Indep Divers Core Eq II (NASDAQ: COREX)
John Hancock International (NASDAQ: FINAX) (NASDAQ: FINBX) (NASDAQ: JINCX)
 (NASDAQ: JINIX)
John Hancock Investment Grade Bond (NASDAQ: TAUSX) (NASDAQ: TSUSX)
 (NASDAQ: TCUSX) (NASDAQ: TIUSX)
John Hancock Large Cap Equity (NASDAQ: TAGRX) (NASDAQ: TSGWX)
 (NASDAQ: JHLVX) (NASDAQ: JLVIX)
John Hancock Large Cap Select (NASDAQ: MSBFX) (NASDAQ: JHLBX)
 (NASDAQ: JHLCX) (NASDAQ: JHLIX) (NASDAQ: JHLRX)
John Hancock MA Tax-Free Income (NASDAQ: JHMAX) (NASDAQ: JHMBX)
 (NASDAQ: JMACX)
John Hancock Mid Cap Growth (NASDAQ: SPOAX) (NASDAQ: SPOBX)
 (NASDAQ: SPOCX) (NASDAQ: SPOIX)
John Hancock Multi-Cap Growth (NASDAQ: JMGAX) (NASDAQ: JMGBX)
 (NASDAQ: JMGCX)
John Hancock NY Tax-Free Income (NASDAQ: JHNYX) (NASDAQ: JNTRX)
 (NASDAQ: JNYCX)
John Hancock Real Estate (NASDAQ: JREAX) (NASDAQ: JREBX) (NASDAQ: JRECX)
John Hancock Regional Bank (NASDAQ: FRBAX) (NASDAQ: FRBFX) (NASDAQ: FRBCX)
John Hancock Small Cap (NASDAQ: DSISX) (NASDAQ: DSBSX) (NASDAQ: DSCSX)
 (NASDAQ: DSIIX)
John Hancock Small Cap Equity (NASDAQ: SPVAX) (NASDAQ: SPVBX) (NASDAQ: SPVCX)
 (NASDAQ: SPVIX) (NASDAQ: SPVRX)
John Hancock Small Cap Growth (NASDAQ: TAEMX) (NASDAQ: TSEGX)
 (NASDAQ: JSGCX) (NASDAQ: JSGIX)
John Hancock Sovereign Investors (NASDAQ: SOVIX) (NASDAQ: SOVBX)

The Shelf-Space Funds include the following mutual fund families: AIG SunAmerica, AIM, AllianceBernstein, American, American Skandia, Columbia, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, Hartford, John Hancock, MFS, NationsFunds, Pacific Life, Pioneer, Putnam, Oppenheimer, Scudder, Van Kampen, and WM.

This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York against defendant American International Group, Inc. and certain of its affiliated entities. The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, defendants served as financial advisors who purportedly provided unbiased and honest investment advice to their clients. Unbeknownst to investors, defendants, in clear contravention of their disclosure obligations and fiduciary responsibilities, failed to properly disclose that they had engaged in a scheme to aggressively push AIG Advisor Group sales personnel to steer clients into purchasing Shelf-Space Funds that provided financial incentives and rewards to the AIG Advisor Group and its personnel based on holdings and/or sales. The complaint alleges that defendants' undisclosed sales practices created an insurmountable conflict of interest by providing substantial monetary incentives to sell Shelf-Space Funds, even though such investments were not in the clients' best interest. The AIG Advisor Group's failure to adequately disclose the incentives constituted violations of federal securities laws.