Allocating assets to only one or a small number of the investment options (other than the Target Date ‘Lifecycle’ or Target Risk ‘Lifestyle’ options) should not be considered a balanced investment program. In particular, allocating assets to a small number of options concentrated in particular business or market sectors will subject your account to increased risk and volatility. Examples of business or market sectors where this risk may be particularly high include: a) technology-related businesses, including Internet-related businesses, b) small-cap securities and c) foreign securities. John Hancock does not provide advice regarding appropriate investment allocations.
Repurchase Agreements Repurchase agreements may be subject to the risk that the seller of a security defaults and the collateral securing the repurchase agreement has declined and does not equal the value of the repurchase price. In this event, impairment of the collateral may result in additional costs.
Income The investment's income payments may decline depending on fluctuations in interest rates and the dividend payments of its underlying securities. In this event, some investments may attempt to pay the same dividend amount by returning capital.
Credit and Counterparty The issuer or guarantor of a fixed-income security, counterparty to an OTC derivatives contract, or other borrower may not be able to make timely principal, interest, or settlement payments on an obligation. In this event, the issuer of a fixed-income security may have its credit rating downgraded or defaulted, which may reduce the potential for income and value of the portfolio.
Shareholder Activity Frequent purchases or redemptions by one or multiple investors may harm other shareholders by interfering with the efficient management of the portfolio, increasing brokerage and administrative costs and potentially diluting the value of shares. Additionally, shareholder purchase and redemption activity may have an impact on the per-share net income and realized capital gains distribution amounts, if any, potentially increasing or reducing the tax burden on the shareholders who receive those distributions.
Fixed-Income Securities The value of fixed-income or debt securities may be susceptible to general movements in the bond market and are subject to interest-rate and credit risk.
Market/Market Volatility The market value of the portfolio’s securities may fall rapidly or unpredictably because of changing economic, political, or market conditions, which may reduce the value of the portfolio.
Not FDIC Insured The investment is not a deposit or obligation of, or guaranteed or endorsed by, any bank and is not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board, or any other U.S. governmental agency.
Loss of Money Because the investment’s market value may fluctuate up and down, an investor may lose money, including part of the principal, when he or she buys or sells the investment.
Management Performance is subject to the risk that the advisor’s asset allocation and investment strategies do not perform as expected, which may cause the portfolio to underperform its benchmark, other investments with similar objectives, or the market in general. The investment is subject to the risk of loss of income and capital invested, and the advisor does not guarantee its value, performance, or any particular rate of return.
Money Market The risks pertaining to money market funds, those in compliance with Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, vary depending on the fund’s operations as reported in SEC Form N-MFP.
Institutional money market funds are considered those that are required to transact at a floating net asset value. These funds can experience capital gains and losses in normal conditions just like other mutual funds.
Additionally, most institutional, government, and retail money market funds may impose a fee upon the sale of your shares, or may suspend your ability to sell shares if the fund's liquidity falls below required minimums, because of market conditions or other factors. While retail and government funds electing to maintain liquidity through suspending redemptions or imposing fees attempt to preserve the value of shares at $1.00, the funds cannot guarantee they will do so.
Some government money market funds have not elected to permit liquidity fees or suspend redemptions. Although these funds also seek to preserve the value of investments at $1.00 per share, they cannot guarantee they will do so.
An investment in any money market fund is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency and can result in a loss of money. The fund's sponsor has no legal obligation to provide financial support to the fund, and you should not expect that the sponsor will provide financial support to the fund at any time.
U.S. Federal Tax Treatment Changes in the tax treatment of dividends, derivatives, foreign transactions, and other securities may have an impact on performance and potentially increase shareholder liability. Additionally, this includes the risk that the fund fails to qualify as a regulated investment company, potentially resulting in a significantly higher level of taxation.
U.S. Government Obligations Investments in U.S. government obligations are subject to varying levels of government support. In the event of default, some U.S. government securities, including U.S. Treasury obligations and Ginnie Mae securities, are issued and guaranteed as to principal and interest by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Other securities are obligations of U.S. government-sponsored entities but are neither issued nor guaranteed by the U.S. government.
Restricted/Illiquid Securities Restricted and illiquid securities may fall in price because of an inability to sell the securities when desired. Investing in restricted securities may subject the portfolio to higher costs and liquidity risk.
Other The investment’s performance may be impacted by its concentration in a certain type of security, adherence to a particular investing strategy, or a unique aspect of its structure and costs.
Merger and Replacement Transition Risk for Sub-Account. It is possible that the Fund will be replaced with or merged into another investment option offered under your plan's group annuity contract. In the case of fund mergers and replacements, the affected funds that are being merged or replaced may implement the redemption of your interest by payment in cash or by distributing assets in kind. In either case, the redemption of your interest by the affected fund, as well as the investment of the redemption proceeds by the ''new'' fund, may result in transaction costs to the funds because the affected funds may find it necessary to sell securities and the ''new'' funds will find it necessary to invest the redemption proceeds. Also, the redemption and reinvestment processes, including any transition period that may be involved in completing such mergers and replacements, could be subject to market gains or losses, including those from currency exchange rates. The transaction costs and potential market gains or losses could have an impact on the value of your investment in the affected fund and in the ''new'' fund, and such market gains or losses could also have an impact on the value of any existing investment that you or other investors may have in the ''new'' fund. Although there can be no assurances that all risks can be eliminated, the portfolio manager(s) of the affected funds will use their best efforts to manage and minimize such risks and costs.
Risk of Increase in Expenses for Sub-Account. Your actual costs of investing in the fund may be higher than the expenses shown in "Annual fund operating expenses" for a variety of reasons. For example, expense ratios may be higher than those shown if a fee limitation is changed or terminated or if average net assets decrease. Net assets are more likely to decrease and fund expense ratios are more likely to increase when markets are volatile.