BOSTON, March 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- John Hancock Tax-Advantaged Global Shareholder Yield Fund (NYSE: HTY) declared a quarterly distribution of $0.36 per share today, a decrease of 20% from its previous quarterly distribution rate of $0.45. This new distribution rate equates to an annualized rate of 14.80%, based on the Fund's closing market price as of February 27, 2009. The new distribution rate is payable March 31, 2009 to shareholders of record on March 12, 2009 and with an ex-date of March 10, 2009. This is the Fund's first distribution decrease since its inception in 2007.

Under normal market conditions, the Fund attempts to provide consistent distributions to shareholders. However, because of the current market environment the Fund's management felt that it was prudent to decrease the dividend rate at this time. The Fund's management considered a number of factors before coming to the decision to decrease the distribution rate, including the lower net investment income earned on the Fund's lower asset levels, as well as, uncertainty in future corporate dividend rates due to extreme market volatility and unprecedented economic circumstances. Furthermore, the Fund's portfolio management team believes that the new distribution level may provide the Fund with greater flexibility to seek to take advantage of what they consider to be under valued securities and other attractive market opportunities that may enhance the Fund's total return profile over the long-term.

Despite the challenging market environment, John Hancock Tax-Advantaged Global Shareholder Yield Fund has had strong relative performance versus its Lipper peer group of Global Funds (with 21 funds in the group). The Fund ranked in the top 15% of its peer group based on total return at NAV for the 1-year period ending January 31, 2009, outperforming its peer group average -23.62% versus -36.78%. Source of performance data stated is Lipper Inc. as of January 31, 2009. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

The Fund's Board of Trustees continues to actively consider all tools available at its disposal to seek to enhance shareholder value. At its meeting on December 8-9, 2008, the Board approved the adoption of a share repurchase plan where the Fund may purchase, in the open market, up to 10% of its outstanding common shares through December 31, 2009. The plan allows the Fund to acquire its own shares in the open market at a discount to NAV, which is intended to increase the NAV per share. It could also have the benefit of providing additional liquidity in the trading of the common 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.

The Fund is a diversified, closed-end fund. 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 seeks 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 assurances that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. Under normal market condition, the Fund invests at least 80% of its total assets in a diversified portfolio of dividend-paying stocks of issuers located throughout the world. The Fund also writes call options on a variety of both U.S. and non-U.S. broad-based indices.

About John Hancock Funds

The Boston-based mutual fund business unit of John Hancock Financial, John Hancock Funds manages more than $38.8 billion in open-end funds, closed-end funds, private accounts, retirement plans and related party assets for individual and institutional investors at December 31, 2008.

About John Hancock Financial and Manulife Financial Corporation

John Hancock Financial is a unit of Manulife Financial Corporation (the Company), a leading Canadian-based financial services group serving millions of customers in 19 countries and territories worldwide. Operating as Manulife Financial in Canada and in most of Asia, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States, the Company 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$405 billion (US$330 billion) at December 31, 2008.

Manulife Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under '0945' on the SEHK. Manulife Financial can be found on the Internet at 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 www.johnhancock.com.

The performance data contained within this press release represents past performance, which does not guarantee future results. Performance, especially for short time periods, should not be the sole factor in making your investment decision. Statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined by 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.

SOURCE John Hancock Tax-Advantaged Global Shareholder Yield Fund