STT State Street Corporation

State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT), the world's leading provider of services to institutional investors, announced today that it has been appointed by John Hancock Funds II to provide custody, fund accounting and securities lending services to John Hancock Funds' Lifestyle Portfolios. The Lifestyle Portfolios comprise five retail Lifestyle mutual funds of funds, with 47 underlying mutual fund portfolios and $15 billion in assets. "We have worked with State Street for more than 15 years, and knew they had the range of capabilities and skills to support multiple requirements of our retail Lifestyle Portfolios' launch," said Gordon Shone, senior vice president of John Hancock. "We felt comfortable that State Street has the depth and experience to service our operationally complex funds." "We are pleased that we have been able to help support John Hancock through many different stages of their business growth," said Jay Hooley, executive vice president and head of global investment servicing at State Street. "Customers are demanding more and more servicing solutions from their investment providers, and they recognize that a successful partnership can help ensure that they stay ahead in this competitive marketplace." State Street provides a variety of investment services to more than 40 percent of the mutual fund industry, and is the largest contributor of mutual fund NAV's to NASDAQ. About State Street Corporation: State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) is the world's leading specialist in providing institutional investors with investment servicing, investment management and investment research and trading. With $9.8 trillion in assets under custody and $1.4 trillion in assets under management (as of September 30, 2005), State Street operates in 25 countries and more than 100 geographic markets. For more information, visit State Street's web site at www.statestreet.com. About John Hancock Funds John Hancock Funds, a Boston-based investment management organization, manages more than $34.0 billion in open-end funds, closed-end funds, private accounts, retirement plans and related party assets for individual and institutional investors as of September 30, 2005. Additional information about John Hancock Funds can be found on the website: www.jhfunds.com. About John Hancock and Manulife Financial John Hancock is a unit of Manulife Financial Corporation, a leading Canadian-based financial services group serving millions of customers in 19 countries and territories worldwide. Operating as Manulife Financial in Canada and most of Asia, and primarily through 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$360 billion (US$310 billion) as of September 30, 2005. 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