497K 1 d541520d497k.htm JOHN HANCOCK BOND TRUST JOHN HANCOCK BOND TRUST
 
October 1, 2023
Summary prospectus
John Hancock Government Income Fund
Before you invest, you may want to review the fund’s prospectus, which contains more information about the fund and its risks. You can find the fund’s prospectus and other information about the fund, including the Statement of Additional Information and most recent reports, online at www.jhinvestments.com/prospectuses. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 800-225-5291 (Class A and Class C) or 888-972-8696 (Class I and Class R6) or by sending an email request to info@jhinvestments.com. The fund’s prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, both dated October 1, 2023, as may be supplemented, and most recent financial highlights information included in the shareholder report, dated May 31, 2023, are incorporated by reference into this summary prospectus. 
Tickers
 
 
 
A: JHGIX
C: TCGIX
I: JGIFX
R6: JTSRX
Investment objective
To seek a high level of current income consistent with preservation of capital. Maintaining a stable share price is a secondary goal.
Fees and expenses
This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below. You may qualify for sales charge discounts on Class A shares if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $100,000 in the John Hancock family of funds. Intermediaries may have different policies and procedures regarding the availability of front-end sales charge waivers or contingent deferred sales charge (CDSC) waivers (See Appendix 1 - Intermediary sales charge waivers, which includes information about specific sales charge waivers applicable to the intermediaries identified therein). More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and beginning on page 21 of the prospectus under “Sales charge reductions and waivers” or page 111 of the fund’s Statement of Additional Information under “Sales Charges on Class A and Class C Shares.” 
Shareholder fees (%) (fees paid directly from your investment)
A
C
I
R6
Maximum front-end sales charge (load) on purchases, as a % of purchase price
4.00
None
None
None
Maximum deferred sales charge (load) as a % of purchase or sale price, whichever is less
1.00
1.00
None
None
(on certain
purchases,
including those of
$1 million or more)
Small account fee (for fund account balances under $1,000) ($)
20
20
None
None
 
Annual fund operating expenses (%) (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your
investment)
A
C
I
R6
Management fee
0.53
0.53
0.53
0.53
Distribution and service (Rule 12b-1) fees
0.25
1.00
0.00
0.00
Other expenses
0.25
0.25
0.25
0.14
Total annual fund operating expenses
1.03
1.78
0.78
0.67
Contractual expense reimbursement
-0.06
1
-0.06
1
-0.06
1
-0.06
1
Total annual fund operating expenses after expense reimbursements
0.97
1.72
0.72
0.61
1
The advisor contractually agrees to reduce its management fee or, if necessary, make payment to the fund in an amount equal to the amount by which expenses of the fund exceed 0.60% of average daily net assets of the fund. For purposes of this agreement, “expenses of the fund” means all fund expenses, excluding (a) taxes, (b) brokerage commissions, (c) interest expense, (d) litigation and indemnification expenses and other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the fund’s business, (e) class-specific expenses, (f) borrowing costs, (g) prime brokerage fees, (h) acquired fund fees and expenses paid indirectly, and (i) short dividend expense. This agreement expires on September 30, 2024, unless renewed by mutual agreement of the advisor and the fund based upon a determination that this is appropriate under the circumstances at that time. The advisor also contractually agrees to waive a portion of its management fee and/or reimburse expenses for the fund and certain other John Hancock funds according to an asset level breakpoint schedule that is based on the aggregate net assets of all the funds participating in the waiver or reimbursement, including the fund (the participating portfolios). This waiver equals, on an annualized basis, 0.0100% of that portion of the aggregate net assets of all the participating portfolios that exceeds $75 billion but is less than or equal to $125 billion; 0.0125% of that portion of the aggregate net assets of all the participating portfolios that exceeds $125 billion but is less than or equal to $150 billion; 0.0150% of that portion of the aggregate net assets of all the participating portfolios that exceeds $150 billion but is less than or equal to $175 billion; 0.0175% of that portion of the aggregate net assets of all the participating portfolios that exceeds $175 billion but is less than or equal to $200 billion; 0.0200% of that portion of the aggregate net assets of all the participating portfolios that exceeds $200 billion but is less than or equal to $225 billion; and 0.0225% of that portion of the aggregate net assets of all the participating portfolios that exceeds $225 billion. The amount of the reimbursement is calculated daily and allocated among all the participating portfolios in proportion to the daily net assets of each
 
John Hancock Government Income Fund
participating portfolio. During its most recent fiscal year, the fund’s reimbursement amounted to 0.01% of the fund’s average daily net assets. This agreement expires on July 31, 2025, unless renewed by mutual agreement of the fund and the advisor based upon a determination that this is appropriate under the circumstances at that time.
Expense example
This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. Please see below a hypothetical example showing the expenses of a $10,000 investment for the time periods indicated and then, except as shown below, assuming you sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example assumes a 5% average annual return and that fund expenses will not change over the periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be: 
 
Shares Sold
Shares
Not Sold
Expenses ($)
A
C
I
R6
C
1 year
495
275
74
62
175
3 years
709
554
243
208
554
5 years
940
959
427
367
959
10 years
1,604
2,090
960
829
2,090
Portfolio turnover
The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund’s performance. During its most recent fiscal year, the fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 351% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal investment strategies
Under normal market conditions, the fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government and its agencies, authorities, or instrumentalities (U.S. government securities). There is no limit on the fund’s average maturity. U.S. government securities may be supported by:
•
the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, such as U.S. Treasury bills, notes, and bonds, and Government National Mortgage Association Certificates.
•
the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. Treasury, such as obligations of the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation.
•
the credit of the instrumentality, such as obligations of the Federal National Mortgage Association.
The fund may invest up to 10% of its total assets in below-investment-grade fixed-income securities (junk bonds) rated Ba and below by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (Moody’s) or BB and below by S&P Global Ratings (S&P) or Fitch Ratings, Inc. (Fitch Ratings) or comparable rating by any nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO). However, the fund may not invest in a fixed-income security rated lower than B by any two NRSROs. The fund may invest in higher-risk securities, including U.S. dollar-denominated foreign government securities and mortgage- and asset-backed securities, or certain supranational entities (such as the World Bank). Although the fund generally invests in foreign government securities rated within the four highest categories by an NRSRO, or their unrated equivalents, it may invest up to 10% of its assets in foreign government high-yield securities (junk bonds) rated as low as B and their unrated equivalents. The fund’s investment policies are based on credit ratings at the time of purchase.
The manager considers interest-rate trends in determining which types of bonds to emphasize at a given time. The fund typically favors mortgage-backed securities when the manager anticipates that interest rates will be relatively stable and favors U.S. Treasuries at other times. Because high-yield bonds often respond to market movements differently than U.S. government bonds, the fund may use them to manage volatility.
The fund may invest in derivatives. Derivatives, including futures contracts and options, may be used to reduce risk, obtain efficient market exposure, and/or enhance investment returns. The fund may trade securities actively.
Principal risks
An investment in the fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. Many factors affect performance, and fund shares will fluctuate in price, meaning you could lose money. The fund’s investment strategy may not produce the intended results.
The fund’s main risks are listed below in alphabetical order, not in order of importance. Before investing, be sure to read the additional descriptions of these risks beginning on page 6 of the prospectus.
Changing distribution levels risk. The fund may cease or reduce the level of its distribution if income or dividends paid from its investments declines.
Credit and counterparty risk. The issuer or guarantor of a fixed-income security, the counterparty to an over-the-counter derivatives contract, or a borrower of fund securities may not make timely payments or otherwise honor its obligations. U.S. government securities are subject to varying degrees of credit risk depending upon the nature of their support. A downgrade or default affecting any of the fund’s securities could affect the fund’s performance.
Economic and market events risk. Events in the U.S. and global financial markets, including actions taken by the U.S. Federal Reserve or foreign central banks to stimulate or stabilize economic growth, may at times result in unusually high market volatility, which could negatively impact
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John Hancock Government Income Fund
performance. Reduced liquidity in credit and fixed-income markets could adversely affect issuers worldwide. Banks and financial services companies could suffer losses if interest rates rise or economic conditions deteriorate.
Fixed-income securities risk. A rise in interest rates typically causes bond prices to fall. The longer the average maturity or duration of the bonds held by a fund, the more sensitive it will likely be to interest-rate fluctuations. An issuer may not make all interest payments or repay all or any of the principal borrowed. Changes in a security’s credit quality may adversely affect fund performance.
Foreign securities risk. Less information may be publicly available regarding foreign issuers, including foreign government issuers. Foreign securities may be subject to foreign taxes and may be more volatile than U.S. securities. Currency fluctuations and political and economic developments may adversely impact the value of foreign securities. If applicable, depositary receipts are subject to most of the risks associated with investing in foreign securities directly because the value of a depositary receipt is dependent upon the market price of the underlying foreign equity security. Depositary receipts are also subject to liquidity risk.
Hedging, derivatives, and other strategic transactions risk. Hedging, derivatives, and other strategic transactions may increase a fund’s volatility and could produce disproportionate losses, potentially more than the fund’s principal investment. Risks of these transactions are different from and possibly greater than risks of investing directly in securities and other traditional instruments. Under certain market conditions, derivatives could become harder to value or sell and may become subject to liquidity risk (i.e., the inability to enter into closing transactions). Derivatives and other strategic transactions that the fund intends to utilize include: futures contracts and options. Futures contracts and options generally are subject to counterparty risk.
High portfolio turnover risk. Trading securities actively and frequently can increase transaction costs (thus lowering performance) and taxable distributions.
Liquidity risk. The extent (if at all) to which a security may be sold or a derivative position closed without negatively impacting its market value may be impaired by reduced market activity or participation, legal restrictions, or other economic and market impediments. Liquidity risk may be magnified in rising interest rate environments due to higher than normal redemption rates. Widespread selling of fixed-income securities to satisfy redemptions during periods of reduced demand may adversely impact the price or salability of such securities. Periods of heavy redemption could cause the fund to sell assets at a loss or depressed value, which could negatively affect performance. Redemption risk is heightened during periods of declining or illiquid markets.
Lower-rated and high-yield fixed-income securities risk. Lower-rated and high-yield fixed-income securities (junk bonds) are subject to greater credit quality risk, risk of default, and price volatility than higher-rated fixed-income securities, may be considered speculative, and can be difficult to resell.
Mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities risk. Mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities are subject to different combinations of prepayment, extension, interest-rate, and other market risks. Factors that impact the value of these securities include interest rate changes, the reliability of available information, credit quality or enhancement, and market perception.
Operational and cybersecurity risk. Cybersecurity breaches may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to fund assets, customer data, or proprietary information, or cause a fund or its service providers to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality. Similar incidents affecting issuers of a fund’s securities may negatively impact performance. Operational risk may arise from human error, error by third parties, communication errors, or technology failures, among other causes.
U.S. government agency obligations risk. The fund invests in obligations issued by agencies and instrumentalities of the U.S. government. Government-sponsored entities such as Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) and the Federal Home Loan Banks, although chartered or sponsored by Congress, are not funded by congressional appropriations and the debt securities that they issue are neither guaranteed nor issued by the U.S. government. Such debt securities are subject to the risk of default on the payment of interest and/or principal, similar to the debt securities of private issuers. The maximum potential liability of the issuers of some U.S. government obligations may greatly exceed their current resources, including any legal right to support from the U.S. government. Although the U.S. government has provided financial support to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the past, there can be no assurance that it will support these or other government-sponsored entities in the future.
Past performance
The following information illustrates the variability of the fund’s returns and provides some indication of the risks of investing in the fund by showing changes in the fund’s performance from year to year and by showing how the fund’s average annual returns compared with a broad-based market index.Past performance (before and after taxes) does not indicate future results. All figures assume dividend reinvestment. Performance information is updated daily, monthly, and quarterly and may be obtained at our website, jhinvestments.com, or by calling 800-225-5291 (Class A and Class C), Monday to Thursday, 8:00 a.m.—7:00  p.m., and Friday, 8:00 a.m.—6:00  p.m., Eastern time, or 888-972-8696 (Class I and Class R6) between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Eastern time, on most business days.
A note on performance
Class A, Class I, and Class R6 shares commenced operations on September 30, 1994, September 9, 2016, and August 30, 2017, respectively. Returns shown prior to a class’s commencement date are those of Class A shares, except that they do not include sales charges and would be lower if they did. Returns for Class I and Class R6 shares would have been substantially similar to returns of Class A shares because each share class is invested in the same portfolio of securities and returns would differ only to the extent that expenses of the classes are different. To the extent expenses of a class would have been higher than expenses of Class A shares for the periods shown, performance would have been lower.
Please note that after-tax returns (shown for Class A shares only) reflect the highest individual federal marginal income-tax rate in effect as of the date provided and do not reflect any state or local taxes.Your actual after-tax returns may be different. After-tax returns are not relevant to shares held in an IRA, 401(k), or other tax-advantaged investment plan. After-tax returns for other share classes would vary. The returns for Class A shares have been adjusted to reflect the reduction in the maximum sales charge from 4.50% to 4.00%, effective February 3, 2014.
3
John Hancock Government Income Fund
Calendar year total returns (%)—Class A (sales charges are not reflected in the bar chart and returns would have been lower if they were)
    
Year-to-date total return through:
Q2 2023
1.07%
Best quarter:
Q1 2020
7.08%
Worst quarter:
Q1 2022
-5.46%
 
Average annual total returns (%)—as of 12/31/2022
1 year
5 year
10 year
Class A (before tax)
-16.85
-1.91
-0.48
after tax on distributions
-17.64
-2.67
-1.37
after tax on distributions, with sale
-9.96
-1.72
-0.72
Class C
-14.93
-1.87
-0.85
Class I
-13.18
-0.85
0.08
Class R6
-13.20
-0.79
0.09
Bloomberg U.S. Government Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)
-12.32
-0.06
0.60
Investment management
Investment advisor John Hancock Investment Management LLC
Subadvisor  Manulife Investment Management (US) LLC
Portfolio management
The following individuals are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the fund’s portfolio. 
Jeffrey N. Given, CFA
Howard C. Greene, CFA
Connor Minnaar, CFA
Senior Portfolio Manager, Co-Head of U.S. Core
and Core-Plus Fixed Income
Managed the fund since 1998
Senior Portfolio Manager, Co-Head of U.S. Core
and Core-Plus Fixed Income
Managed the fund since 2006
Associate Portfolio Manager ​
Managed the fund since 2022
Purchase and sale of fund shares
The minimum initial investment requirement for Class A and Class C shares is $1,000 ($250 for group investments), except that there is no minimum for certain group retirement plans, certain fee-based or wrap accounts, or certain other eligible investment product platforms. The minimum initial investment requirement for Class I shares is $250,000, except that the fund may waive the minimum for any category of investors at the fund’s sole discretion. The minimum initial investment requirement for Class R6 shares is $1 million, except that there is no minimum for: qualified and nonqualified plan investors; certain eligible qualifying investment product platforms; Trustees, employees of the advisor or its affiliates, employees of the subadvisor, members of the fund’s portfolio management team and the spouses and children (under age 21) of the aforementioned. There are no subsequent minimum investment requirements.
Class A, Class C, Class I, and Class R6 shares may be redeemed on any business day by mail: John Hancock Signature Services, Inc., P.O. Box 219909, Kansas City, MO 64121-9909; or for most account types through our website: jhinvestments.com; or by telephone: 800-225-5291 (Class A and Class C); 888-972-8696 (Class I and Class R6).
Taxes
The fund’s distributions are taxable, and will be taxed as ordinary income and/or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account. Withdrawals from such tax-deferred arrangements may be subject to tax at a later date.
4
John Hancock Government Income Fund
Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries
If you purchase the fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank, registered investment advisor, financial planner, or retirement plan administrator), the fund and its related companies may pay the broker-dealer or other intermediary for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the fund over another investment. These payments are not applicable to Class R6 shares. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
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© 2023 John Hancock Investment Management Distributors LLC, Member FINRA, SIPC
200 Berkeley Street Boston, MA 02116
800-225-5291, jhinvestments.com
Manulife, Manulife Investment Management, Stylized M Design, and Manulife Investment Management & Stylized M Design are trademarks of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company and are used by its affiliates under license.
  
SEC file number: 811-03006
560SP 10/1/23