John Hancock Funds, the Boston-based mutual fund business unit of John Hancock Financial Services, launched an initial public offering for its eleventh closed-end fund, the John Hancock Tax-Advantaged Global Shareholder Yield Fund.

The firm aims to raise $175 million, although the amount could increase by $26.25 million if the underwriter's over-allotment option is fully exercised.

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. It will combine a global equity income strategy managed by Epoch Investment Partners, together with a covered call strategy managed by Analytic Investors to enhance the fund's income and to mute volatility.

Under normal market conditions, the fund will invest at least 80 per cent of its total assets in a diversified portfolio of dividend-paying stocks of issuers located throughout the world, with at least 40 per cent of its total assets in securities of non-US issuers. The fund may invest up to 20 per cent of its total assets in securities issued by companies located in emerging markets.

By assembling a diversified portfolio of stocks which, in the aggregate, possess positive growth of free cash flow, high cash dividend yields, share buyback programmes and net debt reductions, the fund seeks to provide shareholders with an attractive total return with less volatility than the global equity market as a whole.

John Hancock Funds manages more than $59 billion in open-end funds, closed-end funds, private accounts, retirement plans and related party assets for individual and institutional investors at 30 June 2007. Prior to the latest fund, it offered 10 closed-end funds to investors, with closed end fund assets under management totalling approximately $6.5 billion.

John Hancock Financial Services is a unit of Canada's Manulife Financial Corporation.