General Investing >> Money Manager Interviews >> November 11, 2002

J.schmidt / L.welch – John Hancock Funds

LISA WELCH is a Second Vice President and Portfolio Manager at John Hancock Funds. As a member of John Hancock's financial institutions team, she specializes in small to mid-sized banks and thrifts. Her work supports several funds, including the John Hancock Financial Industries Fund, John Hancock Regional Bank Fund, John Hancock Bank and Thrift Opportunity Fund and John Hancock Financial Trends Fund, Inc. Prior to joining John Hancock Funds in 1998, she was a senior supervisory analyst for the Bank Supervision and Regulation Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Before that, she was the senior bank examiner for the Federal Bank of New York. She has been in the banking business since 1986. She graduated summa cum laude with a BA in Economics from Boston College and also earned an MBA in Finance with high honors from Bentley College, Waltham, Massachusetts. She has participated in the Greater Boston Area Executive program at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Profile
JAMES K. SCHMIDT is an Executive Vice President and head of John Hancock Funds' financial industry portfolio management team. He manages several funds, including the John Hancock Regional Bank Fund, John Hancock Financial Industries Fund and John Hancock Real Estate Fund. He also manages the John Hancock Bank and Thrift Opportunity Fund and John Hancock Financial Trends Fund, Inc., both closed-end funds. He is also a member of the company's investment policy committee. Mr. Schmidt, who joined John Hancock in 1985, has been in the investment business since 1979. He is a graduate of Brown University and holds a Master's degree from the MIT Sloan School of Management. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst and past President of the Bank Analysts Association of Boston. Profile
TWST: Could you give us a brief overview of John Hancock Funds,

the Funds that you run and your responsibilities there?

Mr. Schmidt: John Hancock Funds is an investment management

company that