Dianne M. Sales

Boston-based John Hancock Advisers, Inc. (JHA) is the mutual fund affiliate of John Hancock Financial Services, Inc. and manages the John Hancock family of retail and institutional mutual funds, as well as separate equity portfolios for private accounts and retirement plans for individual and institutional investors. In 2003, Manulife Financial Corp. (TSX, NYSE: MFC) and John Hancock Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE: JHF) announced that they would merge and would thus create a leading global insurance franchise. The combined company will market products and services under multiple brands including John Hancock in the US and Manulife in Canada and the US.

Bear, Stearns & Co., Inc. is a global investment banking, securities trading and brokerage firm located in New York City with additional offices in Dallas, Boston and San Francisco. The firm is a subsidiary Bear Sterns Cos., Inc. (NYSE: BSC). Their equity research team consists of senior analysts located throughout the world. In addition to domestic coverage, they have research teams focusing on Latin America, Asia and Europe. The analysts use a bottom-up approach to stock selection. The Bear Stearns fixed-income research department provides coverage of every sector of the fixed-income universe. The financial analytics and structured transactions group (F.A.S.T) provides investment research, fixed-income portfolio management and analytical systems, trading technology and general financial expertise. The group also provides a broad range of services to financial institutions including asset-liability management, balance sheet restructuring, receivables-based financing analysis, security and portfolio analysis, peer analysis, and historical and real-time market-based information.

Manulife Investment Management (US) LLC (Manulife IM (US)) is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The firm was founded in 1968 and is a subsidiary of John Hancock Subsidiaries LLC, ultimately held by Manulife Financial Corp. (NYSE, TSX: MFC), a Canadian-based financial services firm. Manulife IM-US manages assets for a variety of institutional and other types of clients, such as public and private pension funds, foundations, mandatory provident funds outside the US, financial institutions, investment trusts, separately managed account clients, and high net-worth individuals. The firm also manages registered funds, which includes UCITS, US and Canadian open- and closed-end mutual funds and privately offered unregistered investment funds.