BOSTON, Sept. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- John Hancock Tax-Advantaged
Global Shareholder Yield Fund (NYSE: HTY) declared its quarterly distribution
today as follows:

    Declaration Date:         September 2, 2008
    Ex Date:                  September 12, 2008
    Record Date:              September 16, 2008
    Payment Date:             September 30, 2008
    Distribution amount:      $0.4500

This dividend equates to an annualized yield of 12.74 percent, based on the fund's closing market price as of August 29, 2008.

The John Hancock Global Shareholder Yield Fund is a newly organized, diversified, closed-end fund. The Fund's investment objective is to provide a high level of total return consisting of a high level of current income and gains and long term capital appreciation. The Fund will seek to achieve favorable after-tax returns for its shareholders by seeking to minimize the federal income tax consequences on income and gains generated by the Fund. Under normal market condition, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its total assets in a diversified portfolio of dividend-paying stocks of issuers located throughout the world. The Fund also intends to write call options on a variety of both U.S. and non-U.S. broad-based indices.

About John Hancock Funds

The Boston-based mutual fund business unit of John Hancock Financial Services, John Hancock Funds manages more than $54.8 billion in open-end funds, closed-end funds, private accounts, retirement plans and related party assets for individual and institutional investors at June 30, 2008. John Hancock Funds are distributed by John Hancock Funds, LLC, member FINRA. For more information, please visit www.jhfunds.com.

John Hancock Financial Services 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 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$400 billion (US$393 billion) at June 30, 2008. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under '0945' on the SEHK. Manulife Financial may be found on the Internet at www.manulife.com.

SOURCE John Hancock Advisers, LLC