UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM N-CSR

CERTIFIED SHAREHOLDER REPORT OF REGISTERED

MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES

Investment Company Act file number 811- 04186

John Hancock Income Securities Trust

(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)

200 Berkeley Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02116 (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)

Salvatore Schiavone

Treasurer

200 Berkeley Street

Boston, Massachusetts 02116

(Name and address of agent for service) Registrant's telephone number, including area code: 617-543-9634

Date of fiscal year end:

October 31

Date of reporting period:

October 31, 2023


ITEM 1. REPORT TO STOCKHOLDERS


Annual report
John Hancock
Income Securities Trust  
Closed-end fixed income
Ticker: JHS
October 31, 2023

A message to shareholders
Dear shareholder,
U.S. bonds posted mixed results for the 12 months ended October 31, 2023. Bond yields rose sharply, putting downward pressure on bond prices, as recent economic and inflation data led to expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) would not be lowering short-term interest rates anytime soon. The Fed raised short-term rates in July—its tenth rate hike since March 2022, which boosted the federal funds rate target to its highest level in more than 22 years—then held rates steady at its policy meetings in September and October.
Intermediate- and long-term bond yields increased the most, with the 10-year U.S. Treasury bond yield rising to its highest level since 2007. From a sector perspective, residential mortgage-backed securities and U.S. Treasury securities declined the most.
In these uncertain times, your financial professional can assist with positioning your portfolio so that it’s sufficiently diversified to help meet your long-term objectives and to withstand the inevitable bouts of market volatility along the way.
On behalf of everyone at John Hancock Investment Management, I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome new shareholders and thank existing shareholders for the continued trust you’ve placed in us.
Sincerely,
Kristie M. Feinberg
Head of Wealth and Asset Management,
United States and Europe
Manulife Investment Management
President and CEO,
John Hancock Investment Management
This commentary reflects the CEO’s views, which are subject to change at any time. Investing involves risks, including the potential loss of principal. Diversification does not guarantee a profit or eliminate the risk of a loss. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. For more up-to-date information, please visit our website at jhinvestments.com.


Your fund at a glance
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE

The fund seeks to generate a high level of current income consistent with prudent investment risk.
AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS AS OF 10/31/2023 (%)

The Bloomberg U.S. Government/Credit Index tracks the performance of U.S. government bonds, U.S. corporate bonds, and Yankee bonds.
It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Index figures do not reflect expenses, which would result in lower returns.
The performance data contained within this material represents past performance, which does not guarantee future results.
Investment returns and principal value will fluctuate and a shareholder may sustain losses. Further, the fund’s performance at net asset value (NAV) is different from the fund’s performance at closing market price because the closing market price is subject to the dynamics of secondary market trading. Market risk may increase when shares are purchased at a premium to NAV or sold at a discount to NAV. Current month-end performance may be higher or lower than the performance cited. The fund’s most recent performance can be found at jhinvestments.com or by calling 800-852-0218.
2 JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST  | ANNUAL REPORT  

PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS OVER THE LAST TWELVE MONTHS

Bonds edged higher in volatile market environment
Despite rising interest rates, U.S. bonds posted small gains for the period amid easing inflationary pressures and a resilient U.S. economy.
Sector performance was mixed
High-yield corporate bonds and asset-backed securities delivered the best returns, while U.S. Treasury securities and residential mortgage-backed securities declined.
The fund trailed its comparative index
The fund generated a modestly positive return at net asset value but underperformed the Bloomberg U.S. Government/Credit Bond Index, due in large part to the fund’s use of leverage.
PORTFOLIO COMPOSITION AS OF 10/31/2023 (% of total investments)

  ANNUAL REPORT  | JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST 3

QUALITY COMPOSITION AS OF 10/31/2023 (% of total investments)

Ratings are from Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. If not available, we have used S&P Global Ratings. In the absence of ratings from these agencies, we have used Fitch Ratings, Inc. “Not rated” securities are those with no ratings available from these agencies. All ratings are as of 10-31-23 and do not reflect subsequent downgrades or upgrades, if any.
4 JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST  | ANNUAL REPORT  

Management’s discussion of fund performance
How did the U.S. bond market perform during the 12 months ended October 31, 2023?
U.S. bonds posted modestly positive returns in an environment of heightened volatility. Bond yields rose broadly during the period as the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) continued to raise short-term interest rates to bring inflation under control. While the Fed’s aggressive rate hikes led to moderating inflationary pressures, the U.S. economy remained resilient, led by a robust labor market and buoyant consumer spending.
The Fed’s interest rate increases pushed short-term bond yields sharply higher, but longer-term yields also rose meaningfully amid expectations that rates are likely to remain at elevated levels for an extended period of time. Sector performance was mixed; high-yield corporate bonds and asset-backed securities generated the best returns, while U.S. Treasury securities and residential mortgage-backed securities declined.
How did the fund perform?
The fund produced a gain in net asset value and a decline in market price. In both cases, the fund trailed the performance of its comparative index. One factor was the leverage the fund uses to amplify fixed-income exposure and boost interest income. Higher interest rates increased the cost of this leverage, which offset some of the benefits in terms of investment returns. Individual security selection also weighed on performance versus the index, most notably among U.S.-dollar-denominated debt in emerging markets.
On the positive side, the fund maintained a shorter duration (a measure of interest-rate sensitivity) than the index, which helped limit the negative impact of higher bond yields on fund performance. Sector allocation also added value during the period, led by an out-of-index position in high-yield corporate bonds and an underweight position in U.S. Treasury securities. This was offset in part by a noteworthy position in residential mortgage-backed securities.
MANAGED BY

Jeffrey N. Given, CFA
Howard C. Greene, CFA
Connor Minnaar, CFA
  ANNUAL REPORT  | JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST 5

The views expressed in this report are exclusively those of the portfolio management team at Manulife Investment Management (US) LLC and are subject to change. They are not meant as investment advice. Please note that the holdings discussed in this report may not have been held by the fund for the entire period. Portfolio composition is subject to review in accordance with the fund’s investment strategy and may vary in the future. Current and future portfolio holdings are subject to risk.
6 JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST  | ANNUAL REPORT  

A look at performance
TOTAL RETURNS FOR THE PERIOD ENDED OCTOBER 31, 2023

Average annual total returns (%) Cumulative total returns (%)
  1-Year 5-Year 10-Year 5-year 10-Year
At Net asset value 0.35 -0.01 2.20 -0.03 24.35
At Market price -2.82 -0.66 1.81 -3.26 19.68
Bloomberg U.S. Government/Credit Index 0.74 0.30 1.08 1.50 11.36
Performance figures assume all distributions have been reinvested.
The returns reflect past results and should not be considered indicative of future performance. Investment returns and principal value will fluctuate and a shareholder may sustain losses. Further, the fund’s performance at net asset value (NAV) is different from the fund’s performance at closing market price because the closing market price is subject to the dynamics of secondary market trading. Market risk may be augmented when shares are purchased at a premium to NAV or when shares need to be sold at a discount to NAV. Current month-end performance may be higher or lower than the performance cited. The fund’s most recent performance can be found at jhinvestments.com or by calling 800-852-0218.
The performance table above and the chart on the next page do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on fund distributions or the sale of fund shares. The fund’s performance results reflect any applicable fee waivers or expense reductions, without which the expenses would increase and results would have been less favorable.
  ANNUAL REPORT  | JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST 7

This chart shows what happened to a hypothetical $10,000 investment in John Hancock Income Securities Trust for the periods indicated, assuming all distributions were reinvested. For comparison, we’ve shown the same investment in the Bloomberg U.S. Government/Credit Index.
The Bloomberg U.S. Government/Credit Index tracks the performance of U.S. government bonds, U.S. corporate bonds, and Yankee bonds.
It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Index figures do not reflect expenses, which would result in lower returns.
The returns reflect past results and should not be considered indicative of future performance.
8 JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST  | ANNUAL REPORT  

Fund’s investments
AS OF 10-31-23
  Rate (%) Maturity date   Par value^ Value
U.S. Government and Agency obligations 85.7% (49.5% of Total investments)   $109,365,711
(Cost $117,408,909)          
U.S. Government 21.5%         27,464,210
U.S. Treasury          
Bond (A) 3.375 11-15-48   1,210,000 895,542
Bond (A) 3.625 05-15-53   1,106,000 862,162
Bond (A)(B) 4.000 11-15-42   1,154,000 978,285
Bond (A) 4.125 08-15-53   214,000 183,070
Bond (A) 4.375 08-15-43   340,000 303,238
Note (A) 3.750 04-15-26   205,000 199,250
Note (A)(B) 3.875 04-30-25   3,000,000 2,941,875
Note (A) 3.875 08-15-33   501,000 461,155
Note (A)(B) 4.250 09-30-24   2,647,000 2,618,462
Note (A)(B) 4.250 10-15-25   3,300,000 3,248,438
Note (A) 4.375 10-31-24   4,000,000 3,958,125
Note (A) 4.375 08-15-26   268,000 264,168
Note (A) 4.875 10-31-28   10,102,000 10,123,309
Note (A) 4.875 10-31-30   428,000 427,131
U.S. Government Agency 64.2%         81,901,501
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.          
15 Yr Pass Thru (A) 2.000 06-01-36   621,408 529,163
15 Yr Pass Thru 4.500 01-01-38   1,885,115 1,786,870
30 Yr Pass Thru 3.000 03-01-43   305,785 259,750
30 Yr Pass Thru 3.000 10-01-49   777,619 632,682
30 Yr Pass Thru 3.000 12-01-49   52,955 43,051
30 Yr Pass Thru (A) 3.000 12-01-49   1,083,434 877,095
30 Yr Pass Thru 3.500 07-01-46   382,381 328,441
30 Yr Pass Thru 3.500 10-01-46   315,812 268,598
30 Yr Pass Thru 3.500 12-01-46   136,145 116,429
30 Yr Pass Thru 3.500 02-01-47   779,036 665,491
30 Yr Pass Thru 3.500 11-01-48   1,462,889 1,249,215
30 Yr Pass Thru 4.000 05-01-52   836,330 732,077
30 Yr Pass Thru 4.500 07-01-52   238,446 214,384
30 Yr Pass Thru 4.500 07-01-52   2,172,794 1,953,529
30 Yr Pass Thru 4.500 08-01-52   149,015 134,164
30 Yr Pass Thru 4.500 08-01-52   715,007 643,300
30 Yr Pass Thru (A) 4.500 08-01-52   595,331 535,626
30 Yr Pass Thru 4.500 09-01-52   368,096 330,835
30 Yr Pass Thru 4.500 09-01-52   412,461 371,353
30 Yr Pass Thru 4.500 09-01-52   3,613,743 3,252,455
30 Yr Pass Thru 5.000 07-01-52   1,083,386 1,003,794
30 Yr Pass Thru 5.000 07-01-52   1,035,977 960,580
SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ANNUAL REPORT | JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST 9

  Rate (%) Maturity date   Par value^ Value
U.S. Government Agency (continued)          
30 Yr Pass Thru 5.000 08-01-52   1,020,984 $944,212
30 Yr Pass Thru (A) 5.000 10-01-52   822,561 761,552
30 Yr Pass Thru 5.000 11-01-52   1,821,208 1,694,668
30 Yr Pass Thru 5.000 12-01-52   1,091,192 1,007,190
30 Yr Pass Thru 5.000 02-01-53   411,527 379,590
30 Yr Pass Thru 5.000 02-01-53   1,504,174 1,390,731
30 Yr Pass Thru 5.000 05-01-53   1,555,510 1,438,730
30 Yr Pass Thru 5.500 09-01-52   1,043,851 995,399
30 Yr Pass Thru 5.500 11-01-52   2,086,729 1,989,869
30 Yr Pass Thru 5.500 11-01-52   2,175,554 2,073,211
30 Yr Pass Thru 5.500 02-01-53   943,972 900,451
30 Yr Pass Thru 5.500 02-01-53   950,914 905,587
30 Yr Pass Thru 5.500 03-01-53   734,469 700,377
30 Yr Pass Thru 5.500 04-01-53   865,260 825,367
30 Yr Pass Thru 5.500 06-01-53   990,628 942,912
30 Yr Pass Thru 5.500 06-01-53   982,404 936,190
30 Yr Pass Thru 5.500 06-01-53   752,974 718,023
30 Yr Pass Thru 5.500 07-01-53   1,068,700 1,017,625
30 Yr Pass Thru 5.500 07-01-53   759,359 722,498
30 Yr Pass Thru 5.500 07-01-53   759,248 722,346
30 Yr Pass Thru 6.000 04-01-53   949,286 927,426
30 Yr Pass Thru 6.000 09-01-53   991,311 967,554
30 Yr Pass Thru (C) 6.500 09-01-53   794,424 793,309
30 Yr Pass Thru (C) 6.500 10-01-53   798,901 797,181
Federal National Mortgage Association          
30 Yr Pass Thru 3.000 12-01-42   908,051 769,839
30 Yr Pass Thru 3.000 07-01-43   237,291 200,507
30 Yr Pass Thru 3.000 11-01-49   240,317 195,074
30 Yr Pass Thru 3.500 12-01-42   1,013,492 884,912
30 Yr Pass Thru 3.500 01-01-43   1,119,044 979,247
30 Yr Pass Thru 3.500 04-01-45   382,829 328,321
30 Yr Pass Thru (A) 3.500 11-01-46   746,036 636,551
30 Yr Pass Thru 3.500 07-01-47   777,951 663,296
30 Yr Pass Thru (A) 3.500 07-01-47   765,402 657,380
30 Yr Pass Thru 3.500 11-01-47   334,533 284,916
30 Yr Pass Thru 3.500 09-01-49   165,296 139,721
30 Yr Pass Thru (A) 3.500 03-01-50   426,390 360,150
30 Yr Pass Thru 4.000 09-01-41   279,678 251,929
30 Yr Pass Thru (A) 4.000 01-01-49   748,575 657,191
30 Yr Pass Thru 4.000 07-01-49   154,261 135,911
30 Yr Pass Thru 4.000 08-01-49   316,365 278,634
30 Yr Pass Thru 4.000 02-01-50   250,226 219,758
30 Yr Pass Thru (A) 4.000 03-01-51   826,621 727,002
30 Yr Pass Thru (A) 4.000 08-01-51   551,976 486,317
10 JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST | ANNUAL REPORT SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

  Rate (%) Maturity date   Par value^ Value
U.S. Government Agency (continued)          
30 Yr Pass Thru 4.000 10-01-51   1,113,016 $976,795
30 Yr Pass Thru 4.000 04-01-52   105,752 91,876
30 Yr Pass Thru 4.000 06-01-52   1,075,435 932,976
30 Yr Pass Thru 4.000 06-01-52   1,112,997 965,561
30 Yr Pass Thru 4.000 06-01-52   888,071 775,704
30 Yr Pass Thru 4.000 07-01-52   424,654 369,861
30 Yr Pass Thru (A) 4.500 06-01-52   445,087 400,589
30 Yr Pass Thru 4.500 06-01-52   1,032,237 928,070
30 Yr Pass Thru (A) 4.500 08-01-52   499,455 446,712
30 Yr Pass Thru 4.500 08-01-52   115,064 103,597
30 Yr Pass Thru (A) 4.500 08-01-52   840,072 751,359
30 Yr Pass Thru (A) 4.500 09-01-52   705,253 636,728
30 Yr Pass Thru (A) 5.000 06-01-52   723,911 671,633
30 Yr Pass Thru 5.000 08-01-52   1,401,800 1,297,983
30 Yr Pass Thru 5.000 10-01-52   1,694,134 1,573,141
30 Yr Pass Thru (A) 5.000 10-01-52   816,112 756,602
30 Yr Pass Thru 5.000 11-01-52   2,860,138 2,651,579
30 Yr Pass Thru (A) 5.000 12-01-52   772,538 716,205
30 Yr Pass Thru (A) 5.000 03-01-53   1,164,611 1,077,506
30 Yr Pass Thru 5.500 01-01-53   1,981,317 1,888,112
30 Yr Pass Thru 5.500 02-01-53   939,263 896,546
30 Yr Pass Thru (A) 5.500 03-01-53   742,054 707,610
30 Yr Pass Thru 5.500 04-01-53   1,794,225 1,706,457
30 Yr Pass Thru 5.500 05-01-53   1,054,531 1,003,605
30 Yr Pass Thru 5.500 05-01-53   1,277,127 1,218,245
30 Yr Pass Thru (A) 5.500 05-01-53   1,065,277 1,015,830
30 Yr Pass Thru (A) 5.500 05-01-53   733,573 699,523
30 Yr Pass Thru 6.000 08-01-53   997,663 976,248
30 Yr Pass Thru (C) 6.500 04-01-53   778,558 780,385
30 Yr Pass Thru (C) 6.500 05-01-53   765,674 764,887
30 Yr Pass Thru (C) 6.500 08-01-53   786,918 789,011
30 Yr Pass Thru (C) 6.500 08-01-53   784,701 785,316
30 Yr Pass Thru (C) 6.500 09-01-53   793,779 792,666
30 Yr Pass Thru (C) 6.500 10-01-53   800,000 803,115
30 Yr Pass Thru (C) 6.500 11-01-53   650,000 651,932
Corporate bonds 62.6% (36.2% of Total investments)   $79,907,414
(Cost $89,838,523)          
Communication services 5.6%       7,207,691
Diversified telecommunication services 1.0%      
C&W Senior Financing DAC (D) 6.875 09-15-27   208,000 178,838
Connect Finco SARL (A)(D) 6.750 10-01-26   371,000 345,971
GCI LLC (A)(D) 4.750 10-15-28   208,000 178,485
Telesat Canada (D) 5.625 12-06-26   93,000 59,361
SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ANNUAL REPORT | JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST 11

  Rate (%) Maturity date   Par value^ Value
Communication services (continued)        
Diversified telecommunication services (continued)      
Total Play Telecomunicaciones SA de CV (D) 6.375 09-20-28   216,000 $103,429
Total Play Telecomunicaciones SA de CV (A)(B)(D) 7.500 11-12-25   333,000 240,388
Zayo Group Holdings, Inc. (A)(B)(D) 4.000 03-01-27   153,000 115,154
Zayo Group Holdings, Inc. (A)(B)(D) 6.125 03-01-28   142,000 94,068
Entertainment 1.9%      
Netflix, Inc. (A)(D) 5.375 11-15-29   92,000 89,201
Netflix, Inc. (A) 5.875 11-15-28   400,000 400,149
The Walt Disney Company (A) 7.750 01-20-24   1,020,000 1,023,461
WarnerMedia Holdings, Inc. (A) 4.279 03-15-32   214,000 177,431
WarnerMedia Holdings, Inc. (A) 5.050 03-15-42   120,000 88,887
WarnerMedia Holdings, Inc. (A) 5.141 03-15-52   681,000 481,887
WMG Acquisition Corp. (A)(D) 3.875 07-15-30   214,000 177,868
Interactive media and services 0.1%      
Match Group Holdings II LLC (A)(D) 3.625 10-01-31   67,000 51,423
Meta Platforms, Inc. (A) 4.800 05-15-30   117,000 112,816
Media 1.5%      
Charter Communications Operating LLC (A) 4.200 03-15-28   464,000 422,281
Charter Communications Operating LLC (A) 5.750 04-01-48   500,000 379,363
Charter Communications Operating LLC (A) 6.384 10-23-35   338,000 305,488
Globo Comunicacao e Participacoes SA (D) 4.875 01-22-30   315,000 249,968
News Corp. (A)(D) 3.875 05-15-29   166,000 142,093
Sirius XM Radio, Inc. (A)(D) 4.000 07-15-28   179,000 152,227
Sirius XM Radio, Inc. (A)(D) 5.000 08-01-27   309,000 283,322
Wireless telecommunication services 1.1%      
T-Mobile USA, Inc. (A) 3.875 04-15-30   789,000 686,985
T-Mobile USA, Inc. (A) 5.375 04-15-27   135,000 132,802
T-Mobile USA, Inc. (A) 5.650 01-15-53   224,000 193,614
Vodafone Group PLC (A) 5.625 02-10-53   143,000 120,273
Vodafone Group PLC (7.000% to 4-4-29, then 5 Year U.S. Swap Rate + 4.873% to 4-4-49, then 5 Year U.S. Swap Rate + 5.623%) (A) 7.000 04-04-79   228,000 220,458
Consumer discretionary 5.3%       6,768,437
Automobile components 0.1%      
Dealer Tire LLC (A)(B)(D) 8.000 02-01-28   92,000 86,293
Automobiles 2.2%      
Ford Motor Company (A) 3.250 02-12-32   134,000 101,136
Ford Motor Credit Company LLC (A) 4.125 08-17-27   329,000 298,702
Ford Motor Credit Company LLC (A) 5.113 05-03-29   440,000 400,469
Ford Motor Credit Company LLC 6.800 05-12-28   753,000 750,848
General Motors Company (A) 5.400 10-15-29   314,000 294,843
12 JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST | ANNUAL REPORT SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

  Rate (%) Maturity date   Par value^ Value
Consumer discretionary (continued)        
Automobiles (continued)      
General Motors Company (A) 5.400 04-01-48   162,000 $121,448
General Motors Financial Company, Inc. (A) 3.600 06-21-30   762,000 628,773
Nissan Motor Acceptance Company LLC (A)(D) 6.950 09-15-26   260,000 260,714
Broadline retail 0.2%      
Macy’s Retail Holdings LLC (A)(B)(D) 5.875 04-01-29   89,000 78,462
Macy’s Retail Holdings LLC (A)(B)(D) 5.875 03-15-30   77,000 65,141
Macy’s Retail Holdings LLC (A)(B)(D) 6.125 03-15-32   141,000 116,446
Distributors 0.0%      
LKQ Corp. (A) 5.750 06-15-28   83,000 80,435
Hotels, restaurants and leisure 1.6%      
Affinity Interactive (A)(D) 6.875 12-15-27   88,000 71,728
Booking Holdings, Inc. (A) 4.625 04-13-30   270,000 251,553
Caesars Entertainment, Inc. (A)(D) 7.000 02-15-30   76,000 73,347
CCM Merger, Inc. (A)(D) 6.375 05-01-26   105,000 99,391
Choice Hotels International, Inc. (A) 3.700 12-01-29   108,000 88,451
Choice Hotels International, Inc. (A) 3.700 01-15-31   139,000 109,327
Full House Resorts, Inc. (A)(B)(D) 8.250 02-15-28   100,000 84,203
Hilton Grand Vacations Borrower Escrow LLC (A)(D) 5.000 06-01-29   185,000 154,937
Jacobs Entertainment, Inc. (A)(D) 6.750 02-15-29   77,000 65,450
MGM Resorts International (A) 4.750 10-15-28   332,000 289,698
Midwest Gaming Borrower LLC (A)(D) 4.875 05-01-29   210,000 174,825
Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority (A)(D) 8.000 02-01-26   173,000 158,944
Resorts World Las Vegas LLC (A)(D) 4.625 04-16-29   200,000 153,610
Travel + Leisure Company (A)(D) 4.625 03-01-30   91,000 74,497
Yum! Brands, Inc. (A)(D) 4.750 01-15-30   183,000 162,908
Household durables 0.3%      
Brookfield Residential Properties, Inc. (A)(D) 5.000 06-15-29   117,000 91,317
Century Communities, Inc. (A)(D) 3.875 08-15-29   157,000 126,693
KB Home (A) 4.000 06-15-31   178,000 138,984
Specialty retail 0.9%      
Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (A)(B)(D) 4.625 11-15-29   38,000 32,144
Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (A) 4.750 03-01-30   134,000 113,712
AutoNation, Inc. (A) 4.750 06-01-30   244,000 213,713
Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (A)(D) 4.000 08-15-28   107,000 92,100
Lithia Motors, Inc. (A)(D) 3.875 06-01-29   80,000 66,168
Lithia Motors, Inc. (A)(D) 4.375 01-15-31   80,000 64,772
Lithia Motors, Inc. (A)(D) 4.625 12-15-27   40,000 36,086
The Michaels Companies, Inc. (A)(B)(D) 5.250 05-01-28   253,000 183,314
The Michaels Companies, Inc. (D) 7.875 05-01-29   234,000 130,455
Valvoline, Inc. (A)(D) 3.625 06-15-31   240,000 182,400
SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ANNUAL REPORT | JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST 13

  Rate (%) Maturity date   Par value^ Value
Consumer staples 1.6%       $2,085,543
Beverages 0.2%      
Anheuser-Busch Companies LLC (A) 4.700 02-01-36   290,000 255,211
Food products 1.4%      
JBS USA LUX SA (A) 3.625 01-15-32   207,000 159,121
JBS USA LUX SA (A) 3.750 12-01-31   65,000 50,509
JBS USA LUX SA (A) 5.125 02-01-28   128,000 120,204
JBS USA LUX SA (A) 5.750 04-01-33   348,000 307,360
Kraft Heinz Foods Company (A) 4.375 06-01-46   534,000 390,704
Kraft Heinz Foods Company (A) 5.000 06-04-42   139,000 114,563
MARB BondCo PLC (D) 3.950 01-29-31   264,000 193,799
NBM US Holdings, Inc. (D) 6.625 08-06-29   298,000 267,999
Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. (A) 6.250 07-01-33   246,000 226,073
Energy 9.3%       11,825,714
Oil, gas and consumable fuels 9.3%      
Aker BP ASA (D) 3.100 07-15-31   298,000 234,047
Antero Midstream Partners LP (A)(D) 5.375 06-15-29   182,000 165,265
Antero Resources Corp. (A)(D) 5.375 03-01-30   69,000 62,964
Ascent Resources Utica Holdings LLC (A)(D) 5.875 06-30-29   237,000 209,367
Ascent Resources Utica Holdings LLC (A)(D) 8.250 12-31-28   40,000 39,719
Cheniere Energy Partners LP (A) 4.000 03-01-31   362,000 303,127
Cheniere Energy Partners LP (A) 4.500 10-01-29   403,000 360,825
Civitas Resources, Inc. (A)(D) 8.625 11-01-30   111,000 112,979
Columbia Pipelines Operating Company LLC (A)(D) 5.927 08-15-30   87,000 84,005
Columbia Pipelines Operating Company LLC (A)(D) 6.036 11-15-33   135,000 128,202
Continental Resources, Inc. (A) 4.900 06-01-44   162,000 114,388
Enbridge, Inc. (5.500% to 7-15-27, then 3 month CME Term SOFR + 3.680% to 7-15-47, then 3 month CME Term SOFR + 4.430%) (A) 5.500 07-15-77   340,000 289,272
Enbridge, Inc. (5.750% to 7-15-30, then 5 Year CMT + 5.314% to 7-15-50, then 5 Year CMT + 6.064%) (A) 5.750 07-15-80   347,000 289,243
Enbridge, Inc. (6.250% to 3-1-28, then 3 month CME Term SOFR + 3.903% to 3-1-48, then 3 month CME Term SOFR + 4.653%) (A) 6.250 03-01-78   306,000 268,009
Enbridge, Inc. (8.500% to 1-15-34, then 5 Year CMT + 4.431% to 1-15-54, then 5 Year CMT + 5.181%) (A) 8.500 01-15-84   144,000 137,947
Energean Israel Finance, Ltd. (D) 5.375 03-30-28   79,000 64,616
Energean Israel Finance, Ltd. (D) 5.875 03-30-31   138,000 110,041
Energy Transfer LP (A) 4.200 04-15-27   172,000 161,079
Energy Transfer LP (A) 5.150 03-15-45   345,000 267,169
Energy Transfer LP (A) 5.250 04-15-29   263,000 249,606
14 JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST | ANNUAL REPORT SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

  Rate (%) Maturity date   Par value^ Value
Energy (continued)        
Oil, gas and consumable fuels (continued)      
Energy Transfer LP (A) 5.400 10-01-47   250,000 $196,339
Energy Transfer LP (A) 5.500 06-01-27   263,000 256,511
Energy Transfer LP (6.500% to 11-15-26, then 5 Year CMT + 5.694%) (A)(E) 6.500 11-15-26   488,000 441,972
Energy Transfer LP (7.125% to 5-15-30, then 5 Year CMT + 5.306%) (A)(E) 7.125 05-15-30   381,000 316,393
Enterprise Products Operating LLC (5.250% to 8-16-27, then 3 month CME Term SOFR + 3.295%) (A) 5.250 08-16-77   580,000 497,769
EQM Midstream Partners LP (A)(D) 7.500 06-01-27   32,000 31,692
EQM Midstream Partners LP (A)(D) 7.500 06-01-30   18,000 17,660
Hess Midstream Operations LP (A)(D) 4.250 02-15-30   59,000 50,485
Hess Midstream Operations LP (A)(D) 5.500 10-15-30   25,000 22,695
Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP (A) 7.750 03-15-32   142,000 148,577
Leviathan Bond, Ltd. (D) 6.500 06-30-27   327,000 286,835
Leviathan Bond, Ltd. (D) 6.750 06-30-30   64,000 54,119
MC Brazil Downstream Trading SARL (D) 7.250 06-30-31   201,664 143,484
MPLX LP (A) 4.125 03-01-27   79,000 74,191
MPLX LP (A) 4.250 12-01-27   170,000 158,136
MPLX LP (A) 4.950 09-01-32   149,000 132,276
MPLX LP (A) 5.000 03-01-33   152,000 134,601
Occidental Petroleum Corp. (A) 6.450 09-15-36   229,000 222,423
Occidental Petroleum Corp. 6.600 03-15-46   126,000 121,326
Occidental Petroleum Corp. (A) 6.625 09-01-30   308,000 308,941
ONEOK, Inc. (A) 5.650 11-01-28   109,000 106,362
ONEOK, Inc. (A) 6.050 09-01-33   407,000 390,052
ONEOK, Inc. (A) 6.625 09-01-53   260,000 242,983
Ovintiv, Inc. (A) 5.650 05-15-28   86,000 83,497
Ovintiv, Inc. (A) 6.250 07-15-33   86,000 81,750
Ovintiv, Inc. (A) 7.200 11-01-31   41,000 41,343
Parkland Corp. (A)(D) 4.500 10-01-29   133,000 114,393
Parkland Corp. (A)(D) 4.625 05-01-30   130,000 110,825
Petroleos Mexicanos 7.690 01-23-50   454,000 280,381
Petroleos Mexicanos 8.750 06-02-29   123,000 108,776
Sabine Pass Liquefaction LLC (A) 4.200 03-15-28   153,000 140,779
Sabine Pass Liquefaction LLC (A) 4.500 05-15-30   416,000 373,143
Sabine Pass Liquefaction LLC (A) 5.000 03-15-27   259,000 249,433
Southwestern Energy Company (A) 4.750 02-01-32   98,000 84,279
Sunoco LP (A) 4.500 05-15-29   72,000 62,369
Sunoco LP (A) 4.500 04-30-30   196,000 167,408
Targa Resources Corp. (A) 4.950 04-15-52   323,000 235,683
Targa Resources Partners LP (A) 4.000 01-15-32   267,000 219,749
The Williams Companies, Inc. (A) 4.650 08-15-32   213,000 187,679
Var Energi ASA (D) 7.500 01-15-28   200,000 204,635
SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ANNUAL REPORT | JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST 15

  Rate (%) Maturity date   Par value^ Value
Energy (continued)        
Oil, gas and consumable fuels (continued)      
Var Energi ASA (D) 8.000 11-15-32   412,000 $424,990
Venture Global Calcasieu Pass LLC (A)(D) 3.875 08-15-29   72,000 59,917
Venture Global Calcasieu Pass LLC (A)(D) 4.125 08-15-31   119,000 95,677
Venture Global LNG, Inc. (A)(D) 9.500 02-01-29   229,000 232,650
Western Midstream Operating LP (A) 4.050 02-01-30   234,000 202,865
Western Midstream Operating LP (A) 6.150 04-01-33   59,000 55,801
Financials 17.7%       22,591,919
Banks 12.3%      
Banco Santander SA 4.379 04-12-28   287,000 260,999
Bank of America Corp. (3.846% to 3-8-32, then 5 Year CMT + 2.000%) (A) 3.846 03-08-37   340,000 268,222
Bank of America Corp. (3.970% to 3-5-28, then 3 month CME Term SOFR + 1.332%) (A) 3.970 03-05-29   297,000 268,736
Bank of America Corp. (5.015% to 7-22-32, then Overnight SOFR + 2.160%) (A) 5.015 07-22-33   965,000 862,784
Bank of America Corp. (6.204% to 11-10-27, then Overnight SOFR + 1.990%) (A) 6.204 11-10-28   309,000 306,916
Bank of America Corp. (6.300% to 3-10-26, then 3 month CME Term SOFR + 4.815%) (A)(E) 6.300 03-10-26   403,000 392,125
Barclays PLC (4.375% to 9-15-28, then 5 Year CMT + 3.410%) (A)(E) 4.375 03-15-28   296,000 202,307
BPCE SA (A)(D) 4.500 03-15-25   235,000 226,698
Citigroup, Inc. (A) 3.200 10-21-26   449,000 413,917
Citigroup, Inc. (A) 4.600 03-09-26   425,000 407,337
Citigroup, Inc. (4.700% to 1-30-25, then Overnight SOFR + 3.234%) (A)(E) 4.700 01-30-25   356,000 318,317
Citigroup, Inc. (6.174% to 5-25-33, then Overnight SOFR + 2.661%) (A) 6.174 05-25-34   288,000 267,706
Citigroup, Inc. (6.250% to 8-15-26, then 3 month CME Term SOFR + 4.779%) (A)(E) 6.250 08-15-26   525,000 492,849
Citigroup, Inc. (6.270% to 11-17-32, then Overnight SOFR + 2.338%) (A) 6.270 11-17-33   150,000 145,644
Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (A)(B) 3.250 04-30-30   448,000 345,541
Credit Agricole SA (A)(D) 3.250 01-14-30   486,000 394,948
Credit Agricole SA (6.316% to 10-3-28, then Overnight SOFR + 1.860%) (A)(D) 6.316 10-03-29   281,000 276,094
Fifth Third Bancorp (3 month CME Term SOFR + 3.295%) (A)(E)(F) 8.689 12-01-23   173,000 156,024
HSBC Holdings PLC (6.375% to 3-30-25, then 5 Year ICE Swap Rate + 4.368%) (A)(E) 6.375 03-30-25   200,000 188,537
Huntington Bancshares, Inc. (6.208% to 8-21-28, then Overnight SOFR + 2.020%) (A) 6.208 08-21-29   163,000 156,690
16 JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST | ANNUAL REPORT SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

  Rate (%) Maturity date   Par value^ Value
Financials (continued)        
Banks (continued)      
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (4.600% to 2-1-25, then 3 month CME Term SOFR + 3.125%) (A)(E) 4.600 02-01-25   379,000 $353,100
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (4.912% to 7-25-32, then Overnight SOFR + 2.080%) (A) 4.912 07-25-33   345,000 309,889
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (5.717% to 9-14-32, then Overnight SOFR + 2.580%) (A) 5.717 09-14-33   355,000 332,440
Lloyds Banking Group PLC (7.500% to 6-27-24, then 5 Year U.S. Swap Rate + 4.760%) (A)(E) 7.500 06-27-24   385,000 375,210
M&T Bank Corp. (5.125% to 11-1-26, then 3 month LIBOR + 3.520%) (A)(E) 5.125 11-01-26   141,000 106,331
NatWest Group PLC (5.516% to 9-30-27, then 1 Year CMT + 2.270%) (A) 5.516 09-30-28   342,000 327,235
NatWest Group PLC (6.000% to 6-29-26, then 5 Year CMT + 5.625%) (A)(E) 6.000 12-29-25   393,000 360,031
Popular, Inc. (A)(B) 7.250 03-13-28   218,000 216,127
Santander Holdings USA, Inc. (A) 3.244 10-05-26   600,000 538,859
Santander Holdings USA, Inc. (A) 3.450 06-02-25   521,000 492,912
Santander Holdings USA, Inc. (A) 4.400 07-13-27   395,000 363,413
Societe Generale SA (5.375% to 11-18-30, then 5 Year CMT + 4.514%) (A)(D)(E) 5.375 11-18-30   269,000 192,928
Societe Generale SA (6.446% to 1-10-28, then 1 Year CMT + 2.550%) (A)(D) 6.446 01-10-29   472,000 461,163
The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (3.400% to 9-15-26, then 5 Year CMT + 2.595%) (A)(E) 3.400 09-15-26   438,000 315,159
The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (5.582% to 6-12-28, then Overnight SOFR + 1.841%) (A) 5.582 06-12-29   431,000 412,665
The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (5.939% to 8-18-33, then Overnight SOFR + 1.946%) (A) 5.939 08-18-34   245,000 228,372
The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (6.250% to 3-15-30, then 7 Year CMT + 2.808%) (A)(E) 6.250 03-15-30   216,000 177,768
The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (3 month CME Term SOFR + 3.302%) (A)(E)(F) 8.711 12-01-23   224,000 220,901
The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (3 month CME Term SOFR + 3.940%) (E)(F) 9.312 11-01-23   340,000 340,000
Truist Financial Corp. (5.867% to 6-8-33, then Overnight SOFR + 2.361%) (A) 5.867 06-08-34   256,000 232,883
Truist Financial Corp. (7.161% to 10-30-28, then Overnight SOFR + 2.446%) (A) 7.161 10-30-29   163,000 163,961
U.S. Bancorp (5.836% to 6-10-33, then Overnight SOFR + 2.260%) (A) 5.836 06-12-34   287,000 264,346
U.S. Bancorp (6.787% to 10-26-26, then Overnight SOFR + 1.880%) (A) 6.787 10-26-27   272,000 274,035
SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ANNUAL REPORT | JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST 17

  Rate (%) Maturity date   Par value^ Value
Financials (continued)        
Banks (continued)      
Wells Fargo & Company (3.350% to 3-2-32, then Overnight SOFR + 1.500%) (A) 3.350 03-02-33   690,000 $543,283
Wells Fargo & Company (4.808% to 7-25-27, then Overnight SOFR + 1.980%) (A) 4.808 07-25-28   621,000 587,459
Wells Fargo & Company (4.897% to 7-25-32, then Overnight SOFR + 2.100%) (A) 4.897 07-25-33   438,000 384,982
Wells Fargo & Company (5.875% to 6-15-25, then 9.865% thereafter) (A)(E) 5.875 06-15-25   755,000 733,524
Capital markets 3.3%      
Ares Capital Corp. (A) 3.250 07-15-25   140,000 131,285
Ares Capital Corp. (A) 3.875 01-15-26   539,000 504,073
Ares Capital Corp. (A) 7.000 01-15-27   195,000 194,286
Blackstone Private Credit Fund (A) 3.250 03-15-27   60,000 51,756
Blackstone Private Credit Fund (A) 4.000 01-15-29   291,000 243,454
Blackstone Private Credit Fund (A) 7.050 09-29-25   445,000 443,300
Deutsche Bank AG (3.742% to 1-7-32, then Overnight SOFR + 2.257%) (A) 3.742 01-07-33   339,000 237,083
Deutsche Bank AG (6.720% to 1-18-28, then Overnight SOFR + 3.180%) (A) 6.720 01-18-29   205,000 201,217
Jefferies Financial Group, Inc. (A) 5.875 07-21-28   205,000 197,888
Lazard Group LLC (A) 4.375 03-11-29   230,000 208,795
Macquarie Bank, Ltd. (A)(D) 3.624 06-03-30   246,000 196,195
Morgan Stanley (4.431% to 1-23-29, then 3 month CME Term SOFR + 1.890%) (A) 4.431 01-23-30   58,000 52,810
Morgan Stanley (5.123% to 2-1-28, then Overnight SOFR + 1.730%) (A) 5.123 02-01-29   111,000 105,682
Morgan Stanley (5.164% to 4-20-28, then Overnight SOFR + 1.590%) (A) 5.164 04-20-29   343,000 326,340
Morgan Stanley (5.449% to 7-20-28, then Overnight SOFR + 1.630%) (A) 5.449 07-20-29   170,000 163,496
Morgan Stanley (5.948% to 1-19-33, then 5 Year CMT + 2.430%) (A) 5.948 01-19-38   531,000 481,497
MSCI, Inc. (A)(D) 3.625 11-01-31   305,000 242,144
The Charles Schwab Corp. (5.643% to 5-19-28, then Overnight SOFR + 2.210%) (A) 5.643 05-19-29   290,000 279,168
Consumer finance 0.4%      
Ally Financial, Inc. (6.992% to 6-13-28, then Overnight SOFR + 3.260%) (A) 6.992 06-13-29   227,000 216,977
Ally Financial, Inc. (A)(B) 7.100 11-15-27   170,000 166,560
OneMain Finance Corp. (A)(B) 9.000 01-15-29   96,000 93,424
Financial services 0.3%      
Block, Inc. (A)(B) 3.500 06-01-31   96,000 74,088
18 JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST | ANNUAL REPORT SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

  Rate (%) Maturity date   Par value^ Value
Financials (continued)        
Financial services (continued)      
Corebridge Financial, Inc. (6.875% to 12-15-27, then 5 Year CMT + 3.846%) (A) 6.875 12-15-52   112,000 $103,473
Nationstar Mortgage Holdings, Inc. (A)(D) 5.125 12-15-30   71,000 57,452
Nationstar Mortgage Holdings, Inc. (A)(D) 5.500 08-15-28   147,000 129,904
Nationstar Mortgage Holdings, Inc. (A)(D) 6.000 01-15-27   75,000 69,714
Insurance 1.4%      
Athene Holding, Ltd. (A) 3.500 01-15-31   162,000 129,377
CNA Financial Corp. (A) 3.900 05-01-29   150,000 134,190
CNO Financial Group, Inc. (A) 5.250 05-30-29   384,000 354,337
Liberty Mutual Group, Inc. (4.125% to 12-15-26, then 5 Year CMT + 3.315%) (A)(D) 4.125 12-15-51   203,000 161,164
MetLife, Inc. (6.400% to 12-15-36, then 3 month LIBOR + 2.205%) (A) 6.400 12-15-36   355,000 332,804
Nippon Life Insurance Company (2.750% to 1-21-31, then 5 Year CMT + 2.653%) (D) 2.750 01-21-51   165,000 126,690
SBL Holdings, Inc. (A)(D) 5.000 02-18-31   275,000 207,888
Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America (A)(D) 4.270 05-15-47   430,000 312,041
Health care 2.0%       2,541,085
Biotechnology 0.1%      
Star Parent, Inc. (A)(D) 9.000 10-01-30   111,000 110,155
Health care equipment and supplies 0.1%      
Varex Imaging Corp. (A)(D) 7.875 10-15-27   104,000 101,934
Health care providers and services 1.3%      
AdaptHealth LLC (A)(D) 5.125 03-01-30   132,000 99,990
Centene Corp. (A) 3.000 10-15-30   236,000 186,764
Centene Corp. (A) 3.375 02-15-30   138,000 114,105
Centene Corp. (A) 4.250 12-15-27   70,000 64,421
CVS Health Corp. (A) 3.750 04-01-30   211,000 183,572
CVS Health Corp. (A) 5.050 03-25-48   260,000 204,382
CVS Health Corp. (A) 5.250 01-30-31   281,000 264,467
DaVita, Inc. (A)(D) 3.750 02-15-31   160,000 115,009
DaVita, Inc. (A)(D) 4.625 06-01-30   285,000 223,357
HCA, Inc. (A) 5.500 06-01-33   230,000 209,833
Life sciences tools and services 0.2%      
Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. (A) 4.977 08-10-30   299,000 285,212
Pharmaceuticals 0.3%      
Viatris, Inc. (A) 2.700 06-22-30   301,000 231,175
Viatris, Inc. (A) 4.000 06-22-50   255,000 146,709
SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ANNUAL REPORT | JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST 19

  Rate (%) Maturity date   Par value^ Value
Industrials 9.2%       $11,716,919
Aerospace and defense 1.1%      
Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (A) 4.200 05-01-30   190,000 168,229
The Boeing Company (A) 3.200 03-01-29   164,000 141,709
The Boeing Company (A) 5.040 05-01-27   480,000 464,782
The Boeing Company (A) 5.150 05-01-30   651,000 609,954
Building products 0.4%      
Builders FirstSource, Inc. (A)(D) 4.250 02-01-32   225,000 179,068
Builders FirstSource, Inc. (A)(D) 6.375 06-15-32   135,000 123,562
Owens Corning (A) 3.950 08-15-29   282,000 250,047
Commercial services and supplies 0.3%      
APX Group, Inc. (A)(D) 5.750 07-15-29   201,000 167,104
Prime Security Services Borrower LLC (A)(D) 3.375 08-31-27   47,000 41,323
Prime Security Services Borrower LLC (A)(B)(D) 6.250 01-15-28   163,000 151,150
Construction and engineering 0.2%      
Global Infrastructure Solutions, Inc. (A)(D) 5.625 06-01-29   200,000 160,000
MasTec, Inc. (A)(D) 4.500 08-15-28   147,000 128,923
Electrical equipment 0.4%      
Emerald Debt Merger Sub LLC (A)(D) 6.625 12-15-30   144,000 136,980
Regal Rexnord Corp. (A)(D) 6.050 02-15-26   181,000 178,032
Regal Rexnord Corp. (A)(D) 6.400 04-15-33   155,000 142,196
Ground transportation 0.2%      
Uber Technologies, Inc. (A)(B)(D) 4.500 08-15-29   320,000 282,219
Machinery 0.2%      
Flowserve Corp. (A) 3.500 10-01-30   184,000 148,003
Ingersoll Rand, Inc. (A) 5.400 08-14-28   51,000 49,694
Passenger airlines 4.6%      
Air Canada 2013-1 Class A Pass Through Trust (A)(D) 4.125 05-15-25   150,399 142,912
Air Canada 2017-1 Class B Pass Through Trust (A)(D) 3.700 01-15-26   163,386 152,549
Air Canada 2020-1 Class C Pass Through Trust (D) 10.500 07-15-26   136,000 146,272
Alaska Airlines 2020-1 Class B Pass Through Trust (A)(D) 8.000 08-15-25   95,152 95,014
American Airlines 2015-1 Class A Pass Through Trust (A) 3.375 05-01-27   620,312 547,599
American Airlines 2016-1 Class A Pass Through Trust (A) 4.100 01-15-28   275,410 244,594
American Airlines 2016-1 Class AA Pass Through Trust (A) 3.575 01-15-28   68,023 61,986
American Airlines 2016-3 Class A Pass Through Trust (A) 3.250 10-15-28   32,296 27,402
American Airlines 2017-1 Class A Pass Through Trust (A) 4.000 02-15-29   133,819 115,723
20 JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST | ANNUAL REPORT SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

  Rate (%) Maturity date   Par value^ Value
Industrials (continued)        
Passenger airlines (continued)      
American Airlines 2017-1 Class AA Pass Through Trust (A) 3.650 02-15-29   205,875 $184,176
American Airlines 2017-2 Class A Pass Through Trust (A) 3.600 10-15-29   167,856 142,664
American Airlines 2019-1 Class A Pass Through Trust (A) 3.500 02-15-32   259,245 206,856
American Airlines 2019-1 Class AA Pass Through Trust (A) 3.150 02-15-32   209,827 174,862
American Airlines 2019-1 Class B Pass Through Trust (A) 3.850 02-15-28   84,662 73,617
American Airlines 2021-1 Class A Pass Through Trust (A) 2.875 07-11-34   182,651 147,080
American Airlines 2021-1 Class B Pass Through Trust (A) 3.950 07-11-30   252,070 216,318
American Airlines, Inc. (A)(B)(D) 7.250 02-15-28   166,000 154,351
British Airways 2018-1 Class A Pass Through Trust (A)(D) 4.125 09-20-31   97,784 86,066
British Airways 2020-1 Class A Pass Through Trust (A)(D) 4.250 11-15-32   88,137 78,812
British Airways 2020-1 Class B Pass Through Trust (A)(D) 8.375 11-15-28   59,748 60,498
Delta Air Lines, Inc. (A)(B) 4.375 04-19-28   250,000 229,630
Delta Air Lines, Inc. (A)(D) 4.750 10-20-28   332,848 312,871
JetBlue 2019-1 Class AA Pass Through Trust (A) 2.750 05-15-32   228,045 190,933
United Airlines 2014-2 Class A Pass Through Trust (A) 3.750 09-03-26   293,821 274,047
United Airlines 2016-1 Class A Pass Through Trust (A) 3.450 07-07-28   280,880 245,907
United Airlines 2016-1 Class B Pass Through Trust (A) 3.650 01-07-26   244,368 228,764
United Airlines 2018-1 Class B Pass Through Trust (A) 4.600 03-01-26   100,495 94,219
United Airlines 2019-1 Class A Pass Through Trust (A) 4.550 08-25-31   212,567 182,956
United Airlines 2020-1 Class A Pass Through Trust (A) 5.875 10-15-27   461,946 454,805
United Airlines 2020-1 Class B Pass Through Trust (A) 4.875 01-15-26   138,016 132,242
United Airlines 2023-1 Class A Pass Through Trust 5.800 01-15-36   275,000 257,705
United Airlines, Inc. (A)(D) 4.375 04-15-26   23,000 21,335
United Airlines, Inc. (A)(D) 4.625 04-15-29   53,000 44,769
US Airways 2012-2 Class A Pass Through Trust (A) 4.625 06-03-25   110,525 105,182
Professional services 0.2%      
Concentrix Corp. (A) 6.600 08-02-28   266,000 255,373
SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ANNUAL REPORT | JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST 21

  Rate (%) Maturity date   Par value^ Value
Industrials (continued)        
Trading companies and distributors 1.6%      
AerCap Ireland Capital DAC 3.000 10-29-28   465,000 $391,644
AerCap Ireland Capital DAC 3.875 01-23-28   1,137,000 1,021,126
Air Lease Corp. (A) 3.625 12-01-27   164,000 146,936
Air Lease Corp. (A) 5.850 12-15-27   290,000 283,373
Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. (A)(D) 4.125 05-15-29   151,000 126,764
United Rentals North America, Inc. (A) 3.875 11-15-27   146,000 134,012
Information technology 3.5%       4,448,838
IT services 0.2%      
Gartner, Inc. (A)(D) 4.500 07-01-28   287,000 258,219
Semiconductors and semiconductor equipment 2.5%      
Broadcom, Inc. (A)(D) 3.419 04-15-33   408,000 317,230
Broadcom, Inc. (A) 4.750 04-15-29   976,000 907,591
Foundry JV Holdco LLC (A)(D) 5.875 01-25-34   239,000 221,714
Micron Technology, Inc. (A) 4.185 02-15-27   467,000 437,168
Micron Technology, Inc. (A) 5.327 02-06-29   523,000 496,917
Micron Technology, Inc. (A) 5.875 02-09-33   140,000 130,238
Micron Technology, Inc. (A) 6.750 11-01-29   174,000 174,846
NXP BV 3.875 06-18-26   372,000 351,839
Qorvo, Inc. (A)(D) 3.375 04-01-31   187,000 144,999
Software 0.3%      
Consensus Cloud Solutions, Inc. (A)(B)(D) 6.500 10-15-28   119,000 98,621
Oracle Corp. (A) 6.250 11-09-32   275,000 272,421
Technology hardware, storage and peripherals 0.5%      
CDW LLC (A) 3.250 02-15-29   115,000 97,090
Dell International LLC (A) 5.300 10-01-29   566,000 539,945
Materials 2.6%       3,303,500
Chemicals 0.4%      
Braskem Netherlands Finance BV (D) 4.500 01-31-30   213,000 163,982
Braskem Netherlands Finance BV (D) 5.875 01-31-50   269,000 173,673
Sasol Financing USA LLC 5.500 03-18-31   158,000 120,968
Construction materials 0.5%      
Cemex SAB de CV (D) 3.875 07-11-31   255,000 206,998
Cemex SAB de CV (D) 5.200 09-17-30   256,000 232,019
Standard Industries, Inc. (A)(D) 3.375 01-15-31   109,000 82,482
Standard Industries, Inc. (A)(D) 4.375 07-15-30   122,000 99,677
Standard Industries, Inc. (A)(D) 5.000 02-15-27   54,000 49,911
Containers and packaging 0.5%      
Graphic Packaging International LLC (A)(D) 3.500 03-01-29   165,000 137,069
Mauser Packaging Solutions Holding Company (A)(D) 7.875 08-15-26   116,000 108,648
Owens-Brockway Glass Container, Inc. (A)(D) 6.625 05-13-27   97,000 92,150
22 JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST | ANNUAL REPORT SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

  Rate (%) Maturity date   Par value^ Value
Materials (continued)        
Containers and packaging (continued)      
Owens-Brockway Glass Container, Inc. (A)(B)(D) 7.250 05-15-31   76,000 $69,540
Pactiv Evergreen Group Issuer, Inc. (A)(B)(D) 4.000 10-15-27   275,000 239,917
Metals and mining 1.2%      
Anglo American Capital PLC (D) 4.750 04-10-27   200,000 191,277
Arsenal AIC Parent LLC (A)(D) 8.000 10-01-30   92,000 90,850
First Quantum Minerals, Ltd. (D) 6.875 10-15-27   280,000 238,483
Freeport-McMoRan, Inc. (A) 4.250 03-01-30   278,000 240,942
Freeport-McMoRan, Inc. (A) 5.400 11-14-34   196,000 173,402
Freeport-McMoRan, Inc. (A) 5.450 03-15-43   323,000 265,664
Hudbay Minerals, Inc. (A)(D) 4.500 04-01-26   52,000 48,397
Novelis Corp. (A)(D) 4.750 01-30-30   327,000 277,451
Real estate 2.2%       2,781,620
Hotel and resort REITs 0.2%      
Host Hotels & Resorts LP (A) 3.375 12-15-29   209,000 172,219
Real estate management and development 0.0%      
Cushman & Wakefield US Borrower LLC (A)(D) 8.875 09-01-31   17,000 16,118
Residential REITs 0.1%      
American Homes 4 Rent LP (A) 4.250 02-15-28   154,000 141,695
Specialized REITs 1.9%      
American Tower Corp. (A) 3.550 07-15-27   215,000 195,530
American Tower Corp. (A) 3.800 08-15-29   671,000 587,493
American Tower Trust I (D) 5.490 03-15-28   300,000 294,574
Crown Castle, Inc. (A) 3.800 02-15-28   175,000 157,827
GLP Capital LP (A) 3.250 01-15-32   119,000 90,006
GLP Capital LP (A) 4.000 01-15-30   121,000 100,980
GLP Capital LP (A) 5.375 04-15-26   231,000 221,391
Iron Mountain Information Management Services, Inc. (A)(D) 5.000 07-15-32   54,000 44,186
Iron Mountain, Inc. (A)(D) 5.250 07-15-30   130,000 112,850
SBA Tower Trust (D) 6.599 01-15-28   96,000 95,793
VICI Properties LP (A)(D) 3.875 02-15-29   151,000 128,189
VICI Properties LP (A)(D) 4.125 08-15-30   155,000 127,867
VICI Properties LP (A)(D) 4.625 12-01-29   279,000 241,324
VICI Properties LP (A) 5.125 05-15-32   62,000 53,578
Utilities 3.6%       4,636,148
Electric utilities 2.7%      
American Electric Power Company, Inc. (A) 5.625 03-01-33   94,000 88,231
Atlantica Transmision Sur SA (D) 6.875 04-30-43   230,700 224,644
Constellation Energy Generation LLC (A) 6.125 01-15-34   81,000 78,296
SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ANNUAL REPORT | JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST 23

  Rate (%) Maturity date   Par value^ Value
Utilities (continued)        
Electric utilities (continued)      
Constellation Energy Generation LLC (A) 6.500 10-01-53   138,000 $129,615
Duke Energy Corp. (A) 5.750 09-15-33   278,000 264,063
FirstEnergy Corp. (A) 3.400 03-01-50   69,000 41,728
FirstEnergy Corp. (A) 7.375 11-15-31   120,000 129,418
Georgia Power Company (A) 4.950 05-17-33   144,000 131,438
NextEra Energy Capital Holdings, Inc. (A) 5.000 07-15-32   90,000 81,786
NRG Energy, Inc. (A)(D) 3.375 02-15-29   47,000 38,253
NRG Energy, Inc. (A)(D) 3.625 02-15-31   132,000 99,612
NRG Energy, Inc. (A)(D) 3.875 02-15-32   291,000 216,261
NRG Energy, Inc. (A)(D) 4.450 06-15-29   194,000 167,692
NRG Energy, Inc. (A) 5.750 01-15-28   250,000 234,022
NRG Energy, Inc. (A)(D) 7.000 03-15-33   240,000 226,845
NRG Energy, Inc. (10.250% to 3-15-28, then 5 Year CMT + 5.920%) (A)(D)(E) 10.250 03-15-28   189,000 182,455
Progress Energy, Inc. (A) 7.750 03-01-31   65,000 69,412
The Southern Company (A) 5.700 03-15-34   139,000 132,231
Vistra Operations Company LLC (A)(D) 3.700 01-30-27   486,000 441,879
Vistra Operations Company LLC (A)(D) 4.300 07-15-29   441,000 383,736
Vistra Operations Company LLC (A)(D) 6.950 10-15-33   160,000 152,398
Independent power and renewable electricity producers 0.4%      
AES Panama Generation Holdings SRL (D) 4.375 05-31-30   230,914 188,380
NextEra Energy Operating Partners LP (A)(D) 3.875 10-15-26   193,000 175,479
NextEra Energy Operating Partners LP (A)(B)(D) 4.500 09-15-27   110,000 98,493
Multi-utilities 0.5%      
Dominion Energy, Inc. (A) 3.375 04-01-30   169,000 142,122
NiSource, Inc. (A) 3.600 05-01-30   174,000 148,935
NiSource, Inc. (A) 5.250 03-30-28   55,000 53,399
NiSource, Inc. (A) 5.400 06-30-33   115,000 107,009
Sempra (A) 5.500 08-01-33   224,000 208,316
Municipal bonds 0.1% (0.0% of Total investments)   $115,428
(Cost $176,000)          
Golden State Tobacco Securitization Corp. (California) 4.214 06-01-50   176,000 115,428
Collateralized mortgage obligations 7.5% (4.3% of Total investments)   $9,626,814
(Cost $13,366,049)          
Commercial and residential 5.9%         7,536,260
BAMLL Commercial Mortgage Securities Trust          
Series 2019-BPR, Class ENM (D)(G) 3.719 11-05-32   175,000 56,764
Barclays Commercial Mortgage Trust          
Series 2019-C5, Class A2 3.043 11-15-52   241,000 232,509
BBCMS Mortgage Trust          
Series 2020-C6, Class A2 2.690 02-15-53   155,000 138,831
24 JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST | ANNUAL REPORT SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

  Rate (%) Maturity date   Par value^ Value
Commercial and residential (continued)          
BBCMS Trust          
Series 2015-SRCH, Class D (D)(G) 4.957 08-10-35   295,000 $204,555
Benchmark Mortgage Trust          
Series 2019-B12, Class A2 3.001 08-15-52   121,452 107,972
BX Trust          
Series 2022-CLS, Class A (D) 5.760 10-13-27   221,000 212,472
Citigroup Commercial Mortgage Trust          
Series 2023-SMRT, Class A (D)(G) 5.820 10-12-40   163,000 157,007
Commercial Mortgage Trust (Cantor Fitzgerald/Deutsche Bank AG)          
Series 2012-CR3, Class XA IO 0.879 10-15-45   19,797 0
Commercial Mortgage Trust (Citigroup/Deutsche Bank AG)          
Series 2018-COR3, Class XA IO 0.432 05-10-51   3,792,352 60,586
Commercial Mortgage Trust (Deutsche Bank AG)          
Series 2013-300P, Class D (D)(G) 4.394 08-10-30   340,000 261,675
Ellington Financial Mortgage Trust          
Series 2023-1, Class A1 (5.732% to 1-1-27, then 6.732% thereafter) (D) 5.732 02-25-68   456,048 445,826
GCAT Trust          
Series 2023-NQM2, Class A1 (5.837% to 1-1-27, then 6.837% thereafter) (D) 5.837 11-25-67   444,395 434,935
GS Mortgage Securities Trust          
Series 2017-485L, Class C (D)(G) 3.982 02-10-37   240,000 193,212
HarborView Mortgage Loan Trust          
Series 2007-3, Class ES IO (D) 0.350 05-19-47   2,356,490 24,535
Series 2007-4, Class ES IO 0.350 07-19-47   2,416,092 31,656
Series 2007-6, Class ES IO (D) 0.343 08-19-37   2,483,737 30,665
Imperial Fund Mortgage Trust          
Series 2023-NQM1, Class A1 (5.941% to 1-1-27, then 6.941% thereafter) (D) 5.941 02-25-68   442,308 433,774
JPMorgan Chase Commercial Mortgage Securities Trust          
Series 2020-NNN, Class AFX (D) 2.812 01-16-37   195,000 173,550
Natixis Commercial Mortgage Securities Trust          
Series 2018-285M, Class D (D)(G) 3.790 11-15-32   100,000 61,250
Series 2018-ALXA, Class C (D)(G) 4.316 01-15-43   175,000 136,272
New Residential Mortgage Loan Trust          
Series 2022-NQM4, Class A1 (5.000% to 6-1-26, then 6.000% thereafter) (D) 5.000 06-25-62   537,229 501,731
OBX Trust          
Series 2022-NQM7, Class A1 (5.110% to 8-1-26, then 6.110% thereafter) (D) 5.110 08-25-62   507,880 491,392
Starwood Mortgage Residential Trust          
Series 2022-4, Class A1 (5.192% to 6-1-26, then 6.192% thereafter) (D) 5.192 05-25-67   424,134 408,556
Towd Point Mortgage Trust          
Series 2019-1, Class A1 (D)(G) 3.750 03-25-58   125,805 116,219
Verus Securitization Trust          
Series 2023-2, Class A1 (6.193% to 3-1-27, then 7.193% thereafter) (D) 6.193 03-25-68   445,838 439,322
SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ANNUAL REPORT | JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST 25

  Rate (%) Maturity date   Par value^ Value
Commercial and residential (continued)          
Series 2023-5, Class A1 (6.476% to 6-1-27, then 7.476% thereafter) (D) 6.476 06-25-68   439,005 $434,739
Series 2023-INV1, Class A1 (5.999% to 2-1-27, then 6.999% thereafter) (D) 5.999 02-25-68   1,776,376 1,746,255
U.S. Government Agency 1.6%         2,090,554
Government National Mortgage Association          
Series 2012-114, Class IO 0.621 01-16-53   440,488 6,813
Series 2016-174, Class IO 0.891 11-16-56   649,924 25,700
Series 2017-109, Class IO 0.230 04-16-57   758,826 12,115
Series 2017-124, Class IO 0.628 01-16-59   640,941 20,169
Series 2017-135, Class IO 0.718 10-16-58   1,177,448 43,653
Series 2017-140, Class IO 0.486 02-16-59   573,770 17,292
Series 2017-20, Class IO 0.528 12-16-58   1,290,654 30,326
Series 2017-22, Class IO 0.755 12-16-57   361,250 12,742
Series 2017-46, Class IO 0.644 11-16-57   991,301 34,159
Series 2017-61, Class IO 0.745 05-16-59   625,239 22,562
Series 2017-74, Class IO 0.440 09-16-58   1,138,613 23,020
Series 2018-114, Class IO 0.710 04-16-60   766,202 31,081
Series 2018-158, Class IO 0.776 05-16-61   1,214,920 59,945
Series 2018-35, Class IO 0.531 03-16-60   1,621,546 55,209
Series 2018-43, Class IO 0.437 05-16-60   2,041,292 63,804
Series 2018-69, Class IO 0.612 04-16-60   642,399 27,605
Series 2018-9, Class IO 0.443 01-16-60   1,192,428 35,551
Series 2019-131, Class IO 0.802 07-16-61   920,496 47,848
Series 2020-100, Class IO 0.783 05-16-62   1,078,245 60,340
Series 2020-108, Class IO 0.847 06-16-62   1,210,145 68,209
Series 2020-114, Class IO 0.800 09-16-62   2,578,363 145,282
Series 2020-118, Class IO 0.882 06-16-62   1,876,177 112,147
Series 2020-119, Class IO 0.602 08-16-62   1,065,499 49,621
Series 2020-120, Class IO 0.761 05-16-62   591,533 32,758
Series 2020-137, Class IO 0.795 09-16-62   2,970,763 161,401
Series 2020-150, Class IO 0.962 12-16-62   1,655,568 107,609
Series 2020-170, Class IO 0.834 11-16-62   2,218,743 134,427
Series 2021-203, Class IO 0.869 07-16-63   1,774,513 111,483
Series 2021-3, Class IO 0.868 09-16-62   2,849,515 172,465
Series 2021-40, Class IO 0.824 02-16-63   698,231 41,864
Series 2022-150, Class IO 0.823 06-16-64   255,727 15,698
Series 2022-17, Class IO 0.802 06-16-64   1,498,191 92,775
Series 2022-181, Class IO 0.716 07-16-64   788,625 51,502
Series 2022-21, Class IO 0.783 10-16-63   656,369 39,827
Series 2022-53, Class IO 0.712 06-16-64   2,496,139 123,552
26 JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST | ANNUAL REPORT SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

  Rate (%) Maturity date   Par value^ Value
Asset backed securities 11.4% (6.6% of Total investments)   $14,502,546
(Cost $15,629,286)          
Asset backed securities 11.4%         14,502,546
ABPCI Direct Lending Fund I, Ltd.          
Series 2020-1A, Class A (D) 3.199 12-20-30   95,142 89,991
Ally Auto Receivables Trust          
Series 2022-3, Class A4 5.070 06-15-31   500,000 491,684
American Express Credit Corp.          
Series 2023-4, Class A 5.150 09-15-30   670,000 656,778
Applebee’s Funding LLC          
Series 2023-1A, Class A2 (D) 7.824 03-05-53   146,000 142,996
Aqua Finance Trust          
Series 2021-A, Class A (D) 1.540 07-17-46   90,273 79,183
Arby’s Funding LLC          
Series 2020-1A, Class A2 (D) 3.237 07-30-50   377,325 332,070
Avis Budget Rental Car Funding AESOP LLC          
Series 2023-1A, Class A (D) 5.250 04-20-29   580,000 554,249
Carmax Auto Owner Trust          
Series 2023-3, Class A4 5.260 02-15-29   100,000 97,873
CARS-DB4 LP          
Series 2020-1A, Class B1 (D) 4.170 02-15-50   293,000 277,331
CLI Funding VI LLC          
Series 2020-1A, Class A (D) 2.080 09-18-45   355,550 306,378
CLI Funding VIII LLC          
Series 2022-1A, Class A (D) 2.720 01-18-47   204,352 171,137
Series 2023-1A, Class A (D) 6.310 06-18-48   454,104 446,465
ContiMortgage Home Equity Loan Trust          
Series 1995-2, Class A5 8.100 08-15-25   15,003 14,652
CyrusOne Data Centers Issuer I LLC          
Series 2023-1A, Class A2 (D) 4.300 04-20-48   291,000 254,908
DB Master Finance LLC          
Series 2017-1A, Class A2II (D) 4.030 11-20-47   160,650 145,632
Dell Equipment Finance Trust          
Series 2023-2, Class A3 (D) 5.650 01-22-29   400,000 397,903
Diamond Infrastructure Funding LLC          
Series 2021-1A, Class C (D) 3.475 04-15-49   80,000 69,475
Domino’s Pizza Master Issuer LLC          
Series 2017-1A, Class A23 (D) 4.118 07-25-47   504,238 464,541
Driven Brands Funding LLC          
Series 2020-2A, Class A2 (D) 3.237 01-20-51   272,300 231,597
FirstKey Homes Trust          
Series 2021-SFR1, Class D (D) 2.189 08-17-38   264,000 228,489
Ford Credit Auto Lease Trust          
Series 2023-B, Class A4 5.870 01-15-27   175,000 174,661
Ford Credit Auto Owner Trust          
Series 2022-D, Class A3 5.270 05-17-27   500,000 495,063
Series 2023-2, Class A (D) 5.280 02-15-36   512,000 499,583
General Motors Company          
Series 2023-2, Class A (D) 5.340 06-15-30   675,000 661,672
GM Financial Consumer Automobile Receivables Trust          
SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ANNUAL REPORT | JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST 27

  Rate (%) Maturity date   Par value^ Value
Asset backed securities (continued)          
Series 2023-1, Class A4 4.590 07-17-28   290,000 $280,457
Golub Capital Partners Funding, Ltd.          
Series 2020-1A, Class A2 (D) 3.208 01-22-29   172,286 158,667
Series 2021-1A, Class A2 (D) 2.773 04-20-29   240,126 225,144
HI-FI Music IP Issuer LP          
Series 2022-1A, Class A2 (D) 3.939 02-01-62   245,000 221,842
Jack in the Box Funding LLC          
Series 2019-1A, Class A23 (D) 4.970 08-25-49   114,075 100,806
Series 2022-1A, Class A2I (D) 3.445 02-26-52   294,880 261,948
Mercedes-Benz Auto Receivables Trust          
Series 2022-1, Class A4 5.250 02-15-29   500,000 493,411
Series 2023-1, Class A4 4.310 04-16-29   290,000 278,685
MetroNet Infrastructure Issuer LLC          
Series 2023-1A, Class A2 (D) 6.560 04-20-53   170,000 163,025
MVW LLC          
Series 2020-1A, Class D (D) 7.140 10-20-37   814,235 779,094
Neighborly Issuer LLC          
Series 2021-1A, Class A2 (D) 3.584 04-30-51   464,100 382,728
Series 2022-1A, Class A2 (D) 3.695 01-30-52   209,273 168,520
New Economy Assets Phase 1 Sponsor LLC          
Series 2021-1, Class B1 (D) 2.410 10-20-61   139,000 115,821
NRZ Excess Spread-Collateralized Notes          
Series 2021-FHT1, Class A (D) 3.104 07-25-26   53,129 47,808
PFS Financing Corp.          
Series 2023-B, Class A (D) 5.270 05-15-28   335,000 328,735
Progress Residential Trust          
Series 2021-SFR8, Class B (D) 1.681 10-17-38   165,000 143,489
Retained Vantage Data Centers Issuer LLC          
Series 2023-1A, Class A2A (D) 5.000 09-15-48   275,000 246,061
SCF Equipment Leasing LLC          
Series 2022-2A, Class A3 (D) 6.500 10-21-30   550,000 550,605
Sesac Finance LLC          
Series 2019-1, Class A2 (D) 5.216 07-25-49   346,615 327,171
Sonic Capital LLC          
Series 2020-1A, Class A2I (D) 3.845 01-20-50   306,962 277,759
Sunbird Engine Finance LLC          
Series 2020-1A, Class A (D) 3.671 02-15-45   165,497 139,499
TIF Funding II LLC          
Series 2021-1A, Class A (D) 1.650 02-20-46   191,866 157,629
Triton Container Finance VIII LLC          
Series 2020-1A, Class A (D) 2.110 09-20-45   474,480 405,017
Series 2021-1A, Class A (D) 1.860 03-20-46   263,000 218,990
Vantage Data Centers LLC          
Series 2020-2A, Class A2 (D) 1.992 09-15-45   239,000 199,441
VR Funding LLC          
Series 2020-1A, Class A (D) 2.790 11-15-50   315,683 276,547
Willis Engine Structured Trust V          
Series 2020-A, Class A (D) 3.228 03-15-45   99,260 82,519
Zaxby’s Funding LLC          
28 JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST | ANNUAL REPORT SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

  Rate (%) Maturity date   Par value^ Value
Asset backed securities (continued)          
Series 2021-1A, Class A2 (D) 3.238 07-30-51   228,735 $186,817
    
        Shares Value
Common stocks 0.1% (0.1% of Total investments)   $136,865
(Cost $500,732)          
Energy 0.0%         20,056
Oil, gas and consumable fuels 0.0%    
Altera Infrastructure LP (H)       743 20,056
Utilities 0.1%         116,809
Multi-utilities 0.1%    
Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp.       6,250 116,809
Preferred securities 0.2% (0.1% of Total investments)   $288,729
(Cost $394,505)          
Communication services 0.1%         85,919
Wireless telecommunication services 0.1%  
Telephone & Data Systems, Inc., 6.625% (A)   5,825 85,919
Financials 0.1%         202,810
Banks 0.1%  
Wells Fargo & Company, 7.500%   192 202,810
    
        Par value^ Value
Escrow certificates 0.0% (0.0% of Total investments)   $626
(Cost $0)          
LSC Communications, Inc. (D)(H)(I)       321,000 626
    
    Yield (%)   Shares Value
Short-term investments 5.5% (3.2% of Total investments) $6,983,095
(Cost $6,983,160)          
Short-term funds 5.5%         6,983,095
John Hancock Collateral Trust (J)   5.5153(K)   698,547 6,983,095
    
Total investments (Cost $244,297,164) 173.1%     $220,927,228
Other assets and liabilities, net (73.1%)     (93,295,050)
Total net assets 100.0%     $127,632,178
    
The percentage shown for each investment category is the total value of the category as a percentage of the net assets of the fund unless otherwise indicated.
^All par values are denominated in U.S. dollars unless otherwise indicated.
Security Abbreviations and Legend
CME Chicago Mercantile Exchange
CMT Constant Maturity Treasury
ICE Intercontinental Exchange
SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ANNUAL REPORT | JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST 29

IO Interest-Only Security - (Interest Tranche of Stripped Mortgage Pool). Rate shown is the annualized yield at the end of the period.
LIBOR London Interbank Offered Rate
SOFR Secured Overnight Financing Rate
(A) All or a portion of this security is pledged as collateral pursuant to the Liquidity Agreement. Total collateral value at 10-31-23 was $111,461,418. A portion of the securities pledged as collateral were loaned pursuant to the Liquidity Agreement. The value of securities on loan amounted to $12,316,576.
(B) All or a portion of this security is on loan as of 10-31-23, and is a component of the fund’s leverage under the Liquidity Agreement.
(C) Security purchased or sold on a when-issued or delayed delivery basis.
(D) These securities are exempt from registration under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933. Such securities may be resold, normally to qualified institutional buyers, in transactions exempt from registration. Rule 144A securities amounted to $41,374,388 or 32.4% of the fund’s net assets as of 10-31-23.
(E) Perpetual bonds have no stated maturity date. Date shown as maturity date is next call date.
(F) Variable rate obligation. The coupon rate shown represents the rate at period end.
(G) Variable or floating rate security, the interest rate of which adjusts periodically based on a weighted average of interest rates and prepayments on the underlying pool of assets. The interest rate shown is the current rate as of period end.
(H) Non-income producing security.
(I) Security is valued using significant unobservable inputs and is classified as Level 3 in the fair value hierarchy. Refer to Note 2 to the financial statements.
(J) Investment is an affiliate of the fund, the advisor and/or subadvisor.
(K) The rate shown is the annualized seven-day yield as of 10-31-23.
30 JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST | ANNUAL REPORT SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

DERIVATIVES
SWAPS
Interest rate swaps
Counterparty (OTC)/
Centrally cleared
Notional
amount
Currency Payments
made
Payments
received
Fixed
payment
frequency
Floating
payment
frequency
Maturity
date
Unamortized
upfront
payment
paid
(received)
Unrealized
appreciation
(depreciation)
Value
Centrally cleared 25,000,000 USD Fixed 4.191% USD SOFR Compounded OIS(a) Annual Quarterly Jun 2026 $98,177 $98,177
                $98,177 $98,177
    
(a) At 10-31-23, the overnight SOFR was 5.350%.
    
Derivatives Currency Abbreviations
USD U.S. Dollar
    
Derivatives Abbreviations
OIS Overnight Index Swap
OTC Over-the-counter
SOFR Secured Overnight Financing Rate
At 10-31-23, the aggregate cost of investments for federal income tax purposes was $245,013,855. Net unrealized depreciation aggregated to $23,988,450, of which $223,349 related to gross unrealized appreciation and $24,211,799 related to gross unrealized depreciation.
See Notes to financial statements regarding investment transactions and other derivatives information.
SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ANNUAL REPORT | JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST 31

Financial statements
STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES 10-31-23

Assets  
Unaffiliated investments, at value (Cost $237,314,004) $213,944,133
Affiliated investments, at value (Cost $6,983,160) 6,983,095
Total investments, at value (Cost $244,297,164) 220,927,228
Receivable for centrally cleared swaps 473,203
Cash 36,563
Interest receivable 1,700,645
Receivable for investments sold 2,873,597
Receivable for delayed delivery securities sold 4,880,118
Other assets 14,933
Total assets 230,906,287
Liabilities  
Liquidity agreement 91,300,000
Payable for investments purchased 4,421,064
Payable for delayed delivery securities purchased 6,973,314
Interest payable 473,289
Payable to affiliates  
Accounting and legal services fees 9,260
Trustees’ fees 169
Other liabilities and accrued expenses 97,013
Total liabilities 103,274,109
Net assets $127,632,178
Net assets consist of  
Paid-in capital $175,067,706
Total distributable earnings (loss) (47,435,528)
Net assets $127,632,178
 
Net asset value per share  
Based on 11,646,585 shares of beneficial interest outstanding - unlimited number of shares authorized with no par value $10.96
32 JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST | ANNUAL REPORT SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS For the year ended 10-31-23

Investment income  
Interest $10,694,467
Dividends from affiliated investments 218,956
Dividends 55,823
Less foreign taxes withheld (2,989)
Total investment income 10,966,257
Expenses  
Investment management fees 1,261,526
Interest expense 5,093,278
Accounting and legal services fees 28,529
Transfer agent fees 58,814
Trustees’ fees 49,195
Custodian fees 29,702
Printing and postage 33,040
Professional fees 119,888
Stock exchange listing fees 23,748
Other 18,344
Total expenses 6,716,064
Less expense reductions (18,070)
Net expenses 6,697,994
Net investment income 4,268,263
Realized and unrealized gain (loss)  
Net realized gain (loss) on  
Unaffiliated investments (14,308,326)
Affiliated investments 5,033
Swap contracts 342,011
  (13,961,282)
Change in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of  
Unaffiliated investments 9,868,166
Affiliated investments (35)
Swap contracts 98,177
  9,966,308
Net realized and unrealized loss (3,994,974)
Increase in net assets from operations $273,289
SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ANNUAL REPORT | JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST 33

STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS  

  Year ended
10-31-23
Year ended
10-31-22
Increase (decrease) in net assets    
From operations    
Net investment income $4,268,263 $6,538,930
Net realized loss (13,961,282) (8,150,661)
Change in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) 9,966,308 (40,648,874)
Increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations 273,289 (42,260,605)
Distributions to shareholders    
From earnings (4,826,346) (10,716,025)
Total distributions (4,826,346) (10,716,025)
Total decrease (4,553,057) (52,976,630)
Net assets    
Beginning of year 132,185,235 185,161,865
End of year $127,632,178 $132,185,235
Share activity    
Shares outstanding    
Beginning of year 11,646,585 11,646,585
End of year 11,646,585 11,646,585
34 JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST | ANNUAL REPORT SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS For the year ended   10-31-23 

   
Cash flows from operating activities  
Net increase in net assets from operations $273,289
Adjustments to reconcile net increase in net assets from operations to net cash provided by operating activities:  
Long-term investments purchased (333,537,563)
Long-term investments sold 331,966,043
Net purchases and sales of short-term investments (3,325,648)
Net amortization of premium (discount) 801,223
(Increase) Decrease in assets:  
Receivable for centrally cleared swaps (473,203)
Dividends and interest receivable 164,239
Receivable for investments sold 14,002,480
Receivable for delayed delivery securities sold (3,397,419)
Other assets 6,417
Increase (Decrease) in liabilities:  
Payable for investments purchased (11,711,954)
Payable for delayed delivery securities purchased 5,494,787
Interest payable 154,012
Payable to affiliates 1,383
Other liabilities and accrued expenses (8,821)
Net change in unrealized (appreciation) depreciation on:  
Investments (9,868,131)
Net realized (gain) loss on:  
Investments 14,303,293
Net cash provided by operating activities $4,844,427
Cash flows provided by (used in) financing activities  
Distributions to shareholders $(4,826,346)
Net cash used in financing activities $(4,826,346)
Net increase in cash $18,081
Cash at beginning of year $18,482
Cash at end of year $36,563
Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information:  
Cash paid for interest $(4,939,266)
SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ANNUAL REPORT | JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST 35

Financial highlights
Period ended 10-31-23 10-31-22 10-31-21 10-31-20 10-31-19
Per share operating performance          
Net asset value, beginning of period $11.35 $15.90 $15.95 $15.57 $14.22
Net investment income1 0.37 0.56 0.71 0.65 0.60
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments (0.35) (4.19) 0.12 0.48 1.42
Total from investment operations 0.02 (3.63) 0.83 1.13 2.02
Less distributions          
From net investment income (0.41) (0.70) (0.84) (0.75) (0.67)
From net realized gain (0.22) (0.04)
Total distributions (0.41) (0.92) (0.88) (0.75) (0.67)
Net asset value, end of period $10.96 $11.35 $15.90 $15.95 $15.57
Per share market value, end of period $9.80 $10.48 $15.46 $15.44 $14.58
Total return at net asset value (%)2,3 0.35 (23.60) 5.36 7.78 14.84
Total return at market value (%)2 (2.82) (27.45) 5.83 11.42 16.37
Ratios and supplemental data          
Net assets, end of period (in millions) $128 $132 $185 $186 $181
Ratios (as a percentage of average net assets):          
Expenses before reductions 4.90 2.10 1.30 1.67 2.55
Expenses including reductions4 4.89 2.08 1.29 1.66 2.54
Net investment income 3.12 4.13 4.42 4.15 3.99
Portfolio turnover (%) 148 101 60 66 50
Senior securities          
Total debt outstanding end of period (in millions) $91 $91 $91 $91 $91
Asset coverage per $1,000 of debt5 $2,398 $2,448 $3,028 $3,035 $2,986
    
1 Based on average daily shares outstanding.
2 Total return based on net asset value reflects changes in the fund’s net asset value during each period. Total return based on market value reflects changes in market value. Each figure assumes that distributions from income, capital gains and tax return of capital, if any, were reinvested.
3 Total returns would have been lower had certain expenses not been reduced during the applicable periods.
4 Expenses including reductions excluding interest expense were 1.17%, 1.01%, 0.94%, 0.95% and 0.98% for the periods ended 10-31-23, 10-31-22, 10-30-21, 10-31-20 and 10-31-19, respectively.
5 Asset coverage equals the total net assets plus borrowings divided by the borrowings of the fund outstanding at period end (Note 8). As debt outstanding changes, the level of invested assets may change accordingly. Asset coverage ratio provides a measure of leverage.
36 JOHN HANCOCK Income Securities Trust | ANNUAL REPORT SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Notes to financial statements
Note 1Organization
John Hancock Income Securities Trust (the fund) is a closed-end management investment company organized as a Massachusetts business trust and registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the 1940 Act).
Note 2Significant accounting policies
The financial statements have been prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (US GAAP), which require management to make certain estimates and assumptions as of the date of the financial statements. Actual results could differ from those estimates and those differences could be significant. The fund qualifies as an investment company under Topic 946 of Accounting Standards Codification of US GAAP.
Events or transactions occurring after the end of the fiscal period through the date that the financial statements were issued have been evaluated in the preparation of the financial statements. The following summarizes the significant accounting policies of the fund:
Security valuation. Investments are stated at value as of the scheduled close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), normally at 4:00 P.M., Eastern Time. In case of emergency or other disruption resulting in the NYSE not opening for trading or the NYSE closing at a time other than the regularly scheduled close, the net asset value (NAV) may be determined as of the regularly scheduled close of the NYSE pursuant to the Valuation Policies and Procedures of the Advisor, John Hancock Investment Management LLC.
In order to value the securities, the fund uses the following valuation techniques: Debt obligations are typically valued based on evaluated prices provided by an independent pricing vendor. Independent pricing vendors utilize matrix pricing, which takes into account factors such as institutional-size trading in similar groups of securities, yield, quality, coupon rate, maturity, type of issue, trading characteristics and other market data, as well as broker supplied prices. Equity securities, including exchange-traded or closed-end funds, are typically valued at the last sale price or official closing price on the exchange or principal market where the security trades. In the event there were no sales during the day or closing prices are not available, the securities are valued using the last available bid price. Investments by the fund in open-end mutual funds, including John Hancock Collateral Trust (JHCT), are valued at their respective NAVs each business day. Swaps are generally valued using evaluated prices obtained from an independent pricing vendor.
In certain instances, the Pricing Committee of the Advisor may determine to value equity securities using prices obtained from another exchange or market if trading on the exchange or market on which prices are typically obtained did not open for trading as scheduled, or if trading closed earlier than scheduled, and trading occurred as normal on another exchange or market.
Other portfolio securities and assets, for which reliable market quotations are not readily available, are valued at fair value as determined in good faith by the Pricing Committee following procedures established by the Advisor and adopted by the Board of Trustees. The frequency with which these fair valuation procedures are used cannot be predicted and fair value of securities may differ significantly from the value that would have been used had a ready market for such securities existed.
The fund uses a three tier hierarchy to prioritize the pricing assumptions, referred to as inputs, used in valuation techniques to measure fair value. Level 1 includes securities valued using quoted prices in active markets for identical securities, including registered investment companies. Level 2 includes securities valued using other significant observable inputs. Observable inputs may include quoted prices for similar securities, interest rates, prepayment speeds and credit risk. Prices for securities valued using these inputs are received from independent pricing vendors and brokers and are based on an evaluation of the inputs described. Level 3 includes securities valued using significant unobservable inputs when market prices are not readily available or reliable, including the Advisor’s assumptions in determining the fair value of investments. Factors used in determining value may include market or issuer specific events or trends, changes in interest rates and credit quality. The inputs or methodology
  ANNUAL REPORT | JOHN HANCOCK Income Securities Trust 37

used for valuing securities are not necessarily an indication of the risks associated with investing in those securities. Changes in valuation techniques and related inputs may result in transfers into or out of an assigned level within the disclosure hierarchy.
The following is a summary of the values by input classification of the fund’s investments as of October 31, 2023, by major security category or type:
  Total
value at
10-31-23
Level 1
quoted
price
Level 2
significant
observable
inputs
Level 3
significant
unobservable
inputs
Investments in securities:        
Assets        
U.S. Government and Agency obligations $109,365,711 $109,365,711
Corporate bonds 79,907,414 79,907,414
Municipal bonds 115,428 115,428
Collateralized mortgage obligations 9,626,814 9,626,814
Asset backed securities 14,502,546 14,502,546
Common stocks 136,865 $116,809 20,056
Preferred securities 288,729 288,729
Escrow certificates 626 $626
Short-term investments 6,983,095 6,983,095
Total investments in securities $220,927,228 $7,388,633 $213,537,969 $626
Derivatives:        
Assets        
Swap contracts $98,177 $98,177
The fund holds liabilities for which the fair value approximates the carrying amount for financial statement purposes. As of October 31, 2023, the liability for the fund’s Liquidity agreement on the Statement of assets and liabilities is categorized as Level 2 within the disclosure hierarchy.
When-issued/delayed-delivery securities. The fund may purchase or sell securities on a when-issued or delayed-delivery basis, or in a “To Be Announced” (TBA) or “forward commitment” transaction, with delivery or payment to occur at a later date beyond the normal settlement period. TBA securities resulting from these transactions are included in the portfolio or in a schedule to the portfolio (Sale Commitments Outstanding). At the time a fund enters into a commitment to purchase or sell a security, the transaction is recorded and the value of the security is reflected in its NAV. The price of such security and the date that the security will be delivered and paid for are fixed at the time the transaction is negotiated. The value of the security may vary with market fluctuations. No interest accrues on debt securities until settlement takes place. At the time that the fund enters into this type of transaction, the fund is required to have sufficient cash and/or liquid securities to cover its commitments.
Certain risks may arise upon entering into when-issued or delayed-delivery securities transactions, including the potential inability of counterparties to meet the terms of their contracts, and the issuer’s failure to issue the securities due to political, economic or other factors. Additionally, losses may arise due to changes in the value of the securities purchased or sold prior to settlement date.
Mortgage and asset backed securities. The fund may invest in mortgage-related securities, such as mortgage-backed securities, and other asset-backed securities, which are debt obligations that represent interests in pools of mortgages or other income-bearing assets, such as consumer loans or receivables. Such securities often
38 JOHN HANCOCK Income Securities Trust | ANNUAL REPORT  

involve risks that are different from the risks associated with investing in other types of debt securities. Mortgage-backed and other asset-backed securities are subject to changes in the payment patterns of borrowers of the underlying debt. When interest rates fall, borrowers are more likely to refinance or prepay their debt before its stated maturity. This may result in the fund having to reinvest the proceeds in lower yielding securities, effectively reducing the fund’s income. Conversely, if interest rates rise and borrowers repay their debt more slowly than expected, the time in which the mortgage-backed and other asset-backed securities are paid off could be extended, reducing the fund’s cash available for reinvestment in higher yielding securities. The timely payment of principal and interest of certain mortgage-related securities is guaranteed with the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government. Pools created and guaranteed by non-governmental issuers, including government-sponsored corporations (e.g. FNMA), may be supported by various forms of insurance or guarantees, but there can be no assurance that private insurers or guarantors can meet their obligations under the insurance policies or guarantee arrangements. The fund is also subject to risks associated with securities with contractual cash flows including asset-backed and mortgage related securities such as collateralized mortgage obligations, mortgage pass-through securities and commercial mortgage-backed securities. The value, liquidity and related income of these securities are sensitive to changes in economic conditions, including real estate value, pre-payments, delinquencies and/or defaults, and may be adversely affected by shifts in the market’s perception of the issuers and changes in interest rates.
Security transactions and related investment income. Investment security transactions are accounted for on a trade date plus one basis for daily NAV calculations. However, for financial reporting purposes, investment transactions are reported on trade date. Interest income is accrued as earned. Interest income includes coupon interest and amortization/accretion of premiums/discounts on debt securities. Debt obligations may be placed in a non-accrual status and related interest income may be reduced by stopping current accruals and writing off interest receivable when the collection of all or a portion of interest has become doubtful. Dividend income is recorded on ex-date, except for dividends of certain foreign securities where the dividend may not be known until after the ex-date. In those cases, dividend income, net of withholding taxes, is recorded when the fund becomes aware of the dividends. Non-cash dividends, if any, are recorded at the fair market value of the securities received. Distributions received on securities that represent a tax return of capital and/or capital gain, if any, are recorded as a reduction of cost of investments and/or as a realized gain, if amounts are estimable. Gains and losses on securities sold are determined on the basis of identified cost and may include proceeds from litigation.
Foreign taxes. The fund may be subject to withholding tax on income, capital gains or repatriations imposed by certain countries, a portion of which may be recoverable. Foreign taxes are accrued based upon the fund’s understanding of the tax rules and rates that exist in the foreign markets in which it invests. Taxes are accrued based on gains realized by the fund as a result of certain foreign security sales. In certain circumstances, estimated taxes are accrued based on unrealized appreciation of such securities. Investment income is recorded net of foreign withholding taxes.
Overdrafts. Pursuant to the custodian agreement, the fund’s custodian may, in its discretion, advance funds to the fund to make properly authorized payments. When such payments result in an overdraft, the fund is obligated to repay the custodian for any overdraft, including any costs or expenses associated with the overdraft. The custodian may have a lien, security interest or security entitlement in any fund property that is not otherwise segregated or pledged, to the maximum extent permitted by law, to the extent of any overdraft.
Expenses. Within the John Hancock group of funds complex, expenses that are directly attributable to an individual fund are allocated to such fund. Expenses that are not readily attributable to a specific fund are allocated among all funds in an equitable manner, taking into consideration, among other things, the nature and type of expense and the fund’s relative net assets. Expense estimates are accrued in the period to which they relate and adjustments are made when actual amounts are known.
Statement of cash flows. A Statement of cash flows is presented when a fund has a significant amount of borrowing during the period, based on the average total borrowing in relation to total assets, or when a certain percentage of the fund’s investments is classified as Level 3 in the fair value hierarchy. Information on financial
  ANNUAL REPORT | JOHN HANCOCK Income Securities Trust 39

transactions that have been settled through the receipt and disbursement of cash is presented in the Statement of cash flows. The cash amount shown in the Statement of cash flows is the amount included in the fund’s Statement of assets and liabilities and represents the cash on hand at the fund’s custodian and does not include any short-term investments or collateral on derivative contracts, if any.
Federal income taxes. The fund intends to continue to qualify as a regulated investment company by complying with the applicable provisions of the Internal Revenue Code and will not be subject to federal income tax on taxable income that is distributed to shareholders. Therefore, no federal income tax provision is required.
For federal income tax purposes, as of October 31, 2023, the fund has a short-term capital loss carryforward of $7,144,142 and a long-term capital loss carryforward of $16,965,908 available to offset future net realized capital gains. These carryforwards do not expire.
As of October 31, 2023, the fund had no uncertain tax positions that would require financial statement recognition, derecognition or disclosure. The fund’s federal tax returns are subject to examination by the Internal Revenue Service for a period of three years.
Distribution of income and gains. Distributions to shareholders from net investment income and net realized gains, if any, are recorded on the ex-date. The fund generally declares and pays dividends quarterly. Capital gain distributions, if any, are typically distributed annually.
The tax character of distributions for the years ended October 31, 2023 and 2022 was as follows:
  October 31, 2023 October 31, 2022
Ordinary income $4,826,346 $8,926,367
Long-term capital gains 1,789,658
Total $4,826,346 $10,716,025
As of October 31, 2023, the components of distributable earnings on a tax basis consisted of $662,972 of undistributed ordinary income.
Such distributions and distributable earnings, on a tax basis, are determined in conformity with income tax regulations, which may differ from US GAAP. Distributions in excess of tax basis earnings and profits, if any, are reported in the fund’s financial statements as a return of capital. 
Capital accounts within the financial statements are adjusted for permanent book-tax differences. These adjustments have no impact on net assets or the results of operations. Temporary book-tax differences, if any, will reverse in a subsequent period. Book-tax differences are primarily attributable to amortization and accretion on debt securities and derivative transactions.
Note 3Derivative instruments
The fund may invest in derivatives in order to meet its investment objective. Derivatives include a variety of different instruments that may be traded in the over-the-counter (OTC) market, on a regulated exchange or through a clearing facility. The risks in using derivatives vary depending upon the structure of the instruments, including the use of leverage, optionality, the liquidity or lack of liquidity of the contract, the creditworthiness of the counterparty or clearing organization and the volatility of the position. Some derivatives involve risks that are potentially greater than the risks associated with investing directly in the referenced securities or other referenced underlying instrument. Specifically, the fund is exposed to the risk that the counterparty to an OTC derivatives contract will be unable or unwilling to make timely settlement payments or otherwise honor its obligations. OTC derivatives transactions typically can only be closed out with the other party to the transaction.
40 JOHN HANCOCK Income Securities Trust | ANNUAL REPORT  

Certain derivatives are traded or cleared on an exchange or central clearinghouse. Exchange-traded or centrally-cleared transactions generally present less counterparty risk to a fund than OTC transactions. The exchange or clearinghouse stands between the fund and the broker to the contract and therefore, credit risk is generally limited to the failure of the exchange or clearinghouse and the clearing member.
Centrally-cleared swap contracts are subject to clearinghouse rules, including initial and variation margin requirements, daily settlement of obligations and the clearinghouse guarantee of payments to the broker. There is, however, still counterparty risk due to the potential insolvency of the broker with respect to any margin held in the brokers’ customer accounts. While clearing members are required to segregate customer assets from their own assets, in the event of insolvency, there may be a shortfall in the amount of margin held by the broker for its clients. Collateral or margin requirements for centrally-cleared derivatives are set by the broker or applicable clearinghouse. Margin for centrally-cleared transactions is detailed in the Statement of assets and liabilities as Receivable/Payable for centrally-cleared swaps. Securities pledged by the fund for centrally-cleared transactions, if any, are identified in the Fund’s investments.
Swaps. Swap agreements are agreements between the fund and a counterparty to exchange cash flows, assets, foreign currencies or market-linked returns at specified intervals. Swap agreements are privately negotiated in the OTC market (OTC swaps) or may be executed on a registered commodities exchange (centrally cleared swaps). Swaps are marked-to-market daily and the change in value is recorded as a component of unrealized appreciation/depreciation of swap contracts. The value of the swap will typically impose collateral posting obligations on the party that is considered out-of-the-money on the swap.
Upfront payments made/received by the fund, if any, are amortized/accreted for financial reporting purposes, with the unamortized/unaccreted portion included in the Statement of assets and liabilities. A termination payment by the counterparty or the fund is recorded as realized gain or loss, as well as the net periodic payments received or paid by the fund.
Entering into swap agreements involves, to varying degrees, elements of credit, market and documentation risk that may provide outcomes that produce losses in excess of the amounts recognized on the Statement of assets and liabilities. Such risks involve the possibility that there will be no liquid market for the swap, or that a counterparty may default on its obligation or delay payment under the swap terms. The counterparty may disagree or contest the terms of the swap. In addition to interest rate risk, market risks may also impact the swap. The fund may also suffer losses if it is unable to terminate or assign outstanding swaps or reduce its exposure through offsetting transactions.
Interest rate swaps. Interest rate swaps represent an agreement between the fund and a counterparty to exchange cash flows based on the difference between two interest rates applied to a notional amount. The payment flows are usually netted against each other, with the difference being paid by one party to the other. The fund settles accrued net interest receivable or payable under the swap contracts at specified, future intervals.
During the year ended October 31, 2023, the fund used interest rate swap contracts to manage against changes in the liquidity agreement interest rates. The fund held interest rate swaps with total USD notional amounts ranging up to $25.0 million, as measured at each quarter end.
Risk Statement of assets
and liabilities
location
Financial
instruments
location
Assets
derivatives
fair value
Liabilities
derivatives
fair value
Interest rate Swap contracts, at value1 Interest rate swaps $98,177
    
1 Reflects cumulative value of swap contracts. Receivable/payable for centrally cleared swaps, which includes value and margin, are shown separately on the Statement of assets and liabilities.
  ANNUAL REPORT | JOHN HANCOCK Income Securities Trust 41

Effect of derivative instruments on the Statement of operations
The table below summarizes the net realized gain (loss) included in the net increase (decrease) in net assets from operations, classified by derivative instrument and risk category, for the year ended October 31, 2023:
  Statement of operations location - Net realized gain (loss) on:
Risk Swap contracts
Interest rate $342,011
The table below summarizes the net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) included in the net increase (decrease) in net assets from operations, classified by derivative instrument and risk category, for the year ended October 31, 2023:
  Statement of operations location - Change in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of:
Risk Swap contracts
Interest rate $98,177
Note 4Guarantees and indemnifications
Under the fund’s organizational documents, its Officers and Trustees are indemnified against certain liabilities arising out of the performance of their duties to the fund. Additionally, in the normal course of business, the fund enters into contracts with service providers that contain general indemnification clauses. The fund’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown, as this would involve future claims that may be made against the fund that have not yet occurred. The risk of material loss from such claims is considered remote.
Note 5Fees and transactions with affiliates
John Hancock Investment Management LLC (the Advisor) serves as investment advisor for the fund. The Advisor is an indirect, principally owned subsidiary of John Hancock Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.), which in turn is a subsidiary of Manulife Financial Corporation (MFC).
Management fee.  The fund has an investment management agreement with the Advisor under which the fund pays a daily management fee to the Advisor equivalent on an annual basis to the sum of (a) 0.650% of the first $150 million of the fund’s average daily managed assets (net assets plus borrowings under the Liquidity Agreement (see Note 8), (b) 0.375% of the next $50 million of the fund’s average daily managed assets, (c) 0.350% of the next $100 million of the fund’s average daily managed assets and (d) 0.300% of the fund’s average daily managed assets in excess of $300 million. The Advisor has a subadvisory agreement with Manulife Investment Management (US) LLC, an indirectly owned subsidiary of MFC and an affiliate of the Advisor. The fund is not responsible for payment of the subadvisory fees.
The Advisor has contractually agreed to waive a portion of its management fee and/or reimburse expenses for certain funds of the John Hancock group of funds complex, including the fund (the participating portfolios). This waiver is based upon aggregate net assets of all the participating portfolios. The amount of the reimbursement is calculated daily and allocated among all the participating portfolios in proportion to the daily net assets of each fund. During the year ended October 31, 2023, this waiver amounted to 0.01% of the fund’s average daily net assets. This arrangement 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.
The expense reductions described above amounted to $18,070 for the year ended October 31, 2023.
Expenses waived or reimbursed in the current fiscal period are not subject to recapture in future fiscal periods.
42 JOHN HANCOCK Income Securities Trust | ANNUAL REPORT  

The investment management fees, including the impact of the waivers and reimbursements as described above, incurred for the year ended October 31, 2023, were equivalent to a net annual effective rate of 0.54% of the fund’s average daily managed net assets.
Accounting and legal services.  Pursuant to a service agreement, the fund reimburses the Advisor for all expenses associated with providing the administrative, financial, legal, compliance, accounting and recordkeeping services to the fund, including the preparation of all tax returns, periodic reports to shareholders and regulatory reports, among other services. These accounting and legal services fees incurred, for the year ended October 31, 2023, amounted to an annual rate of 0.01% of the fund’s average daily managed net assets.
Trustee expenses. The fund compensates each Trustee who is not an employee of the Advisor or its affiliates. These Trustees receive from the fund and the other John Hancock closed-end funds an annual retainer. In addition, Trustee out-of-pocket expenses are allocated to each fund based on its net assets relative to other funds within the John Hancock group of funds complex.
Note 6Fund share transactions
On March 12, 2015, the Board of Trustees approved a share repurchase plan, which is subsequently reviewed by the Board of Trustees each year in December. Under the current share repurchase plan, the fund may purchase in the open market, between January 1, 2023 and December 31, 2023, up to 10% of its outstanding common shares as of December 31, 2022. The share repurchase plan will remain in effect between January 1, 2023 and December 31, 2023.
During the years ended October 31, 2023 and 2022, the fund had no activities under the repurchase program. Shares repurchased and corresponding dollar amounts, if any, are included on the Statements of changes in net assets. The anti-dilutive impacts of these share repurchases, if any, are included on the Financial highlights.
Note 7Leverage risk
The fund utilizes a Liquidity Agreement (LA) to increase its assets available for investment. When the fund leverages its assets, shareholders bear the expenses associated with the LA and have potential to benefit or be disadvantaged from the use of leverage. The Advisor’s fee is also increased in dollar terms from the use of leverage. Consequently, the fund and the Advisor may have differing interests in determining whether to leverage the fund’s assets. Leverage creates risks that may adversely affect the return for the holders of shares, including:
the likelihood of greater volatility of NAV and market price of shares;
fluctuations in the interest rate paid for the use of the LA;
increased operating costs, which may reduce the fund’s total return;
the potential for a decline in the value of an investment acquired through leverage, while the fund’s obligations under such leverage remains fixed; and
the fund is more likely to have to sell securities in a volatile market in order to meet asset coverage or other debt compliance requirements.
To the extent the income or capital appreciation derived from securities purchased with funds received from leverage exceeds the cost of leverage, the fund’s return will be greater than if leverage had not been used; conversely, returns would be lower if the cost of the leverage exceeds the income or capital appreciation derived. The use of securities lending to obtain leverage in the fund’s investments may subject the fund to greater risk of loss than would reinvestment of collateral in short term highly rated investments.
In addition to the risks created by the fund’s use of leverage, the fund is subject to the risk that it would be unable to timely, or at all, obtain replacement financing if the LA is terminated. Were this to happen, the fund would be required to de-leverage, selling securities at a potentially inopportune time and incurring tax consequences. Further, the fund’s ability to generate income from the use of leverage would be adversely affected.
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Note 8Liquidity Agreement
The fund has entered into a LA with State Street Bank and Trust Company (SSB) that allows it to borrow or otherwise access up to $91.3 million (maximum facility amount) through a line of credit, securities lending and reverse repurchase agreements. The amounts outstanding at October 31, 2023 are shown in the Statement of assets and liabilities as the Liquidity agreement.
The fund pledges its assets as collateral to secure obligations under the LA. The fund retains the risks and rewards of the ownership of assets pledged to secure obligations under the LA and makes these assets available for securities lending and reverse repurchase transactions with SSB acting as the fund’s authorized agent for these transactions. All transactions initiated through SSB are required to be secured with cash collateral received from the securities borrower (the Borrower) or cash is received from the reverse repurchase agreement (Reverse Repo) counterparties. Securities lending transactions will be secured with cash collateral in amounts at least equal to 100% of the market value of the securities utilized in these transactions. Cash received by SSB from securities lending or Reverse Repo transactions is credited against the amounts borrowed under the line of credit. As of October 31, 2023, the LA balance of $91,300,000 was comprised of $78,650,276 from the line of credit and $12,649,724 cash received by SSB from securities lending or Reverse Repo transactions.
Upon return of securities by the Borrower or Reverse Repo counterparty, SSB will return the cash collateral to the Borrower or proceeds from the Reverse Repo, as applicable, which will eliminate the credit against the line of credit and will cause the drawdowns under the line of credit to increase by the amounts returned. Income earned on the loaned securities is retained by SSB, and any interest due on the reverse repurchase agreements is paid by SSB.
SSB has indemnified the fund for certain losses that may arise if the Borrower or a Reverse Repo Counterparty fails to return securities when due. With respect to securities lending transactions, upon a default of the securities borrower, SSB uses the collateral received from the Borrower to purchase replacement securities of the same issue, type, class and series. If the value of the collateral is less than the purchase cost of replacement securities, SSB is responsible for satisfying the shortfall but only to the extent that the shortfall is not due to any of the fund’s losses on the reinvested cash collateral. Although the risk of the loss of the securities is mitigated by receiving collateral from the Borrower or proceeds from the Reverse Repo counterparty and through SSB indemnification, the fund could experience a delay in recovering securities or could experience a lower than expected return if the Borrower or Reverse Repo counterparty fails to return the securities on a timely basis.
Effective April 1, 2023, interest charged is at the rate of overnight bank funding rate (OBFR) plus 0.700% and is payable monthly on the aggregate balance of the drawdowns outstanding under the LA. Prior to April 1, 2023, interest was charged at a rate of one month London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) plus 0.60%. As of October 31, 2023, the fund had an aggregate balance of $91,300,000 at an interest rate of 6.02%, which is reflected in the Liquidity agreement on the Statement of assets and liabilities. During the year ended October 31, 2023, the average balance of the LA and the effective average interest rate were $91,300,000 and 5.58%, respectively.
The fund may terminate the LA with 60 days’ notice. If certain asset coverage and collateral requirements, or other covenants are not met, the LA could be deemed in default and result in termination. Absent a default or facility termination event, SSB is required to provide the fund with 360 days’ notice prior to terminating the LA.
Due to the discontinuation of LIBOR, as discussed in Note 9, effective April 1, 2023 the LA was amended to remove LIBOR as the reference rate for interest and has been replaced with OBFR for interest mutually agreed upon by the fund and SSB. However, there remains uncertainty regarding the future utilization of LIBOR and the nature of any replacement rate and the potential effect of a transition away from LIBOR on the fund cannot yet be fully determined.
44 JOHN HANCOCK Income Securities Trust | ANNUAL REPORT  

Note 9LIBOR Discontinuation Risk
Certain debt securities, derivatives and other financial instruments have traditionally utilized LIBOR as the reference or benchmark rate for interest rate calculations. However, following allegations of manipulation and concerns regarding liquidity, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (UK FCA) announced that LIBOR would be discontinued as of June 30, 2023. The UK FCA elected to require the ICE Benchmark Administration Limited, the administrator of LIBOR, to continue publishing a subset of British pound sterling and U.S. dollar LIBOR settings on a “synthetic” basis. The synthetic publication of the three-month sterling LIBOR will continue until March 31, 2024, and the publication of the one-, three and six-month U.S. dollar LIBOR will continue until September 30, 2024.
Although the transition process away from LIBOR has become increasingly well-defined in advance of the discontinuation dates, the impact on certain debt securities, derivatives and other financial instruments remains uncertain. Market participants have adopted alternative rates such as Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) or otherwise amended financial instruments referencing LIBOR to include fallback provisions and other measures that contemplated the discontinuation of LIBOR or other similar market disruption events, but neither the effect of the transition process nor the viability of such measures is known. To facilitate the transition of legacy derivatives contracts referencing LIBOR, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. launched a protocol to incorporate fallback provisions. However, there are obstacles to converting certain longer term securities and transactions to a new benchmark or benchmarks and the effectiveness of one alternative reference rate versus multiple alternative reference rates in new or existing financial instruments and products has not been determined. Certain proposed replacement rates to LIBOR, such as SOFR, which is a broad measure of secured overnight U.S. Treasury repo rates, are materially different from LIBOR, and changes in the applicable spread for financial instruments transitioning away from LIBOR will need to be made to accommodate the differences.
The utilization of an alternative reference rate, or the transition process to an alternative reference rate, may adversely affect the fund’s performance.
Note 10Purchase and sale of securities
Purchases and sales of securities, other than short-term investments and U.S. Treasury obligations, amounted to $137,657,767 and $127,388,038, respectively, for the year ended October 31, 2023. Purchases and sales of U.S. Treasury obligations aggregated $195,879,796 and $204,578,005, respectively, for the year ended October 31, 2023.
Note 11Investment in affiliated underlying funds
The fund may invest in affiliated underlying funds that are managed by the Advisor and its affiliates. Information regarding the fund’s fiscal year to date purchases and sales of the affiliated underlying funds as well as income and capital gains earned by the fund, if any, is as follows:
              Dividends and distributions
Affiliate Ending
share
amount
Beginning
value
Cost of
purchases
Proceeds
from shares
sold
Realized
gain
(loss)
Change in
unrealized
appreciation
(depreciation)
Income
distributions
received
Capital gain
distributions
received
Ending
value
John Hancock Collateral Trust 698,547 $2,564,993 $120,965,898 $(116,552,794) $5,033 $(35) $218,956 $6,983,095
Note 12New accounting pronouncement
In March 2020, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued an Accounting Standards Update (ASU), ASU 2020-04, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848), which provides optional, temporary relief with respect to the financial reporting of contracts subject to certain types of modifications due to the discontinuation of the LIBOR and other IBOR-based reference rates as of the end of 2021. In January 2021 and December 2022, the FASB
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issued ASU No. 2021-01 and ASU No. 2022-06, with further amendments to Topic 848. The temporary relief provided by ASU 2020-04 is effective for certain reference rate-related contract modifications that occur during the period March 12, 2020 through December 31, 2024. Management expects that the adoption of the guidance will not have a material impact to the financial statements.
46 JOHN HANCOCK Income Securities Trust | ANNUAL REPORT  

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the Board of Trustees and Shareholders of John Hancock Income Securities Trust
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying statement of assets and liabilities, including the fund’s investments, of John Hancock Income Securities Trust (the “Fund”) as of October 31, 2023, the related statements of operations and cash flows for the year ended October 31, 2023, the statements of changes in net assets for each of the two years in the period ended October 31, 2023, including the related notes, and the financial highlights for each of the five years in the period ended October 31, 2023 (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Fund as of October 31, 2023, the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended, the changes in its net assets for each of the two years in the period ended October 31, 2023 and the financial highlights for each of the five years in the period ended October 31, 2023 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. 
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Fund’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Fund’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Fund in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits of these financial statements in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud.
Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. Our procedures included confirmation of securities owned as of October 31, 2023 by correspondence with the custodian, transfer agent and brokers; when replies were not received from brokers, we performed other auditing procedures. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/ PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Boston, Massachusetts
December 15, 2023
We have served as the auditor of one or more investment companies in the John Hancock group of funds since 1988.
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Tax information
(Unaudited)
For federal income tax purposes, the following information is furnished with respect to the distributions of the fund, if any, paid during its taxable year ended October 31, 2023.
The fund reports the maximum amount allowable of its net taxable income as eligible for the corporate dividends-received deduction.
The fund reports the maximum amount allowable of its net taxable income as qualified dividend income as provided in the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003.
The fund reports the maximum amount allowable as Section 163(j) Interest Dividends.
The fund reports the maximum amount allowable of its Section 199A dividends as defined in Proposed Treasury Regulation §1.199A-3(d).
Eligible shareholders will be mailed a 2023 Form 1099-DIV in early 2024. This will reflect the tax character of all distributions paid in calendar year 2023.
Please consult a tax advisor regarding the tax consequences of your investment in the fund.
48 JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST | ANNUAL REPORT  

Investment objective, principal investment strategies, and principal risks

Unaudited
Investment Objective
The fund’s investment objective is to generate a high level of current income consistent with prudent investment risk.
Principal Investment Strategies
Under normal circumstances the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets (plus borrowings for investment purposes) in income securities. This is a non-fundamental policy and may be changed by the Board of Trustees of the fund provided that shareholders are provided with at least 60 days prior written notice of any change as required by the rules under the 1940 Act. Not more than 20% of the Fund’s total assets will consist of such preferred securities and common stocks believed by the Fund to provide a sufficiently high yield to attain the Fund’s investment objective. Income securities will consist of the following: (i) marketable corporate debt securities, (ii) governmental obligations and (iii) cash and commercial paper.
The Fund will invest at least 75% of its net assets (plus borrowings for investment purposes) in debt securities that are rated, at the time of acquisition, investment grade (i.e., at least “Baa” by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (Moody’s) or “BBB” by Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings Inc. (S&P)), or in unrated securities determined by the Fund’s investment advisor or subadvisor to be of comparable credit quality. The Fund can invest up to 25% of its net assets (plus borrowings for investment purposes) in debt securities that are rated, at the time of acquisition, below investment grade (junk bonds) (i.e., rated “Ba” or lower by Moody’s or “BB” or lower by S&P), or in unrated securities determined by the Fund’s advisor or subadvisor to be of comparable quality.
Although the Fund will focus on securities of U.S. issuers, the Fund may invest in securities of corporate and governmental issuers located outside the United States that are payable in U.S. dollars, including emerging markets. The Fund may also invest in mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, including collateralized mortgage obligations. In addition, the Fund may invest in repurchase agreements.
The Fund may also invest in derivatives such as swaps and reverse repurchase agreements. The Fund intends to use reverse repurchase agreements to obtain investment leverage either alone and/or in combination with other forms of investment leverage or for temporary purposes. The Fund utilizes a liquidity agreement to increase its assets available for investments, and may also seek to obtain additional income or portfolio leverage by making secured loans of its portfolio securities with a value of up to 33 1/3% of its total assets. The Fund may also invest up to 20% of its total assets in illiquid securities.
The Advisor may also take into consideration environmental, social, and/or governance (ESG) factors, alongside other relevant factors, as part of its investment selection process. The ESG characteristics utilized in the fund’s investment process may change over time and one or more characteristics may not be relevant with respect to all issuers that are eligible fund investments.
Principal Risks
As is the case with all exchange-listed closed-end funds, shares of this fund may trade at a discount or a premium to the fund’s net asset value (NAV). An investment in the fund is subject to investment and market risks, including the possible loss of the entire principal invested.
The fund’s main risks are listed below in alphabetical order, not in order of importance.
Changing distribution level & return of capital risk. There is no guarantee prior distribution levels will be maintained, and distributions may include a substantial tax return of capital. A return of capital is the return of all or a portion of a shareholder’s investment in the fund.
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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.
Cybersecurity and operational 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.
Economic and market events risk. Events in certain sectors historically have resulted, and may in the future result, in an unusually high degree of volatility in the financial markets, both domestic and foreign. These events have included, but are not limited to: bankruptcies, corporate restructurings, and other similar events; governmental efforts to limit short selling and high frequency trading; measures to address U.S. federal and state budget deficits; social, political, and economic instability in Europe; economic stimulus by the Japanese central bank; dramatic changes in energy prices and currency exchange rates; and China’s economic slowdown. Interconnected global economies and financial markets increase the possibility that conditions in one country or region might adversely impact issuers in a different country or region. Both domestic and foreign equity markets have experienced increased volatility and turmoil, with issuers that have exposure to the real estate, mortgage, and credit markets particularly affected. Financial institutions could suffer losses as interest rates rise or economic conditions deteriorate.
In addition, relatively high market volatility and reduced liquidity in credit and fixed-income markets may adversely affect many issuers worldwide. Actions taken by the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) or foreign central banks to stimulate or stabilize economic growth, such as interventions in markets, could cause high volatility in the equity and fixed-income markets. Reduced liquidity may result in less money being available to purchase raw materials, goods, and services from emerging markets, which may, in turn, bring down the prices of these economic staples. It may also result in emerging-market issuers having more difficulty obtaining financing, which may, in turn, cause a decline in their securities prices.
Beginning in March 2022, the Fed began increasing interest rates and has signaled the potential for further increases. As a result, risks associated with rising interest rates are currently heightened. It is difficult to accurately predict the pace at which the Fed will increase interest rates any further, or the timing, frequency or magnitude of any such increases, and the evaluation of macro-economic and other conditions could cause a change in approach in the future. Any such increases generally will cause market interest rates to rise and could cause the value of the fund’s investments, and the fund’s net asset value (NAV), to decline, potentially suddenly and significantly.
In addition, as the Fed increases the target Fed funds rate, any such rate increases, among other factors, could cause markets to experience continuing high volatility. A significant increase in interest rates may cause a decline in the market for equity securities. These events and the possible resulting market volatility may have an adverse effect on the fund.
Political turmoil within the United States and abroad may also impact the fund. Although the U.S. government has honored its credit obligations, it remains possible that the United States could default on its obligations. While it is impossible to predict the consequences of such an unprecedented event, it is likely that a default by the United States would be highly disruptive to the U.S. and global securities markets and could significantly impair the value of the fund’s investments. Similarly, political events within the United States at times have resulted, and may in the future result, in a shutdown of government services, which could negatively affect the U.S. economy, decrease the value of many fund investments, and increase uncertainty in or impair the operation of the U.S. or
50 JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST | ANNUAL REPORT  

other securities markets. In recent years, the U.S. renegotiated many of its global trade relationships and imposed or threatened to impose significant import tariffs. These actions could lead to price volatility and overall declines in U.S. and global investment markets.
Uncertainties surrounding the sovereign debt of a number of European Union (EU) countries and the viability of the EU have disrupted and may in the future disrupt markets in the United States and around the world. If one or more countries leave the EU or the EU dissolves, the global securities markets likely will be significantly disrupted. On January 31, 2020, the United Kingdom (UK) left the EU, commonly referred to as “Brexit,” the UK ceased to be a member of the EU, and the UK and EU entered into a Trade and Cooperation Agreement. While the full impact of Brexit is unknown, Brexit has already resulted in volatility in European and global markets. There remains significant market uncertainty regarding Brexit’s ramifications, and the range and potential implications of possible political, regulatory, economic, and market outcomes are difficult to predict.
A widespread health crisis such as a global pandemic could cause substantial market volatility, exchange trading suspensions and closures, which may lead to less liquidity in certain instruments, industries, sectors or the markets generally, and may ultimately affect fund performance. For example, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted and may continue to result in significant disruptions to global business activity and market volatility due to disruptions in market access, resource availability, facilities operations, imposition of tariffs, export controls and supply chain disruption, among others. While many countries have lifted some or all restrictions related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) and the United States ended the public health emergency and national emergency declarations relating to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on May 11, 2023, the continued impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) and related variants is uncertain. The impact of a health crisis and other epidemics and pandemics that may arise in the future, could affect the global economy in ways that cannot necessarily be foreseen at the present time. A health crisis may exacerbate other pre-existing political, social and economic risks. Any such impact could adversely affect the fund’s performance, resulting in losses to your investment.
Political and military events, including in Ukraine, North Korea, Russia, Venezuela, Iran, Syria, and other areas of the Middle East, and nationalist unrest in Europe and South America, also may cause market disruptions.
As a result of continued political tensions and armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine commencing in February of 2022, the extent and ultimate result of which are unknown at this time, the United States and the EU, along with the regulatory bodies of a number of countries, have imposed economic sanctions on certain Russian corporate entities and individuals, and certain sectors of Russia’s economy, which may result in, among other things, the continued devaluation of Russian currency, a downgrade in the country’s credit rating, and/or a decline in the value and liquidity of Russian securities, property or interests. These sanctions could also result in the immediate freeze of Russian securities and/or funds invested in prohibited assets, impairing the ability of the fund to buy, sell, receive or deliver those securities and/or assets. These sanctions or the threat of additional sanctions could also result in Russia taking counter measures or retaliatory actions, which may further impair the value and liquidity of Russian securities. The United States and other nations or international organizations may also impose additional economic sanctions or take other actions that may adversely affect Russia-exposed issuers and companies in various sectors of the Russian economy. Any or all of these potential results could lead Russia’s economy into a recession. Economic sanctions and other actions against Russian institutions, companies, and individuals resulting from the ongoing conflict may also have a substantial negative impact on other economies and securities markets both regionally and globally, as well as on companies with operations in the conflict region, the extent to which is unknown at this time. The United States and the EU have also imposed similar sanctions on Belarus for its support of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Additional sanctions may be imposed on Belarus and other countries that support Russia. Any such sanctions could present substantially similar risks as those resulting from the sanctions imposed on Russia, including substantial negative impacts on the regional and global economies and securities markets.
In addition, there is a risk that the prices of goods and services in the United States and many foreign economies may decline over time, known as deflation. Deflation may have an adverse effect on stock prices and creditworthiness and may make defaults on debt more likely. If a country’s economy slips into a deflationary
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pattern, it could last for a prolonged period and may be difficult to reverse. Further, there is a risk that the present value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future, known as inflation. Inflation rates may change frequently and drastically as a result of various factors, including unexpected shifts in the domestic or global economy, and the fund’s investments may be affected, which may reduce the fund’s performance. Further, inflation may lead to the rise in interest rates, which may negatively affect the value of debt instruments held by the fund, resulting in a negative impact on the fund’s performance. Generally, securities issued in emerging markets are subject to a greater risk of inflationary or deflationary forces, and more developed markets are better able to use monetary policy to normalize markets.
Emerging Markets risk. The risks of investing in foreign securities are magnified in emerging markets. Emerging-market countries may experience higher inflation, interest rates, and unemployment and greater social, economic, and political uncertainties than more developed countries.
Equity securities risk. The price of equity securities may decline due to changes in a company’s financial condition or overall market conditions.
ESG integration risk. The manager considers ESG factors that it deems relevant or additive, along with other material factors and analysis, when managing the fund. The manager may consider these ESG factors on all or a meaningful portion of the fund’s investments.  In certain situations, the extent to which these ESG factors may be applied according to the manager’s integrated investment process may not include U.S. Treasuries, government securities, or other asset classes. ESG factors may include, but are not limited to, matters regarding board diversity, climate change policies, and supply chain and human rights policies. Incorporating ESG criteria and making investment decisions based on certain ESG characteristics, as determined by the manager, carries the risk that the fund may perform differently, including underperforming funds that do not utilize ESG criteria or funds that utilize different ESG criteria. Integration of ESG factors into the fund’s investment process may result in a manager making different investments for the fund than for a fund with a similar investment universe and/or investment style that does not incorporate such considerations in its investment strategy or processes, and the fund’s investment performance may be affected. Because ESG factors are one of many considerations for the fund, the manager may nonetheless include companies with low ESG characteristics or exclude companies with high ESG characteristics in the fund’s investments.
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 payment or repay all or any of the principal borrowed. Changes in a security’s credit qualify may adversely affect fund performance. Additionally, the value of inflation-indexed securities is subject to the effects of changes in market interest rates caused by factors other than inflation. Generally, when real interest rates rise, the value of inflation-indexed securities will fall and the fund’s value may decline as a result of this exposure to these securities.
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: swaps and reverse repurchase agreements. Swaps generally are subject to counterparty risk. In addition, swaps may be
52 JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST | ANNUAL REPORT  

subject to interest-rate and settlement risk, and the risk of default of the underlying reference obligation. An event of default or insolvency of the counterparty to a reverse repurchase agreement could result in delays or restrictions with respect to the fund’s ability to dispose of the underlying securities. In addition, a reverse repurchase agreement may be considered a form of leverage and may, therefore, increase fluctuations in the fund’s NAV.
Illiquid and restricted securities risk. Illiquid and restricted securities may be difficult to value and may involve greater risks than liquid securities. Illiquidity may have an adverse impact on a particular security’s market price and the fund’s ability to sell the security.
Leveraging risk. Issuing preferred shares or using derivatives may result in a leveraged portfolio. Leveraging long exposures increases a fund’s losses when the value of its investments declines. Some derivatives have the potential for unlimited loss, regardless of the size of the initial investment. The fund also utilizes a Liquidity Agreement to increase its assets available for investment. See “Note 7 —Leverage risk” above.
LIBOR discontinuation risk. The official publication of the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), which many debt securities, derivatives and other financial instruments traditionally utilized as the reference or benchmark rate for interest rate calculations, was discontinued as of June 30, 2023. However, a subset of British pound sterling and U.S. dollar LIBOR settings will continue to be published on a “synthetic” basis. The synthetic publication of the three-month sterling LIBOR will continue until March 31, 2024, and the publication of the one-, three- and six-month U.S. dollar LIBOR will continue until September 30, 2024. The discontinuation of LIBOR and a transition to replacement rates may lead to volatility and illiquidity in markets and may adversely affect the fund’s performance.
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. Widespread selling of fixed-income securities to satisfy redemptions during periods of reduced demand may adversely impact the price or salability of such securities.
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.
Preferred and convertible securities risk. Preferred stock dividends are payable only if declared by the issuer’s board. Preferred stock may be subject to redemption provisions. The market values of convertible securities tend to fall as interest rates rise and rise as interest rates fall. Convertible preferred stock’s value can depend heavily upon the underlying common stock’s value.
U.S. Government agency obligations risk. U.S. 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.
  ANNUAL REPORT | JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST 53

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Unaudited
The fund is a closed-end, diversified management investment company, common shares of which were initially offered to the public on February 14, 1973, and are publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (the NYSE).
Dividends and distributions
During the year ended October 31, 2023, distributions from net investment income totaling $0.4144 per share were paid to shareholders. The dates of payments and the amounts per share were as follows:
Payment Date Income Distributions
December 31, 2022 $0.1377
March 31, 2023 0.0909
June 30, 2023 0.0990
September 29, 2023 0.0868
Total $0.4144
Dividend reinvestment plan
The fund’s Dividend Reinvestment Plan (the Plan) provides that distributions of dividends and capital gains are automatically reinvested in common shares of the fund by Computershare Trust Company, N.A. (the Plan Agent). Every shareholder holding at least one full share of the fund is entitled to participate in the Plan. In addition, every shareholder who became a shareholder of the fund after June 30, 2011, and holds at least one full share of the fund will be automatically enrolled in the Plan. Shareholders may withdraw from the Plan at any time and shareholders who do not participate in the Plan will receive all distributions in cash.
If the fund declares a dividend or distribution payable either in cash or in common shares of the fund and the market price of shares on the payment date for the distribution or dividend equals or exceeds the fund’s net asset value per share (NAV), the fund will issue common shares to participants at a value equal to the higher of NAV or 95% of the market price. The number of additional shares to be credited to each participant’s account will be determined by dividing the dollar amount of the distribution or dividend by the higher of NAV or 95% of the market price. If the market price is lower than NAV, or if dividends or distributions are payable only in cash, then participants will receive shares purchased by the Plan Agent on participants’ behalf on the NYSE or otherwise on the open market. If the market price exceeds NAV before the Plan Agent has completed its purchases, the average per share purchase price may exceed NAV, resulting in fewer shares being acquired than if the fund had issued new shares.
There are no brokerage charges with respect to common shares issued directly by the fund. However, whenever shares are purchased or sold on the NYSE or otherwise on the open market, each participant will pay a pro rata portion of brokerage trading fees, currently $0.05 per share purchased or sold. Brokerage trading fees will be deducted from amounts to be invested.
The reinvestment of dividends and net capital gains distributions does not relieve participants of any income tax that may be payable on such dividends or distributions.
Shareholders participating in the Plan may buy additional shares of the fund through the Plan at any time in amounts of at least $50 per investment, up to a maximum of $10,000, with a total calendar year limit of $100,000. Shareholders will be charged a $5 transaction fee plus $0.05 per share brokerage trading fee for each order. Purchases of additional shares of the fund will be made on the open market. Shareholders who elect to utilize monthly electronic fund transfers to buy additional shares of the fund will be charged a $2 transaction fee plus $0.05 per share brokerage trading fee for each automatic purchase. Shareholders can also sell fund shares held in the Plan account at any time by contacting the Plan Agent by telephone, in writing or by visiting the Plan Agent’s website at www.computershare.com/investor. The Plan Agent will mail a check (less applicable brokerage
54 JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST  | ANNUAL REPORT  

trading fees) on settlement date. Pursuant to regulatory changes, effective September 5, 2017, the settlement date is changed from three business days after the shares have been sold to two business days after the shares have been sold. If shareholders choose to sell shares through their stockbroker, they will need to request that the Plan Agent electronically transfer those shares to their stockbroker through the Direct Registration System.
Shareholders participating in the Plan may withdraw from the Plan at any time by contacting the Plan Agent by telephone, in writing or by visiting the Plan Agent’s website at www.computershare.com/investor. Such termination will be effective immediately if the notice is received by the Plan Agent prior to any dividend or distribution record date; otherwise, such termination will be effective on the first trading day after the payment date for such dividend or distribution, with respect to any subsequent dividend or distribution. If shareholders withdraw from the Plan, their shares will be credited to their account; or, if they wish, the Plan Agent will sell their full and fractional shares and send the shareholders the proceeds, less a transaction fee of $5 and less brokerage trading fees of $0.05 per share. If a shareholder does not maintain at least one whole share of common stock in the Plan account, the Plan Agent may terminate such shareholder’s participation in the Plan after written notice. Upon termination, shareholders will be sent a check for the cash value of any fractional share in the Plan account, less any applicable broker commissions and taxes.
Shareholders who hold at least one full share of the fund may join the Plan by notifying the Plan Agent by telephone, in writing or by visiting the Plan Agent’s website at www.computershare.com/investor. If received in proper form by the Plan Agent before the record date of a dividend, the election will be effective with respect to all dividends paid after such record date. If shareholders wish to participate in the Plan and their shares are held in the name of a brokerage firm, bank or other nominee, shareholders should contact their nominee to see if it will participate in the Plan. If shareholders wish to participate in the Plan, but their brokerage firm, bank or other nominee is unable to participate on their behalf, they will need to request that their shares be re-registered in their own name, or they will not be able to participate. The Plan Agent will administer the Plan on the basis of the number of shares certified from time to time by shareholders as representing the total amount registered in their name and held for their account by their nominee.
Experience under the Plan may indicate that changes are desirable. Accordingly, the fund and the Plan Agent reserve the right to amend or terminate the Plan. Participants generally will receive written notice at least 90 days before the effective date of any amendment. In the case of termination, participants will receive written notice at least 90 days before the record date for the payment of any dividend or distribution by the fund.
All correspondence or requests for additional information about the Plan should be directed to Computershare Trust Company, N.A., at the address stated below, or by calling 800-852-0218, 201-680-6578 (For International Telephone Inquiries) and 800-952-9245 (For the Hearing Impaired (TDD)).
Shareholder communication and assistance
If you have any questions concerning the fund, we will be pleased to assist you. If you hold shares in your own name and not with a brokerage firm, please address all notices, correspondence, questions or other communications regarding the fund to the transfer agent at:
Regular Mail:
Computershare
P.O. Box 43006
Providence, RI 02940-3078
Registered or Overnight Mail:
Computershare
150 Royall Street, Suite 101
Canton, MA 02021
If your shares are held with a brokerage firm, you should contact that firm, bank or other nominee for assistance.
  ANNUAL REPORT | JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST 55

EVALUATION OF ADVISORY AND SUBADVISORY AGREEMENTS BY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

This section describes the evaluation by the Board of Trustees (the Board) of John Hancock Income Securities Trust (the fund) of the Advisory Agreement (the Advisory Agreement) with John Hancock Investment Management LLC (the Advisor) and the Subadvisory Agreement (the Subadvisory Agreement) with Manulife Investment Management (US) LLC (the Subadvisor). The Advisory Agreement and Subadvisory Agreement are collectively referred to as the Agreements. Prior to the June 26-29, 2023 meeting at which the Agreements were approved, the Board also discussed and considered information regarding the proposed continuation of the Agreements at the meeting held on May 30 - June 1, 2023. The Trustees who are not “interested persons” of the Trust as defined by the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the 1940 Act) (the Independent Trustees) also met separately to evaluate and discuss the information presented, including with counsel to the Independent Trustees and a third-party consulting firm.
Approval of Advisory and Subadvisory Agreements
At meetings held on June 26-29, 2023, the Board, including the Trustees who are not parties to any Agreement or considered to be interested persons of the fund under the 1940 Act, reapproved for an annual period the continuation of the Advisory Agreement between the fund and the Advisor and the Subadvisory Agreement between the Advisor and the Subadvisor with respect to the fund.
In considering the Advisory Agreement and the Subadvisory Agreement, the Board received in advance of the meetings a variety of materials relating to the fund, the Advisor and the Subadvisor, including comparative performance, fee and expense information for a peer group of similar funds prepared by an independent third-party provider of fund data, performance information for an applicable benchmark index; and other pertinent information, such as the market premium and discount information, and, with respect to the Subadvisor, comparative performance information for comparably managed accounts, as applicable, and other information provided by the Advisor and the Subadvisor regarding the nature, extent and quality of services provided by the Advisor and the Subadvisor under their respective Agreements, as well as information regarding the Advisor’s revenues and costs of providing services to the fund and any compensation paid to affiliates of the Advisor. At the meetings at which the renewal of the Advisory Agreement and Subadvisory Agreement are considered, particular focus is given to information concerning fund performance, comparability of fees and total expenses, and profitability. However, the Board noted that the evaluation process with respect to the Advisor and the Subadvisor is an ongoing one. In this regard, the Board also took into account discussions with management and information provided to the Board (including its various committees) at prior meetings with respect to the services provided by the Advisor and the Subadvisor to the fund, including quarterly performance reports prepared by management containing reviews of investment results and prior presentations from the Subadvisor with respect to the fund. The information received and considered by the Board in connection with the May and June meetings and throughout the year was both written and oral. The Board noted the affiliation of the Subadvisor with the Advisor, noting any potential conflicts of interest. The Board also considered the nature, quality, and extent of non-advisory services, if any, to be provided to the fund by the Advisor’s affiliates. The Board considered the Advisory Agreement and the Subadvisory Agreement separately in the course of its review. In doing so, the Board noted the respective roles of the Advisor and Subadvisor in providing services to the fund.
Throughout the process, the Board asked questions of and requested additional information from management. The Board is assisted by counsel for the fund and the Independent Trustees are also separately assisted by independent legal counsel throughout the process. The Independent Trustees also received a memorandum from their independent legal counsel discussing the legal standards for their consideration of the proposed continuation of the Agreements and discussed the proposed continuation of the Agreements in private sessions with their independent legal counsel at which no representatives of management were present.
56 JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST  | ANNUAL REPORT  

Approval of Advisory Agreement
In approving the Advisory Agreement with respect to the fund, the Board, including the Independent Trustees, considered a variety of factors, including those discussed below. The Board also considered other factors (including conditions and trends prevailing generally in the economy, the securities markets, and the industry) and did not treat any single factor as determinative, and each Trustee may have attributed different weights to different factors. The Board’s conclusions may be based in part on its consideration of the advisory and subadvisory arrangements in prior years and on the Board’s ongoing regular review of fund performance and operations throughout the year.
Nature, extent, and quality of services. Among the information received by the Board from the Advisor relating to the nature, extent, and quality of services provided to the fund, the Board reviewed information provided by the Advisor relating to its operations and personnel, descriptions of its organizational and management structure, and information regarding the Advisor’s compliance and regulatory history, including its Form ADV. The Board also noted that on a regular basis it receives and reviews information from the fund’s Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) regarding the fund’s compliance policies and procedures established pursuant to Rule 38a-1 under the 1940 Act. The Board observed that the scope of services provided by the Advisor, and of the undertakings required of the Advisor in connection with those services, including maintaining and monitoring its own and the fund’s compliance programs, risk management programs, liquidity management programs, derivatives risk management programs, and cybersecurity programs, had expanded over time as a result of regulatory, market and other developments. The Board considered that the Advisor is responsible for the management of the day-to-day operations of the fund, including, but not limited to, general supervision of and coordination of the services provided by the Subadvisor, and is also responsible for monitoring and reviewing the activities of the Subadvisor and third-party service providers. The Board also considered the significant risks assumed by the Advisor in connection with the services provided to the fund including entrepreneurial risk in sponsoring new funds and ongoing risks including investment, operational, enterprise, litigation, regulatory and compliance risk with respect to all funds.
The Board also considered the differences between the Advisor’s services to the fund and the services it provides to other clients that are not closed-end funds, including, for example, the differences in services related to the regulatory and legal obligations of closed-end funds.
In considering the nature, extent, and quality of the services provided by the Advisor, the Trustees also took into account their knowledge of the Advisor’s management and the quality of the performance of the Advisor’s duties, through Board meetings, discussions and reports during the preceding year and through each Trustee’s experience as a Trustee of the fund and of the other funds in the John Hancock group of funds complex (the John Hancock Fund Complex).
In the course of their deliberations regarding the Advisory Agreement, the Board considered, among other things:
(a) the skills and competency with which the Advisor has in the past managed the fund’s affairs and its subadvisory relationship, the Advisor’s oversight and monitoring of the Subadvisor’s investment performance and compliance programs, such as the Subadvisor’s compliance with fund policies and objectives, review of brokerage matters, including with respect to trade allocation and best execution and the Advisor’s timeliness in responding to performance issues;
(b) the background, qualifications and skills of the Advisor’s personnel;
(c) the Advisor’s compliance policies and procedures and its responsiveness to regulatory changes and fund industry developments;
  ANNUAL REPORT  | JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST 57

(d) the Advisor’s administrative capabilities, including its ability to supervise the other service providers for the fund, as well as the Advisor’s oversight of any securities lending activity, its monitoring of class action litigation and collection of class action settlements on behalf of the fund, and bringing loss recovery actions on behalf of the fund;
(e) the financial condition of the Advisor and whether it has the financial wherewithal to provide a high level and quality of services to the fund;
(f) the Advisor’s initiatives intended to improve various aspects of the fund’s operations and investor experience with the fund; and
(g) the Advisor’s reputation and experience in serving as an investment advisor to the fund and the benefit to shareholders of investing in funds that are part of a family of funds offering a variety of investments.
The Board concluded that the Advisor may reasonably be expected to continue to provide a high quality of services under the Advisory Agreement with respect to the fund.
Investment performance. In considering the fund’s performance, the Board noted that it reviews at its regularly scheduled meetings information about the fund’s performance results. In connection with the consideration of the Advisory Agreement, the Board:
(a) reviewed information prepared by management regarding the fund’s performance;
(b) considered the comparative performance of an applicable benchmark index;
(c) considered the performance of comparable funds, if any, as included in the report prepared by an independent third-party provider of fund data;
(d) took into account the Advisor’s analysis of the fund’s performance; and
(e) considered the fund’s share performance and premium/discount information.
The Board noted that while it found the data provided by the independent third-party generally useful it recognized its limitations, including in particular that the data may vary depending on the end date selected and the results of the performance comparisons may vary depending on the selection of the peer group. The Board noted that, based on its net asset value, the fund outperformed its benchmark index for the ten-year period ended December 31, 2022, and underperformed for the one-, three-, and five-year periods. The Board also reviewed comparisons of the fund’s performance to the peer group, but noted the limited size of the peer group. The Board took into account management’s discussion of the factors that contributed to the fund’s performance relative to the benchmark index for the one-, three- and five-year periods including the impact of past and current market conditions on the fund’s strategy and management’s outlook for the fund. The Board concluded that the fund’s performance is being monitored and reasonably addressed, where appropriate.
Fees and expenses. The Board reviewed comparative information prepared by an independent third-party provider of fund data, including, among other data, the fund’s contractual and net management fees (and subadvisory fees, to the extent available) and total expenses as compared to similarly situated investment companies deemed to be comparable to the fund in light of the nature, extent and quality of the management and advisory and subadvisory services provided by the Advisor and the Subadvisor. The Board considered the fund’s ranking within a smaller group of peer funds chosen by the independent third-party provider, as well as the fund’s ranking within a broader group of funds. In comparing the fund’s contractual and net management fees to those of comparable funds, the Board noted that such fees include both advisory and administrative costs.
58 JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST  | ANNUAL REPORT  

The Board also took into account the impact of leverage on fund expenses. The Board took into account the management fee structure, including that management fees for the fund were based on the fund’s total managed assets, which are attributable to common stock and borrowings. The Board noted that net management fees for the fund are equal to the peer group median and net total expenses for the fund are higher than the peer group median.
The Board took into account management’s discussion of the fund’s expenses. The Board also took into account management’s discussion with respect to the overall management fee and the fees of the Subadvisor, including the amount of the advisory fee retained by the Advisor after payment of the subadvisory fee, in each case in light of the services rendered for those amounts and the risks undertaken by the Advisor. The Board also noted that the Advisor pays the subadvisory fee. In addition, the Board took into account that management had agreed to implement an overall fee waiver across the complex, including the fund, which is discussed further below. The Board also noted that, in addition, the Advisor is currently waiving fees and/or reimbursing expenses with respect to the fund and that the fund has breakpoints in its contractual management fee schedule that reduces management fees as assets increase. The Board reviewed information provided by the Advisor concerning the investment advisory fee charged by the Advisor or one of its advisory affiliates to other clients (including other funds in the John Hancock Fund Complex) having similar investment mandates, if any. The Board considered any differences between the Advisor’s and Subadvisor’s services to the fund and the services they provide to other comparable clients or funds. The Board concluded that the advisory fee paid with respect to the fund is reasonable in light of the nature, extent and quality of the services provided to the fund under the Advisory Agreement.
Profitability/Fall out benefits. In considering the costs of the services to be provided and the profits to be realized by the Advisor and its affiliates (including the Subadvisor) from the Advisor’s relationship with the fund, the Board:
(a) reviewed financial information of the Advisor;
(b) reviewed and considered information presented by the Advisor regarding the net profitability to the Advisor and its affiliates with respect to the fund;
(c) received and reviewed profitability information with respect to the John Hancock Fund Complex as a whole and with respect to the fund;
(d) received information with respect to the Advisor’s allocation methodologies used in preparing the profitability data and considered that the advisor hired an independent third-party consultant to provide an analysis of the Advisor’s allocation methodologies;
(e) considered that the Advisor also provides administrative services to the fund on a cost basis pursuant to an administrative services agreement;
(f) noted that the fund’s Subadvisor is an affiliate of the Advisor;
(g) noted that the Advisor also derives reputational and other indirect benefits from providing advisory services to the fund;
(h) noted that the subadvisory fees for the fund are paid by the Advisor;
(i) considered the Advisor’s ongoing costs and expenditures necessary to improve services, meet new regulatory and compliance requirements, and adapt to other challenges impacting the fund industry; and
(j) considered that the Advisor should be entitled to earn a reasonable level of profits in exchange for the level of services it provides to the fund and the risks that it assumes as Advisor, including entrepreneurial, operational, reputational, litigation and regulatory risk.
Based upon its review, the Board concluded that the level of profitability, if any, of the Advisor and its affiliates (including the Subadvisor) from their relationship with the fund was reasonable and not excessive.
  ANNUAL REPORT  | JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST 59

Economies of scale. In considering the extent to which the fund may realize any economies of scale and whether fee levels reflect these economies of scale for the benefit of the fund shareholders, the Board noted that the fund has a limited ability to increase its assets as a closed-end fund. The Board took into account management’s discussions of the current advisory fee structure, and, as noted above, the services the Advisor provides in performing its functions under the Advisory Agreement and in supervising the Subadvisor.
The Board also considered potential economies of scale that may be realized by the fund as part of the John Hancock Fund Complex. Among them, the Board noted that the Advisor has contractually agreed to waive a portion of its management fee and/or reimburse expenses for certain funds of the John Hancock Fund Complex, including the fund (the participating portfolios). This waiver is based upon aggregate net assets of all the participating portfolios. The amount of the reimbursement is calculated daily and allocated among all the participating portfolios in proportion to the daily net assets of each fund. The Board reviewed the fund’s advisory fee structure and concluded that: (i) the fund’s fee structure contains breakpoints at the subadvisory fee level and that such breakpoints are reflected as breakpoints in the advisory fees for the fund; and (ii) although economies of scale cannot be measured with precision, these arrangements permit shareholders of the fund to benefit from economies of scale if the fund grows. The Board also took into account management’s discussion of the fund’s advisory fee structure. The Board also considered the Advisor’s overall operations and its ongoing investment in its business in order to expand the scale of, and improve the quality of, its operations that benefit the fund. The Board determined that the management fee structure for the fund was reasonable.
Approval of Subadvisory Agreement
In making its determination with respect to approval of the Subadvisory Agreement, the Board reviewed:
(1) information relating to the Subadvisor’s business, including current subadvisory services to the fund (and other funds in the John Hancock Fund Complex);
(2) the historical and current performance of the fund and comparative performance information relating to an applicable benchmark index and comparable funds; and
(3) the subadvisory fee for the fund, including any breakpoints, and to the extent available, comparable fee information prepared by an independent third party provider of fund data.
Nature, extent, and quality of services. With respect to the services provided by the Subadvisor, the Board received information provided to the Board by the Subadvisor, including the Subadvisor’s Form ADV, as well as took into account information presented throughout the past year. The Board considered the Subadvisor’s current level of staffing and its overall resources, as well as received information relating to the Subadvisor’s compensation program. The Board reviewed the Subadvisor’s history and investment experience, as well as information regarding the qualifications, background, and responsibilities of the Subadvisor’s investment and compliance personnel who provide services to the fund. The Board also considered, among other things, the Subadvisor’s compliance program and any disciplinary history. The Board also considered the Subadvisor’s risk assessment and monitoring process. The Board reviewed the Subadvisor’s regulatory history, including whether it was involved in any regulatory actions or investigations as well as material litigation, and any settlements and amelioratory actions undertaken, as appropriate. The Board noted that the Advisor conducts regular, periodic reviews of the Subadvisor and its operations, including regarding investment processes and organizational and staffing matters. The Board also noted that the fund’s CCO and his staff conduct regular, periodic compliance reviews with the Subadvisor and present reports to the Independent Trustees regarding the same, which includes evaluating the regulatory compliance systems of the Subadvisor and procedures reasonably designed to assure compliance with the federal securities laws. The Board also took into account the financial condition of the Subadvisor.
The Board considered the Subadvisor’s investment process and philosophy. The Board took into account that the Subadvisor’s responsibilities include the development and maintenance of an investment program for the fund that is consistent with the fund’s investment objective, the selection of investment securities and the placement of
60 JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST  | ANNUAL REPORT  

orders for the purchase and sale of such securities, as well as the implementation of compliance controls related to performance of these services. The Board also received information with respect to the Subadvisor’s brokerage policies and practices, including with respect to best execution and soft dollars.
Subadvisor compensation. In considering the cost of services to be provided by the Subadvisor and the profitability to the Subadvisor of its relationship with the fund, the Board noted that the fees under the Subadvisory Agreement are paid by the Advisor and not the fund. The Board also received information and took into account any potential conflicts of interest the Advisor might have in connection with the Subadvisory Agreement.
In addition, the Board considered other potential indirect benefits that the Subadvisor and its affiliates may receive from the Subadvisor’s relationship with the fund, such as the opportunity to provide advisory services to additional funds in the John Hancock Fund Complex and reputational benefits.
Subadvisory fees. The Board considered that the fund pays an advisory fee to the Advisor and that, in turn, the Advisor pays subadvisory fees to the Subadvisor. As noted above, the Board also considered the fund’s subadvisory fee as compared to similarly situated investment companies deemed to be comparable to the fund as included in the report prepared by the independent third party provider of fund data, to the extent available. The Board noted that the limited size of the Lipper peer group was not sufficient for comparative purposes. The Board also took into account the subadvisory fee paid by the Advisor to the Subadvisor with respect to the fund and compared them to fees charged by the Subadvisor to manage other subadvised portfolios and portfolios not subject to regulation under the 1940 Act, as applicable.
Subadvisor performance. As noted above, the Board considered the fund’s performance as compared to the fund’s peer group median and the benchmark index and noted that the Board reviews information about the fund’s performance results at its regularly scheduled meetings. The Board noted the Advisor’s expertise and resources in monitoring the performance, investment style and risk-adjusted performance of the Subadvisor. The Board was mindful of the Advisor’s focus on the Subadvisor’s performance. The Board also noted the Subadvisor’s long-term performance record for similar accounts, as applicable.
The Board’s decision to approve the Subadvisory Agreement was based on a number of determinations, including the following:
(1) the Subadvisor has extensive experience and demonstrated skills as a manager;
(2) the fund’s performance is being monitored and reasonably addressed, where appropriate;
(3) the subadvisory fees are reasonable in relation to the level and quality of services being provided under the Subadvisory Agreement; and
(4) the subadvisory fee breakpoints are reflected as breakpoints in the advisory fees for the fund in order to permit shareholders to benefit from economies of scale if the fund grows.
* * *
Based on the Board’s evaluation of all factors that the Board deemed to be material, including those factors described above, the Board, including the Independent Trustees, concluded that renewal of the Advisory Agreement and the Subadvisory Agreement would be in the best interest of the fund and its shareholders. Accordingly, the Board, and the Independent Trustees voting separately, approved the Advisory Agreement and Subadvisory Agreement for an additional one-year period.
  ANNUAL REPORT  | JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST 61

Trustees and Officers
This chart provides information about the Trustees and Officers who oversee your John Hancock fund. Officers elected by the Trustees manage the day-to-day operations of the fund and execute policies formulated by the Trustees.
Independent Trustees    
Name, year of birth
Position(s) held with fund
Principal occupation(s) and other
directorships during past 5 years
Trustee
of the
Trust
since1
Number of John
Hancock funds
overseen by
Trustee
Hassell H. McClellan,2 Born: 1945 2012 179
Trustee and Chairperson of the Board    
Director/Trustee, Virtus Funds (2008-2020); Director, The Barnes Group (2010-2021); Associate Professor, The Wallace E. Carroll School of Management, Boston College (retired 2013). Trustee (since 2005) and Chairperson of the Board (since 2017) of various trusts within the John Hancock Fund Complex.
James R. Boyle, Born: 1959 2015 175
Trustee    
Board Member, United of Omaha Life Insurance Company (since 2022). Board Member, Mutual of Omaha Investor Services, Inc. (since 2022). Foresters Financial, Chief Executive Officer (2018–2022) and board member (2017–2022). Manulife Financial and John Hancock, more than 20 years, retiring in 2012 as Chief Executive Officer, John Hancock and Senior Executive Vice President, Manulife Financial. Trustee of various trusts within the John Hancock Fund Complex (2005–2014 and since 2015).
William H. Cunningham,3 Born: 1944 2005 177
Trustee    
Professor, University of Texas, Austin, Texas (since 1971); former Chancellor, University of Texas System and former President of the University of Texas, Austin, Texas; Director (since 2006), Lincoln National Corporation (insurance); Director, Southwest Airlines (since 2000). Trustee of various trusts within the John Hancock Fund Complex (since 1986).
Noni L. Ellison, Born: 1971 2022 175
Trustee    
Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary, Tractor Supply Company (rural lifestyle retailer) (since 2021); General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer & Corporate Secretary, Carestream Dental, L.L.C. (2017–2021); Associate General Counsel & Assistant Corporate Secretary, W.W. Grainger, Inc. (global industrial supplier) (2015–2017); Board Member, Goodwill of North Georgia, 2018 (FY2019)–2020 (FY2021); Board Member, Howard University School of Law Board of Visitors (since 2021); Board Member, University of Chicago Law School Board of Visitors (since 2016); Board member, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Foundation Board (2021–2023). Trustee of various trusts within the John Hancock Fund Complex (since 2022).
Grace K. Fey, Born: 1946 2012 179
Trustee    
Chief Executive Officer, Grace Fey Advisors (since 2007); Director and Executive Vice President, Frontier Capital Management Company (1988–2007); Director, Fiduciary Trust (since 2009). Trustee of various trusts within the John Hancock Fund Complex (since 2008).
Dean C. Garfield, Born: 1968 2022 175
Trustee    
Vice President, Netflix, Inc. (since 2019); President & Chief Executive Officer, Information Technology Industry Council (2009–2019); NYU School of Law Board of Trustees (since 2021); Member, U.S. Department of Transportation, Advisory Committee on Automation (since 2021); President of the United States Trade Advisory Council (2010–2018); Board Member, College for Every Student (2017–2021); Board Member, The Seed School of Washington, D.C. (2012–2017); Advisory Board Member of the Block Center for Technology and Society (since 2019). Trustee of various trusts within the John Hancock Fund Complex (since 2022).
62 JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST | ANNUAL REPORT  

Independent Trustees (continued)    
Name, year of birth
Position(s) held with fund
Principal occupation(s) and other
directorships during past 5 years
Trustee
of the
Trust
since1
Number of John
Hancock funds
overseen by
Trustee
Deborah C. Jackson, Born: 1952 2008 177
Trustee    
President, Cambridge College, Cambridge, Massachusetts (since 2011); Board of Directors, Amwell Corporation (since 2020); Board of Directors, Massachusetts Women’s Forum (2018-2020); Board of Directors, National Association of Corporate Directors/New England (2015-2020); Chief Executive Officer, American Red Cross of Massachusetts Bay (2002–2011); Board of Directors of Eastern Bank Corporation (since 2001); Board of Directors of Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation (since 2001); Board of Directors of Boston Stock Exchange (2002–2008); Board of Directors of Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare (health benefits company) (2007–2011). Trustee of various trusts within the John Hancock Fund Complex (since 2008).
Steven R. Pruchansky, Born: 1944 2005 175
Trustee and Vice Chairperson of the Board    
Managing Director, Pru Realty (since 2017); Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Greenscapes of Southwest Florida, Inc. (2014-2020); Director and President, Greenscapes of Southwest Florida, Inc. (until 2000); Member, Board of Advisors, First American Bank (until 2010); Managing Director, Jon James, LLC (real estate) (since 2000); Partner, Right Funding, LLC (2014-2017); Director, First Signature Bank & Trust Company (until 1991); Director, Mast Realty Trust (until 1994); President, Maxwell Building Corp. (until 1991). Trustee (since 1992), Chairperson of the Board (2011–2012), and Vice Chairperson of the Board (since 2012) of various trusts within the John Hancock Fund Complex.
Frances G. Rathke,3 Born: 1960 2020 175
Trustee    
Director, Audit Committee Chair, Oatly Group AB (plant-based drink company) (since 2021); Director, Audit Committee Chair and Compensation Committee Member, Green Mountain Power Corporation (since 2016); Director, Treasurer and Finance & Audit Committee Chair, Flynn Center for Performing Arts (since 2016); Director and Audit Committee Chair, Planet Fitness (since 2016); Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, Keurig Green Mountain, Inc. (2003-retired 2015). Trustee of various trusts within the John Hancock Fund Complex (since 2020).
Gregory A. Russo, Born: 1949 2008 175
Trustee    
Director and Audit Committee Chairman (2012-2020), and Member, Audit Committee and Finance Committee (2011-2020), NCH Healthcare System, Inc. (holding company for multi-entity healthcare system); Director and Member (2012-2018), and Finance Committee Chairman (2014-2018), The Moorings, Inc. (nonprofit continuing care community); Global Vice Chairman, Risk & Regulatory Matters, KPMG LLP (KPMG) (2002–2006); Vice Chairman, Industrial Markets, KPMG (1998–2002). Trustee of various trusts within the John Hancock Fund Complex (since 2008).
    
  ANNUAL REPORT | JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST 63

Non-Independent Trustees4    
Name, year of birth
Position(s) held with fund
Principal occupation(s) and other
directorships during past 5 years
Trustee
of the
Trust
since1
Number of John
Hancock funds
overseen by
Trustee
Andrew G. Arnott, Born: 1971 2017 177
Non-Independent Trustee    
Global Head of Retail for Manulife (since 2022); Head of Wealth and Asset Management, United States and Europe, for John Hancock and Manulife (2018-2023); Director and Chairman, John Hancock Investment Management LLC (since 2005, including prior positions); Director and Chairman, John Hancock Variable Trust Advisers LLC (since 2006, including prior positions); Director and Chairman, John Hancock Investment Management Distributors LLC (since 2004, including prior positions); President of various trusts within the John Hancock Fund Complex (2007-2023, including prior positions). Trustee of various trusts within the John Hancock Fund Complex (since 2017).
Paul Lorentz, Born: 1968 2022 175
Non-Independent Trustee    
Global Head, Manulife Wealth and Asset Management (since 2017); General Manager, Manulife, Individual Wealth Management and Insurance (2013–2017); President, Manulife Investments (2010–2016). Trustee of various trusts within the John Hancock Fund Complex (since 2022).
    
Principal officers who are not Trustees  
Name, year of birth
Position(s) held with fund
Principal occupation(s)
during past 5 years
Current
Position(s)
with the
Trust
since
Kristie M. Feinberg, Born: 1975 2023
President  
Head of Wealth and Asset Management, United States and Europe, for John Hancock and Manulife (since 2023); CFO and Global Head of Strategy, Manulife Investment Management (2021-2023, including prior positions); CFO Americas & Global Head of Treasury, Invesco, Ltd., Invesco US (2019-2020, including prior positions); Senior Vice President, Corporate Treasurer and Business Controller, Oppenheimer Funds (2001-2019, including prior positions); President of various trusts within the John Hancock Fund Complex (since 2023).
Charles A. Rizzo, Born: 1957 2007
Chief Financial Officer  
Vice President, John Hancock Financial Services (since 2008); Senior Vice President, John Hancock Investment Management LLC and John Hancock Variable Trust Advisers LLC (since 2008); Chief Financial Officer of various trusts within the John Hancock Fund Complex (since 2007).
Salvatore Schiavone, Born: 1965 2010
Treasurer  
Assistant Vice President, John Hancock Financial Services (since 2007); Vice President, John Hancock Investment Management LLC and John Hancock Variable Trust Advisers LLC (since 2007); Treasurer of various trusts within the John Hancock Fund Complex (since 2007, including prior positions).
64 JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST | ANNUAL REPORT  

Principal officers who are not Trustees (continued)  
Name, year of birth
Position(s) held with fund
Principal occupation(s)
during past 5 years
Current
Position(s)
with the
Trust
since
Christopher (Kit) Sechler, Born: 1973 2018
Secretary and Chief Legal Officer  
Vice President and Deputy Chief Counsel, John Hancock Investment Management (since 2015); Assistant Vice President and Senior Counsel (2009–2015), John Hancock Investment Management; Assistant Secretary of John Hancock Investment Management LLC and John Hancock Variable Trust Advisers LLC (since 2009); Chief Legal Officer and Secretary of various trusts within the John Hancock Fund Complex (since 2009, including prior positions).
Trevor Swanberg, Born: 1979 2020
Chief Compliance Officer  
Chief Compliance Officer, John Hancock Investment Management LLC and John Hancock Variable Trust Advisers LLC (since 2020); Deputy Chief Compliance Officer, John Hancock Investment Management LLC and John Hancock Variable Trust Advisers LLC (2019–2020); Assistant Chief Compliance Officer, John Hancock Investment Management LLC and John Hancock Variable Trust Advisers LLC (2016–2019); Vice President, State Street Global Advisors (2015–2016); Chief Compliance Officer of various trusts within the John Hancock Fund Complex (since 2016, including prior positions).
The business address for all Trustees and Officers is 200 Berkeley Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02116-5023.
The Fund does not make available copies of its Statement of Additional Information because the Fund’s shares are not continuously offered and the Statement of Additional Information has not been updated since the Fund’s last public offering, therefore the information contained in the Statement of Additional Information may be outdated.
1 Each Trustee holds office until his or her successor is duly elected and qualified, or until the Trustee’s death, retirement, resignation, or removal. Mr. Boyle has served as Trustee at various times prior to the date listed in the table.
2 Member of the Audit Committee as of September 26, 2023.
3 Member of the Audit Committee.
4 The Trustee is a Non-Independent Trustee due to current or former positions with the Advisor and certain affiliates.
   
   
  ANNUAL REPORT | JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST 65

More information
Trustees
Hassell H. McClellan, Chairpersonπ
Steven R. Pruchansky, Vice Chairperson
Andrew G. Arnott
James R. Boyle
William H. Cunningham*
Grace K. Fey
Noni L. Ellison
Dean C. Garfield
Deborah C. Jackson
Paul Lorentz
Frances G. Rathke*
Gregory A. Russo
Officers
Kristie M. Feinberg#
President
Charles A. Rizzo
Chief Financial Officer
Salvatore Schiavone
Treasurer
Christopher (Kit) Sechler
Secretary and Chief Legal Officer
Trevor Swanberg
Chief Compliance Officer
Investment advisor
John Hancock Investment Management LLC
Subadvisor
Manulife Investment Management (US) LLC
Portfolio Managers
Jeffrey N. Given, CFA
Howard C. Greene, CFA
Connor Minnaar, CFA
Custodian
State Street Bank and Trust Company
Transfer agent
Computershare Shareowner Services, LLC
Legal counsel
K&L Gates LLP
Independent registered public accounting firm
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Stock symbol
Listed New York Stock Exchange: JHS
 
π Member of the Audit Committee as of September 26, 2023.
 Non-Independent Trustee
* Member of the Audit Committee
# Effective June 29, 2023.
The fund’s proxy voting policies and procedures, as well as the fund proxy voting record for the most recent twelve-month period ended June 30, are available free of charge on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) website at sec.gov or on our website.
All of the fund’s holdings as of the end of the third month of every fiscal quarter are filed with the SEC on Form N-PORT within 60 days of the end of the fiscal quarter. The fund’s Form N-PORT filings are available on our website and the SEC’s website, sec.gov.
We make this information on your fund, as well as monthly portfolio holdings, and other fund details available on our website at jhinvestments.com or by calling 800-852-0218.
The report is certified under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which requires closed-end funds and other public companies to affirm that, to the best of their knowledge, the information in their financial reports is fairly and accurately stated in all material respects.
You can also contact us:    
800-852-0218 Regular mail: Express mail:
jhinvestments.com Computershare
P.O. Box 43006
Providence, RI 02940-3078
Computershare
150 Royall St., Suite 101
Canton, MA 02021
66 JOHN HANCOCK INCOME SECURITIES TRUST | ANNUAL REPORT  

John Hancock family of funds
U.S. EQUITY FUNDS

Blue Chip Growth
Classic Value
Disciplined Value
Disciplined Value Mid Cap
Equity Income
Financial Industries
Fundamental All Cap Core
Fundamental Large Cap Core
Mid Cap Growth
New Opportunities
Regional Bank
Small Cap Core
Small Cap Growth
Small Cap Value
U.S. Global Leaders Growth
U.S. Growth
INTERNATIONAL EQUITY FUNDS

Disciplined Value International
Emerging Markets
Emerging Markets Equity
Fundamental Global Franchise
Global Environmental Opportunities
Global Equity
Global Shareholder Yield
Global Thematic Opportunities
International Dynamic Growth
International Growth
International Small Company
FIXED-INCOME FUNDS

Bond
California Municipal Bond
Emerging Markets Debt
Floating Rate Income
Government Income
High Yield
High Yield Municipal Bond
Income
Investment Grade Bond
Money Market
Municipal Opportunities
Opportunistic Fixed Income
Short Duration Bond
Short Duration Municipal Opportunities
Strategic Income Opportunities
ALTERNATIVE FUNDS

Alternative Asset Allocation
Diversified Macro
Infrastructure
Multi-Asset Absolute Return
Real Estate Securities
Seaport Long/Short
 
A fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses should be considered carefully before investing. The prospectus contains this and other important information about the fund. To obtain a prospectus, contact your financial professional, call John Hancock Investment Management at 800-225-5291, or visit our website at jhinvestments.com. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing or sending money.

EXCHANGE-TRADED FUNDS

John Hancock Corporate Bond ETF
John Hancock Dynamic Municipal Bond ETF
John Hancock Fundamental All Cap Core ETF
John Hancock International High Dividend ETF
John Hancock Mortgage-Backed Securities ETF
John Hancock Multifactor Developed International ETF
John Hancock Multifactor Emerging Markets ETF
John Hancock Multifactor Large Cap ETF
John Hancock Multifactor Mid Cap ETF
John Hancock Multifactor Small Cap ETF
John Hancock Preferred Income ETF
John Hancock U.S. High Dividend ETF
ASSET ALLOCATION/TARGET DATE FUNDS

Balanced
Multi-Asset High Income
Lifestyle Blend Portfolios
Lifetime Blend Portfolios
Multimanager Lifestyle Portfolios
Multimanager Lifetime Portfolios
ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND
GOVERNANCE FUNDS

ESG Core Bond
ESG International Equity
ESG Large Cap Core
CLOSED-END FUNDS

Asset-Based Lending
Financial Opportunities
Hedged Equity & Income
Income Securities Trust
Investors Trust
Preferred Income
Preferred Income II
Preferred Income III
Premium Dividend
Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income
Tax-Advantaged Global Shareholder Yield
John Hancock ETF shares are bought and sold at market price (not NAV), and are not individually redeemed from the fund. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns.
John Hancock ETFs are distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC, and are subadvised by Manulife Investment Management (US) LLC or Dimensional Fund Advisors LP. Foreside is not affiliated with John Hancock Investment Management Distributors LLC, Manulife Investment Management (US) LLC or Dimensional Fund Advisors LP.
Dimensional Fund Advisors LP receives compensation from John Hancock in connection with licensing rights to the John Hancock Dimensional indexes. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP does not sponsor, endorse, or sell, and makes no representation as to the advisability of investing in, John Hancock Multifactor ETFs.

A trusted brand
John Hancock Investment Management is a premier asset manager
with a heritage of financial stewardship dating back to 1862. Helping
our shareholders pursue their financial goals is at the core of everything
we do. It’s why we support the role of professional financial advice
and operate with the highest standards of conduct and integrity.
A better way to invest
We serve investors globally through a unique multimanager approach:
We search the world to find proven portfolio teams with specialized
expertise for every strategy we offer, then we apply robust investment
oversight to ensure they continue to meet our uncompromising
standards and serve the best interests of our shareholders.
Results for investors
Our unique approach to asset management enables us to provide
a diverse set of investments backed by some of the world’s best
managers, along with strong risk-adjusted returns across asset classes.
“A trusted brand” is based on a survey of 6,651 respondents conducted by Medallia between 3/18/20 and 5/13/20.
John Hancock Investment Management LLC, 200 Berkeley Street, Boston, MA 02116-5010, 800-225-5291, jhinvestments.com
Manulife Investment Management, the 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.
MF3208622 P6A 10/23
12/2023

ITEM 2. CODE OF ETHICS.

As of the end of the year, October 31, 2023, the registrant has adopted a code of ethics, as defined in Item 2 of Form N-CSR, that applies to its Principal Executive Officer, Principal Financial Officer and Treasurer (respectively, the principal executive officer, the principal financial officer and the principal accounting officer, the "Covered Officers"). A copy of the code of ethics is filed as an exhibit to this Form N-CSR.

ITEM 3. AUDIT COMMITTEE FINANCIAL EXPERT.

Frances G. Rathke is the audit committee financial expert and is "independent", pursuant to general instructions on Form N-CSR Item 3.

ITEM 4. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES.

(a) Audit Fees

The aggregate fees billed for professional services rendered by the principal accountant(s) for John Hancock Income Securities Trust for the audit of the registrant's annual financial statements or services that are normally provided by the accountant(s) in connection with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements amounted to $55,552 for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2023 and $54,196 for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2022. These fees were billed to the registrant and were approved by the registrant's audit committee.

(b) Audit-Related Services

The aggregate fees for John Hancock Income Securities Trust for audit-related fees amounted to $12 for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2023 and $5 for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2022. These fees were billed to the registrant or to the registrant's investment adviser (not including any sub-adviser whose role is primarily portfolio management and is subcontracted with or overseen by another investment adviser), and any entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the adviser that provides ongoing services to the registrant ("control affiliates"). The nature of the services provided was related to a software licensing fee.

(c) Tax Fees

The aggregate fees for John Hancock Income Securities Trust billed for professional services rendered by the principal accountant(s) for the tax compliance, tax advice and tax planning ("tax fees") amounted to $5,253 for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2023 and $4,110 for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2022. The nature of the services comprising the tax fees was the review of the registrant's tax returns and tax distribution requirements. These fees were billed to the registrant and were approved by the registrant's audit committee.

(d) All Other Fees

All other fees for John Hancock Income Securities Trust billed to the registrant or control affiliates for products and services provided by the principal accountant were $0 for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2023 and $163 for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2022. The nature of the services comprising all other fees is advisory services provided to the investment manager. These fees were approved by the registrant's audit committee.

(e)(1) Audit Committee Pre-Approval Policies and Procedures:

The trust's Audit Committee must pre-approve all audit and non-audit services provided by the independent registered public accounting firm (the "Auditor") relating to the operations or financial reporting of the funds. Prior to the commencement of any audit or non-audit services to a fund, the Audit Committee reviews the services to determine whether they are appropriate and permissible under applicable law.

The trust's Audit Committee has adopted policies and procedures to, among other purposes, provide a framework for the Committee's consideration of audit-related and non-audit services by

 

the Auditor. The policies and procedures require that any audit-related and non-audit service provided by the Auditor and any non-audit service provided by the Auditor to a fund service provider that relates directly to the operations and financial reporting of a fund are subject to approval by the Audit Committee before such service is provided. Audit-related services provided by the Auditor that are expected to exceed $25,000 per instance/per fund are subject to specific pre-approval by the Audit Committee. Tax services provided by the Auditor that are expected to exceed $30,000 per instance/per fund are subject to specific pre-approval by the Audit Committee.

All audit services, as well as the audit-related and non-audit services that are expected to exceed the amounts stated above, must be approved in advance of provision of the service by formal resolution of the Audit Committee. At the regularly scheduled Audit Committee meetings, the Committee reviews a report summarizing the services, including fees, provided by the Auditor.

(e)(2) Services approved pursuant to paragraph (c)(7)(i)(C) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X:

Audit-Related Fees, Tax Fees and All Other Fees:

There were no amounts that were approved by the Audit Committee pursuant to the de minimis exception under Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X.

(f)According to the registrant's principal accountant, for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2023, the percentage of hours spent on the audit of the registrant's financial statements for the most recent fiscal year that were attributed to work performed by persons who were not full-time, permanent employees of principal accountant was less than 50%.

(g)The aggregate non-audit fees billed by the registrant's accountant(s) for services rendered to the registrant and rendered to the registrant's control affiliates for each of the last two fiscal years of the registrant were $1,354,703 for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2023 and $1,198,914 for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2022.

(h)The audit committee of the registrant has considered the non-audit services provided by the registrant's principal accountant(s) to the control affiliates and has determined that the services that were not pre-approved are compatible with maintaining the principal accountant(s)' independence.

(i)Not applicable.

(j)Not applicable.

ITEM 5. AUDIT COMMITTEE OF LISTED REGISTRANTS.

The registrant has a separately-designated standing audit committee comprised of independent trustees. The members of the audit committee are as follows:

Frances G. Rathke – Chairperson

William H. Cunningham

Hassell H. McClellan, effective September 26, 2023

ITEM 6. SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS.

(a)Not applicable.

(b)Not applicable.

ITEM 7. DISCLOSURE OF PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR CLOSED- END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES.

See attached exhibit - Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures.

 

ITEM 8.

PORTFOLIO MANAGERS OF CLOSED-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES.

Information about the Manulife Investment Management (US) LLC ("Manulife IM (US)") portfolio managers.

Below is a list of the Manulife Investment Management (US) LLC portfolio managers who share joint responsibility for the day-to-day investment management of the Fund. It provides a brief summary of their business careers over the past five years.

The information provided is as of the filing date of this N-CSR.

Jeffrey N. Given, CFA

Senior Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager Manulife Investment Management (US) LLC since 2012

Managing Director, Manulife Investment Management (US) LLC (2005–2012) Second Vice President, John Hancock Investment Management, LLC (1993–2005) Began business career in 1993

Managed the Fund since 1999

Howard C. Greene, CFA

Senior Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager

Manulife Investment Management (US) LLC since 2005

Began business career in 1979

Managed the Fund since 2005

Connor Minnaar, CFA

Senior Director and Associate Portfolio Manager

Joined Manulife IM (US) in 2006

Began business career in 2002

Managed fund since 2022

Other Accounts the Portfolio Managers are Managing

The table below indicates, for each portfolio manager, information about the accounts over which the portfolio manager has day-to-day investment responsibility. All information on the number of accounts and total assets in the table is as of October 31, 2023. For purposes of the table, "Other Pooled Investment Vehicles" may include investment partnerships and group trusts, and "Other Accounts" may include separate accounts for institutions or individuals, insurance company general or separate accounts, pension funds and other similar institutional accounts.

 

 

Registered Investment

 

Other Pooled

 

 

 

 

 

 

Companies

 

Investment Vehicles

 

Other Accounts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Number

 

Total

 

Number

 

Total

 

Number

 

Total

 

 

of

 

Assets

 

of

 

Assets

 

of

 

Assets

 

 

Accounts

 

$Million

 

Accounts

 

$Million

 

Accounts

 

$Million

Jeffrey N.

 

15

 

34,124

 

34

 

7,232

 

30

 

11,223

Given, CFA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Howard C.

 

15

 

34,124

 

34

 

7,232

 

31

 

11,224

Greene,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CFA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Registered Investment

 

Other Pooled

 

 

 

 

 

 

Companies

 

Investment Vehicles

 

Other Accounts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Number

 

Total

 

Number

 

Total

 

Number

 

Total

 

 

of

 

Assets

 

of

 

Assets

 

of

 

Assets

 

 

Accounts

 

$Million

 

Accounts

 

$Million

 

Accounts

 

$Million

Connor

 

16

 

38,121

 

27

 

5,054

 

28

 

10,869

Minnaar,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CFA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Number and value of accounts within the total accounts that are subject to a performance-based advisory fee: 0

Conflicts of Interest. When a portfolio manager is responsible for the management of more than one account, the potential arises for the portfolio manager to favor one account over another. The principal types of potential conflicts of interest that may arise are discussed below. For the reasons outlined below, the Fund does not believe that any material conflicts are likely to arise out of a portfolio manager's responsibility for the management of the Fund as well as one or more other accounts. The Advisor and Subadvisor have adopted procedures that are intended to monitor compliance with the policies referred to in the following paragraphs. Generally, the risks of such conflicts of interests are increased to the extent that a portfolio manager has a financial incentive to favor one account over another. The Advisor and Subadvisor have structured their compensation arrangements in a manner that is intended to limit such potential for conflicts of interests. See "Compensation of Portfolio Managers" below.

A portfolio manager could favor one account over another in allocating new investment opportunities that have limited supply, such as initial public offerings and private placements. If, for example, an initial public offering that was expected to appreciate in value significantly shortly after the offering was allocated to a single account, that account may be expected to have better investment performance than other accounts that did not receive an allocation on the initial public offering. The Subadvisor has policies that require a portfolio manager to allocate such investment opportunities in an equitable manner and generally to allocate such investments proportionately among all accounts with similar investment objectives.

A portfolio manager could favor one account over another in the order in which trades for the accounts are placed. If a portfolio manager determines to purchase a security for more than one account in an aggregate amount that may influence the market price of the security, accounts that purchased or sold the security first may receive a more favorable price than accounts that made subsequent transactions. The less liquid the market for the security or the greater the percentage that the proposed aggregate purchases or sales represent of average daily trading volume, the greater the potential for accounts that make subsequent purchases or sales to receive a less favorable price. When a portfolio manager intends to trade the same security for more than one account, the policies of the Subadvisor generally require that such trades be "bunched," which means that the trades for the individual accounts are aggregated and each account receives the same price. There are some types of accounts as to which bunching may not be possible for contractual reasons (such as directed brokerage arrangements). Circumstances may also arise where the trader believes that bunching the orders may not result in the best possible price. Where those accounts or circumstances are involved, the Subadvisor will place the order in a manner intended to result in as favorable a price as possible for such client.

A portfolio manager could favor an account if the portfolio manager's compensation is tied to the performance of that account rather than all accounts managed by the portfolio

 

manager. If, for example, the portfolio manager receives a bonus based upon the performance of certain accounts relative to a benchmark while other accounts are disregarded for this purpose, the portfolio manager will have a financial incentive to seek to have the accounts that determine the portfolio manager's bonus achieve the best possible performance to the possible detriment of other accounts. Similarly, if the Subadvisor receives a performance-based advisory fee, the portfolio manager may favor that account, whether or not the performance of that account directly determines the portfolio manager's compensation. The investment performance on specific accounts is not a factor in determining the portfolio manager's compensation. See "Compensation of Portfolio Managers" below. Neither the Advisor nor the Subadvisor receives a performance-based fee with respect to any of the accounts managed by the portfolio managers.

A portfolio manager could favor an account if the portfolio manager has a beneficial interest in the account, in order to benefit a large client or to compensate a client that had poor returns. For example, if the portfolio manager held an interest in an investment partnership that was one of the accounts managed by the portfolio manager, the portfolio manager would have an economic incentive to favor the account in which the portfolio manager held an interest. The Subadvisor imposes certain trading restrictions and reporting requirements for accounts in which a portfolio manager or certain family members have a personal interest in order to confirm that such accounts are not favored over other accounts.

If the different accounts have materially and potentially conflicting investment objectives or strategies, a conflict of interest may arise. For example, if a portfolio manager purchases a security for one account and sells the same security short for another account, such trading pattern could disadvantage either the account that is long or short. In making portfolio manager assignments, the Subadvisor seeks to avoid such potentially conflicting situations. However, where a portfolio manager is responsible for accounts with differing investment objectives and policies, it is possible that the portfolio manager will conclude that it is in the best interest of one account to sell a portfolio security while another account continues to hold or increase the holding in such security.

Compensation of Portfolio Managers. The Subadvisor has adopted a system of compensation for portfolio managers and others involved in the investment process that is applied systematically among investment professionals. At the Subadvisor, the structure of compensation of investment professionals is currently composed of the following basic components: base salary and short- and long-term incentives. The following describes each component of the compensation package for the individuals identified as a portfolio manager for the Funds.

Base salary. Base compensation is fixed and normally reevaluated on an annual basis. The Subadvisor seeks to set compensation at market rates, taking into account the experience and responsibilities of the investment professional.

Incentives. Only investment professionals are eligible to participate in the short-and long-term incentive plan. Under the plan, investment professionals are eligible for an annual cash award. The plan is intended to provide a competitive level of annual bonus compensation that is tied to the investment professional achieving superior investment performance and aligns the financial incentives of the Subadvisor and the investment professional. Any bonus under the plan is completely discretionary, with a maximum annual bonus that may be well in excess of base salary. Payout of a portion of this bonus may be deferred for up to five years. While the amount of any bonus is discretionary, the following factors are generally used in determining bonuses under the plan:

 

Investment Performance: The investment performance of all accounts managed by the investment professional over one, three and five-year periods are considered. With respect to fixed income accounts, relative yields are also used to measure performance. The pre-tax performance of each account is measured relative to an appropriate benchmark and universe as identified in the table below.

Financial Performance: The profitability of the Subadvisor and its parent company are also considered in determining bonus awards.

Non-Investment Performance: To a lesser extent, intangible contributions, including the investment professional's support of client service and sales activities, new fund/strategy idea generation, professional growth and development, and management, where applicable, are also evaluated when determining bonus awards.

In addition to the above, compensation may also include a revenue component for an investment team derived from a number of factors including, but not limited to client assets under management, investment performance, and firm metrics.

Manulife Equity Awards. A limited number of senior investment professionals may receive options to purchase shares of Manulife Financial stock. Generally, such option would permit the investment professional to purchase a set amount of stock at the market price on the date of grant. The option can be exercised for a set period (normally a number of years or until termination of employment) and the investment professional would exercise the option if the market value of Manulife Financial stock increases. Some investment professionals may receive restricted stock grants, where the investment professional is entitled to receive the stock at no or nominal cost, provided that the stock is forgone if the investment professional's employment is terminated prior to a vesting date.

Deferred Incentives. Investment professionals may receive deferred incentives which are fully invested in strategies managed by the team/individuals as well as other Manulife Asset Management strategies.

The Subadvisor also permits investment professionals to participate on a voluntary basis in a deferred compensation plan, under which the investment professional may elect on an annual basis to defer receipt of a portion of their compensation until retirement. Participation in the plan is voluntary.

Share Ownership by Portfolio Managers. The following table indicates as of October 31, 2023, the value of shares beneficially owned by the portfolio managers in the Fund.

 

Range of

 

Beneficial

 

Ownership in the

Portfolio Manager

Fund

 

 

Jeffrey N. Given, CFA

$1–$10,000

Howard C. Greene, CFA

$1–$10,000

Connor Minnaar, CFA

none

 

ITEM 9. PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES BY CLOSED-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANY AND AFFILIATED PURCHASERS.

(a)Not applicable.

REGISTRANT PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

 

 

Average

Total number of

Maximum number of

 

Total number of

shares purchased as

shares that may yet

 

price per

part of publicly

be purchased under

Period

shares purchased

share

announced plans*

the plans*

Nov-22

-

-

-

1,164,659

Dec-22

-

-

-

1,164,659

Jan-23

-

-

-

1,164,659

Feb-23

-

-

-

1,164,659

Mar-23

-

-

-

1,164,659

Apr-23

-

-

-

1,164,659

May-23

-

-

-

1,164,659

Jun-23

-

-

-

1,164,659

Jul-23

-

-

-

1,164,659

Aug-23

-

-

-

1,164,659

Sep-23

-

-

-

1,164,659

Oct-23

-

-

-

1,164,659

Total

-

-

 

 

*On March 12, 2015, the Board of Trustees approved a share repurchase plan, which is subsequently reviewed by the Board of Trustees each year in December. Under the current share repurchase plan, the Fund may purchase in the open market, up to 10% of its outstanding common shares as of December 31, 2022. The current share repurchase plan will remain in effect between January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023.

ITEM 10. SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS.

(a)The registrant has adopted procedures by which shareholders may recommend nominees to the registrant's Board of Trustees. A copy of the procedures is filed as an exhibit to this Form N-CSR. See attached "John Hancock Funds – Nominating and Governance Committee Charter".

ITEM 11. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES.

(a)Based upon their evaluation of the registrant's disclosure controls and procedures as conducted within 90 days of the filing date of this Form N-CSR, the registrant's principal executive officer and principal financial officer have concluded that those disclosure controls and procedures provide reasonable assurance that the material information required to be disclosed by the registrant on this report is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Securities and Exchange Commission's rules and forms.

(b)There were no changes in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the period covered by this report that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant's internal control over financial reporting.

 

ITEM 12. DISCLOSURE OF SECURITIES LENDING ACTIVITIES FOR CLOSED-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES.

The Fund did not participate directly in securities lending activities. See Note 8 to the financial statements in Item 1.

ITEM 13. EXHIBITS.

(a)(1) Code of Ethics for Covered Officers is attached.

(a)(2) Separate certifications for the registrant's principal executive officer and principal financial officer, as required by Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and Rule 30a-2(a) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, are attached.

(b)Separate certifications for the registrant's principal executive officer and principal financial officer, as required by 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, and Rule 30a-2(b) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, are attached. The certifications furnished pursuant to this paragraph are not deemed to be "filed" for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or otherwise subject to the liability of that section. Such certifications are not deemed to be incorporated by reference into any filing under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, except to the extent that the Registrant specifically incorporates them by reference.

(c)(1) Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures are attached.

(c)(2) Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders is attached. See attached "John Hancock Funds – Nominating and Governance Committee Charter".

 

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

John Hancock Income Securities Trust

By:

/s/ Kristie M. Feinberg

 

------------------------------

 

Kristie M. Feinberg

 

President

Date:

December 15, 2023

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

By:

/s/ Kristie M. Feinberg

 

------------------------------

 

Kristie M. Feinberg

 

President

Date:

December 15, 2023

By:

Charles A. Rizzo

 

--------------------------------

 

Charles A. Rizzo

 

Chief Financial Officer

Date:

December 15, 2023


JOHN HANCOCK VARIABLE INSURANCE TRUST

JOHN HANCOCK FUNDS

JOHN HANCOCK FUNDS II

JOHN HANCOCK EXCHANGE-TRADED FUND TRUST

SARBANES-OXLEY CODE OF ETHICS

FOR

PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE, PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL OFFICER & TREASURER

I.Covered Officers/Purpose of the Code

This code of ethics (this "Code") for John Hancock Variable Insurance Trust, John Hancock Funds1, and John Hancock Funds II, John Hancock Exchange-Traded Fund Trust and, each a registered management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended ("1940 Act"), which may issue shares in separate and distinct series (each investment company and series thereunder to be hereinafter referred to as a "Fund"), applies to each Fund's Principal Executive Officer ("President"), Principal Financial Officer ("Chief Financial Officer") and Treasurer ("Treasurer") (the "Covered Officers" as set forth in Exhibit A) for the purpose of promoting:

honest and ethical conduct, including the ethical handling of actual or apparent conflicts of interest between personal and professional relationships;

full, fair, accurate, timely and understandable disclosure in reports and documents that the Fund files with, or submits to, the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and in other public communications made by the Fund;

compliance with applicable laws and governmental rules and regulations;

the prompt internal reporting of violations of the Code to an appropriate person or persons identified in the Code; and

accountability for adherence to the Code.

1John Hancock Funds includes the following trusts: John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund; John Hancock Bond Trust; John Hancock California Tax-Free Income Fund; John Hancock Capital Series; John Hancock Funds III; John Hancock Income Securities Trust; John Hancock Investment Trust; John Hancock Investment Trust II; John Hancock Investors Trust; John Hancock Municipal Securities Trust; John Hancock Premium Dividend Fund ; John Hancock Preferred Income Fund; John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II; John Hancock Preferred Income Fund III; John Hancock Sovereign Bond Fund; John Hancock Strategic Series; John Hancock Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund; John Hancock Tax-Advantaged Global Shareholder Yield Fund; John Hancock Hedged Equity and Income Fund; and John Hancock Collateral Trust.

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Each of the Covered Officers should adhere to a high standard of business ethics and should be sensitive to situations that may give rise to actual as well as apparent conflicts of interest.

II.Covered Officers Should Handle Ethically Actual and Apparent Conflicts of Interest Overview

A "conflict of interest" occurs when a Covered Officer's private interest interferes with the interests of, or his service to, the Fund. For example, a conflict of interest would arise if a Covered Officer, or a member of his family, receives improper personal benefits as a result of his position with the Fund. Certain conflicts of interest arise out of the relationships between the Covered Officers and the Fund and already are subject to conflict of interest provisions in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "Investment Company Act") and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the "Investment Advisers Act"). For example, Covered Officers may not individually engage in certain transactions (such as the purchase or sale of securities or other property) with the Fund because of their status as "affiliated persons" of the Fund. Each of the Covered Officers is an officer or employee of the investment adviser or a service provider ("Service Provider") to the Fund. The Fund's, the investment adviser's and the Service Provider's compliance programs and procedures are designed to prevent, or identify and correct, violations of these provisions. This Code does not, and is not intended to, repeat or replace these programs and procedures, and such conflicts fall outside of the parameters of this Code.

Although typically not presenting an opportunity for improper personal benefit, conflicts arise from, or as a result of, the contractual relationship between the Fund and the investment adviser and the Service Provider of which the Covered Officers are also officers or employees. As a result, this Code recognizes that the Covered Officers will, in the normal course of their duties (whether formally for the Fund, for the investment adviser or for the Service Provider), be involved in establishing policies and implementing decisions which will have different effects on the investment adviser, the Service Provider and the Fund. The participation of the Covered Officers in such activities is inherent in the contractual relationship between the Fund and the investment adviser and the Service Provider and is consistent with the performance by the Covered Officers of their duties as officers of the Fund. Thus, if such participation is performed in conformity with the provisions of the Investment Company Act and the Investment Advisers Act, it will be deemed to have been handled ethically. In addition, it is recognized by the Fund's Board of Trustees/Directors (the "Board") that the Covered Officers may also be officers or employees of one or more other investment companies covered by other Codes.

Other conflicts of interest are covered by the Code, even if such conflicts of interest are not subject to provisions in the Investment Company Act and the Investment Advisers Act. The following list provides examples of conflicts of interest under the Code, but the Covered Officers should keep in mind that these examples are not exhaustive. The overarching principle is that the personal interest of a Covered Officer should not be placed improperly before the interest of the Fund.

***

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Each Covered Officer must:

not use his/her personal influence or personal relationships improperly to influence investment decisions or financial reporting by the Fund whereby the Covered Officer would benefit personally to the detriment of the Fund;

not cause the Fund to take action, or fail to take action, for the individual personal benefit of the Covered Officer rather than for the benefit of the Fund; and

not use material non-public knowledge of portfolio transactions made or contemplated for the Fund to trade personally or cause others to trade personally in contemplation of the market effect of such transactions.

Additionally, conflicts of interest may arise in other situations, the propriety of which may be discussed, if material, with the Fund's Chief Compliance Officer ("CCO"). Examples of these include:

serve as a director/trustee on the board of any public or private company;

the receipt of any non-nominal gifts;

the receipt of any entertainment from any company with which the Fund has current or prospective business dealings unless such entertainment is business-related, reasonable in cost, appropriate as to time and place, and not so frequent as to raise any question of impropriety (or other formulation as the Fund already uses in another code of conduct);

any ownership interest in, or any consulting or employment relationship with, any of the Fund's service providers, other than its investment adviser, any sub-adviser, principal underwriter, administrator or any affiliated person thereof; and

a direct or indirect financial interest in commissions, transaction charges or spreads paid by the Fund for effecting portfolio transactions or for selling or redeeming shares other than an interest arising from the Covered Officer's employment, such as compensation or equity ownership.

III.Disclosure & Compliance

Each Covered Officer should familiarize himself or herself with the disclosure requirements generally applicable to the Fund;

Each Covered Officer should not knowingly misrepresent, or cause others to misrepresent, facts about the Fund to others, whether within or outside the Fund, including to the Fund's directors and auditors, and to governmental regulators and self- regulatory organizations;

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Each Covered Officer should, to the extent appropriate within his/her area of responsibility, consult with other officers and employees of the Fund and the Fund's adviser or any sub-adviser with the goal of promoting full, fair, accurate, timely and understandable disclosure in the reports and documents the Fund files with, or submits to, the SEC and in other public communications made by the Fund; and

It is the responsibility of each Covered Officer to promote compliance with the standards and restrictions imposed by applicable laws, rules and regulations.

IV. Reporting & Accountability

Each Covered Officer must:

upon adoption of the Code (or thereafter as applicable, upon becoming an Covered Officer), affirm in writing to the Fund's CCO that he/she has received, read, and understands the Code;

annually thereafter affirm to the Fund's CCO that he/she has complied with the requirements of the Code;

not retaliate against any employee or Covered Officer or their affiliated persons for reports of potential violations that are made in good faith;

notify the Fund's CCO promptly if he/she knows of any violation of this Code (Note: failure to do so is itself a violation of this Code); and

report at least annually any change in his/her affiliations from the prior year.

The Fund's CCO is responsible for applying this Code to specific situations in which questions are presented under it and has the authority to interpret this Code in any particular situation. However, any approvals or waivers sought by the Principal Executive Officer will be considered by the Fund's Board or the Compliance Committee thereof (the "Committee").

The Fund will follow these procedures in investigating and enforcing this Code:

the Fund's CCO will take all appropriate action to investigate any potential violations reported to him/her;

if, after such investigation, the CCO believes that no violation has occurred, the CCO is not required to take any further action;

any matter that the CCO believes is a violation will be reported to the Board or, if applicable, Compliance Committee;

if the Board or, if applicable, Compliance Committee concurs that a violation has occurred, the Board, either upon its determination of a violation or upon

4 of 6

recommendation of the Compliance Committee, if applicable, will consider appropriate action, which may include review of, and appropriate modifications to, applicable policies and procedures; notification to appropriate personnel of the Service Provider or the investment adviser or its board; or a recommendation to dismiss the Registrant's Executive Officer;

the Board, or if applicable the Compliance Committee, will be responsible for granting waivers, as appropriate; and

any changes to or waivers of this Code will, to the extent required, be disclosed as provided by SEC rules.

V.Other Policies & Procedures

This Code shall be the sole code of ethics adopted by the Fund for purposes of Section 406 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the rules and forms applicable to registered investment companies thereunder. Insofar as other policies or procedures of the Fund, the Fund's adviser, any sub- adviser, principal underwriter or other service providers govern or purport to govern the behavior or activities of the Covered Officers who are subject to this Code, they are superseded by this Code to the extent that they overlap or conflict with the provisions of this Code. The Fund's and its investment adviser's codes of ethics under Rule 204A-1 under the Investment Advisers Act and Rule 17j-1 under the Investment Company Act, respectively, are separate requirements applying to the Covered Officers and others and are not part of this Code.

VI. Amendments

Any amendments to this Code, other than amendments to Exhibit A, must be approved or ratified by a majority vote of the Fund's Board, including a majority of independent directors.

VII. Confidentiality

All reports and records prepared or maintained pursuant to this Code will be considered confidential and shall be maintained and protected accordingly. Except as otherwise required by law or this Code, such matters shall not be disclosed to anyone other than the Fund's Board and its counsel, the investment adviser and the relevant Service Providers.

VIII. Internal Use

The Code is intended solely for the internal use by the Fund and does not constitute an admission, by or on behalf of the Fund, as to any fact, circumstance, or legal conclusion.

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Exhibit A

Persons Covered by this Code of Ethics

(As of June 29, 2023)

John Hancock Variable Insurance Trust

Principal Executive Officer and President – Kristie Feinberg

Principal Financial Officer and Chief Financial Officer – Charles Rizzo

Treasurer – Salvatore Schiavone

John Hancock Funds

Principal Executive Officer and President – Kristie Feinberg

Principal Financial Officer and Chief Financial Officer – Charles Rizzo

Treasurer – Salvatore Schiavone

John Hancock Funds II

Principal Executive Officer and President – Kristie Feinberg

Principal Financial Officer and Chief Financial Officer – Charles Rizzo

Treasurer – Salvatore Schiavone

John Hancock Exchange-Traded Trust

Principal Executive Officer and President – Kristie Feinberg

Principal Financial Officer and Chief Financial Officer – Charles Rizzo

Treasurer – Salvatore Schiavone

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CERTIFICATION

I, Kristie M. Feinberg, certify that:

1.I have reviewed this report on Form N-CSR of the John Hancock Income Securities Trust (the "registrant");

2.Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

3.Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations, changes in net assets, and cash flows (if the financial statements are required to include a statement of cash flows) of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4.The registrant's other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) for the registrant and have:

(a)Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

(b)Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

(c)Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of a date within 90 days prior to the filing date of this report based on such evaluation; and

(d)Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the period covered by this report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant's internal control over financial reporting; and

5.The registrant's other certifying officer and I have disclosed to the registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

(a)All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to record, process, summarize, and report financial information; and

(b)Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting.

Date: December 15, 2023

 

/s/ Kristie M. Feinberg

 

 

Kristie M. Feinberg

 

President


CERTIFICATION

I, Charles A. Rizzo, certify that:

1.I have reviewed this report on Form N-CSR of the John Hancock Income Securities Trust (the "registrant");

2.Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

3.Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations, changes in net assets, and cash flows (if the financial statements are required to include a statement of cash flows) of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4.The registrant's other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) for the registrant and have:

(a)Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

(b)Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

(c)Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of a date within 90 days prior to the filing date of this report based on such evaluation; and

(d)Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the period covered by this report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant's internal control over financial reporting; and

5.The registrant's other certifying officer and I have disclosed to the registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

(a)All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to record, process, summarize, and report financial information; and

(b)Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting.

Date: December 15, 2023

/s/ Charles A. Rizzo

 

Charles A. Rizzo

 

Chief Financial Officer


Certification Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of

the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002*

In connection with the attached Report of John Hancock Income Securities Trust (the "registrant") on Form N-CSR to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Report"), each of the undersigned officers of the registrant does hereby certify that, to the best of such officer's knowledge:

1.The Report fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and

2.The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in the Report.

/s/ Kristie M. Feinberg

--------------------------------

Kristie M. Feinberg President

Dated: December 15, 2023

/s/ Charles A. Rizzo

-------------------------------

Charles A. Rizzo

Chief Financial Officer

Dated: December 15, 2023

A signed original of this written statement, required by Section 906, has been provided to the registrant and will be retained by the registrant and furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission or its staff upon request.

*These certifications are being furnished solely pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350 and are not being filed as part of this Form N-CSR or as a separate disclosure document.


Manulife Investment Management global proxy

voting policy and procedures

INTERNAL

Global Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures

Applicable Business Unit: Manulife Investment Management Public Markets

Applicable Legal Entity(ies): Refer to Appendix A

Committee Approval: Manulife IM Public Markets Operating Committee

Business Owner: Manulife IM Public Markets

Policy Sponsor: Chief Compliance Officer, Manulife IM Public Markets

Policy Last Updated/Reviewed: April 2021

Policy Next Review Date: April 2024

Policy Original Issue Date: February 2011

Review Cycle: Three (3) years

Company policy documents are for internal use only and may not be shared outside the Company, in whole or part, without prior approval from the Global Chief Compliance Officer (or local Chief Compliance Officer if policy is only entity-applicable) who will consult, as appropriate with, the Policy Sponsor and legal counsel when deciding whether to approve and the conditions attached to any approval.

INTERNAL

Manulife Investment Management global proxy voting policy and procedures

Executive summary

Each investment team at Manulife Investment Management (Manulife IM)1 is responsible for investing in line with its investment philosophy and clients' objectives. Manulife IM's approach to proxy voting aligns with its organizational structure and encourages best practices in governance and management of environmental and social risks and opportunities. Manulife IM has adopted and implemented proxy voting policies and procedures to ensure that proxies are voted in the best interests of its clients for whom it has proxy voting authority.

This global proxy voting policy and procedures (policy) applies to each of the Manulife IM advisory affiliates listed in Appendix A. In seeking to adhere to local regulatory requirements of the jurisdiction in which an advisory affiliate operates, additional procedures specific to that affiliate may be implemented to ensure compliance, where applicable. The policy is not intended to cover every possible situation that may arise in the course of business, but rather to act as a decision-making guide. It is therefore subject to change and interpretation from time to time as facts and circumstances dictate.

Statement of policy

The right to vote is a basic component of share ownership and is an important control mechanism to ensure that a company is managed in the best interests of its shareholders. Where clients delegate proxy voting authority to Manulife IM, Manulife IM has a fiduciary duty to exercise voting rights responsibly.

Where Manulife IM is granted and accepts responsibility for voting proxies for client accounts, it will seek to ensure proxies are received and voted in the best interests of the client with a view to maximize the economic value of their equity securities unless it determines that it is in the best interests of the client to refrain from voting a given proxy.

If there is any potential material proxy-related conflict of interest between Manulife IM and its clients, identification and resolution processes are in place to provide for determination in the best interests of the client.

Manulife IM will disclose information about its proxy voting policies and procedures to its clients.

Manulife IM will maintain certain records relating to proxy voting.

1Manulife Investment Management is the unified global brand for Manulife's global wealth and asset management business, which serves individual investors and institutional clients in three businesses: retirement, retail, and institutional asset management (Public markets and private markets).

April 2021 2

INTERNAL

Manulife Investment Management global proxy voting policy and procedures

Philosophy on sustainable investing

Manulife IM's commitment to sustainable investment2 is focused on protecting and enhancing the value of our clients' investments and, as active owners in the companies in which we invest, we believe that voting at shareholder meetings can contribute to the long-term sustainability of our investee companies. Manulife IM will seek to exercise the rights and responsibilities associated with equity ownership, on behalf of its clients, with a focus on maximizing long-term shareholder returns, as well as enhancing and improving the operating strength of the companies to create sustainable value for shareholders.

Manulife IM invests in a wide range of securities across the globe, ranging from large multinationals to smaller early-stage companies, and from well-developed markets to emerging and frontier markets. Expectations of those companies vary by market to reflect local standards, regulations, and laws. Manulife IM believes, however, that successful companies across regions are generally better positioned over the long term if they have:

Robust oversight, including a strong and effective board with independent and objective leaders working on behalf of shareholders;

Mechanisms to mitigate risk such as effective internal controls, board expertise covering a firm's unique risk profile, and routine use of key performance indicators to measure and assess long-term risks;

A management team aligned with shareholders through remuneration structures that incentivize long- term performance through the judicious and sustainable stewardship of company resources;

Transparent and thorough reporting of the components of the business that are most significant to shareholders and stakeholders with focus on the firm's long-term success; and

Management focused on all forms of capital, including environmental, social, and human capital.

The Manulife Investment Management voting principles (voting principles) outlined in Appendix B provide guidance for our voting decisions. An active decision to invest in a firm reflects a positive conviction in the investee company and we generally expect to be supportive of management for that reason. Manulife IM may seek to challenge management's recommendations, however, if they contravene these voting principles or Manulife IM otherwise determines that doing so is in the best interest of its clients.

Manulife IM also regularly engages with boards and management on environmental, social, or corporate governance issues consistent with the principles stipulated in our sustainable investing statement and our ESG

2Further information on Sustainable Investing at Manulife IM can be found at manulifeim.com/institutional.

April 2021 3

INTERNAL

Manulife Investment Management global proxy voting policy and procedures

engagement policy. Manulife IM may, through these engagements, request certain changes of the portfolio company to mitigate risks or maximize opportunities. In the context of preparing for a shareholder meeting, Manulife IM will review progress on requested changes for those companies engaged. In an instance where Manulife IM determines that the issuer has not made sufficient improvements on an issue, then we may take voting action to demonstrate our concerns.

In rare circumstances, Manulife IM may consider filing, or co-filing, a shareholder resolution at an investee company. This may occur where our team has engaged with management regarding a material sustainability risk or opportunity, and where we determine that the company has not made satisfactory progress on the matter within a reasonable time period. Any such decision will be in the sole discretion of Manulife IM and acted on where we believe filing, or co-filing, a proposal is in the best interests of our clients.

Manulife IM may also divest of holdings in a company where portfolio managers are dissatisfied with company financial performance, strategic direction, and/or management of material sustainability risks or opportunities.

Procedures

Receipt of ballots and proxy materials

Proxies received are reconciled against the client's holdings, and the custodian bank will be notified if proxies have not been forwarded to the proxy service provider when due.

Voting proxies

Manulife IM has adopted the voting principles contained in Appendix B of this policy.

Manulife IM has deployed the services of a proxy voting services provider to ensure the timely casting of votes, and to provide relevant and timely proxy voting research to inform our voting decisions. Through this process, the proxy voting services provider populates initial recommended voting decisions that are aligned with the Manulife IM voting principles outlined in Appendix B. These voting recommendations are then submitted, processed, and ultimately tabulated. Manulife IM retains the authority and operational functionality to submit different voting instructions after these initial recommendations from the proxy voting services provider have been submitted, based on Manulife IM's assessment of each situation. As Manulife IM reviews voting recommendations and decisions, as articulated below, Manulife IM will often change voting instructions based on those reviews. Manulife IM periodically reviews the detailed policies created by the proxy voting service provider to ensure consistency with our voting principles, to the extent this is possible.

Manulife IM also has procedures in place to review additional materials submitted by issuers often in response to voting recommendations made by proxy voting service providers. Manulife IM will review additional materials related to proxy voting decisions in those situations where Manulife IM becomes aware of those additional materials, is considering voting contrary to management, and where Manulife IM owns 2% or more of the subject issuer as aggregated across the funds.

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Portfolio managers actively review voting options and make voting decisions for their holdings. Where Manulife IM holds a significant ownership position in an issuer, the rationale for a portfolio manager's voting decision is specifically recorded, including whether the vote cast aligns with the recommendations of the proxy voting services provider or has been voted differently. A significant ownership position in an investment is defined as those cases where Manulife IM holds at least 2% of a company's issued share capital in aggregate across all Manulife IM client accounts.

The Manulife IM ESG research and integration team (ESG team) is an important resource for portfolio management teams on proxy matters. This team provides advice on specific proxy votes for individual issuers if needed. ESG team advice is supplemental to the research and recommendations provided by our proxy voting services provider. In particular, ESG analysts actively review voting resolutions for companies in which:

Manulife IM's aggregated holdings across all client accounts represent 2% or greater of issued capital;

A meeting agenda includes shareholder resolutions related to environmental and social risk management issues, or where the subject of a shareholder resolution is deemed to be material to our investment decision; or

Manulife IM may also review voting resolutions for issuers where an investment team engaged with the firm within the previous two years to seek a change in behavior.

After review, the ESG team may provide research and advice to investment staff in line with the voting principles.

Manulife IM also has an internal proxy voting working group (working group) comprising senior managers from across Manulife IM including the equity investment team, legal, compliance, and the ESG team. The working Group operates under the auspices of the Manulife IM Public Markets Sustainable Investing Committee. The Working group regularly meets to review and discuss voting decisions on shareholder proposals or instances where a portfolio manager recommends a vote different than the recommendation of the proxy voting services provider.

Manulife IM clients retain the authority and may choose to lend shareholdings. Manulife IM, however, generally retains the ability to restrict shares from being lent and to recall shares on loan in order to preserve proxy voting rights. Manulife IM is focused in particular on preserving voting rights for issuers where funds hold 2% or more of an issuer as aggregated across funds. Manulife IM has a process in place to systematically restrict and recall shares on a best efforts basis for those issuers where we own an aggregate of 2% or more.

Manulife IM may refrain from voting a proxy where we have agreed with a client in advance to limit the situations in which we will execute votes. Manulife IM may also refrain from voting due to logistical considerations that may have a detrimental effect on our ability to vote. These issues may include, but are not limited to:

Costs associated with voting the proxy exceed the expected benefits to clients;

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Underlying securities have been lent out pursuant to a client's securities lending program and have not been subject to recall;

Short notice of a shareholder meeting;

Requirements to vote proxies in person;

Restrictions on a nonnational's ability to exercise votes, determined by local market regulation;

Restrictions on the sale of securities in proximity to the shareholder meeting (i.e., share blocking);

Requirements to disclose commercially sensitive information that may be made public (i.e., reregistration);

Requirements to provide local agents with power of attorney to facilitate the voting instructions (such proxies are voted on a best-efforts basis); or

The inability of a client's custodian to forward and process proxies electronically.

If a Manulife IM portfolio manager believes it is in the best interest of a client to vote proxies in a manner inconsistent with the policy, the portfolio manager will submit new voting instructions to a member of the ESG team with rationale for the new instructions. The ESG team will then support the portfolio manager in developing voting decision rationale that aligns with this policy and the voting principles. The ESG team will then submit the vote change to the working group. The working group will review the change and ensure that the rationale is sound, and the decision will promote the long-term success of the issuer.

On occasion, there may be proxy votes that are not within the research and recommendation coverage universe of the proxy voting service provider. Portfolio managers responsible for the proxy votes will provide voting recommendations to the ESG team, and those items may be escalated to the working group for review to ensure that the voting decision rationale is sound, and the decision will promote the long-term success of the issuer. the Manulife IM proxy operations team will be notified of the voting decisions and execute the votes accordingly.

Manulife IM does not engage in the practice of "empty voting" (a term embracing a variety of factual circumstances that result in a partial, or total, separation of the right to vote at a shareholders meeting from beneficial ownership of the shares on the meeting date). Manulife IM prohibits investment managers from creating large hedge positions solely to gain the vote while avoiding economic exposure to the market. Manulife IM will not knowingly vote borrowed shares (for example, shares borrowed for short sales and hedging transactions).

Engagement of the proxy voting service provider

Manulife IM has contracted with a third-party proxy service provider to assist with the proxy voting process. Except in instances where a client retains voting authority, Manulife IM will instruct custodians of client accounts to forward all proxy statements and materials received in respect of client accounts to the proxy service provider.

Manulife IM has engaged its proxy voting service provider to:

Research and make voting recommendations;

Ensure proxies are voted and submitted in a timely manner;

Provide alerts when issuers file additional materials related to proxy voting matters;

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Perform other administrative functions of proxy voting;

Maintain records of proxy statements and provide copies of such proxy statements promptly upon request;

Maintain records of votes cast; and

Provide recommendations with respect to proxy voting matters in general.

Scope of proxy voting authority

Manulife IM and our clients shape the proxy voting relationship by agreement provided there is full and fair disclosure and informed consent. Manulife IM may agree with clients to other proxy voting arrangements in which Manulife IM does not assume proxy voting responsibility or will only vote in limited circumstances.3

While the application of our fiduciary duty in the context of proxy voting will vary with the scope of the voting authority we assume, we acknowledge the relationship in all cases remains that of a fiduciary to the client. Beyond the general discretion retained by Manulife IM to withhold from voting as outlined above, Manulife IM may enter a specific agreement with a client not to exercise voting authority on certain matters where the cost of voting would be high or the benefit to the client would be low.

Disclosure of proxy votes

Manulife IM may inform company management of our voting intentions ahead of casting the vote. This is in line with Manulife IM's objective to provide the opportunity for companies to better understand our investment process, policies, and objectives.

We will not intentionally disclose to anyone else, including other investors, our voting intention prior to casting the vote.

Manulife IM keeps records of proxy voting available for inspection by clients, regulatory authorities, or government agencies.

Manulife IM quarterly discloses voting records aggregated across funds.4

Conflicts of interest

Manulife IM has an established infrastructure designed to identify conflicts of interest throughout all aspects of the business. Proxy voting proposals may raise conflicts between the interests of Manulife IM's clients and the interests of Manulife IM, its affiliates, or employees. Apparent conflicts are reviewed by the working group to

3We acknowledge SEC guidance on this issue from August 2019, which lists several nonexhaustive examples of possible voting arrangements between the client and investment advisor, including (i) an agreement with the client to exercise voting authority pursuant to specific parameters designed to serve the client's best interest; (ii) an agreement with the client to vote in favor of all proposals made by particular shareholder proponents; or (iii) an agreement with the client to vote in accordance with the voting recommendations of management of the issuer. All such arrangements could be subject to conditions depending on instruction from the client.

4Manulife IM aggregated voting records are available through this site manulifeim.com/institutional/us/en/sustainability

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determine whether there is a conflict of interest and, if so, whether the conflict is material. Manulife IM shall consider any of the following circumstances a potential material conflict of interest:

Manulife IM has a business relationship or potential relationship with the issuer;

Manulife IM has a business relationship with the proponent of the proxy proposal; or

Manulife IM members, employees, or consultants have a personal or other business relationship with managers of the business such as top-level executives, corporate directors, or director candidates.

In addressing any such potential material conflict, Manulife IM will seek to ensure proxy votes are cast in the advisory client's best interests and are not affected by Manulife IM's potential conflict. In the event a potential material conflict of interest exists, the working group or its designee will either (i) review the proxy voting decisions to ensure robust rationale, that the voting decision will protect or enhance shareholder value over the long term, and is in line with the best interest of the client; (ii) vote such proxy according to the specific recommendation of the proxy voting services provider; (iii) abstain; or (iv) request the client vote such proxy. The basis for the voting decision, including the process for the determination of the decision that is in the best interests of the client, is recorded.

Voting shares of Manulife Financial Corporation

Manulife Financial Corporation (MFC) is the publicly listed parent company of Manulife IM. Generally, legislation restricts the ability of a public company (and its subsidiaries) to hold shares in itself within its own accounts. Accordingly, the MFC share investment policy outlines the limited circumstances in which MFC or its subsidiaries may, or may not, invest or hold shares in MFC on behalf of MFC or its subsidiaries.5

The MFC share investment policy does not apply to investments made on behalf of unaffiliated third parties, which remain assets of the client. 6 Such investing may be restricted, however, by specific client guidelines, other Manulife policies, or other applicable laws.

Where Manulife IM is charged with voting MFC shares, we will execute votes in proportion with all other shareholders (i.e., proportional or echo vote). This is intended to neutralize the effect of our vote on the meeting outcome.

Policy responsibility and oversight

The working group oversees and monitors the policy and Manulife IM's proxy voting function. The working group is responsible for reviewing regular reports, potential conflicts of interest, vote changes, and nonroutine proxy voting items. The working group also oversees the third-party proxy voting service provider. The working group

5This includes general funds, affiliated segregated funds or separate accounts, and affiliated mutual / pooled funds.

6This includes assets managed or advised for unaffiliated third parties, such as unaffiliated mutual/pooled funds and unaffiliated

institutional advisory portfolios.

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will meet at least monthly and report to the Manulife IM public markets sustainable investing committee and, where requested, the Manulife IM operating committee.

Manulife IM's proxy operations team is responsible for the daily administration of the proxy voting process for all Manulife IM operations that have contracted with a third-party proxy voting services provider. Significant proxy voting issues identified by Manulife IM's proxy operations team are escalated to the chief compliance officer or its designee, and the working group.

The working group is responsible for the proper oversight of any service providers hired by Manulife IM to assist it in the proxy voting process. This oversight includes:

Annual due diligence: Manulife IM conducts an annual due diligence review of the proxy voting research service provider. This oversight includes an evaluation of the service provider's industry reputation, points of risk, compliance with laws and regulations, and technology infrastructure. Manulife IM also reviews the provider's capabilities to meet Manulife IM's requirements, including reporting competencies; the adequacy and quality of the proxy advisory firm's staffing and personnel; the quality and accuracy of sources of data and information; the strength of policies and procedures that enable it to make proxy voting recommendations based on current and accurate information; and the strength of policies and procedures to address conflicts of interest of the service provider related to its voting recommendations.

Regular Updates: Manulife also requests that the proxy voting research service provider deliver updates regarding any business changes that alter that firm's ability to provide independent proxy voting advice and services aligned with our policies.

Additional oversight in process: Manulife IM has additional control mechanisms built into the proxy voting process to act as checks on the service provider and ensure that decisions are made in the best interest of our clients. These mechanisms include:

Sampling prepopulated votes: Where we use a third-party research provider for either voting recommendations or voting execution (or both), we may assess prepopulated votes shown on the vendor's electronic voting platform before such votes are cast to ensure alignment with the voting principles.

Decision scrutiny from the working group: Where our voting policies and procedures do not address how to vote on a particular matter, or where the matter is highly contested or controversial (e.g., major acquisitions involving takeovers or contested director elections where a shareholder has proposed its own slate of directors), review by the working group may be necessary or appropriate to ensure votes cast on behalf of its client are cast in the client's best interest.

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Recordkeeping and reporting

Manulife IM provides clients with a copy of the voting policy on request and it is also available on our website at manulifeim.com/institutional. Manulife IM describes its proxy voting procedures to its clients in the relevant or required disclosure document and discloses to its clients the process to obtain information on how Manulife IM voted that client's proxies.

Manulife IM keeps records of proxy voting activities and those records include proxy voting policies and procedures, records of votes cast on behalf of clients, records of client requests for proxy voting information; and any documents generated in making a vote decision. These documents are available for inspection by clients, regulatory authorities, or government agencies.

Manulife IM discloses voting records on its website and those records are updated on a quarterly basis. The voting records generally reflect the voting decisions made for retail, institutional and other client funds in the aggregate.

Policy amendments and exceptions

This policy is subject to periodic review by the proxy voting working group. The working group may suggest amendments to this policy and any such amendments must be approved by the Manulife IM public markets sustainable investing committee and the Manulife IM operating committee.

Any deviation from this policy will only be permitted with the prior approval of the chief investment officer or chief administrative officer (or their designee), with the counsel of the chief compliance officer/general counsel.

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Appendix A. Manulife IM advisory affiliates in scope of policy and investment management business only.

Manulife Investment Management Limited

Manulife Investment Management (North America) Limited

Manulife Investment Management (Hong Kong) Limited

PT Manulife Aset Manajemen Indonesia*

Manulife Investment Management (Japan) Limited

Manulife Investment Management (Malaysia) Bhd. Manulife

Investment Management and Trust Corporation

Manulife Investment Management (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.

Manulife IM (Switzerland) LLC

Manulife Investment Management (Taiwan) Co., Ltd.*

Manulife Investment Management (Europe) Limited

Manulife Investment Management (US) LLC

Manulife Investment Fund Management (Vietnam) Company Limited*

*By reason of certain local regulations and laws with respect to voting, for example, manual/physical voting processes or the absence of a third-party proxy voting service provider for those jurisdictions, Manulife Investment Fund Management (Vietnam) Company Limited, and PT Manulife Aset Manajemen Indonesia do not engage a third-party service provider to assist in their proxy voting processes. Manulife Investment Management (Taiwan) Co., Ltd. Uses the third-party proxy voting service provider to execute votes for non-Taiwanese entities only.

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Appendix B. Manulife IM voting principles

Manulife IM believes that strong management of all forms of corporate capital, whether financial, social, or environmental will mitigate risks, create opportunities, and drive value over the long term. Manulife IM reviews and considers environmental, social, and corporate governance risks and opportunities in our investment decisions. Once invested, Manulife IM continues our oversight through active ownership, which includes portfolio company engagement and proxy voting of underlying shares. We believe proxy voting is a vital component of this continued oversight as it provides a voice for minority shareholders regarding management actions.

Manulife IM has developed some key principles that generally drive our proxy voting decisions and engagements. We believe these principles preserve value and generally lead to outcomes that drive positive firm performance. These principles dictate our voting on issues ranging from director elections and executive compensation to the preservation of shareholder rights and stewardship of environmental and social capital. Manulife IM also adopts positions on certain sustainability topics and these voting principles should be read in conjunction with those position statements. Currently, we have a climate change statement and an executive compensation statement that also help guide proxy voting decisions on those matters. The facts and circumstances of each issuer are unique, and Manulife IM may deviate from these principles where we believe doing so will preserve or create value over the long term. These principles also do not address the specific content of all proposals voted around the globe, but provide a general lens of value preservation, value creation, risk management, and protection of shareholder rights through which Manulife IM analyzes all voting matters.

I.Boards and directors: Manulife IM generally use the following principles to review proposals covering director elections and board structure in the belief that they encourage engaged and accountable leadership of a firm.

a.Board independence: The most effective boards are composed of directors with a diverse skill set that can provide an objective view of the business, oversee management, and make decisions in the best interest of the shareholder body at large. To create and preserve this voice, boards should have a significant number of nonexecutive, independent directors. The actual number of independent directors can vary by market and Manulife IM accounts for these differences when reviewing the independence of the board. Ideally, however, there is an independent majority among directors at a given firm.

b.Committee independence: Manulife IM also prefers that key board committees are composed of independent directors. Specifically, the audit, nomination, and compensation committees should generally be entirely or majority composed of independent directors.

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c.Attendance: A core part of a director's duties is to remain an engaged and productive participant at board and committee meetings. Directors should, therefore, attend at least 75% of board and committee meetings in the aggregate over the course of a calendar year.

d.Diversity: In line with the principles expressed in relation to board of independence above, Manulife IM believes boards with strong gender representation are better equipped to manage risks and oversee business resilience over the long term compared to firms with low gender balance. Manulife IM generally expects boards to have at least one woman on the board and encourages companies to aspire to a higher balance of gender representation. Manulife IM also may hold boards in certain markets to a higher standard as market requirements and expectations change. In Canada, Europe, the United Kingdom, and Ireland, for example, we encourage boards to achieve at least one-third female representation. We generally encourage boards to achieve racial and ethnic diversity among their members. We may, in the future, hold nominationcommittee chairs accountable where the board does not appear to have racial or ethnically diversemembers.

e.Classified/staggered boards: Manulife IM prefers that directors be subject to election and reelection on an annual basis. Annual elections operate to hold directors accountable for their actions in a given year in a timely manner. Shareholders should have the ability to voice concerns through a director vote and to potentially remove problematic directors if necessary. Manulife IM generally opposes the creation of classified or staggered director election cycles designed to extend director terms beyond one year. Manulife IM also generally supports proposals to eliminate these structures.

f.Overboarding: Manulife IM believes directors should limit their outside board seats in order to ensure that they have the time and attention to provide their director role at a firm in question. Generally, this means directors should not sit on more than five public company boards. The role of CEO requires an individual's significant time and attention. Directors holding the role of CEO at any public firm, therefore, generally should not sit on more than three public company boards inclusive of the firm at which they hold the CEO role.

g.Independent chair/CEO: Governance failures can occur where a manager has firm control over a board through the combination of the chair/CEO roles. Manulife IM generally supports the separation of the chair/CEO roles as a means to prevent board capture by management. We may evaluate proposals to separate the chair/CEO roles on a case-by-case basis, for example, however, considering such factors as the establishment of a strong lead independent director role or the temporary need for the combination of the CEO/chair roles to help the firm through a leadership transition.

h.Vote standard: Manulife IM generally supports a vote standard that allows resolutions to pass, or fail, based on a majority voting standard. Manulife IM generally expects companies to adopt a

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majority vote standard for director elections and supports the elimination of a plurality vote standard except in the case of contested elections.

i.Contested elections: Where there is a proxy contest or a director's election is otherwise contested, Manulife IM evaluates the proposals on a case-by-case basis. Consideration is given to firm performance, whether there have been significant failures of oversight and whether the proponent for change makes a compelling case that board turnover will drive firm value.

j.Significant and problematic actions or omissions: Manulife IM believes boards should be held accountable to shareholders in instances where there is a significant failure of oversight that has led to a loss of firm value, transparency failure or otherwise curtailed shareholder rights. Manulife IM generally considers withholding from, or voting against, certain directors in these situations. Some examples of actions that might warrant a vote against directors include, but are not limited to, the following:

Failure of oversight: Manulife IM may take action against directors where there has been a significant negative event leading to a loss of shareholder value and stakeholder confidence. A failure may manifest itself in multiple ways, including adverse auditor opinions, material misstatements, failures of leadership and governance, failure to manage ESG risks, environmental or human rights violations, and poor sustainability reporting.

Adoption of anti-takeover mechanism: Boards should generally review takeover offers independently and objectively in consideration of the potential value created or lost for shareholders. Manulife IM generally holds boards accountable when they create or prolong certain mechanisms, bylaws or article amendments that act to frustrate genuine offers that may lead to value creation for shareholders. These can include poison pills; classes of shares with differential voting rights; classified, or staggered, board structures; and unilateral bylaw amendments and supermajority voting provisions.

Problematic executive compensation practices: Manulife IM encourages companies to adopt best practices for executive compensation in the markets in which they operate. Generally, this means that pay should be aligned with performance. Manulife IM may hold directors accountable where this alignment is not robust. We may also hold boards accountable where they have not adequately responded to shareholder votes against a previous proposal on remuneration or have adopted problematic agreements or practices (e.g., golden parachutes, repricing of options).

Bylaw/article adoption and amendments: Shareholders should have the ability to vote on any change to company articles or bylaws that will materially change their rights as shareholders. Any amendments should require only a majority of votes to pass. Manulife IM will generally hold

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directors accountable where a board has amended or adopted bylaw and/or article provisions that significantly curtail shareholder rights.

Engagement responsiveness: Manulife IM regularly engages with issuers to discuss ESG risks and opportunities and may request changes from firms during these discussions. Manulife IM may vote against certain directors where we have engaged with an issuer and requested certain changes, but the firm has not made sufficient progress on those matters.

II.Environmental and social proposals: Manulife IM expects its portfolio companies to manage material environmental and social issues affecting their businesses, whether risks or opportunities, with a view towards long-term value preservation and creation. 7 Manulife IM expects firms to identify material environmental and social risks and opportunities specific to their businesses, to develop strategies to manage those matters, and to provide meaningful, substantive reporting while demonstrating progress year over year against their management plans. Proposals touching on management of risks and opportunities related to environmental and social issues are often put forth as shareholder proposals but can be proposed by management as well. Manulife IM generally supports shareholder proposals that request greater transparency or adherence to internationally recognized standards and principles regarding material environmental and social risks and opportunities.

a.The magnitude of the risk/opportunity: Manulife IM evaluates the level of materiality of a certain environmental or social issue identified in a proposal as it pertains to the firm's ability to generate value over the long term. This review includes deliberation of the effect an issue will have on the financial statements and/or the cost of capital.

b.The firm's current management of the risk/opportunity: Manulife IM analyzes a firm's current approach to an issue to determine whether the firm has robust plans, infrastructure, and reporting to mitigate the risk or embrace the opportunity. Recent controversies, litigation, or penalties related to a given risk are also considered.

c.The firm's current disclosure framework: Manulife IM expects firms to disclose enough information for shareholders to assess the company's management of environmental and social risks and opportunities material to the business. Manulife IM may support proposals calling for enhanced firm disclosure regarding environmental and social issues where additional information would help our evaluation of a company's exposure, and response, to those factors.

d.Legislative or regulatory action of a risk/opportunity: When reviewing proposals on environmental or social factors, Manulife IM considers whether a given risk or opportunity is

7For more information on issues generally of interest to our firm, please see the Manulife Investment Management engagement policy, the Manulife Investment Management sustainable investing and sustainability risk statement, and the Manulife Investment Management climate change statement.

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currently addressed by local regulation or law in the markets in which a firm operates and whether those rules are designed to adequately manage an issue. Manulife IM also considers whether a firm should proactively address a matter in anticipation of future legislation or regulation.

e.Cost to, or disruption of, the business: When reviewing environmental and social proposals, Manulife IM assesses the potential cost of the requested action against the benefit provided to the firm and its shareholders. Particular attention is paid to proposals that request actions that are overly prescriptive on management or that request a firm exit markets or operations that are essential to its business.

III.Shareholder rights: Manulife IM generally supports management or shareholder proposals that protect, or improve, shareholder rights and opposes proposals that remove, or curtail, existing rights.

a.Shareholder rights plans (poison pills): Manulife IM generally opposes mechanisms intended to frustrate genuine takeover offers. Manulife IM may, however, support shareholder rights plans where the plan has a trigger of 20% ownership or more and will expire in three years or less. In conjunction with these requirements, Manulife IM evaluates the company's strategic rationale for adopting the poison pill.

b.Supermajority voting: Shareholders should have the ability to direct change at a firm based on a majority vote. Manulife IM generally opposes the creation, or continuation, of any bylaw, charter, or article provisions that require approval of more than a majority of shareholders for amendment of those documents. Manulife IM may consider supporting such a standard where the supermajority requirement is intended to protect minority shareholders.

c.Proxy access: Manulife IM believes that shareholders have a right to appoint representatives to the board that best protect their interests. The power to propose nominees without holding a proxy contest is a way to protect that right and is potentially less costly to management and shareholders. Accordingly, Manulife IM generally supports creation of a proxy access right (or similar power at non-U.S. firms) provided there are reasonable thresholds of ownership and a reasonable number of shareholders can aggregate ownership to meet those thresholds.

d.Written consent: Written consent provides shareholders the power to formally demand board action outside of the context of an annual general meeting. Shareholders can use written consent as a nimble method of holding boards accountable. Manulife IM generally supports the right of written consent so long as that right is reasonably tailored to reflect the will of a majority of shareholders. Manulife IM may not support such a right, however, where there is a holder with a significant, or controlling, stake. Manulife IM evaluates the substance of any written actual consent proposal in line with these principles.

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e.Right to call a special meeting: Manulife IM is generally supportive of the shareholder right to call a special meeting. This right allows shareholders to quickly respond to events that can significantly affect firm value. Manulife IM believes that a 10% ownership threshold to call a special meeting reasonably protects this shareholder right while reducing the possibility of undue distraction for management.

IV. Executive compensation: Manulife IM encourages companies to align executive incentives with shareholder interests when designing executive compensation plans. Companies should provide shareholders with transparent, comprehensive, and substantive disclosure regarding executive compensation that aids shareholder assessment of the alignment between executive pay and firm performance. Companies should also have the flexibility to design remuneration programs that fit a firm's business model, business sector and industry, and overall corporate strategy. No one template of executive remuneration can fit all companies.

a. Advisory votes on executive compensation: While acknowledging that there is no singular model for executive compensation, Manulife IM closely scrutinizes companies that have certain concerning practices which may include:

i.Misalignment between pay and company performance: Pay should generally move in tandem with corporate performance. Firms where CEO pay remains flat, or increases, though corporate performance remains down relative to peers, are particularly concerning.

ii.One-time grants: A firm's one-time grant to an executive, outside of the normal salary, bonus, and long-term award structure, may be indicative of an overall failure of the board to design an effective remuneration plan. A company should have a robust justification for making grants outside of the normal remuneration framework.

iii.Significant quantity of nonperformance-based pay: Executive pay should generally be weighted more heavily toward performance-based remuneration to create the alignment between pay and performance. Companies should provide a robust explanation for any significant awards made that vest solely based on time or are not otherwise tied to performance.

iv.Lack of rigor in performance targets: Performance targets should challenge managers to improve corporate performance and outperform peers. Targets should, where applicable, generally align with, or even outpace, guidance; incentivize outperformance against a peer group; and otherwise remain challenging.

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v.Lack of disclosure: Transparency is essential to shareholder analysis and understanding of executive remuneration at a company. Manulife IM expects firms to clearly disclose all major components of remuneration. This includes disclosure of amounts, performance metrics and targets, vesting terms, and pay outcomes.

vi.Repricing of options: Resetting the exercise price of outstanding options significantly undermines the incentive nature of the initial option grant. Though a firm may have a strong justification for repricing options, Manulife IM believes that firms should put such decisions to a shareholder vote. Manulife IM may generally oppose an advisory vote on executive compensation where a company has repriced outstanding options for executives without that shareholder approval.

vii.Adoption of problematic severance agreements (golden parachutes):

Manulife IM believes managers should be incentivized to pursue and complete transactions that may benefit shareholders. Severance agreements, if structured appropriately, can provide such inducements. At the same time, however, the significant payment associated with severance agreements could potentially drive managers to pursue transactions at the expense of shareholder value. Manulife IM may generally oppose an executive remuneration proposal where a firm has adopted, or amended, an agreement with an executive that contains an excise tax gross-up provision, permits accelerated vesting of equity upon a change-in-control, allows an executive to unilaterally trigger the severance payment, or pays out in an amount greater than 300% of salary and bonus combined.

V.Capital structure: Manulife IM believes firms should balance the need to raise capital and encourage investment with the rights and interests of the existing shareholder body. Evaluation of proposals to issue shares, repurchase shares, conduct stock splits, or otherwise restructure capital, is conducted on a case- by-case basis with some specific requests covered here:

a.Common stock authorization: Requests to increase the pool of shares authorized for issuance are evaluated on a case-by-case basis with consideration given to the size of the current pool, recent use of authorized shares by management, and the company rationale for the proposed increase. Manulife IM also generally supports these increases where the company intends to execute a split of shares or pay a stock dividend.

b.Reverse stock splits: Manulife IM generally supports proposals for a reverse stock split if the company plans to proportionately reduce the number of shares authorized for issue in order to mitigate against the risk of excessive dilution to our holdings. We may also support these proposals in instances where the firm needs to quickly raise capital in order to continue operations.

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c.Dual class voting structure: Voting power should align with economic interest at a given firm. Manulife IM generally opposes the creation of new classes of stock with differential voting rights and supports the elimination of these structures.

VI. Corporate transactions and restructurings: Manulife IM reviews mergers, acquisitions, restructurings, and reincorporations on a case-by-case basis through the lens of whether the transaction will create shareholder value. Considerations include fairness of the terms, valuation of the event, changes to management and leadership, realization of synergies and efficiencies, and whether the rationale for a strategic shift is compelling.

VII. Cross shareholding: Cross shareholding is a practice where firms purchase equity shares of business partners, customers, or suppliers in support of those relationships. Manulife IM generally discourages this practice as it locks up firm capital that could be allotted to income-generating investments or otherwise returned to shareholders. Manulife IM will review cross shareholding practices at issuers and we encourage issuers to keep cross shareholdings below 20% of net assets.

VIII. Audit-related issues: Manulife IM believes that an effective auditor will remain independent and objective in its review of company reporting. Firms should be transparent regarding auditor fees and other services provided by an auditor that may create a conflict of interest. Manulife IM uses the below principles to guide voting decisions related to auditors.

a.Auditor ratification: Manulife IM generally approves the reappointment of the auditor absent evidence that they have either failed in their duties or appear to have a conflict that may not allow independent and objective oversite of a firm.

b.Auditor rotation: If Manulife IM believes that the independence and objectivity of an auditor may be impaired at a firm, we may support a proposal requesting a rotation of auditor. Reasons to support the rotation of the auditor can include a significant failure in the audit function and excessive tenure of the auditor at the firm.

April 2021 19

INTERNAL


JOHN HANCOCK FUNDS1

NOMINATING AND GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE CHARTER

Overall Role and Responsibility

The Nominating and Governance Committee (the "Committee") of each of the Trusts shall (1) make determinations and recommendations to the Board of Trustees (the "Board") regarding issues related to (a) the composition of the Board and (b) corporate governance matters applicable to the Trustees who are not "interested persons" as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act"), of any of the Trusts, or of any Fund's investment adviser, subadviser or principal underwriter and who are "independent" as defined in the rules of the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") (the "Independent Trustees") and (2) discharge such additional duties, responsibilities and functions as are delegated to it from time to time.

Membership

The Nominating and Governance Committee (the "Committee") shall be composed of all of the Independent Trustees of the Board. One member of the Committee shall be appointed by the Board as Chair of the Committee. The chair shall be responsible for leadership of the Committee, including scheduling meetings or reviewing and approving the schedule for them, preparing agendas or reviewing and approving them before meetings, presiding over meetings of the Committee and making reports to the full Board, as appropriate.

Structure, Operations and Governance

Meetings and Actions by Written Consent. The Committee shall meet as often as required or as the Committee deems appropriate, with or without management present. Meetings may be called and notice given by the Committee chair or a majority of the members of the Committee. Members may attend meetings in person or by telephone. The Committee may act by written consent to the extent permitted by law and the Funds' governing documents. The Committee shall report to the Board on any significant action it takes not later than the next following Board meeting.

Required Vote and Quorum. The affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the Committee participating in any meeting of the Committee at which a quorum is present is necessary for the adoption of any resolution. At least a majority of the Committee members present at the meeting in person or by telephone shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

1"John Hancock Funds" includes each trust and series as may be amended from time to time (each individually, a "Trust," and collectively, the "Trusts," and each series thereof, a "Portfolio" or "Fund," and collectively, the "Portfolios" or "Funds").

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Delegation to Subcommittees. The Committee may delegate any portion of its authority to a subcommittee of one or more members.

Appropriate Resources and Authority. The Committee shall have the resources and authority appropriate to discharge its responsibilities, including the authority to retain special counsel and other advisers, experts or consultants, at the Funds' expense, as it determines necessary or appropriate to carry out its duties and responsibilities. In addition, the Committee shall have direct access to such officers of and service providers to the Funds as it deems desirable.

Review of Charter. The Committee Charter shall be approved by at least a majority of the Independent Trustees of the Trust. The Committee shall review and assess the adequacy of this Charter periodically and, where necessary or as it deems desirable, will recommend changes to the Board for its approval. The Board may amend this Charter at any time in response to recommendations from the Committee or on its own motion.

Executive Sessions. The Committee may meet privately and may invite non-members to attend such meetings. The Committee may meet with representatives of the Investment Management Services department of the Funds' advisers, internal legal counsel of the Funds' advisers, members of the John Hancock Funds Risk & Investment Operations Committee (the "RIO Committee") and with representatives of the Funds' service providers, including the subadvisers, to discuss matters that relate to the areas for which the Committee has responsibility.

Specific Duties and Responsibilities

The Committee shall have the following duties and powers, to be exercised at such times and in such manner as the Committee shall determine:

1.Except where a Trust is legally required to nominate individuals recommended by another, to identify individuals qualified to serve as Independent Trustees of the Trusts, and to consider and recommend to the full Board nominations of individuals to serve as Trustees.

2.To consider, as it deems necessary or appropriate, the criteria for persons to fill existing or newly created Trustee vacancies. The Committee shall use the criteria and principles set forth in Annex A to guide its Trustee selection process.

3.To consider and recommend changes to the Board regarding the size, structure, and composition of the Board.

4.To evaluate, from time to time, and determine changes to the retirement policies for the Independent Trustees, as appropriate.

5.To periodically review the Board's committee structure and, in collaboration with the Chairs of the various Committees, the charters of the Board's committees, and

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recommend to the Board of Trustees changes to the committee structure and charters as it deems appropriate.

6.To retain and terminate any firm(s) to be used to identify or evaluate or assist in identifying or evaluating potential Independent Board nominees, subject to the Board's sole authority to approve the firm's fees and other retention terms.

7.To consider and determine the amount of compensation to be paid by the Trusts to the Independent Trustees, including the compensation of the Chair of the Board or any Vice-Chair of the Board and of Committee Chairs, and to address compensation-related matters. The Chair of the Board has been granted the authority to approve special compensation to Independent Trustees in recognition of any significant amount of additional time and service to the Trusts provided by them, subject to ratification of any such special compensation by the Committee at the next regular meeting of the Committee.

8.To coordinate and administer an annual self-evaluation of the Board, which will include, at a minimum, a review of its effectiveness in overseeing the number of Funds in the Fund complex and the effectiveness of its committee structure.

9.To review the Board Governance Procedures and recommend to the Board of Trustees changes to the Procedures as the Committee deems appropriate.

10.To report its activities to the full Board and to make such recommendations with respect to the matters described above and other matters as the Committee may deem necessary or appropriate.

Additional Responsibilities

The Committee will also perform other tasks assigned to it from time to time by the Chair of the Board or by the Board, and will report findings and recommendations to the Board, as appropriate.

Last revised: December 12, 2018

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ANNEX A

The Committee may take into account a wide variety of factors in considering Trustee candidates, including (but not limited to) the criteria set forth below. The Committee may determine that a candidate who does not satisfy these criteria in one or more respects should nevertheless be considered as a nominee if the Committee finds that the criteria satisfied by the candidate and the candidate's other qualifications demonstrate the appropriate level of fitness to serve.

General Criteria

1.Nominees should have a reputation for integrity, honesty and adherence to high ethical standards, and such other personal characteristics as a capacity for leadership and the ability to work well with others.

2.Nominees should have business, professional, academic, financial, accounting or other experience and qualifications which demonstrate that they will make a valuable contribution as Trustees.

3.Nominees should have a commitment to understand the Funds, and the responsibilities of a trustee/director of an investment company and to regularly attend and participate in meetings of the Board and its committees.

4.Nominees should have the ability to understand the sometimes conflicting interests of the various constituencies of the Funds, including shareholders and the investment adviser, and to act in the interests of all shareholders.

5.Nominees should not have, nor appear to have, a conflict of interest that would impair their ability to represent the interests of all the shareholders and to fulfill the responsibilities of a trustee.

6.Nominees should have experience on corporate or other institutional bodies having oversight responsibilities.

It is the intent of the Committee that at least one Independent Trustee be an "audit committee financial expert" as that term is defined in Item 3 of Form N-CSR.

Application of Criteria to Current Trustees

The re-nomination of current Trustees should not be viewed as automatic, but should be based on continuing qualification under the criteria set forth above based on, among other things, the current Trustee's contribution to the Board and any committee on which he or she serves.

Review of Nominations

1.The Committee believes that it is in the best interests of each Trust and its shareholders to obtain highly-qualified candidates to serve as members of the Board.

2.In nominating candidates who would be Independent Trustees, the Committee believes that no particular qualities or skills nor any specific minimum qualifications or disqualifications are controlling or paramount. The Committee shall take into consideration any such factors as it deems appropriate; however, the appropriate mix of skills, expertise and attributes needed to maintain an effective board are sought in the applicant pool as part of every search the Board undertakes for new trustees, including but not limited to the diversity of thought, as well as of gender, race, ethnic background and geographic origin. These factors may also include (but are not limited to) the person's character, integrity, judgment, skill and experience with investment companies and other organizations of comparable purpose, complexity and size and subject to similar legal restrictions and oversight; the interplay of the candidate's experience with the experience of other Board members; and the extent to which the candidate would be a desirable addition to the Board and any Committees thereof. Other factors that the Committee may take into consideration include a person's availability and commitment to attend meetings and perform his or her responsibilities; whether or not the person has or had any relationships that might impair or appear to impair his or her independence, such as any business, financial or family relationships with Fund management, the investment adviser and/or any subadviser of the Funds, as applicable, Fund service providers, or their affiliates or with Fund shareholders. The Committee will strive to achieve a group that reflects a diversity of experiences in respect of industries, professions and other experiences, and that is diversified as to thought, gender, race, ethnic background and geographic origin.

3.While the Committee is solely responsible for the selection and recommendation to the Board of Independent Trustee candidates, the Committee may consider nominees recommended by any source, including shareholders, management, legal counsel and Board members, as it deems appropriate. The Committee may retain a professional search firm or a consultant to assist the Committee in a search for a qualified candidate. Any recommendations from shareholders shall be directed to the Secretary of the relevant Trust at such address as is set forth in the Trust's disclosure documents. Recommendations from management may be submitted to the Committee Chair. All recommendations shall include all information relating to such person that is required to be disclosed in solicitations of proxies for the election of Board members and as specified

in the relevant Trust's By-Laws, and must be accompanied by a written consent of the proposed candidate to stand for election if nominated for the Board and to serve if elected by shareholders.

4.Any shareholder nomination must be submitted in compliance with all of the pertinent provisions of Rule 14a-8 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 in order to be considered by the Committee. In evaluating a nominee recommended by a shareholder, the Committee, in addition to the criteria discussed above, may consider the objectives of the shareholder in submitting that nomination and whether such objectives are consistent with the interests of all shareholders. If the Board determines to include a shareholder's candidate among the slate of its designated nominees, the candidate's name will be placed on the Trust's proxy card. If the Board determines not to include such candidate among its designated nominees, and the shareholder has satisfied the requirements of Rule 14a-8, the shareholder's candidate will be treated as a nominee of the shareholder who originally nominated the candidate. In that case, the candidate will not be named on the proxy card distributed with the Trust's proxy statement.

5.As long as a current Independent Trustee continues, in the opinion of the Committee, to satisfy the criteria listed above, the Committee generally would favor the re-nomination of a current Trustee rather than a new candidate. Consequently, while the Committee will consider nominees recommended by shareholders to serve as trustees, the Committee may only act upon such recommendations if there is a vacancy on the Board, or the Committee determines that the selection of a new or additional Trustee is in the best interests of the relevant Trust. In the event that a vacancy arises or a change in Board membership is determined to be advisable, the Committee will, in addition to any shareholder recommendations, consider candidates identified by other means as discussed in this Annex A.

6.With respect to candidates for Independent Trustee, a biography of each candidate shall be acquired and shall be reviewed by counsel to the Independent Trustees and counsel to the Trust to determine the candidate's eligibility to serve as an Independent Trustee.

7.The Committee may from time to time establish specific requirements and/or additional factors to be considered for Independent Trustee candidates as it deems necessary or appropriate.

8.After its consideration of relevant factors, the Committee shall present its recommendation(s) to the full Board for its consideration.



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