# EDGAR Filing Document

**Accession Number:** 0000792858
**File Stem:** 0001133228-23-000426
**Filing Date:** 2023-2
**Character Count:** 18984
**Document Hash:** bcd434e2e2f09a4f96d66c5bb0c94484
**Contains OCR:** False
**Source Format:** 

## Filing Content

## Filing Summary
**0001133228-23-000426.hdr.sgml**: 20230208

**ACCESSION NUMBER**: 0001133228-23-000426

**CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE**: 497K

**PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT**: 4

**FILED AS OF DATE**: 20230208

**DATE AS OF CHANGE**: 20230207

**EFFECTIVENESS DATE**: 20230208

**FILER**: 

**COMPANY DATA:**
- **COMPANY CONFORMED NAME:** JOHN HANCOCK STRATEGIC SERIES
- **CENTRAL INDEX KEY:** 0000792858
- **IRS NUMBER:** 000000000
- **STATE OF INCORPORATION:** MA
- **FISCAL YEAR END:** 0531

**FILING VALUES:**
- **FORM TYPE:** 497K
- **SEC ACT:** 1933 Act
- **SEC FILE NUMBER:** 033-05186
- **FILM NUMBER:** 23596266

**BUSINESS ADDRESS:**
- **STREET 1:** C/O JOHN HANCOCK FUNDS
- **STREET 2:** 200 BERKELEY STREET
- **CITY:** BOSTON
- **STATE:** MA
- **ZIP:** 02116
- **BUSINESS PHONE:** 617-663-3000

**MAIL ADDRESS:**
- **STREET 1:** C/O JOHN HANCOCK FUNDS
- **STREET 2:** 200 BERKELEY STREET
- **CITY:** BOSTON
- **STATE:** MA
- **ZIP:** 02116

**FORMER COMPANY:**
- **FORMER CONFORMED NAME:** HANCOCK JOHN STRATEGIC SERIES
- **DATE OF NAME CHANGE:** 19920703

**FORMER COMPANY:**
- **FORMER CONFORMED NAME:** HANCOCK JOHN HIGH INCOME TRUST
- **DATE OF NAME CHANGE:** 19911118

## Series and Classes Contracts Data

### John Hancock Managed Account Shares Non-Investment-Grade Municipal Bond Portfolio (Series ID: S000077548)

| Class ID   | Class Name                                                                        | Ticker Symbol   |
|:---|:---|:---|
| C000238026 | John Hancock Managed Account Shares Non-Investment-Grade Municipal Bond Portfolio | JHFMX           |

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| | |
|:---|:---|
| ![](su6171img003.jpg) | **February 8, 2023**<br>|
| **Summary prospectus**<br>John Hancock Managed Account Shares Non-Investment-Grade Municipal Bond Portfolio | **Summary prospectus**<br>John Hancock Managed Account Shares Non-Investment-Grade Municipal Bond Portfolio |

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Before you invest, you may want to review the fund's prospectus, which contains more information about the fund and its risks. You can find the fund's prospectus and other information about the fund, including the Statement of Additional Information and most recent reports, online at www.jhinvestments.com/underlying-funds. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 800-247-0278 or by sending an email request to info@jhinvestments.com. The fund's [prospectus and Statement of Additional Information](https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/792858/000113322822006587/jhssmas-html5480_485bpos.htm), both dated 10/1/22, as may be supplemented, are incorporated by reference into this summary prospectus.

**Ticker**

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JHFMX<br>

**Investment objective**

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To seek as high a level of interest income exempt from federal income tax as is consistent with preservation of capital.

**Fees and expenses**

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This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the fund. **You may pay other fees, such as brokerage** **commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below.**

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| |
|:---|
| **Shareholder fees** **(%)** (fees paid directly from your investment) |
| Maximum front-end sales charge (load) |
| Maximum deferred sales charge (load) |

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|:---|:---|
| **Annual fund operating expenses (%)** (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) |  |
| Management fee | 0.63<br>|
| Other expenses<sup>1</sup> | 0.77<br>|
| **Total annual fund operating expenses** | **1.40**<br>|
| Contractual expense reimbursement<sup>2</sup> | –1.40<br>|
| **Total annual fund operating expenses after expense reimbursements** | **0.00**<br>|

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| | |
|:---|:---|
| **1** | "Other expenses" have been estimated for the fund's first year of operations. |

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|:---|:---|
| **2** | The advisor has contractually agreed to reimburse 100% of the fund's operating expenses, including the Management fee, excluding (a) taxes, (b) brokerage commissions, (c) interest expense, (d) litigation and indemnification expenses and other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the fund's business, (e) borrowing costs and (f) acquired fund fees and expenses paid indirectly. This agreement expires on September 30, 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 fund is an integral part of a separately managed account program, and the fund's manager, the fund's subadvisor or their affiliates will be compensated directly or indirectly by separately managed account program sponsors or program participants for managed account advisory services. Participants in a separately managed account program pay a "wrap" fee to the sponsor of the program. Participants pay no additional fees or expenses to purchase shares of the fund. |

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**Expense example**

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This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. Please see below a hypothetical example showing the expenses of a $10,000 investment for the time periods indicated and then assuming you sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example assumes a 5% average annual return and that fund expenses will not change over the periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

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| | |
|:---|:---|
| **Expenses ($)** |  |
| 1 year | 0.00 |
| 3 years | 0.00 |

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**Portfolio turnover**

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The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not

![](su6171img002.jpg)

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John Hancock Managed Account Shares Non-Investment-Grade Municipal Bond Portfolio

reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund's performance. Because the fund had not commenced operations as of the date of the fund's prospectus, there is no portfolio turnover to report.

**Principal investment strategies**

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Under normal market conditions, the fund invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus amounts borrowed for investment purposes, in municipal securities, the income from which is exempt from federal income tax. Investments in bonds subject to the alternative minimum tax (AMT) may be counted toward the fund's 80% investment policy. To the extent that the fund invests in bonds that are subject to the AMT, the income paid by the fund may not be entirely tax-free to all investors.

The manager primarily invests in medium and lower quality municipal securities rated A or lower by S&P Global Ratings (S&P), Fitch Ratings, Inc. (Fitch) or Moody's Investors Service, Inc (Moody's) or comparable rating by any nationally recognized statistical ratings organization (NRSRO) or their unrated equivalents. Non-investment grade securities may also be referred to as below investment grade securities, commonly known as "junk bonds." The fund may invest in fixed income securities which include bonds, debt securities and other similar instruments. The fund's investment policies are based on credit ratings at the time of purchase. The fund may buy bonds of any maturity or duration. The fund may invest heavily in bonds from any given state or region and may have substantial investments in obligations of certain states and their agencies, instrumentalities, and/or political subdivisions. The fund may invest in general obligation bonds or bonds backed by revenue from a specific public project or facility, such as a power plant (revenue bonds), which tend to offer higher yields than general obligation bonds.

The fund may engage in derivative transactions that include futures contracts on debt securities and debt securities indexes; options on futures, debt securities, and debt indexes; tender option bonds and inverse floating-rate securities, in each case, for the purposes of reducing risk and/or enhancing investment returns. The fund may also use tender option bond transactions to seek to enhance potential gains. The fund will look through to the underlying municipal bonds held by a tender option bond trust for purposes of the fund's 80% policy. The fund may leverage its assets through the use of proceeds received as a result of tender option bond transactions. The fund may contribute up to 15% of its holdings in municipal securities to tender option bond transactions. The fund may also trade securities actively.

**Principal risks**

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An investment in the fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. Many factors affect performance, and fund shares will fluctuate in price, meaning you could lose money. The fund's investment strategy may not produce the intended results.

During periods of heightened market volatility or reduced liquidity, governments, their agencies, or other regulatory bodies, both within the United States and abroad, may take steps to intervene. These actions, which could include legislative, regulatory, or economic initiatives, might have unforeseeable consequences and could adversely affect the fund's performance or otherwise constrain the fund's ability to achieve its investment objective.

The fund's main risks are listed below in alphabetical order, not in order of importance. *Before investing, be sure to read the additional descriptions of these risks beginning on page 19 of the prospectus.*

**Changing distribution levels risk.** The fund may cease or reduce the level of its distribution if income or dividends paid from its investments declines.

**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. A downgrade or default affecting any of the fund's securities could affect the fund's performance.

**Economic and market events risk.** Events in the U.S. and global financial markets, including actions taken by the U.S. Federal Reserve or foreign central banks to stimulate or stabilize economic growth, may at times result in unusually high market volatility, which could negatively impact performance. Reduced liquidity in credit and fixed-income markets could adversely affect issuers worldwide. Banks and financial services companies could suffer losses if interest rates rise or economic conditions deteriorate.

**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 payments or repay all or any of the principal borrowed. Changes in a security's credit quality may adversely affect fund performance.

**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: futures contracts, inverse floating-rate securities, options on futures and options. Future contracts and options generally are subject to counterparty risk.

**2**

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John Hancock Managed Account Shares Non-Investment-Grade Municipal Bond Portfolio

**High portfolio turnover risk.** Trading securities actively and frequently can increase transaction costs (thus lowering performance) and taxable distributions.

**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. Liquidity risk may be magnified in rising interest rate environments due to higher than normal redemption rates. Widespread selling of fixed-income securities to satisfy redemptions during periods of reduced demand may adversely impact the price or salability of such securities. Periods of heavy redemption could cause the fund to sell assets at a loss or depressed value, which could negatively affect performance. Redemption risk is heightened during periods of declining or illiquid markets.

**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.

**Municipal bond risk.** The prices of municipal bonds, including general obligation bonds, can decline if the issuer's credit quality declines. Revenue bond prices can decline if related projects become unprofitable. An insured municipal bond is subject to the risk that the insurer may be unable to pay claims and is not insured with respect to the market value of the obligation. Municipal bond income could become taxable in the future. Investments in bonds subject to the alternative minimum tax may result in tax liability for shareholders.

**Operational and cybersecurity 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.

**Sector risk.** When a fund focuses its investments in certain sectors of the economy, its performance may be driven largely by sector performance and could fluctuate more widely than if the fund were invested more evenly across sectors.

**State/region risk.** Investing heavily in any one state or region increases exposure to losses in that state or region. Factors that may affect performance include economic or political changes, tax base erosion, state constitutional limits on tax increases, budget deficits and other financial difficulties, and changes in credit ratings. Because the fund has substantial investments in obligations of certain states, and their agencies, instrumentalities, and/or political subdivisions, its performance also will be affected by risk factors specific to those states.

**Tender option bonds risk.** The fund's participation in tender option bond transactions may increase volatility and/or reduce the fund's returns. Tender option bond transactions create leverage. Leverage magnifies returns, both positive and negative, and risk by magnifying the volatility of returns. An investment in a tender option bond transaction typically involves greater risk than investing in the underlying municipal fixed rate bonds, including the risk of loss of principal.

**Past performance**

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This section normally shows how the fund's total returns have varied from year to year, along with a broad-based market index for reference. Because the fund had not commenced operations as of the date of this prospectus, there is no past performance to report.

**Investment management**

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**Investment advisor** John Hancock Investment Management LLC<br>**Subadvisor** Manulife Investment Management (US) LLC

**Portfolio management**

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The following individuals are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the fund's portfolio.

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|:---|:---|
| **Dennis DiCiccio**<br>*Portfolio Manager*<br>Managed the fund since 2022 | **Adam Weigold, CFA**<br>*Senior Managing Director, Senior Portfolio Manager, and Head of the Municipal Fixed Income Team*<br>Managed the fund since 2022 |

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**Purchase and sale of fund shares**

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Shares of the fund may be purchased only by or on behalf of separately managed account clients where the fund's subadvisor or an affiliate of the subadvisor (each a "Managed Account Adviser") has an agreement with the managed account program sponsor (the "Program Sponsor"), or directly with the client, to provide management or advisory services to the managed account.

There are no maximum or minimum investment requirements in the fund (although your Program Sponsor may have certain investment requirements). Redemption orders are made based on instructions from your Managed Account Adviser or Program Sponsor to the broker/dealer who executes trades for the account. Shares of the fund can be redeemed through the broker/dealer on any day the New York Stock Exchange is open.

**3**

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John Hancock Managed Account Shares Non-Investment-Grade Municipal Bond Portfolio

**Taxes**

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The fund intends to distribute tax-exempt income. The fund intends to meet certain federal tax requirements so that distributions of the tax-exempt interest it earns may be treated as exempt-interest dividends. A portion of the fund's distributions may, however, be subject to federal income tax.

**Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries**

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If you purchase the fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank, registered investment advisor, financial planner, or retirement plan administrator), the fund and its related companies may pay the broker-dealer or other intermediary for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.

![](su6171img001.jpg)<br>© 2023 John Hancock Investment Management Distributors LLC, Member FINRA, SIPC<br>200 Berkeley Street Boston, MA 02116<br>800-225-5291, jhinvestments.com<br>Manulife, Manulife Investment Management, 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.<br> ![](su6171img002.jpg)<br>

SEC file number: 811-04651<br>319SP 2/8/23