PPF Hancock John Patriot Pfd Div

John Hancock Patriot Preferred Dividend Fund Declares Monthly Dividend BOSTON, Feb. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- John Hancock Patriot Preferred Dividend Fund (NYSE:PPF) declared its monthly dividend today as follows: Declaration Date: February 23, 2005 Ex Date: March 4, 2005 Record Date: March 8, 2005 Payment Date: March 31, 2005 Dividend Amount: $0.0720 This dividend equates to an annualized yield of 6.31 percent, based on the fund's closing market price as of February 22, 2005. John Hancock Patriot Preferred Dividend Fund is a diversified, closed-end fund. The Fund's investment objective is to provide high current income consistent with preservation of capital. The Fund invests at least 80% of its assets in a diversified portfolio of dividend-paying securities. John Hancock Funds, a premier investment management company, managed $31.3 billion in open-end funds, closed-end funds, private accounts and retirement plans for individual and institutional investors and related party assets as of December 31, 2004. Additional information about the company can be found on the website: http://www.jhfunds.com/. John Hancock Funds is a wholly owned subsidiary of John Hancock, which is a unit of Manulife Financial Corporation, a leading Canadian-based financial services group serving millions of customers in 19 countries and territories worldwide. Operating as Manulife Financial in Canada and most of Asia, and primarily through John Hancock in the United States, the Company offers clients a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services through its extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were Cdn$348 billion (US$289 billion) as of December 31, 2004. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under '0945' on the SEHK. Manulife Financial can be found on the Internet at http://www.manulife.com/. The John Hancock unit, through its insurance companies, comprises one of the largest life insurers in the United States. John Hancock offers a broad range of financial products and services, including whole life, term life, variable life, and universal life insurance, as well as college savings products, fixed and variable annuities, long-term care insurance, mutual funds and various forms of business insurance. DATASOURCE: John Hancock Patriot Preferred Dividend Fund CONTACT: Kimberley Dietrich, +1-617-375-0311, or Investors: +1-800-843-0090, both of John Hancock

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