In plain terms — John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II
Shares currently cost about 6.8% less than the value of the assets behind them (a discount).
Over the past year it has averaged a 2.4% premium, so today's level is unusually wide for this fund (Z-score -3.3). That describes the past; it does not predict where the discount goes next.
It pays regular distributions worth about 11.4% a year of the share price (10.6% of the assets). That is a payout rate, not a return: part of it may be capital being handed back.
Because the shares trade below the value of their assets, each dollar of reinvested distributions buys about $1.07 of assets — a ReinvestCapture™ rate of 12.3%, more than the payout rate itself. That is buying power, not a return.
The assets themselves fell 4.3% over the past year including distributions (NAV total return).
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Price and NAV, past year
Snapshot
Valuation vs. history
| Window | Average prem/disc | Std. dev. | Z-score | Observations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 months | +2.07% | 4.52% | -1.81 | 55 |
| 6 months | +2.74% | 3.37% | -2.62 | 108 |
| 1 year | +2.39% | 2.57% | -3.30 | 206 |
| 3 years | +3.45% | — | — | — |
| 5 years | +3.01% | — | — | — |
Current contemporaneous premium/discount -6.10% (close Oct 14, 2026 vs NAV Oct 13, 2026). 1-year range -6.10% to +6.76%. A negative Z-score means a wider discount than the window average — not that the fund is undervalued.
Performance
| Series | 1M | 3M | YTD | 1Y | 3Y (ann.) | 5Y (ann.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Market price return | -12.74% | -20.46% | -21.16% | -23.81% | -1.95% | -10.35% |
| Market price total return | -11.92% | -18.42% | -14.63% | -16.25% | +7.44% | -1.94% |
| NAV return | -3.86% | -7.75% | -12.00% | -13.15% | +0.51% | -7.35% |
| NAV total return | -3.01% | -5.36% | -4.57% | -4.34% | +10.47% | +1.63% |
Through Oct 14, 2026. Total return reinvests distributions at the series value on the ex-date. Cumulative ≤ 1 year, annualised beyond.
About the fund
Operating as a closed-end mutual fund focused on fixed-income assets, the John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II is overseen by John Hancock Investment Management LLC, with additional stewardship provided by John Hancock Asset Management. Its investment strategy is exclusively concentrated on U.S. fixed-income markets. The fund aims to allocate capital across a diverse array of companies spanning various industries. Its primary holdings include preferred value equities and convertible preferred instruments. Furthermore, it targets debt securities that carry an investment-grade rating or higher from either Moody's or Standard & Poor's. Performance is evaluated against two key benchmarks: the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Hybrid Preferred Securities Index and the Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. The fund commenced operations on November 29, 2002, and is legally based in the United States.
CEF Explorer research page for John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II. Figures carry their own dates and sources; a discount to NAV does not guarantee convergence or any return. This is not investment advice.