John Hancock Preferred Income Fund III is a closed-ended equity mutual fund launched by John Hancock Funds, LLC. It is co-managed by John Hancock Advisers, LLC and John Hancock Asset Management. The fund invests in public equity markets of the United States. It seeks to invest in the stocks of companies operating across the diversified sectors. The fund invests in the preferred stocks and other preferred securities, including convertible preferred securities or other fixed income securities rated investment grade or higher by Moody or S&P. It benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Bond Index and the Merrill Lynch Preferred Stock Hybrid Securities Index. John Hancock Preferred Income Fund III was formed on June 19, 2003 and is domiciled in the United States.