(Small Cap Opportunities Trust)

Investment Objective

To seek long-term capital appreciation.

Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if shares of the fund are held by separate accounts of certain John Hancock insurance companies that fund variable annuity and variable life insurance contracts. They are based on expenses incurred during the fund's most recent fiscal year expressed as a percentage of the fund's average net assets during the year. In subsequent periods, the fund's expense ratio may increase due to decreases in fund assets attributable to redemptions and declines in portfolio valuation. The fees and expenses do not reflect fees and expenses of any separate account that may use the fund as its underlying investment medium and would be higher if they did.

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Small Cap Opportunities Trust)		Series I	Series II	NAV
Management fee		1.00%	1.00%	1.00%
Distribution and service (12b-1) fees		0.05%	0.25%	none
Other Expenses		0.06%	0.06%	0.06%
Acquired fund fees and expenses	[1]	0.05%	0.05%	0.05%
Total annual fund operating expenses		1.16%	1.36%	1.11%
Contractual expense reimbursement	[2]	(0.09%)	(0.09%)	(0.09%)
Net fund operating expenses		1.07%	1.27%	1.02%

Examples. The examples are intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The examples assume that $10"000 is invested in the fund for the periods indicated and then all shares are redeemed at the end of those periods. The examples also assume that the investment has a 5% return each year and that the fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

Expense Example (Small Cap Opportunities Trust) (USD $)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Series I	109	350	620	1,391
Series II	129	412	727	1,618
NAV	104	334	593	1,334

Portfolio Turnover

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. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund's performance. During its most recent fiscal year, the fund's portfolio turnover rate was 25% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal market conditions, the fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in equity securities of small-capitalization companies. The fund has two subadvisors: Invesco Advisers, Inc. ("Invesco") and Dimensional Fund Advisors LP ("Dimensional" or "DFA"). Each subadvisor's investment strategy is described below.

The fund will be rebalanced periodically so that the subadvisors manage the following portions of the fund:

50% Invesco

50% Dimensional

*Percentages are approximate. Since the fund is only rebalanced periodically, the actual portion of the fund managed by each subadvisor will vary.

Invesco

Invesco will manage its portion of the fund's assets (the "Invesco Subadvised Assets") as follows:

Under normal market conditions, Invesco invests at least 80% of the Invesco Subadvised Assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in equity securities, including convertible securities of small-capitalization companies. Invesco considers small-capitalization companies to be those companies with market capitalizations, at the time of investment, no larger than the largest capitalized company included in the Russell 2000 Index during the most recent 11-month period (based on month-end data) plus the most recent data during the current month. As of February 28, 2013, the capitalization of companies in the Russell 2000 Index range from less than $1 million to $6.1 billion.

Invesco considers selling a security if a change in industry or company fundamentals indicates a problem, the price target set at purchase (i.e., the projected price level as stated by an investment analyst) is exceeded or a change in technical outlook indicates poor relative strength.

The Invesco Subadvised Assets may include synthetic instruments. Synthetic instruments are investments that have economic characteristics similar to the fund's direct investments, and may include warrants, futures, options, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and American Depositary Receipts. Any percentage limitations with respect to assets of the fund are applied at the time of purchase. Options and index futures may be used to equitize cash and for other liquidity purposes in special situations.

Invesco attempts to provide potentially higher returns than a fund that invests primarily in larger, more established companies. Since small companies are generally not as well known to investors or have less of an investor following than larger companies" they may provide higher returns due to inefficiencies in the marketplace. Under normal conditions, the top 10 holdings may comprise up to 25% of the Invesco Subadvised Assets.

In selecting investments, Invesco utilizes a disciplined portfolio construction process that aligns the fund with the S&P SmallCap 600 Index, which Invesco believes represents the small cap core asset class. The security selection process is based on a three-step process that includes fundamental, valuation and timeliness analysis:

• Fundamental analysis involves building a series of financial models (tools to analyze stock), as well as conducting in-depth interviews with company management. The goal is to find high quality, fundamentally sound companies operating in an attractive industry.

• Valuation analysis focuses on identifying attractively valued securities given their growth potential over a one- to two-year horizon.

• Timeliness analysis is used to help identify the "timeliness" of a purchase. In this step, relative price strength (the price of stock in comparison to the rest of the market)" trading volume characteristics, and trend analysis (using past data to predict future movement of stock) are reviewed for signs of deterioration. If a stock shows signs of deterioration, it will not be considered as a candidate for the portfolio.

Invesco may invest up to 25% of the Invesco Subadvised Assets in foreign securities. The fund's investments in foreign securities may include direct investments in foreign currency-denominated securities traded outside of the U.S.

Invesco may invest up to 15% of the Invesco Subadvised Assets in real estate investment trusts ("REITs").

Dimensional

DFA will manage its portion of the fund's assets (the "DFA Subadvised Assets") as follows:

DFA generally will invest the DFA Subadvised Assets in a broad and diverse group of common stocks of small and mid cap companies traded on a U.S. national securities exchange or on the over-the counter market that DFA determines to be value stocks at the time of purchase. Securities are considered value stocks primarily because a company's shares have a high book value in relation to their market value (a "book-to-market ratio"). In assessing value, DFA may consider additional factors, such as price to cash flow or price-to-earnings ratios, as well as economic conditions and developments in the issuer's industry. The criteria DFA uses for assessing value are subject to change from time to time. As of the date of this Prospectus, DFA considers for investment companies whose market capitalizations are generally smaller than the 500th largest U.S. company. DFA uses a market capitalization weighted approach in weighing portfolio securities. See "Market Capitalization Weighted Approach, below. DFA does not intend to purchase or sell securities based on the prospects for the economy, the securities markets or the individual issuers whose shares are eligible for purchase.

DFA may sell portfolio securities when the issuer's market capitalization increases to a level that exceeds that of the issuer with the largest market capitalization that is then eligible for investment by the DFA Subadvised Assets. In addition, DFA may sell portfolio securities when their book-to-market ratios fall below those of the security with the lowest such ratio that is then eligible for purchase by the DFA Subadvised Assets. However, DFA may retain securities of issuers with relatively smaller market capitalizations for longer periods, despite a decrease in the issuers' book-to-market ratios.

The total market capitalization ranges, and the value criteria used by DFA for the DFA Subadvised Assets, as described above, generally apply at the time of purchase. DFA will not be required to dispose of a security if the security's issuer is no longer within the total market capitalization range or does not meet current value criteria. Similarly, DFA is not required to sell a security even if the decline in the market capitalization reflects a serious financial difficulty or potential or actual insolvency of the company. Securities that do meet the market capitalization and/or value criteria nevertheless may be sold at any time when, in DFA's judgment, circumstances warrant their sale.

DFA may use derivatives such as futures contracts and options on futures contracts, to gain market exposure on uninvested cash pending investment in securities or to maintain liquidity to pay redemptions. DFA may enter into futures contracts and options on futures contracts for U.S. equity securities and indices. DFA may also invest in ETFs and similarly structured pooled investments for the purpose of gaining exposure to the U.S. equity markets while maintaining liquidity.

Market Capitalization Weighted Approach

The strategy used by DFA in managing the DFA Subadvised Assets involves market capitalization weighting in determining individual security weights. Market capitalization weighting means each security is generally purchased based on the issuer's relative market capitalization. Market capitalization weighting may be adjusted by DFA for a variety of reasons. DFA may consider such factors as free float, momentum, liquidity management, and expected profitability, as well as other factors determined to be appropriate by DFA given market conditions. In assessing expected profitability, DFA may consider different ratios, such as that of earnings or profits from operations relative to book value or assets. DFA may deviate from market capitalization weighting to limit or fix the exposure of the DFA Subadvised Assets to a particular issuer to a maximum proportion of the assets of the DFA Subadvised Assets. DFA may exclude the stock of a company that meets applicable market capitalization criteria if DFA determines that the purchase of such security is inappropriate in light of other conditions. These adjustments will result in a deviation from traditional market capitalization weighting.

Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund

The fund is subject to risks, and you could lose money by investing in the fund. The principal risks of investing in the fund include:

Active management risk The subadvisor's investment strategy may fail to produce the intended result.

Convertible securities risk The market values of convertible securities tend to decline as interest rates increase and, conversely, to increase as interest rates decline. In addition, as the market price of the underlying common stock declines below the conversion price' the price of the convertible security tends to be increasingly influenced more by the yield of the convertible security.

Equity securities risk The value of a company's equity securities is subject to changes in the company's financial condition, and overall market and economic conditions.

Exchange-traded funds risk Owning an ETF generally reflects the risks of owning the underlying securities it is designed to track.

Foreign securities risk As compared to U.S. companies, there may be less publicly available information relating to foreign companies. Foreign securities may be subject to foreign taxes. The value of foreign securities is subject to currency fluctuations and adverse political and economic developments. Investments in emerging-market countries are subject to greater levels of foreign investment risk.

Hedging, derivatives and other strategic transactions risk Hedging and other strategic transactions may increase the volatility of a fund and, if the transaction is not successful, could result in a significant loss to a fund. The use of derivative instruments could produce disproportionate gains or losses, more than the principal amount invested. Investing in derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other traditional investments and, in a down market, could become harder to value or sell at a fair price. The following is a list of certain derivatives and other strategic transactions in which the fund may invest and the main risks associated with each of them:

Futures contracts Counterparty risk, liquidity risk (i.e., the inability to enter into closing transactions) and risk of disproportionate loss are the principal risks of engaging in transactions involving futures contracts.

Options Counterparty risk, liquidity risk (i.e., the inability to enter into closing transactions) and risk of dispropor-tionate loss are the principal risks of engaging in transactions involving options. Counterparty risk does not apply to exchange-traded options.

Investment company securities risk The fund bears its own expenses and indirectly bears its proportionate share of expenses of the underlying funds in which it invests.

Issuer risk An issuer of a security may perform poorly and, therefore, the value of its stocks and bonds may decline. An issuer of securities held by the fund could default or have its credit rating downgraded.

Liquidity risk Exposure exists when trading volume, lack of a market maker or legal restrictions impair the ability to sell particular securities or close derivative positions at an advantageous price.

Medium and smaller company risk The prices of medium and smaller company stocks can change more frequently and dramatically than those of large company stocks. For purposes of the fund's investment policies" the market capitalization of a company is based on its market capitalization at the time the fund purchases the company's securities. Market capitalizations of companies change over time.

Real estate securities risk Investing in securities of companies in the real estate industry subjects a fund to the risks associated with the direct ownership of real estate.

Past Performance

The following information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the fund by showing changes in performance from year to year and by showing how average annual returns for specified periods compare with those of a broad measure of market performance. Unless all share classes shown in the table have the same inception date, performance shown for periods prior to the inception date of a class is the performance of the fund's oldest share class. This pre-inception performance, with respect to any other share class of the fund, has not been adjusted to reflect the 12b-1 fees of that class. As a result, the pre-inception performance shown for a share class other than the oldest share class may be higher or lower than it would be if adjusted to reflect the 12b-1 fees of the class. The performance information below does not reflect fees and expenses of any variable insurance contract which may use JHVIT as its underlying investment medium. If such fees and expenses had been reflected, performance would be lower. The past performance of the fund is not necessarily an indication of how the fund will perform in the future.

Calendar year total returns for Series I:

Best Quarter:     26.43% (Quarter ended 6/30/2009)

Worst Quarter:   -26.09% (Quarter ended 12/31/2008)

Average Annual Total Returns for period ended 12/31/2012

Average Annual Total Returns (Small Cap Opportunities Trust)	1 Year	5 Years	Since Inception	Inception Date
Series I	16.84%	2.59%	8.51%	May 05, 2003
Series II	16.61%	2.38%	8.29%	May 05, 2003
NAV	16.88%	2.64%	8.55%	Feb. 28, 2005
Russell 2000 Value Index	18.05%	3.55%	9.42%	May 05, 2003
Russell 2000 Index	16.35%	3.56%	9.26%	May 05, 2003

[1] "Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses" are based on the indirect net expenses associated with the fund's investment in underlying funds and are included in "Total Fund Operating Expenses". The Total Fund Operating Expenses shown may not correlate to the fund's ratio of expenses to average net assets shown in the "Financial Highlights" section of the fund prospectus, which does not include Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.

[2] The Advisor has contractually agreed to waive its advisory fees so that the amount retained by the Advisor after payment of the subadvisory fees for the fund does not exceed 0.45% of the fund's average net assets. The current expense limitation agreement expires on April 30, 2014 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.