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497

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JOHN HANCOCK VARIABLE INSURANCE TRUST

Amendment Flag

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Document Creation Date

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Sep. 17, 2020

Strategy Narrative [Text Block]

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Under normal market conditions, the fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in a diversified mix of debt securities and instruments. (The fund will provide written notice to shareholders at least 60 days prior to a change in its 80% investment policy.) The fund seeks to invest its assets in debt securities and instruments with an average duration of plus or minus one year of its benchmark, Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate Bond Index, however, there is no limit on the fund’s average maturity. As part of its investment strategy, the fund may invest in mortgage-backed securities to a significant extent.

Eligible investments include, but are not limited to:

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U.S. Treasury and agency securities;

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Asset-backed securities and mortgage-backed securities, both investment grade and below-investment grade, including mortgage pass-through securities, interest-only securities, commercial mortgage-backed securities (“CMBS”) and collateralized mortgage obligations (“CMOs”);

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Corporate bonds, both U.S. and foreign, and without any limit on credit quality; and

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Foreign government and agency securities.

The fund may invest in asset-backed securities rated, at the time of purchase, less than A (but not rated lower than B by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (“S&P”) or Moody’s Investors Service (“Moody’s”), or a comparable rating by another Nationally Recognized Statistical Ratings Organization). The subadvisor uses proprietary research and economic and industry analysis to identify specific bonds, bond sectors and industries that are attractively priced. Because the fund is actively managed, it may have a higher than average portfolio turnover ratio, which may increase expenses and affect performance results.

The foreign securities in which the fund invests may be denominated in U.S. dollars or foreign currency.

Manulife Investment Management (US) LLC manages the fund with two investment teams, each of which employs its own investment approach and independently manages its portion of the fund. The fund will be rebalanced periodically so that each team manages the following portions of the fund:

50%* Securitized Asset Team 50%* Core / Core Plus Team

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

This allocation methodology may change in the future.

Securitized Asset Team

The Securitized Asset Team uses a combination of proprietary research and quantitative tools and seeks to identify bonds and bond sectors that are attractively priced based upon market fundamentals and technical factors. The Securitized Asset Team opportunistically emphasizes bonds with yields in excess of U.S. Treasury securities.

This portion of the fund normally has no more than 10% of its total assets in high yield bonds (“junk bonds”) and normally invests in foreign securities only if U.S. dollar-denominated. This portion of the fund normally has an average credit rating of “A” or “AA.”

The Core / Core Plus Team

The Core / Core Plus Team uses proprietary research to identify specific bond sectors, industries and bonds that are attractively priced. The team seeks to anticipate shifts in the business cycle, using economic and industry analysis to determine which sectors and industries might benefit over the next 12 months.

This portion of the fund normally has no more than 25% of its total assets in high yield bonds (sometimes referred to as “junk bonds”) and may invest in both U.S. dollar-denominated and foreign currency-denominated foreign securities. This portion of the fund normally has an average credit rating of “A” or “AA.”

Under normal circumstances, no more than 15% of the total assets of the portion of the fund managed by the Core / Core Plus Team will be invested in asset-backed securities rated lower than A by both rating agencies. The fund’s investment policies are based on credit ratings at the time of purchase.

Use of Hedging and Other Strategic Transactions. The fund is authorized to use all of the various investment strategies referred to under “Additional Information About the Funds’ Principal Risks — Hedging, derivatives and other strategic transactions risk” including, but not limited to, U.S. Treasury futures and options, index derivatives, credit default swaps and forwards.

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Performance Narrative [Text Block]

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Prior to November 16, 2020, the fund was managed by a different subadvisor pursuant to different strategies, and thus, the performance presented prior to this date should not be attributed to the current subadvisor, Wellington Management Company LLP (“Wellington Management”). The fund’s performance shown below might have differed materially had Wellington Management managed the fund prior to November 16, 2020.