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Apr. 29, 2024

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Prospectus SupplementJohn Hancock Variable Insurance Trust (the Trust)
Emerging Markets Value Trust (the fund)Supplement dated April 17, 2024 to the current Prospectus, as may be supplemented (the Prospectus)Effective on or about May 29, 2024 (the “Effective Date”), the following information supplements and supersedes any information to the contrary relating to the fund contained in the current Prospectus.At a meeting held on March 25-28, 2024, the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the Board) approved changes to the fund’s subadvisory arrangements such that Boston Partners Global Investors, Inc. (Boston Partners) will be the sole subadvisor to the fund. Accordingly, as of the Effective Date, all references to Dimensional Fund Advisors LP and its portfolio managers as part of the fund’s portfolio management team will be removed from the Prospectus. In addition, at the same meeting, the Board also approved a reduction in the fund’s management fee schedule as of the Effective Date.In connection with the Board actions described above, as of the Effective Date, the Prospectus will be further hereby amended as follows:1. The fund’s name will be changed to Disciplined Value Emerging Markets Equity Trust, and all references to Emerging Markets Value Trust will be changed to reflect the fund’s new name.2. The “Annual fund operating expenses” table and the “Expense example” table under “Fees and expenses” in the “Fund summary” section of the Prospectus for the fund will be amended and restated as follows:Annual fund operating expenses (%) (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)Series ISeries IISeries NAVManagement fee0.760.760.76Distribution and service (Rule 12b-1) fees0.050.250.00Other expenses0.210.210.21Total annual fund operating expenses1.021.220.97Contractual expense reimbursement-0.01-0.01-0.01Total annual fund operating expenses after expense reimbursements1.011.210.961“Management fee” has been restated to reflect the contractual management fee schedule effective May 29, 2024.2The advisor contractually agrees to waive a portion of its management fee and/or reimburse expenses for the fund and certain other John Hancock funds according to an asset level breakpoint schedule that is based on the aggregate net assets of all the funds participating in the waiver or reimbursement, including the fund (the participating portfolios). This waiver equals, on an annualized basis, 0.0100% of that portion of the aggregate net assets of all the participating portfolios that exceeds $75 billion but is less than or equal to $125 billion; 0.0125% of that portion of the aggregate net assets of all the participating portfolios that exceeds $125 billion but is less than or equal to $150 billion; 0.0150% of that portion of the aggregate net assets of all the participating portfolios that exceeds $150 billion but is less than or equal to $175 billion; 0.0175% of that portion of the aggregate net assets of all the participating portfolios that exceeds $175 billion but is less than or equal to $200 billion; 0.0200% of that portion of the aggregate net assets of all the participating portfolios that exceeds $200 billion but is less than or equal to $225 billion; and 0.0225% of that portion of the aggregate net assets of all the participating portfolios that exceeds $225 billion. The amount of the reimbursement is calculated daily and allocated among all the participating portfolios in proportion to the daily net assets of each participating portfolio. During its most recent fiscal year, the fund’s reimbursement amounted to 0.01% of the fund’s average daily net assets. This agreement expires on July 31, 2025, 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.Expense ExampleThe 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 $10,000 is invested in the fund for the periods indicated and then all shares are redeemed at the end of those periods. The examples also assume that the investment has a 5% return each year and that the fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The expense example does not reflect fees and expenses of any variable insurance contract that may use the fund as its underlying investment option and would be higher if they did. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:Expenses ($)Series ISeries IISeries NAV1 year103123983 years3243863085 years56266953510 years1,2471,4761,1893. The “Principal investment strategies” portion of the “Fund summary” section of the Prospectus for the fund will be revised and restated in its entirety as follows:The fund will pursue its objective through a value oriented, research-driven strategy of investing in equity securities and financial instruments with equity like characteristics designed to provide exposure to emerging markets. Securities are selected by the adviser using its “three circles” approach which combines a quantitative screening with a fundamental bottom-up selection process. This investment strategy is grounded in the following principles: (1) low valuation stocks outperform high valuation stocks; (2) companies with strong fundamentals, e.g., high and sustainable returns on invested capital, outperform companies with weak fundamentals; and (3) stocks with positive business momentum, e.g., rising earnings estimates, outperform stocks with negative business momentum. The adviser examines various factors in determining the value characteristics of issuers, including price-to-book value ratios and price-to-earnings ratios. These value characteristics are examined in the context of the issuer’s operating and financial fundamentals, such as return-on-equity and earnings growth and cash flow.The fund intends, under normal circumstances, to invest at least 80% of its net assets (including borrowings for investment purposes) in the equity securities of emerging market issuers, related derivative instruments and other equity investments that are tied economically to emerging market countries. The adviser considers an emerging market country to include any country that is: 1) generally recognized to be an emerging market country by the international financial community, including the World Bank; 2) classified by the United Nations as a developing country; or 3) included in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. Due to the unique relationship between China and its separately administered regions, the Adviser includes Hong Kong and Macau as emerging markets, independent of above definitions 1 through 3. The adviser determines that an investment is tied economically to an emerging market if such investment satisfies one or more of the following conditions: 1) the issuer’s primary trading market is in an emerging market; 2) the issuer is organized under the laws of, derives at least 50% of its revenue from, or has at least 50% of its assets in emerging markets; 3) the investment is included in an index representative of emerging markets; and 4) the investment is exposed to the economic risks and returns of emerging markets.In managing the fund’s portfolio, the adviser will seek to identify mispriced publicly traded equity securities of emerging market companies and purchase securities that the adviser believes will outperform, emphasizing low valuation, positive business momentum and high quality. The fund generally invests in the equity securities of issuers the manager believes are undervalued. The manager applies a bottom-up stock selection process using a combination of fundamental and quantitative analysis of issuer-specific factors such as price-to-book value, price-to-sales and earnings ratios, dividend yields, strength of management, and cash flow.The fund’s portfolio is rebalanced regularly to maintain the optimal risk/return trade-off. The Adviser assesses each stock’s changing characteristics relative to its contribution to portfolio risk. The Adviser will sell a stock that the adviser believes no longer offers an appropriate return-to-risk tradeoff. The Fund’s investment adviser may engage in active trading, and will not consider portfolio turnover a limiting factor in making decisions for the Fund.The equity securities in which the fund will invest, which may include equity securities of non-U.S. issuers that are traded in the markets of the United States, include equity securities issued by large-, mid- and small- or micro-cap companies, as well as exchange-traded and over-the-counter common and preferred stocks, warrants, options, rights, convertible securities, sponsored and unsponsored depositary receipts and shares, trust certificates, limited partnership interests, shares of other investment companies (including exchanged-traded funds (ETFs)), real estate investment trusts (REITs) and equity participations. An equity participation is a type of loan that gives the lender a portion of equity ownership in a property, in addition to principal and interest payments. A convertible security is a bond, debenture, note, preferred stock or other security that may be converted into or exchanged for a prescribed amount of common stock of the same or a different issuer within a particular period of time at a specified price or formula. The fund may invest in securities of companies operating for three years or less (unseasoned issuers).The fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in high yield debt obligations (commonly known as junk bonds), such as bonds and debentures, used by corporations and other business organizations (e.g., trusts or limited liability companies). Such high yield debt obligations are not considered to be investment grade. Junk bonds are rated BB or lower by S&P Global, or have a comparable rating by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization (or, if unrated are determined by the adviser to be of comparable quality at the time of investment). The fund may invest in securities of the lowest rating category, including securities in default. The adviser may, but is not required to, sell a bond or note held by the fund in the event that its credit rating is downgraded. The fund will primarily invest in fixed incomeinstruments, including high yield debt obligations, when the fund believes that such instruments offer a better risk/reward profile than comparable equity opportunities.To meet margin requirements, redemptions or pending investments, the fund may also temporarily hold a portion of its assets in full faith and credit obligations of the United States government and in short-term notes, commercial paper or other money market instruments.The adviser will sell a stock when it no longer meets one or more investment criteria, either through obtaining target value or due to an adverse change in fundamentals or business momentum. Each holding has a target valuation established at purchase, which the adviser constantly monitors and adjusts as appropriate.In general, the fund’s investments will be spread over a number of industries and, as a matter of policy, the Fund is limited to investing less than 25% of its total assets in any one industry, except that the fund may invest in exchange traded funds to the extent permitted by the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (1940 Act), and applicable SEC orders.The fund may participate as a purchaser in initial public offerings of securities (IPOs). An IPO is a company’s first offering of stock to the public.The fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in illiquid investments, including investments that are illiquid by virtue of the absence of a readily available market or legal or contractual restrictions on resale.The fund may also seek to increase its income by lending portfolio securities.The fund will invest in derivatives, including put and call options, futures, contracts for differences, forward contracts and swaps, in lieu of investing directly in a security, currency or instrument, for hedging and non-hedging purposes. Contracts for differences offer exposure to price changes in an underlying security without ownership of such security, typically by providing investors the ability to trade on margin. The fund’s investments in derivative instruments may be leveraged and result in losses exceeding the amounts invested.4. The following risks will be added to the fund’s “Principal risks” in the “Fund summary” section of the Prospectus for the fund:Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) risk. The risks of owning shares of an ETF include the risks of owning the underlying securities the ETF holds. Lack of liquidity in an ETF could result in the ETF being more volatile than its underlying securities. An ETF’s shares could trade at a significant premium or discount to its net asset value (NAV). A fund bears ETF fees and expenses indirectly.High portfolio turnover risk. Trading securities actively and frequently can increase transaction costs (thus lowering performance) and taxable distributions.Illiquid and restricted securities risk. Illiquid and restricted securities may be difficult to value and may involve greater risks than liquid securities. Illiquidity may have an adverse impact on a particular security’s market price and the fund’s ability to sell the security.Initial public offerings (IPOs) risk. IPO share prices are frequently volatile and may significantly impact fund performance.Lower-rated and high-yield fixed-income securities risk. Lower-rated and high-yield fixed-income securities (junk bonds) are subject to greater credit quality risk, risk of default, and price volatility than higher-rated fixed-income securities, may be considered speculative, and can be difficult to resell.Master limited partnership (MLP) risk. MLPs generally reflect the risks associated with their underlying assets and with pooled investment vehicles. MLPs with credit-related holdings are subject to interest-rate risk and risk of default.Preferred and convertible securities risk. Preferred stock dividends are payable only if declared by the issuer’s board. Preferred stock may be subject to redemption provisions. The market values of convertible securities tend to fall as interest rates rise and rise as interest rates fall. Convertible preferred stock’s value can depend heavily upon the underlying common stock’s value.Real estate investment trust (REIT) risk. REITs, pooled investment vehicles that typically invest in real estate directly or in loans collateralized by real estate, carry risks associated with owning real estate, including the potential for a decline in value due to economic or market conditions.Warrants risk. The prices of warrants may not precisely reflect the prices of their underlying securities. Warrant holders do not receive dividends or have voting or credit rights. A warrant ceases to have value if not exercised prior to its expiration date.5. The following risks to the fund’s “Principal risks” in the Fund summary section of the Prospectus for the fund will be revised and restated in their entirety as follows:Credit and counterparty risk. The issuer or guarantor of a fixed-income security, the counterparty to an over-the-counter derivatives contract, or a borrower of fund securities may not make timely payments or otherwise honor its obligations. A downgrade or default affecting any of the fund’s securities could affect the fund’s performance.Hedging, derivatives, and other strategic transactions risk. Hedging, derivatives, and other strategic transactions may increase a fund’s volatility and could produce disproportionate losses, potentially more than the fund’s principal investment. Risks of these transactions are different from and possibly greater than risks of investing directly in securities and other traditional instruments. Under certain market conditions, derivatives could become harder to value or sell and may become subject to liquidity risk (i.e., the inability to enter into closing transactions). Derivatives and other strategic transactions that the fund intends to utilize include: foreign currency forward contracts, futures contracts, options, and swaps. Foreign currency forward contracts, futures contracts, options, and swaps generally are subject to counterparty risk. In addition, swaps may be subject to interest-rate and settlement risk, and the risk of default of the underlying reference obligation. Derivatives associated with foreign currency transactions are subject to currency risk.6. The following disclosure will be added after the first paragraph under “Past performance” in the “Fund summary” section of the Prospectus for the fund:A note on performancePrior to May 29, 2024, the fund was managed by a different subadvisor pursuant to different investment strategies, and thus, the performance presented prior to this date should not be attributed to the current subadvisor. The fund’s performance shown below might have differed materially had the current subadvisor managed the fund prior to May 29, 2024.

Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination

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The fund will pursue its objective through a value oriented, research-driven strategy of investing in equity securities and financial instruments with equity like characteristics designed to provide exposure to emerging markets. Securities are selected by the adviser using its “three circles” approach which combines a quantitative screening with a fundamental bottom-up selection process. This investment strategy is grounded in the following principles: (1) low valuation stocks outperform high valuation stocks; (2) companies with strong fundamentals, e.g., high and sustainable returns on invested capital, outperform companies with weak fundamentals; and (3) stocks with positive business momentum, e.g., rising earnings estimates, outperform stocks with negative business momentum. The adviser examines various factors in determining the value characteristics of issuers, including price-to-book value ratios and price-to-earnings ratios. These value characteristics are examined in the context of the issuer’s operating and financial fundamentals, such as return-on-equity and earnings growth and cash flow.The fund intends, under normal circumstances, to invest at least 80% of its net assets (including borrowings for investment purposes) in the equity securities of emerging market issuers, related derivative instruments and other equity investments that are tied economically to emerging market countries. The adviser considers an emerging market country to include any country that is: 1) generally recognized to be an emerging market country by the international financial community, including the World Bank; 2) classified by the United Nations as a developing country; or 3) included in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. Due to the unique relationship between China and its separately administered regions, the Adviser includes Hong Kong and Macau as emerging markets, independent of above definitions 1 through 3. The adviser determines that an investment is tied economically to an emerging market if such investment satisfies one or more of the following conditions: 1) the issuer’s primary trading market is in an emerging market; 2) the issuer is organized under the laws of, derives at least 50% of its revenue from, or has at least 50% of its assets in emerging markets; 3) the investment is included in an index representative of emerging markets; and 4) the investment is exposed to the economic risks and returns of emerging markets.In managing the fund’s portfolio, the adviser will seek to identify mispriced publicly traded equity securities of emerging market companies and purchase securities that the adviser believes will outperform, emphasizing low valuation, positive business momentum and high quality. The fund generally invests in the equity securities of issuers the manager believes are undervalued. The manager applies a bottom-up stock selection process using a combination of fundamental and quantitative analysis of issuer-specific factors such as price-to-book value, price-to-sales and earnings ratios, dividend yields, strength of management, and cash flow.The fund’s portfolio is rebalanced regularly to maintain the optimal risk/return trade-off. The Adviser assesses each stock’s changing characteristics relative to its contribution to portfolio risk. The Adviser will sell a stock that the adviser believes no longer offers an appropriate return-to-risk tradeoff. The Fund’s investment adviser may engage in active trading, and will not consider portfolio turnover a limiting factor in making decisions for the Fund.The equity securities in which the fund will invest, which may include equity securities of non-U.S. issuers that are traded in the markets of the United States, include equity securities issued by large-, mid- and small- or micro-cap companies, as well as exchange-traded and over-the-counter common and preferred stocks, warrants, options, rights, convertible securities, sponsored and unsponsored depositary receipts and shares, trust certificates, limited partnership interests, shares of other investment companies (including exchanged-traded funds (ETFs)), real estate investment trusts (REITs) and equity participations. An equity participation is a type of loan that gives the lender a portion of equity ownership in a property, in addition to principal and interest payments. A convertible security is a bond, debenture, note, preferred stock or other security that may be converted into or exchanged for a prescribed amount of common stock of the same or a different issuer within a particular period of time at a specified price or formula. The fund may invest in securities of companies operating for three years or less (unseasoned issuers).The fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in high yield debt obligations (commonly known as junk bonds), such as bonds and debentures, used by corporations and other business organizations (e.g., trusts or limited liability companies). Such high yield debt obligations are not considered to be investment grade. Junk bonds are rated BB or lower by S&P Global, or have a comparable rating by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization (or, if unrated are determined by the adviser to be of comparable quality at the time of investment). The fund may invest in securities of the lowest rating category, including securities in default. The adviser may, but is not required to, sell a bond or note held by the fund in the event that its credit rating is downgraded. The fund will primarily invest in fixed incomeinstruments, including high yield debt obligations, when the fund believes that such instruments offer a better risk/reward profile than comparable equity opportunities.To meet margin requirements, redemptions or pending investments, the fund may also temporarily hold a portion of its assets in full faith and credit obligations of the United States government and in short-term notes, commercial paper or other money market instruments.The adviser will sell a stock when it no longer meets one or more investment criteria, either through obtaining target value or due to an adverse change in fundamentals or business momentum. Each holding has a target valuation established at purchase, which the adviser constantly monitors and adjusts as appropriate.In general, the fund’s investments will be spread over a number of industries and, as a matter of policy, the Fund is limited to investing less than 25% of its total assets in any one industry, except that the fund may invest in exchange traded funds to the extent permitted by the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (1940 Act), and applicable SEC orders.The fund may participate as a purchaser in initial public offerings of securities (IPOs). An IPO is a company’s first offering of stock to the public.The fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in illiquid investments, including investments that are illiquid by virtue of the absence of a readily available market or legal or contractual restrictions on resale.The fund may also seek to increase its income by lending portfolio securities.The fund will invest in derivatives, including put and call options, futures, contracts for differences, forward contracts and swaps, in lieu of investing directly in a security, currency or instrument, for hedging and non-hedging purposes. Contracts for differences offer exposure to price changes in an underlying security without ownership of such security, typically by providing investors the ability to trade on margin. The fund’s investments in derivative instruments may be leveraged and result in losses exceeding the amounts invested.

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High portfolio turnover risk. Trading securities actively and frequently can increase transaction costs (thus lowering performance) and taxable distributions.

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Initial public offerings (IPOs) risk. IPO share prices are frequently volatile and may significantly impact fund performance.

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Master limited partnership (MLP) risk. MLPs generally reflect the risks associated with their underlying assets and with pooled investment vehicles. MLPs with credit-related holdings are subject to interest-rate risk and risk of default.

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Real estate investment trust (REIT) risk. REITs, pooled investment vehicles that typically invest in real estate directly or in loans collateralized by real estate, carry risks associated with owning real estate, including the potential for a decline in value due to economic or market conditions.

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Credit and counterparty risk. The issuer or guarantor of a fixed-income security, the counterparty to an over-the-counter derivatives contract, or a borrower of fund securities may not make timely payments or otherwise honor its obligations. A downgrade or default affecting any of the fund’s securities could affect the fund’s performance.

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