John Hancock Exchange-Traded Fund Trust

Fund summary

John Hancock Large Cap Opportunities ETF

NYSE Arca:

[JLCO]

Investment objective

The fund seeks to provide long-term capital appreciation.

Fees and expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below.

Annual fund operating expenses (%) (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Management fee	[TBU ]
Other expenses	[TBU ]1
Total annual fund operating expenses	[TBU ]
Contractual expense reimbursement	-[TBU ]2
Total annual fund operating expenses after expense reimbursements	[TBU ]

“Other expenses” have been estimated for the fund’s first year of operations.

The advisor contractually agrees to reduce its management fee or, if necessary, make payment to the fund in an amount equal to the amount by which expenses of the fund exceed [TBU]% of average daily net assets. Expenses means all the expenses of the fund, excluding (a) taxes, (b) brokerage commissions, (c) interest expense, (d) litigation and indemnification expenses and other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the fund’s business, (e) borrowing costs, (f) prime brokerage fees, (g) acquired fund fees and expenses paid indirectly, and (h) short dividend expense. This agreement expires on [July 31, 2027], 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. The advisor also 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. This waiver is allocated proportionally among the participating funds. This agreement expires on July 31, 2027, 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 example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other funds. Please see below a hypothetical example showing the expenses of a $10,000 investment in the fund for the time periods indicated assuming you redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example assumes a 5% average annual return and that fund expenses will not change over the periods. The example does not take into account brokerage commissions that you may pay on your purchases and sales of shares of the fund. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Expenses ($)
1 year	[TBU ]
3 years	[TBU ]

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 and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund’s performance. Because the fund had not commenced operations as of the date of the fund’s prospectus, there is no portfolio turnover to report.

Fund summary

Principal investment strategies

The fund is an exchange-traded fund (ETF), which is a fund that trades like other publicly-traded securities. The fund is not an index fund. The fund is actively managed and does not seek to replicate the performance of a specified index.

Under normal circumstances, the fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in a portfolio of large cap equity securities. Equity securities include common and preferred stocks and their equivalents, including real estate investment trusts (REITs), American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), warrants, rights, and convertible securities, and any other investment representing equity ownership in a company. The fund will primarily invest in common stocks of large cap U.S. companies. The fund considers large-capitalization companies to be those in the capitalization range of the S&P 500 Index.

The fund invests primarily in U.S. large-capitalization companies, selected through a fundamental, bottom-up research process to construct a high conviction portfolio. The team will utilize a “margin of safety” approach to identify companies that are trading at a discount to their long-term intrinsic value with an attractive business model and a company-specific catalyst(s) to unlock value.

The fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities, including securities that are illiquid by virtue of the absence of a readily available market or legal or contractual restrictions on resale. The fund also may participate as a purchaser in Initial Public Offerings (IPOs). The fund may also seek to increase its income by lending portfolio securities.

Due to the nature of certain of the fund’s investments, the fund may, under certain circumstances, effect a portion or all of creations and redemptions for cash, rather than in-kind securities.

The fund is non-diversified, which means that it may invest in a smaller number of issuers than a diversified fund and may invest more of its assets in the securities of a single issuer.

Principal risks

An investment in the fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. Many factors affect performance, and fund shares will fluctuate in price, meaning you could lose money. The fund’s investment strategy may not produce the intended results.

The fund’s main risks are listed below in alphabetical order, not in order of importance. Before investing, be sure to read the additional descriptions of these risks beginning on page 5 of the prospectus.

Active trading market risk. Active trading markets for fund shares may not be developed or maintained by market makers or authorized participants. Market makers are not obligated to make a market in the fund's shares or to submit purchase or redemption orders for creation units. Decisions by market makers or authorized participants to reduce their role with respect to market making or creation/redemption activities in times of market stress could lead to wider bid-ask spreads and variances in the market of fund shares.

American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) risk. The fund may invest in ADRs, which are U.S.-issued securities representing shares of foreign companies. ADRs are subject to foreign investment risks, including currency, political, economic, and market risks. ADRs may not track the price of underlying foreign securities, and their value may change materially when U.S. markets are closed. Unsponsored ADR issuers are not obligated to disclose material information in the United States, which may affect valuation and the fund's ability to respond to corporate actions in a timely manner. Holders of unsponsored ADRs generally bear all costs of such facilities and the depositary is frequently under no obligation to distribute issuer communications or pass through voting rights. The issuers of ADRs may discontinue and withdraw ADR programs at any time, which may result in costs and delays and may negatively impact the fund's performance.

Authorized participant concentration risk. To the extent that authorized participants are unable or otherwise unavailable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders and no other authorized participant is able to create or redeem in their place, shares may trade at a discount to net asset value (NAV) and may face delisting. To the extent that the fund’s limited number of intermediaries that act as authorized participants exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders and no other authorized participant is able to create or redeem in their place, there may be a significantly diminished trading market for fund shares.

Cash transactions risk. Under certain circumstances, the fund intends to effect some or all of its creation and redemption transactions using cash, rather than in-kind securities. As a result, an investment in the fund may be less tax-efficient than an investment in an ETF that effects all of its creation and redemption transactions in-kind. In order to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds, the fund may be required to sell portfolio securities which may cause the fund to recognize capital gains or losses and incur higher brokerage costs. To the extent that the maximum additional charge for creation or redemption transactions is insufficient to cover these costs and expenses, the fund’s NAV could be negatively impacted.

Economic and market events risk. Events in the U.S. and global financial markets, including actions taken by the U.S. Federal Reserve or foreign central banks to stimulate or stabilize economic growth, may at times result in unusually high market volatility, which could negatively impact performance. Reduced liquidity in credit and fixed-income markets could adversely affect issuers worldwide. Banks and financial services companies could suffer losses if interest rates rise or economic conditions deteriorate.

Fund summary

Equity securities risk. The price of equity securities may decline due to changes in a company’s financial condition or overall market conditions. Securities the manager believes are undervalued may never realize their full potential value, and in certain markets value stocks may underperform the market as a whole.

ETF trading risk. The market price of shares may include a bid-ask spread (the difference between the prices at which investors are willing to buy and sell shares), which may vary over time and may increase for various reasons, including decreased trading volume or reduced market liquidity.

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.

Industry or sector investing risk. The performance of a fund that focuses on a single industry or sector of the economy depends in large part on the performance of that industry or sector. As a result, the value of an investment may fluctuate more widely since it is more susceptible to market, economic, political, regulatory, and other conditions and risks affecting that industry or sector than a fund that invests more broadly across industries and sectors.

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

Investing in developed countries risk. The fund’s investment in a developed country issuer may subject the fund to regulatory, political, currency, security, economic and other risks associated with developed countries. Developed countries tend to represent a significant portion of the global economy and have generally experienced slower economic growth than some less developed countries. In addition, developed countries may be impacted by changes to the economic conditions of certain key trading partners, regulatory burdens, debt burdens and the price or availability of certain commodities.

Large company risk. Larger companies may grow more slowly than smaller companies or be slower to respond to business developments. Large-capitalization securities may underperform the market as a whole.

Liquidity risk. The extent (if at all) to which a security may be sold or a derivative position closed without negatively impacting its market value may be impaired by reduced market activity or participation, legal restrictions, or other economic and market impediments.

Non-diversified risk. Adverse events affecting a particular issuer or group of issuers may magnify losses for non-diversified funds, which may invest a large portion of assets in any one issuer or a small number of issuers.

Operational and cybersecurity risk. Cybersecurity breaches may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to fund assets, customer data, or proprietary information, or cause a fund or its service providers to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality. Similar incidents affecting issuers of a fund’s securities may negatively impact performance. Operational risk may arise from human error, error by third parties, communication errors, or technology failures, among other causes.

Preferred stock risk. Preferred stock generally ranks senior to common stock with respect to dividends and liquidation but ranks junior to debt securities. Unlike interest payments on debt securities, preferred stock dividends are payable only if declared by the issuer’s board of directors. Preferred stock may be subject to optional or mandatory redemption provisions.

Premium/discount risk. The NAV of the fund and the value of your investment may fluctuate. Disruptions to creations and redemptions or the market price of the fund’s holdings, the existence of extreme market volatility or potential lack of an active trading market for shares may result in shares trading at a significant premium or discount to NAV. If a shareholder purchases shares at a time when the market price is at a premium to the NAV or sells shares at a time when the market price is at a discount to the NAV, the shareholder may sustain losses. Given the nature of the relevant markets for certain of the fund’s securities, shares may trade at a larger premium or discount to the NAV than shares of other ETFs. In addition, in stressed market conditions, the market for shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the markets for the fund’s underlying portfolio holdings. While the creation/redemption feature is designed to make it more likely that the fund's shares normally will trade on stock exchanges at prices close to the fund’s next calculated NAV, exchange prices are not expected to correlate exactly with the fund’s NAV due to timing reasons, supply and demand imbalances and other factors.

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.

Trading issues risk. Trading in shares on NYSE Arca, Inc. (NYSE Arca) may be halted in certain circumstances. There can be no assurance that the requirements of NYSE Arca necessary to maintain the listing of the fund will continue to be met.

Value investment style risk. Value securities may underperform the market as a whole, which may cause value-oriented funds to underperform equity funds with other investment strategies. Securities the manager believes are undervalued may never perform as expected.

Past performance

This section normally shows how the fund’s total returns have varied from year to year, along with a broad-based securities market index for reference. Because the fund had not commenced operations as of the date of this prospectus, there is no past performance to report.

Fund summary

Investment management

Investment advisor John Hancock Investment Management LLC

Subadvisor Manulife Investment Management (US) LLC

Portfolio management

The following individuals are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the fund’s portfolio.

Leigh Pressman, CFA	Michael J. Scanlon, Jr., CFA
Portfolio Manager Managed the fund since inception	Portfolio Manager Managed the fund since inception

Purchase and sale of fund shares

The fund will issue and redeem shares at NAV only with authorized participants and only in a large specified number of shares, each called a “creation unit,” or multiples thereof, in exchange for the deposit or delivery of a basket of securities and/or cash. Except when aggregated in creation units, the shares are not redeemable securities of the fund.

Individual shares of the fund may be purchased and sold only in secondary market transactions through brokers or financial intermediaries. Shares of the fund are listed and traded on the NYSE Arca. Because shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares of the fund may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount).

An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the fund (ask) when buying or selling shares in the secondary market (bid-ask spread).

Recent information, including information about the fund’s NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads, is included on the fund’s website at jhinvestments.com/etf.

Taxes

The fund’s distributions are taxable, and will be taxed as ordinary income and/or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account. Withdrawals from such tax-deferred arrangements may be subject to tax at a later date.

Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries

The advisor and its related companies may pay broker-dealers or other financial intermediaries (such as a bank) for the sale of the fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing your broker-dealer or other intermediary or its employees or associated persons to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your financial advisor or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

Fund details

Principal investment strategies

Investment Objective: The fund seeks to provide long-term capital appreciation.

The Board of Trustees can change the fund’s investment objective and strategy without shareholder approval. The fund will provide written notice to shareholders at least 60 days prior to a change in its 80% investment policy.

Due to the nature of certain of the fund’s investments, the fund may, under certain circumstances, effect a portion or all of creations and redemptions for cash, rather than in-kind securities.

The fund is non-diversified, which means that it may invest in a smaller number of issuers than a diversified fund and may invest more of its assets in the securities of a single issuer.

Additional investment strategies

Securities lending

The fund may lend its securities so long as such loans do not represent more than 33⅓% of the fund’s total assets. The borrower will provide collateral to the lending portfolio so that the value of the loaned security will be fully collateralized. The collateral may consist of cash, cash equivalents, or securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities. The borrower must also agree to increase the collateral if the value of the loaned securities increases. As with other extensions of credit, there are risks of delay in recovery or even loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially. The fund could also lose money if investments made with cash collateral decline in value.

Temporary defensive investing

In abnormal circumstances, the fund may temporarily invest extensively in investment-grade short-term securities, cash, or cash equivalents for the purpose of protecting the fund in the event the manager determines that market, economic, political, or other conditions warrant a defensive posture.

To the extent that the fund is in a defensive position, its ability to achieve its investment objective will be limited.

Principal risks of investing

An investment in the fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The fund's shares will go up and down in price, meaning that you could lose money by investing in the fund. Many factors influence a fund’s performance. The fund's investment strategy may not produce the intended results.

Instability in the financial markets has led many governments, including the U.S. government, to take a number of unprecedented actions designed to support certain financial institutions and segments of the financial markets that have experienced extreme volatility and, in some cases, a lack of liquidity. Federal, state, and other governments, and their regulatory agencies or self-regulatory organizations, may take actions that affect the regulation of the instruments in which the fund invests, or the issuers of such instruments, in ways that are unforeseeable. Legislation or regulation may also change the way in which the fund itself is regulated. Such legislation or regulation could limit or preclude the fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective. In addition, political events within the United States and abroad could negatively impact financial markets and the fund’s performance.

Governments or their agencies may also acquire distressed assets from financial institutions and acquire ownership interests in those institutions. The implications of government ownership and disposition of these assets are unclear, and such a program may have positive or negative effects on the liquidity, valuation, and performance of the fund’s portfolio holdings. Furthermore, volatile financial markets can expose the fund to greater market and liquidity risk, increased transaction costs, and potential difficulty in valuing portfolio instruments held by the fund.

The principal risks of investing in the fund are summarized in its fund summary above. Below are descriptions of the main factors that may play a role in shaping the fund’s overall risk profile. The descriptions appear in alphabetical order, not in order of importance. For further details about fund risks, including additional risk factors that are not discussed in this prospectus because they are not considered primary factors, see the fund’s Statement of Additional Information (SAI).

Active trading market risk

While the fund's shares are listed on NYSE Arca, there can be no assurance that active trading markets for the shares will develop or be maintained by market makers or authorized participants, and there are no obligations of market makers to make a market in the fund's shares or to submit purchase or redemption orders for creation units. Although market makers will generally take advantage of differences between the NAV and the trading price of fund shares through arbitrage opportunities,

Fund details

there is no guarantee that they will do so. Decisions by market makers or authorized participants to reduce their role with respect to market making or creation/redemption activities in times of market stress could inhibit the effectiveness of the arbitrage process in maintaining the relationship between the underlying value of the fund’s portfolio securities and the fund’s market price. This reduced effectiveness could result in shares trading at a discount to NAV and also in greater than normal intraday bid-ask spreads for shares.

American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) risk

ADRs are equity securities issued by a U.S. bank or trust company that represent one or more shares of a foreign company's stock. ADRs may be listed on a major U.S. stock exchange or may be traded over the counter and are generally denominated in U.S. dollars. Because ADRs are issued by non-U.S. companies, they are subject to foreign investment risks, including the risk that the currency in the issuing company's country will decline relative to the U.S. dollar, that political or regime changes will undermine exchange rates or destabilize the company and its earnings, or that inflation in the issuing company's country will erode the value of the foreign currency. ADRs may not track the price of the underlying foreign securities on which they are based, and their value may change materially at times when U.S. markets are not open for trading because underlying foreign markets may still be open. Certain countries may limit the ability to convert ADRs into the underlying foreign securities and vice versa, which may cause such securities to trade at a discount or premium to the market price of the related ADR. ADRs may be purchased through sponsored or unsponsored facilities. A sponsored facility is established jointly by the issuer of the underlying security and a depositary, whereas a depositary may establish an unsponsored facility without participation by the issuer of the deposited security. Holders of unsponsored ADRs generally bear all the costs of such facilities and the depositary of an unsponsored facility is frequently under no obligation to distribute communications received from the issuer of the deposited security or to pass through voting rights to the holders of such receipts. The issuers of unsponsored ADRs are not obligated to disclose material information in the United States, and therefore there may be limited information available regarding such issuers and limited correlation between available information and the market value of the ADR. To the extent the fund invests in unsponsored ADRs, there may be an increased possibility that the fund would not become aware of and be able to respond to corporate actions such as stock splits or rights offerings involving the foreign issuer on a timely basis. The issuers of ADRs may discontinue issuing new ADRs and withdraw existing ADRs at any time, which may result in costs and delays in the distribution of the underlying assets to the fund and may negatively impact the fund's performance.

Authorized participant concentration risk

Only an authorized participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the fund. The fund has a limited number of intermediaries that act as authorized participants. To the extent that these intermediaries exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the fund and no other authorized participant is able to create or redeem in their place, shares may trade at a discount to NAV and may face delisting. This may in turn result in a significantly diminished trading market for fund shares. Authorized participant concentration risk may be heightened for ETFs,

such as the fund, that invest in securities or instruments that have lower trading volumes or in securities issued by non-U.S. issuers.

Cash transactions risk

Under certain circumstances, the fund intends to effect some or all of its creation and redemption transactions using cash, rather than in-kind securities. As a result, an investment in the fund may be less tax-efficient than an investment in an ETF that effects all of its creation and redemption transactions in-kind. In order to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds, the fund may be required to sell portfolio securities which may cause the fund to recognize capital gains or losses and incur higher brokerage costs. To the extent that the maximum additional charge for creation or redemption transactions is insufficient to cover these costs and expenses, the fund’s NAV could be negatively impacted.

Economic and market events risk

Events in certain sectors historically have resulted, and may in the future result, in an unusually high degree of volatility in the financial markets, both domestic and foreign. These events have included, but are not limited to: bankruptcies, corporate restructurings, and other similar events; bank failures; governmental efforts to limit short selling and high frequency trading; measures to address U.S. federal and state budget deficits; social, political, and economic instability in Europe; economic stimulus by the Japanese central bank; dramatic changes in energy prices and currency exchange rates; and China’s economic slowdown. Interconnected global economies and financial markets increase the possibility that conditions in one country or region might adversely impact issuers in a different country or region. Both domestic and foreign equity markets have experienced increased volatility and turmoil, with issuers that have exposure to the real estate, mortgage, and credit markets particularly affected. Financial institutions could suffer losses as interest rates rise or economic conditions deteriorate. Widespread emerging technologies, like artificial intelligence, have the potential to result in significant and disruptive changes in companies, sectors or industries, and any such changes could create new and unpredictable operational, legal and/or regulatory risks.

In addition, relatively high market volatility and reduced liquidity in credit and fixed-income markets may adversely affect many issuers worldwide. Actions taken by the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) or foreign central banks to stimulate or stabilize economic growth, such as interventions in currency markets, could cause high volatility in the equity and fixed-income markets. Reduced liquidity may result in less money being available to purchase raw materials, goods, and services from emerging markets, which may, in turn, bring down the prices of these economic staples. It may also result in emerging-market issuers having more difficulty obtaining financing, which may, in turn, cause a decline in their securities prices.

In response to certain economic conditions, including periods of high inflation, governmental authorities and regulators may respond with significant fiscal and monetary policy changes such as raising interest rates. The fund may be subject to heightened interest rate risk when the Federal Reserve Board (Fed) raises interest rates. Recent and potential future changes in government monetary policy may affect interest rates. It is difficult to accurately predict the timing, frequency or magnitude of

Fund details

potential interest rate increases or decreases by the Fed and the evaluation of macro-economic and other conditions that could cause a change in approach in the future. If the Fed and other central banks increase the federal funds rate and equivalent rates, such increases generally will cause market interest rates to rise and could cause the value of a fund’s investments, and the fund’s net asset value (NAV), to decline, potentially suddenly and significantly. As a result, the fund may experience high redemptions and, as a result, increased portfolio turnover, which could increase the costs that the fund incurs and may negatively impact the fund’s performance.

In addition, if the Fed increases the target Fed funds rate, any such rate increases, among other factors, could cause markets to experience continuing high volatility. A significant increase in interest rates may cause a decline in the market for equity securities. These events and the possible resulting market volatility may have an adverse effect on the fund.

Political turmoil within the United States and abroad may also impact the fund. Although the U.S. government has honored its credit obligations, it remains possible that the United States could default on its obligations. While it is impossible to predict the consequences of such an unprecedented event, it is likely that a default by the United States would be highly disruptive to the U.S. and global securities markets and could significantly impair the value of the fund’s investments. Similarly, political events within the United States at times have resulted, and may in the future result, in a shutdown of government services, which could negatively affect the U.S. economy, decrease the value of many fund investments, and increase uncertainty in or impair the operation of the U.S. or other securities markets. The imposition by the U.S. of import tariffs on goods from foreign countries and reciprocal tariffs levied on U.S. goods may lead to price volatility and instability in U.S. and global investment markets. Among other effects, tariffs may increase the cost of production for certain goods or reduce demand for products, which could affect the performance of the fund’s investments. It is not known whether, or to what extent, any tariff or other trade protections may affect the fund or its investments.

Uncertainties surrounding the sovereign debt of a number of European Union (EU) countries and the viability of the EU have disrupted and may in the future disrupt markets in the United States and around the world. If one or more countries leave the EU, as the United Kingdom (UK) did in January of 2020 (commonly referred to as “Brexit”), or the EU dissolves, the global securities markets likely will be significantly disrupted.

A widespread health crisis such as a global pandemic could cause substantial market volatility, exchange trading suspensions and closures, which may lead to less liquidity in certain instruments, industries, sectors or the markets generally, and may ultimately affect fund performance. For example, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic resulted and may continue to result in significant disruptions to global business activity and market volatility due to disruptions in market access, resource availability, facilities operations, imposition of tariffs, export controls and supply chain disruption, among others. The impact of a health crisis and other epidemics and pandemics that may arise in the future, could affect the global economy in ways that cannot necessarily be foreseen at the present time. A health crisis may exacerbate other pre-existing political,

social and economic risks. Any such impact could adversely affect the fund’s performance, resulting in losses to your investment.

Political and military events, including in Ukraine, North Korea, Russia, Venezuela, Iran, Syria, and other areas of the Middle East, and nationalist unrest in Europe and South America, also may cause market disruptions.

As a result of continued political tensions and armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine commencing in February of 2022, the extent and ultimate result of which are unknown at this time, the United States and the EU, along with the regulatory bodies of a number of countries, have imposed economic sanctions on certain Russian corporate entities and individuals, and certain sectors of Russia’s economy, which may result in, among other things, the continued devaluation of Russian currency, a downgrade in the country’s credit rating, and/or a decline in the value and liquidity of Russian securities, property or interests. These sanctions could also result in the immediate freeze of Russian securities and/or funds invested in prohibited assets, impairing the ability of a fund to buy, sell, receive or deliver those securities and/or assets. These sanctions or the threat of additional sanctions could also result in Russia taking counter measures or retaliatory actions, which may further impair the value and liquidity of Russian securities. The United States and other nations or international organizations may also impose additional economic sanctions or take other actions that may adversely affect Russia-exposed issuers and companies in various sectors of the Russian economy. Any or all of these potential results could lead Russia’s economy into a recession. Economic sanctions and other actions against Russian institutions, companies, and individuals resulting from the ongoing conflict may also have a substantial negative impact on other economies and securities markets both regionally and globally, as well as on companies with operations in the conflict region, the extent to which is unknown at this time. The United States and the EU have also imposed similar sanctions on Belarus for its support of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Additional sanctions may be imposed on Belarus and other countries that support Russia. Any such sanctions could present substantially similar risks as those resulting from the sanctions imposed on Russia, including substantial negative impacts on the regional and global economies and securities markets.

In addition, there is a risk that the prices of goods and services in the United States and many foreign economies may decline over time, known as deflation. Deflation may have an adverse effect on stock prices and creditworthiness and may make defaults on debt more likely. If a country’s economy slips into a deflationary pattern, it could last for a prolonged period and may be difficult to reverse. Further, there is a risk that the present value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future, known as inflation. Inflation rates may change frequently and drastically as a result of various factors, including unexpected shifts in the domestic or global economy, and a fund’s investments may be affected, which may reduce a fund’s performance. Further, inflation may lead to the rise in interest rates, which may negatively affect the value of debt instruments held by the fund, resulting in a negative impact on a fund’s performance. Generally, securities issued in emerging markets are subject to a greater risk of inflationary or deflationary forces, and more developed markets are better able to use monetary policy to normalize markets.

Fund details

Equity securities risk

Common and preferred stocks represent equity ownership in a company. Stock markets are volatile. The price of equity securities will fluctuate, and can decline and reduce the value of a fund investing in equities. The price of equity securities fluctuates based on changes in a company’s financial condition and overall market and economic conditions. The value of equity securities purchased by a fund could decline if the financial condition of the companies in which the fund is invested declines, or if overall market and economic conditions deteriorate. An issuer’s financial condition could decline as a result of poor management decisions, competitive pressures, technological obsolescence, undue reliance on suppliers, labor issues, shortages, corporate restructurings, fraudulent disclosures, irregular and/or unexpected trading activity among retail investors, or other factors. Changes in the financial condition of a single issuer can impact the market as a whole.

Even a fund that invests in high-quality, or blue chip, equity securities, or securities of established companies with large market capitalizations (which generally have strong financial characteristics), can be negatively impacted by poor overall market and economic conditions. Companies with large market capitalizations may also have less growth potential than smaller companies and may be less able to react quickly to changes in the marketplace.

The fund generally does not attempt to time the market. Because of its exposure to equities, the possibility that stock market prices in general will decline over short or extended periods subjects the fund to unpredictable declines in the value of its investments, as well as periods of poor performance.

ESG integration risk

The manager considers ESG factors that it deems relevant or additive, along with other material factors and analysis, when managing the fund. The portion of the fund’s investments for which the manager considers these ESG factors may vary, and could increase or decrease over time. In certain situations, the extent to which these ESG factors may be applied according to the manager’s integrated investment process may not include U.S. Treasuries, government securities, or other asset classes. ESG factors may include, but are not limited to, matters regarding board diversity, climate change policies, and supply chain and human rights policies. Incorporating ESG criteria and making investment decisions based on certain ESG characteristics, as determined by the manager, carries the risk that the fund may perform differently, including underperforming, funds that do not utilize ESG criteria, or funds that utilize different ESG criteria. Integration of ESG factors into the fund’s investment process may result in a manager making different investments for the fund than for a fund with a similar investment universe and/or investment style that does not incorporate such considerations in its investment strategy or processes, and the fund’s investment performance may be affected. Because ESG factors are one of many considerations for the fund, the manager may nonetheless include companies with low ESG characteristics or exclude companies with high ESG characteristics in the fund’s investments.

The ESG characteristics utilized in the fund’s investment process may change over time, and different ESG characteristics may be relevant to different investments. Although the manager has established its own

structure to oversee ESG integration in accordance with the fund’s investment objective and strategies, successful integration of ESG factors will depend on the manager’s skill in researching, identifying, and applying these factors, as well as on the availability of relevant data. The method of evaluating ESG factors and subsequent impact on portfolio composition, performance, proxy voting decisions and other factors, is subject to the interpretation of the manager in accordance with the fund’s investment objective and strategies. ESG factors may be evaluated differently by different managers, and may not carry the same meaning to all investors and managers. The manager may employ active shareowner engagement to raise ESG issues with the management of select portfolio companies. The regulatory landscape with respect to ESG investing in the United States is evolving and any future rules or regulations may require the fund to change its investment process with respect to ESG integration.

ETF trading risk

The market price of shares, like other exchange-traded securities, may include a “bid-ask spread” (the difference between the price at which investors are willing to buy shares and the price at which investors are willing to sell shares). The bid-ask spread may vary over time based on the fund’s trading volume and market liquidity and may increase as a result of a decrease in the fund’s trading volume, the spread of the fund’s underlying securities, or reduced market liquidity. The bid-ask spread may increase significantly in times of market disruption, meaning that shares may trade at a discount to the fund’s NAV. Such discount is likely to be greatest during significant market volatility. In stressed market conditions, the market for a fund's shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the markets for the fund’s underlying portfolio holdings. This in turn could lead to differences between the market price of the fund's shares and the underlying value of those shares.

Shares of the fund, similar to shares of other publicly-traded securities, may be sold short and are therefore subject to the risk of increased volatility and price decreases associated with being sold short.

The fund’s underlying securities may be traded in markets that close at a different time than the NYSE Arca. Liquidity in those securities may be reduced after the applicable closing times. Accordingly, during the time when the NYSE Arca is open but after the applicable market closing, fixing or settlement times, bid-ask spreads on the NYSE Arca and the corresponding premium or discount to the shares’ NAV may widen.

Illiquid and restricted securities risk

Certain securities are considered illiquid or restricted due to a limited trading market, legal or contractual restrictions on resale or transfer, or are otherwise illiquid because they cannot be sold or disposed of in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the investment. Securities that have limitations on their resale are referred to as “restricted securities.” Certain restricted securities that are eligible for resale to qualified institutional purchasers may not be regarded as illiquid. Illiquid and restricted securities may be difficult to value and may involve greater risks than liquid securities. Market quotations for such securities may be volatile and/or subject to large spreads between bid and ask price. Illiquidity may have an adverse impact on market price and the fund’s

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ability to sell particular securities when necessary to meet the fund’s liquidity needs or in response to a specific economic event. The fund may incur additional expense when disposing of illiquid or restricted securities, including all or a portion of the cost to register the securities.

Industry or sector investing risk

When a fund’s investments are focused in a particular industry or sector of the economy, they are less broadly invested across industries or sectors than other funds. This means that concentrated funds tend to be more volatile than other funds, and the values of their investments tend to go up and down more rapidly. In addition, a fund that invests in a particular industry or sector is particularly susceptible to the impact of market, economic, political, regulatory, and other conditions and risks affecting that industry or sector. From time to time, a small number of companies may represent a large portion of a single industry or sector or a group of related industries or sectors as a whole.

Information technology companies risk. Information technology companies can be significantly affected by rapid obsolescence, short product cycles, competition from new market entrants, and heightened cybersecurity risk, among other factors.

Initial public offerings (IPOs) risk

Certain funds may invest a portion of their assets in shares of IPOs. IPOs may have a magnified impact on the performance of a fund with a small asset base. The impact of IPOs on a fund’s performance will likely decrease as the fund’s asset size increases, which could reduce the fund’s returns. IPOs may not be consistently available to a fund for investing, particularly as the fund’s asset base grows. IPO shares are frequently volatile in price due to the absence of a prior public market, the small number of shares available for trading, and limited information about the issuer. Therefore, a fund may hold IPO shares for a very short period of time. This may increase the turnover of a fund and may lead to increased expenses for a fund, such as commissions and transaction costs. In addition, IPO shares can experience an immediate drop in value if the demand for the securities does not continue to support the offering price.

Investing in developed countries risk

Investment in a developed country issuer may subject the fund to regulatory, political, currency, security, economic and other risks associated with developed countries. Developed countries generally tend to rely on services sectors (e.g., the financial services sector) as the primary means of economic growth. A prolonged slowdown in services sectors is likely to have a negative impact on economies of certain developed countries, although individual developed country economies can be impacted by slowdowns in other sectors. In the past, certain developed countries have been targets of terrorism. Acts of terrorism in developed countries or against their interests may cause uncertainty in the financial markets and adversely affect the performance of the issuers to which the fund has exposure. Heavy regulation of certain markets, including labor and product markets, may have an adverse effect on certain issuers. Such regulations may negatively affect economic growth or cause prolonged periods of recession. Many developed countries are heavily indebted and face rising healthcare and retirement expenses. In addition, price fluctuations of certain commodities and regulations impacting the import of commodities may negatively affect developed country economies.

Large company risk

Larger, more established companies may be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges such as changes in technology and consumer tastes. Many larger companies also may not be able to attain the high growth rate of successful smaller companies, especially during extended periods of economic expansion. For purposes of the fund’s investment policies, the market capitalization of a company is based on its capitalization at the time the fund purchases the company’s securities. Market capitalizations of companies change over time. The fund is not obligated to sell a company’s security simply because, subsequent to its purchase, the company’s market capitalization has changed to be outside the capitalization range, if any, in effect for the fund.

Liquidity risk

The extent (if at all) to which a security may be sold or a derivative position closed without negatively impacting its market value may be impaired by reduced market activity or participation, legal restrictions, or other economic and market impediments. Funds with principal investment strategies that involve investments in securities of companies with smaller market capitalizations, foreign securities, derivatives, or securities with substantial market and/or credit risk tend to have the greatest exposure to liquidity risk. Exposure to liquidity risk may be heightened for funds that invest in securities of emerging markets and related derivatives that are not widely traded, and that may be subject to purchase and sale restrictions.

Non-diversified risk

Overall risk can be reduced by investing in securities from a diversified pool of issuers, while overall risk is increased by investing in securities of a small number of issuers. If a fund is not diversified within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, that means it is allowed to invest a large portion of assets in any one issuer or a small number of issuers, which may result in greater susceptibility to associated risks. As a result, credit, market, and other risks associated with a non-diversified fund’s investment strategies or techniques may be more pronounced than for funds that are diversified.

Operational and cybersecurity risk

With the increased use of technologies, such as mobile devices and “cloud”-based service offerings and the dependence on the internet and computer systems to perform necessary business functions, the fund’s service providers are susceptible to operational and information or cybersecurity risks that could result in losses to the fund and its shareholders. Intentional cybersecurity breaches include unauthorized access to systems, networks, or devices (such as through “hacking” activity or “phishing”); infection from computer viruses or other malicious software code; and attacks that shut down, disable, slow, or otherwise disrupt operations, business processes, or website access or functionality. Cyber-attacks can also be carried out in a manner that does not require gaining unauthorized access, such as causing denial-of-service attacks on the service providers’ systems or websites rendering them unavailable to intended users or via “ransomware” that renders the systems inoperable until appropriate actions are taken. In addition, unintentional incidents can occur, such as the inadvertent release of confidential information (possibly resulting in the violation of applicable privacy laws).

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A cybersecurity breach could result in the loss or theft of customer data or funds, loss or theft of proprietary information or corporate data, physical damage to a computer or network system, or costs associated with system repairs. Such incidents could cause a fund, the advisor, a manager, or other service providers to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs, litigation costs or financial loss. In addition, such incidents could affect issuers in which a fund invests, and thereby cause the fund’s investments to lose value.

Cyber-events have the potential to materially affect the fund and the advisor’s relationships with accounts, shareholders, clients, customers, employees, products, and service providers. The fund has established risk management systems reasonably designed to seek to reduce the risks associated with cyber-events. There is no guarantee that the fund will be able to prevent or mitigate the impact of any or all cyber-events.

The fund is exposed to operational risk arising from a number of factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the fund’s service providers, counterparties, or other third parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or system failures.

Other disruptive events, including (but not limited to) natural disasters and public health crises may adversely affect the fund’s ability to conduct business, in particular if the fund’s employees or the employees of its service providers are unable or unwilling to perform their responsibilities as a result of any such event. Even if the fund’s employees and the employees of its service providers are able to work remotely, those remote work arrangements could result in the fund’s business operations being less efficient than under normal circumstances, could lead to delays in its processing of transactions, and could increase the risk of cyber-events.

In addition, technological developments such as the use of cloud-based service providers and/or services and the integration of artificial intelligence in systems and operations create new risks, which can be difficult to assess.

Preferred stock risk

Preferred stock generally has a preference as to dividends and liquidation over an issuer’s common stock but ranks junior to debt securities in an issuer’s capital structure. Unlike interest payments on debt securities, preferred stock dividends are payable only if declared by the issuer’s board of directors. Preferred stock also may be subject to optional or mandatory redemption provisions.

Premium/discount risk

The NAV of the fund and the value of your investment will fluctuate. Disruptions to creations and redemptions or the market price of the fund’s holdings, the existence of extreme market volatility or potential lack of an active trading market for shares may result in shares trading at a significant premium or discount to NAV and/or in a reduced liquidity of your investment. If a shareholder purchases shares at a time when the market price is at a premium to the NAV or sells shares at a time when the market price is at a discount to the NAV, the shareholder may sustain losses. The advisor cannot predict whether shares will trade below, at or above their NAV. Price differences may be due, in large part, to the fact that supply and demand forces at work in the secondary trading market

for shares will be closely related to, but not identical to, the same forces influencing the prices of the securities of the fund’s underlying portfolio holdings trading individually or in the aggregate at any point in time. Given the nature of the relevant markets for certain of the fund’s securities, shares may trade at a larger premium or discount to the NAV than shares of other ETFs. In addition, in stressed market conditions, the market for shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the markets for the fund’s underlying portfolio holdings. While the creation/redemption feature is designed to make it more likely that the fund's shares normally will trade on stock exchanges at prices close to the fund’s next calculated NAV, exchange prices are not expected to correlate exactly with the fund’s NAV due to timing reasons, supply and demand imbalances and other factors. In addition, disruptions to creations and redemptions, including disruptions at market makers, authorized participants or market participants, or during periods of significant market volatility, may result in trading prices for shares of a fund that differ significantly from its NAV. Any of these factors may lead to the shares trading at a premium or discount to the fund’s NAV. Although market makers will generally take advantage of differences between the NAV and the trading price of fund shares through arbitrage opportunities, there is no guarantee that they will do so.

During periods of volatility, a shareholder may be unable to sell his or her shares or may incur significant losses if he or she sells shares. There are various methods by which investors can purchase and sell shares and various orders that may be placed. Investors should consult their financial intermediary before purchasing or selling shares of the fund.

Real estate investment trust (REIT) risk

REITs are subject to risks associated with the ownership of real estate. Some REITs experience market risk and liquidity risk due to investment in a limited number of properties, in a narrow geographic area, or in a single property type, which increases the risk that such REIT could be unfavorably affected by the poor performance of a single investment or investment type. These companies are also sensitive to factors such as changes in real estate values and property taxes, interest rates, cash flow of underlying real estate assets, supply and demand, and the management skill and creditworthiness of the issuer. Borrowers could default on or sell investments that a REIT holds, which could reduce the cash flow needed to make distributions to investors. In addition, REITs may also be affected by tax and regulatory requirements impacting the REITs’ ability to qualify for preferential tax treatments or exemptions. REITs require specialized management and pay management expenses. REITs also are subject to physical risks to real property, including weather, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, or other events that destroy real property.

REITs include equity REITs and mortgage REITs. Equity REITs may be affected by changes in the value of the underlying property owned by the trusts, while mortgage REITs may be affected by the quality of any credit extended. Further, equity and mortgage REITs are dependent upon management skills and generally may not be diversified. Equity and mortgage REITs are also subject to heavy cash flow dependency, defaults by borrowers or lessees, and self-liquidations. In addition, equity and mortgage REITs could possibly fail to qualify for tax-free pass-through of income under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code), or to maintain their exemptions from registration under the

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Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. The above factors may also adversely affect a borrower’s or a lessee’s ability to meet its obligations to the REIT. In the event of a default by a borrower or lessee, the REIT may experience delays in enforcing its rights as a mortgagee or lessor and may incur substantial costs associated with protecting its investments. In addition, even many of the larger REITs in the industry tend to be small to medium-sized companies in relation to the equity markets as a whole. Moreover, shares of REITs may trade less frequently and, therefore, are subject to more erratic price movements than securities of larger issuers.

Trading issues risk

Trading in shares of the fund on NYSE Arca may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of NYSE Arca, make trading in shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in shares on NYSE Arca is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to NYSE Arca’s “circuit breaker” rules. If a trading halt or unanticipated early closing of NYSE Arca occurs, a shareholder may be unable to purchase or sell shares of the fund. There can be no assurance that the requirements of NYSE Arca necessary to maintain the listing of the fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged.

Value investment style risk

Certain equity securities (generally referred to as value securities) are purchased primarily because they are selling at prices below what the manager believes to be their fundamental value and not necessarily because the issuing companies are expected to experience significant earnings growth. The fund bears the risk that the companies that issued these securities may not overcome the adverse business developments or other factors causing their securities to be perceived by the manager to be underpriced or that the market may never come to recognize their fundamental value. A value security may not increase in price, as anticipated by the manager investing in such securities, if other investors fail to recognize the company’s value and bid up the price or invest in markets favoring faster growing companies. The fund’s strategy of investing in value securities also carries the risk that in certain markets, value securities will underperform growth securities. In addition, securities issued by U.S. entities with substantial foreign operations may involve risks relating to economic, political or regulatory conditions in foreign countries.

Additional risks of investing

Large shareholder risk

Certain accounts or advisor affiliates, including other funds advised by the advisor or third parties, may from time to time own (beneficially or of record) or control a substantial amount of the fund’s shares, including through seed capital arrangements. Such shareholders may at times be considered to control the fund. Dispositions of a large number of shares by these shareholders may adversely affect the fund’s liquidity and net assets to the extent such transactions are executed directly with the fund in the form of redemptions through an authorized participant (as defined in “Shareholder information—Buying and selling shares” on page 15 of this prospectus), rather than executed in the secondary market. These redemptions may also force the fund to sell securities, which may increase the fund’s brokerage costs. To the extent these large

shareholders transact in shares of the fund on the secondary market, such transactions may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on the exchange and may, therefore, have a material effect (upward or downward), on the market price of the fund’s shares.

Tax-advantaged product structure

Unlike conventional mutual funds that are only bought and sold at closing NAVs, the shares of the fund have been designed to be created and redeemed principally in-kind in creation units at each day’s market close at the fund’s NAV and to be tradable in a secondary market on an intra-day basis. These in-kind arrangements are designed to mitigate adverse effects on the fund’s portfolio that could arise from frequent cash purchase and redemption transactions that affect the NAV of the fund. Moreover, in contrast to conventional mutual funds, where frequent redemptions can have an adverse tax impact on taxable shareholders because of the need to sell portfolio securities that, in turn, may generate taxable gain, the in-kind redemption mechanism of the fund, to the extent used, generally is not expected to lead to a tax event for shareholders whose shares are not being redeemed. However, the fund may still realize gains related to either cash redemptions or re-balancing transactions which may need to be distributed.

Who’s who

The following are the names of the various entities involved with the fund’s investment and business operations, along with brief descriptions of the role each entity performs.

Board of Trustees

The Trustees oversee the fund’s business activities and retain the services of the various firms that carry out the fund’s operations.

Investment advisor

The investment advisor manages the fund’s business and investment activities.

John Hancock Investment Management LLC
200 Berkeley Street
Boston, MA 02116

Founded in 1968, the advisor is an indirect principally owned subsidiary of John Hancock Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.), which in turn is a subsidiary of Manulife Financial Corporation.

The advisor’s parent company has been helping individuals and institutions work toward their financial goals since 1862. The advisor offers investment solutions managed by leading institutional money managers, taking a disciplined team approach to portfolio management and research, leveraging the expertise of seasoned investment professionals. As of March 31, 2026, the advisor had total assets under management of approximately $[TBU] billion.

Subject to general oversight by the Board of Trustees, the advisor manages and supervises the investment operations and business affairs of the fund. The advisor selects, contracts with and compensates one or more subadvisors to manage all or a portion of the fund’s portfolio assets, subject to oversight by the advisor. In this role, the advisor has supervisory responsibility for managing the investment and reinvestment

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of the fund’s portfolio assets through proactive oversight and monitoring of the subadvisor and the fund, as described in further detail below. The advisor is responsible for developing overall investment strategies for the fund and overseeing and implementing the fund’s continuous investment programs and provides a variety of advisory oversight and investment research services. The advisor also provides management and transition services associated with certain fund events (e.g., strategy, portfolio manager, or subadvisor changes) and coordinates and oversees services provided under other agreements.

The advisor has ultimate responsibility to oversee a subadvisor and recommend to the Board of Trustees its hiring, termination, and replacement. In this capacity, the advisor, among other things: (i) monitors on a daily basis the compliance of the subadvisor with the investment objectives and related policies of the fund; (ii) monitors significant changes that may impact the subadvisor's overall business and regularly performs due diligence reviews of the subadvisor; (iii) reviews the performance of the subadvisor; and (iv) reports periodically on such performance to the Board of Trustees. The advisor employs a team of investment professionals who provide these ongoing research and monitoring services.

The fund relies on an order from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) permitting the advisor, subject to approval by the Board of Trustees, to appoint a subadvisor or change the terms of a subadvisory agreement without obtaining shareholder approval. The fund, therefore, is able to change subadvisors or the fees paid to a subadvisor, from time to time, without the expense and delays associated with obtaining shareholder approval of the change. This order does not, however, permit the advisor to appoint a subadvisor that is an affiliate of the advisor or the fund (other than by reason of serving as a subadvisor to the fund), or to increase the subadvisory fee of an affiliated subadvisor, without the approval of the shareholders.

Management fee

The fund pays the advisor a management fee for its services to the fund. The advisor in turn pays the fees of the subadvisor. The management fee is stated as an annual percentage of the aggregate net assets of the fund (together with the assets of any other applicable fund identified in the advisory agreement) determined in accordance with the following schedule, and that rate is applied to the average daily net assets of the fund.

Average daily net assets ($)	Annual rate (%)
All asset levels	[TBU]

The basis for the Board of Trustees’ approval of the advisory fees, and of the investment advisory agreement overall, including the subadvisory agreement, will be discussed in the fund’s first Form N-CSR(S) filing.

Additional information about fund expenses

The fund’s annual operating expenses will likely vary throughout the period and from year to year. The fund’s expenses for the current fiscal year may be higher than the expenses listed in the fund’s “Annual fund operating expenses” table, for some of the following reasons: (i) a significant decrease in average net assets may result in a higher advisory fee rate if any advisory fee breakpoints are not achieved; (ii) a significant

decrease in average net assets may result in an increase in the expense ratio because certain fund expenses do not decrease as asset levels decrease; or (iii) fees may be incurred for extraordinary events such as fund tax expenses.

Subadvisor

The subadvisor handles the fund’s portfolio management activities, subject to oversight by the advisor.

Manulife Investment Management (US) LLC
197 Clarendon Street
Boston, MA 02116

Manulife Investment Management (US) LLC (Manulife IM (US)) provides investment advisory services to individual and institutional investors. Manulife IM (US) is a wholly owned subsidiary of John Hancock Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.) (a subsidiary of Manulife Financial Corporation) and, as of March 31, 2026, had total assets under management of approximately $[TBU] billion.

The following are brief biographical profiles of the leaders of the fund’s investment management team, in alphabetical order. These managers are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the fund’s portfolio. These managers are employed by Manulife IM (US). For more details about these individuals, including information about their compensation, other accounts they manage, and any investments they may have in the fund, see the SAI.

Leigh Pressman, CFA

●

Portfolio Manager

●

Managed the fund since inception

●

Joined the subadvisor in 2023

●

Began business career in 2012

Michael J. Scanlon, Jr., CFA

●

Portfolio Manager

●

Managed the fund since inception

●

Joined the subadvisor in 2004

●

Began business career in 2000

Custodian

The custodian holds the fund’s assets, settles all portfolio trades, and collects most of the valuation data required for calculating the fund’s net asset value.

State Street Bank and Trust Company
One Congress Street, Suite 1
Boston, MA 02114

Principal distributor

The principal distributor distributes creation units for the fund on an agency basis, does not maintain a secondary market in shares of the fund, and has no role in determining the investment policies of the fund or the securities that are purchased or sold by the fund. The distributor is not affiliated with the advisor, the subadvisor or any other service provider for the fund.

Fund details

Foreside Fund Services, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Foreside Financial Group, LLC (dba ACA Group)
190 Middle Street, Suite 301
Portland, ME 04101

Transfer agent

The transfer agent handles shareholder services, including recordkeeping and statements, distribution of dividends, and processing of creation and redemption orders.

State Street Bank and Trust Company
One Congress Street, Suite 1
Boston, MA 02114

Additional information

The fund has entered into contractual arrangements with various parties that provide services to the fund, which may include, among others, the advisor, subadvisor, custodian, principal distributor, and transfer agent, as described above and in the SAI. Fund shareholders are not parties to, or intended or “third-party” beneficiaries of, any of these contractual arrangements. These contractual arrangements are not intended to, nor do they, create in any individual shareholder or group of shareholders any right, either directly or on behalf of the fund, to either: (a) enforce such contracts against the service providers; or (b) seek any remedy under such contracts against the service providers.

This prospectus provides information concerning the fund that you should consider in determining whether to purchase shares of the fund. Each of this prospectus, the SAI, or any contract that is an exhibit to the fund’s registration statement, is not intended to, nor does it, give rise to an agreement or contract between the fund and any investor. Each such document also does not give rise to any contract or create rights in any individual shareholder, group of shareholders, or other person. The foregoing disclosure should not be read to suggest any waiver of any rights conferred by federal or state securities laws.

Shareholder information

Buying and selling shares

Shares of the fund may be acquired or redeemed directly from the fund only in creation units or multiples thereof, as discussed in the “Creations and redemptions” section of this prospectus. Only an authorized participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the fund. An authorized participant is either a “participating party” (i.e., a broker-dealer or other participant in the clearing process through the Continuous Net Settlement System of the National Securities Clearing Corporation) or a Depository Trust Company participant, in either case, who has executed an agreement with the distributor and transfer agent with respect to creations and redemptions of creation units. Once created, shares of the fund generally trade in the secondary market in amounts less than a creation unit.

Shares of the fund are listed for trading on a national securities exchange during the trading day. Shares can be bought and sold throughout the trading day like shares of other publicly traded companies. However, there can be no guarantee that an active trading market will develop or be maintained, or that the fund shares listing will continue or remain unchanged. The Trust does not impose any minimum investment for shares of a fund purchased on an exchange. Buying or selling the fund's shares involves certain costs that apply to all securities transactions. When buying or selling shares of the fund through a financial intermediary, you may incur a brokerage commission or other charges determined by your financial intermediary. Due to these brokerage costs, if any, frequent trading may detract significantly from investment returns. In addition, you may also incur the cost of the spread (the difference between the bid price and the ask price). The commission is frequently a fixed amount and may be a significant cost for investors seeking to buy or sell small amounts of shares. The spread varies over time for shares of the fund based on its trading volume and market liquidity, and is generally less if the fund has more trading volume and market liquidity and more if the fund has less trading volume and market liquidity.

The fund’s primary listing exchange is NYSE Arca. NYSE Arca is open for trading Monday through Friday and is closed on the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.

A “Business Day” with respect to the fund is each day the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Arca and the Trust are open and includes any day that the fund is required to be open under Section 22(e) of the Investment Company Act. Orders from authorized participants to create or redeem creation units will only be accepted on a Business Day. On days when NYSE Arca closes earlier than normal, the fund may require orders to create or redeem creation units to be placed earlier in the day. Please see the SAI for more information.

Section 12(d)(1) of the Investment Company Act restricts investments by registered investment companies and companies relying on Section 3(c)(1) or Section 3(c)(7) of the Investment Company Act in the securities of other investment companies.

The Board of Trustees has not adopted a policy of monitoring for frequent purchases and redemptions of fund shares (“frequent trading”) that appear to attempt to take advantage of potential arbitrage opportunities presented by a lag between a change in the value of the fund’s portfolio

securities after the close of the primary markets for the fund’s portfolio securities and the reflection of that change in the fund’s NAV (“market timing”). The Trust believes this is appropriate because ETFs, such as the fund, are intended to be attractive to arbitrageurs, as trading activity is critical to ensuring that the market price of fund shares remains at or close to NAV. Since the fund issues and redeems creation units at NAV plus applicable transaction fees, and the fund’s shares may be purchased and sold on NYSE Arca at prevailing market prices, the risks of frequent trading are limited.

Rule 12b-1 fees

Rule 12b-1 fees may be paid to the fund's distributor and may be used by the distributor for expenses relating to the distribution of, and shareholder or administrative services for holders of, creation units, and for the payment of service fees that come within Rule 2341 of the Conduct Rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

Because Rule 12b-1 fees may be paid out of the fund’s assets on an ongoing basis, over time they may increase the cost of your investment and may cost shareholders more than other types of sales charges. Currently, no Rule 12b-1 fees are charged .

Your broker-dealer or agent may charge you a fee to effect transactions in creation units.

Payment to broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries

The advisor or its affiliates make payments to broker-dealers, registered investment advisers, banks or other intermediaries (together, “intermediaries”) related to marketing activities and presentations, educational training programs, conferences, the development of technology platforms and reporting systems, or their making shares of the fund and certain other John Hancock funds available to their customers generally and in certain investment programs. Such payments, which may be significant to the intermediary, are not made by the fund. Rather, such payments are made by the advisor or its affiliates from their own resources, which come directly or indirectly in part from fees paid by the John Hancock funds complex. Payments of this type are sometimes referred to as revenue-sharing payments. A financial intermediary may make decisions about which investment options it recommends or makes available, or the level of services provided, to its customers based on the payments it is eligible to receive. Therefore, such payments to an intermediary create conflicts of interest between the intermediary and its customers and may cause the intermediary to recommend the fund or other John Hancock funds over another investment. More information regarding these payments is contained in the fund’s SAI. Please contact your salesperson or other investment professional for more information regarding any such payments his or her firm may receive from the advisor or its affiliates.

Valuation of fund shares

The NAV for shares of the fund is normally determined once daily as of the close of regular trading on the NYSE (typically 4:00 p.m., Eastern time, on each Business Day that the NYSE is open). In case of emergency or other disruption resulting in the NYSE not opening for trading or the NYSE closing at a time other than the regularly scheduled close, the NAV may

Shareholder information

be determined as of the regularly scheduled close of the NYSE pursuant to the advisor’s Valuation Policies and Procedures. The time at which shares and transactions are priced and until which orders are accepted may vary to the extent permitted by the Securities and Exchange Commission and applicable regulations. Shares of the fund may be purchased through a broker in the secondary market by individual investors at market prices which may vary throughout the day and may differ from the NAV. On holidays or other days when the NYSE is closed, the NAV is not calculated and the fund does not transact purchase or redemption requests. Trading of securities that are primarily listed on foreign exchanges may take place on weekends and U.S. business holidays on which the fund’s NAV is not calculated. Consequently, the fund’s portfolio securities may trade and the NAV of the fund’s shares may be significantly affected on days when a shareholder will not be able to purchase or redeem shares of the fund.

The NAV is computed by dividing the total assets of the fund (which may include realized and unrealized capital gain and income), minus liabilities of the fund, by the number of fund shares outstanding. The current NAV of the fund is available on our website at jhinvestments.com/etf.

Valuation of portfolio securities

The Board has designated the fund’s advisor as the valuation designee to perform fair value functions for the fund in accordance with the advisor's valuation policies and procedures. As valuation designee, the advisor will determine the fair value, in good faith, of securities and other assets held by the fund for which market quotations are not readily available and, among other things, will assess and manage material risks associated with fair value determinations, select, apply and test fair value methodologies, and oversee and evaluate pricing services and other valuation agents used in valuing the fund's investments. The advisor is subject to Board oversight and reports to the Board information regarding the fair valuation process and related material matters. The advisor carries out its responsibilities as valuation designee through its Pricing Committee.

Portfolio securities are valued by various methods that are generally described below. Portfolio securities also may be fair valued by the advisor’s Pricing Committee in certain instances pursuant to procedures established by the advisor and adopted by the Board of Trustees. Equity securities are generally valued at the last sale price or, for certain markets, the official closing price as of the close of the relevant exchange. Securities not traded on a particular day are valued using last available bid prices. A security that is listed or traded on more than one exchange is typically valued at the price on the exchange where the security was acquired or most likely will be sold. In certain instances, the Pricing Committee may determine to value equity securities using prices obtained from another exchange or market if trading on the exchange or market on which prices are typically obtained did not open for trading as scheduled, or if trading closed earlier than scheduled, and trading occurred as normal on another exchange or market. Equity securities traded principally in foreign markets are typically valued using the last sale price or official closing price in the relevant exchange or market. On any day a foreign market is closed and the NYSE is open, any foreign securities will typically be valued using the last price or official closing price obtained from the relevant exchange on the prior business day.

Debt obligations are typically valued based on evaluated prices provided by an independent pricing vendor. The value of securities denominated in foreign currencies is converted into U.S. dollars at the exchange rate supplied by an independent pricing vendor, generally determined as of 4:00 p.m. London time. Forward foreign currency contracts are valued at the prevailing forward rates which are based on foreign currency exchange spot rates and forward points supplied by an independent pricing vendor. Exchange-traded options are valued at the mid-price of the last quoted bid and ask prices. Futures contracts are typically valued based on daily published settlement prices. Swaps and unlisted options are generally valued using evaluated prices obtained from an independent pricing vendor. Shares of other open-end investment companies that are not ETFs (underlying funds) are valued based on the NAVs of such underlying funds.

Pricing vendors may use matrix pricing or valuation models that utilize certain inputs and assumptions to derive values, including transaction data, broker-dealer quotations, credit quality information, general market conditions, news, and other factors and assumptions. The fund may receive different prices when it sells odd-lot positions than it would receive for sales of institutional round lot positions. Pricing vendors generally value securities assuming orderly transactions of institutional round lot sizes, but a fund may hold or transact in such securities in smaller, odd lot sizes.

The Pricing Committee engages in oversight activities with respect to pricing vendors, which includes, among other things, monitoring significant or unusual price fluctuations above predetermined tolerance levels from the prior day, back-testing of pricing vendor prices against actual trades, conducting periodic due diligence meetings and reviews, and periodically reviewing the inputs, assumptions and methodologies used by these vendors. Nevertheless, market quotations, official closing prices, or information furnished by a pricing vendor could be inaccurate, which could lead to a security being valued incorrectly.

If market quotations, official closing prices, or information furnished by a pricing vendor are not readily available or are otherwise deemed unreliable or not representative of the fair value of such security because of market- or issuer-specific events, a security will be valued at its fair value as determined in good faith by the Board’s valuation designee, the advisor. In certain instances, therefore, the Pricing Committee may determine that a reported valuation does not reflect fair value, based on additional information available or other factors, and may accordingly determine in good faith the fair value of the assets, which may differ from the reported valuation.

Fair value pricing of securities is intended to help ensure that the fund’s NAV reflects the fair market value of the fund’s portfolio securities as of the close of regular trading on the NYSE (as opposed to a value that no longer reflects market value as of such close). The use of fair value pricing has the effect of valuing a security based upon the price the fund might reasonably expect to receive if it sold that security in an orderly transaction between market participants, but does not guarantee that the security can be sold at the fair value price. Further, because of the inherent uncertainty and subjective nature of fair valuation, a fair valuation price may differ significantly from the value that would have

Shareholder information

been used had a readily available market price for the investment existed and these differences could be material.

Regarding the fund’s investment in an underlying fund that is not an ETF, which (as noted above) is valued at such underlying fund’s NAV, the prospectus for such underlying fund explains the circumstances and effects of fair value pricing for that underlying fund. The fund relies on a third-party service provider for assistance with the daily calculation of the fund’s NAV. The third-party service provider, in turn, relies on other parties for certain pricing data and other inputs used in the calculation of the fund’s NAV. Therefore, the fund is subject to certain operational risks associated with reliance on its service provider and that service provider’s sources of pricing and other data. NAV calculation may be adversely affected by operational risks arising from factors such as errors or failures in systems and technology. Such errors or failures may result in inaccurately calculated NAVs, delays in the calculation of NAVs and/or the inability to calculate NAV over extended time periods. The fund may be unable to recover any losses associated with such failures.

Distributions

The fund pays distributions from its investment income and from net realized capital gains.

Distributions from net investment income and distributions from net capital gains, if any, are declared and paid as follows:

	Investment income dividends		Capital gains distributions
	Declared	Paid	Declared and Paid
John Hancock Large Cap Opportunities ETF	Annually	Annually	Annually

Dividends and other distributions on shares of the fund are distributed on a pro rata basis to beneficial owners of such shares. Dividend payments are made through Depository Trust Company (DTC) participants and indirect participants (each as described in the “Book entry” section, below) to beneficial owners then of record with proceeds received from the fund.

No dividend reinvestment service is provided by the fund. Broker-dealers may make available the DTC book-entry dividend reinvestment service for use by beneficial owners of the fund for reinvestment of their dividend distributions. Beneficial owners should contact their broker to determine the availability and costs of the service and the details of participation therein. Brokers may require beneficial owners to adhere to specific procedures and timetables. If this service is available and used, dividend distributions of both income and realized gains will be automatically reinvested in additional whole shares of the fund purchased in the secondary market.

Book entry

DTC serves as securities depository for the shares. (The shares may be held only in book-entry form; stock certificates will not be issued.) DTC, or its nominee, is the record or registered owner of all outstanding shares. Beneficial ownership of shares will be shown on the records of DTC or its participants (described below). Beneficial owners of shares are not

entitled to have shares registered in their names, will not receive or be entitled to receive physical delivery of certificates in definitive form and are not considered the registered holder thereof. Accordingly, to exercise any rights of a holder of shares, each beneficial owner must rely on the procedures of: (i) DTC; (ii) “DTC participants,” i.e., securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and certain other organizations, some of whom (and/or their representatives) own DTC; and (iii) “indirect participants,” i.e., brokers, dealers, banks and trust companies that clear through or maintain a custodial relationship with a DTC Participant, either directly or indirectly, through which such beneficial owner holds its interests. The Trust understands that under existing industry practice, in the event the Trust requests any action of holders of shares, or a beneficial owner desires to take any action that DTC, as the record owner of all outstanding shares, is entitled to take, DTC would authorize the DTC participants to take such action and that the DTC participants would authorize the indirect participants and beneficial owners acting through such DTC participants to take such action and would otherwise act upon the instructions of beneficial owners owning through them. As described above, the Trust recognizes DTC or its nominee as the owner of all shares for all purposes.

Creations and redemptions

Prior to trading in the secondary market, shares of the fund are “created” at NAV by market makers, large investors and institutions only in block-size creation units. Each “creator” or “authorized participant” enters into an authorized participant agreement with the fund’s distributor.

A creation transaction, which is subject to acceptance by the transfer agent, generally takes place when an authorized participant deposits into the fund a designated portfolio of securities and/or cash in exchange for a specified number of creation units.

Similarly, shares can be redeemed only in creation units, generally for a designated portfolio of securities and/or cash. Except when aggregated in creation units, shares are not redeemable by the fund.

The prices at which creations and redemptions occur are based on the next calculation of NAV after a creation or redemption order is received in an acceptable form under the authorized participant agreement.

Only an authorized participant may create or redeem creation units directly with the fund. In the event of a system failure or other interruption, including disruptions at market makers or authorized participants, orders to purchase or redeem creation units either may not be executed according to the fund’s instructions or may not be executed at all, or the fund may not be able to place or change orders.

When the fund engages in in-kind transactions, the fund intends to comply with the U.S. federal securities laws in accepting securities for deposit and satisfying redemptions with redemption securities by, among other means, assuring that any securities accepted for deposit and any securities used to satisfy redemption requests will be sold in transactions that would be exempt from registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (Securities Act). Further, an authorized participant that is not a “qualified institutional buyer,” as such term is defined under Rule 144A of the Securities Act, will not be able to receive restricted securities eligible for resale under Rule 144A.

Shareholder information

Creations and redemptions must be made through a firm that is either a member of the Continuous Net Settlement System of the National Securities Clearing Corporation or a DTC participant and has executed an agreement with the distributor with respect to creations and redemptions of creation unit aggregations. Information about the procedures regarding creation and redemption of creation units (including the cut-off times for receipt of creation and redemption orders) and the applicable transaction fees is included in the fund’s SAI.

The fund typically expects to wire redemption proceeds between 1 and 3 business days following the receipt of the redemption request. Processing time is not dependent on the chosen delivery method. In unusual circumstances, the fund may temporarily suspend the processing of sell requests or may postpone payment of proceeds for up to three Business Days or longer, as allowed by federal securities laws.

To the extent the fund effects redemptions in cash rather than in-kind, the fund may incur certain costs, including brokerage costs and/or taxable gains or losses, that the fund may not have incurred if it had effected redemptions entirely in-kind. These costs may decrease the fund’s NAV to the extent they are not offset by a transaction fee payable by an Authorized Participant.

Taxation

As with any investment, you should consider how your investment in the fund will be taxed. The tax information below is provided as general information. More tax information is available in the SAI. You should consult your tax advisor about the federal, state, local or foreign tax consequences of your investment in the fund. Except as otherwise noted, the tax information provided assumes that you are a U.S. citizen or resident.

Unless your investment is through an IRA or other tax-advantaged account, you should carefully consider the possible tax consequences of fund distributions and the sale of your fund shares.

Distributions

The fund contemplates declaring as dividends each year all or substantially all of its taxable income. Distributions you receive from the fund are generally subject to federal income tax, and may also be subject to state or local taxes. This is true whether you reinvest your distributions in additional fund shares or receive them in cash. For federal income tax purposes, the fund’s distributions attributable to net investment income and short-term capital gains are taxable to you as ordinary income while distributions of long-term capital gains are taxable to you as long-term capital gains, no matter how long you have owned your fund shares.

Under current provisions of the Code, the maximum individual rate applicable to long-term capital gains is generally either 15% or 20%, depending on whether the individual’s income exceeds certain threshold amounts. Fund distributions to noncorporate shareholders attributable to dividends received by the fund from U.S. and certain qualified foreign corporations will generally be taxed at the long-term capital gain rate, as long as certain other requirements are met. For these lower rates to apply, the non-corporate shareholder must own fund shares for at least 61 days during the 121-day period beginning 60 days before the fund’s ex-dividend date. The percentage of dividends eligible for the lower rates

may be reduced as a result of the fund’s securities lending activities, hedging activities or high portfolio turnover rate.

A percentage of the fund’s dividends paid to corporate shareholders may be eligible for the corporate dividends-received deduction. This percentage may, however, be reduced as a result of the fund’s securities lending activities, hedging activities or high portfolio turnover rate.

Distributions in excess of the fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits are treated as a tax-free return of your investment to the extent of your basis in the shares, and generally as capital gain thereafter. A return of capital, which for tax purposes is treated as a return of your investment, reduces your basis in shares, thus reducing any loss or increasing any gain on a subsequent taxable disposition of shares. A distribution will reduce the fund’s NAV per share and may be taxable to you as ordinary income or capital gain even though, from an economic standpoint, the distribution may constitute a return of capital. Character and tax status of all distributions will be available to shareholders after the close of each calendar year.

An additional 3.8% Medicare tax is imposed on certain net investment income (including ordinary dividends and capital gain distributions received from the fund and net gains from redemptions or other taxable dispositions of fund shares) of U.S. individuals, estates and trusts to the extent that such person’s “modified adjusted gross income” (in the case of an individual) or “adjusted gross income” (in the case of an estate or trust) exceeds certain threshold amounts.

Although distributions are generally treated as taxable to you in the year they are paid, distributions declared in October, November or December but paid in January are taxable as if they were paid in December.

The fund may be subject to foreign withholding or other foreign taxes on income or gain from certain foreign securities. In general, the fund may deduct these taxes in computing its taxable income.

If you buy shares of the fund before it makes a distribution, the distribution will be taxable to you even though it may actually be a return of a portion of your investment. This is known as “buying into a dividend.”

Taxes on creations and redemptions of creation units

A person who exchanges securities for creation units generally will recognize a gain or loss. The gain or loss will be equal to the difference between the market value of the creation units at the time of exchange and the sum of the exchanger’s aggregate basis in the securities surrendered and the amount of any cash paid for such creation units. A person who exchanges creation units for securities will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the exchanger’s basis in the creation units and the sum of the aggregate market value of the securities received. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), however, may assert that a loss realized upon an exchange of primarily securities for creation units cannot be deducted currently under the rules governing “wash sales,” or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position. Persons exchanging securities for creation units or redeeming creation units should consult their own tax adviser with respect to whether wash sale rules apply and when a loss might be deductible and the tax treatment of any creation or redemption transaction.

Shareholder information

Under current U.S. federal income tax laws, any capital gain or loss realized upon a redemption (or creation) of creation units is generally treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the shares (or securities surrendered) have been held for more than one year and as a short-term capital gain or loss if the shares (or securities surrendered) have been held for one year or less.

Sales of fund shares

Your sale of fund shares is a taxable transaction for federal income tax purposes, and may also be subject to state and local taxes. When you sell your shares, you will generally recognize a capital gain or loss in an amount equal to the difference between your adjusted tax basis in the shares and the amount received. Generally, this capital gain or loss is long-term or short-term depending on whether your holding period exceeds one year, except that any loss realized on shares held for six months or less will be treated as a long-term capital loss to the extent of any capital gain dividends that were received on the shares. Additionally, any loss realized on a sale or redemption of shares of a fund may be disallowed under “wash sale” rules to the extent the shares disposed of are replaced with other shares of that fund within a period of 61 days beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the date of disposition, such as pursuant to a dividend reinvestment in shares of that fund. If disallowed, the loss will be reflected in an adjustment to the basis of the shares acquired.

Other information

You may be subject to backup withholding at a rate of 24% with respect to taxable distributions if you do not provide your correct taxpayer identification number, or certify that it is correct, or if you have been notified by the IRS that you are subject to backup withholding.

Non-U.S. investors are generally subject to U.S. withholding tax with respect to dividends received from the fund and may be subject to estate tax with respect to their fund shares.

Withholding of U.S. tax (at a 30% rate) is required with respect to payments of taxable dividends made to certain non-U.S. entities that fail to comply (or be deemed compliant) with extensive reporting and withholding requirements designed to inform the U.S. Department of the Treasury of U.S.-owned foreign investment accounts. Shareholders may be requested to provide additional information to enable the applicable withholding agent to determine whether withholding is required.

Reporting to you and the IRS is required annually on Form 1099-B not only the gross proceeds of fund shares you sell or redeem but also their cost basis. Shareholders should contact their intermediaries with respect to reporting of cost basis and available elections with respect to their accounts. You should carefully review the cost basis information provided by the applicable intermediary and make any additional basis, holding period or other adjustments that are required when reporting these amounts on your federal income tax returns.

Other information

Disclaimers

IOPV

THE FUND IS NOT SPONSORED, ENDORSED, SOLD OR MARKETED BY ICE DATA INDICES, LLC, OR ITS AFFILIATES (ICE DATA) OR THEIR RESPECTIVE THIRD PARTY SUPPLIERS.

ICE DATA OR ITS THIRD PARTY SUPPLIERS MAKE NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND HEREBY EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE WITH RESPECT TO THE IOPVS, ETF STATISTICS, FUND OR ANY FUND DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. IN NO EVENT SHALL ICE DATA HAVE ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, DIRECT, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING LOST PROFITS), EVEN IF NOTIFIED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

Continuous offering

The method by which creation units are created and traded may raise certain issues under applicable securities laws. Because new creation units are issued and sold by the Trust on an ongoing basis, a “distribution,” as such term is used in the Securities Act, may occur at any point. Broker dealers and other persons are cautioned that some activities on their part may, depending on the circumstances, result in their being deemed participants in a distribution in a manner that could render them statutory underwriters and subject them to the prospectus delivery and liability provisions of the Securities Act.

For example, a broker dealer firm or its client may be deemed a statutory underwriter if it takes creation units after placing an order with the transfer agent for review and approval by the distributor, breaks them down into constituent shares, and sells such shares directly to customers, or if it chooses to couple the creation of a supply of new shares with an active selling effort involving solicitation of secondary market demand for shares. A determination of whether one is an underwriter for purposes of the Securities Act must take into account all the facts and circumstances pertaining to the activities of the broker dealer or its client in the particular case, and the examples mentioned above should not be considered a complete description of all the activities that could lead to a categorization as an underwriter.

Broker dealers who are not “underwriters” but are participating in a distribution (as contrasted to ordinary secondary trading transactions), and thus dealing with shares that are part of an “unsold allotment” within the meaning of Section 4(3)(C) of the Securities Act, would be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(3) of the Securities Act. This is because the prospectus delivery exemption in Section 4(3) of the Securities Act is not available in respect of such transactions as a result of Section 24(d) of the Investment Company Act. As a result, broker dealer firms should note that dealers who are not underwriters but are participating in a distribution (as contrasted with ordinary secondary market transactions) and thus dealing with the Shares that are part of an overallotment within the meaning of Section 4(3)(A) of the Securities Act would be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(3) of the Securities Act. Firms that incur a prospectus delivery obligation with respect to shares are reminded that, under Rule 153 of the Securities Act, a prospectus delivery obligation under Section 5(b)(2)

of the Securities Act owed to an exchange member in connection with a sale on NYSE Arca is satisfied by the fact that the prospectus is available at NYSE Arca upon request. The prospectus delivery mechanism provided in Rule 153 is only available with respect to transactions on an exchange.

In addition, certain affiliates of the fund and the advisor may purchase and resell fund shares pursuant to this prospectus.

Intraday value

The trading prices of the fund’s shares in the secondary market generally differ from the fund’s daily NAV and are affected by market forces such as the supply of and demand for fund shares and underlying securities held by the fund, economic conditions and other factors. Information regarding the intraday value of the fund’s shares (IOPV) is disseminated every 15 seconds throughout each trading day by the national securities exchange on which the fund’s shares are listed or by market data vendors or other information providers. The IOPV is based on the current market value of the securities and/or cash required to be deposited in exchange for a creation unit. The IOPV does not necessarily reflect the precise composition of the current portfolio of securities held by the fund at a particular point in time or the best possible valuation of the current portfolio. Therefore, the IOPV should not be viewed as a “real-time” update of the fund’s NAV, which is computed only once a day. The IOPV is generally determined by using current market quotations and/or price quotations obtained from broker-dealers and other market intermediaries that may trade in the portfolio securities held by the fund and valuations based on current market rates. The quotations and/or valuations of certain fund holdings may not be updated during U.S. trading hours if such holdings do not trade in the United States. The fund is not involved in, or responsible for, the calculation or dissemination of the IOPV and makes no warranty as to its accuracy.

Appendix - Related performance information of the subadvisor

Historical performance of the Manulife Investment Management (US) Large Cap Opportunities Composite1

John Hancock Large Cap Opportunities ETF (the fund) is expected to commence operations on or around [July 14, 2026]. The fund is subadvised by Manulife Investment Management (US) LLC (Manulife IM (US)). Manulife IM (US) manages accounts with investment styles, objectives, policies, and strategies substantially similar to those that are used to manage the fund. Manulife IM (US) has been responsible for the day-to-day management of the account for all periods shown in the Appendix. Performance presented in the Composite has been generated on an asset-weighted basis and includes the reinvestment of dividends.

This Appendix presents historical performance information for the Composite as a whole. Because of the similarities between the fund and the Composite, this information may help provide an indication of the fund’s risks by showing how a similar Composite has performed historically. The performance of the Composite, however, is not the performance of the fund, and you should not assume that the fund will have the same performance as the Composite. The performance of the fund may be greater or less than the performance of the Composite due to, among other things, the number of the holdings in and composition of the fund’s portfolio, as well as the asset size and cash flow differences between the fund and the Composite. The accounts in the Composite are not subject to the creations and redemption process of an ETF or investments limitations, diversification requirements and other restrictions of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the Internal Revenue Code, which, if they had applied, might have adversely affected the account performance results. The inception date of the Composite is January 1, 2020.

This Appendix includes an index for purposes of comparing the performance of the Composite. The S&P 500 Index, the Composite’s benchmark (Benchmark), is a broad-based securities index that reflects the investment strategies and performance target of the account underlying the Composite.

Performance information—bar chart and table—is presented on the following page for the Composite. The bar chart shows how the Composite’s total return has varied over time, and the table shows the Composite’s performance over the last year, three (3) years, five (5) years and since inception as of March 31, 2026 (as compared with the Benchmark for reference). The past performance of the Composite is no guarantee of future results in managing the fund. The information in this Appendix does not represent the performance of the fund and is no indication of how it would have performed in the past or will perform in the future.

The past performance of the Composite has been calculated net of its fees and expenses. The Composite’s returns would be lower if the Composite reflected the fees and expenses of the fund. In addition, a fund shareholder may incur other expenses that are specific to ETF trading in the secondary market, including bid-ask spreads and brokerage commissions. The account in the Composite does not reflect such expenses. The performance of the Composite would be lower if it reflected such expenses.

An index is unmanaged and it is not possible to invest directly in an index. As such, year-by-year index figures do not account for any sales charges, fees, or fund expenses. As indicated above, past performance does not indicate future results.

The Composite performance information presented herein has been calculated and provided by the fund’s subadvisor. Although the Composite performance is believed to be reliable, John Hancock Investment Management LLC does not guarantee or make any warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy, adequacy or completeness of such information.

The Composite is composed of all portfolios with an investment style, objectives, and strategies substantially similar to those that are used to manage the fund by Manulife IM (US).

For more information

The following documents are or will be available that offer further information on the fund:

Annual/semiannual reports to shareholders

Additional information about the fund’s investments is available in the fund’s annual and semiannual reports to shareholders and in Form N-CSR (if applicable). In the fund’s annual report (if applicable), you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the fund’s performance during its last fiscal year. In Form N-CSR, you will find the fund's annual and semiannual financial statements.

Statement of Additional Information (SAI)

The SAI contains more detailed information on all aspects of the fund and includes a summary of the fund’s policy regarding disclosure of its portfolio holdings, as well as legal and regulatory matters. A current SAI has been filed with the SEC and is incorporated by reference into (and is legally a part of) this prospectus.

To obtain a free copy of these documents or request other information

There are several ways you can get a current annual/semiannual report, Form N-CSR, other information such as fund financial statements that the fund files on Form N-CSR, prospectus, or SAI from John Hancock, request other information, or make inquiries:

Online: jhinvestments.com/etf

By mail:

John Hancock Investment Management
200 Berkeley Street
Boston, MA 02116
By phone: 800-225-6020

You can also view or obtain copies of these documents through the SEC:

Online: sec.gov

By email (duplicating fee required): [email protected]

Manulife, Manulife Investments, Stylized M Design, and Manulife Investments & Stylized M Design are trademarks of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company and John Hancock, and the Stylized John Hancock Design are trademarks of John Hancock Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.). Each are used by it and by its affiliates under license.

SEC file number: 811-22733
9940PN [6/26/26]

Best quarter:	[TBU - Q2 2020]	[TBU]%
Worst quarter:	[TBU - Q1 2020]	[TBU]%

Composite annualized total returns (%)	1 year	3 years	5 years	Since inception
For period ended March 31, 2026
Composite	[TBU]	[TBU]	[TBU]	[TBU]
S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)	[TBU]	[TBU]	[TBU]	[TBU]