This podcast is being brought to you by John Hancock Investment Management Distributors LLC, member FINRA, SIPC. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers, are subject to change as market and other conditions warrant, and do not constitute investment advice or a recommendation regarding any specific product or security. There is no guarantee that any investment strategy discussed will be successful or achieve any particular level of results. Any economic or market performance information is historical and is not indicative of future results, and no forecasts are guaranteed. Investing involves risks, including the potential loss of principal.

The fund’s strategies entail a high degree of risk. Leveraging, short positions, a non-diversified portfolio focused in a few sectors, and the use of hedging and derivatives greatly amplify the risk of potential loss and can increase costs. A non-diversified portfolio holds a limited number of securities, making it vulnerable to events affecting a single issuer. Trading securities actively and frequently can increase transaction costs and taxable distributions. The stock prices of midsize and small companies can change more frequently and dramatically than those of large companies. Foreign investing, especially in emerging markets, has additional risks, such as currency and market volatility and political and social instability. Fixed-income investments are subject to interest rate and credit risk; their value will normally decline as interest rates rise or if an issuer is unable or unwilling to make principal or interest payments. Investments in higher-yielding, lower-rated securities include a higher risk of default. The use of hedging and derivatives could produce disproportionate gains or losses and may increase costs. Liquidity—the extent to which a security may be sold or a derivative position closed without negatively affecting its market value, if at all—may be impaired by reduced trading volume, heightened volatility, rising interest rates, and other market conditions. Please see the fund’s prospectus for additional risks.

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John Bryson
Hello and welcome to the Portfolio Intelligence podcast. I’m your host, John Bryson, head of investment consulting and education savings at Manulife John Hancock Investments. Today is April 23, 2026. And as markets have become more volatile and more differentiated, the playbook for equity investing has evolved. We’re seeing greater dispersion, sharper rotations, and more frequent drawdowns, all of which create challenges, but also opportunities.

Long/short equity strategies are built for environments like this, where active security selection and active risk management matter more than simply riding the market higher.

To talk about that opportunity set and how it's shaping up today, I’m joined by Josh Jones. Josh is a portfolio manager at Boston Partners, where he leads numerous global equity and global long/short equity strategies. He’s been investing since 2004 and brings deep experience to the conversation. Josh, welcome to the podcast.

Josh Jones
Thanks, John. I’m looking forward to a conversation with you.

John Bryson
Excellent. Very timely. So tell me, I mentioned at the beginning that you run a global long/short strategy. Tell us how you think about investing with that type of strategy.

Josh Jones
So at Boston Partners, it's the same process and philosophy across the firm. In a nutshell, we're fundamental value investors. But if you think about value investing, it's generally easy to find value in the market. The hard part is figuring out which parts of the market that are cheap will start working, outperforming, or producing alpha. A lot of that comes down to identifying quality and momentum. In a simple sense, as a value investor, the biggest risk is that you're stuck in the classic value trap. By incorporating a process where we're trying to bring momentum and quality into the portfolio, it allows us to create what we think is a pretty good strategy for producing alpha.

Importantly, within that context, we're big believers in a really robust quantitative screening process. If your starting point is quant, it's good at identifying where in the market you've all three components of value, quality, and momentum. If you extend that into the context of long/short investing, what's particularly powerful about quant is that it's not only good at identifying what's likely to outperform the market, but also what's likely to underperform.

So you've a really good tool for identifying shorts. As a fundamental investor looking for long ideas, you can talk to management teams and hear the story. But when it comes to shorting, you can't go out and ask, “Why should I short your stock?”

You need a contrarian data set to point you toward stocks likely to underperform the market. That’s what's powerful about what we do on the long/short side.

John Bryson
All right. Now thinking about a global long/short strategy, what role should it play in a client portfolio?

Josh Jones
We think about a global long/short strategy as ultimately a return driver. We’re trying to generate market-like returns or better. The benchmark is the MSCI World Index, and we're targeting returns of 8 to 12% over a full cycle. It can act a little more contrarian. In a year like 2022, when many investors struggled, and the market was down in the high teens, we were up mid-teens on a net basis.

Over time, it should generate returns but behave differently. In years when the rest of a portfolio struggles, it should perform well. There may be years when the market is up, and we're lagging, so you've to be patient. But over a cycle, it should deliver strong returns.

John Bryson
Talking about that goal of 8% to 12% annualized over a cycle, break down the alpha. What role do the shorts play?

Josh Jones
We’re not leveraging the long side. The long portfolio is its own alpha set, about 90 to 100% invested, targeting roughly 300 basis points of alpha over time. The short portfolio is variable. Net exposure ranges between 30 and 70%, averaging about 50%. We try to produce alpha on the short side, and we often generate more alpha there than on the long side.

We’re targeting about 500 basis points of alpha from shorts. Combined with 300 basis points from longs, that’s an 8% long/short spread. At a 50% net exposure, in an 8% market, we should achieve market-like returns at roughly half the risk. Shorts are an alpha center for us. We’re not hedging. We're not shorting indexes. These are all single-stock shorts intended to generate alpha.

John Bryson
How do macro variables like interest rates, inflation, and policy influence your positioning?

Josh Jones
We’re bottom-up investors and start with getting the companies right. If you get the companies right, even if you’re wrong on macro, you can still produce alpha over time. If you get the macro right but the companies wrong, you destroy capital.

That said, macro views can amplify results. For example, we increased energy exposure this year. Coming out of 2020 and 2021, there were many mispriced, low-quality companies bid up with pandemic liquidity. As inflation accelerated in 2022 and rates rose, high-multiple stocks struggled. We leaned into shorts, and it worked well.

We don't change our process, but we lean into macro alignment when it reinforces what we’re seeing fundamentally.

John Bryson
What kind of environment in 2026 sets this strategy up well?

Josh Jones
We’re in a longer-term inflation cycle that began during the pandemic, driven by deficits and spending. De-globalization pressures and supply chain shifts are also inflationary.

Inflation cycles have periods of acceleration and deceleration. By 2023 through 2025, inflation was settling, and we focused more on the long side. Coming into this year, valuations became richer, and short opportunities increased. We’re more aggressive on the short side now, particularly with emerging credit risks. On the long side, we like some tech companies tied to data center buildouts, memory companies, and metals and mining.

We own a small UK-based tungsten producer. China controls much of the global tungsten supply and shuts off exports. Tungsten is used heavily in defense, leading to a supply-demand imbalance. Prices rose nearly tenfold over the last year. We’re generally cautious on consumer stocks, as inflation erodes consumer purchasing power over time, although we do maintain selective exposure. Many shorts are in financials and credit markets.

John Bryson
What should investors reasonably expect from this strategy, and what shouldn’t they?

Josh Jones
This should be viewed as a diversifying allocation that offers downside protection, a lower beta, and attractive long-term returns. It tends to do well in volatile and value-oriented markets.

It won’t make money every quarter or every year. But over a three- to five-year cycle, we believe it can generate market-like returns or better and provide diversification, producing returns when other parts of a portfolio struggle.

John Bryson
How do you help clients think about sizing and funding this allocation?

Josh Jones
I generally fund it through an equity allocation to an alternatives bucket, setting targets to diversify growth and return exposures. I'd adjust sizing based on market conditions.

With equities expensive today and the macro environment less supportive, I'd be at the higher end of normal. In a major drawdown, you might increase long-only exposure instead.

Every investor is different, and we provide guidance on a case-by-case basis, but thinking in terms of portfolio targets over time is key.

John Bryson
That’s excellent. Our investment consulting team is also here to help with positioning and sizing. Josh, thank you for joining us. It’s a great time to discuss this strategy, and we appreciate the insights.

Josh Jones
Thank you, John. I appreciate it.

John Bryson
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