General Investing >> Money Manager Interviews >> November 11, 2002
LISA WELCH is a Second Vice President and Portfolio Manager at
John Hancock Funds. As a member of John Hancock's financial
institutions team, she specializes in small to mid-sized banks
and thrifts. Her work supports several funds, including the John
Hancock Financial Industries Fund, John Hancock Regional Bank
Fund, John Hancock Bank and Thrift Opportunity Fund and John
Hancock Financial Trends Fund, Inc. Prior to joining John Hancock
Funds in 1998, she was a senior supervisory analyst for the Bank
Supervision and Regulation Division of the Federal Reserve Bank
of Boston. Before that, she was the senior bank examiner for the
Federal Bank of New York. She has been in the banking business
since 1986. She graduated summa cum laude with a BA in Economics
from Boston College and also earned an MBA in Finance with high
honors from Bentley College, Waltham, Massachusetts. She has
participated in the Greater Boston Area Executive program at the
MIT Sloan School of Management. Profile
JAMES K. SCHMIDT is an Executive Vice President and head of John
Hancock Funds' financial industry portfolio management team. He
manages several funds, including the John Hancock Regional Bank
Fund, John Hancock Financial Industries Fund and John Hancock
Real Estate Fund. He also manages the John Hancock Bank and
Thrift Opportunity Fund and John Hancock Financial Trends Fund,
Inc., both closed-end funds. He is also a member of the
company's investment policy committee. Mr. Schmidt, who joined
John Hancock in 1985, has been in the investment business since
1979. He is a graduate of Brown University and holds a Master's
degree from the MIT Sloan School of Management. He is also a
Chartered Financial Analyst and past President of the Bank
Analysts Association of Boston. Profile
TWST: Could you give us a brief overview of John Hancock Funds,the Funds that you run and your responsibilities there?
Mr. Schmidt: John Hancock Funds is an investment management
company that