John Hancock Patriot Preferred Dividend Fund Declares Monthly Dividend

John Hancock Patriot Preferred Dividend Fund Declares Monthly
Dividend 


BOSTON, Feb. 23  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- John Hancock Patriot Preferred
Dividend Fund (NYSE:PPF) declared its monthly dividend today as follows:

   Declaration Date:             February 23, 2005
   Ex Date:                      March 4, 2005
   Record Date:                  March 8, 2005
   Payment Date:                 March 31, 2005
   Dividend Amount:              $0.0720



This dividend equates to an annualized yield of 6.31 percent, based on the
fund's closing market price as of February 22, 2005.

John Hancock Patriot Preferred Dividend Fund is a diversified, closed-end fund.
The Fund's investment objective is to provide high current income consistent
with preservation of capital. The Fund invests at least 80% of its assets in a
diversified portfolio of dividend-paying securities.

John Hancock Funds, a premier investment management company, managed $31.3
billion in open-end funds, closed-end funds, private accounts and retirement
plans for individual and institutional investors and related party assets as of
December 31, 2004. Additional information about the company can be found on the
website: http://www.jhfunds.com/.

John Hancock Funds is a wholly owned subsidiary of John Hancock, which is a
unit of Manulife Financial Corporation, a leading Canadian-based financial
services group serving millions of customers in 19 countries and territories
worldwide.  Operating as Manulife Financial in Canada and most of Asia, and
primarily through John Hancock in the United States, the Company offers clients
a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services
through its extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners. 
Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were Cdn$348
billion (US$289 billion) as of December 31, 2004. Manulife Financial
Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under '0945' on the
SEHK. Manulife Financial can be found on the Internet at
http://www.manulife.com/.

The John Hancock unit, through its insurance companies, comprises one of the
largest life insurers in the United States.  John Hancock offers a broad range
of financial products and services, including whole life, term life, variable
life, and universal life insurance, as well as college savings products, fixed
and variable annuities, long-term care insurance, mutual funds and various
forms of business insurance. 

DATASOURCE: John Hancock Patriot Preferred Dividend Fund



CONTACT: Kimberley Dietrich, [phone], or Investors:

[phone], both of John Hancock

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