John Hancock

Preferred Income Fund III

	As of 10-31-16 (unaudited)
																Shares						Value
	Preferred securities 136.7% (90.9% of Total investments)																					$834,527,786
	(Cost $798,129,973)
	Consumer staples 2.0%																					12,120,475
	Food and staples retailing 2.0%
	Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc., Series A, 6.250% (S) (Z)															135,000						12,120,475
	Energy 6.0%																					36,790,036
	Oil, gas and consumable fuels 6.0%
	Kinder Morgan, Inc., 9.750%															798,915						36,790,036
	Financials 58.0%																					354,284,747
	Banks 39.3%
	Bank of America Corp., 6.500%															109,000						2,931,010
	Bank of America Corp., 6.625%															41,120						1,121,342
	Barclays Bank PLC, Series 3, 7.100% (Z)															355,000						9,155,450
	Barclays Bank PLC, Series 5, 8.125% (Z)															515,000						13,410,600
	BB&T Corp., 5.200% (Z)															670,000						17,332,900
	BB&T Corp., 5.625% (Z)															210,000						5,418,000
	Citigroup Capital XIII, 7.257% (P)															17,000						442,170
	Citigroup, Inc., 5.800%															85,000						2,151,350
	Citigroup, Inc., 6.875%															25,000						676,000
	Citigroup, Inc. (6.875% to 11-15-23, then 3 month LIBOR + 4.130%) (Z)															446,650						12,814,389
	Citigroup, Inc. (7.125% to 9-30-23, then 3 month LIBOR + 4.040%)															465,848						13,285,985
	First Republic Bank, 7.000% (Z)															95,000						2,584,000
	HSBC Holdings PLC, 8.000% (Z)															63,500						1,654,810
	ING Groep NV, 7.200%															765,000						19,790,550
	JPMorgan Chase & Co., 5.500% (Z)															120,000						3,050,400
	JPMorgan Chase & Co., 6.100% (Z)															105,000						2,801,400
	JPMorgan Chase & Co., 6.125% (Z)															1,030,000						27,665,800
	JPMorgan Chase & Co., 6.300%															125,000						3,358,750
	JPMorgan Chase & Co., 6.700% (Z)															30,000						822,600
	Regions Financial Corp., 6.375% (Z)															131,080						3,405,458
	Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, Series L, 5.750%															901,000						22,660,150
	Santander Holdings USA, Inc., Series C, 7.300% (Z)															463,000						11,875,950
	The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc., 5.375%															40,000						1,015,600
	The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (6.125% to 5-1-22, then 3 month LIBOR + 4.067%)															210,000						5,922,000
	U.S. Bancorp (6.500% to 1-15-22, then 3 month LIBOR + 4.468%) (Z)															888,000						26,062,800
	Wells Fargo & Company, 6.000% (Z)															650,000						17,030,000
	Wells Fargo & Company, 8.000% (Z)															374,000						10,150,360
	Wells Fargo & Company (6.625% to 3-15-24, then 3 month LIBOR + 3.690%) (Z)															50,000						1,475,500
	Capital markets 6.6%
	Deutsche Bank Contingent Capital Trust II, 6.550%															13,800						318,228
	Deutsche Bank Contingent Capital Trust III, 7.600% (Z)															311,000						7,554,190
	Morgan Stanley, 6.625% (Z)															170,000						4,649,500
	Morgan Stanley (6.375% to 10-15-24, then 3 month LIBOR + 3.708%) (Z)															95,000						2,622,000
	State Street Corp., 5.250% (Z)															65,000						1,651,000
	State Street Corp., 6.000% (Z)															795,000						21,147,000
	The Bank of New York Mellon Corp., 5.200%															43,000						1,139,500
	The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., 5.950% (Z)															60,000						1,549,200

																Shares						Value
	Financials  (continued)
	Consumer finance 2.7%
	Capital One Financial Corp., 6.200% (Z)															289,250						$7,720,083
	Capital One Financial Corp., 6.700% (Z)															40,000						1,123,600
	Navient Corp., 6.000% (Z)															231,123						5,285,783
	SLM Corp., Series A, 6.970% (Z)															44,899						2,256,624
	Insurance 9.3%
	Aegon NV, 6.375% (Z)															355,492						9,050,826
	Aegon NV, 6.500% (Z)															330,000						8,556,900
	Prudential Financial, Inc., 5.750% (Z)															150,000						3,958,500
	Prudential PLC, 6.500% (Z)															130,700						3,409,963
	RenaissanceRe Holdings, Ltd., Series C, 6.080%															15,000						381,600
	The Phoenix Companies, Inc., 7.450%															574,500						10,897,576
	W.R. Berkley Corp., 5.625% (Z)															805,000						20,632,150
	Thrifts and mortgage finance 0.1%
	Federal National Mortgage Association, Series S, 8.250% (I)															80,000						315,200
	Health care 5.6%																					33,920,500
	Pharmaceuticals 5.6%
	Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd., 7.000%															44,750						33,920,500
	Industrials 2.2%																					13,587,000
	Machinery 2.2%
	Stanley Black & Decker, Inc., 5.750% (Z)															525,000						13,587,000
	Real estate 11.7%																					71,272,111
	Equity real estate investment trusts 11.7%
	Digital Realty Trust, Inc., 7.375%															40,134						1,112,916
	Kimco Realty Corp., 6.000% (Z)															955,000						24,218,800
	Public Storage, 5.200% (Z)															255,000						6,482,100
	Public Storage, 5.750% (Z)															439,500						11,167,695
	Public Storage, 5.875% (Z)															30,000						801,300
	Senior Housing Properties Trust, 5.625% (Z)															875,000						21,787,500
	Ventas Realty LP, 5.450% (Z)															215,000						5,701,800
	Telecommunication services 8.5%																					52,022,387
	Diversified telecommunication services 1.6%
	Qwest Corp., 6.125%															20,000						505,000
	Qwest Corp., 6.875% (Z)															65,000						1,677,000
	Qwest Corp., 7.000% (Z)															60,000						1,524,000
	Qwest Corp., 7.500%															87,553						2,225,597
	Verizon Communications, Inc., 5.900% (Z)															148,000						3,985,640
	Wireless telecommunication services 6.9%
	Telephone & Data Systems, Inc., 6.875%															473,000						12,146,640
	Telephone & Data Systems, Inc., 7.000% (Z)															415,000						10,570,050
	United States Cellular Corp., 6.950%															742,000						19,388,460
	Utilities 42.7%																					260,530,530
	Electric utilities 27.2%
	Duke Energy Corp., 5.125% (Z)															960,000						25,056,000
	Entergy Louisiana LLC, 5.250% (Z)															240,000						6,194,400

																Shares						Value
	Utilities  (continued)
	Electric utilities  (continued)
	FPL Group Capital Trust I, 5.875% (Z)															295,000						$7,658,200
	Great Plains Energy, Inc., 7.000%															515,000						27,289,850
	HECO Capital Trust III, 6.500%															228,100						6,014,997
	Interstate Power & Light Company, 5.100% (Z)															202,470						5,438,344
	NextEra Energy Capital Holdings, Inc., 5.125% (Z)															200,000						5,012,000
	NextEra Energy Capital Holdings, Inc., 5.700% (Z)															745,000						19,057,100
	PPL Capital Funding, Inc., 5.900% (Z)															1,124,024						29,292,065
	SCE Trust I, 5.625% (Z)															210,000						5,371,800
	SCE Trust II, 5.100% (Z)															636,000						16,294,320
	SCE Trust III (5.750% to 3-15-24, then 3 month LIBOR + 2.990%) (Z)															120,000						3,444,000
	The Southern Company, 6.250% (Z)															380,000						10,149,800
	Independent power and renewable electricity producers 0.3%
	AES Trust III, 6.750%															31,734						1,604,154
	Multi-utilities 15.2%
	BGE Capital Trust II, 6.200% (Z)															762,000						19,621,500
	Dominion Resources, Inc., 6.750% (Z)															746,166						37,644,075
	DTE Energy Company, 5.250% (Z)															647,000						16,563,200
	DTE Energy Company, 6.500%															13,000						692,250
	DTE Energy Company, 6.500% (Z)															405,000						10,315,350
	Integrys Holding, Inc. (6.000% to 8-1-23, then 3 month LIBOR + 3.220%) (Z)															287,500						7,817,125
	Common stocks 10.5% (6.9% of Total investments)																					$63,903,014
	(Cost $57,366,630)
	Energy 10.0%																					60,711,014
	Oil, gas and consumable fuels 10.0%
	BP PLC, ADR (Z)															623,000						22,147,650
	Royal Dutch Shell PLC, ADR, Class A (Z)															472,029						23,511,764
	Spectra Energy Corp. (Z)															360,000						15,051,600
	Utilities 0.5%																					3,192,000
	Multi-utilities 0.5%
	CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (Z)															140,000						3,192,000
							Rate (%				)		Maturity date			Par value^						Value
	Corporate bonds 2.5% (1.7% of Total investments)																					$15,409,500
	(Cost $17,637,867)
	Energy 1.5%																					8,933,250
	Oil, gas and consumable fuels 1.5%
	Energy Transfer Partners LP (P)						3.903						11-01-66						12,900,000			8,933,250
	Utilities 1.0%																					6,476,250
	Electric utilities 0.5%
	Southern California Edison Company (6.250% to 2-1-22, then 3 month LIBOR + 4.199%) (Q) (Z)						6.250						02-01-22						3,000,000			3,356,250
	Multi-utilities 0.5%
	Dominion Resources, Inc. (5.750% to 10-1-24, then 3 month LIBOR + 3.057%) (Z)						5.750						10-01-54						3,000,000			3,120,000

							Yield				* (%)		Maturity date			Par value^						Value
	Short-term investments 0.7% (0.5% of Total investments)																					$4,345,000
	(Cost $4,345,000)
	U.S. Government Agency 0.6%																					3,495,000
	Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp. Discount Note						0.200						11-01-16			3,495,000						3,495,000
	Repurchase agreement 0.1%																					850,000
	Repurchase Agreement with State Street Corp. dated 10-31-16 at 0.030% to be repurchased at $850,001 on 11-1-16, collateralized by $870,000 Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., 1.000% due 8-15-18 (valued at $871,088, including interest)															850,000						850,000
	Total investments (Cost $877,479,470)† 150.4%																					$918,185,300
	Other assets and liabilities, net (50.4%)																					($307,496,833	)
	Total net assets 100.0%																					$610,688,467

The percentage shown for each investment category is the total value of the category as a percentage of the net assets of the fund unless otherwise indicated.

^All par values are denominated in U.S. dollars unless otherwise indicated.

Key to Security Abbreviations and Legend

ADR

American Depositary Receipts

LIBOR

London Interbank Offered Rate

(I)

Non-income producing security.

(P)

Variable rate obligation. The coupon rate shown represents the rate at period end.

(Q)

Perpetual bonds have no stated maturity date. Date shown as maturity date is next call date.

(S)

These securities are exempt from registration under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933. Such securities may be resold, normally to qualified institutional buyers, in transactions exempt from registration.

(Z)

All or a portion of this security is pledged as collateral pursuant to the Credit Facility Agreement. Total collateral value at 10-31-16 was $644,360,584.

*

Yield represents either the annualized yield at the date of purchase, the stated coupon rate or, for floating rate securities, the rate at period end.

†

At 10-31-16, the aggregate cost of investment securities for federal income tax purposes was $877,499,377. Net unrealized appreciation aggregated to $40,685,923, of which $55,964,827 related to appreciated investment securities and $15,278,904 related to depreciated investment securities.

The fund had the following country composition as a percentage of total investments on 10-31-16:

	United States			81.8%
	United Kingdom			7.9%
	Netherlands			6.6%
	Israel			3.7%
	TOTAL			100.0%

Notes to Fund's investments (unaudited)

Security valuation. Investments are stated at value as of the scheduled close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), normally at 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time. 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 net asset value may be determined as of the regularly scheduled close of the NYSE pursuant to the fund'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.

In order to value the securities, the fund uses the following valuation techniques: Equity securities held by the fund are typically valued at the last sale price or official closing price on the exchange or principal market where the security trades. In the event there were no sales during the day or closing prices are not available, the securities are valued using the last available bid price. Debt obligations are valued based on the evaluated prices provided by an independent pricing vendor or from broker-dealers. Independent pricing vendors utilize matrix pricing which takes into account factors such as institutional-size trading in similar groups of securities, yield, quality, coupon rate, maturity, type of issue, trading characteristics and other market data, as well as broker supplied prices. Swaps are valued using evaluated prices obtained from an independent pricing vendor. Futures contracts are valued at settlement prices, which are the official closing prices published by the exchange on which they trade.

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.

Other portfolio securities and assets, for which reliable market quotations are not readily available, are valued at fair value as determined in good faith by the fund's Pricing Committee following procedures established by the Board of Trustees. The frequency with which these fair valuation procedures are used cannot be predicted and fair value of securities may differ significantly from the value that would have been used had a ready market for such securities existed.

The fund uses a three-tier hierarchy to prioritize the pricing assumptions, referred to as inputs, used in valuation techniques to measure fair value. Level 1 includes securities valued using quoted prices in active markets for identical securities. Level 2 includes securities valued using other significant observable inputs. Observable inputs may include quoted prices for similar securities, interest rates, prepayment speeds and credit risk. Prices for securities valued using these inputs are received from independent pricing vendors and brokers and are based on an evaluation of the inputs described. Level 3 includes securities valued using significant unobservable inputs when market prices are not readily available or reliable, including the fund's own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments. Factors used in determining value may include market or issuer specific events or trends, changes in interest rates and credit quality. The inputs or methodology used for valuing securities are not necessarily an indication of the risks associated with investing in those securities. Changes in valuation techniques and related inputs may result in transfers into or out of an assigned level within the disclosure hierarchy.

The following is a summary of the values by input classification of the fund's investments as of October 31, 2016, by major security category or type:

							Total value at 10-31-16			Level 1 quoted price			Level 2 significant observable inputs			Level 3 significant unobservable inputs
	Preferred securities
				Consumer staples			$12,120,475			—			$12,120,475			—
				Energy			36,790,036			$36,790,036			—			—
				Financials			354,284,747			343,387,171			10,897,576			—
				Health care			33,920,500			33,920,500			—			—
				Industrials			13,587,000			13,587,000			—			—
				Real estate			71,272,111			71,272,111			—			—
				Telecommunication services			52,022,387			48,036,747			3,985,640			—
				Utilities			260,530,530			252,713,405			7,817,125			—
	Common stocks						63,903,014			63,903,014			—			—
	Corporate bonds						15,409,500			—			15,409,500			—
	Short-term investments						4,345,000			—			4,345,000			—
	Total investments in securities						$918,185,300			$863,609,984			$54,575,316			—
	Other financial instruments:
	Futures						$997,315			$997,315			—			—
	Interest rate swaps						(115,158	)		—			($115,158	)		—

Repurchase agreements. The fund may enter into repurchase agreements. When the fund enters into a repurchase agreement, it receives collateral that is held in a segregated account by the fund's custodian. The collateral amount is marked-to-market and monitored on a daily basis to ensure that the collateral held is in an amount not less than the principal amount of the repurchase agreement plus any accrued interest. Collateral received by the fund for repurchase agreements is disclosed in the Fund's investments as part of the caption related to the repurchase agreement.

Repurchase agreements are typically governed by the terms and conditions of the Master Repurchase Agreement and/or Global Master Repurchase Agreement (collectively, MRA). Upon an event of default, the non-defaulting party may close out all transactions traded under the MRA and net amounts owed. Absent an event of

       6

default, assets and liabilities resulting from repurchase agreements are not offset. In the event of a default by the counterparty, realization of the collateral proceeds could be delayed, during which time the collateral value may decline or the counterparty may have insufficient assets to pay back claims resulting from close-out of the transactions.

Derivative instruments. The fund may invest in derivatives in order to meet its investment objectives. Derivatives include a variety of different instruments that may be traded in the over-the-counter (OTC) market, on a regulated exchange or through a clearing facility. The risks in using derivatives vary depending upon the structure of the instruments, including the use of leverage, optionality, the liquidity or lack of liquidity of the contract, the creditworthiness of the counterparty or clearing organization and the volatility of the position. Some derivatives involve risks that are potentially greater than the risks associated with investing directly in the referenced securities or other referenced underlying instrument. Specifically, the fund is exposed to the risk that the counterparty to an OTC derivatives contract will be unable or unwilling to make timely settlement payments or otherwise honor its obligations. OTC derivatives transactions typically can only be closed out with the other party to the transaction.

Futures. A futures contract is a contractual agreement to buy or sell a particular currency or financial instrument at a pre-determined price in the future. Risks related to the use of futures contracts include possible illiquidity of the futures markets and contract prices that can be highly volatile and imperfectly correlated to movements in the underlying financial instrument. Use of long futures contracts subjects the funds to the risk of loss up to the notional value of the futures contracts. Use of short futures contracts subjects the funds to unlimited risk of loss.

During the period ended October 31, 2016, the fund used futures contracts to manage against anticipated interest rate changes against preferred securities. The following table summarizes the contracts held at October 31, 2016.

Open contracts

Number of contracts

Position

Expiration date

Notional basis

Notional value

Unrealized appreciation (depreciation)

10-Year U.S. Treasury Note Futures

680

Short

Dec 2016

($89,142,315

)

($88,145,000

)

$997,315

Notional basis refers to the contractual amount agreed upon at inception of open contracts; notional value represents the current value of the open contract.

Interest rate swaps. Interest rate swaps represent an agreement between the fund and a counterparty to exchange cash flows based on the difference between two interest rates applied to a notional amount. The payment flows are usually netted against each other, with the difference being paid by one party to the other. The fund settles accrued net interest receivable or payable under the swap contracts at specified, future intervals. Swap agreements are privately negotiated in the OTC market or may be executed on a registered commodities exchange (centrally cleared swaps). Swaps are marked-to-market daily and the change in value is recorded as unrealized appreciation/depreciation of swap contracts. A termination payment by the counterparty or the fund is recorded as realized gain or loss, as well as the net periodic payments received or paid by the fund. The value of the swap will typically impose collateral posting obligations on the party that is considered out-of-the-money on the swap.

During the period ended October 31, 2016, the fund used interest rate swaps to manage against anticipated interest rate changes. The following table summarizes the interest rate swap contracts held as of October 31, 2016.

Counterparty

USD notional amount

Payments made by fund

Payments received by fund

Maturity date

Market value

Morgan Stanley Capital Services

$72,000,000

Fixed 0.8750%

3-month LIBOR (a)

Jul 2017

($115,158

)

^(a) At 10-31-16, the 3-month LIBOR rate was 0.88428%

For additional information on the fund's significant accounting policies, please refer to the fund's most recent semiannual or annual shareholder report.

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More information

How to contact us
Internet	www.jhinvestments.com
Mail	Computershare P.O. Box 30170 College Station, TX 77842-3170
Phone	Customer service representatives Portfolio commentary 24-hour automated information TDD line	800-852-0218 800-344-7054 800-843-0090 800-231-5469

	P12Q1	10/16
This report is for the information of the shareholders of John Hancock Preferred Income Fund III.		12/16