UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM N-Q

QUARTERLY SCHEDULE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS OF REGISTERED
MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES

Investment Company Act file number 811- 22056

John Hancock Tax-Advantaged Global Shareholder Yield Fund
(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)

601 Congress Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)

Salvatore Schiavone, Treasurer

601 Congress Street

Boston, Massachusetts 02210
(Name and address of agent for service)

Registrant's telephone number, including area code: 617-663-4497

Date of fiscal year end: October 31
   
Date of reporting period: January 31, 2016

 


 

ITEM 1. SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS

 


 


John Hancock

Tax-Advantaged Global Shareholder Yield Fund


Quarterly portfolio holdings 1/31/16

jhnq_logo.jpg


Fund's investmentsTax-Advantaged Global Shareholder Yield Fund



                                         
  As of 1-31-16 (unaudited)  
        Shares     Value  
  Common stocks 96.8%     $94,855,112  
  (Cost $99,892,118)  
  Australia 3.7%     3,580,125  
  Commonwealth Bank of Australia     11,800     667,000  
  Sonic Healthcare, Ltd.     38,100     502,286  
  Telstra Corp., Ltd.     313,400     1,262,799  
  Westpac Banking Corp.     51,839     1,148,040  
  Canada 6.1%     5,972,142  
  Agrium, Inc.     6,545     568,564  
  BCE, Inc.     53,500     2,155,047  
  Rogers Communications, Inc., Class B     50,060     1,714,168  
  Shaw Communications, Inc., Class B     38,500     666,447  
  TELUS Corp.     31,200     867,916  
  France 6.4%     6,300,643  
  AXA SA     22,840     564,439  
  Sanofi     4,900     407,487  
  SCOR SE     29,200     1,017,861  
  Total SA     41,400     1,839,025  
  Vinci SA     17,200     1,165,252  
  Vivendi SA     60,100     1,306,579  
  Germany 6.4%     6,225,054  
  Allianz SE     3,620     585,847  
  BASF SE     10,500     699,858  
  Daimler AG     11,400     798,157  
  Deutsche Post AG     19,600     475,041  
  Deutsche Telekom AG     31,600     550,247  
  Muenchener Rueckversicherungs AG     8,700     1,676,241  
  Siemens AG     15,020     1,439,663  
  Italy 1.8%     1,719,699  
  Terna Rete Elettrica Nazionale SpA     320,900     1,719,699  
  Netherlands 1.2%     1,186,110  
  Royal Dutch Shell PLC, ADR, Class A (C)     27,000     1,186,110  
  Norway 2.5%     2,498,540  
  Orkla ASA     102,800     832,825  
  Statoil ASA     91,700     1,254,774  
  Yara International ASA     10,840     410,941  
  Singapore 1.2%     1,171,830  
  Singapore Exchange, Ltd.     108,400     540,015  
  Singapore Telecommunications, Ltd.     254,800     631,815  
  Spain 0.7%     679,684  
  Gas Natural SDG SA     34,600     679,684  
  Sweden 0.9%     890,960  
  Svenska Handelsbanken AB, A Shares     70,810     890,960  
  Switzerland 2.7%     2,622,593  
  Nestle SA     7,200     530,441  
  Roche Holding AG     2,700     699,365  
  Swisscom AG     2,800     1,392,787  

2SEE NOTES TO FUND'S INVESTMENTS


Tax-Advantaged Global Shareholder Yield Fund

                                         
        Shares     Value  
  Taiwan 0.8%     $802,365  
  Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd., ADR     35,900     802,365  
  United Kingdom 15.9%     15,596,191  
  Aberdeen Asset Management PLC     185,900     655,271  
  AstraZeneca PLC, ADR (C)     43,260     1,393,837  
  BAE Systems PLC     176,700     1,306,846  
  British American Tobacco PLC     23,800     1,326,218  
  Diageo PLC     27,600     743,034  
  GlaxoSmithKline PLC     83,900     1,728,379  
  Imperial Tobacco Group PLC     31,000     1,678,513  
  National Grid PLC     145,800     2,054,132  
  SSE PLC     85,800     1,780,294  
  Unilever PLC     21,300     936,449  
  Vodafone Group PLC     620,100     1,993,218  
  United States 46.5%     45,609,176  
  AbbVie, Inc.     17,930     984,357  
  Altria Group, Inc. (C)     29,500     1,802,745  
  Ameren Corp. (C)     31,400     1,410,488  
  Arthur J. Gallagher & Company     12,200     459,208  
  AT&T, Inc. (C)     69,900     2,520,594  
  Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (C)     7,900     656,411  
  CenturyLink, Inc. (C)     48,500     1,232,870  
  CME Group, Inc. (C)     8,500     763,725  
  Duke Energy Corp. (C)     22,155     1,668,272  
  Eaton Corp. PLC     12,230     617,737  
  Emerson Electric Company (C)     13,920     640,042  
  Entergy Corp.     22,800     1,609,224  
  Exxon Mobil Corp.     10,400     809,640  
  Johnson & Johnson     6,025     629,251  
  Kimberly-Clark Corp.     8,900     1,142,938  
  Lockheed Martin Corp. (C)     3,700     780,700  
  McDonald's Corp. (C)     11,200     1,386,336  
  Merck & Company, Inc. (C)     13,600     689,112  
  Microchip Technology, Inc. (C)     16,100     721,441  
  Microsoft Corp. (C)     12,400     683,116  
  Occidental Petroleum Corp. (C)     19,100     1,314,653  
  People's United Financial, Inc. (C)     91,300     1,311,981  
  PepsiCo, Inc.     6,600     655,380  
  Pfizer, Inc.     18,700     570,163  
  Philip Morris International, Inc. (C)     27,260     2,453,673  
  PPL Corp. (C)     61,600     2,159,696  
  R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company (C)     56,130     784,136  
  Regal Entertainment Group, Class A (C)     51,600     890,100  
  Reynolds American, Inc. (C)     37,300     1,863,135  
  Seagate Technology PLC (C)     33,650     977,533  
  TECO Energy, Inc. (C)     27,800     753,936  
  Texas Instruments, Inc.     31,400     1,662,002  
  The Coca-Cola Company     14,100     605,172  
  The Dow Chemical Company (C)     23,200     974,400  
  The Procter & Gamble Company     9,400     767,886  
  The Southern Company     16,800     821,856  
  Verizon Communications, Inc. (C)     50,339     2,515,440  

SEE NOTES TO FUND'S INVESTMENTS3


Tax-Advantaged Global Shareholder Yield Fund

                                         
        Shares     Value  
  United States  (continued)        
  Waste Management, Inc. (C)     12,700     672,465  
  WEC Energy Group, Inc. (C)     33,200     1,833,636  
  Wells Fargo & Company (C)     16,200     813,726  
        Yield (%)     Shares     Value  
  Short-term investments 3.8%     $3,766,890  
  (Cost $3,766,890)  
  Money market funds 1.9%     1,880,890  
  State Street Institutional Treasury Money Market Fund     0.1299(Y )   1,880,890     1,880,890  
              Par value^     Value  
  Repurchase agreement 1.9%     $1,886,000  
  Repurchase Agreement with State Street Corp. dated 1-29-16 at 0.030% to be repurchased at $1,886,005 on 2-1-16, collateralized by $1,810,000 U.S. Treasury Notes, 2.750% due 2-15-19 (valued at $1,927,650, including interest)           1,886,000     1,886,000  
  Total investments (Cost $103,659,008)† 100.6%     $98,622,002  
  Other assets and liabilities, net (0.6%)     ($604,449 )
  Total net assets 100.0%     $98,017,553  

                                         
  The percentage shown for each investment category is the total value of the category as a percentage of the net assets of the fund.  
  ^All par values are denominated in U.S. dollars unless otherwise indicated.  
  Key to Security Abbreviations and Legend  
  ADR     American Depositary Receipts  
  (C)     A portion of this security is segregated as collateral for options. Total collateral value at 1-31-16 was $27,142,656.  
  (Y)     The rate shown is the annualized seven-day yield as of 1-31-16.  
      At 1-31-16, the aggregate cost of investment securities for federal income tax purposes was $116,859,811. Net unrealized depreciation aggregated $18,237,809, of which $1,821,804 related to appreciated investment securities and $20,059,613 related to depreciated investment securities.  

The fund had the following sector composition as a percentage of net assets on 1-31-16:



           
  Telecommunication services     17.4  
  Utilities     16.8  
  Consumer staples     15.6  
  Financials     11.3  
  Industrials     8.0  
  Health care     7.8  
  Energy     6.5  
  Information technology     5.6  
  Consumer discretionary     5.1  
  Materials     2.7  
  Short-term investments and other     3.2  
  Total     100.0  

4SEE NOTES TO FUND'S INVESTMENTS


Notes to Fund's investments (unaudited)

Security valuation. Investments are stated at value as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), normally at 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time. In order to value the securities, the fund uses the following valuation techniques: Equity securities held by the fund are valued at the last sale price or official closing price on the exchange or principal market where the security was acquired or most likely will be sold. 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. Investments by the fund in open-end mutual funds are valued at their respective net asset values each business day. Options listed on an exchange are valued at the mean of the most recent bid and ask prices from the exchange where the option was acquired or most likely will be sold. Foreign securities and currencies are valued in U.S. dollars, based on foreign currency exchange rates supplied by an independent pricing vendor. Securities that trade only in the over-the-counter (OTC) market are valued using bid prices.

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. Trading in foreign securities may be completed before the daily close of trading on the NYSE. Significant events at the issuer or market level may affect the values of securities between the time when the valuation of the securities is generally determined and the close of the NYSE. If a significant event occurs, these securities may be fair valued, as determined in good faith by the fund's Pricing Committee, following procedures established by the Board of Trustees. The fund uses fair value adjustment factors provided by an independent pricing vendor to value certain foreign securities in order to adjust for events that may occur between the close of foreign exchanges or markets and the close of the NYSE.

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 January 31, 2016, by major security category or type:

                                   
        Total
value at
1-31-16
    Level 1
quoted
price
    Level 2
significant
observable
inputs
    Level 3
significant
unobservable
inputs
 
  Common stocks                          
        Australia     $3,580,125         $3,580,125      
        Canada     5,972,142     $5,972,142          
        France     6,300,643         6,300,643      
        Germany     6,225,054         6,225,054      
        Italy     1,719,699         1,719,699      
        Netherlands     1,186,110     1,186,110          
        Norway     2,498,540         2,498,540      
        Singapore     1,171,830         1,171,830      
        Spain     679,684         679,684      
        Sweden     890,960         890,960      
        Switzerland     2,622,593         2,622,593      
        Taiwan     802,365     802,365          
        United Kingdom     15,596,191     1,393,837     14,202,354      
        United States     45,609,176     45,609,176          
  Short-term investments     3,766,890     1,880,890     1,886,000      
  Total investments in securities     $98,622,002     $56,844,520     $41,777,482      
  Other financial instruments:                          
  Written options     ($986,813 )   ($986,813 )        

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

       5


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 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.

Options. There are two types of options, put options and call options. Options are traded either OTC or on an exchange. A call option gives the purchaser of the option the right to buy (and the seller the obligation to sell) the underlying instrument at the exercise price. A put option gives the purchaser of the option the right to sell (and the writer the obligation to buy) the underlying instrument at the exercise price. Writing puts and buying calls may increase the fund's exposure to changes in the value of the underlying instrument. Buying puts and writing calls may decrease the fund's exposure to such changes. Risks related to the use of options include the loss of premiums, possible illiquidity of the options markets, trading restrictions imposed by an exchange and movements in underlying security values. In addition, OTC options are subject to the risks of all OTC derivatives contracts.

When the fund purchases an option, the premium paid by the fund is included in the portfolio of investments and subsequently "marked-to-market" to reflect current market value. When the fund writes an option, the premium received is included as a liability and subsequently "marked-to-market" to reflect current market value of the option written.

During the period ended January 31, 2016, the fund wrote option contracts to hedge against changes in securities markets and to generate potential income. The following tables summarize the fund's written options activities during the period ended January 31, 2016 and the contracts held at January 31, 2016.

                       
        Number of
contracts
    Premiums
received
 
  Outstanding, beginning of period     225     $765,936  
        Options written     560     2,155,700  
        Option closed     (555 )   (2,198,862 )
        Options exercised          
        Options expired     (5 )   (46,746 )
  Outstanding, end of period     225     $676,028  

                                         
  Options     Exercise
price
          Expiration
date
    Number of
contracts
    Premium     Value  
  Calls                                      
  S&P 500 Index     $1,885           Feb 2016     150     $659,212     ($972,750 )
  S&P 500 Index     2,030           Feb 2016     75     16,816     (14,063 )
  Total                             $676,028     ($986,813 )

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

       6


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

     
  P14Q1 01/16
This report is for the information of the shareholders of John Hancock Tax-Advantaged Global Shareholder Yield Fund.   3/16


 

ITEM 2. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES.

 

(a)       Based upon their evaluation of the registrant's disclosure controls and procedures as conducted within 90 days of the filing date of this Form N-Q, the registrant's principal executive officer and principal accounting officer have concluded that those disclosure controls and procedures provide reasonable assurance that the material information required to be disclosed by the registrant on this report is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Securities and Exchange Commission's rules and forms.

 

(b)       There were no changes in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant's last fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant's internal control over financial reporting.

 

ITEM 3. EXHIBITS.

 

Separate certifications for the registrant's principal executive officer and principal accounting officer, as required by Rule 30a-2(a) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, are attached.

 


 

SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

 

John Hancock Tax-Advantaged Global Shareholder Yield Fund

 

By: /s/ Andrew G. Arnott
  Andrew G. Arnott
  President
   
   
Date:   March 18, 2016

 

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 

 

By: /s/ Andrew G. Arnott
  Andrew G. Arnott
  President
   
   
Date:   March 18, 2016

 

 

By: /s/ Charles A. Rizzo
  Charles A. Rizzo
  Chief Financial Officer
   
   
Date:   March 18, 2016