10 Questions With John Hancock's Jim Schmidt

You probably wouldn't guess it, but financial-sector funds lead every other fund flavor over the past five years.

The category's 17.9% annualized gain during that stretch, compared with 15.3% for the S&P 500 , merits our attention. After the average financial-sector fund gained 27% last year, you might be wondering if it's time for the sector to cool. Well, no one runs more money in financial-sector portfolios than Jim Schmidt, manager of the $2.6 billion (FIDAX Quote)John Hancock Financial Industries fund and the $3.2 billion (FRBAX Quote)John Hancock Regional Bank fund, as well as closed-end funds focused on the banking sector.

Talking With: Jim Schmidt

Fund: (FIDAX Quote)John Hancock Financial Industries Fund

Assets: $2.6 billion

1-Year Return: -4.2%/Trails 95% of Peers

5-Year Return: 15.4%/Trails 71% of Peers

Expenses: 5% sales charge/1.4% annual expenses

Top-Three Holdings: American International(AIG Quote), Citigroup(C Quote), Fifth Third Bancorp(FITB Quote)

Sources: Morningstar and jhancock.com. Sales charge is the maximum on Class A shares.

...