John Hancock Tax-Advantaged Global Shareholder Yield Fund is a closed-end management investment company. Its investment objective is to provide a total return consisting of a high level of current income and gains and long-term capital appreciation. The fund seeks to invest a majority of its total assets in a diversified portfolio of dividend-paying securities of issuers located throughout the world. Its portfolio composition comprises different sectors such as utilities, consumer staples, financials, healthcare, industrial, energy, materials, telecommunication services, and others.