Hancock forms tax and estate-planning team

John Hancock Financial of Boston has formed a new team to act as a resource for financial planners and advisers on tax and estate planning issues. The team will be part of John Hancock’s Special Markets Advisory Group and will be led by Brandon Buckingham, vice president and advanced planning attorney. Mr. Buckingham will serve as a national manger and the three-member team will function as an external complement to the Special Markets Advisory Group. The effort is part of the firm’s focus on the retirement planning needs of baby boomers as well as the IRA rollover market, said Hugh McHaffie, president of wealth management at John Hancock in a statement. John Hancock Financial is a unit of Manulife Financial Corporation of Toronto, Canada.