re: John Hancock 401(k) - Investment Advice

Don't get stuck on chasing returns, you'll get burned in the long run that way. You'll get a lot of different advice on this board but my advice to you is to read as much inside this board and outside this board and form your own opinion. If you find out it's not something you want to do then talk with a professional.

To get to your question though, the lifestyle funds have more mgt, more asset allocation, and higher expenses. The returns will more than likely not beat an individual fund or an index, it's not designed to. It's designed to lower volatility and still achieve above average returns. The different allocations (aggressive,growth,moderate,balanced,etc) are simply the same as some of those target date funds. The younger you are and or the higher your risk tolerance is, the more growth or aggressive you should be.