FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 26, 2005

Hancock Horizon Burkenroad Fund, Growth Fund
receive five-star ratings from Morningstar

     GULFPORT, MS (January 26, 2005) - Officials at Hancock Bank announced today that the company's Hancock Horizon Burkenroad Fund - inspired by a recognized educational program in equities research at Tulane University - and the Hancock Horizon Growth Fund have both received a five-star Overall Morningstar RatingTM for the three years ended December 31, 2004.

     Additionally, the Hancock Horizon Value Fund received a four-star Overall Morningstar RatingTM for the three years ended December 31, 2004. All three of the Hancock Horizon equity mutual funds now rate four- or five-stars with Morningstar, the highest ratings Morningstar issues.

     With more than 40 years of investment management experience between them, Hancock Bank Chief Investment Strategist John Portwood, CFA, and Director of Equities and Research David Lundgren use a strict, quantitative approach to managing the Hancock Horizon Funds. Portwood, who lives in Mandeville, LA, and Lundgren, a resident of Diamondhead, MS, both joined Hancock Bank in 1998.

     Reiterating that he and Lundgren are from Louisiana and Mississippi, respectively, Portwood said "The success of these funds is testament to the fact that superior money management can be found locally in the Gulf South and does not need to come from managers in New York or Boston."

     Morningstar rates mutual funds from one to five stars based on how well the funds have performed (after adjusting for risk and accounting for all sales charges). Morningstar groups similar funds into categories and ranks funds within each Morningstar category. The top 10 percent of funds receive a five-star rank; the next 22.5 percent, four stars; the middle 35 percent, three stars; the next 22.5 percent, two stars; and the bottom 10 percent receive one-star. Ratings are objective and based entirely on a mathematical evaluation of past performance.

     Lundgren added, "We would be extremely pleased to have one fund rated five-star by Morningstar, but to have all three equity funds rated four- or five-star is a credit to our disciplined investment process. In addition to the funds' above-average performance, Morningstar also considered the risks associated with our funds to be lower than that of the funds' corresponding peer groups. This correlates well with our investment philosophy of producing enhanced returns for clients while minimizing the risk of their investments."

     Portwood and Lundgren are part of Hancock Bank's Institutional Asset Management Group, a unit of the company's wealth management division that manages $1.5 billion in assets, including the $500 million Hancock Horizon proprietary family of mutual funds.

The Hancock Horizon Funds

     The Hancock Horizon Burkenroad Fund, which was rated among 357 small-cap blend funds for the three-year period, is a small-cap regional fund managed by Hancock Bank based in part on an educational program in equity research at Tulane University's A. B. Freeman School of Business. The Burkenroad Fund invests in companies with market capitalization under $1 billion located throughout the Gulf South.

     The Hancock Horizon Growth Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing in common stocks believed to have above-average growth potential based on fundamental analysis. The Hancock Horizon Growth Fund was rated among 641 mid-cap growth funds for the three-year period.

     Additionally, for the same three-year period, the Hancock Horizon Value Fund was rated among 199 mid-cap value funds. The Hancock Horizon Value Fund seeks long term capital appreciation and current income by primarily investing in companies believed to be undervalued.

The performance data quoted herein represents past performance, and past performance does not guarantee future results. The investment return and principal value of an investor's shares will fluctuate so that shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance quoted. Performance data current to the most recent month end may be obtained by calling toll-free 1-888-346-6300 or by visiting www.hancockhorizonfunds.com.

About Hancock Bank

     Hancock Holding Company (NASDAQ: HBHC) - parent company of Hancock Bank Mississippi, Hancock Bank of Louisiana, Hancock Bank of Florida, and Magna Insurance Company - has assets of $4.7 billion. Founded in 1899, Hancock Bank consistently ranks among America's strongest, safest financial institutions. Hancock Bank operates 103 full-service offices and more than 130 automated teller machines throughout South Mississippi, Louisiana, and the Florida Panhandle, as well as subsidiaries Hancock Investment Services, Inc., Hancock Insurance Agency, Ross-King-Walker Insurance Agency, and Harrison Finance Company. Investors can access additional corporate information or on-line banking and bill pay services on Hancock Bank's website.

Hancock Investment Services, Inc. (H.I.S. Inc.) is a registered broker/dealer, member NASD and SIPC, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Hancock Bank. The Hancock Horizon Family of Funds is distributed by SEI Investments Distribution Co., which is not affiliated with Hancock Bank, or any of its affiliates. Mutual Fund investing involves risk, including the loss of principal.

The Russell 1000 Value Index measures the performance of the 1000 largest U.S. companies based on total market capitalization that have lower-than-average price-to-book ratios and lower forecasted growth values. The Russell 1000 Growth Index measures the performance of those Russell 1000 companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values. Standard & Poor's 500 Index (S&P 500, a registered trademark of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.), is a widely-recognized unmanaged index of 500 U.S. common stock prices, and includes the reinvestment of dividends. The Russell 1000 Value, Russell 1000 Growth and S&P 500 Index returns do not reflect any management fees, transaction costs or expenses. Individuals cannot invest directly in the Russell 1000 Value, Russell 1000 Growth, or S&P 500 Index.

The educational program on investment research at Tulane University 's A.B. Freeman School of Business referred to above is designed to teach the students how to produce objective investment research by studying publicly held companies located in the Deep South. Horizon Advisors serve as investment advisers for the Hancock Horizon Family of Funds. The Hancock Horizon Burkenroad Fund and Horizon Advisers are NOT affiliated in any way with Tulane University or the A.B. Freeman School of Business. Hancock Bank licenses the name "Burkenroad" from Tulane University. Neither Tulane University, the A.B. Freeman School of Business, nor the students, faculty, and staff of Tulane University have any involvement in the investment decisions, management, or operation of the Fund.

© 2005 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The information contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar; (2) may not be copied or distributed; and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

For each fund with at least a three-year history, Morningstar calculates a Morningstar RatingTM based on a Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return measure that accounts for variation in a fund's monthly performance (including the effects of sales charges, loads, and redemption fees), placing more emphasis on downward variation and rewarding consistent performance. The top 10 percent of funds in each category receive 5 stars, the next 22.5 percent receive 4 stars, the next 35 percent receive 3 stars, the next 22.5 percent receive 2 stars and the bottom 10 percent receive 1 Star. (Each share class is counted as a fraction of one fund within this scale and rated separately, which may cause slight variations in the distribution percentages.) The Overall Morningstar Rating for a fund is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with its three-, five- and ten-year (if applicable) Morningstar Rating metrics. The Hancock Horizon Burkenroad Fund was rated against 357 U.S. domiciled small-blend funds over the last three years. With respect to these small-blend funds, Hancock Horizon Burkenroad Fund received a Morningstar Rating of five stars for the three-year period. The Hancock Horizon Growth Fund was rated against 641 U.S. domiciled mid-cap growth funds over the last three years. With respect to these mid-cap growth funds, Hancock Horizon Growth Fund received a Morningstar Rating of five stars for the three-year period. The Hancock Horizon Value Fund was rated against 199 U.S. domiciled mid-cap value funds over the last three years. With respect to these mid-cap value funds, Hancock Horizon Value Fund received a Morningstar Rating of four stars for the three-year period. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION
R. Paul Maxwell, VP & Corporate Communications Manager
(228) 214-5252 or 1.800.522.6542 (x.85252)
paul_maxwell@hancockbank.com