FOURTH QUARTER 1998
For the year ending December 31, 1998

Press Release

SAGE ANNOUNCES YEAR END RESULTS

Message to Unitholders

SAGE High Yield Debt Trust ("SAGE") is pleased to announce its unaudited financial results for the year ended December 31, 1998, the details of which are attached.

On January 29, 1999 SAGE made a distribution of $0.20 per unit for the fourth quarter compared with $0.20 per unit for the third quarter of 1998. For the year ended December 31, 1998, the Fund distributed $0.75 per unit and generated net investment income of $0.63 per unit. The lower than expected net income for the year was due to a non-recurring foreign exchange loss on U.S. dollar denominated loans. Without the non-recurring charge, net income would have been $0.79 per unit. Going forward, distributions are anticipated to increase for two reasons. First, the loan used to monetize the second instalment, which was received on October 28, 1998, has been repaid, thereby reducing borrowing costs. Second, under its Trust Agreement, the Fund may borrow up to 33.3% of its total assets to make additional investments which will produce additional income. SAGE posted a total return of 2.8% for the fourth quarter compared to the SCM Canadian High Yield Bond Index total return of 2.1% for the same period. We anticipate the first quarter distribution for 1999 will be approximately $0.28 per unit. On an annualized basis this represents a yield of approximately 10% on the current unit price of $11.25.

In the fourth quarter, the U.S. high yield market was bolstered by several factors. The Fed made two cuts to its key lending rate which helped fuel the rally in the equity market and stabilize the high yield market. Large inflows into U.S. high yield mutual funds further supported the market by providing liquidity and restoring investor confidence as evidenced by increased new issuance and spread narrowing. Economic data showing no evidence of inflation further helped improve market fundamentals. The Canadian high yield market also recovered as the Bank of Canada matched the U.S. lending rate cuts with its own. Liquidity returned to the Canadian high yield market with a narrowing of spreads as high yield issues generally performed well across all sectors. New issuance in Canada however, was primarily restricted to investment grade companies during the quarter.

SAGE is a closed-end investment trust that invests primarily in high yield corporate debt supplemented by high yield equity securities such as income funds and REITs. This news release contains forward-looking information. Actual future results may differ materially. The risks, uncertainties and other factors that could influence actual results are described in SAGE's annual report to unitholders and other documents filed with regulatory authorities. SAGE trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "BBB.UN".

For further information, contact:

Mr. James S. Parsons
Director

March 4, 1999.

TRUST PROFILE

Sage High Yield Debt Trust closed its initial public offering in October 1997. The primary objective of the Trust is to provide unitholders with a high level of sustainable income while preserving capital. To achieve this objective, SAGE invests primarily in high yield debt securities supplemented with high yield equities. Unitholders of SAGE can acquire additional units by participating in the Distribution Reinvestment Plan. The Plan enables unitholders to reinvest their quarterly distributions in additional units of SAGE thereby achieving the benefit of compounding returns. SAGE is fully RRSP eligible.