March 19, 1998
PRESS RELEASE
SAGE
ANNOUNCES FIRST QUARTER DISTRIBUTION
SAGE High Yield Debt Trust ("SAGE") is pleased to announce that a distribution of $0.15 per unit will be payable on April 15, 1998 to unitholders of record on March 31, 1998. As the Trust is now substantially invested, distributions for the remainder of 1998 are anticipated to be $0.20 per quarter. These distributions produce a yield to the investor of 11.1% based upon the current market price of $6.75 per unit.
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. All of the net proceeds of the first instalment and a substantial portion of the second instalment have now been invested in a broadly diversified portfolio of securities. During this invest-up period, the Trust benefited from a strong calendar of new issues which presented a number of investment opportunities that met the manager's credit standards and yield targets. The following charts provide an overview of the portfolio:
| Investments by Sector | Asset Class Holdings |
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As evidenced by the portfolio on the reverse side of this page, SAGE's holdings are well diversified, eliminating undue exposure to any one industry group or commodity. The debt component of the portfolio produces a fixed income stream at yields well in excess of benchmark treasuries. The equity component generates a stream of income derived from businesses characterized by long economic lives, relative stability of cash flows and the potential for growth of distributions.
The following table highlights SAGE's holdings as of March 15, 1998:
| Issuer | Business | |
| High Yield Debt | ||
| Anchor Lamina Inc. | Tool and Die Manufacturing | |
| Celestica International Inc. | Electronics Manufacturing | |
| Consumers International Inc. | Glass Manufacturing | |
| MDC CommunicationsCorp. | Printing and Communications | |
| Norampac Inc. | Corrugated Packaging | |
| Scott Paper Limited | Consumer Products | |
| Sealy Mattress Company | Mattress Manufacturing and Sales | |
| Tembec Inc. | Forest Products | |
| Trench Electric S.A. | Electric Distribution Equipment | |
| Trizec Hahn Corp. | Real Estate | |
| High Yield Equity | ||
| Associated Freezers Income Trust | Refrigerated Storage | |
| Koch Pipelines Canada L.P. | Oil Pipeline | |
| Pembina Pipeline Income Fund | Oil Pipeline | |
| Westshore Terminals Income Fund | Coal Handling Facility | |
Unitholders of SAGE can acquire additional units by participating in the Automatic Distribution Reinvestment Plan. The Plan enables unitholders to reinvest their quarterly distributions in additional units of SAGE thereby achieving the benefit of compounding returns. In order to take advantage of the Plan on the upcoming distribution, unitholders should contact their investment advisor or the undersigned prior to April 15, 1998.
SAGE trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "BBB.IR".
For further information contact:
Mr. W. Garth Jestley
Director
Middlefield Group
(416)
362-0714
