Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. Announces Details About Conversion of HARVEST Banks & Buildings Income Fund to an Open-End Mutual Fund Scheduled for October 18, 2011

OAKVILLE, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Aug. 15, 2011) - Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. (the "Manager"), as the manager of HARVEST Banks & Buildings Income Fund (the "Fund"), announces details about the conversion (the "Conversion") of the Fund into an open-end mutual fund which is expected to occur on or about October 18, 2011 (the "Conversion Date").

The Conversion is expected to occur in accordance with the Fund's initial terms as outlined in the Fund's prospectus dated October 2, 2009. The name, investment mandate and distribution policy of the Fund will not change as a result of the Conversion. On the Conversion Date:

• the Fund will become an open-end mutual fund;
• the Trust Units will become redeemable at their NAV per Trust Unit on a daily basis; and
• the Trust Units will be re-designated as "Series R" Trust Units.

The Fund also intends to commence distributing two additional series of Trust Units (to be designated as Series A and Series F) on the Conversion Date. In preparation for the Conversion, the Trust Units will be voluntarily delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX") at the close of business on or about Wednesday October 5, 2011. The expected timeline for completing the Conversion is on October 18, 2011.

Once all operational steps required to implement the Conversion are completed and a receipt for the final prospectus is received, subscriptions for additional investments and redemptions can be made via FundSERV.

The Manager believes that the Conversion will provide investors with enhanced liquidity and pricing by providing them with the continuous right to subscribe for additional Trust Units or redeem Trust Units on a daily basis. Unitholders will also be able to switch their Trust Units into other series offered by the Fund in accordance with the terms set out in the Fund's prospectus.

Certain statements included in this news release constitute forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, those identified by the expressions "expect", "intend", "will" and similar expressions to the extent they relate to the Fund and/or the Manager. The forward- looking statements are not historical facts but reflect the Fund's, and/or the Manager's current expectations regarding future results or events. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, such as receipt of all required regulatory approvals, that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations. Although the Fund and/or the Manager believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and, accordingly, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein. The Fund and/or the Manager undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements or information whether as a result of new information, future events or other such factors which affect this information, except as required by law.

All capitalized terms noted herein but not defined are as defined in the Fund's prospectus dated October 2nd, 2009. The Fund presently trades on the TSX under the symbol HBB.un.