TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 02/27/13 -- Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. (the "Manager") is pleased to announce that a final prospectus for Australian REIT Income Fund (the "Fund") (TSX:HRR.UN) has been filed with, and a receipt therefor issued by, the securities regulatory authorities in each of the provinces and territories of Canada.

The Fund proposes to issue Class A Units and Class F Units (collectively, the "Units"), each at a price of $12.00 per Unit (the "Offering"). Class F Units are designed for fee-based and/or institutional accounts and will not be listed on a stock exchange, but are convertible into Class A Units on a monthly basis.

The Toronto Stock Exchange has conditionally approved the listing of Class A Units and upon the Fund fulfilling all the listing requirements, the Class A Units will be listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol HRR.UN.

The Fund's investment objectives are to provide Unitholders with: (i) stable monthly cash distributions; and (ii) the opportunity for capital appreciation.

The Fund will invest in an actively managed portfolio comprised primarily of equity securities listed on the Australian Securities Exchange issued by Australian real estate investment trusts and, to a lesser extent, issuers principally engaged in the real estate industry in Australia.

Macquarie Private Portfolio Management Limited (the "Portfolio Manager") has been retained as portfolio manager for the Fund. The Portfolio Manager is a member of the Macquarie Group. The Portfolio Manager will be responsible for the Fund's investment strategy and will provide portfolio management services to the Fund.

The indicative distribution amount is initially targeted to be $0.055 per Unit per month ($0.66 per annum) representing an annual cash distribution of 5.5% based on the 12.00 per Unit issue price.

The Offering is scheduled to close on March 21, 2013.

The syndicate of agents for the Offering is being co-led by BMO Capital Markets, CIBC and Macquarie Private Wealth Inc., and includes Scotiabank, National Bank Financial Inc., TD Securities Inc., Canaccord Genuity Corp., Desjardins Securities Inc., GMP Securities L.P., Raymond James Ltd., All Group Financial Services Inc., Burgeonvest Bick Securities Limited and MGI Securities Inc. (collectively, the "Agents").

Counsel for the Fund and the Manager is Borden Ladner Gervais LLP and counsel for the Agents is Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP.

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, the Manager and/or the Portfolio Manager. The forward-looking statements are not historical facts but reflect the Fund's, the Manager's, and/or the Portfolio Manager's current expectations regarding future results or events. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations. Although the Fund, the Manager, and/or the Portfolio 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, the Manager and/or the Portfolio Manager undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statement or information whether as a result of new information, future events or other such factors which affect this information, except as required by law.

This Offering is only made by a prospectus dated February 26, 2013 (the "Prospectus"). The Prospectus contains important information relating to the securities being offered. Copies of the Prospectus may be obtained from any of the Agents. Investors should read the Prospectus before making an investment decision.

For additional information or a copy of the Prospectus, please contact your registered financial advisor.