Putnam High Income Securities Fund Shareholders to Vote On Open-Ending.

BOSTON -- Putnam Investments announced today that the agenda for the next annual meeting of shareholders of Putnam High Income Securities Fund (NYSE: PCF) will include a vote on whether to convert the closed-end fund to an open-end investment company. The next annual meeting is expected to be held in January 2007, although it could occur at an earlier or later date.

The Fund's Declaration of Trust requires the submission of such a proposal to shareholders at the Fund's next annual meeting if the average discount of its share price to net asset value exceeds 10% during the last 12 calendar weeks of its fiscal year. The requirement has been triggered for the fiscal year ending August 31, 2006. According to the Declaration of Trust, the conversion proposal requires approval of a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote.

In 2005, shareholders of the Fund voted, in accordance with the recommendations of the Fund's Trustees, to defeat an identical proposal. Fewer than 17% of the Fund's outstanding shares were voted in favor of conversion. Similar conversion proposals that other Putnam closed-end funds have submitted to their shareholders in recent years likewise have consistently fallen well short of the requirement for approval.

About Putnam Investments: At Putnam Investments, the top priority remains prudently managing money for nearly 10 million shareholder accounts and 172 institutional clients worldwide. Since 1937, the company's values have been rooted in a profound sense of responsibility for the money entrusted to it. Putnam uses a research-driven team approach to seek consistent, dependable, superior investment results over time, although there is no guarantee a fund will meet its objectives. Putnam is committed to doing what's right for investors, including maintaining stringent investor protections for every Putnam fund.

Founded in 1937, Putnam Investments is one of the nation's oldest and largest money management firms. As of July 31, 2006, Putnam managed $179 billion in assets, of which $117 billion is for mutual fund investors and $62 billion is for institutional accounts. Putnam has offices in Boston, London and Tokyo. For more information, go to www.putnam.com