the R240m property loan stock company, has outperformed JSE-listed peers (see Results). It's the new influence of property over institutional thinking - a shift from risk to spotting opportunity.

Corpcapital's ApexHi, for instance, ditched location as a major investment criterion in favour of quality of tenant and high yield. It has been a winner. Most analysts had ApexHi's units among their top choices for 2003.

Spearhead relies on seasoned management - chairman Monty Kaplan, CEO Mike Flax and director Allan Groll - to sweeten the income from its 24-strong Cape property portfolio with property development and trading.

This year, Spearhead turned a 5% increase in property income to 13% by jobbing shares in Bonatla, a now-defunct listed property company (see Companies), and by converting offices at 129 Beach Road, Mouille Point, into flats that sold out off plan. It also built new Cape headquarters for the Scorpions investigative police unit.

Cost rises were kept to 3% by a rates reduction in Cape Town. Contracted property income should rise from R67m to R77m next year, with expenses rising about 7% to R52m. But a mixed-use development in Cape Town's East City district and more income from the Scorpions development will raise income 12%.

Great returns, agrees listed fund analyst Liliane Barnard, "but trading income is lumpy and raises volatility". Despite this, Spearhead is attracting bigger investors, such as Marriott with 10% and Investec Asset Management's property fund with 9%.