GTA 5 – Stock Market Manipulation Guide (Single Player)

A brief and simplified summary on the stock market in GTA 5. This guide will help you understand who to invest in before and after each mission from Lester. A guide for those starting out new or those who were looking to reference. Following this guide will net all three characters with tens of millions of dollars.

Guide to Stock Market

All credit goes to McALEER!

Introduction

Throughout the GTA 5 story, Lester will offer Franklin missions in which he’ll have to assassinate a target. These targets have a huge role to play in the companies whose stocks are available for purchase, and their deaths will affect the value of their corresponding stock.

Below are all the hints and tips you need to make tonnes of cash on the stock market in Grand Theft Auto 5.

Here is a big tip – if you really want to cash-in, then wait until the end of the game (when you’ve completed the campaign and the mission “The Big Score” and should have lots of money) to do the missions. This will let you invest the most and also realise the most profits. Each character will have between $40 and $100 million.

You also need to cycle through each of your characters before each mission so that you can invest all their money in the relevant stock. And, before you start a mission, make sure you quick save in case you make a mistake.

One final thing – if you need to advance some days in order for the stock price to move as desired, go to a safe house and sleep. This will pass the time enough for your investments to spike. Then sell.

Invest In

Stocks in the LCN network generally change with every in-game hour during the business day (around 8AM – 7PM) – usually it takes on full business day for an LCN stock to reach it’s peak value after an assassination.

The BAWSAQ stocks usually change every 10-15 minutes of real-world time, though after an assassination the values of the affected stocks are usually changed immediately.

Note: The percentage return for your stock is only detailed in the in-game web page called My Portfolio. To get the best return you may need to advance time in-game, which can be done 6-8 hours at a time when you enter the save menu next to a character’s bed, then exiting the menu without saving. To maximise profits, be sure to create a save before starting an assassination mission so that if a peak value is missed it can be reclaimed.

Assassination Mission #1 – Hotel Assassination

At some point Lester will start providing Franklin with side missions marked with an L on the map now before you can move past the story at this point, you’ll have to do The Hotel Assassination. In this case you are damaging the shares of Bilkington in order to raise the shares of Betta Pharmaceuticals.

• Buy This Stock Before Mission: BetaPharmaceuticals (BAWSAQ)
• Sell Beta after the mission (80% profit). Then wait at least three days in-game and purchase Bilkington (LCN), then wait a week or more for it to rebound and sell it before the second mission (80% profit).

Assassination Mission #2 – The Multi Target Assassination

In this assassination you are damaging the shares of Redwood in order to raise the shares of Debonaire.

• Buy This Stock Before Mission: Debonaire Cigarettes (LCN)
• Sell Debonaire after this second mission (80% profit) then purchase Redwood (LCN). Do not do the third mission yet, but instead advance the game for two days then sell Redwood (300% profit)

Assassination Mission #3 – The Vice Assassination

In this assassination you are damaging the shares of Facade in order to raise the shares of Fruit. The guides that I have seen have often missed a crucial step in this assassination: invest in Facade as it rebounds.

• Buy This Stock Before Mission: Fruit (BAWSAQ)
• Sell Fruit after the mission (50% profit)

Assassination Mission #4 – The Bus Assassination

This assassination is slightly different as it focuses entirely on the Vapid stock rebounding after you damage it.

• Buy This Stock Before Mission: Vapid (BAWSAQ)

Invest in Vapid only AFTER you complete the mission. Do not do the fifth mission yet, but instead advance the game for two days then sell Vapid (100% profit)

Assassination Mission #5 – The Construction Assassination

This assassination has no rebound and focuses on getting GoldCoasts business back from another construction firm (not on any of the stock exchanges).

• Buy This Stock Before Mission: GoldCoast (LCN)
• Sell GoldCoast after the mission (80% profit)