Summary
Grand Theft Auto 5introduces a unique system for players to manipulate and abuse to get money. For those interested in the stock market,Grand Theft Auto 5has its version, complete with many different companies for players to invest their hard-earned and stolen cash into. By playing the stock market properly, players will find an efficient way to get money fast inGrand Theft Auto 5.
There are plenty of different stock options inGrand Theft Auto 5, and some players may be a tad confused on which stocks to invest in, and when. The stock market, much like real life, can be a tad unpredictable inGrand Theft Auto 5, but these options and choices are a surefire way to get money.
It’s worth noting that the most efficient way to play the stock market inGrand Theft Auto 5to make money quickly is to rely on Lester’s Assassination Missions. This will be a detailed list of how to manipulate the stock market thanks tothese Assassination MissionsinGrand Theft Auto 5, and the most important stocks to invest in at the right time for the maximum profit.
Updated on June 05, 2025, by Jake Fillery:Players can unlock some unique abilities and ways to manipulate the stock market in GTA 5 thanks to Lester’s assassination missions. The best stocks to buy in GTA 5 depend completely on the mission that players are on, so it’s best to hoard as much cash as possible, and get ready to invest because Franklin and Lester are about to be busy. Players can earn billions of dollars with this method, attached to how the stock market works, what stocks to invest in from where and at what time, as well as how exactly players can get rich fast in GTA 5. Whilst murder is bound to this strategy, it will certainly be worth it for Franklin, Michael, and Trevor, who will play the BAWSAQ and LCN Exchange like a fiddle.
How To Use The Stock Market
BAWSAQ & LCN Exchange
Players will need to access the internet onGTA 5.Whether that’s through their in-game phone or a laptop, they need to open up the Internet icon and then click the Money and Services tab. From here, they have two options:BAWSAQ and the LCN Exchange.
BAWSAQ and the LCN Exchangeare the two in-game stock markets that players will be accessing through the majority of Lester’s Assassination Missions.
Home:This page will show what companies are doing the best, and which are doing the worst in real-time.
Markets:This page shows players what companies they can invest in on each of the websites. It is also important to note that players can see theCurrent Price, Price Movement, and % Changefor each of these companies, allowing them to invest their money wisely.
My Portfolio:This is the page that players will use once they purchase stocks, as it will show the companies players have stock in, whilst also showing theCurrent Price, Return Price, and Profitof said stock.
Clicking on any stock, players will be able to buy stock and see the weekly statistics in a graph format for this stock. Players will be able to see the value of the stock and its highest and lowest information points which will help influence players' purchases.
Before every Lester’s Assassination mission, players will need to switch to each of the three protagonists: Trevor, Michael, and Franklin, and invest in the stocks listed below.
It’s always best to manually save a game before the mission, just in case things go awry.
How To Fix BAWSAQ Down For Maintenance
The BAWSAQ Exchange on Grand Theft Auto 5 is linked to an internet connection. In order to access BAWSAQ, players must verify that they are connected to the Rockstar Games Social Club. To do so, players simply need to connect the account that they are playing to theSocial Club. After doing so, players should have full access to the BAWSAQ exchange without further delays. In offline mode, or without connecting the account to the Rockstar Social Club, players will see the message “This market is down for maintenance. Please try again later.” when attempting to access BAWSAQ.
How Do The Stock Markets Work?
The Dual Markets of LCN & BAWSAQ
LCN- the stock market for LCN stocks will peak within 24 in-game hours, giving players one in-game day after Lester’s assassination mission to see the height of potential returns before those returns begin to decline.
BAWSAQ- Immediately after Lester’s Assassination mission, the stock invited into BAWSAQ’s markets will decline after 24 in-game hours, meaning this is the market players should look to first once the mission is over.
How To Skip Time
Go To Bed In-Game To Advance Days
In order to correctly manipulate the stock market, players are going to want toskip time in-game.Instead of waiting around for a few in-game days and hours in real life, players can instead head to their homes and enter their beds. This enters the Save Game screen, but players can either save here or leave the bed to skip forward in time, where each of the three characters would have slept. Players cango to bed with every character to advance timein the game, but each character sleeps for a different amount of time, meaning that in order to advance days, players must sleep multiple times.
Maximum Cash Amount
Players can onlyhold a maximum of $2,147,483,647 per character. Exceeding this number will mean that players cannot cash in their stock, so it’s best to not go over this number if players want to earn the most amount of money possible inGTA 5using the stock market.
The Hotel Assassination
Potential Return Of 200%
The first Assassination Mission that Franklin can complete inGrand Theft Auto 5requires him to kill the CEO of Bilkinton Research, Brett Lowrey. Players will travel to the Von Crastenburg Hotel, where they will either kill the CEO with a sniper rifle or blow up his car once he is inside.Nobody in Los Santos is ever safe.
Betta Pharmaceuticals
Before players begin the mission, they are going to want to invest all of their money on their characters intoBetta Pharmaceuticals over at BAWSAQ. Once the mission is complete, players will be able to sell all of their stocks aroundafter two in-game hours, for a potentialreturn of 50%more money than they invested initially.
Bilkinton Research
Even better, when the mission is over, players shouldpurchase the low stocks from Bilkinton Researchat theLCN Exchange. Every penny the player has should go into the Bilkinton Researchwithin 48 in-game hourssince the completion of the Hotel Assassination Mission.After 72 in-game hours, players shouldsell all their Bilkinton Research stockfor a potentialreturn of 100%of their investment, almost doubling their entire amount of cash.
The Multi-Target Assassination
Potential Return Of 400%
The next Assassination Contract from Lester inGrand Theft Auto 5is the Multi-Target Assassination. This will see Franklin search out four targets, each of which is a juror that has been paid off by Redwood Cigarettes to help with a potential lawsuit.
Debonaire
Before the mission begins, players should exchangeall of their characters’ money for stocks inDebonaire on the LCN Exchange. After2 in-game days, return to the LCN Exchange website to cash out their stocks, andsee a potential return of 60%.
Redwood Cigarettes
The next best stock to invest inGrand Theft Auto 5isRedwood Cigarettes on LCN Exchange, but only after the stock has plummeted as far as it can go, which cantake up to 48 in-game hours. Redwood Cigarettes is by far the best investment, asafter 72 in-game hours, players could see thepotential for 300%more money than they invested.
The Vice Assassination
Potential Return Of 60%
More chicanery with the stock market sees Franklin receive his next target. Facade’s CEO, Jackson Skinner, is on the hit list, and it’s up to Franklin to take him out while he’s seeing a working girl at La Puerta. In doing so, Fruit Computer’s stock price would increase greatly.
Fruit Computers
Before starting the Vice Assassination, players should take all their hard-earned andstolen blood moneyandinvest it fully into Fruit Computers at BAWSAQ. Aftertwo in-game hours, players can expect areturn of 50% of their cash, thus growing their money even further than before.
Facade
Next, comesFacade over at BAWSAQ. Players can invest their money into these stocks after they are at their lowest.After 48 in-game hours, Facade will allow players to grow their income byanother 35%.Whilst less than previous stock entries, it’s still a great deal of money just waiting to be claimed.
The Bus Assassination
Potential Return Of 100%
This Assassination Mission is easier than the others, as it only requires players to invest in one stock in particular rather than juggling time and two stocks. Players need to take out Isaac Penny, the billionaire that is set to take control of Vapid.
Vapid
From theBAWSAQ stock exchange, players want toinvest in Vapid stocks two in-game hours aftercompleting the mission. After, players will need to wait without their money for48 in-game hours, and then sell their stocks for anotherpotential return of 100%, doubling their ever-increasing money once more.
The Construction Assassination
Potential Return Of 80%
The final Assassination Contract will see the last target, Enzo Bonelli, in the limelight for murder because he has been taking on work for the Gold Coast company, which is the sole target of Lester and Franklin’s latest and last business venture.
Gold Coast
Before the mission starts, players want to invest all of their money once againinto the LCN Exchangewebsite forthe Gold Coast stocks. Then, after the mission has been completed, it will only takearound two in-game hoursfor players to see apotential return of 75%, maximizing their return and running away with this get-rich-quick scheme inGrand Theft Auto 5. It’s by far one of the best ways of how to makeGrand Theft Auto 5money fast by using the Stock Market tricks.
