GTA 5 Stock Market Guide

Best stocks	Redwood (RWC) and Bilkinton (BIL)
When to invest	Right before or after each of Lester’s assassinations
Websites	LCN (offline) and BAWSAQ (online)
Limit	Just over $2.1 billion per character

The stock market is the biggest source of money in GTA V. Lester’s five assassinations each move specific stocks, and he tells you which ones. If you buy at the right moment with all of your cash and sell at the peak, the money can grow from millions to billions.

How stocks work in GTA 5

Open the phone’s internet browser, go to Money and Services, and pick a site. Buy and sell there at any time. Prices update as game time passes, so sleeping in a bed is the quickest way to move the market. Trevor sleeps for 12 hours each time, Franklin for 8 and Michael for 6, so use Trevor when you need to skip ahead.

LCN vs. BAWSAQ

There are two exchanges. LCN runs on game time and doesn’t need a connection. BAWSAQ needs you to be online and logged in, and its prices can shift with what other players are doing, so results can vary. If BAWSAQ won’t load, the site simply says it’s unavailable.

Best stocks to buy, by mission

Mission	Buy before	Return	Buy after	Return
The Hotel Assassination	Betta Pharmaceuticals (BET), BAWSAQ	About 50%	Bilkinton (BIL), LCN	Over 100%
The Multi Target Assassination	Debonaire (DEB), LCN	About 60%	Redwood (RWC), LCN	About 300%
The Vice Assassination	Fruit (FRT), BAWSAQ	About 25%	Facade (FAC), BAWSAQ	About 33%
The Bus Assassination	Nothing		Vapid (VAP), BAWSAQ	About 100%
The Construction Assassination	GoldCoast (GCD), LCN	About 45%	Nothing

A 2015 update cut the returns from what they were at launch. Treat the percentages here as a guide, and watch the price rather than the calendar.

When should you do the assassinations?

The Hotel Assassination is part of the story, so you have to do it when it comes up. It also gives Franklin his new house. The other four can wait, and they should. You’ll have far more to invest once The Big Score has paid out, and that’s the moment you want to multiply your money. Only the cut from The Big Score is paid after the final mission, so finish the ending first.

Step by step for each assassination

For each one, switch to each character in turn and spend all of their money on the stock. Start each mission on a Monday, sleeping until then if you need to, which leaves room for the slow recoveries.

The Hotel Assassination

1. Put all of each character’s money into Betta Pharmaceuticals on BAWSAQ. If BAWSAQ isn’t available, Dollar Pills on LCN is the fallback.
2. Do the mission on Monday.
3. Wait a few game hours or sleep once. Sell Betta at about 50% profit. It starts to fall after about a day.
4. Buy Bilkinton by Friday, once the price has dropped. It takes about 72 game hours to start climbing and another 72 to get back to where it was.
5. Sell any time after the following Monday, for over 100%.

The Multi Target Assassination

1. Put everything into Debonaire on LCN.
2. Do the mission, then sleep for a couple of game days.
3. Sell at about 60%, before it starts to drop.
4. Buy Redwood straight away, and wait 48 to 96 game hours.
5. Sell at about 300%. This is the largest single gain in the game, so don’t rush it.

The Vice Assassination

1. Put everything into Fruit on BAWSAQ.
2. Do the mission. Fruit peaks fast, after about 6 to 8 game hours, so you don’t need to sleep.
3. Sell at about 25%, and buy Facade.
4. Wait about 48 game hours, then sell at about 33%.

The Bus Assassination

1. Don’t buy anything beforehand. Do the mission first.
2. Afterward, put everything into Vapid on BAWSAQ.
3. Wait about 48 game hours, then sell at about 100%.

The Construction Assassination

1. Put everything into GoldCoast on LCN.
2. Do the mission, then wait about 24 game hours.
3. Sell at about 45%. You’re now free to spend your money.

Is there a money limit?

Yes. A character’s account stops at just over $2.1 billion, and it won’t go past that. If you get close, spend some or leave part of it in a high-value stock, then sell when you need to top up again.

Are any other stocks worth buying?

Friend Request looks like a tip too, as Lester attacks Lifeinvader during it, but Lifeinvader never recovers, so don’t buy it. Random Event Gray’s Bike Theft pays in Animal Ark stock, which you can sell or leave invested. Beyond the assassinations, you’re guessing, so keep your money for the tips above.