You've probably seen that pathetic number in the top right of your screen and felt a little bit of soul-crushing despair. We’ve all been there. You want the Luxor Deluxe, the Oppressor Mk II (even if it makes people hate you), and that high-end apartment in Eclipse Towers. But right now? You’re struggling to pay the mechanic. Honestly, the gta 5 investment guide ps4 players actually need isn't about grinding repetitive contact missions until your eyes bleed. It's about manipulating the stock market like a corporate shark with no conscience.
Money in Los Santos is a tool. If you aren't making your money work for you, you're basically just a glorified delivery driver for Gerald.
The Lester Assassination Secret Everyone Messes Up
If you've already finished the main story and killed all the targets Lester gave Franklin, I have some bad news. You might have left hundreds of millions on the table. Most people treat the Lester missions as just another way to progress the plot. That's a massive mistake. To maximize the gta 5 investment guide ps4 potential, you have to save those missions—except for the first one, which is mandatory—until after the Big Score.
Why? Because you need a massive capital base.
Investing $10,000 to get a 80% return gives you a measly $8,000 profit. Boring. But if you finish the final heist and have $25 million per character? That same 80% return turns into $20 million in pure profit. Now we're talking. You're not just rich; you're "buy the golf course" rich.
The first one is the Hotel Assassination. Before you start, put every cent from Michael, Franklin, and Trevor into Betta Pharmaceuticals (BET) on the BAWSAQ. After the hit, wait about a day or two in-game time. Watch that percentage. When it hits around 50%, sell it all. But don't stop there. The rival company, Bilkington, will have tanked. Wait for it to bottom out, buy the dip, and wait a few more days for it to recover. It's basically printing money.
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The BAWSAQ vs. LCN Divide
Understanding the two markets is key. The LCN is strictly offline. It's influenced by your actions in the game world and scripted events. The BAWSAQ, however, used to be influenced by the global PlayStation Network community. On the PS4 version, this can be a bit finicky depending on Rockstar’s server status, but for the most part, the scripted assassination surges still work perfectly.
Don't ignore the random encounters either.
There's a guy near Chumash whose car broke down. If you drive him to the airport, he gives you a stock tip about Tinkle (TNK). If you immediately dump all your cash into Tinkle on the BAWSAQ before he gets out of the car, you can see a 30% return almost instantly. It’s these small, missable moments that separate the millionaires from the guys still stealing sedans to get around.
How to Handle the Multi-Target Assassination
This one is the real breadwinner. Lester tells you to take out the four corrupt jurors. Before the timer starts, get all three characters to invest every penny into Debonaire (DEB) on the LCN.
After the mission, the stock shoots up.
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Sell it at roughly 60-80% profit. But here's the kicker: the rival company, Redwood (RWC), just got absolutely demolished. Its stock price will be literal pennies. Buy the Redwood dip immediately. You’ll have to wait a bit longer for this one—sometimes up to 48 hours in-game—but the recovery is legendary. We are talking a 300% return. If you put in $30 million, you’re walking away with over $100 million. It’s absurd. It feels like cheating, but it’s just business.
The Truth About Sabotaging Rival Companies
You’ll hear rumors. People say if you go to the airport and blow up FlyUS planes, the AirEmu stock will go up.
In theory? Yes. In practice? It’s a nightmare.
To see a statistically significant shift in stock price on the PS4, you would have to spend hours destroying hundreds of planes. The ROI on your actual time is terrible. You're better off hunting for the rare armored trucks that spawn around the map. Blowing the back doors off a Gruppe Sechs van nets you instant cash, which is a better use of your ammo than trying to force a market shift that might never happen.
The Vangelico heist early in the game also offers a small window. After you rob the jewelry store, the stock tanks. If you’re fast, you can buy it low, but honestly, the gains are peanuts compared to the Lester method. Focus on the big swings.
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The "Save Scumming" Technique
This is the most important tool in your arsenal. The stock market is volatile. Sometimes a stock peaks at 80%, and if you sleep one hour too long, it’s back down to 40%.
Always, always save your game manually before a big investment. Use the different save slots. If a tip doesn't pay out or the market behaves weirdly, just reload.
Pro tip: Sleeping advances time. Franklin sleeps for 8 hours, Michael for 6, and Trevor for a chaotic 12. Use Trevor if you need the market to move fast, but be careful—he might wake up on a mountain in a dress. That’s just the price of doing business in San Andreas.
Final Steps for Maximum Profit
Once you've cycled through the Bus Assassination (Vapid recovery) and the Construction Assassination (Gold Coast gains), you should be sitting on roughly $2.1 billion per character. That is the hard cap. The game literally cannot track more money than that.
At this point, you own the city.
- Move all characters to a safe house before starting the final string of missions to ensure you can swap between them quickly to manage portfolios.
- Check the stocks on your in-game phone every few minutes. The "Current Profit" percentage is your best friend.
- Diversify only when the script demands it. Most of the time, "going all in" is the only way to hit that $2 billion ceiling.
- Avoid the temptation to spend on cars and properties until after the final assassination. Every dollar spent early is a dollar that isn't being multiplied by 300% later.
Go buy that golf course. You've earned it.
Actionable Next Steps
- Complete the main storyline through "The Big Score" but leave the Lester Assassination missions (except the first one) untouched.
- Perform a manual save on a fresh slot.
- Invest the entire heist payout from Michael, Trevor, and Franklin into the targeted company on the LCN or BAWSAQ as specified by the mission's rival.
- Execute the mission, then use the "Sleep" function in your safe house to advance time and check stock peaks every few hours.
- Sell at the peak, then immediately reinvest in the "crashed" rival company for the secondary bounce-back profit.