My Stock Market

Well, I don't really have a stock market to share, like I did for The Sims 2, but I do have many stock companies in my game, and I keep track on all details regarding ownership and their annual yield. So, I decided to share some of this...

I keep track on everything in a spreadsheet. Numbers are percent ownership that year. Grey/blue background is Top 3.

Residents of my Region 12 can establish a personal holding company, which I tend to do for showbiz people and those focusing a bit on investments, but in general the complexity of larger stock companies is more fun! I have a rule that when a company is worth more than §1.000.000 or has more than 5 owners, a set of rules must be followed.

Everyone owning minimum 1% of the company will be listed officially. This also include a few non-played characters, must mostly the owners are my played sims. Top 3 owners form the Board.

Unless the company has already employed a CEO, the Top owner will fill this role. Therefore, a larger company's Board might have 4 members, which needs the CEO to have a double vote. Most companies' board has only 3 members, and I imagine the bigger tasks will also be handled by that company's organisation, limiting the board's power. This will of course vary, but I'll not dive into those details now.

Several smaller companies have a 60% top owner. I have a rule that if anyone owns more than 60% they are forced to offer to buy the entire company. So, nobody will own more than 60%. Perhaps 40% would be more fun, as it could open for more rivalry within families..

Each company is registered with Est. year and where their main office is located (world). Most are located in Sim City or San Myshuno, and doesn't necessarily exist, but if I play the CEO actively there will at least be an office where the Board can meet. I use the club system to manage the boards, and working on this network will also give the ambitious families both good relations, which might even affect marriages. Most Boards will meet only once every year, and I'll play the meeting only if there is a special situation, but a few phone calls will always take place.

Every year I use a dice to decide how each company will pay off. This will be random, without having too large an effect per year. I normally allow the company value to increase by max 3% and decrease by max 2%. If your §100.000 shares gain §3.000 that's cool, but those filthy rich families might actually make more than §50.000 a year just from their massive investments - perhaps their own family company where they own 60% of the shares. Although some are lucky, there will always be a risk to lose your money. When owning multiple companies some will go up while others go down - the total effect will not be too extreme but hopefully on the positive side.

I love having all these companies, as they adds so much to my game play. My greedy sims can now reach for power and not only money. Top notch families have a way to build their network. Investments can gain business activities that match interests, career and social status. And finally, this is of course a cool way to invest their savings. My active sims will buy a full percentage of the company value, meaning the larger companies will be available only for my wealthier sims, as 1% might cost more than §100.000. If you have less money, you can still invest in the smaller companies where 1% might be less than §10.000. It is mostly old money that is invested, so it opens for challenges and conflicts within families when a person's stocks are changing hands, as the result of death or bankruptcy. Old families fighting over money is always cute, he-he. The shock of old Auntie's testament is the perfect trigger for any good story, right?

If you wanna try something similar, it might be good starting out with just a limited number of companies. Then you can add more when you settled a routine. This can be rather shallow, or extremely detailed - it's up to you!


Here's a list of some of my companies:

Landgraab Industries, Inc.
Top 3 shareholders: Malcolm Landgraab (30%), The Crumplebottom Fundation (16%), Region 12 (14%).

Landgraab Power Company, Inc.
Top 3 shareholders: Region 12 (55%), Malcolm Landgraab (23%), Corinne Dougham (7%).

Landgraab Institutes, Inc.
Top 3 shareholders: Landgraab Science Lab, Inc (40%), Reg12 EDU, Inc. (30%), Sim Nation School Fundation (12%).

Sür-Blyth Agriculture, Inc.
Top 3 shareholders: Lady Elvira Leonora Sür-Blyth (45%), Duke Aquess de Cavalier (20%), Malcolm Landgraab (10%).

Reg12 Green, Inc.
Top 3 shareholders: Region 12 (60%), Green Lipz Org. (9%), Adrian Framph-Dole (7%).

Reg12 Water, Inc.
Top 3 shareholders: Region 12 (60%), Green Lipz Org. (12%), Malcolm Landgraab (5%).

Reg12 EDU, Inc.
Top 3 shareholders: Region 12 (60%), Teachers Association (9%), Duke Aquess de Cavalier (4%).

Reg12 Transport, Inc.
Top 3 shareholders: Region 12 (60%), Edith Crapperton (10%), No-More-Cars Org (9%).

Way To Go Travels, Inc.
Top 3 shareholders: Claudia Tangerin (30%), Malcolm Landgraab (30%), Brenda Kammin (20%).

Art Group, Inc.
Top 3 shareholders: Diego Lobo (60%), Lucille C. Phlum (10%), Thorne Bailey (10%).



PST: In the upcoming episode of my video series As Sims Go By, my "Trades & Taxes" Councilor Bud von Kaching will deal with investments and savings. To be released this month :)