Another Day Another Eaves.

Today I'd like to talk abit about investor buying strategy on Empire Avenue.  Many of you are new to the fun filled game of swimming with investor sharks in a tank filled with blood.  Your blood.

Before we start let's start at the basics --- "The Jump"

You've just joined Empire Avenue and your muddling through all the settings and options.  Your fairly social media savvy and have lots of accounts you can hook up.  Before you even get a chance however all of the sudden the shareholders start rolling in ... and they are rolling in BIG.  200 shares after 200 shares in you start getting purchased, more people than you could possibly hope to buy back.

What's happening?  How did these people find you?  Why do they want to buy into you, a fresh faced noob on the Avenue?

Remember yesterday we talked abit about The Team Zen Effect .  Entire communities out there exist to find a good deal.  In yesterday's example (e)CRISPM had fallen through the cracks somehow and managed to raise his dividends to such a level that he was a very good buy.  What's happening to you is different from this.

Everyone who joins Empire Avenue starts with a base share score of 10.  The moment however you link your social media accounts your share price generally jumps up 5 - 10 points.  This leads to frenzied investor activity as everyone rushes to get "in" on you.  This in turn skyrockets your share price even higher as share price is in part effected by how many people are "buying in" to you.

The first day or two on the Avenue is grand.  Your stock price is skyrocketing, eaves are flowing in like candy.  And then it happens.  The Flip.

The Flip occurs when investors start to bail out of your stock.  Why, why are they so mean, why are they abandoning you?  Well the truth is it's nothing personal .... it's just that most new stocks get accelerated so quickly their dividend yield no longer reflects their actual share price.  So investors dump you for profit. Remember all those investors who bought you at 10 - 15 a share?   Well now that you are priced at 30 a share selling you equals pure unadualterated PROFIT.   The sharks on the avenue love profit.  Especially easy profit made at the touch of a button.  

The Team Zen effect is a two way street sadly.  Once your share price starts to dip there is blood in the water and this leads to a stampede of selling.  This is why the second or third day on the Avenue is usually as dark and gloomy as the first day was glorious.

Now that we've got that out of the way  let's talk about the different types of stock available on Empire Avenue.  Keep in mind these are just generalities I'm lumping different stocks into, everyone will have their own opinions and ideas.

So with that said there are three kinds of funds I've identified on Empire Avenue

1.  Growth and Flip Funds  

Growth funds are those stocks that are new to the game and early in their life,  While many of these funds are flipped for profit early on, Some represent turbo charged growth ... look at the leaderboard and check out (e)PIRILLO .  At 217 a share he's pretty expensive but even Pirillo was once a growth fund and at different times in his stocks life he's been targeted for flips ... but still imagine having got in on Pirillo when he cost 17 a share!  

The problem with being a growth fund is that it also makes you a great stock to flip for profit.  Flip Funds are those that I sell for profit.  Typically this means 80 - 90 percent of anyone brand new on the Avenue, although sometimes a facebook triggered investor stampede on an overlooked stock can lead to a good flip as well.  Protecting yourself from being flipped is accomplished by one thing and one thing only.

Produce good daily dividends.  

Dividends are produced by your social media activity.  Using PIRILLO as our example yet again, he has been protected time and time again from being flipped for profit because it is MORE PROFITABLE to hold onto him and collect the morning dividend cheques.

2.  High Yield Dividend Funds

High Yield Dividend Funds are those stocks which I refer to as the "big boys and girls" of Empire Avenue.  These are your leaderboard stocks those priced at over 100 a share.  Typically most of them provide a 1:1 or better dividend per share ... these are the stocks that will pay your bills every night providing a steady stream of eave income each morning.  High Yield Dividend stocks can also come in lower priced flavours ... the key is to look at the dividend yield to ensure you are getting your eaves worth by owning them.

All of this leads to interesting gameplay strategies.  My personal investment strategy is this:

I Buy growth/flip funds before the jump or just after and then sell (or flip them) for instant eaves profit after they have shot to the moon but are peaking out (no longer growing). The profit from the sale of those funds are then reinvested into hi yield dividend funds, while the principle from the sale gets reinvested back into growth/flip funds. This will slowly increase your daily dividends earned each day giving you more eaves daily to put into growth/flip funds in term producing more profit to grow your hi yield dividend funds.

The key to this particular strategy lies in the use of price alerts.  Price Alerts can be sent to your email allowing you to quickly dump a stock that's starting to plummet ... after buying into a new stock be sure to set price alerts and constantly update those alerts ... that way when it comes time to sell you will be selling at the top of the hill rather than near the bottom.

That's it for today kiddies.  Enjoy your next day on the Avenue and may it be a profitable one.

Another Day Another Eaves.

Evan, is a member of TEAM ZEN which is a community group on Empire Avenue that is devoted to finding good deals on stocks in the pursuit of oh sweet sweet eaves.  Being a team player Evan immediately posted his find in the Team Zen Facebook group .   I've uploaded a little documentary on a word doc consisting of screen caps of what went down.

Click here to download:

Ricardo's_Team_Zen_Suprise.docx (907 KB)

(download)

Click here to download:

Ricardo's_Team_Zen_Suprise.docx (907 KB)

As you can see the Team Zen Effect is powerful indeed.  So the next time you see your share prices on a massive rise or like (e)BMW on a massive decline ... the answer is usually pretty simple .... You've just been Team ZEN'ed  

Today I’d like to talk about Brands.  Our society is one that is all about brands.  Every time we turn on the TV, we walk out the door, our perceptions are flooded with brand names.  Xbox.  Nokia.  Zune.  Nerf.  And the list goes on.

I mention these brand names specifically because as you all may know they have recently joined Empire Avenue.  Is it really any surprise?  Big corporations have embraced social media with a vengeance, and Empire Avenue touches a nerve … stocks and shares, something that  big corporations are all about!

Given the public perception of  big corporations being infallible, untouchable, and very very rich, is it’s no surprise to see that big brands entering the Avenue have seen massive gains.

As a new player to Empire Avenue there are some big profits to be made but some pitfalls to be aware of.  Some key points to keep in mind:

#1.  Big Brands will make you LOTS of eaves – if you get in early.  Look at (e)Xbox.  They shot up the leaderboards to the top … and they have the social media activity to maintain it.

#2.  Big Brands are NOT infallible on the Avenue.  Look at (e)NERF and to some extent (e)Transformers.  A big name will only get you so far … in the end it’s social media activity that long term shareholders are looking at.

This leads  #3.  Big Brands are only as good as the dividends they will pay you long term OR the profits you can make selling them.  

Some of you already know this but I used to be the social media coordinator at PartyLite Canada (e)PRTYLT.   The EAV account appears to be “dead at the stick” now that I'm gone, however, there are some lessons to be learned from my time with the company.

   a.  Big Brands pay consistent dividends.  Most social media coordinators have set monthly calendars in which planned tweets and facebook page posts are put out … planned months in advance.  I know this because I WAS a Social Media Coordinator. 

b.  Therefore whether the brand plays on Empire Avenue long term or not is irrelevant as long as those Social Media Accounts have been linked to their EAV account (example Westjet, PartyLite Canada).  Once the brand has attached their accounts you can be pretty sure the dividends will roll in consistantly at whatever level the company has dedicated resources.

This means that the bigger the brand the more likely the dividends are going to be higher.  (e)Zune and (e)Xbox for example are “sure things”.  Microsoft has wholey committed to web 2.0, you can be sure that big dividends will continue to roll from these account.

c..  On the other hand, the more obscure the brand the less likely the dividends will be good.  Look at NERF … as of today @NERFNATION has STILL not been linked despite the pleas of shareholders as the stock price plummets.  Expect attachment on Monday when the Social Media Coordinator gets back into the office (protip: buy their twitter shares @nerfnation for a nice profit). One can stand to profit handsomely from investing at the entrance of a niche but well known brand (by selling that brand at the “top of the hill”).

So the bottom line on brands is this.  They are made of “win”.  You either get in on them at the beginning when they first join and make a nice profit flipping them when everyone sells out OR you hold onto the “good” one’s long term making consistent dividends for years to come.  Whether a big or small brand, most corporations have committed themselves to a long term social media strategy.  This means that any company that joins Empire Avenue is likely here to stay for the long term.  Likewise you can be pretty much guaranteed after a week or two that the daily dividends you are receiving is what that share will pay out for months to come.

      It’s then up to you to decide whether or not you want to cash out or hold. 

Another day another eaves ...

It's been a long time since my last post (six or seven months), work and life got in the way of the important business of making eaves.  I have abit of time though so I'm hoping to get back into my articles looking at gameplay for those just starting out in the cuthroat world of the Empire Avenue Social Media Stock Exchange.

As some of you may remember a long time ago I wrote an article saying that dividend gamers punish high priced stocks .  This has mutated abit in the last seven months ... but how?

First and foremost, my original premise was that the "real" eaves were in low priced stocks.  There were a variety of factors that played into this pre erindale, that no longer hold true ... high priced stocks that produce dividends are now definately worth owning compared to seven months ago.

What hasn't changed however is that low priced stocks are still where the "easy" eaves are at.  And by easy I mean a quick flip for profit.  With the explosion of new IPO's on Empire Avenue what we are seeing now is a frenzy of quick buying (200 shares) for a quick profit.  For those of you new to Empire Avenue (EAV) how this works is simple:

1.  New share comes onto the market priced at 10

2.  At this price ANYONE can afford to buy it even other fairly new players.  

3.  Speculators flood in, both new players as well as old seasoned vets ... who knows if this will be the next (e)PIRILLO ?

4.  This behaviour is magnified by facebook groups and empire avenue communities that make grabbing "hot stock" a priority (hello Team Zen, which incidentally I help admin)

5.  Stock price zooms up in price fueled by speculation ... once the account hooks up a social media (SM) account the price explodes.

6.  Speculators double, triple, quadruple their eaves 

7.  Stock price starts to plateau at which point everyone looks at daily divs -- hold or sell?  It's usually sell.

In my opinion the only shares worth holding onto are those producing a minimum of .50 divs per share or more.  This is dependant of course on share price (the higher the share price the more divs one might expect it to produce.

This leads to interesting strategies.  Currently for myself my strategy is to hold onto a solid core group of strong dividend producing shares (.90 per share minimum).  This gives me a solid base of daily dividend producing stocks that I can count on getting income from on a daily basis.  My wealth right now sits at 3.3 mill with 30k a day in eaves coming in through daily dividends.  Using that daily income I can play the quick flip game buying up hot new IPO's as they come in, sitting on those worth keeping while flipping those that don't produce -- once they plateau of course.  Timing the top of the roller coaster is a tricky affair, and this is where the "Price Alert" feature is your friend.  Use it.  

So in closing:  

a.  As a new player quick flips is going to be the easiest way to raise capital

b.  To get on hot new IPO before it rockets join a stock tip community (for example Team Zen - we created the term "speculator stampede"

c.  Use Price Alerts that go to your email (ideally your cell phone email) so you can sell the instant a "hot" new stock becomes "not"

d.  Take a small portion of your daily dividend income and start investing in high dividend earners.  This means looking at the leader boards under "weekly dividends" option and putting a few eaves into some of the stars of EAV ... (e)Pirello, (e)Clatko, (e)Adriel and so forth.   It doesnt matter how little you can put in ... pick a number and stick with it gradually increasing as your daily income picks up.

There are some players that play the quick flip game exclusively ... personally I recommend a two pronged approach, once that focuses on long term daily dividend growth, while not ignoring the benefits of flipping new IPO's for a profit.  As a new player it will benefit you to start with a strategy of quick flipping almost exclusively (minus the small percentage towards building a stable of div producing stock) until you can build that all crucial stable base of daily dividend producers.

Once the daily dividend income starts rolling at a plus 10k a day range life will become alot easier.  =)

Another day another eave.

So one of my friends on Empire Avenue decided to set up an interesting experiment.  She wanted to find out the relationship between share buys and how it effected stock price.

Using share buys of blocks of 5, 10, 20, and 50 she invested in a stock and looked at how this effected the share value.  The results were this:

The percent increase per share purchased (times 10000 to make it readable) vs number of shares purchased at once:

1     0.328678177
5     5.451153
10   9.391064138
20   7.918874984
50   4.941675557

My friend also noted that in order for these numbers to occur a period of around 2 minutes needed to take place between buys.

So what does this mean exactly?  Very simply a share price can be "pumped up" by buying in blocks every 2 minutes.  It appears that buying in blocks of 10 is the magic number providing the highest gain in the share price.  

This brings up interesting strategies ... 

A friend's stock is tanking and you or your community want to help stop the tide?  The power of 10

Looking to pump up a stock leading to a string of buys from others therefore inflating the share price (which you can then sell at a profit)?  The power of 10

It's not clear to me if this could potentially be considered an exploit or "gaming the system".  What has been made clear by this experiment, however, is that multiple share buys have a HUGE effect on stock price ...  and it would seem much greater than one's influence.  A share's influence I believe is calculated once per day by Empire Avenue and then moderates up or down the share's price (again once per day).  Share buys on the other hand happen multiple times per day and every single buy moderates price.  

It makes sense if you think about it ... in order to maintain and increase share price one hits the share wall and has to upgrade ... this is a perfect system in place to force share upgrades. 

Another Day Another Eave.

So as some of you may already have become painfully aware of, it's difficult saving up for upgrades which expand the amount of shares you can offer.

In a blog post a week or so ago I talked about the importance of maintaining savings when preparing for your first share upgrade.  Today I would like to take the opportunity to talk about some lessons I have learned while being forced into a state of inactivity (in terms of making buys) while waiting for my savings to get large enough to afford an upgrade.  

1. Even if you are somewhat active on your social networks ... if you are inactive on Empire Avenue, your share price will drop.  By inactive I mean you are 

a.  Not making buys of new stock (for whatever reason, be it that you are away, or like me trying to save up for upgrades).  The less you buy the less buybacks you get.  In my case I get NO buybacks because I am sold out ... this has inevitably lead to a 4 point decrease over the last week, despite decent activity on my networks.

I'll admit I was somewhat depressed about the situation ... I need eaves to upgrade but I don't want to sell out on my portfolio.  That's when my buddy (e)LARRE from Community Team Zen brought up a very interesting strategy.  By going "dark" on my social networks for a couple days out of the week, this would cause some of my shareholders to drop my stock.  Other interested parties could then immediately snatch me up giving me an influx of funds.

The benefits of this would be two-fold .... the extra eaves in my bank account of course, but also getting rid of shareholders that weren't interested in ME and what I had to say personally via my blog and social networks.  This strategy has already been implemented and it works.

This got me thinking even further ... as I discussed a few days ago in my blog post aboutdividend gamers the way the system is set up right now high priced stocks which are highly divested get screwed financially thanks to unfair commissions charged by Empire Avenue on sales, and their shareholders also get screwed dividend wise compared with the high dividend payouts of low priced, lowly divested shares. 

In short it (currently) PAYS much better to keep your share price low.  It pays better in terms of dividends to your shareholders, controlling affordabilty of your stock, keeping your eave payouts for share buys much higher, and also giving you a life outside of social networks.

Do you see where I'm going with this?  Do I really have the time to be churning out the massive amounts of content necessary to raise share price.  Do I WANT to have to invest that time?  And for what ... so I can be mercilessly punished by the site for all that content?

No Thanks.

Quality to me is just as important as quantity ... I'd rather have one great blog post a day than 100 nonsensical tweets.  

So here is the deal.  

I am PURPOSEFULLY going to attempt to keep my share price between 35 - 45.  i will be "going dark" several days of the week in an attempt to force sell off's of my stock, while generating new revenue via buy's (thanks (e)LARRE for the strategy!) from those waiting to pick up more of me.

I think this will be an interesting experiment to see if its even possible to control stock price BY CHOICE.  Artificially manipulating my share price by on purposely going dark on my networks when my share price goes above what I am comfortable with it being.

I used to measure my success in Empire Avenue by my share price,  Now I think it's just as much about how many shareholders I have.  But a high share price affects both my affordability as well as my dividend payouts to shareholders.  

See the end game in Empire Avenue eventually is going to be about how much "reach" somebody has.  Until the developers change the current model, the best way to expand one's reach (shareholders) is to keep their share price low.  Activity does affect how much reach one has, but I believe it is entirely possible to have just as much reach and not be as active on social networks.

It will be interesting to see how this goes,

I love these live action trailers based on treasured childhood games and manga.  Halo kickstarted the trend, and now we've got one for Pokemon.  

You can watch this incredible live action trailer on youtube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDX1m0Y2Vkg&feature=player_embedded

Very Very cool.  And a hilarious take on Pokemon!

Geez the world of tie ins has reached new lows.  Behold the glorious press release!

SEE VIRTUAL WORLDS(TM) TEAMS WITH THE ESTATE OF MICHAEL JACKSON TO PUBLISH ONLINE

VIRTUAL WORLD, PLANET MICHAEL(TM)

Immense Game World to be Themed Around This Planet's Biggest Star; Will Feature 

Real-World Economy Along With Opportunities to Learn About and Contribute to Charitable

Causes

LOS ANGELES - Sept. 21, 2010 - SEE Virtual Worlds(TM), an entertainment company 

developing a virtual reality universe of connected planets tied to licensed franchises,

today announced a collaborative deal with the Michael Jackson Estate to publish 

Planet Michael(TM), a massively multiplayer online virtual world set to launch in

late 2011. Planet Michael will offer fans around the globe an innovative, first-of-its-kind

interactive gaming and social experience that truly celebrates Michael Jackson's

 extraordinary life as an artist and humanitarian.

The new planet, currently under development and slated for launch next year, will

be an immersive virtual space themed after iconic visuals drawn from Michael's music,

his life and the global issues that concerned him.  Entire continents will be created

that will celebrate Michael's unique genius in a way that underscores his place 

as the greatest artist of all time.  Michael's longtime fans will feel at home as

they find themselves in places that seem familiar and yet unknown at the same time,

and new generations will discover and experience Michael's life in a way never before

imagined.  At its core, Planet Michael is a massive social gaming experience that

will allow everyone, from the hardcore fan to the novice, to connect and engage 

in collaborative in-game activities with people worldwide.

Planet Michael is one of the first themed-planets that will be published by SEE 

Virtual Worlds for the Entropia Universe, a vast dynamic 3D environment created 

and provided to end users by MindArk PE AB.  The Entropia Universe features several

existing planets and combines a revolutionary cash economy with cutting-edge graphics.

Although Planet Michael is a free-to-download world without monthly subscription

 fees, the real world in-game economy features gameplay monetization that allows

 players to take on dozens of different occupations and in certain instances, contribute

to a charitable cause at the same time.

"When we first approached the Estate and talked about creating Planet Michael, one

of our primary goals wasto build an interactive environment where fans from all 

over the world come together to affirm Michael's life-long dedication to fostering

global friendships," said Martin Biallas, CEO of SEE Virtual Worlds. "In building

a space worthy of those global connections, we envisioned a magical, enjoyable place

that will capture that zest for fun and life that was at Michael's very core. Throughout

his extensive career, the King of Pop was well-known for his visionary contributions

to music, dance, fashion, entertainment and philanthropy, and it was critical that

we somehow incorporate all of those elements into the game."

"No artist unified the world like Michael Jackson, so it is fitting that in Planet

Michael his fans will be able to join together in such a unique way online to celebrate

his music, his artistry and his devotion to helping those in need," said John Branca,

co-executor for The Estate of Michael Jackson. "Michael was always exploring creative

new ways technology could enhance the experiences of his fans, and for that reason

we are thrilled to be working with SEE Virtual Worlds to build a global interactive

experience that befits an artist as innovative as Michael Jackson," added John McClain,

co-executor of the Estate.[/QUOTE]

More info at:  http://www.planetmichael.com/

Now normally I'm not the judgemental type.  But Planet Michael?  REALLY?   This has got to be my loluz for the week.  I bet the game will have lots of grinding ZING!

Another day another eaves.

Many new traders make the mistake of believing that the job is done once a share is purchased.  The truth of the matter is that steady portfolio growth takes effort and that effort comes in the form of careful management.

So how exactly does one manage their portfolio?

Speaking for myself I make it a point to go through my portfolio stock by stock at least two to three times a week.  Just because somebody bought 100 shares of you doesn't mean they are going to HOLD those shares for very long.

Many traders play the "buy low, sell high" game.  Newer stocks which are active (ie. you) experience large growth early on in their life.  This is brought on by a number of factors.  

1.  There are many speculators out there that will invest in a teen/20's stock hoping for a quick 5 - 10 point gain over the course of a week.  Most younger stocks experience high growth which means that investors who have bought the upgrades that allow them to buy alot of shares can purchase huge amounts of low priced stocks -- and then sell them quickly making a nice profit.

2.  Eaves are always in desperate supply whether you are a brand new stock, or an old pro in the 80's.  Low priced stocks are attractive as many of their shares can be purchased at a fraction of the cost as other stocks.  Your activity levels on your social networks are still somewhat unknown early in your stock's life (ie. nobody knows exactly how much you are going to produce in terms of daily dividend returns).  Picking up 100 - 200 shares of a low priced stock is a fairly inexpensive proposal (low risk) with the returns being very high.  If you end up being an active producer of dividends then it's a good investment for the investor.  If you end up not being an active producer, you can be sold off usually at a profit as most young stocks make it to at least 20 based on activity.

So what does this mean to you?  You will likely see large buys early on in your life at Empire Avenue.  4 - 6 point increases in one day are not uncommon.  It's crucially important that you keep track of your purchases, who is buying you and when they are selling you.  By checking your stocks daily you'll have a better idea of who has invested in you, and who was out to make a quick buck.  If you own shares of a low daily dividend performing stock, and that stock throws you under the profit bus, then you can divest yourself of their shares quickly.

Which brings me to another important point.

Empire Avenue is the type of site that attracts MANY new people.  The truth of the matter though is that not all of these people stick around.  Good portfolio management will allow you to see which stocks you own are actually still active on the site.  Those that are obviously no longer visiting Empire Avenue you can sell safely without having to worry (too much) about them making a retaliation sell on shares they own in you.  While this maneuver does carry some risk, you can easily make hundreds to thousands of eaves every couple of weeks ridding yourself of stocks that aren't going to sell off what they have bought in you.  That is eaves that can be used to invest in higher performing stocks dividends wise.

Remember Empire Avenue is one part social networking and one part a daily dividends game.  It's crucial to your financial well being eaves wise, that you keep careful track of what's happening in your portfolio.  Knowing who is performing well daily, who is not, who has sold you off, and who has become inactive on the site can earn you LOTS of eaves.  The stock ticker at the top of the page is only the beginning of your stock's story.  You are the one that will write the rest.

Another day another eaves.

Empire Avenue has a big problem right now.  I'm a fairly new trader myself and even I can see that the real eaves are to be made buying stocks priced around 20 - 45.

Currently in the game high priced stocks (50+) have typically bought upgrades to increase the amount of shares available to shareholders.  Pre Erindale update the more heavily divested a stock, the less dividends that one could make.  The developers attempted to combat this by increasing the amount of dividends paid out to shareholders.

Unfortunately it has not been enough.

Understand that there are entire communities out there in Empire Avenue whose sole purpose is to increase portfolio value via dividends.  These communities don't play based on interesting content, they don't care how many tweets somebody has made.  The only thing they care about are the dividends history of the stocks they have invested in, and those they may potentially buy in the future.

The truth of the matter is that right now the real money is in low priced stocks.  Low priced stocks offer multiple benefits ... 

1.  The owners of low priced stocks are paid more when people buy their shares.  They can in turn use those earnings to reinvest in others which creates the buyback dynamic driving up their share price -- something "dividend gamers" want to see in case they need to sell in the future.

2.  Low priced stocks tend to move quickly up in share price, sometimes by as much as 3 - 5 points a day.  This is can be caused by speculation, because the stock is cheap, worry that the stock will run out of shares ... basically alot of different factors in play.  Buying these stocks up cheap is a good investment ... especially those that perform.  Contrast that to high priced stocks (70+) which are lucky to move up a point a day if that ... and are almost always facing a decline in their stock value.  Which would you invest in?

3.  Low priced stocks are affordable.  All stocks, high priced or low are almost always perpetually facing a money crunch.  Why risk your eaves in a hugely expensive stock with little promise of return, when those same eaves can buy you a larger portion in a fast rising low priced stock?  This line of thinking goes across the board ... I would bet even high priced stocks would rather buy much lower priced stocks.  Upgrades are hugely expensive and earnings off of share purchases go way down when one's stock gets north of 60 per share.

So really you have a multifaceted issue 

a.  Dividend gamers only care about earnings and in many cases could care less about a stocks content.  Groups forming around dividend gaming are hugely popular and magnify the issue ... people will eventually gravitate where the eaves are, and right now the eaves are in either low priced stocks with huge activity producing large dividends and the other game of buying low, selling high. 

b.  Affordabilty of high priced stocks (ie. not affordable based on returns) -- no incentive to buy.  Why buy a high priced stock when low priced stock will net you a much great return in BOTH areas in point a.

c.  Game mechanics artificially financially punishing high priced stocks (who are also usually the highest content producers as well).  If I understand how it works, the higher your share price, the larger a "commission" Empire Avenue takes in eaves when people buy your shares.  The easiest way in the game to produce share gains is through buybacks.  Top producing stocks are artificially limited in their capacity to do these all important buybacks which has a ripple effect of causing people not to buy their static performing shares,

I'm not really sure what the answer is, but I think that the Erindale update had the right idea ... it just didn't go far enough.  If you want the dividend gamers to invest in high priced stocks you have to make it JUST as much worth their while to invest in high priced stocks from a dividends perspective as it is to invest in low priced stocks.  You also have to create an environment where high priced stocks can achieve the same growth as low priced stocks on a daily basis to keep the buy low sell high gamers interested as well.

Content is still king ... nobody makes it to the top without content, but the game mechanics currently hold high priced stocks back ... and that's not fair.