Hollywood Zenith

Chapter 523 Annual Meeting-1

" Good evening. I know I haven't been paying attention to the business side of things, but I have been regularly reading your report. I have a general understanding of what's going on, but I still wanted to hold an official meeting." Samuel looked across the room, looking at his employee's faces.

He remembered when there were only a few key personnel in his business empire, but now it's ballooned to a couple dozen. If he counted a few large investors that he didn't invite today, it would easily reach a hundred critical personals.

" Some of you had to rush to the country, and I am thankful for that, but this meeting is like a tradition and a time when you can interact with each other freely. Alright, enough pleasantries; first, I would like to hear what the firm is doing." He motioned toward Abigail and her team.

" I would like to begin by saying that none of this were to happen without everyone present here. I had the pleasure of interacting with everyone here under different circumstances, and I know for sure they are best in their fields." She was overly formal for some reason.

Samuel looked around to see people were looking at her with admiration. He didn't know what was happening, but he decided not to ask about it in public. It was a good thing that they relied upon Abigail because she was the literal lifeline for all his companies.

" We have diversified our investment further into new markets. With excess funds collected during the market crash and our timing to hold them not investing like other giants, we had too much cash flow sitting around." She walked toward the projector screen. It seemed like she came well prepared even when Samuel called for the meeting out of the blue.

" First, the real estate market, many people were not optimistic after the crash, but under the leadership of our boss, we went ahead and scooped up a lot of properties with a total cost of about three billion dollars!"

" That much?"

" What if it falls down further? It's only been a year, and everyone is still dealing with the aftermath."

" Alright, quiet down. Let her explain." Samuel interjected.

" Thank you. Contrary to everyone's prediction, since we captured the market at the bottom, it has already started to show signs of uptrend. But we are not holding properties for the long run; it's been done to stimulate the Western economy while making small profit."

" Why?"

" That's because we can't make money out of people's misery. If we hoard the market for too long, common people will start to rally against our company, giving our competitor a chance to retaliate, too." Abigail answered to the one who raised the question.

" But we can gain more profit if we hold it for a few more months. It shouldn't hurt anyone, right?" It was a valid question.

" It's risky; we did gain significantly because I prioritize buying what we rented before. We were able to get those properties at dirt-cheap prices directly from the mortgage lenders. Due to our large order and our willingness to pay in full, they even gave us a massive discount."

" She is right; we can debate what's right and wrong for hours, but it was a right move in my eyes. Is there something else you have to report?" Samuel asked, axing the whole conversation.

" No, I will let Manan tell you about our fund situation." She said. Manan stood up and took the stage.

" First, I would like to report that our assets under management exceeded half a trillion dollars last week." Everyone clapped hearing about it. It was another large milestone, and it only took them a decade to achieve it.

" Thank you, thank you. Of those assets, the company's personal assets account for thirty percent, which means that we would have exceeded one hundred and fifty billion if we pulled every company and subsidiary under Alphabet Group!" Another set of cheer filled the meeting room.

" Good work." Samuel also gave his rare compliments.

" We decided to open a dozen more funds for the public. It's still in the planning phase, but soon we will join the trillion-dollar club! Moving on, we also started a niche business of helping other investors by starting our very own online business." Manan smiled and looked around to see the anticipation in everyone's eyes.

" It's a subscription-based service, and we plan to provide raw data based on their tier of subscription. It will be a stock analysis that includes anything from bonds to commodities. Everything will be divided so the users can choose what they want sector they want to subscribe to."

" Isn't that giving away our trading strategies to our competitors?" Someone asked.

" It will not be that in-depth, and it definitely will not be investing advice. It's only some data we collect when we decide to invest in something. Just an impartial overview of whatever they are interested in."

Samuel was surprised; he didn't give them any direction, but they were able to figure out a completely different solution to utilize their piled data to make money. He still remembered when he had to give specific directions for them to invest in, but now they were courageous enough to spread their wings and make interesting decisions.

" Actually, it is not my idea. It was Marilyn who came up with it, and we decided to go forward with it. The beta test shows that there is a huge demand for it in the market. Especially novice investors that are just getting into the stock market without any guidance."

" Oh? It was Marilyn; that's a surprise." Samuel commented.

" Why? She is one of my best pupils. Don't underestimate her capabilities." Abigail backed her up in public.

" I know, which is why I gave her an important task. Marilyn, did you manage to acquire Webvan that I asked you to?"

" Yes, boss!" She stood up with a beaming face. She wasn't sure if Samuel remembered asking her about it, but she did her best and acquired the business at a dirt price due to the market crash.

" For how much?"

" Just under ten million dollars. They didn't want to let go of the company and asked for a hundred million at first, but I was able to persuade them with the help of Mr Andrew! I want to give half of its credit to him!"

Andrew, who was sitting on the side with a small smile on his face, immediately went into distress mode when he heard his name. In reality, he didn't do much; he just sat in the business meeting while looking at the other party with menacing eyes! It's not his fault that he has a scary face!

" Mr Walker, huh? How are you, by the way? I have been hearing a few interesting things about you." Samuel said seriously while putting his hand on the table.