bubble and market collapse of 2001, the Motley Fool company removed 80% of its staff in three rounds of layoffs. It also closed its operations in Germany and Japan, which have since been re-established. Expansion In April 2002, The Motley Fool shifted to a subscription-based business model with the launch of its first subscription service for investment advice. The company launched its Stock Advisor program, offering subscribers monthly stock picks and premium investment education. The company also established free and subscription-based businesses in several countries. As of 2019, The Motley Fool has operations in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Germany, and Japan. In October 2019, the company announced that it was shutting down operations in Singapore. A year later, in October 2020, the company announced that it was also shutting down operations in Hong Kong. In August 2018, the company launched a personal-finance sub-brand called The Ascent to provide personal finance product reviews and free educational resources. In September 2019, the Motley Fool launched two more sub-brands. Millionacres provides subscription-based real estate investing advice and real estate resources. On September 17, 2019, the Motley Fool launched its app, Investor Island. Investor Island is a real-time strategy board game based on investing. Players compete online to destroy each other's bases and gain a monopoly. Players collect stocks that reflect actual market data and give players money based on historical actions in the stock market. The Motley Fools claims that "everyone might just learn a little about the power of investing in the stock market" after playing their game. Investor Island is available on the iOS Appstore. Legislative efforts Representatives of The Motley Fool have testified before Congress against mutual fund fees in support of fair financial disclosure on the Enron scandal and the IPO process. In 1999, the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed Regulation Fair Disclosure, which would require companies to simultaneously give vital information to Wall Street analysts and the public. In December 1999, Motley Fool author Bill Barker wrote an article telling readers to post comments on the SEC's website. The regulation passed, and in the July 2, 2001, edition of The Wall Street Journal, former SEC chairman Arthur Levitt is quoted saying, "Two-thirds of our letters came from Fools. Without them, Reg FD would not have happened". See also Investopedia Seeking Alpha Totalise plc v Motley Fool Ltd Wall Street Survivor References External links 1993 establishments in Virginia