Apple shares trade at over $200 each. NVIDIA has traded above $130. A single share of Amazon costs over $220. For many investors, these prices felt out of reach. Fractional shares changed everything and here is exactly how they work.

What Are Fractional Shares?

A fractional share is exactly what it sounds like: a fraction a piece of a single share of stock. Instead of needing enough money to buy a whole share, fractional share investing allows you to invest any dollar amount in any company and own a proportional slice of that share.

If Apple is trading at $220 per share and you invest $11, you own 0.05 of a share or 5% of one share. You receive 5% of any dividends Apple declares. If Apple's share price rises 10% to $242, your $11 investment is worth $12.10. Your investment grows exactly proportionally to a full shareholder, you simply own a smaller piece of the same company.

Why Fractional Shares Matter for Saudi and GCC Investors

Before fractional shares became widely available, building a diversified portfolio of high-quality US stocks was a capital-intensive exercise. A balanced portfolio of just 10 US tech companies at full-share prices could easily require $2,000-$3,000 or more to get started with even minimal positions.

Fractional shares fundamentally changed this. Today, a Saudi investor with 200 SAR (~$53) can own stakes in Apple, NVIDIA, Microsoft, and Amazon simultaneously all in a single morning, from their phone, through a regulated platform like Raseed.

This democratisation of investing is particularly powerful for three groups of investors:

  • Beginners who want to start small and learn without committing large capital to a single position.

  • Regular investors who want to invest a fixed amount each month, regardless of current share prices enabling perfect dollar-cost averaging.

  • Diversification-focused investors who want broad exposure across many companies without needing thousands of dollars per position.

Real Examples: What $100 Can Buy With Fractional Shares

Here is what a $100 investment through fractional shares could look like in practice for a GCC investor using Raseed (prices approximate as of March 2026):

  • $25 in Apple (AAPL) at ~$220/share = approximately 0.114 shares

  • $25 in NVIDIA (NVDA) at ~$120/share = approximately 0.208 shares

  • $25 in Microsoft (MSFT) at ~$400/share = approximately 0.063 shares

  • $25 in Broadcom (AVGO) at ~$200/share = approximately 0.125 shares

With $100, you now have exposure to four of the most strategically important technology companies in the world. Each of those positions grows with the respective company's performance. You own real equity in these businesses — not a derivative, not a copy, but an actual ownership stake.

How Fractional Shares Work: The Mechanics

Ownership Rights

When you own a fractional share, you have proportional ownership of the underlying stock. This means you receive a proportional share of any cash dividends the company pays. If Apple declares a $0.25 dividend per share and you own 0.10 shares, you receive $0.025 in your account.

Price Movement

Your fractional position moves exactly in line with the full share price. If the stock rises 10%, your fractional position rises 10%. If it falls 5%, your fractional position falls 5%. There is no discount or premium on fractional performance.

Selling

You can sell your fractional shares at any time during market hours, just like a full share. Your fractional position will be liquidated at the current market price, and the proceeds credited to your account.

Are Fractional Shares Halal?

From a Shariah perspective, fractional shares are generally considered permissible by Islamic finance scholars. You are purchasing genuine partial ownership of a real company — not a synthetic instrument or derivative. The same Shariah screening criteria that apply to full shares apply to fractional shares. If the underlying company is Shariah-compliant, fractional ownership of that company is equally compliant.

Read More - How to Build a Passive Income Portfolio in Saudi Arabia: A Step-by-Step Guide for 2026

How to Buy Fractional Shares on Raseed

  1. Open the Raseed app and search for any US stock you want to invest in.

  2. Select the stock and tap 'Buy.'

  3. Enter a dollar amount rather than a number of shares for example, type '$10' to invest ten dollars.

  4. Raseed will show you exactly how many fractional shares your $10 buys at the current price.

  5. Confirm your order. Your fractional shares are immediately reflected in your portfolio.

Minimum investment on Raseed: $1. Trading fees for stock purchases: from $0.50, capped at $3 per transaction regardless of the dollar amount invested. This means the fee structure is identical whether you are investing $1 or $1,000.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only. All investments carry risk. Past performance is not indicative of future results.