Fidelity Broadens Fractional-Share Feature to Financial Advisers

(Bloomberg) -- Fidelity Investments, one of the world’s biggest money managers, will allow financial advisers to buy fractional shares of stocks and exchange-traded funds, a year after offering the feature to individual investors. 

 “It’s a first step in a really big commitment we have to offer greater personalization tools for financial advisers,” Matt Goulet, Fidelity’s senior vice president of portfolio solutions, said in an interview.

Allowing clients to own fractional shares has contributed to a retail-trading boom at online brokerages including Fidelity, Charles Schwab Corp. and Robinhood Markets Inc. Boston-based Fidelity, with $11.1 trillion of assets under administration at midyear, is rolling out the capability to financial advisers this month, the company said in an emailed statement. 

It may be especially appealing to customers with smaller accounts, helping advisers better maintain balance and diversity of investments while mitigating the risk of holding too much of a particular security. 

Read more: What Are Fractional Shares? A Guide to the Cheapest Way to Buy Stock

The appeal of investing in small-dollar increments has grown along with the popularity of commission-free trading. Fidelity’s fractional share orders will be placed in real time, according to the statement.

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