If you see Apple’s stock price, currently over $250 per share, and think, “I can’t afford that,” you’re not alone. That single thought keeps a lot of new investors stuck on the sidelines.
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Here’s the truth; You don’t need to buy a whole share of Apple stock. Thanks to something called “fractional shares,” you can begin with as little as a few dollars. Yes, this means you can own part of one of the most valuable companies in the world without saving up thousands first.
This simple $50 trick is one of the easiest ways to start growing your money, even if you’re new to investing. Let’s walk through how fractional shares work, which brokerages offer them, and how to buy your first piece of Apple stock today.
What Are Fractional Shares?
In the past, you could only buy stocks in whole shares. If Apple’s stock price was $230, you needed at least $230 to buy just one share. That left a lot of beginners out.
Fractional shares completely changed that. Now, most modern investing apps let you buy a portion of a share based on how much money you want to invest.
For example, if Apple is trading at $230 and you invest $50, you would own about 0.217 shares. You get the same potential for price growth and dividends, just in proportion to your investment.
It’s the simplest way for beginners to start investing in high-quality companies without feeling priced out.
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The Best Places to Buy Fractional Shares of Apple Stock
Not every brokerage offers fractional shares, but many of the most beginner-friendly ones do. Here are some of the best options:
- Fidelity: You can start with as little as $1 and there are no trading fees. Fidelity is known for reliability and ease of use.
- SoFi Invest: SoFi’s app makes it easy to buy fractional shares by choosing how many dollars you want to invest. You can start with just $5.
- Robinhood: Robinhood popularized commission-free trading and also offers fractional shares starting at $1.
- Charles Schwab: Their “Stock Slices” program lets you buy fractions of S&P 500 companies, including Apple, starting at $5.
If you already use one of these platforms, you’re ready to go. If not, opening an account takes only a few minutes online.
How to Buy Your First Fractional Share of Apple
Here’s the process step-by-step, using Fidelity as an example.
- Open a brokerage account that offers fractional shares.
- Deposit $50 from your bank account.
- Search for Apple’s ticker symbol, “AAPL.”
- Choose the option to “Buy in Dollars” instead of “Buy in Shares.”
- Enter $50 and place your order.
You’ll now own part of Apple. Your account will show something like “0.217 shares of AAPL,” and your investment will grow or shrink along with the stock price.
What $50 in Apple Could Become
Let’s do a little math. Over the last decade, Apple’s stock has returned roughly 18% annually when you include splits and dividends. That’s not guaranteed in the future, but it helps illustrate the potential.
If you invested $50 a month in Apple for 10 years and the stock earned a 10% average annual return, you’d end up with about $9,540. You would have contributed $6,000, meaning you earned about $3,500 in the investment.
If you doubled your monthly investment to $100, you’d have close to $19,000 after ten years. The numbers grow even more when you invest for longer periods of time.
The point is not to make a fortune overnight, but to build a habit of consistent investing and let compound growth do its work.
Why Starting Small Works
The biggest benefit of fractional investing is that it gets you started. Once you make your first purchase, you stop being a spectator and start learning how the market behaves.
You’ll see how prices move, how dividends work, and how small contributions can add up. That experience builds confidence and helps you grow into a more capable investor over time.
The first $50 matters more than you think. Every experienced investor started with a small first step, and this could be yours.
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There are limitations with fractional shares to consider before investing. During market hours fractional share orders are transmitted immediately in the order received. There may be system delays from receipt of your order until execution and market conditions may adversely impact execution prices. Outside of market hours orders are received on a not held basis and will be aggregated for each security then executed in the morning trade window of the next business day at market open. Share will be delivered at an average price received for executing the securities through a single batched order. Fractional shares may not be transferred to another firm. Fractional shares will be sold when a transfer or closure request is initiated. Please consider that selling securities is a taxable event.
INVESTMENTS ARE NOT FDIC INSURED • ARE NOT BANK GUARANTEED • MAY LOSE VALUE
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: The $50 Trick That Lets You Own Enough Apple Stock to Really Grow Your Money
