Core Insights - The article emphasizes that potential investors do not need to buy whole shares of expensive stocks like Apple, as fractional shares allow investment with smaller amounts of money [2][4]. Group 1: Understanding Fractional Shares - Fractional shares enable investors to buy portions of a share based on their investment amount, making it accessible for beginners who may feel priced out by high stock prices [4][5]. - For instance, investing $50 in Apple stock priced at $230 would yield approximately 0.217 shares, allowing investors to benefit from price growth and dividends proportionally [5]. Group 2: Brokerage Options for Fractional Shares - Not all brokerages offer fractional shares, but many beginner-friendly platforms do, such as Fidelity, SoFi Invest, Robinhood, and Charles Schwab [6][8]. - Fidelity allows starting investments as low as $1 with no trading fees, while SoFi requires a minimum of $5, and Robinhood also starts at $1 [8]. Group 3: Steps to Purchase Fractional Shares - The process to buy fractional shares includes opening a brokerage account, depositing funds, searching for Apple's ticker symbol "AAPL," and selecting the option to buy in dollars rather than shares [9][10].