Trading Startup, Robinhood Launches Fractional Share Purchases On Its App

Today, stock trading app, Robinhood revealed that its users will be able to invest in fractional shares through its app. The company is known to be a commission-free brokerage company and this move is expected to further intensify competition in the online discount brokerage market.

With this new feature in place, users of Robinhood will be able to invest as low as $1 and  will be able to buy a fraction of a share of big companies like Amazon.com Inc., Apple Inc. and Walt Disney Co.

Having being founded in 2013, the company's valuation has risen to a $7.6bn (according to a report in July) having won over investors on its trading services, which give users the chance to invest in US and global stocks such as Amazon, Apple and Nike without having to pay a fee. The no-fee trading app of Robinhood was launched in 2015 and has proved to be popular among millennials in the United States, where it has grown rapidly and has six million users.

The Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Robinhood, Vlad Tenev said in an interview that the company hopes the new feature will make it easier for more people to start investing.

This new offering of Robinhood is coming two weeks after United States broker Charles Schwab Corp. confirmed entering into an agreement to acquire its rival TD Ameritrade.

Last week, Investing Port reported about the launch of Robinhood in the United Kingdom, which was its first launch outside the United States.