The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that with fractional share trading, anyone can buy any stock at any time during hours when the stock market is open. The Globe's Rob Carrick writes that beyond that qualification, fractional stock trading is a democratizing force in investing. Investors with $10, $20 or however much can buy a slice of stocks such as Apple, Shopify and exchange-traded funds such as the Vanguard Growth ETF Portfolio. TD Bank offers fractional trades through Direct Investing and the TD Easy Trade app, which is aimed at younger investors. TD Direct charges $1.99 for trades of less than one share, compared with its regular charge of $9.99. TD Easy Trade offers 50 free trades each year and these can be fractional or for full shares. About 3,400 Toronto- and U.S.-listed stocks are available for fractional trading, and the minimum order is $1 or 0.00001 share. TD's fractional share trades are executed in real time during regular market hours; fractional DRIPs are not yet available. The bank says fractional trading adoption has been strongest among younger clients and those using TD EasyTrade. Meanwhile, Interactive Brokers offers 2,785 Canadian and 10,410 U.S. stocks on a fractional basis.