Recently, I found that many small investors are discussing fractional share investing, but the most common problem everyone encounters is that fractional shares can't be sold during trading hours. I’ve also tried a few times myself, and gradually figured out some tips.

First, let’s talk about what fractional shares are. The minimum trading unit for regular stocks is one lot, which is 1,000 shares. But sometimes, due to unfilled orders or stock dividends, fractional shares are created. These are fractional shares. For fractional share trading, the maximum order per transaction is 999 shares, with a minimum of 1 share.

Regarding trading hours, this is very important. The Taiwan Stock Exchange opened intraday fractional share trading in 2020, changing the previous restriction of only being able to trade after hours. Now, you can place orders starting at 9:00 AM, with intraday trading until 1:30 PM, and after-hours trading from 1:40 PM to 2:30 PM. But note that during trading hours, only electronic orders are allowed, meaning you must place orders through your broker’s app. If your order doesn’t execute during trading hours, the system won’t automatically carry it over to after-hours; you need to resubmit the order.

I’ve experienced situations where fractional shares couldn’t be sold during trading hours. I bought 700 shares of a less popular stock, but no one would match my order during the day. Later, I learned that for less popular stocks, fractional trading volume is naturally low, making matching difficult. At such times, a useful trick called “convert fractional to whole” is to buy an additional 300 shares to make a full lot of 1,000 shares, then sell using whole shares, which improves liquidity significantly.

Regarding transaction fees, the calculation method for fractional shares is the same as for whole shares: 0.1425% of the transaction amount. However, each broker sets a minimum fee, usually starting at 1 NT dollar, and online orders often have discounts. For example, if you buy 200 shares of TSMC at a closing price of 1065 NT dollars, the fee would be about 303 NT dollars; with a 50% discount, it’s only around 150 NT dollars. But be aware that if the purchase amount is too small, the fee proportion becomes high. It’s generally recommended to buy at least 10,000 NT dollars worth of shares at a time.

As for after-hours trading, a trick is if you really want to buy a certain stock, you can place a buy order at the limit price of the daily limit (limit-up price), because after 2:30 PM, only one matching occurs, and the system prioritizes the best price with the highest volume. Conversely, if you want to quickly sell fractional shares, place a sell order at the limit-down price; this maximizes the chance of execution.

Honestly, fractional share investing has its pros and cons. The advantage is low capital requirement—starting with just 1,000 NT dollars—making it suitable for dollar-cost averaging. But the drawbacks are obvious: poor liquidity, relatively high fees, and frequent situations where fractional shares can’t be sold during trading hours, sometimes requiring waiting until the next day or using other strategies. Also, fractional share trading is time-limited; missing the day means you might need to re-enter the order.

If you’re still troubled by liquidity issues in fractional share trading, you might consider other small-investment options. But regardless of the method you choose, the most important thing is to understand your risk tolerance, learn basic investment analysis, and maintain a rational investment mindset. Fractional share trading is suitable for long-term investors, but if you want more flexible short-term trading, you may need to explore other options.