Fractional share investing is gaining traction By Opinion By Anna Rich Six-and-a-half years ago, when the Purple Groupâs Easyequities online share investment platform launched, there were 280 000 retail investor accounts on the JSE. âThis figure provides some context to our growth in retail investors over this period,â says Purple Group chief executive Charles Savage. âAcross the platform, we have 380 000 unique investors who manage 500 000 accounts.â In general, barriers to investing in equities include the price of shares and the minimum investment amounts required by institutions. In addition to the option of investing in complete shares, Easyequities offers its own form of fractional share investing. Fractional investing means that those who cannot afford to buy a whole share are now able to invest. This technique is democratising investment, and enables greater diversification.