Council Post: Borderless Investing Runs On Infrastructure Many Investors Never See

A Council post argues that “borderless investing” depends less on demand and more on the infrastructure that lets trades execute reliably across markets. The author says fractional shares make international participation possible for investors who want stocks priced at hundreds of dollars, turning interest into actual orders. But holding fractional positions across multiple currencies and markets complicates dividends, corporate actions, tax reporting, and reconciliation—especially around cost-basis tracking, wash sales, and real-time transaction data for broker-dealers and clearinghouses. As firms expand globally, the operational workload grows with regulatory regimes, settlement cycles, and market structures. The post also cites a surge in extended-hours trading in the U.S., reaching 11% of equity volume by January 2025.