It is simply a way of listing the price of something in dollars and cents, with a decimal point between the two. While the conversion is going on, some stocks will quote, trade, and be reported in decimals while others will continue to use fractions. A. First and clearest is that decimal prices are easier to understand. The securities industry and regulators have been simplifying the information that investors need.
Decimal pricing is another.
Decimalization will also help U.S. markets compete with foreign exchanges, which already use decimals. Our decimalization will reduce the slight disparities that can occur when foreign securities trade in decimals in their home market and fractions on a U.S. exchange. However, countering the savings from more precise prices is that there will probably not be as much stock for sale at that more precise best price. So to get the amount of stock you want, you may have to buy additional stock at a price that is not as good as the more precise best price. A. Very little.