ETFs compete with just about everything, including mutual funds, options, derivatives, and even single security investing. Another competitor is direct indexing, which means investing in a customized portfolio directly -- bypassing the fund's "wrapper" altogether. 

On this week’s Trillions, Joel and Eric sit down with Brian Langstraat, the CEO of Parametric, the largest direct indexing provider. He explains what direct indexing is, who it's best for, what the benefits and drawbacks are, and why it isn’t really an “ETF killer,” as some have claimed. Morgan Barna of Bloomberg Intelligence joins the discussion as well.