The market for exchange-traded funds is getting nasty. Especially for new ETFs. Carving out a niche for one is becoming increasingly difficult. There are already more than 2,000 exchange-traded products out there and the market has started to feel saturated. Only about 1 percent of new ETF proposals actually ever make it to market. And of that 1 percent that do, 10 of them flop when they get there for every one that takes off. A great concept, a clever ticker symbol and a sharp pitch -- something that’s both clear and powerful -- are crucial. So too is lining up seed capital. An ETF’s chance of success increases markedly if it comes with some initial money behind it. So, given this trend in the market, we dedicated this episode of Trillions to a competition in the Bloomberg newsroom -- a Shark Tank-esque sort of showdown -- to see who could come up with the best pitch for a new ETF.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After a fairly long period of peace in the ETF Fee War, an unprecedented outbreak occurred, which saw about 10 different issuers reducing or undercutting costs on a few dozen products, which included the first zero and negative fee ETFs.  Smaller issuers such as SoFi and Salt have participated alongside market leaders BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street. Joel and Eric are joined by Rachel Evans of Bloomberg News for a dive into this two week fee cutting frenzy to break down what it means for investors and the industry. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Winter is coming. Actually, it’s pretty much always winter for new ETFs. And on this Game of Thrones-inspired episode of Trillions, Joel and Eric look at two products that have managed to survive the brutal fee wars with their unique approaches: the VanEck Vectors Morningstar Wide Moat ETF (MOAT), which screens for "wide moat" companies, and the Invesco Shipping ETF (SEA), which tracks industrial shipping companies. VanEck's Brandon Rakszawski and Invesco's Nick Kalivas join Joel (a big GoT fan) and Eric (who's never seen an episode) to discuss the ETFs' strategies, fees, and performance -- as well as the upcoming final season of the hit show. Oh, and did we mention the dragon cameo?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The biggest exchange-traded fund conference in the world has come and gone. But we have you covered.The event, which has grown from 450 people to over 2,000 in just 12 years, featured panels, presentations and booths on everything from artificial intelligence to environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, and participants ranging from Paul Tudor Jones to Michael Lewis.Aided by select interviews, Joel and Eric discuss key takeaways from the event.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When life handed Sarah Newton lemons, she used ETFs to make lemonade. Or at least to keep herself busy. On this week's Trillions we speak to Sarah, a self-taught, do-it-yourself ETF trader who says she's still up after 6 years. She shares her fascinating story of how she got here as well as tips on trading ETFs and what areas of the market she likes for 2019.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Separating hope from hype can feel especially daunting when you look at ETF investing through an ESG (environmental, social, and governance) lens. One reason is that, while ESG draws a lot of media attention, the category itself has only drawn about $7 billion despite dozens of products and new launches. Is apathy or subjectivity the bigger culprit here? Or are investors simply befuddled by yet another acronym? This week, Joel and Eric explore ESG investing, why it matters and how to practically apply it to a portfolio using an ETF. They are joined by ESG advisor and expert Graham Sinclair as well as Matt Bartolini of SPDR, who's helped bring several ESG ETFs to market.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Now that pretty much everything has been ETF-ized here on Planet Earth, issuers are looking beyond this world into the final frontier: space. While this may sound "out there," analysts expect the industry to grow to over $3 trillion in the next 30 years. But how, exactly, do you invest in space? What do the ETFs hold? And what about aliens?  On this episode , Bloomberg News reporter Rachel Evans takes a field trip into the world of space exploration for a closer look of the nascent industry and a better understanding of the ETFs offering exposure. She joins Eric and Joel to discuss why capturing profits in space may take a long time.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this new show from Bloomberg, hosts Francesca Levy and Rebecca Greenfield navigate the productivity industry by way of their own experiences. In each episode, one of the two becomes a human guinea pig as she tries to solve a specific work-related problem. Using the advice of so-called productivity experts, the duo tackles obstacles like ineffective to-do lists, overflowing inboxes and unruly meetings. Follow along with their attempts, insights and missteps, and maybe find a solution that will work for you.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Surveys have shown that millennials are adopting ETFs at a higher percentage than any other generation, whereas baby boomers remain the lowest. To conduct their own boomer survey, Eric and Joel interview the two boomer investors they know best on this holiday-edition of Trillions: their dads. The men couldn't be more different in their experiences -- one is the ying to the other's yang -- and yet both provide some profound insights into the minds of self-taught investors. They also discuss their experiences with ETFs (one prefers power tools, the other plain-vanilla products) and share what's informed their investing philosophies over the years.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Markets no longer look quite so utopic and a new kind of reality seems to be emerging. As investors turn defensive, ETFs that would normally be ignored or rendered useless during the FANG-topia of yesteryears -- short-term debt ETFs, utilities, and low-volatility stocks -- are seeing massive inflows and staging a comeback. Joel and Eric are joined by Carolina Wilson of Bloomberg News and Tom Psarafagis of Bloomberg Intelligence to discuss these market "regime changes" and which ETFs are seeing the most action. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.