New Delhi, Aug. 18 -- What if you could trade like US President Donald Trump, but without having to make thousands of bets yourself? In 2025, Trump's 21,000 trades have drawn massive attention, not just for the scale but also possibly because of the strategy his team uses - direct investing. The approach allows investors to build a customised portfolio that mirrors an index while potentially cutting their tax bill.

Direct indexing grew to $864 billion in assets as of the end of 2024, according to Cerulli Associates, more than double its size in 2020

Alex Michalka, vice president of investment research at Wealthfront, which credits itself with coining the term "direct indexing" in 2012 and oversees $99 billion in client assets, told Busi...