Citadel Alum Barker Raises $3.5 Billion for Anti-Pod Shop (2)

Citadel veteran Todd Barker conveys a key message when meeting with prospective investors for his new hedge fund firm: We’re the anti-pod shop.

Freestone Grove Partners, which will debut in January with $3.5 billion in commitments, will be different from other multimanager firms, Barker and co-founding partner Daniel Morillo told clients, according to people familiar with the matter.

The firm is the latest in a flurry of new multimanager hedge funds, known in the industry as pod shops, which divvy up money across dozens or hundreds of teams with different specialties.

In launching their fund, the duo — who spent ...