Confined to their desks in the midst of the global pandemic, former Citadel traders Niall O’Keeffe and Tio Charbaghi made the rounds on video calls to woo investors for their new hedge fund.

It should have been a hard sell. The price tag was high for a fledgling fund — a 20% cut of profits on top of a hefty 2% annual fee. The investment style, betting on rising and falling stocks, was out of vogue with investors. The pitch was uncompromising: take it or leave it.