Ex-Bear CEO Schwartz Lands at Guggenheim

Alan Schwartz, the charismatic investment banker who led Bear Stearns in its final weeks, is headed to Guggenheim Partners, the New York-based firm announced Tuesday.

Guggenheim is best known as an investment house, but the hire of Schwartz as executive chairman suggests it is serious about trying to grow its investment banking and capital raising businesses. A company spokesman says all these businesses have been part of the mix since the firm got its start 10 years ago.

Prior to joining Guggenheim, Schwartz turned down a job offer at JPMorgan Chase (JPM Quote), which bought Bear as the firm teetered on the brink of collapse in March 2008, and was variously rumored to be headed to Goldman Sachs (GS Quote) and Credit Suisse (CS Quote).

His impressive client list includes Microsoft (MSFT Quote), Verizon Communication (VZ Quote) and Disney (DIS Quote) .