Jim Cantalupo is the co-founding partner of The CBC Group as well as the Managing Director and Senior Resident Director of the Ballantyne office in Charlotte, North Carolina. As a Private Wealth Advisor, who has been in the financial services industry since 1988, Jim is proficient in creating customized planning strategies for wealthy families, senior executive, and business owners. His focus on The CBC Group is trusts, estate planning services, and executive compensation.

Jim was born and raised in Union, New Jersey. Actively involved in scouting growing up, he attained the rank of Eagle Scout in 1982. In high school, Jim received the outstanding CFO award, a national program administered by the Junior Achievement organization. He completed his undergraduate degree at the University of South Carolina. He is also a graduate of the Cannon Trust School and obtained his CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification in June 2003. Jim is also a graduate from the Executive Leadership Program from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University, and the Yale School of Management.

Jim is actively involved in the community, formally serving on the local Board of Trustees and Vice Chairman of the National Board of Directors for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Jim currently serves on the board as President of the Charlotte Soccer Academy, the largest non-profit competitive youth soccer club in North Carolina. Jim and his wife Joanie, daughter Julia, and son J. Connor live in Charlotte. In his spare time Jim enjoys traveling, playing golf, and collecting wine.



*Trust, fiduciary, and investment management services are provided by Bank of America, N.A., Member FDIC, and wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation (“BofA Corp.”), and its agents.

Thomas J. Berger is the co-founding partner of The CBC Group, and a Senior Vice President and Wealth Management Advisor at Merrill. Tom has been in the financial services industry since 1982, and after spending 10 years in small business banking, he joined Merrill in 1993. As a Wealth Management Advisor, Tom focuses on the development of custom portfolios and strategies to enable our clients to reach their financial and life goals. As the team's in house portfolio manager Tom also oversees a proprietary stock portfolio and leads the team's monthly investment roundtable discussions. 


Tom was born in Savannah, Georgia, the eldest of three children and grew up mostly in South Carolina. By the time he graduated from High School, he had been named a National Merit Finalist, an Eagle Scout, a marginal athlete, and a professional musician. Tom attended Wofford College in Spartanburg, SC, where he excelled academically, majoring in Economics. Upon graduation, began his career in banking, culminating as Regional Vice President of CorEast Savings Bank of Virginia (now part of BB&T). In 2004, he obtained his Certified Investment Management Analyst® certification sponsored by the Investments & Wealth Institute™ (The Institute) at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.


Tom is active in his community, formerly serving on the Board of Directors of Girl Scouts, Hornet’s Nest Council, and as a financial counselor for Habitat for Humanity. He has also been involved in the music ministry at St. Matthew Catholic Church, and as a volunteer within his children’s schools. Tom is currently a Board Member of Alzheimer’s Association of Western North Carolina, which provides research funding, as well as support to those suffering from the disease. He also remains active in music performance. Tom is married to Cari, and is the father of three children, Anna, Davis, and John, and they live in Charlotte.


*A Portfolio Manager can help clients pursue their objectives by managing on a discretionary basis his own Personalized or Defined Strategies, which may incorporate individual stocks and bonds, Merrill model portfolios, and third-party investment strategies.

David has been in the financial services industry and Merrill Lynch Wealth Management since 1995 and obtained both his CIMA® and C(k)P® designations. In 2017 he was named to the Financial Times Top 401 Retirement Advisors list. He was born and raised in Parsippany, New Jersey and graduated from the University of South Carolina with a double major in Accounting and Finance. David began his career in the audit area with Arthur Young (now Ernst & Young) and then served as a Divisional Controller for several southeastern companies. He is actively involved in his community serving on the Board of Directors for the Ronald McDonald House of Charlotte. He is married to his wife Sherry of 25 years, and they have three children, Kandice, Olivia and son Brooks. David is actively involved in his church and in his spare time enjoys working out and spending time with his family.

*Merrill, its affiliates, and financial advisors do not provide legal, tax, or accounting advice. You should consult your legal and/or tax advisors before making any financial decisions.

**Source: The Financial Times "Top 401 Retirement Plan Advisers" list (FT 401) is an independent listing produced by the Financial Times (September 2017). The FT 401 is based on data gathered from financial advisors, regulatory disclosures, and the FT's research. The listing reflects each advisor's status in seven primary areas, including Defined Contribution (DC) plan assets under management, growth in DC plan business, specialization in DC plan business, and other factors. This award does not evaluate the quality of services provided to clients and is not indicative of this advisor's future performance. Neither the advisors nor their parent firms pay a fee to Financial Times in exchange for inclusion in the FT 401. The ranking or ratings shown here may not be representative of all client experiences because they reflect an average or sampling of the client experiences. These rankings or ratings are not indicative of any future performance or investment outcome.