James M. Wood Jr., CPWA®

First Vice President & Wealth Management Advisor
The Wood/Cuesta Group of Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated 
2023 Forbes “Best-in-State Wealth Management Teams”

Jim Wood is a third generation Merrill Lynch financial advisor and a native Arizonan. He graduated magna cum laude in journalism and mass communications from Arizona State University and began his career with Merrill Lynch in Phoenix in 2008. He joined the Wood Group in 2014, where he enjoys helping people achieve their financial goals. 

“I am with them every step of the process in creating wealth for their loved ones,” Wood said. “I love seeing people leave a legacy for their kids and grandkids.”

The father of two leverages a love of family into community service with Rotary Club of Tucson and board memberships with Father’s Day Council Tucson,  Breakfast Club of Tucson, DM50 and Caballeros del Sol. 

He calls Tucson a “city full of connections where a handshake means something.”

“I make the joke about the saying, ‘Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon’ in Hollywood. In Tucson, it’s ’Two Degrees of Kevin Bacon.’ If you meet someone and don’t know that person, you can find someone who can connect you.”