Cantella's History

The roots of Cantella perhaps start with the valuable lessons taught to a child by his parents. In the early 1900s, Michele Cantella, a Sicilian immigrant and father of our founder, Vincent Cantella, came to Boston in search of the American Dream. Along with two other partners, he founded a small pasta company called the Prince Macaroni and Manufacturing Company. Initially, locals living in the North End could purchase hand-made pasta from a tiny storefront on Prince Street, hence the name. Michele and others would make the pasta in the back of the facility while his wife handled sales. Business grew as many area restaurants started serving Prince products. Prince then became a staple in grocery stores throughout New England. Some of you raised in the Northeast may still remember the black and white commercials featuring a mother yelling "Anthony" to little Anthony Martignetti to come home for dinner with the tag line, "Wednesday is Prince Spaghetti Day."

Michele's entrepreneurial drive was passed on to his son Vincent. He returned from World War II after serving in the Marines and was bedridden for a number of years. A truly driven personality who wanted to chart his own course, Vincent overcame his illness and founded Cantella in 1952. The firm has come a long way from its start when Vincent would walk up and down countless flights of stairs in downtown Boston to discuss with business owners the benefits of owning the George Putnam Fund. After joining the Boston and New York Stock Exchange, Cantella focused on the institutional market, handling American trading for Nomura, Yaimichi, Nikko, New Japan and Daiwa Securities. Vincent served as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Boston Stock Exchange, yet remained a champion of the small business owner, handling the clearing for many small mom-and-pop broker/dealers. Today, the company has evolved to provide service and support for independently-owned branches.

Our company history is a case study in the American Dream; the entrepreneur helping others become entrepreneurs. The family tradition continues on to a new generation as some of our branch owners bring their children into the financial services industry with the dream of one day owning their own branch.

Contact Information

Cantella & Co., Inc.
28 State Street 40th Floor
Boston, MA 02109
(800) 333-3502
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