Our Team

Our Team

Kevin L. Davenport, AIF®

Principal and Wealth Advisor

“I do what I do because I love to help people reach their life goals through financial planning,” says Kevin Davenport, founder of Davenport Wealth Management, a boutique firm based in Cleveland, Ohio. “What I find rewarding is when someone shares their dreams with me, and our team helps them develop and execute a plan to realize their personal vision.”

Kevin’s interest in finance and wealth as a way to help people started early, with an accounting class in high school. “We played the stock market game to learn some of the basics and I really got into it,” he says. “It got me thinking about how people can use wealth building to go places in life.”

He continued that focus at Baldwin Wallace University, where he majored in business administration and played on the football team. “But really the best thing to happen to me at BW—other than meeting my incredible wife, Christie—was tearing my ACL my sophomore year,” says Kevin. “It may seem strange to say that—but I wasn’t going to the NFL, and being off the field really allowed me to become laser focused on my professional passions.”

While still at BW, Kevin completed internships with National City Bank (now PNC), Merrill Lynch, and Northwestern Mutual. After graduating, he joined one of the big financial firms, where he pushed to diversify the firm’s core focus on insurance products by building his own financial advisory practice. Kevin was interested in a strategic, diversified approach to wealth building that aligned with his clients’ personal goals and unique situations. “A comprehensive plan that brings clarity to your financial goals helps create order and gives people a sense of confidence to pursue their goals,” says Kevin.

Kevin’s work paid off, and the firm’s advisory business took off, with clients choosing to entrust their financial resources to Kevin’s guidance. But after more than 15 years in the business, he was chafing at the big-firm approach. “I just eventually came to the conclusion that I needed to realize my vision and establish my own culture for service—in my eyes, clients are relationships, not transactions,” Kevin says. “I wanted my firm to be independent and free to act in our clients' best interests, without any pressure to meet sales goals. So that is how Davenport Wealth Management was born—on a foundation of client service and relationships.”

Kevin’s loyalty has paid off, with clients following him to Davenport Wealth Management when he founded the firm in 2013. Kevin has continued to pursue his passion to great success. His past clients came with him, and he continued to add new ones, while recruiting other wealth advisors to join his team as the client base grew.

But for Kevin, the reward has stayed the same. “I’ve been at this for 20 years now, so I’ve had the opportunity to see clients send their children and grandchildren to college and watch them go confidently into retirement and do the things they’ve been dreaming of their entire working career,” says Kevin. “Knowing that we played a part in it—that’s an incredible feeling.”

Away from work, Kevin and Christie enjoy spending time with their dog, McDuff, in the Metroparks Rocky River Reservation, near their home in Berea.

Designations and registrations:

  • Accredited Investment Fiduciary® (AIF®)
  • FINRA Series 6, 7, 63, and 66 securities registrations (held through Commonwealth Financial Network®)
  • Life and health insurance licenses

Manny Dela Cerna

Senior Wealth Management Associate

“I’m passionate about investing for the future,” says Emmanuel “Manny” Dela Cerna, Senior Wealth Management Associate with Davenport Wealth Management. This passion was something that Manny discovered after beginning his college career studying bio-chem with the intention of becoming a pharmacist. He had the academic chops to do the work, and knew it was meaningful. “But I just did not find personal inspiration—and that’s when I discovered financial planning.” 

Manny was working his way through college delivering pizzas and hustling to make his dollars stretch. He knew how hard it was to earn those funds, and became interested in how to make his money work for him. He began to invest any extra cash he was able to set aside, and began listening to a podcast on financial planning. “And I got hooked.”

Soon, Manny had listened to hours of podcasts on the financial planning field while out making deliveries, and began to investigate what a career in the profession might look like. One day while out with his family after church, Manny saw two grandparents taking their grandchildren out to eat at a local restaurant, and he had a vision for what he wanted to achieve. “I realized that was something that I could help others with—putting them in a position to build wealth for their families and pass that on to help the next generation. From that moment on, I was completely dedicated to this career path.”

Fortunately for him, The University of Akron just happened to be ranked 11th nationally for financial planning instruction. The program was also able to connect Manny to Kevin Davenport and Davenport Wealth Management, where he began to intern—an experience that was transformational. “I have learned so much from Kevin and the Davenport team. From the passion he has for the work to the way he treats his clients, it really was incredible and lined up with what I wanted to achieve as a financial planner.”

After finishing his BA in business administration with a BBA in financial planning, Manny joined Davenport Wealth Management full-time as an analyst. In his role, he supports Kevin with research and analysis to position client portfolios based on their unique goals and situations. “I really enjoy working with the clients and it’s so rewarding to see them meet their goals. It’s exactly why I chose this career.”

In 2020, Manny passed his CFP® exam, and his personal goal is to become a lead advisor in the next 5 to 10 years. “I still have some learning to do with Kevin, but I’m excited about the future.”