Let me tell you a secret: This is my second time turning 40. Any of you who have met me already know this, I'm sure. But editing a magazine as it enters midlife, so to speak, is so much more fun.

Let's review some of the changes this magazine has chronicled. Financial Planning began publication when the financial planning industry was a newborn. Charles Schwab hadn't opened his discount brokerage yet, and Fidelity was a family of 13 mutual funds. Early issues covered limited partnerships, precious metals and inflation. The first personal computer had just been invented and the Internet-then called the Arpanet-connected a handful of universities and think tanks. Individual Retirement Accounts? Well, if you were an individual, you could open an account and save up for retirement, for sure.

How times have changed! Today, a planner can manage accounts for hundreds of clients and invest millions of dollars through a moderately priced laptop that connects him or her to financial supermarkets that proffer instruments of untold variety. Web-based applications empower sole practitioners to create individually tailored plans that rival those issued by the most sophisticated institutions.

Of course, no one can contest the fact that the industry has dealt with major setbacks-most recently, of course, the terrifying market meltdown of 2008 and 2009. Bear in mind, though, that independent advisors like you came through the crisis with most of your reputations unscathed. Although most of you suffered losses of revenue, in many cases your ability to communicate and put clients first actually won you new accounts.

So please enjoy our take on the achievements and challenges of these 40 years. This special issue, the first of two, focuses on turning points-for the industry, for clients and for two major broker-dealers who are naming new CEOs this year, Securities America and Raymond James. Please let us know what you think-and keep a lookout for our second special issue in the fall.

-Marion Asnes, Editor in chief

Marion Asnes became the editor of Financial Planning magazine in 2005. Financial Planning is the leading professional magazine for independent financial planners and has a circulation of 115,000. The topics covered on its pages range from industry news and trends to sophisticated discussions of portfolio management, estate planning and philanthropy. Asnes is the first female editor in chief of Financial Planning in the magazine's 38-year history.

Before joining Financial Planning, Asnes was a senior editor at Money, participating in the magazine’s coverage of personal finance, retirement, investment and health care issues. Her areas of expertise included retirement and 401(k) planning, asset allocation, estate planning and the particular financial challenges faced by women. In addition to her regular editorial duties at Money, Asnes co-edited Money for Women, an annual special issue that was featured exclusively on “The Today Show” on NBC.

A 27-year service journalism veteran, Asnes has contributed to a long list of national publications including Vogue, Elle, Glamour, Good Housekeeping, More, Mirabella, Working Woman and Lear's. She has spoken at conferences and symposia ranging from the National Endowment for Financial Education’s Retirement Summit to the National Football League’s Rookie Symposium. In addition, Asnes has appeared on national television programs as an expert on financial and economic topics including CNN, CNN Headline News, NBC's Today, ABC's 20/20, PBS's NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor.

Asnes graduated with a B.A. from Cornell University.