As we were getting this issue of Financial Planning ready to go to press, the news finally came from Washington that the financial reform bill had passed. By the time you read this, President Obama will have signed it into law. For you, among other things, this means that a unified fiduciary standard is on its way.

Many of you will be thrilled about this; many others will be upset. But how you feel isn't really what matters now. What does is that the real work of delineating advisors' responsibilities toward their clients is just beginning.

It's much easier to talk about fiduciary responsibility than it is to walk the walk. I'm not just talking about the fact that you let go of some easy money. There are always gray areas-and the road to both heaven and hell may be paved with the same good intentions.

Take, for example, annuities, the subject of Senior Editor Paul Menchaca's feature. Many expert advisors pooh-poohed them as overpriced and underperforming-until they realized, after the 2008 meltdown, that their clients were scared and, pensionless, needed some kind of guarantee to feel secure. Now, in the era of the fiduciary advisor, how many of you will feel obligated to let go of assets-and the ability to bill for their management-in order to help clients feel more secure about their retirement? It's an ethical issue.

And here's another: Are you going to lobby for the widest possible loopholes in forthcoming regulation-so you can be free to conduct business as you wish? Or do you want government to write strong rules so that it can clamp down on scamsters?

The SEC now has six months to report on how to unify standards of care across the various categories of financial advisors. Then, the agency will take months, if not years, to create new rules. Your voice counts more than ever. Use it to create the financial landscape you believe will work best for everyone, your clients as well as yourself.

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.