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Dear Reader,

It is a great pleasure and privilege to welcome you to the first volume of the SIAM Journal on Financial Mathematics. This journal, with the help of its editorial board, contributors, and readers and the SIAM staff, follows in the outstanding tradition of high-quality SIAM journals and, we hope, will become a leading journal in mathematical modeling and analysis of financial problems.

The journal began accepting submissions in October 2008. You will find the first papers accepted for this all-electronic publication. These papers provide a representative glance at the diversity of topics covered by the journal, something clearly observable from the outstanding editorial board itself. A number of papers currently in the pipeline further stress the broad vision of the journal.

The SIAM Journal on Financial Mathematics came to exist thanks to the tremendous effort of numerous people. The impetus came from the SIAM Activity Group on Financial Mathematics and Engineering (SIAG/FME) at its inaugural meeting in Boston in July 2006. While the idea of a new journal focused on computational finance had been discussed for a number of years, the enthusiasm at this meeting persuaded us, and other officers of the SIAG, to work toward this end. We received enthusiastic support from the publications committee and SIAM's board and council, and the journal was approved in July 2008. We are grateful to Tim Kelley and David Marshall for their hard work and advice in establishing the journal.

Preparing for the creation of the journal was arduous but rewarding. We aimed high, and at times, we wondered whether our goals were realistic. After agreeing on a charter for the journal, we made a wish list of associate editors, and it was no surprise to be asked by members of the council, “What makes you think that these distinguished scholars will accept your invitation to work for a new journal?" Except for two special cases, we were delighted that all of them accepted. In hindsight, the warm reception by the applied mathematics community at large has made the experience rewarding.

The SIAM staff is a wonderful asset. In particular, Mitch Chernoff, Brian Fauth, and Heather Blythe have been a critical source of support.

The current editorial board is working very hard to guarantee timely and high-quality reviews. The whole cycle of reviewing and production has been fast on average. Please enjoy your reading, and we look forward to receiving your high-quality submissions in the future.