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This was the question I asked in the very first edition of Mortgage Adviser, which may have only been published back in May 2007 but that seems like a lifetime ago when you consider how swiftly things have changed.

As the Mortgage Adviser team puts to bed the final edition of this award-winning publication and prepares to move across to our sister publication Financial Adviser, I thought it would be interesting to ask that question again.

What is the reflection that today's mortgage intermediary sees when they look in the mirror?

Research conducted by Financial Times Business prior to the launch of Mortgage Adviser showed you were not barrow boys flogging mortgages like they were apples and pears but serious professionals.

You wanted to hear about what was going on at the major lenders you did the bulk of your business with, the latest deals that could help you make your client's property dreams come true, what the FSA and Financial Ombudsman Service expected of you and how to make your business more profitable.

Thanks to the fact you really took my call to arms - to tell the Mortgage Adviser team what you thoughht - I feel confident that while the world around you may have changed at breakneck speed and you may be adapting to this new environment, these desires and drives remain the same.

In a world where sub-prime and high loan-to-value deals disappeared in what felt like a matter of minutes and even the number of high street lenders is dwindling, you offer a reassuring consistency to your customers and should be applauded for that.

When our researchers asked the mortgage intermediary readership of our sister newspaper Financial Adviser what they wanted before we launched, the universal response was the professional adviser wanted information that was relevant to the way they do business.

Back then our research showed more than half of you felt you were not being supplied with all the information you required to make decisions about your business and make recommendations to your clients.

With your tip-offs about lenders changing the goalposts and thanks to the relationships we built up with banks and building societies, we delivered what almost 13,000 of you who registered to receive our publication needed to keep ahead of a fast moving game.

Mortgage Adviser has broken many exclusives in our 74 issues.

We were the first to demand lenders explain dual pricing, we revealed the tangled web weaved by a number of fraudulent mortgage intermediaries, discovered intermediary Black & White went into the red long before the FSA came calling and announced the FSA's plans to ensure small mortgage advisers did not slip under their radar.

While Mortgage Adviser may no longer arrive on your desks mid-week from now on, I can promise you that we will continue to strive to deliver what you really want and need to survive and thrive in this market if we will continue to hear from you with what you want to see in our new home - Financial Adviser.

What issues would you like our team of journalists to challenge providers on? What answers do you require from the FSA and Financial Ombudsman Service? Keep on bombarding us with the issues you want dealt with.

In 2007 I promised to champion your causes and we were named Trade/Professional Magazine of the Year because we aimed to help you ensure your voice was heard and the powers that be responded in the way you required.

Thanks for all your help and keep talking to us.

Emma Ann Hughes is editor of Mortgage Adviser