It’s the beginning of a new year, and the January issue of New Jersey Business is filled with the articles that our business readers need to jumpstart a prosperous 2015.

We begin these stories with Managing Editor George Saliba’s “Slashing Through Red Tape.” The article details how businesses, through the assistance of lawyers, accountants, environmental consultants and engineers, plus real estate professionals, are navigating government bureaucracy on the municipal, county and state levels. As Saliba writes, “Red tape, resulting from bureaucracy, is not only personally infuriating, but it can impact the rapidity with which a business operates, and – ultimately – profits.” With the help of the professional groups mentioned above, businesses can pave the way for progress across a wide array of endeavors.

We present our cover story, which is a series of articles on wealth management. In this, our second annual “Money Issue,” you will find advice on retirement planning, stock market investing, saving for college, taking advantage of employer-sponsored savings plans, and investing for long-term healthcare needs. Written by Contributing Writer Michael Silverstein, Assistant Editor Anthony Bucci and Managing Editor George Saliba, these stories deliver the advice, tips and trends you need for short-term and long-term investing.

An ongoing financial and health benefit concern for business owners and their employees is the continuing impact of the Affordable Care Act. Signed in 2010 by President Obama, the ACA is still being rolled out with businesses and consumers adapting to annual changes. This year, the Small Business Health Options (SHOP) exchanges have been implemented and on the horizon are the Employer Mandate in 2016 and the Cadillac Tax in 2018. In this issue, we hear five experts in the health insurance field discuss how their industry and their clients’ businesses are being impacted by the Act. Many agree that, as of yet, there is nothing affordable about the Affordable Care Act. Will this change? Turn to our “Trade-talk Roundtable”and find out.

Finally, we present you with one of the best gauges on how the New Jersey economy will perform next year with the New Jersey Business & Industry Association’s “56th Annual Business Outlook Survey.” More than 1,000 NJBIA members polled reveal they are cautiously optimistic about their own companies’ prospects in the new year. Most expect sales, profits and employment to improve or stay the same.

The entire staff at New Jersey Business wishes all of our readers a prosperous New Year.