What to Know About a Stock’s Workforce

Motley Fool Hidden Gems Investing

The Motley Fool

Business, Investing

4.3 • 3.1K Ratings

🗓️ 17 January 2026

⏱️ 20 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The largest expense for most companies is labor, so how a company chooses, manages, and pays its workforce can be a crucial consideration when evaluating it as an investment. Robert Brokamp discusses factors to consider with Dr. Ben Zweig, the CEO of Revelio Labs and the author “Job Architecture: Building a Language for Workforce Intelligence.”Also in this episode: -The S&P 500 has been an outstanding buy-and-hold investment, partially because the index is always changing-The Social Security trust fund will likely be depleted by 2032, so the U.S. senators who will be elected or re-elected this year will have a say in any potential solutions-The prices of many essential expenses are growing at rate above overall inflation while wage and job growth may be weakening-A study finds the optimal sitting-standing ratio to make you more comfortable and productive at work Host: Robert BrokampGuest: Ben ZweigEngineer: Bart Shannon Disclosure: Advertisements are sponsored content and provided for informational purposes only. The Motley Fool and its affiliates (collectively, “TMF”) do not endorse, recommend, or verify the accuracy or completeness of the statements made within advertisements. TMF is not involved in the offer, sale, or solicitation of any securities advertised herein and makes no representations regarding the suitability, or risks associated with any investment opportunity presented. Investors should conduct their own due diligence and consult with legal, tax, and financial advisors before making any investment decisions. TMF assumes no responsibility for any losses or damages arising from this advertisement. We’re committed to transparency: All personal opinions in advertisements from Fools are their own. The product advertised in this episode was loaned to TMF and was returned after a test period or the product advertised in this episode was purchased by TMF. Advertiser has paid for the sponsorship of this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	What to know about your stock's workforce and the changing nature of the S&P 500?
0:09.5	That and more on this Saturday personal finance edition of Motley Full Money.
0:18.0	I'm Robert Brokamp, and this week I speak with Dr. Ben Zweig, the CEO of Rvelio Labs, about the insights that could be gleaned from a company's hiring, firing, pay, and other factors.
0:29.0	But first, let's discuss some items that caught my attention from last week.
0:32.3	You know, while we talk a lot about investing in individual stocks here at the Motley Fool. We're also big fans of
0:37.8	index funds. We have them in our company 401 and they're among the most popular choices. And the
0:42.6	index that is most tracked by index funds is the S&P 500. It can be an outstanding investment to
0:48.6	buy and hold for decades. But the index itself changes all the time. Sam wrote writing on his ticker substack, that's spelled
0:55.9	T-K-E-R, cited research from Goldman Sachs, which found that since 1985, 20% of the index's constituents
1:03.2	turn over every five years on average, and the amount of time spent in the index is getting
1:08.3	shorter. Back in the 1970s, the average company lifespan in the
1:11.9	index was 29.3 years, whereas it has been 18.3 years so far in the 2020s. In fact, six of the
1:19.2	magnificent seven have been added in the past 25 years. As Sam wrote, quote, in any given period,
1:25.5	there are stocks driving the overall market higher.
1:28.4	And often, many of these market leaders eventually stumble and underperform.
1:32.8	But other stocks always emerge to take the baton and extend the market's very long trend higher.
1:39.1	End of quote.
1:40.3	For our next item, we'll remind you that this is an election year.
1:42.6	And a few recent articles have pointed out that the U.S. senators who will be elected or re-elected this year to six-year terms will likely have a say in how Social Security's shortfall will be resolved.
1:54.9	Currently, benefits are funded from taxes paid by workers, employers, and about half of Social Security beneficiaries, with arrests coming from
2:01.7	a trust fund established almost a century ago. However, that fund could be depleted by 2032,
2:07.4	a couple of years sooner than expected due to several factors, including a slowdown in employment,
	...

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