Executive compensation / remuneration in South Africa is a hot topic at the moment, particularly with underwhelming share price performances over the last couple of years. Do executives deserve the packages that they currently receive and how does it factor into an investment thesis?

Consider that as of 2016, the average U.S. CEO earned 271 times as much as the average worker, and that CEO compensation from 1978 to 2016 rose more than tenfold. But even beyond that, there are outliers — top execs bringing in eight figures … or more. Against that backdrop, it’s understandable that one MarketFoolery listener was left wondering how CEO pay ought to weigh into his analysis of stocks for his portfolio. In this podcast, host Chris Hill and senior analyst Jason Moser talk about how not just pay, but various incentives for (and sacrifices by) CEOs play into their investment decisions.