Employees who own shares in their company may not face too much financial risk. A study looked at US families' finances from 2004 to 2016 and found that most families with employee share ownership did not have excessive risk. Only a small number of families had too much of their wealth tied up in their employer's stock. These employees also tended to have more knowledge about finances and were comfortable with taking risks. Overall, owning shares in their company seemed to increase their wealth rather than replace other investments like pensions.