If the market is semi-strong-form efficient, which of the following CANNOT earn a consistent excess return?

Answer

Fundamental analysis of publicly available information

Options - A. Fundamental analysis of publicly available information - B. Trading on inside information before it is released - C. Technical analysis of past price charts, but nothing else - D. Holding an index fund that tracks the market Why - A. Correct — public information is already in the price by the time it is analysed. - B. Inside information is NOT public; the semi-strong form says nothing about it (the strong form does). - C. Charting fails under the weak form too, which semi-strong contains — but so does fundamental analysis; “nothing else” is wrong. - D. An index fund earns the market return by construction; the question is about EXCESS returns.

OpenStax Principles of Finance §11.5 — three forms, operational vs informational, reference only; Bigel, Introduction to Financial Analysis (CC BY 4.0) §13.8 — shape only; anomalies as CSC register (verified-facts §2.10 K05); original scenario