Extensions of Lo’s Semiparametric Bound for European Call Options

Computing semiparametric bounds for option prices is a widely studied pricing technique. In contrast to parametric pricing techniques, such as Monte-Carlo simulations, semiparametric pricing techniques do not require strong assumptions about the underlying asset price distribution. We extend classical results in this area in two main directions. First, we derive closed-form semiparametric bounds for the payoff of a European call option, given up to third-order moment information on the underlying asset price. We analyze how these bounds tighten the corresponding bounds, when only second-order moment (i.e., mean and variance) information is provided. Second, we derive closed-form semiparametric bounds for the risk associated to the expected payoff of a European call option, when the mean and the variance of the underlying asset price are given. Applications of these results to other areas such as inventory and supply chain management are also discussed.