A fund manager has a portfolio worth $$50$ million with a beta of $0\mathrm{.}87.$ The manager is concerned about the performance of the market over the next two months and plans to use three$-$month futures contracts on a well$-$diversified index to hedge its risk. The current level of the index is $4450,$ one contract is on $50$ times the index, the risk$-$free rate is $6\%$ per annum, and the dividend yield on the index is $3\%$ per annum. The current $3-$month futures price is $4517.$

What position should the fund manager take to eliminate all exposure to the market over the next two months?

Calculate the effect of your strategy on the fund manager$$s returns if the level of the market in two months is $4005.$ Assume that the one$-$month futures price is $4015$ at this time.