An investor holds a portfolio with a current value of $2,976,224 and a beta of 0.93. The investor wants to temporarily alter the beta to 0.38. S&P 500 futures contracts are available with a contract price of 2,631 and multiplier of 50. You may assume the current level of the S&P 500 is also 2,631.

A. Identify the position to take in the futures market to achieve the stated goal. Record your answer as the number of contracts. Record your answer as positive (negative) if the investor should purchase (sell) the number of contracts.

B. In one to two paragraphs, using specifics from the question, explain whether or not the futures hedge achieves the specific goal and why.