Joe Perry, CUNY QC Maser of Finance candidate, is preparing his graduate thesis paper on the topic of market volatility. Perry is particularly interested VIX futures, the so called fear index, and how equity portfolio managers can benefit from using CBOEs suit of volatility products. Perry notices a sharp uptick in market volatility during the COVID 19 pandemic. As of early April 2020, Perry observes closing VIX futures prices as shown below. Spot VIX Settlement on 8 Apr20: 41.67

Month	Expiration Date	VIX
1	14 Apr 20	41.10
2	19 May 20	36.84
3	16 Jun 20	34.54
4	21 Jul 20	32.43
5	18 Aug 20	31.14
6	15 Sep 20	30.37
7	20 Oct 20	30.30
8	17 Nov 20	28.84
9	15 Dec20	28.50

5. To hedge against a possible sharp downturn in broad U.S. equity prices, Perry is most likely to suggest portfolio managers

1. Sell VIX futures
2. Buy a put option on VIX futures
3. Buy VIX futures