It seems like just yesterday that the S&P 500 Index hit its intra-day peak of 2014 on the heels of last month’s Alibaba IPO and market bulls were poking fun at the go-away-in-May-and-stay-away crowd.

Enter the volatility of October…

We just passed the worst three-day rout for stock prices since 2011, and the market is searching for a new support level. All of this adds up to a volatile battle between bulls and bears; The bulls are looking for a buy-on-the-dip opportunity and the bears are cutting long positions and adding to shorts.

The only winners in this battle may be those who don’t care as much where the market is going, but how volatile it gets. These are the investors who pay close attention to the most widely watched measure of stock volatility, the CBO S&P 500 Volatility Index (VIX).

With the VIX now above its historical mean of 20, and no expectation for volatility to end soon, the mutual funds, ETFs and ETNs that invest in volatility have been jumping.

Whether you want to jump on the volatility bandwagon or you just want to add some diversity to your portfolio, here are 3 VIX funds worth considering.

Best Funds for Volatility: KKM Armor (RMRAX)

Not many mutual funds specialize in volatility but KKM Armor (RMRAX) looks impressive in this recent spike in stock price fluctuations. Volatility, as measured by the VIX, was at low levels during the summer but has picked up in the past month, with the biggest jump in the past week.

KKM Armor is a top-performer among volatility funds with a 1-week return of 40% and a 1-month return of 33%. How does KKM achieve such performance? According to the fund summary for RMRAX, “the KKM ARMOR Fund’s objective is to provide long volatility exposure by tracking the ARMOR Index,” which seeks to highly correlate performance to the VIX. It does so by “by calculating relative value amongst a group of volatility related securities, including VIX futures (S&P 500 Volatility Futures) and S&P 500 Index Options.”

The $25,000 initial purchase minimum may keep some interested investors away from RMRAX but the fund’s recent track record demonstrates that the fund managers are more than lucky.

Best Funds for Volatility: ProShares VIX Short-Term Futures (VIXY)

Many volatility traders will want the flexibility of intra-day trading with an ETF and ProShares VIX Short-Term Futures (VIXY) is among the best in class here.

Trading on volatility is not advised for mid-term or long-term holding periods, which underscores the attraction of this ETF, which tracks the performance of the S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures Index.

Recent short-term performance is highlighted by a 1-week price gain of 47% and a 1-month gain of 48%, which meets and exceeds expectations in consideration of the 1-week and 1-month jumps in market volatility.

It is important to note at this juncture that there can be differences between the actual movements of the VIX and the movements of VIX futures contracts. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), or “spot VIX”, is not directly investable and it reflects expected volatility of the S&P 500. However, short-term futures contracts will reflect expected values of the VIX at the respective expiration dates of the contracts. …. none of the options, futures, or ETNs linked to the VIX offer exposure to changes in the spot price of the index. But short-term VIX ETNS, which generally establish long positions in the first and second month VIX contracts on a rolling basis, will often move in line with the spot VIX–at least in the short term.

Also, the VIX Index appaears to be mean-reverting, with the long-term average around 20. Therefore VIX futures prices often are higher than the VIX Index at times when the VIX is at relatively low levels, and vice versa.

In summary, it can be a mistake to focus too much on the spot and pay more attention to futures, which is central to the ProShares VIX Short-Term Futures’ objective.

Best Funds for Volatility: iPath S&P 500 VIX ST Futures (VXX)

Another good way of capturing performance with volatility is through an exchange-traded note (ETN). The first VIX ETN to hit the market is iPath S&P 500 VIX ST Futures (VXX).

Again, staying with the philosophy of focusing on short-term returns in light of the nature of short-term volatility, iPath S&P 500 VIX ST Futures ETN is designed to provide investors with exposure to the S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures Index returns.

Like other funds tracking S&P 500 VIX futures, and as worded by the VXX objective summary, this ETN, “offers exposure to a daily rolling long position in the first and second month VIX futures contracts and reflects the implied volatility of the S&P 500 at various points along the volatility forward curve.”

And in line with the other two funds highlighted in this list of top VIX funds, recent volatility-tracking performance for this iPath ETN is outstanding. Short-term gains, the 1-week (31.5%), the 1-month (38.2%) and the 3-month (39.8%), are all in the top third of volatility funds.

As a final word on risk and prudent portfolio management, volatility funds are best used as diversification tools. Although the VIX is above its historical mean of 20, it doesn’t mean volatility will continue. However a good fund that tracks VIX short-term futures contracts can add diversity to your portfolio if you expect more volatility in the days and weeks ahead.