Are high gas prices getting you down? Are you deep into credit-card debt? Do you lie awake at night fearing the economic crisis we're in will balloon into a full-blown depression, during which we will all be forced to wait in long lines for crusts of bread and thin, runny gruel as a dark malaise overtakes the entire populace? Well, rest assured: There are some people who will remain happy and well fed. Yesterday, Bank of America released the results of a survey of high-net-worth investors (with at least $3 million of investable assets apiece) tracking their level of satisfaction with the performance of their alternative investments (such as hedge funds), and guess what? They're pretty pleased!

Fifty-one percent of investors said they were satisfied with their hedge funds in the past year, 44 percent expressed satisfaction with venture capital, 41 percent with real estate and 35 percent with private equity.

Yay! A rising tide floats all boats, and all that. Of course, BofA only found 403 of these people. That's a pretty low tide-to-boats ratio.

Rich happier with alternative investments [AP/CNN Money]