Principal Financial Group Inc. is looking to double its assets under management in Mexico within five years, expecting that people close to retirement will seek higher investment returns, Bloomberg reported.

The company currently has $4.5 billion under management in Mexico and has seen a growth in the market of around 30 to 40 percent annually on average in the last few years, said Alejandro Echegorri, chief investment officer for Principal’s Mexican unit. Mutual funds and private pension assets are areas of greatest growth potential.

The company believes more retirees could look to invest in mutual funds as stocks get a boost from falling interest rates and slowing inflation. The assets of Mexican mutual fund companies rose 17 percent to 153.5 billion pesos ($14.1 billion) last year, according to Mexico’s National Banking and Securities Commission. Falling interest rates and inflation of 3.76 percent last year increased the appeal of stocks, Echegorri said.

Principal’s Mexican unit currently manages money in government-regulated individual retirement accounts and institutional private pension funds and bought a mutual fund company in 2003.