Guwahati, Dec. 15: Asset management company DSP BlackRock Investment Managers plans to build investor confidence in the untapped markets of the region to boost growth in the Northeast.

"We are looking at building confidence of our retail investors through intensifying financial literacy campaigns in markets such as Meghalaya and Nagaland that need to be tapped further," said Rohit Singhania, vice-president and fund manager, DSP BlackRock, here today.

Ranked 10th among the mutual fund houses in the country, DSP BlackRock currently manages AUMs (assets under management) of Rs 37,000 crore.

The company has AUMs worth Rs 160 crore in the Northeast.

"The lion's share of DSP BlackRock's (assets) under management in the Northeast comes from Assam, which is about Rs 147crore. In the next two years, we are eyeing a growth of about 60 per cent given the fact that we had achieved similar growth in the past couple of years," Singhania said.

The mutual funds market in the region has grown from Rs 1,500 crore in 2008 to about Rs 4,500 crore at present. Equities have grown from a Rs 800 crore market eight years back to Rs 2,600 crore at present.

The past few years, however, have not been impressive for equities with markets relying on the flows of foreign institutional investment that tend to be volatile at times.

"We see the trend reversing now as growth rates pick up. Equity is likely to outperform other asset classes such as gold and real estate in the next three to five years. The retail investors have to incrementally look at allocating higher share to equities," he said.

Singhania said investors need to look at the long term, say from three to five years, for better returns.

The firm also plans to augment its number of independent financial advisers for greater penetration in the Northeast market. Since 2008, the mutual fund industry has recorded a compounded annual growth rate of 17 per cent.