Investors focused on the Finance space have likely heard of Artisan Partners Asset Management (APAM Quick QuoteAPAM - Free Report) , but is the stock performing well in comparison to the rest of its sector peers? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Finance sector should help us answer this question.

Artisan Partners Asset Management is one of 899 companies in the Finance group. The Finance group currently sits at #12 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.

The Zacks Rank is a proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. APAM is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for APAM's full-year earnings has moved 20.57% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Our latest available data shows that APAM has returned about 41.09% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Finance stocks have lost an average of 13.89%. This means that Artisan Partners Asset Management is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Looking more specifically, APAM belongs to the Financial - Investment Management industry, a group that includes 48 individual stocks and currently sits at #65 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 5.74% so far this year, so APAM is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

Going forward, investors interested in Finance stocks should continue to pay close attention to APAM as it looks to continue its solid performance.