The Finance group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has Artisan Partners Asset Management (APAM Quick QuoteAPAM - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? 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 856 companies in the Finance group. The Finance group currently sits at #11 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 model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. APAM is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for APAM's full-year earnings has moved 4.59% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the most recent data, APAM has returned 34.55% so far this year. At the same time, Finance stocks have gained an average of 14.13%. As we can see, Artisan Partners Asset Management is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Breaking things down more, APAM is a member of the Financial - Investment Management industry, which includes 52 individual companies and currently sits at #75 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 23.21% this year, meaning that APAM is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

APAM will likely be looking to continue its solid performance, so investors interested in Finance stocks should continue to pay close attention to the company.