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? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Artisan Partners Asset Management is a member of our Finance group, which includes 895 different companies and currently sits at #4 in 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 emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. APAM is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for APAM's full-year earnings has moved 6.58% 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 48.51% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Finance group have lost about 4.23% on average. This means that Artisan Partners Asset Management is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Breaking things down more, APAM is a member of the Financial - Investment Management industry, which includes 48 individual companies and currently sits at #99 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 18.02% this year, meaning that APAM is performing better 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.