If you want to stay on top of stocks and be one of the first to trade on the back of corporate updates, you can use RNS announcement alerts to be among the first to get LSE listed company news.
RNS announcements are the London Stock Exchange’s Regulatory News Service which enables listed companies to distribute news and information to the public. RNS alerts are normally released outside of normal trading hours so that everyone has access to the information at a less price-sensitive time. I’ve been using RNS for twenty years for stock trading so, in this guide I’ll go through what RNS announcements are, how RNS alerts can be used for investors and the best places to get RNS Alerts.
What is an RNS announcement?
RNS stands for Regulatory News Service and all listed companies are required to make RNS announcements when there is financial news, rumours or corporate updates that could effect their share price like financial results, earnings reports, trading updates, AGMs, shareholder meetings, bid rumours, director dealings, percentage ownership changes, regulatory updates, or even just big share price moves.
LSE RNS announcements cover the main stock market including the FTSE 100 and also smaller cap shares listed on AIM. RNS announcements on AIM tend to have more of an impact on a companies share price because smaller shares on the London Stock Exchanges growth Alternative Investments Markets, have less liquidity as are traded less, so when companies release an RNS, people tend to buy or sell their shares based on if the market views the RNS alert as positive or negative.
RNS Alerts can significantly move shares prices of even the biggest companies, especially if things like trading updates, are way above or below market expectations, or a key executive resigns.
Listed companies make RNS announcements by submitting them directly to the LSE’s “RNS Submit” services. historically, RNS announcements have been text-based, but PLC’s now have the ability to include images, audio clips and video.
Where can you get RNS announcement alerts?
The original source to check RNS announcements is the London Stock Exchange, but the LSE also syndicates this data to other websites and investing platforms. Through these third parties, you can see today’s company RNS announcements as well as register for RNS alerts via email or social media.
Here are some of the best places to bet RNS alerts:
London Stock Exchange
You can get RNS alerts directly from the London Stock Exchange, but it’s a little fiddly to be honest. Once you are looking at a stock, there is a tiny button that says “track”. Once you click on that, you have to scroll down to “News Alert” and then add the alert, for that stock which is pre-populated.
Hargreaves Lansdown
A much easier way to get RNS alerts that are relevant to your portfolio is to get them from the broker or investment platform where your shares are held. Hargreaves Lansdown for example has an RNS alert service where once you are logged in you can get RNS announcements at the click of a button. You can also set price alerts or -ex-dividend alerts at the same time.
Investegate
Investegate has recently been bought by Stockomendation and given a facelift. Investegate was one of the original and probably the biggest third-party RNS distribution services. Investegate’s entire purpose is to distribute RNS alerts to investors, which come out very quickly via email with links back to the original announcement. I think Investegate would be better if the entire announcement was included in the alert email, as it would save a lot of time, as opposed to having to click through to the website to read it. But, signing up is quick, free and you can add and remove companies to and from your alerts list with a single click.
LSE – London South East
Lse.co.uk is in no way affiliated with the London Stock Exchange, it is a website about the South East of London, and it just happens to show stock market information on LSE stocks. 👀 However, for share chat London South East is excellent as the forums are full of small-cap investors talking about their own book or voicing opinions on forecasts. The ads are really annoying, and RNS alerts are only for premium accounts that cost from £22.90 a month, but you can view historic and daily RNS alerts for free on stock pages.
RNS alternatives
Tony Cross, an investment writer at Investegate told us, “There are five Regulatory Information Services (RISs) of which RNS is one (admittedly the biggest). RNS lost its monopoly shortly after the LSE became a public company, so issuers can now fulfil their regulatory obligations using EQS, PR Newswire, Globe Newswire and Business Wire. Any Secondary Information Provider should aggregate from all five sites, giving investors a single view across all regulatory filings.”
If we’ve missed any RNS announcement alert providers or there is one you would like to add, please contact us and we’ll give them a try.
Richard is the founder of the Good Money Guide (formerly Good Broker Guide), one of the original investment comparison sites established in 2015. With a career spanning two decades as a broker, he brings extensive expertise and knowledge to the financial landscape.
Having worked as a broker at Investors Intelligence and a multi-asset derivatives broker at MF Global (Man Financial), Richard has acquired substantial experience in the industry. His career began as a private client stockbroker at Walker Crips and Phillip Securities (now King and Shaxson), following internships on the NYMEX oil trading floor in New York and London IPE in 2001 and 2000.
Richard’s contributions and expertise have been recognized by respected publications such as BusinessInsider, Yahoo Finance, BusinessNews.org.uk, Master Investor, Wealth Briefing, iNews, and The FT, among many others.
Under Richard’s leadership, the Good Money Guide has evolved into a valuable destination for comprehensive information and expert guidance, specialising in trading, investment, and currency exchange. His commitment to delivering high-quality insights has solidified the Good Money Guide’s standing as a well-respected resource for both customers and industry colleagues.
