Legendary investor Seth Klarman outlines the key traits needed to become a successful investor

• Seth Klarman is a legendary value investor and co-founder of the $25 billion hedge fund Baupost Group.
• He highlighted the key traits successful investors should have to navigate today's markets and offered advice to college graduates.

Legendary value investor Seth Klarman highlighted the key traits investors need to have to be successful in navigating today's stock market, according to a recent interview with CNBC.

The co-founder and CEO of the $25 billion hedge fund firm Baupost Group had plenty to say about where the economy's going from here and why the real estate sector could be the next big investment opportunity.

But he also had a lot of advice for recent college graduates and investors who are tasked with navigating a more efficient stock market today than a few decades ago.

Here's what Klarman had to say about what it takes to be a successful investor, according to the interview.

Focusing and blocking out noise:

"One of the things that's really important, there's an enormous amount of firehose of information coming at all of us all the time. And as an investor, I've learned to try to be focused on things that actually are going to move the needle for me and my portfolio."

Valuation when it comes to buying stocks:

"One of the critical things about the long-term return from investing is that it depends on the entry price. So if you enter when the market's very expensive at a high valuation, you may be disappointed because you might match the index, but the index may not do very well from there."

Staying invested:

"So the other thing is you don't want to go into index funds, experience a bad market, and then bail out. That's what investors tend to do. They get in at the wrong time and they get out at the wrong time. And so investors who go into index funds should go in with the idea that they're going to stay through thick and thin."

Having conviction:

"We've learned over 40 years that when you see something that's worth buying, something that provides an attractive return for the risk, you go ahead and buy some."

Focusing on what matters most:

"I don't spend a lot of time thinking about things where I think the answer is pretty imponderable. So I do spend time thinking about technology. And part of that, at least, is to avoid being on the wrong side. To avoid being in a company that gets disrupted."

What college graduates interested in an investing career should focus on:

"I would encourage them to look for the most inefficient pockets [of markets] in the world. I also think it's important that they get mentored, most people aren't ready to jump right into this business right out of school," Klarman said.

"People should ask themselves, what are my interests? What kind of edge might I have if you're from a different country. Maybe you have great contacts in that country. Maybe you know a lot about the business culture in that country. And so my advice would be to go where you're naturally inclined and go where you think there may be interesting opportunities. Obviously, a market that's setting all time highs may not be the best place to focus a career."