No. This is just record kKeeping dogma not based upon fact. If you hear this, then ask “so what specifically does SharePoint NOT do?”!

New Zealand does not use the declare model, but SharePoint does not have to be configured this way, despite what some vendors who DO know better would like you to believe...

Yes, quite an extensive set out of the box - version control, security, metadata, approvals, check in/out, multiple and flexible browse views; search ; alerts on document change ; favouites.

The new 2010 version adds managed metadata hierarchies (for say a taxonomy, assets, subject matter expertise, case files, physical location of records), document sets and much more. Contact us for a demo.

Out of the box without understanding how to set this up – yes search is poor. However, when it is setup and tuned for your content needs it is quite good. This includes scoped search, advanced search, stemming, best bets to return preferred results. Faceted search can easily be added and searches can go beyond SharePoint to file shares and other repositories.