| 545      8th Avenue, Suite 402New      York, NY 10018Tel.      (212) 957-7385 17      Academy Street, Suite 1008Newark,      NJ 07102Tel.      (973) 824-5832  | Independent      Accountant’s Report   Synthetic      Fixed-Income Securities, Inc. (as Depositor)One      Wachovia Center301      South College Street, DC-7Charlotte,      NC 28288U.S.      Bank Trust National Association (as Trustee)Corporate      Trust Department100      Wall StreetNew      York, NY 10005Re:   STRATSTrust For Goldman Sachs Group Securities, Series 2004-8      (the “Trust”) Ladies      and Gentlemen:We have examined assertions of      Synthetic Fixed-Income Securities, Inc. (the “Depositor”) and U.S. Bank      National Association, (the “Trustee” and Together with the Depositor, the      “Management”) that the Depositor and the Trustee have complied, in all      material respects, with the provisions of the Base Trust Agreement dated      as of September 26, 2003, as supplemented by a series supplement dated as      of June 29, 2004 (together, the “Trust Agreement”), in respect of the      STRATS Trust For Goldman Sachs Group Securities, Series 2004-8 (the “Trust”), during the period      covered by the annual report on Form 10-K filed by the Depositor on behalf      of the Trust for the year ended December 31, 2008 (the “Annual      Report”).  Management is responsible for compliance with the      Trust Agreement. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on      Management’s assertions based on our examination.Our      examination was made in accordance with attestation standards established      by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and,      accordingly, included examining, on a test basis, evidence about the      Depositor’s and the Trustee’s compliance with the Trust Agreement and      performing such other procedures as considered necessary in the      circumstances.  We believe that our examination provides a      reasonable basis for our opinion.In      our opinion, the Depositor and the Trustee have complied, in all material      respects, with the Trust Agreement during the period covered by the Annual      Report and Management’s assertions with respect to such compliance are      fairly stated, in all material respects, for the year ended December 31,      2008./s/      Aston Bell, CPANew      York, New YorkMarch      19, 2009    |
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